Tether tremors

Industry members are keeping a keen eye on Tether (USDT), the largest of all stablecoins, which has hit a snag in Europe, one that tees up a possible liquidity pinch for investors there but which also opens the door for rival stablecoins, primarily Circle's digital dollar, USD Coin (USDC).

Owing to stricter listing rules about to kick in under the European Union's sweeping new set of crypto regulations, at least a couple big exchanges are having to drop USDT from their platforms. The new rules require stablecoins to keep more than 60% of their reserves in banks recognized by the EU and also to obtain a specially designated e-money license.

"More exchanges may delist non-compliant stablecoins, leading to a shift toward regulated alternatives," Coinpedia said. "For now, Tether remains the world’s top stablecoin, but its future in Europe looks uncertain. The next few months will be crucial in shaping the stablecoin market."

USDT has a market capitalization of $139.4 billion, according to CoinGecko. The second-largest stablecoin, USDC, has a market cap of $52.5B. USDC was authorized as an EU-rules-compliant stablecoin this past summer. Rounding out the top five biggest stablecoins, per CoinGecko, are USDS, USDE and DAI, which together boast a combined market cap of $16B.

Meanwhile, in the land of canine-themed memes, Dogwifhat (WIF) is king. WIF is actually the best-performing token among CoinGecko's Top 100. It gained 16% in 24 hours to reach $1.28, doing so at a time when total crypto assets fell by 2%. U.Today flagged WIF's outperformance, connecting the surge of the Solana-based memecoin with bargain hunters who stepped in amidst a steep WIF sell-off about a day-and-a-half ago. WIF is the No. 91 coin with a market cap of $1.3B.

A venture-capital-minded AI agent token, ai16z (AI16Z), is rebranding to ElizaOS in a move to rid the marketplace of any confusion with VC behemoth Andreessen Horowitz, which is also known as "a16z."

Launched by Eliza Labs this past October, the ai16z project started as a “playful reference” with the goal of raising $75K to build an autonomous VC investor, Cointelegraph said.

“Rebranding as ElizaOS opens exciting doors to collaboration with established players eager to leverage our groundbreaking tech,” Eliza Labs founder Shaw Walters posted on X yesterday.

An upgraded version of the tokenized AI agent is said to be in the works as well.

The ticker AI16Z will remain unchanged for now. As for the AI16Z crypto's value, that's a different story. AI16Z fell 5% in the past 24 hours to about 61 cents.

AI-related assets, in general, are down 5.4% since this time yesterday as DeepSeek shockwaves continue to sink in. Hardest hit over the past week is Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL), a facilitator and ecosystem for and comprising AI Agents. VIRTUAL has lost one-third of its value just since last Wednesday. It remains the 92nd-largest digital asset, per CoinGecko, with a market cap of $1.2B.

Bitcoin seems content to go nowhere (lodged right at $102K for going on 24 hours) with markets certain the Fed will leave rates alone.

Nothing from nothing leaves nothing, but you got to have something — and so traders will be latching on to the rigidly worded comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell when he speaks later this afternoon. Perhaps, he will say something dovish and BTC could spring higher from its tightly coiled position, according to Cointelegraph.

Markets have priced in a scenario involving short-term borrowing rates remaining right where they are (at 4.25% to 4.50%). CME’s FedWatch tool reflects a 99.5% chance the mighty central bank will hold steady.

Powell’s oratory will be under a microscope. Fed watchers parse the subtlest differences between current and past statements to determine whether views might be shifting.

"If the Fed chair maintains a strict or hawkish stance," Cointelegraph said, "Bitcoin is expected to see a spike in bearish volatility."