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Balancer Labs, the corporate entity behind the DeFi protocol Balancer, is winding down after a $128 million exploit created “real and ongoing legal exposure” for the firm.Bernstein analysts said bitcoin has likely bottomed, underpinning its bullish thesis for treasury firm Strategy as a leveraged play on the upside.In a forum post on Monday, co-founder Fernando Martinelli said the technology remains intact, but flawed tokenomics and repeated security incidents eroded trust.Martinelli had considered a complete protocol shutdown, but pointed to recent performance metrics, noting that Balancer has generated more than $1 million in annualized fees.Instead, the protocol will continue operating under a leaner structure, shifting toward DAO-led governance and a service provider model.The restructuring plan proposes ending BAL (BAL) emissions, sunsetting veBAL, and redirecting 100% of fees to the DAO treasury. Core contributors are expected to move to a new entity, Balancer OpCo, pending governance approval.Leadership said the next 12 months will be critical as Balancer attempts to prove sustainable product-market fit and rebuild confidence.The decision follows a November attack that affected Balancer v2 pools across multiple chains, which was attributed to a rounding flaw in its swap logic.The analysts projected a potential 226% rise for Strategy with a $450 price target, citing its resilient balance sheet and 3.6% share of bitcoin supply.Bernstein argued that Strategy's increasing shift to perpetual preferred instruments like STRC reduces volatility risk and provides non-dilutive, long-term capital for continued bitcoin accumulation.The analysts also reiterated a $150,000 bitcoin price target for the end of 2026 and see a cycle peak of $200,000 in 2027.The initiative advances NYSE's January plan to launch a 24/7 tokenized securities venue, formalizing a key piece of its infrastructure.Securitize will handle the creation and management of tokenized shares, leveraging its experience working with institutions like BlackRock.The collaboration reflects a broader Wall Street push into tokenization, as exchanges and regulators increasingly move to support digital securities experimentation.Executives said the audit will provide a comprehensive review of Tether's financials, including assets, liabilities, and internal controls.The company did not disclose the auditor's name in its Tuesday announcement, though candidates include Deloitte, PwC, EY, and KPMG.Deloitte has previously issued a reserve attestation for Tether-linked USAT — a U.S.-regulated stablecoin issued via Anchorage Digital — though that review was limited to a point-in-time snapshot and did not extend to USDT or Tether's broader finances.The move comes as Tether scales globally and seeks to address long-standing scrutiny over its reserve transparency.Meanwhile, shares in rival Circle fell 20% on Tuesday amid proposed limits on stablecoin rewards and reports that the firm froze USDC in 16 wallets tied to an ongoing U.S. civil case.Fink emphasized that tokenization can improve access, liquidity, and efficiency by making assets easier to issue, trade, and fractionalize.His comments come as regulators and major institutions accelerate efforts to test and integrate tokenized securities into traditional markets.UK CPI and PPI data are due at 3 a.m. ET on Wednesday. U.S. mortgage data follows at 7 a.m.AltLayer and Acala are among the crypto projects set for token unlocks.Next Block Expo and Digital Asset Summit continue. Crypto Assets Conference 2026 kicks off in Frankfurt.

Balancer protocol’s corporate entity is shutting down after over $128 million was drained in an exploit last November.Its co-founder, Fernando Martinelli, said the protocol will continue to operate after restructuring to attain a “lean” economic model.