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Here’s what happened in crypto today

Cointelegraph by Cointelegraph — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 18:00:05 -0400

Today in crypto, SEC chair Paul Atkins speaks at the agency’s roundtable. Circle executive Dante Disparte denies reports that the company is pursuing a US federal bank charter, and ARK Invest projects Bitcoin could reach as high as $2.4 million by 2030.

SEC chair suggests 'huge benefits' in agency's third crypto roundtable

In one of his first appearances as the recently sworn-in chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Paul Atkins delivered remarks to the agency’s third roundtable discussion of crypto regulation.

In the “Know Your Custodian” roundtable event on April 25, Atkins said he expected “huge benefits” from blockchain technology through efficiency, risk mitigation, transparency, and cutting costs. He reiterated that among his goals at the SEC would be to facilitate “clear regulatory rules of the road” for digital assets, hinting that the agency under former chair Gary Gensler had contributed to market and regulatory uncertainty.

“I look forward to engaging with market participants and working with colleagues in President Trump’s administration and Congress to establish a rational fit-for-purpose framework for crypto assets,” said Atkins.

SEC chair Paul Atkins addressing the April 25 crypto roundtable. Source: SEC

Some critics of US President Donald Trump see Atkins’ nomination to lead the SEC as a nod to the crypto industry, acting on campaign promises to remove Gensler — the former chair resigned the day Trump took office — and cut back on regulation. Democratic lawmakers on the Senate Banking Committee questioned Atkins on his ties to the industry, potentially presenting conflicts of interest in his role regulating crypto.

Circle executive denies claims of seeking US banking license

An executive at major stablecoin issuer Circle denied reports that the company is looking to obtain a US federal bank charter.

In an April 25 X post, Circle’s chief strategy officer and head of global policy, Dante Disparte, denied that the company is interested in obtaining a US federal bank charter or acquiring an insured depository institution.

Instead, he said that Circle intends to comply with future US regulatory requirements for payment stablecoins, “which may require registering for a federal or state trust charter or other nonbank license.” He also urged lawmakers to reach regulatory clarity for stablecoins sooner rather than later.

Source: Dante Disparte

The statement followed recent reports that major cryptocurrency firms, including stablecoin issuer Circle and crypto custodian BitGo, were considering applying for bank charters or licenses. Other firms cited as seeking such licenses included publicly traded US-based crypto exchange Coinbase and stablecoin issuer Paxos.

ARK Invest ups its 2030 Bitcoin bull case prediction to $2.4 million

Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest has raised its “bull case” Bitcoin (BTC) price target from $1.5 million to $2.4 million by the end of 2030, citing increased institutional investor interest and Bitcoin’s increasing acceptance as “digital gold.”

It also bumped its “bear” and “base” case scenarios for Bitcoin to $500,000 and $1.2 million, up from the $300,000 and $710,000 respective predictions it made in February.

“Institutional investment contributes the most to our bull case,” said ARK research analyst David Puell, who estimated that Bitcoin would achieve a 6.5% penetration rate into the $200 trillion financial market in a best-case scenario (that figure excludes gold).

ARK’s bear, base and bull case price targets for Bitcoin by Dec. 31, 2030. Source: ARK Invest

Bitcoin’s acceptance as “digital gold” was also a major contributor to the lofty estimate, with Puell estimating that it could capture up to 60% of gold’s market cap by the end of 2030 in a bull scenario.

At $2.4 million per Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency’s market cap would be $49.2 trillion, assuming that Bitcoin’s total supply will have reached 20.5 million by the end of 2030, making it more valuable than the current gross domestic products of the US and China combined.

Traders still offloading TRUMP holdings after dinner announcement — Nansen

Cointelegraph by Turner Wright — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 17:51:30 -0400

Though the identities of many of the top holders of US President Donald Trump’s memecoin were still unknown, blockchain data showed significant outflows over the past seven days — during which time he announced a dinner and White House tour for certain tokenholders.

According to data from blockchain analytics firm Nansen as of April 25, the TRUMP memecoin had seen more than $869 million in outflows in the last seven days compared to roughly $96 million in inflows among the top 500 changes. Some of the changes followed Trump announcing that the top 220 TRUMP holders could apply to meet him at a golf club dinner in Washington, DC, with fewer opportunities for a White House tour.

“It’s clear that more people took the opportunity to offload their Trump tokens than new buyers came in,” said Nansen. “There still appears to be some interest — either A) to secure the dinner ticket, or B) to capitalize on price volatility. As a result, a few new wallets have entered the top 250 holders, while some previous holders seem to have taken the opportunity to exit their positions.”

Top TRUMP memecoin holders as of April 25. Source: TRUMP token

Launched in January before Trump took office, his memecoin, and that of his wife, Melania, have seen criticism from US lawmakers and leaders in the crypto industry for potential conflicts of interest. At the time of publication, the identity of many of the top tokenholders and those who might apply to attend the dinner were unknown.

Who is investing in Trump’s memecoin?

As of April 25, the top tokenholder had 1,176,803 TRUMP memecoins worth roughly $16 million at the time of publication. The wallet holder, under the username “Sun,” had led to speculation that Tron founder Justin Sun — a Trump supporter and investor in the Trump family-backed crypto firm World Liberty Financial — could be among the dinner attendees. Cointelegraph reached out to Sun’s team for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Other tokenholders included usernames like “elon” and “doge,” though it was unclear if Tesla CEO Elon Musk, also a Dogecoin (DOGE) advocate, was involved in the project. The team behind the TRUMP token controls 80% of the total supply, resulting in many critics suggesting the Trump or someone in his family could still rug-pull investors.

Before the 2024 election, Trump arranged a similar dinner at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida with supporters who purchased non-fungible tokens depicting his mugshot during his arrest for allegedly attempting to subvert the results of the 2020 election. It’s unclear whether any of the same people who attended the May 2024 event are among the top TRUMP memecoin holders.

Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

Stripe opens testing for new stablecoin product following Bridge acquisition

Cointelegraph by Christopher Tepedino — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 17:32:06 -0400

Stripe, a global payments platform, is building a new US dollar stablecoin product for companies based outside the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe in a move that may further expand the footprint of the dollar around the world.

Stripe CEO Patrick Collison confirmed the product on X, posting an invitation for companies interested in testing the solution. The move gained traction after Stripe recently received regulatory approval to acquire the stablecoin payments network Bridge.

Bridge's network competes with banks and companies that use the SWIFT system, a global financial messaging network that facilitates international wire transfers. Two former Coinbase executives, Zach Abrams and Sean Yu, co-founded the company in 2022.

Source: Patrick Collison

Stablecoin adoption grows in 2025

Stripe has a long-standing history with crypto, becoming the first major payments processor to integrate Bitcoin (BTC) in 2014. However, it discontinued support due to Bitcoin’s long transfer times and high transaction fees. The company began rebuilding its crypto team in 2021 as part of a renewed push into the space.

Stripe has recently accelerated that push. In October 2024, the company introduced a stablecoin payment option, which users adopted in over 70 countries on the first rollout day. In June that year, Stripe partnered with Coinbase to offer fiat-to-crypto conversions. Collison noted on X that Stripe's latest crypto initiative is something the company has "wanted to build for around a decade."

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a stable value by being pegged to assets like fiat currencies. In the United States, USD-backed stablecoins have increasingly gained attention at the federal level, with figures like US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell calling for dedicated legislation. PayPal launched its own stablecoin in 2023 and recently announced that it would begin offering yield to holders of its token.

As of April 25, the stablecoin market cap stands at $237.5 billion, according to DefiLlama.

Magazine: Bitcoin payments are being undermined by centralized stablecoins

Semler Scientific buys another $10M worth of BTC

Cointelegraph by Alex O’Donnell — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 17:00:00 -0400

Semler Scientific has bought approximately $10 million worth of Bitcoin since Feb. 14, the healthcare technology company said in an April 25 statement.

The company purchased 111 Bitcoin (BTC) for $10 million at an average price of roughly $90,000 per coin, Semler said. It holds a total of more than 3,300 Bitcoin worth approximately $300 million in aggregate.

Semler said its Bitcoin purchases have earned stockholders a Bitcoin yield of 23.5% in the year to date. Bitcoin yield measures the ratio of BTC holdings to outstanding shares, reflecting growing exposure per share for investors.

“Semler Scientific uses BTC Yield as a [key performance indicator] to help assess the performance of its strategy of acquiring bitcoin in a manner Semler Scientific believes is accretive to stockholders,” it said.

Semler bought 111 BTC since Feb. 14. Source: Eric Semler

The company said it acquired its Bitcoin treasury for an average price of nearly $89,000. As of April 25, Bitcoin trades at approximately $95,000 per coin, according to data from Cointelegraph.

Semler Scientific is a healthcare technology company that develops and sells medical diagnostic products, with a primary focus on detecting chronic diseases. The company has partially financed its Bitcoin purchases by issuing roughly $125 million in new stock, it said. Semler also announced plans to raise $75 million through the private offering of convertible senior notes in January.

Corporations are among the biggest Bitcoin buyers. Source: BitcoinTreasuries.NET

Corporate Bitcoin buying

In 2024, Bitcoin’s surging price pushed Michael Saylor’s Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) up more than 350%, according to data from FinanceCharts. Strategy’s success has inspired dozens of other companies, such as Semler, to start accumulating Bitcoin treasuries.

Public companies are now among the largest institutional Bitcoin holders. As of April 25, corporate Bitcoin holdings are worth approximately $71 billion in the aggregate, according to data from BitcoinTreasuries.NET.

Strategy is still the largest corporate Bitcoin holder, with a treasury worth more than $50 billion. During the week of April 14, Strategy bagged 6,556 Bitcoin for an average price of $84,785 per coin.

Among institutional buyers, corporate treasuries still lag exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which cumulatively hold approximately $110 billion in Bitcoin as of April 25, according to Coinglass data.

Magazine: Pokémon on Sui rumors, Polymarket bets on Filipino Pope: Asia Express

SEC chair suggests 'huge benefits' in agency's third crypto roundtable

Cointelegraph by Turner Wright — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 16:16:53 -0400

SEC chair Paul Atkins addressing the April 25 crypto roundtable. Source: SEC

The direction of the SEC under new leadership

“We’ve noticed that we don’t have to be as concerned [...] about being accused of things that we’re not doing, like being broker-dealers for securities,” Exodus chief legal officer Veronica McGregor, who participated in the roundtable, told Cointelegraph on April 24.”It’s just a less scary regulatory environment in general. It is, however, still unclear what the ultimate regs are going to look like for crypto.”

The SEC crypto task force is scheduled to hold two more roundtables in May and June to discuss tokenization and decentralized finance, respectively. Commissioner Hester Peirce, who leads the task force, told Cointelegraph in March that she welcomed the opportunity to work with Atkins to “reorient the agency,” hinting at an SEC with regulations more favorable to the crypto industry.

In addition to the roundtables, the crypto task force has reported several meetings with digital asset firms to discuss various policies and considerations in developing a regulatory framework.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

Crypto Biz: Cantor Fitzgerald crypto play, ETF inflows highlight industry’s big sentiment shift

Cointelegraph by Sam Bourgi — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 16:00:00 -0400

US President Donald Trump’s first 90 days in office have been miserable for Bitcoin (BTC) and the broader cryptocurrency industry. Despite positive regulatory developments, culminating in the first-ever White House crypto summit on March 7, digital asset prices have been dragged down by the currents of trade war and fear of recession.

However, crypto saw a huge sentiment shift this week amid reports that Trump was backing off on his full-scale tariff war against China. It also didn’t hurt that Trump’s media empire, Trump Media and Technology Group, inked a deal with Crypto.com for its forthcoming Made in America exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

This week’s Crypto Biz newsletter covers renewed inflows into Bitcoin ETFs, a potential crypto venture backed by Cantor Fitzgerald, and Coinbase’s possible pursuit of a federal banking charter. It wraps up with a look at Tesla’s decision to hold its Bitcoin position despite a disappointing earnings quarter.

Bitcoin ETFs see largest inflows since January

Capital is flowing back into US spot Bitcoin ETFs, highlighting a positive sentiment shift among institutional investors.

According to Glassnode data, the 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs registered $381.3 million in net inflows on April 21, with the ARK21Shares Bitcoin ETF accounting for nearly a third of the total.

One day later, the 11 funds registered $912.7 million in net inflows, the largest since January when Bitcoin was trading at all-time highs. The ARK21Shares, Fidelity and BlackRock Bitcoin funds saw the largest inflows on April 22.

As billions flowed back into Bitcoin ETFs, spot BTC prices climbed back to $94,000 on April 23, pushing the total cryptocurrency market cap close to the $3 trillion mark again.

Net inflows to US spot Bitcoin ETFs are surging again. Source: Coinglass

Cantor Fitzgerald is backing $3B crypto venture: Report

Cantor Fitzgerald is reportedly in talks with Softbank, Tether and Bitfinex to establish a $3 billion crypto acquisition company called 21 Capital.

According to an April 23 report by the Financial Times, the new company aims to capitalize on the favorable crypto environment in the United States following US President Donald Trump’s election. It also seeks to emulate the success of Strategy, the business intelligence firm turned Bitcoin bank that has amassed more than 534,000 BTC.

The report suggested that stablecoin issuer Tether will contribute $1.5 billion to the new venture. Softbank is expected to add $900 million and Bitfinex another $600 million.

21 Capital is reportedly eyeing another $350 million raise via convertible bonds alongside a $200 million private equity placement. The proceeds will reportedly be used to buy Bitcoin.

Cantor Fitzgerald is led by Brandon Lutnick, the son of Howard Lutnick (right), who became President Trump’s Secretary of Commerce. Source: White House

Coinbase weighs US banking license

Coinbase is considering applying for a United States federal bank charter, potentially signaling the cryptocurrency exchange’s intention to move into traditional banking services.

A spokesperson for Coinbase confirmed to Cointelegraph that the exchange was considering this option, but did not elaborate on the reasons why.

“This is something Coinbase is actively considering but has not made any formal decisions yet,” the spokesperson said.

A US federal bank charter is significant because it allows licensees to perform core banking activities, including deposit taking and lending. For crypto exchanges like Coinbase, obtaining such a charter could represent a major step toward integrating traditional banking with digital assets.

Tesla HODLs Bitcoin despite earnings slump

Electric vehicle maker Tesla reported disappointing first-quarter earnings this week but opted to hold onto its Bitcoin investments, signaling that Elon Musk’s company still sees significant upside in digital asset prices.

Tesla’s net income plunged 71% in the first quarter, with revenue falling 9% and automotive sales down 20% year over year.

Tesla’s disappointing earnings highlight the folly of mixing business and politics, with the results partly attributed to Musk’s role in Trump’s White House.

Despite the earnings slump, Tesla held firm on its digital asset position, maintaining 11,509 BTC — unchanged since 2022. At current prices, that stake is valued at just under $1.1 billion.

Tesla’s Bitcoin investments. Source: BitcoinTreasuries.NET

Crypto Biz is your weekly pulse on the business behind blockchain and crypto, delivered directly to your inbox every Thursday.

Nasdaq urges SEC to treat certain digital assets as 'stocks by any other name'

Cointelegraph by Alex O’Donnell — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 15:29:03 -0400

Nasdaq has urged the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to hold digital assets to the same regulatory standards as securities if they constitute “stocks by any other name,” according to an April 25 comment letter.

The exchange said the US financial regulator needs to establish a clearer taxonomy for cryptocurrencies, including categorizing a portion of digital assets as “financial securities.” Those tokens, Nasdaq argued, should continue to be regulated “as they are regulated today regardless of tokenized form.”

“Whether it takes the form of a paper share, a digital share, or a token, an instrument’s underlying nature remains the same and it should be traded and regulated in the same ways,” the letter said.

It also proposed categorizing a portion of cryptocurrencies as “digital asset investment contracts,” to be subject to “light touch regulation” but still overseen by the SEC.

Nasdaq’s April 25 letter to the SEC. Source: Nasdaq

Regulatory U-turn

The SEC has dramatically pivoted its stance on cryptocurrency oversight since US President Donald Trump took office in January.

Under the leadership of former Chair Gary Gensler, the SEC took the position that practically all cryptocurrencies, with the exception of Bitcoin (BTC), represent investment contracts and therefore qualify as securities.

This stance led the agency to bring upwards of 100 lawsuits against crypto firms for alleged securities law violations.

However, under Trump nominee Paul Atkins, who was sworn in as chair on April 21 after a lengthy Senate confirmation, the SEC has claimed jurisdiction over a narrower segment of cryptocurrencies.

In February, the agency issued guidance stating that memecoins — if clearly identified as purely speculative assets with no intrinsic value — do not qualify as investment contracts pursuant to US law.

In April, the SEC said that stablecoins — digital tokens pegged to the US dollar — similarly do not qualify as securities if they are marketed solely as a means of making payments.

Stablecoin market overview. Source: RWA.xyz

Integrating crypto into TradFi

In its April 21 letter, Nasdaq said existing financial infrastructure “can readily absorb digital assets by establishing the proper taxonomy and calibrating certain rules to reflect what is truly new and novel about digital assets.”

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) — a private US securities clearinghouse closely overseen by the SEC — has been laying the foundation for integrating blockchain technology into regulated financial markets.

In March, the DTCC committed to promoting Ethereum’s ERC-3643 standard for permissioned securities tokens.

Magazine: Ethereum is destroying the competition in the $16.1T TradFi tokenization race

BlackRock, five others account for 88% of all tokenized treasury issuance

Cointelegraph by Christopher Tepedino — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 14:40:48 -0400

New data from RWA.xyz, a platform tracking tokenized real-world assets, shows that six entities are responsible for 88% of all tokenized US Treasurys. The data suggests a concentration among a few funds as the market continues to develop.

The largest issuer of tokenized treasures continues to be BlackRock. The company's tokenized US treasury fund, called BUIDL, has a market capitalization of $2.5 billion, 360% higher than its nearest competitor. BlackRock disclosed a total of $11.6 trillion in assets under management in the first quarter of 2025.

Rounding out the top six are Franklin Templeton’s BENJI, with a market capitalization of $707 million, Superstate’s USTB at $661 million, Ondo’s USDY at $586 million, Circle’s USYC at $487 million, and Ondo’s OUSG fund holding assets worth $424 million. Together, those six funds account for 88% of all tokenized treasuries issued.

A chart of the top six tokenized treasury funds by market cap. Source: RWA.xyz

According to RWA.xyz data, the largest tokenized treasury funds have seen consolidation since the beginning of 2025. Of the top six funds, only Circle’s USYC experienced a decline in market cap over the past few months.

Notably, BUIDL’s market cap increased by 291% from Jan. 1 to April 24. It now makes up 41.1% of the total tokenized US Treasurys market cap.

Tokenized treasury funds market cap over time graph. Source: RWA.xyz

Centralization of tokenized RWAs has a dark side: MEXC

According to Tracy Jin, chief operating officer of MEXC, the centralization of tokenized real-world assets has a dark side, especially if those RWAs are on permissioned or semi-centralized blockchains.

"Most tokenized assets will be issued on permissioned or semi-centralized blockchains,” Jin told Cointelegraph. “This gives authorities the power to issue restrictions or confiscate assets. The tokenization of assets such as real estate or bonds is still tied to the national legal system."

The tokenized real-world asset market is expected to boom in 2025. The trend is driven by regulatory clarity, interoperability, solutions for liquidity, the evolution of identity from physical to digital, and even fractional ownership. According to RWA.xyz, the sector total market cap reached a high of $21.3 billion on April 21.

Magazine: Tokenizing music royalties as NFTs could help the next Taylor Swift

Crypto firms launch Wall Street-style funds: Finance Redefined

Cointelegraph by Zoltan Vardai — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 14:00:00 -0400

Cryptocurrency firms and centralized exchanges are launching more traditional investment offerings, bridging the divide between traditional financial and digital assets.

With investors seeking more flexible product offerings under one platform, the “line is blurring” between traditional finance (TradFi) and the cryptocurrency space, as the two financial paradigms signal a “growing synergy,” according to Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget, the world’s sixth-largest crypto exchange.

In the wider crypto space, Securitize partnered with Mantle protocol to launch an institutional fund that will generate yield on a basket of diverse cryptocurrencies, similar to how traditional index funds track a mix of stocks.

The developments come after crypto investor sentiment staged a significant recovery, moving from “fear” to “neutral” for the first time since January 2025.

Fear & Greed Index chart. Source: CoinMarketCap

Investor sentiment was bolstered after US President Donald Trump said that import tariffs on Chinese goods will “come down substantially,” adopting a softer tone in negotiations for the first time since the reciprocal tariff announcement.

Crypto firms moving into Wall Street territory

Cryptocurrency firms and exchanges are increasingly moving into Wall Street territory, launching more traditional investment offerings and showcasing the increasing connection between crypto and traditional finance (TradFi).

“There’s a growing synergy between traditional financial investments and the emerging crypto space,” according to Gracy Chen, the CEO of Bitget, the world’s sixth-largest crypto exchange.

“Crypto players are now checking out traditional finance as they see the opportunity to bridge it,” Chen told Cointelegraph.

“The lines are blurring. Investors want flexibility, and products that can straddle both worlds are naturally attractive,” Chen said. “Some players see TradFi as a safety net; others, like Bitget, see it as a launchpad for broader adoption.” She added:

“In a volatile market, integration is smarter than isolation.”

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Securitize, Mantle launch institutional crypto fund

Tokenization platform Securitize partnered with decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Mantle to launch an institutional fund designed to earn yield on a diverse basket of cryptocurrencies, the companies said.

Similar to how a traditional index fund tracks a mix of stocks, the Mantle Index Four (MI4) Fund aims to offer investors exposure to cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and Solana (SOL), as well as stablecoins tracking the US dollar, Securitize said in an April 24 announcement.

The fund also integrates liquid staking tokens — including Mantle’s mETH, Bybit’s bbSOL, and Ethena’s USDe — in a bid to enhance returns with onchain yield, according to the announcement.

The launch comes as retail and institutions alike increase exposure to cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin, as a hedge amid escalating macroeconomic uncertainty.

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Mantra says CEO has begun the process of burning his 150 million OM tokens

Mantra founder and CEO John Patrick Mullin has started unstaking 150 million of his Mantra (OM) tokens in preparation for sending them to a burn address in an attempt to restore the token’s value by tightening supply.

Mantra announced on April 21 that the unstaking process had begun, and would be completed by April 29, at which point Mullin's Mantra (OM) tokens will be sent to the burn address and permanently removed from circulating supply.

Source: John Patrick Mullin

Mullin said it was a “first step in rebuilding trust with the community, but far from the last.”

Mantra said it was also in talks with “key ecosystem partners” about burning a further 150 million OM to bring the total burn amount to 300 million.

With 150 million fewer OM, Mantra’s total supply will decline to 1.67 billion, and its number of staked tokens will drop by over 26% to 421.8 million OM from 571.8 million OM.

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Symbiotic raises $29 million for staking-based universal coordination layer

Cryptocurrency staking protocol Symbiotic closed a $29 million Series A funding round led by Web3-focused investment firms, including Pantera Capital and Coinbase Ventures, to support the launch of a new economic coordination layer for blockchain security.

The round included more than 100 angel investors, with participation by major industry players Aave, Polygon and StarkWare, the company said in an April 23 announcement shared with Cointelegraph.

The closing of the funding round also marks the launch of Symbiotic’s Universal Staking Framework, which aims to be an economic coordination layer that bolsters blockchain security via staking.

The new staking layer enables the use of any combination of cryptocurrencies to secure networks, including monolithic and modular layer-1 and layer-2 blockchains, the announcement said.

“We’ve created a modular framework that lets protocols evolve security models over time while efficiently coordinating risk,” Misha Putiatin, co-founder of Symbiotic, told Cointelegraph. “This empowers protocols at every stage of their lifecycle to evolve their security models seamlessly without rebuilding infrastructure.”

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SEC delays decision on Polkadot ETF

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delayed a decision on whether to approve a proposed exchange-traded fund (ETF) holding Polkadot’s native token, regulatory filings show.

According to an April 24 filing, the regulator has extended its deadline for a final ruling until June 11, nearly four months after the Nasdaq sought permission to list Grayscale Polkadot Trust on Feb. 24.

Grayscale’s ETF filing adds to a roster of about 70 proposed ETFs awaiting SEC approval, including funds holding altcoins, memecoins and crypto-related financial derivatives, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

Asset managers are pitching ETFs for “[e]verything from XRP, Litecoin and Solana to Penguins, Doge and 2x Melania and everything in between,” Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas said in an April 21 post on the X platform. Asset manager 21Shares is also awaiting permission to list its own Polkadot ETF.

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DeFi market overview

According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, most of the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization ended the week in the green.

The Official Trump (TRUMP) token rose over 73% as the week’s biggest gainer, after the president announced an exclusive in-person dinner for the top tokenholders. The Sui (SUI) token rose over 69% as the week’s second-best performing token.

Total value locked in DeFi. Source: DefiLlama

Thanks for reading our summary of this week’s most impactful DeFi developments. Join us next Friday for more stories, insights and education regarding this dynamically advancing space.

If Trump fired Powell, what would happen to crypto?

Cointelegraph by Aaron Brogan — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 13:00:00 -0400

Recent months have seen the ebb and flow of a certain pattern: US President Donald Trump will take some objectively harmful action to the US economy, and the markets will crash. Seeing this, Trump has turned to Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, and now demands he lower the Fed Funds Rate — the rate at which the Fed lends money to banks. And the steely eyed Powell will say “No.”

Trump wants to lower rates because doing so is an effective cash injection into the United States economy, stimulating activity and lifting the market. This, he believes, will make him appear successful. Powell wants to follow rigorous economic standards to set rates to carefully balance the Fed’s dual mandates of maximizing employment and maintaining stable prices.

He also wants to maintain the Fed’s independence from political pressure and, crucially, maintain the Fed’s appearance of independence from political pressure. If the markets believe that the central bank’s independence has failed in the US, it may become more difficult to sell US Treasury Bills, the United States’ sovereign debt. That is a problem in the fundamental sense that the US will have to pay more to borrow money, making it poorer — but it is an especially acute problem now because the US already has an enormous, $30-trillion pile of debt which it has to periodically refinance.

If it is forced to refinance at higher rates because markets do not trust the US government anymore, then an ever greater percentage of GDP will be absorbed by the cost of interest, and, as the kids say, the United States will be cooked.

That dance takes us to now. Last week, Trump repeatedly intimated that he would like to fire Powell, and the market didn’t like it. On Monday, Trump provoked a crash by calling Powell a “major loser” on Truth Social. In response, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has reportedly voiced concerns with the risks of firing Powell to Trump, who seems, for now, to have acquiesced, stating Tuesday that he would not fire his Fed chair.

Trump and Powell in 2017. Source: Trouw

Still, this process feels more like a spiral than anything else, and many market watchers are waiting for the next shoe to drop. That forces the question: if Trump does go through with his base instincts and axes Powell, what will be the result? In particular, what effect will this have on the cryptocurrency industry?

Cracking the Fed

It bears mentioning that the President is not supposed to be able to fire the Fed chair at will. Section 10 of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 states that “each member shall hold office for a term of fourteen years from the expiration of the term of his predecessor, unless sooner removed for cause by the President.”

This language may appear ambiguous, but in the 1935 case Humphrey's Executor v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution does not give the President an “illimitable power of removal” and so the President’s removal power is limited by statutory language.

This decision ratified the concept of “independent agencies,” which reside within the executive branch, but have independent authority. While a number of agencies have this characteristic, including the SEC, the CFTC, and the FTC, the Fed is the most important.

Economists do not think much about the political control of central banks. Politicians have relatively short-term incentives, thinking in years or election cycles. This inherently pushes them to prefer short-termist policies, of which hot cash injections are the purest form. However, fiscal and monetary policy are delicate arts that often animate painful policy choices.

In a classic example, Richard Nixon pressured then-Fed chair Arthur Burns to pursue expansionary monetary policy in the lead up to the 1972 election, believing that it would help his reelection odds. Nixon won that election in a landslide, but soon followed catastrophic “stagflation” that crippled the United States economy for a decade, and indeed may still be felt in the industries which hollowed out during that period.

Contrast this with the policies of Paul Volcker, who, after this devastating period of stagflation, implemented a vicious series of rate increases between 1979 and 1987, which caused the “Volcker Shocks”, a series of painful recessions. However, the effect of this policy was to eventually strangle inflation and herald in the boom times of the 90s, facilitating Bill Clinton’s remarkable fiscal policy.

No politician could have made these choices, none will in the future, and that is the rub. Economists — and, crucially, markets — believe deeply that the Fed must remain independent or else the entire economic fabric of American society risks collapse. This is no hyperbole — nations with politically controlled central banks like Weimar Germany, Peronist Argentina and Venezuela have experienced such crippling hyperinflation that it led variously to multigenerational geopolitical backsliding, reports of citizens starving and eating rats, and the rise of Adolph Hitler. This is serious stuff.

To fire Powell, Trump will first have to defeat the Humphrey's Executor precedent, a prospect that many legal scholars believe likely in light of the current Supreme Court composition. This is a Rubicon which, once crossed, marks a point of no return. Not just Trump, but every President who follows will have plenary legal authority to direct all executive officers — Fed Chair included — at their will. Most believe this will lead to ruin.

But disaster or no, it will be a test for cryptocurrency. The original Bitcoin White Paper aimed to disintermediate financial transactions from “financial institutions serving as trusted third parties.” If the Fed falls, and US monetary policy is unmoored from sound judgment, the thesis of cryptocurrency’s early years will be put in stark relief.

As Trump has provoked capital flight in recent weeks, investors have sought safety in various assets. Traditionally, any time there was a crisis, sophisticated parties fled risk assets into US Treasurys. The thinking was that these were riskless assets. Well, those days may be done. Ten year bond yields approached 5% during the peak of the Tariff Crisis and have not yet fully returned to previous lows. If Trump breaks the Fed, these outflows will be a drop in a bucket in a river, and that money may move into cryptocurrencies.

Trump admonishes Powell, referred to here as “Mr. Too Late.” Source: Trump

Historically, the price of Bitcoin has tightly tracked the Nasdaq (albeit with a multiplier). However, since the Tariff Crisis, while US securities prices have remained largely depressed, Bitcoin has miraculously begun to pump. This has led some to speculate that we are witnessing the long-prophesied “decoupling”, wherein crypto-assets will fulfill their original purpose and move independently from centralized assets.

It is impossible to say if this will or will not happen, but if Trump gives Powell the boot, we will find out for sure.

Out of the frying pan, and into the fire

Of course, world-historical collapse can’t be all good for crypto, and there will be significant pain across a variety of surfaces from this crisis as well. In the first instance, stablecoins will feel dire consequences almost immediately.

In the last decade, two USD-denominated stablecoins — USDC and USDT — have dominated the market. Their issuers, Circle and Tether, are both important systemic institutions and major buyers of US Treasurys, which collateralize the majority of their stablecoin obligations.

An immediate result of a Fed Crisis could be a Treasury default. The economist Noah Smith has speculated that Trump might try to write down the US’s sovereign debt:

“I suspect Trump will do something more like what he used to do as a businessman when his debt went bad — look for a cheap bailout, and if one doesn’t emerge, declare bankruptcy.”

Indeed, the President has hinted darkly at this prospect himself, in February suggesting that they might rely on pretense to mark the bills down:

"There could be a problem - you've been reading about that, with Treasuries and that could be an interesting problem…It could be that a lot of those things don't count. In other words, that some of that stuff that we're finding is very fraudulent, therefore maybe we have less debt than we thought.”

A sovereign default would immediately affect Circle and Tether by marking down the value of their collateral. This, in turn, could leave the stablecoins undercollateralized, which might provoke a bank run. The markets may ultimately stabilize, but events could easily turn the other way, leading to collapse of major stablecoins.

This in turn would have numerous second-order effects, as smart contracts holding stables as collateral began liquidating positions, and contagion swept the rest of the market.

Interestingly, these mechanical consequences may be less dire than the political costs of a Fed Crisis, because treasuries are not the only asset that has systemic importance to crypto. The US dollar has been the world's reserve currency for many, many years. There are lots of good reasons for this; it is relatively strong and stable, so it is good to settle trade with. But if the government backing it ceases to be strong and stable, this paradigm will likely shift.

And as more trade is executed in euro or yuan-denominated accounts, regulators in the EU and China will, in turn, have much more control of the flows of fiat currency through cryptocurrency. One prominent cryptocurrency attorney, who chose not to be named for fear of political reprisal, speculated exactly this:

“I think China will fill a lot of the void and EU will fill most of the rest. Neither would be good for crypto generally between CCP and EU over-regulating in different ways for different goals. This seems bad.”

This might prompt flight to uncollateralized crypto-primitive assets, but there is essentially no precedent for such assets being used at scale for real-world transactions. It is just as likely that a stablecoin crisis could simply kneecap the industry for years as it is catching its stride.

Ultimately, nobody knows whether Trump will fire Powell, or even if he can. Nobody knows what consequences might flow downstream from his decisions. But if a butterfly flapping its wings in Argentina can cause a tornado in Prague, then Donald Trump muttering incantations in the West Wing might vindicate or destabilize the blockchain forever.

Like it or not, we’re all along for the ride.

Magazine: UK’s Orwellian AI murder prediction system, will AI take your job? AI Eye

Nigerian court green lights arrest for six CBEX promoters — Report

Cointelegraph by Turner Wright — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 12:42:49 -0400

A high court in Nigeria has reportedly granted the country’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) the authority to arrest six individuals who were allegedly involved in investment fraud at a cryptocurrency exchange.

According to an April 24 report from Nigerian news outlet The Cable, the Federal High Court in Abuja approved the arrest and detention of six people who promoted the Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX), allegedly defrauding investors out of 1 billion naira, or roughly $620,000. The suspects in the cases did not appear to have been arrested at the time of publication.

“[The defendants used] their company ST Technologies International Limited, promoted another company Crypto Bridge Exchange by making adverts, and lured unsuspecting members of the public to invest cryptocurrencies on the CBEX investment platform,” the EFCC reportedly said in its motion for the arrest.

The legal case marked another instance of Nigeria cracking down on representatives of crypto exchanges in the country. In February 2024, Nigerian authorities detained and arrested two Binance executives who were visiting to discuss the exchange’s activities.

In April, many CBEX users began reporting that they could not withdraw their funds from the exchange, resulting in online outrage that led to real-world violence. A group of investors stormed CBEX’s local office in Ibadan, looting items like the air conditioning unit in an apparent attempt to recuperate some of their losses.

The case against Binance is still on

The Nigerian case against Binance, in which a US citizen, Tigran Gambaryan, was detained and whose health reportedly deteriorated as he waited in prison, drew criticism from many in the crypto industry and US lawmakers. He was held for eight months on tax and money laundering charges before being released to US custody.

Nigeria’s tax evasion case against Binance continues to move forward after Gambaryan’s release, though the exchange has no office in the country. Cointelegraph reached out to a representative from Nigeria’s Ministry of Information for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again

Ethical finance must guide crypto’s evolution

Cointelegraph by Daniel Ahmed — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 11:00:00 -0400

Opinion by: Daniel Ahmed, co-founder of Fasset and founding member of the Own Foundation

Crypto was born from a vision to decentralize power, democratize finance and build systems where equity prevails over exploitation. Somewhere along the way, however, the movement lost its moral compass. As speculation surged, purpose dwindled.

We must return crypto to its decentralized roots, a technological revolution built on long-term value, inclusivity and ethics rather than cyclical, speculative gains. The industry should take inspiration from emerging regions and how ethical financial investing can help to repair some of the ways our industry has often fallen short.

The rise of layer 2

When Vitalik wrote a blog post on layer 2s as a cultural extension of Ethereum, he brought up a critical point not only in business and technology but humanity — what we build in this life should be more significant than ourselves. Citing blockchains, he described how layer 2s, which he framed as subcultures of Ethereum, don’t merely differ in their technical benefits but how their positioning and intricacies trickle down into the culture of their communities.

In a space where new layer 2s are emerging rapidly, Vitalik’s insights are accurate and inspiring. When we build in a vacuum of echo chambers and monocultures, we miss out on the actual value of community in Web3.

What really brings communities together? Too often in crypto, that answer has been making people rich. What it should be is shared ideals that solve real issues. If done with purpose and conviction, this can still make people money.

While the rapid rise of layer 2 and layer 3 solutions promises scalability and efficiency, they are too often motivated by speculative gains rather than lasting value creation. If there’s any doubt, the numbers speak for themselves.

Layer-2 fatigue aside, the sheer scope of this data raises the question: Is our industry innovating just because it can, or is it creating a real-world utility that improves the lives of fellow humans? There’s nothing wrong with building something to make money, but if that’s the only reason we’re building something, that’s a problem.

Recent: Islamic finance and Web3 take stage at Istanbul Blockchain Week

We need to shift the narrative and look at how Web3 is solving actual, fundamental issues in emerging markets — particularly in regions like the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Africa — as a north star for how to ethically build the future of our space.

What does innovation indeed mean?

If crypto projects think innovation in Web3 is only about VC-led fundraising rounds, comparing transactions per second, or building the next great decentralized application to trade cat coins, they have probably never existed in a place where even the simplest of financial transactions is cumbersome.

In emerging markets, where people grapple with inflation, high remittance fees and limited access to financial services, we’ve witnessed how meaningful effects can transform the daily lives of millions. These are not abstract issues. They affect business owners, families, students, creators and more.

From stablecoins to secure and user-friendly payment applications, Web3 offers a unique opportunity to address these problems by creating decentralized financial systems that bypass the inefficiencies and inequities of traditional banking. For Web3 to truly make a difference in these regions, it must be designed with a focus on ethics, accessibility and long-term utility. We must lead by example.

In these markets, if innovation doesn’t create a meaningful disruption that improves people’s lives and addresses real-world problems, it’s nothing more than a buzzword. The most powerful solutions in technology are those that solve the world’s greatest problems.

Ethical finance — Web3’s future?

If you want inspiration, pay attention to those doing something different. If you want to inspire others, lead by example.

Ethical finance, particularly Islamic finance, offers valuable lessons for Web3. Dating back to the 1960s and 70s in the Middle East and North Africa (and even further to around 620 AD), this sector is built on risk-sharing, ethical investment and a focus on tangible assets.

Islamic finance has endured for centuries because it rejects speculation in favor of real, meaningful value. For example, we’ve seen the rise of ethical finance institutions like Al Rajhi Bank, one of the most prominent Islamic banks globally, known for its investments in tangible assets and community-oriented financial products.

This model, which strives to build based on morals, substance and necessity versus mere financial opportunity, can guide Web3 as it moves beyond hype-driven growth.

Build by example

As we look toward the next few years with the wind and a bull market beneath our wings, the time has come for Web3 to take a hard look in the mirror and redefine what success and innovation genuinely look like. The answer to this won’t be the same for everyone — that would be pretty boring if it were.

We must find a common ground of shared values that extends beyond technical achievements, market capitalization, total value locked or X followers but strives to innovate something more significant than any layer 2 or token.

When gearing up to launch something new, our industry must ask itself something that lives at the heart of Islamic finance: How will this product improve people’s lives? Is it true to the ethos of creating decentralized systems that are transparent, fair and built for the benefit of all?

If we can’t answer that, perhaps we should step back and ask why. Then, get back to work.

Opinion by: Daniel Ahmed, co-founder of Fasset and founding member of the Own Foundation.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

What is a flash crash in Bitcoin, and why does it matter?

Cointelegraph by Marcel Deer — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 10:48:00 -0400

What is a Bitcoin flash crash?

A Bitcoin flash crash is a sudden, sharp plunge in the market price of BTC that only lasts a short period of time before prices start to normalize.

The appearance of unique market conditions causes a jolt in the leading cryptocurrency’s market price. Typically, the reason behind a flash crash is a large group of sellers (called whales) deciding to sell Bitcoin (BTC) suddenly and flood the market with supply. This overwhelms buyers and can erase billions from the market in minutes.

The fact that BTC flash crashes have still occurred in recent years highlights the continued crypto volatility risks, even with a robust crypto asset like BTC. Despite crypto’s multitrillion-dollar market status, it is still maturing.

Particularly for newer investors in the space, it is critical to understand BTC price crashes and why they happen. Without this knowledge, watching an event like this unfold can be devastating and lead to badly judged emotional trading decisions rather than insightful, profitable investing.

Did you know? Traditional stock markets have built-in circuit breakers where trading is temporarily halted when an asset or index moves a certain amount. BTC markets do not have these circuit breakers, so it’s hard to control rapid market declines.

How does a Bitcoin flash crash occur?

The speed and severity of a flash crash can often be hard to understand. For the average investor, it sparks terror and perhaps confirms their deepest fears of their crypto stash becoming worthless. But with a calm head, the “tripwire” for a BTC crash is usually tied to a certain combination of interconnected factors.

Let’s take a look at how flash crashes happen:

Liquidation of leveraged positions when markets move unexpectedly. If leveraged traders can’t maintain their collateral during a big market drop, exchanges automatically sell their position to pay off the loan. When this happens on a large scale, it sends a wave of selling pressure through the market, crashing prices along the way.
Algorithmic trading errors can cause a cascade of sell orders. Many traders use computer programs with preset rules. When these systems react to unusual market conditions, the trading bots can start selling aggressively. This then has a knock-on effect, sending sell signals and causing a chain reaction of automatic selling.
Low market liquidity makes prices more sensitive to large trades. Think of this as far more active sellers than buyers. For BTC, it’s more prevalent on smaller exchanges where someone wants to sell a large amount quickly. They exhaust the available buy order immediately and cause a sudden BTC drop.
Technical glitches in exchange infrastructure can cause trading to break down. It could be from servers going offline, data feeds freezing or order matching failing. This can lead to incorrect pricing displays and orders executing at extreme prices.
Panic selling regularly occurs during scary news events. As the old trader’s saying goes, “Buy the rumor, sell the news.” When bad news breaks, markets could panic and everyone sells simultaneously, overwhelming buyers and sending prices plummeting.

Did you know? In December 2024, BTC finally breached the elusive $100,000 mark but then tumbled back down to $94,000 within hours. In the process, over 200,000 traders were liquidated, causing losses of over $1 billion.

Benefits of a Bitcoin flash crash

The unfurling of a crypto market crash sends an icy stab through most investors’ bodies; of course, they are highly unfavorable market conditions in most scenarios. But once you’ve gotten over the initial shock, there can be some hidden benefits to explore.

Exceptional buying conditions: While destructive for panicked investors, for those who are prepared, it offers a golden buying opportunity to buy BTC at a substantially discounted price.
Market stress test: Assuming there is a quick recovery, these types of events serve as a stress test to get valuable insight into how markets react under extreme circumstances.
Improved industry practices: It provides a learning opportunity for platforms like crypto exchanges to understand what went wrong and improve their infrastructure to avoid incidents in the future.
Increased investor protection: Flash crashes attract the attention of mainstream media and regulators. This focus can be a catalyst for better regulation and protection for retail investors.

Did you know? Despite its reputation for crashes and volatility, BTC now shows signs of becoming a mature asset. It can be less volatile than many well-known securities, such as the “Magnificent 7,” which includes Nvidia, Meta, Tesla and others.

Examples of Bitcoin flash crashes

There have been several BTC flash crashes since the cryptocurrency was launched in 2009. Some of the biggest exchanges have seen prices evaporate in minutes, and market-wide crashes have left investors grappling with wiped-out portfolios.

On June 19, 2011, the infamous Mt. Gox exchange was exposed to a database hack and compromised accounts. BTC’s price was pulverized from $17 down to $0.01, almost valueless. It was an early setback for Mt. Gox and BTC’s reputation, but it exposed early exchange vulnerability and showed the need for more robust infrastructure.

More recently, on March 18, 2024, BTC flash crashed on BitMEX. While other exchanges were trading at over $60,000, the price on BitMEX crumbled down to $8,900. It all happened in just two minutes, but the recovery was swift, with prices rebounding to normal levels within 10 minutes.

In addition, BTC-EUR prices on Coinbase briefly crashed from €63K to €48K, sharply diverging from other markets, as reported by Kaiko Research.

CryptoQuant’s head of research, Julio Moreno, commented on the flash crash that saw Bitcoin briefly drop to around $88,800 on December 5, 2024. According to him, the flash crash was driven by a sell-off cascade and deleveraging in the BTC futures market, with open interest dropping as leveraged long positions were liquidated.

COVID-19 was also responsible for a market-wide crash in March 2020 when the world’s most widely held crypto slid 50% in two days. The price collapsed from over $9,000 to below $4,000. It then took two months for market prices to return to previous levels.

How to protect against a Bitcoin flash crash in the future

Flash crashes are almost impossible to accurately predict. When they strike, things happen quickly. Usually, the damage is done before a human can react, particularly when positions are liquidated and trading bots react to sell signals. But it is still possible to prepare and protect yourself against the fallout.

Set up price alerts at key technical levels: This will help to alert you to unnatural market conditions so you are not caught off guard.
Use leverage lightly; flash crashes burn highly leveraged traders instantly. So, don’t overexpose yourself to highly leveraged market positions.
Learn to use a stop loss to protect capital. This enables you to sell your position early on in a crash, although they’re not foolproof, as a flash crash can fly past a stop loss in the worst cases.
Keep spare capital in reserve to give you the ability to capitalize on low market prices when they arrive.
Don’t keep the bulk of your holdings in an exchange account. Crashes can put platforms under severe financial stress, so try to self-custody your assets.

As learned, flash crashes happen fast and can wipe out positions in seconds, especially for leveraged traders. Keeping a diversified portfolio, setting stop-loss orders and only investing what you can afford to lose are simple but effective ways to reduce risk during sudden market drops.

Bitcoin spikes to 7-week highs as analyst doubts chances of $100K rebound

Cointelegraph by William Suberg — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 10:45:39 -0400

Key points:

Bitcoin is witnessing a tussle between buy and sell volume as BTC/USD hits its highest levels since the start of March.
BTC price action is making traders increasingly wary due to the pace of recent gains.
$100,000 is likely to remain out of reach for the short term, multiple commentators say.

Bitcoin (BTC) headed into key resistance after the April 25 Wall Street open as doubts over the BTC price breakout persisted.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Bitcoin sellers and buyers battle for control

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD hitting new seven-week highs above $95,000.

Having preserved its yearly open at $93,500 as intraday support, Bitcoin went on to liquidate leveraged shorts as $100,000 came closer.

The latest data from monitoring resource CoinGlass shows progress in taking upside liquidity across exchange order books.

BTC liquidation heatmap. Source: CoinGlass

Reacting, popular trader Daan Crypto Trades underscored the importance of the current price range in the context of the Bitcoin bull market.

“Trading back above the Bull Market Support band as we speak,” he wrote in an X post, referring to a cluster of moving averages lost as support earlier in 2025.

“A weekly close above this level would be a good look for the larger timeframe and I'd expect new highs at some point as long as it holds above.”

BTC/USDT 1-week chart. Source: Daan Crypto Trades/X

Others were cautious, with fellow trader Skew revealing a tug-of-war between a large-volume buyer and seller.

“Price would be a lot lower than it is now without the passive buyer matching this market selling,” he warned alongside an order book print.

“Eventually one will throw in the towel & volatility will follow through.”

BTC/USDT 1-minute chart with liquidity data. Source: Skew/X

Waiting on a $100,000 BTC price “catalyst”

Continuing, Keith Alan, cofounder of trading resource Material Indicators, likewise doubted whether BTC/USD could sustain a trip above $95,000.

Alan noted declining volume as price moved higher, repeated wicks below the yearly open and a “down” signal on one of Material Indicators’ proprietary trading tools.

“For me, a pump above $95k would invalidate the new signal, but I'd probably consider such a move to be a short squeeze unless we have a catalyst with some substance behind it,” he summarized.

BTC/USD 1-day chart. Source: Material Indicators/X

Macroeconomic perspectives also favored a period of consolidation before BTC/USD returned to six figures.

In its latest bulletin to Telegram channel subscribers, trading firm QCP Capital argued that Bitcoin lacked a $100,000 “catalyst.”

“Given the pace of the recent rally, we remain tactically cautious,” it wrote.

“Positioning has become more crowded, which could lead to sharper reactions around key levels. Market participants appear to be watching closely for signs of continuation or exhaustion.”

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Swiss National Bank chief dismisses Bitcoin reserve calls

Cointelegraph by Adrian Zmudzinski — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 10:24:53 -0400

An official of the Swiss National Bank dismissed calls for the institution to add Bitcoin to its reserves as a hedge against the ongoing macroeconomic turmoil.

According to an April 25 Reuters report, Swiss National Bank Chairman Martin Schlegel said that “cryptocurrency cannot currently fulfil the requirements for our currency reserves” during a shareholder meeting in Bern earlier today. The comments come amid mounting pressure from the local crypto industry to add Bitcoin (BTC) to the central bank’s reserves.

Campaigner Luzius Meisser, a board member of cryptocurrency broker Bitcoin Suisse, told Reuters that “holding bitcoin makes more sense as the world shifts towards a multipolar order.” He claimed that the need is even more dire now that “the dollar and the euro are weakening.”

This is not the first time Schlegel has pushed back against the idea. Reports from early March quoted Schlegel saying that he doesn’t want to make Bitcoin a reserve asset in Switzerland, citing a lack of stability, liquidity concerns and security risks.

Switzerland’s campaign for a Bitcoin reserve

On the last day of 2024, the Swiss Federal Chancellery initiated a proposal to constitutionally mandate the Swiss National Bank to hold Bitcoin on its balance sheet. The proposal needs to gather 100,000 signatures to trigger a referendum in Switzerland.

Signature collection document. Source: InitiativeBTC.ch

The initiative requests to change the third paragraph of Article 99 of the constitution. The relevant text currently states:

“The Swiss National Bank shall create sufficient currency reserves from its revenues; part of these reserves shall be held in gold.”

If successful, the campaign would result in adding “and in Bitcoin.” to the end of the paragraph. The initiative saw the participation of the Swiss Bitcoin nonprofit think tank 2B4CH, which was responsible for preparing and submitting the documents. 2B4CH had some ties to industry heavyweights, with Giw Zanganeh, vice president of energy and mining at leading stablecoin issuer Tether, helping launch the campaign.

The campaign is still ongoing

Meisser claims that holding Bitcoin would free the central bank from the political influence of its foreign currency holdings, most of which are in US dollars and euros. According to him, “politicians eventually give in to the temptation of printing money to fund their plans, but bitcoin is a currency that cannot be inflated through deficit spending.” 2B4CH founder and chairman Yves Bennaïm told Reuters:

“We are not saying — go all in with bitcoin, but if you have nearly 1 trillion francs in reserves, like the SNB does, then it makes sense to have 1–2% of that in an asset that is increasing in value, becoming more secure, and that everyone wants to own.”

Switzerland is a hub for blockchain enterprises, with its “Crypto Valley” in the town of Zug being the location where Ethereum was founded. The nation continues to generate crypto initiatives, with global grocery giant Spar rolling out Bitcoin-based payments in a Swiss city earlier this month.

The crypto Valley surpassed the $593 billion valuation mark, showcasing the growth trajectory of the region’s blockchain industry in 2024. Last year, the area saw the emergence of 17 crypto startup unicorns.

Magazine: Crypto Valley and the Crypto Oasis: Ralf Glabischnig

Nous Research secures $50M from Paradigm to build decentralized AI on Solana

Cointelegraph by Amin Haqshanas — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 10:10:34 -0400

Decentralized AI startup Nous Research has raised $50 million in a Series A round led by crypto venture giant Paradigm, marking one of the largest investments at the intersection of blockchain and artificial intelligence to date.

According to an April 25 report from Fortune, the funding round values Nous at a $1 billion token valuation. Previous investors include Distributed Global, North Island Ventures, and Delphi Digital, who contributed to Nous’s earlier $20 million seed rounds.

Operating since 2022, Nous Research is stepping into the spotlight with the latest fundraising to develop open-source AI models powered by decentralized infrastructure.

The company leverages the Solana blockchain to coordinate and incentivize global participation in training its AI models, aiming to challenge centralized giants like OpenAI and DeepSeek.

Nous Research announcing Nous Psyche on Solana. Source: Nous Research

Nous harnesses global idle compute power for AI training

Founded by AI researchers, including collaborators like Diederik Kingma (co-inventor of the Adam optimizer), Nous is taking a different approach from typical crypto-AI projects.

Instead of relying on centralized data centers, it enables individuals worldwide to contribute idle computing power for AI training.

Blockchain technology underpins this model, ensuring secure, incentivized participation while mitigating risks like data poisoning through features such as Byzantine fault tolerance.

“We very much came from a mentality that we want to create and serve the world’s best AI,” co-founder Karan Malhotra told Fortune.

Per the report, the 20-person team at Nous Research will allocate much of the new capital toward scaling compute resources and advancing research.

In December 2024, Nous told Venture Beat that it is pre-training a 15-billion-parameter LLM in a decentralized manner, livestreaming progress to showcase transparency and performance.

Meanwhile, Paradigm’s backing signals a deepening interest in AI within crypto venture circles.

“This open, community-oriented approach is a powerful contrast to the closed, centralized efforts from incumbent labs,” Paradigm partner Arjun Balaji reportedly told the outlet.

Paradigm becomes top-performing crypto VC

Paradigm is one of the biggest and most successful crypto venture capital firms.

In March, Web3 data platform Kaito AI ranked Paradigm as the top-performing crypto VC over the past year, posting an impressive 11.80% performance metric, outperforming other major players like Alliance (10.64%), Dragonfly (8.32%), a16z (6.94%) and Multicoin Capital (5.86%).

Source: Rory

Founded by Coinbase’s Fred Ehrsam and ex-Sequoia partner Matt Huang, Paradigm has built a strong reputation for spotting high-potential crypto projects early.

Its portfolio includes leading DeFi platforms like Uniswap (UNI) and dYdX, as well as consistent backing for Ethereum scaling solutions such as Optimism.

Paradigm also led a $255 million round for StarkNet, a key player in zero-knowledge rollup technology.

Magazine: Stablecoin for cyber-scammers launches, Sony L2 drama: Asia Express

Atkins SEC era sparks massive industry optimism, crypto execs speak out

Cointelegraph by Savannah Fortis — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 10:00:00 -0400

The crypto industry is bracing for a significant shift in regulatory tone following Paul Atkins’ swearing-in as chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission on April 21. A former SEC commissioner with deep roots in deregulatory philosophy, Atkins replaces Gary Gensler, whose combative stance toward crypto defined much of the agency’s recent legacy.

In the latest episode of Byte-Sized Insight with Cointelegraph, key industry figures weigh in on the implications of this leadership change and what it might unlock for innovation, investment and clarity for digital assets.

Crypto’s “golden age” continues

Chris Perkins, president of CoinFund, spoke with host Savannah Fortis and described his excitement regarding the new SEC chair, predicting a reduction in regulatory uncertainty under the new administration.

“We were under this regulatory reign of terror, you know, under the Biden administration,” said Perkins. “Investors in assets, they’re very comfortable taking market risk... but they’re not comfortable taking reputational risk, and along with that is regulatory risk.”

He pointed out how it was not only investors and companies who were nervous under the last administration, but also developers in the crypto space who had been targeted for their work.

Perkins highlighted how a shift in the regulatory climate could catalyze growth.

“Now, again, you're taking that personal liability off… So in a way, you have this perfect storm of new institutional capital coming in and new developers coming in. And I think the this is going to be a golden age for venture and value creation.”

Katherine Dowling, general counsel and chief commercial officer at Bitwise Asset Management, agreed that change is already visible.

“The mood has already changed,” she said. “We’ve seen a flurry of activity around certain legal cases... being dismissed, dropped... not because all regulation is going away... but because more work needs to be done to define what these digital assets are.”

Dowling emphasized that the shift is about clarity, not deregulation.

“It’s a signal shift towards let’s take a step back and define what these are, what they look like, and how they should be regulated.”

What to expect from the Atkins era

James Gernetzke, chief financial officer of Bitcoin and crypto wallet Exodus, added that “the promise of being able to engage with a regulator on a reasonable basis… is going to be very helpful.”

Gernetzke said he expects a return to “more normal time frames” for IPOs and access to capital markets.

“I think the IPO rush... you will see probably towards the end... maybe months 10, 11, 12... it's coming for sure.”

Perkins captured the broader sentiment, calling the incoming market structure bill a potential unlock.

“This market structure bill is going to have a really big impact... because then I know what my asset is, and I have a process for capital formation. I have a process for disclosures... It’s going to be awesome.”

Listen to the full episode of Byte-Sized Insight for the complete interview on Cointelegraph’s Podcasts page, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And don’t forget to check out Cointelegraph’s full lineup of other shows!

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

Russian crypto exchanger Mosca raided amid cash-to-crypto ban talks

Cointelegraph by Helen Partz — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 09:10:51 -0400

As the Russian government is considering a ban on cash-to-cryptocurrency transactions, some major local crypto exchange platforms have encountered police raids.

Mosca, a crypto-to-cash exchange located in the Moscow International Business Center, was raided on April 23 in connection with fraud by one of its customers, Dmitry Titarenko, Mosca’s development head, confirmed to Cointelegraph.

“Law enforcement agencies have carried out a standard procedure of checking our customer data,” Titarenko told Cointelegraph at the local crypto event Blockchain Forum 2025.

Mosca’s office raid followed online reports linking several arrests of some Mosca customers with an alleged crypto robbery involving a victim reportedly giving fraudsters a massive cash deposit worth millions of dollars.

Cash-to-crypto ban to protect investors?

Mosca’s confirmed police raid came the next day after Evgeny Masharov, a member of the Russian Civic Chamber, proposed banning crypto exchangers from accepting cash from their customers to buy cryptocurrencies like Tether USDt (USDT).

A potential ban on cash-to-crypto transactions would be a “massive blow to fraudsters,” Masharov urged, adding that phone scammers are “often using crypto exchangers for withdrawing cash funds.”

Olga Serova, a former adviser to the head of the government of Samara region, claims to have lost up to $5 million to crypto fraudsters. Source: Baza

Subsequently, local news channel Baza reported on the Mosca’s raid, linking the event with a “record-breaking fraud” against Olga Serova, a former government adviser in Russia’s Samara region.

Serova, 71, reportedly fell victim to scammers in late 2024, cashing out her bank accounts to pass the fraudsters an estimated total of 421 million Russian rubles ($5.1 million). According to Baza, at least seven people were arrested, allegedly in connection with the case.

Mosca clients can buy up to 100,000 USDT with cash daily

Mosca, which allows investors to deposit up to 100,000 USDT ($100,000) daily, is not aware whether Serova’s incident was connected to its office raid on Wednesday, Titarenko said.

“Maybe it was another client,” he noted, adding that the raid was the first criminal case-related office raid at Mosca in the past three months.

Titarenko also mentioned that Mosca has been actively beefing up its Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer checks, including maintaining a blacklist of suspicious users.

The raid caught Mosca during a major local event, Blockchain Life, returning to Moscow for the first time since October 2021. The company was one of the main guests at the conference, taking two center stands and winning a title of the “best crypto exchange service.”

One of Mosca’s stands at the Blockchain Forum 2025. Source: Cointelegraph

According to Sergey Mendeleev, a prominent figure in the Russian crypto community, the proposal to ban cash-to-crypto transactions is an alarming development for the community.

Speaking at the event, Mendeleev suggested that the Russian government might be turning away from crypto adoption if it opts to approve such a ban.

He also mentioned that raids are a common situation for crypto exchange services located at the Moscow International Business Center, also known as Moscow City.

Garantex, a crypto exchange that halted trading after Tether froze $27 million in USDT due to sanctions, was also among the exchangers located in Moscow City.

Magazine: Pokémon on Sui rumors, Polymarket bets on Filipino Pope: Asia Express

Russian crypto exchange Mosca raided amid cash-to-crypto ban talks

Cointelegraph by Helen Partz — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 09:10:51 -0400

As the Russian government is considering a ban on cash-to-cryptocurrency transactions, some major local crypto exchange platforms have experienced police raids.

Mosca, a crypto-to-cash exchange located in the Moscow International Business Center, was raided on April 23 in connection with fraud by one of its customers, Mosca’s development head Dmitry Titarenko confirmed to Cointelegraph.

“Law enforcement agencies have carried out a standard procedure of checking our customer data,” Titarenko told Cointelegraph at the local crypto event Blockchain Forum 2025.

The Mosca office raid followed online reports linking several arrests of some Mosca customers to a crypto robbery involving a victim reportedly giving fraudsters a massive cash deposit worth millions of dollars.

Cash-to-crypto ban to protect investors?

The police raid on Mosca came the next day after Evgeny Masharov, a member of the Russian Civic Chamber, proposed banning crypto exchangers from accepting cash from their customers to buy cryptocurrencies like Tether USDt (USDT).

A potential ban on cash-to-crypto transactions would be a “massive blow to fraudsters,” Masharov said, adding that phone scammers were “often using crypto exchangers for withdrawing cash funds.”

Olga Serova, a former adviser to the head of the government of Samara region, claims to have lost up to $5 million to crypto fraudsters. Source: Baza

Subsequently, local news channel Baza reported on the Mosca raid, linking the event with a “record-breaking fraud” against Olga Serova, a former government adviser in Russia’s Samara region.

Serova, 71, reportedly fell victim to scammers in late 2024, cashing out her bank accounts to pass the fraudsters about 421 million Russian rubles ($5.1 million). According to Baza, at least seven people were arrested, allegedly in connection with the case.

Mosca clients can buy up to 100,000 USDT with cash daily

Mosca, which allows investors to deposit up to 100,000 USDT ($100,000) daily, was unaware whether Serova’s incident was connected to its office raid, Titarenko said.

“Maybe it was another client,” he said, adding that the raid was the first criminal-case-related office raid at Mosca in the past three months.

Titarenko also said that Mosca has been actively beefing up its Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer checks, including maintaining a blacklist of suspicious users.

One of Mosca’s stands at the Blockchain Forum 2025. Source: Cointelegraph

According to Sergey Mendeleev, a prominent figure in the Russian crypto community, the proposal to ban cash-to-crypto transactions is an alarming development for the community.

Speaking at the event, Mendeleev suggested that the Russian government might be turning away from crypto adoption if it approves such a ban.

He also mentioned that raids are a common situation for crypto exchange services located at the Moscow International Business Center, also known as Moscow City.

Garantex, a crypto exchange that halted trading after Tether froze $27 million in USDT due to sanctions, was also among the exchangers located in Moscow City.

Magazine: Pokémon on Sui rumors, Polymarket bets on Filipino Pope: Asia Express

US banks are ‘free to begin supporting Bitcoin’ — Michael Saylor

Cointelegraph by Zoltan Vardai — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 09:01:30 -0400

Bitcoin adoption among United States financial institutions could see a major boost after the US Federal Reserve withdrew its guidance discouraging banks from engaging with cryptocurrency.

On April 24, the Fed withdrew its 2022 supervisory letter that served as guidance to deter banks from engaging in crypto and stablecoin activities. The withdrawal spurred a notable uplift in Bitcoin (BTC) investor sentiment.

The Federal Reserve Board’s withdrawal giving banks guidance on crypto activities. Source: Federal Reserve

The 2022 guidance initially warned that crypto may pose risks to investors and the stability of the US financial system.

The Fed’s move means that “banks are now free to begin supporting Bitcoin,” said Michael Saylor, co-founder of the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holding firm, Strategy, in an April 25 X post.

Source: Michael Saylor

The Fed’s decision “is a significant development, as it will simplify the path to institutional adoption,” according to Anastasija Plotnikova, co-founder and CEO of blockchain regulatory firm Fideum.

“The withdrawal of this particular guidance ensures that crypto assets will be overseen through standard supervisory processes,” she told Cointelegraph, adding:

“We still need to have GENIUS and STABLE bills to be passed to further harmonize the crypto activities amongst Fed-supervised firms and other market participants. The combination of legislative effort will be the main driver behind the institutional adoption.”

The Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy, or STABLE Act, passed the US House Financial Services Committee with a 32–17 vote on April 2. The bill aims to create clear regulatory guidelines for dollar-denominated stablecoins.

Source: Financial Services GOP

The GENIUS Act, short for Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, passed the Senate Banking Committee by a vote of 18–6 on March 13.

Fed’s shift marks end of us regulatory hostility

The Federal Reserve’s decision may be a “meaningful turning point” for Bitcoin’s institutional adoption in the US, according to Eneko Knörr, co-founder and CEO of Stabolut, a yield-bearing stablecoin project.

“Up until now, US regulatory hostility made it virtually impossible for traditional financial institutions to participate in this space,” Knörr told Cointelegraph.

“With the recent shift in the Fed’s guidance, the door is finally open. This unlocks an enormous opportunity for banks — one that until now has been dominated by players like Coinbase and other crypto-native firms,” Knörr added.

Knörr added that banks are now likely to move quickly to meet client demand and retain market share previously captured by crypto-native firms like Coinbase.

Bitcoin adoption among financial institutions is also lagging in Europe, with less than 20% of European banks offering crypto services, despite the rising investor demand and regulatory clarity in the region.

Magazine: Bitcoin’s odds of June highs, SOL’s $485M outflows, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 2 – 8

Trump memecoin team denies $300K dinner requirement rumors

Cointelegraph by Ezra Reguerra — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 08:42:54 -0400

United States President Donald Trump’s memecoin team denied rumors circulating on social media that holders of the Official Trump (TRUMP) token need at least $300,000 to participate in an upcoming dinner with the president.

On April 25, the official X account of the Trump memecoin clarified that there is no $300,000 requirement to join the memecoin project’s dinner event featuring the US president.

The rumor stemmed from community members citing the Solana blockchain explorer showing holders on the token’s contract address. At the time of writing, the explorer shows that the 220th-largest holder has 33,114 TRUMP, worth more than $400,000. However, the memecoin team said the explorer doesn’t reflect their criteria.

“People have been incorrectly quoting #220 on the block explorer as the cutoff. That’s wrong because it includes things like locked tokens, exchanges, market makers, and those who are not participating. Instead, you should only be going off the leaderboard,” they wrote.

Leaderboard for Trump Coin holders. Source: Trump Coin

Trump to hold dinner for top 220 memecoin holders

On April 23, the Trump Coin team revealed the leaderboard, showing the wallet addresses of those who are in the lead to qualify for the dinner event with the president.

The final guest list is still not finalized, but the memecoin team said any tokenholder who wants to be eligible for the dinner must go through a background check. In addition, their wallet will also go through Know Your Customer and compliance measures.

According to the memecoin’s official site, the team will pick the winners based on time-weighted holdings. This calculates the amount held and the time they held on to the tokens. “The longer you hold, the higher your weighted score becomes,” the team wrote.

At the time of writing, the top holder in the leaderboard holds over 1.1 million tokens, worth $14.6 million, but only has a time-weighted score of over 686,000. In comparison, the 220th wallet holder has 1,125 TRUMP, valued at almost $15,000, and a score of 136.

The leaderboard also shows that some addresses with zero current TRUMP holdings remain eligible for the dinner. This is likely due to how long they previously held their tokens.

Magazine: Pokémon on Sui rumors, Polymarket bets on Filipino Pope: Asia Express

Circle executive denies claims of seeking US banking license

Cointelegraph by Adrian Zmudzinski — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 08:29:31 -0400

An executive at major stablecoin issuer Circle denied recent reports that the company is looking to obtain a US federal bank charter.

Instead, he explained that Circle intends to comply with future US regulatory requirements for payment stablecoins, “which may require registering for a federal or state trust charter or other nonbank license.” He also urged lawmakers to reach regulatory clarity for stablecoins sooner rather than later.

Source: Dante Disparte

The statement follows recent reports that major cryptocurrency firms, including stablecoin issuer Circle and crypto custodian BitGo, are reportedly considering applying for bank charters or licenses. Other firms cited as seeking such a license in the same report include publicly traded US-based crypto exchange Coinbase and the stablecoin issuer Paxos.

The report was not entirely baseless

Cointelegraph reached out to all the companies cited in the report, requesting a confirmation or denial. All companies except one denied the request for comment, with Coinbase confirming instead that it is currently considering such a license.

Those were also not the first reports of Circle being interested in a US bank charter. In April 2022, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said in an interview with Bloomberg that the firm was already in discussions with regulators as part of its efforts to apply for a bank charter “hopefully in the near future.”

Circle did not respond to Cointelegraph’s request for further comment as of publication time.

Another previous report that helps establish the credibility of the claim is that the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted a preliminary, conditional approval for a US bank charter to Paxos in 2021.

US stablecoin regulation is evolving

The news comes as US regulators are working to change how stablecoins are regulated in the country. The US House Financial Services Committee passed a Republican-backed stablecoin framework bill earlier this month.

The bill in question is the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy (STABLE) Act. Another bill also currently moving through the US legislative process is the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act.

The STABLE and GENIUS bills differ in how they would regulate the stablecoin industry, with the former emphasizing strict federal oversight and the latter being more flexible, allowing for both federal and state rules. The GENIUS Act bill was introduced first and passed the US Senate Banking Committee in mid-March.

Magazine: Stablecoin for cyber-scammers launches, Sony L2 drama: Asia Express

China may shift from US Treasurys toward gold, crypto — BlackRock exec

Cointelegraph by Amin Haqshanas — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 07:40:13 -0400

Central banks, particularly China, may start to shift away from US Treasurys, exploring alternatives such as gold and Bitcoin, according to Jay Jacobs, BlackRock’s head of thematics and active ETFs.

In a recent interview with CNBC, Jacobs said that geopolitical tensions and rising global uncertainty are accelerating diversification strategies among central banks.

He pointed to a long-term trend where countries have been reducing their reliance on dollar-based reserves in favor of assets like gold and, increasingly, Bitcoin (BTC).

“This whole diversification away from traditional assets and into things like gold and also crypto [...] probably began three, four years ago,” Jacobs explained.

He said that recent geopolitical fragmentation has intensified the push toward alternative stores of value.

Jacobs referenced growing concerns about the freezing of $300 billion in Russian central bank assets following its invasion of Ukraine, suggesting that such events have prompted countries like China to rethink their reserve strategies.

BlackRock executive Jay Jacobs on CNBC. Source: YouTube

Related: Crypto, stocks enter ‘new phase of trade war’ as US-China tensions rise

Geopolitical fragmentation to shape global markets

During the interview, Jacobs said BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has identified geopolitical fragmentation as a defining force for global markets over the coming decades:

“We really identified geopolitical fragmentation as a mega force that is driving the world forward over the next several decades.”

He noted that this environment is fueling demand for uncorrelated assets, with Bitcoin increasingly viewed alongside gold as a safe-haven asset.

“We’ve seen significant inflows into gold ETFs. We’ve seen significant inflows into Bitcoin. And this is all because people are looking for those assets that will behave differently,” Jacobs said.

Investors highlight Bitcoin decoupling

Notably, Jacobs is not alone in stressing Bitcoin’s declining correlation with US equities. Several analysts have also observed that Bitcoin is beginning to decouple from the US stock market.

On April 22, Alex Svanevik, co-founder and CEO of the Nansen crypto intelligence platform, said Bitcoin’s price is showcasing its growing maturity as a global asset, becoming “less Nasdaq — more gold.”

He added that Bitcoin was “surprisingly resilient” amid the trade war compared to altcoins and indexes like the S&P 500, but remains vulnerable to economic recession concerns.

Source: Alex Svanevik

Echoing this sentiment, QCP Capital said in an April 21 Telegram note that Bitcoin seemed to be sharing some of gold’s limelight as a hedge against macroeconomic uncertainty.

“With equities finishing last week in the red and extending an April drawdown, the narrative of BTC as a safe haven or inflation hedge is once again gaining traction. Should this dynamic hold, it could provide a fresh tailwind for institutional BTC allocation,” it wrote.

Magazine: Ethereum is destroying the competition in the $16.1T TradFi tokenization race

SUI's 73% weekly price gains top crypto market — New price record in reach?

Cointelegraph by Nancy Lubale — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 07:32:39 -0400

Key takeaways:

SUI is up 23% in the past 24 hours and 73% weekly, outperforming top-cap cryptocurrencies.
The launch of the Grayscale SUI Trust and the xPortal/xMoney Mastercard partnership boosted investor confidence.
SUI’s TVL is up 40%, and daily DEX volumes surge by 177%, signaling strong ecosystem trust and utility.

Sui (SUI) price is up 23% in one day, to trade at $3.67 on April 25. This is part of a prevailing rebound that began on April 21 and has seen Sui rise more than 73% over the last seven days.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows SUI rose from a low of $2.11 on April 21, climbing as much as 77% to an intraday high of $3.71 on April 25.

SUI/USD daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

SUI’s performance over the last seven days made it the biggest gainer among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap.

Top gainers April 25. Source: CoinMarketCap

SUI price buoyed by positive fundamentals

SUI’s gains are primarily fueled by increasing investor confidence following the Grayscale SUI Trust launch and SUI's strategic partnership with xPortal and xMoney to issue a virtual Mastercard across Europe.

“SUI’s officially out of stealth mode,” said pseudonymous analyst Kyledoops in an April 24 post on X.

“Grayscale just launched a trust, social chatter is exploding, and it’s [SUI] now sitting above AVAX and LINK in market cap,” Kyledoops expressed, adding:

“This isn’t just retail hype—Wall Street is stepping into the SUI zone. Momentum feels different this time. It’s real. And it’s accelerating.”

On April 23, Grayscale officially launched the Grayscale SUI Trust, which enables investors to gain exposure to SUI. The trust is now open to all eligible accredited investors.

Source: Grayscale

Adding to the tailwinds is SUI's latest partnership with xPortal and xMone, which introduced a virtual Mastercard, enabling 2.5 million European users to spend the token at over 20,000 merchants via Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Source: Sui Network

Sui’s growing DeFi ecosystem

Sui remains among the top 10 layer-1 blockchains, with over $1.65 billion in total value locked (TVL) on the network. The chart below shows that the SUI’s TVL has increased approximately 40% over the last seven days.

Sui network: TVL and daily DEX volumes. Source: DefiLlama

Compared to other top-layer networks, SUI is well ahead of its rivals in terms of TVL gains on the daily, weekly, and monthly time frames, as shown in the chart below.

Comparison of TVL performance on top layer-1 blockchains. Source: DefiLlama

SUI’s daily DEX volumes have risen by more than 177% over the last week, to $599 million. This is significantly higher than the 68% and 67% increases on BNB Chain and Solana, respectively.

Although Ethereum remains the undisputed leader at $10.58 billion, this has declined by more than 14% over the last seven days.

Are new all-time highs coming for SUI?

From a technical perspective, SUI price gained momentum after breaking out of a falling wedge pattern, as shown on the daily chart below.

After breaching a multimonth resistance trendline near $2.20, SUI reached the wedge's technical target at $3.30.

Bulls are now focused on all-time highs of $5.35, reached on Jan. 6.

SUI/USD daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The relative strength index (RSI) has increased from 45 to 78 since April 20, reinforcing the strength of the bullish momentum.

However, to sustain the ongoing recovery, SUI price has to first overcome the resistance between $4.50 and $5.10, before going into price discovery.

Based on Elliott Wave analysis of the weekly chart, pseudonymous analyst Bitcoinsensus set a “massive” price target of $11.5 for SUI.

Source: Bitcoinsensus

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Blockchain needs regulation, scalability to close AI hiring gap

Cointelegraph by Zoltan Vardai — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 07:24:38 -0400

The emerging blockchain industry lags behind the artificial intelligence sector in terms of job creation, but this hiring gap may narrow by 2030.

Blockchain remains one of the smallest sectors in the tech industry, with about 300,000 global jobs, compared to 1.5 million in AI and machine learning and 25 million in software development, according to a new Bitget Research report shared with Cointelegraph.

The blockchain sector added around 20,000 new jobs in 2024, according to job listings aggregated from platforms like LinkedIn, Web3 Jobs and Crypto Job List.

Total workforce in tech industry. Source: Bitget Research

While blockchain-based jobs had an average compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 45%, outpacing most traditional tech sectors, it trails the AI industry’s 57% CAGR, according to the report.

The AI industry’s maturity and larger share of venture capital investment are the main reasons behind the hiring discrepancy, Vugar Usi Zade, chief operating officer of Bitget exchange, told Cointelegraph:

“Venture investors put more than $100 billion into AI startups in 2024, with AI-centric titles topping a million vacancies worldwide,” Usi Zade said. “Blockchain companies, meanwhile, advertise barely 20,000 openings and drew only about $5.4 billion in new funding during the same period.”

Regional blockchain market distribution. Source: Bitget Research

Blockchain may generate over 1 million jobs by 2030

AI-related job listings have risen between 75% and 100% year-over-year, while blockchain job growth remains around the 45% to 60% growth range.

Blockchain vs AI job listings growth. Source: Bitget Research

Blockchain could exceed 1 million jobs by 2030 if it manages to scale at the same rate as AI-based roles, the report said.

More regulatory clarity from laws such as Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) may encourage blockchain firms to increase their hiring efforts, Zade said:

“Europe’s MiCA rule-book, live since December 2024, is already thawing hiring freezes; similar clarity in the United States and Asia would unlock global head-count plans.”

“Second comes enterprise-grade performance: Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade cut typical layer-2 fees by more than 95%, signaling that blockchains can now handle corporate traffic at an acceptable cost,” he added.

While blockchain-based jobs are poised for growth, “AI will naturally garner more talent in the next decade,” Jawad Ashraf, CEO of Vanar Chain, told Cointelegraph.

“This is because AI’s market integration has been faster than any other modern technology we can remember,” he said. “If you look at blockchain, we’re still very much focused on integrating with TradFi and broader Web3 markets like gaming, real-world tokenization, etc.”

He added: “Blockchain still hasn’t penetrated the more conventional consumer-oriented markets. It will, in the near future, but we are not there yet.”

Blockchain and AI are not competing for talent

“AI and blockchain aren’t competing for talent; they’re working together to create new opportunities,” Yakov Lebedev, chief business development officer at 3Commas, a trading automation solution, told Cointelegraph.

Combining the two technologies enables “sophisticated financial tools accessible for everyone, not just big institutions, he said, adding:

“Companies are paying top dollar for professionals who understand both AI and blockchain, recognizing the value of this cross-domain expertise.”

Lebedev added that the integration of blockchain with AI is driving steady job growth in both fields, as financial and tech firms move integrated solutions from pilot programs into core operations.

Thanks to the synergistic benefits of the two technologies, blockchain job growth may start mirroring the AI industry, according to Adi Ben-Ari, founder and CEO at Applied Blockchain, an AI-powered blockchain development firm.

AI technology is “probabilistic and introduces uncertainty,” which creates more demand for blockchain and cryptographic technologies, he told Cointelegraph.

“AI produces outcomes that are not always accurate, can be fake, and can sometimes be incorrect,” he said. “This new uncertainty needs to be countered by a technology that brings absolute certainty, and this is where blockchain and cryptography come in.”

Ben-Ari added that blockchain’s ability to secure sensitive information through cryptography would become increasingly important as AI consumes larger amounts of personal data.

LUNA payments to STIX protocol. Source: Basescan

AI agents are already using cryptocurrency for autonomous transactions. On Dec. 16, 2024, Luna, an AI agent on Virtuals Protocol, paid another AI agent from STIX Protocol, in exchange for its image generation services — sending $1.77 worth of Virtual (VIRTUAL) tokens, onchain data shows.

Magazine: Altcoin season to hit in Q2? Mantra’s plan to win trust: Hodler’s Digest, April 13 – 19

5 Bitcoin charts predicting BTC price rally toward $100K by May

Cointelegraph by Yashu Gola — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 06:36:52 -0400

Key Takeaways:

BTC liquidation levels, onchain data, and chart setups converge at the $100K target.
Profitability has surged, suggesting a rebound in market confidence.
BTC breakout patterns point to $100K as a short-squeeze and euphoria magnet.

Bitcoin (BTC) is flashing multiple technical and onchain signals suggesting that a rally to $100,000 is possible by May. Here are five charts making the case for a near-term breakout.

BTC double-bottom hints at $100,600 target

BTC's daily chart has formed a textbook double bottom, confirming a breakout above the neckline resistance at $87,643. The structure projects a measured move to $100,575 or above.

BTC/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingView

Momentum indicators like the relative strength index (RSI) support this thesis, staying in bullish territory with more room to expand. Meanwhile, the 50- and 200-day exponential moving averages (EMAs) have flipped into support, offering additional tailwinds.

Volume has remained steady post-breakout, showing that buyers are still in control. This setup creates a strong foundation for Bitcoin to push toward $100,600.

Bull pennant setup eyes six-figure BTC price

On the hourly timeframe, BTC consolidates inside a bull pennant following a sharp rally. This pattern indicates temporary indecision before the next leg higher. The target sits near $100,900.

BTC/USD hourly price chart. Source: TradingView

The pennant formed after a steep rise, suggesting that BTC price is likely coiling before resuming its up move. Despite the low volume, the structure remains intact and is supported by strong EMA alignment.

A breakout above the pennant’s upper trendline could trigger fresh upside momentum, attracting short-term traders and algorithms targeting round-number breakouts.

Bitcoin’s falling wedge breakout targets $102,000

The three-day chart shows a completed falling wedge breakout, with the price breaking a key resistance zone near $94,000. The projected move targets $102,270.

BTC/USD three-day price chart. Source: TradingView

Falling wedges are typically bullish reversal patterns, and BTC’s clean breakout above the upper trendline adds technical conviction. Price is also riding above the 50-3D EMA, a key trend signal.

Volume surged during the breakout, suggesting strong buyer conviction.

The $94,000-95,000 resistance is now capping Bitcoin’s upside attempts. Breaking it means BTC could deliver its complete measured move toward $100,000 quickly.

Binance heatmap shows liquidity magnet at $100K

Liquidation data reveals a thick cluster of short liquidations around the $100,000 level. These positions often act like a magnet, pulling the price toward them as market makers hunt for liquidity.

BTC/USDT three-month liquidation heatmap. Source: CoinGlass

If BTC continues climbing, it will pressure short sellers who may be forced to exit, triggering a cascade of buy orders.

Liquidity maps often front-run price. With such dense activity near six figures, the path of least resistance appears upward in the near term.

Bitcoin profitability increases post-breakout

As of April 23, 87.3% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply was in profit, up from 82.7% when BTC last traded near $94,000 in early March, according to Glassnode data.

The increase indicates that a significant portion of the Bitcoin supply changed hands at lower levels during the March correction, reflecting a fresh wave of accumulation.

BTC percent supply in profit. Source: Glassnode

Historically, when the Percent Supply in Profit remains above 90% for an extended period, markets tend to enter a euphoric phase. With profitability now nearing that threshold, bullish sentiment continues to build.

Combined with bullish chart structures and concentrated short liquidity overhead, BTC remains positioned for a potential move toward $100,000 by May.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

The sentiment engine of Bitcoin ETFs is rewiring market structure

Cointelegraph by Michael Tabone — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 06:00:00 -0400

The tide of capital once destined for raw spot Bitcoin has begun to flow through institutional canals, spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs), structured products and wrapped exposure, and while the water is rising fast, the waves aren’t quite the same.

Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst, Eric Balchunas, pointed out on X that there is a large movement in leveraged long ETFs and, at the same time, safer bets like gold and cash. Suppose one had to choose if Bitcoin (BTC) was a risk-on or risk-off asset. In that case, it may come down to how investors interpret its narrative, whether they see it as digital gold or another speculative vehicle.

Bitcoin’s ETF ecosystem has entered a new phase of capital absorption. On April 23, 2025, daily inflows surpassed $912 million, setting a record for the year. This seemingly marked a dramatic return to bullish sentiment just weeks after prolonged outflows.

But this surge is not just a simple return to form. What is taking shape is a strategic redistribution of investor positioning, one with structural implications that could temper the speculative heat familiar from past crypto bull cycles.

Bitcoin, in 2025, is no longer a monolithic asset. It is a spectrum of exposure. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) was declared the “best new ETF product” by etf.com. From IBIT to derivatives, trusts and leveraged vehicles, the market is now defined by access mechanisms just as much as by price. That access may be soaking up energy that once fueled altcoin seasons, meme runs and vertical spot rallies.

This is not a cycle of runaway liquidity. It is one of refined distribution.

When exposure displaces ownership

Since the United States greenlit spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, over a dozen products have emerged. By April 2025, ETF inflows had become a primary barometer of market sentiment. Year-to-date, these ETFs have pulled in more than $2.57 billion in net inflows.

The biggest single-day surge hit $978.6 million on Jan. 6. Conversely, Feb. 25 saw the largest outflow of the year at $937.9 million. Across 81 trading days in 2025 so far, only 37 have been net positive. The average daily net flow is a modest $31.8 million, suggesting that while institutional interest is robust, it remains volatile and dependent on external signals.

These data points reveal a new structural rhythm. ETF capital tends to flow in pulses, reacting to macroeconomic headlines, not crypto-native momentum. Unlike 2021, when funding rates and leverage dominated market direction, today’s price action hinges on whether allocators view Bitcoin as a hedge, a risk asset or both.

This new market plumbing is both a blessing and a bottleneck. Liquidity is deeper than ever, but it is not as kinetic. Long-horizon capital doesn’t chase candles. It waits for basis points. That creates a more stable floor but a lower ceiling. It also suppresses the retail euphoria that once catalyzed altseasons and speculative parabolas.

The frontier has not disappeared — it has been absorbed.

When everyone buys Bitcoin, but nobody buys risk

The same forces responsible for Bitcoin’s institutional ascent may also be strangling the lifeblood of altcoin speculation. One of the most notable shifts in 2025 is the absence of a classic altseason. In past cycles, BTC dominance would rise, then rotate into Ether (ETH), mid-caps and micro-caps. But this year, the cascade has stalled.

Capital that would once have dripped into altcoins now stops at the ETF gateway. With the likes of Larry Fink floating a $700,000 BTC projection, the capital behind that optimism stayed in structured products. It went into IBIT, not Uniswap or a centralized exchange like Coinbase.

ETF liquidity fragments exposure. Sovereign wealth funds buy Bitcoin. They do not ape into Solana NFTs. They buy ticker symbols and rebalance quarterly. Their entry provides stability but crowds out chaos, which has always been crypto’s native accelerant.

Ether and Solana ETF proposals are now pending. If approved, they may not revive altseasons but institutionalize them. Instead of meme rotations, we may see ETF pair trades instead of MetaMask and Bloomberg terminals. This is capital concentration, not dispersion.

Macro catalysts reinforce this trend. In both February and March, CPI prints exceeded expectations. Bitcoin ETFs saw inflows above $200 million on each release, turning inflation anxiety into passive accumulation. This behavior mirrors gold’s post-2008 ETF boom, when monetary policy began shaping commodity flows.

Bitcoin has now entered that regime. It is still speculative but no longer wild. Still volatile and still increasingly calculable. The market still runs on belief but trades on compliance.

Magazine: Pokémon on Sui rumors, Polymarket bets on Filipino Pope: Asia Express

Polygon CEO: DeFi must ditch hype for sustainable liquidity

Cointelegraph by Arijit Sarkar — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 05:43:13 -0400

Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron called for a fundamental shift in how decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols manage liquidity, labeling the sector’s ongoing liquidity crisis as “self-inflicted.”

In an exclusive interview, Boiron outlined Polygon’s vision for sustainable DeFi, emphasizing chain-owned liquidity and transparent economic models as the path forward.

Boiron criticized DeFi protocols for fueling a cycle of “mercenary capital” by offering sky-high annual percentage yields (APYs) through token emissions. “It’s just renting liquidity; it’s not real loyalty,” he told Cointelegraph, noting that such strategies lead to fleeting liquidity that vanishes when yields drop or token prices falter. This reliance on short-term hype, he argued, undermines the sector’s stability and deters institutional adoption.

Chasing DeFi stability over hype

To break that cycle, Boiron urged protocols to prioritize fundamentals over flashy returns. “Sustainable DeFi needs models where liquidity sticks around for the right reasons,” he said, pointing to Polygon’s POL token as a blueprint for achieving this.

“Protocols can put their treasury to work, earning yield instead of diluting token value. Over time, this strengthens the treasury rather than just paying off temporary liquidity providers.”

Polygon’s approach centers on chain-owned liquidity, where protocols build treasuries to directly own liquidity positions rather than relying on external providers. Unlike token emissions, which Boiron said attract liquidity quickly but dilute token value, owned liquidity offers long-term stability and capital efficiency.

The only trade-off in the plan, according to Boiron, is time. He explained that building a treasury through captured fees, bond mechanisms or limited emissions requires patience and disciplined management.

Polygon prepares to onboard traditional finance in crypto

For traditional finance (TradFi), liquidity stability and predictability are prerequisites for full DeFi adoption:

“Traditional finance runs on models that need stable, reliable market access. If a DeFi protocol suddenly loses liquidity or slippage spikes, it creates a level of risk most institutions just won’t take.”

However, Boiron said that Polygon’s solutions — sustainable treasury management, owned liquidity and transparent models — are not just for institutions. “These are good financial fundamentals that work for any protocol,” he said, dismissing suggestions that Polygon’s strategy is too narrow to address DeFi’s broader issues.

Building a scalable blueprint for chain-owned liquidity

As Polygon pushes for a DeFi reset, Boiron remains optimistic about getting support from frameworks like Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation and evolving US guidance. “We’re 12–18 months away from seeing a lot more institutional involvement,” he predicted.

Looking to 2026, Boiron envisions a more stable DeFi ecosystem with less volatility, stronger community governance and sophisticated financial products bridging TradFi and real-world assets. He said Polygon (POL) could reduce reliance on mercenary capital, fostering true decentralization.

He added that POL is the foundation for long-term growth, as it helps protocols focus on building better products and keeping users engaged, instead of plugging liquidity gaps or diluting tokens to stay afloat:

“POL doesn’t solve everything on its own, but it gives protocols the breathing room to tackle bigger challenges like user retention and capital inflows the right way.”

Boiron’s core message to DeFi protocols is clear: “Sustainable economics always win in the long run.” While market pressures make it tempting to chase high APYs, he noted that surviving protocols from past cycles prove the value of sustainability. “More teams are starting to get it,” he said, urging the ecosystem to adopt models that prioritize long-term growth over fleeting buzz.

Magazine: Ethereum is destroying the competition in the $16.1T TradFi tokenization race

Sam Bankman-Fried moved to a low-security prison — so what?

Cointelegraph by Adrian Zmudzinski — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 05:40:46 -0400

Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, the disgraced co-founder of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, to a low-security US federal correctional institution

Bankman-Fried was moved to the low-security Terminal Island federal correctional institution. Previously, he was located at the Victorville medium-security facility — a notoriously violent facility, according to prison consultant firm Elizabeth Franklin-Best.

Samuel Goldfaden, a partner at the crypto-centric lawfirm, DLT Law told Cointelegraph that while his previous facility was violent, BankmanFried was held in a safer part of the facility. He said:

“Sam Bankman-Fried spent most of his detention in the more secure dorm units of MDC Brooklyn, reportedly alongside other high-profile inmates such as Sean P. Diddy to ensure his safety.“

Terminal Island FCI review. Source: Elizabeth Franklin-Best

In “good” company

Terminal Island is located in San Pedro, California and also houses involved in financial crime. According to Franklin, notable inmates at the facility include ormer stockbroker Anthony Elgindy (wire fraud, racketeering, securities fraud and extortion) and internet music entrepreneur Mouli Cohen (wire fraud, money laundering and tax evasion

New York ttorney Aaron Brogan told Cointelegraph that Bankman-Fried’s “non-violent record may well have been incorporated into a risk score” which led him to this low-security facility. His alleged autism, on the other hand, was unlikely to have had an influence despite layers playing it as a card:

“I've heard reports that describe Sam as autistic, but that is within a particular subclinical contemporary lens — autism can be a debilitating condition, but Sam graduated from MIT, founded multiple billion-dollar companies, and successfully defrauded millions of people.“

Goldfaden suggested a tie between Bankman-Fried’s interview with political commentator Tucker Carlson, which was not approved by prison authorities and followed by solitary confinement. He highlighted that shortly after the interview,“was transferred, to improved conditions and moved closer to his family.

A win for the FTX co-founder

Brogan pointed out that lower security facilities are usually “nicer” and said that as a result he is less likely to become a victim of violent crime. will also likely have a “slightly easier” time communicating with his attorneys.

Still, Brogan said that those are suppositions that are likely to be true, but not guaranteed and the change may be negative for Bankman-Fried instead:

“It is hard to say from the outside, but generally one would expect lower security prisons to make such communication less challenging.“

The timeline of the FTX co-founder’s appeal will not be affected by the move, his pardon-seeking. The move also raises questions about the markedly different safety and rehabilitation environments that inmates guilty of non-violent offences find themselves in.

Still, Brogan said that such is “the nature of the United States prison system.” He highlighted that “the prison system treats all inmates unfairly, and almost nobody cares.” He :

“This is a punishment and the mass of people want it to be hard. There is some threshold of human decency, but nothing that has happened to Sam approaches that.“

OpenSea regains NFT market lead as rivals fall behind in user activity

Cointelegraph by Ezra Reguerra — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 05:13:30 -0400

Non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea has regained its position as the leading platform for digital collectible trading, even as overall market activity declined.

Data tracker NFTScan shows that OpenSea has held the top spot in NFT marketplaces’ trading volume for the last 30 days. According to the data site, OpenSea holds over 40% of the market’s trading volume, while Blur, its largest competitor, is at 23%. Meanwhile, the NFT platform Magic Eden has a 7.69% market share, while OKX NFTs have a 5% market share.

The data tracker also shows that in the last month, almost 70% of the wallets transacting with NFTs engaged with OpenSea. The data shows that over 610,000 wallets opted to use OpenSea over its competitors. In the last three months, the data shows OpenSea had over 2.1 million wallets engaging with its platform.

By comparison, wallets engaging with Magic Eden, Blur and OKX NFT only reached a combined market share of 17%, around 103,000 wallets. In the last three months, the platforms had a total of 380,000 wallets trading NFTs on their platforms.

NFT marketplace wallet distribution data. Source: NFTScan

OpenSea regained NFT dominance amid platform developments

In the last quarter of 2024, OpenSea continuously promoted the launch of its new platform OS2. At the time, OpenSea co-founder and CEO Devin Finzer said they would “reimagine everything,” and that a new version would come in December.

On Feb. 13, OpenSea launched the open beta for OS2, allowing the public to finally use its platform after a period of reserved access for private beta users. At the time, the NFT marketplace also teased the launch of the project’s official token, SEA.

Apart from launching a revamped NFT marketplace, the project ventured into crypto token trading.

On April 19, the platform announced that it had opened its Solana trading access for all its users, skipping a scheduled closed beta phase limited to 50,000 users. The new feature allows OpenSea users to trade Solana tokens, including popular memecoins like Bonk and Ai16z.

In addition to platform developments, the NFT marketplace had also been freed from regulatory scrutiny. On Feb. 22, Finzer announced that the US Securities and Exchange Commission had dropped its investigation into the digital collectible marketplace.

NFT sales dropped 61% in the first quarter of 2025

OpenSea is regaining its market dominance amid a slowdown in NFT sales volumes. CryptoSlam data shows that in Q1 2025, NFT sales volumes reached $1.5 billion. This represents a 61% decline compared to the $4.1 billion volume in the same period in 2024.

Despite declining sales volumes, some metrics showed that NFTs are still interesting to many traders. CryptoSlam shows over 359,000 NFT buyers in the last seven days, a 52% increase compared to the previous week.

Furthermore, despite a volume slowdown, some collections have continuously shown signs of life. In the last seven days, CryptoPunks surged 82% in sales. In the last 30 days, the collection reached almost $20 million in sales volumes.

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‘Vitalik: An Ethereum Story’ is less about crypto and more about being human

Cointelegraph by Stephen Laddin — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 04:51:06 -0400

When Zach Ingrasci and Chris Temple had the idea to make the documentary film Vitalik: An Ethereum Story, they were actually filming another documentary, and over the course of their filmmaking journey, they ended up capturing both a deeper, human look at the world of crypto and an end product that serves as a use case for the future of crypto filmmaking.

When crafting a documentary, filmmakers will typically start with a vision of what they’d like to explore, a vision often saddled with a set of assumptions, only to shatter that vision once filming begins, creating an entirely new direction for the project.

It’s a creative evolution that filmmakers Zach Ingrasci and Chris Temple also experienced while making the documentary feature This Is Not Financial Advice, during which they realized they had an entirely different film on their hands.

“While we were making that film, we wanted to interview Vitalik Buterin,” Ingrasci said to me during a recent interview. “We got connected to him, but as soon as we met him, we were really inspired by his unique form of tech optimism and how he broke stereotypes we’d had of the crypto space. He was a billionaire but very humble, funny, quirky and truly committed to his values of decentralization. That was very inspiring for us — so much so, we thought we should make a piece about Vitalik or about the Ethereum community at large.”

Temple and Ingrasci (left to right) while filming their PBS feature “Five Years North.” Source: Optimist

But Ingrasci and Temple weren’t crypto-native filmmakers — rather, they were individuals interested in technology and communities using technology in new ways, and Vitalik and Ethereum just happened to check both of those boxes.

The human touch in tech

Ingrasci and Temple then went out and launched a non-fungible token (NFT) crowdfunding campaign, raising almost $2 million in 50 hours, allowing them to get started quickly in the summer of 2021 during the height of the NFT boom.

“It allowed us to own the film without being beholden to any stakeholder, platform or middleman who would otherwise be directing the content of the film,” Temple said. “It was an amazing opportunity to spend over two years following Vitalik — a global nomad — all around the world.”

Temple and Ingrasci followed Buterin to Ukraine, Montenegro, Toronto and Colombia, trying to understand the man behind the technology. They even spent time with Buterin’s father and his family members, diving into the history of his family emigrating from Russia to Canada.

“We wanted to understand how Vitalik’s upbringing had affected his values,” Temple said. “We spent time talking with folks in the Ethereum community, with Vitalik’s friends and others, trying to paint this deeper picture and understand how the creators of crypto technologies affect the end product. How are they coding their values, blindspots and interests into the end result?”

‘Vitalik: An Ethereum Story’ premiered globally on April 15. Source: Optimist

From the beginning, Temple and Ingrasci’s main goal was to create a piece that would be accessible to a mainstream audience, one that could help translate some of the values and interesting things they were seeing in the Ethereum community in a way that a non-crypto native person could understand.

But they didn’t really know what that meant or what it would lead to initially since they were following different stories and different people within the Ethereum ecosystem. As they were editing the documentary together, they started testing it with people who knew nothing about crypto, who, as expected, were very confused.

“It’s so difficult to create a documentary that’s accessible and entertaining for people who know nothing about the crypto space, but we saw very clearly in the feedback from these early screenings that when people could connect to someone — especially Vitalik, who is so likeable and inspiring — it creates an entry point to then get into these more abstract concepts,” Ingrasci said.

“We did not set out to make the film only about Vitalik, and I don’t think the film is only about Vitalik,” Ingrasci told Cointelegraph.

“Vitalik is our human hook, our human story about someone who is going to surprise you, break your stereotypes about crypto, and leave you a little more excited than you thought you would be after watching this film.”

According to Ingrasci, Buterin’s favorite scenes in the film were when he was drinking tea or making breakfast — being his normal, quirky, funny self.

“That’s what makes this film entertaining, watchable and human,” Ingrasci said. “When someone is willing to be natural on camera with us as filmmakers, it creates a much more human story rather than this very intellectual version of Vitalik that we were already very aware of.”

Developing a crypto use case for film

During the filming of Vitalik, Buterin’s father talked to the filmmakers about how, growing up, Buterin’s favorite toy was the computer, and his favorite thing was to play with Excel.

“When he was seven years old, he actually built a 100-page manifesto that was an imaginary world for bunnies,” Temple said. “It had their financial systems, energy systems and was full of graphs and tables — an amazing creation for a seven-year-old’s mind. I think to so many of the people we shared this with, it helps people connect to the world of Ethereum as a new world being built. If you can imagine Vitalik as a seven-year-old building this whole new imaginary world, that’s what he’s trying to build again with Ethereum.”

It’s all part of Buterin’s hope for Ethereum creating real utility in the world, something Ingrasci felt was epitomized when Buterin visited Ukraine.

“When he went to Ukraine, he was talking to the vice prime minister, Fedorov, and it quickly became apparent that the banking system at the beginning of the war was in shambles,” Ingrasci said. “Without crypto, thousands of lives in the military would have been lost because crypto was able to get money very quickly to the front lines and was able to mobilize across borders, raising over $130 million for Ukraine to resist this invasion. When Vitalik was there visiting Kyiv during the war, he got to see this thing he helped create being used in this incredibly important way, and that’s where that world-building came into reality. It was an emotional moment to witness just how powerful it was.”

In many ways it’s because Buterin is simply a child at play, tapping into his inner youthful creativity, only now with an adult mind and body and the relationships and resources to execute on his ideas.

“Vitalik has said he’s a builder and a thinker first and foremost,” Temple said. “An interesting tension for him during filming was how people looked to him to be something more, to be this leader and representative of the entire crypto movement. Throughout the film, he wrestles with how much to use his voice, how much to become a leader and how much to speak out against things he doesn’t always agree with. He eventually does decide to speak out against speculation and say that he doesn’t think Ethereum was designed to trade million-dollar monkeys and that there’s a lot more we can do to fix systems and help people.”

It’s a humanizing element of a pedestaled tech founder, epitomizing how at times we all struggle with speaking up on our values — especially when those values are different or run counter to the dynamics of our own social circles and society at large.

And that’s the power of Vitalik. The film is not just about crypto; it’s about the human stories that can resonate beyond the immediate environment the film is in — crypto just happens to be the backdrop.

Quite a bold story to tell by a couple of “non-native” crypto filmmakers.

“We’ve actually used crypto for a lot of elements in the distribution process for this film, which is exciting because the documentary space is broken,” Ingrasci said. “For an independent documentary to happen, it’s just so difficult these days. A lot of streamers have a lot of control over the film you ultimately make, but because we were able to crypto-crowdfund in the beginning on Mirror, we were able to have creative control over the film.”

Ingrasci and Temple executed a movie trailer drop through Zora and an early onchain release of the film this past September on Bonfire, both powered by Web3, which helped raise the funds the duo is currently using to market the documentary to mainstream audiences.

“A lot of independent filmmakers have zero marketing budget; there’s very little money in documentaries. But instead [because of our crypto-crowdfunding], we’re able to really make sure the trailer, the message and the film gets out there.”

In this way, Ingrasci and Temple have created a sub-narrative around the making of a film using crypto-native tools, providing a real-world use case for other filmmakers on how they, too, might find success by utilizing blockchain platforms for the creation of their own film projects.

“I think there’s so much potential for these tools to have a big impact on filmmakers, though we’re still at the beginning,” said Ingrasci. “It’s still difficult to understand, and the complexities are not abstracted away enough. The short initial onchain release of the film — while a testament — was very difficult for people who were not in crypto to access it.”

But ultimately, the decentralized theatrical release of the film occurred in 24 countries and 30 cities all around the world, all on the same night.

“At the premiere in New York where we were, somebody came up to me and was, like, ‘I feel like I can share this with someone, and they’ll finally understand what I do for a living and why I do it,’” Temple said. “Those kinds of reactions — the ‘I feel seen’ and ‘I feel understood as a technologist’ — as a filmmaker, hearing those reactions from people who are trying to build new systems is the dream.”

Ingrasci, producer Jenna Kelly, co-producer Linda Xie, producer Carrie Weprin, and Temple at the premiere in New York. Source: Optimist

For Ingrasci and Temple, the dream continues to evolve, with their film now available all around the world on mainstream platforms such as Apple and Prime Video.

“If the goal is to be able to make a film you can send to your mom — while she might not understand what Ethereum is, she’ll understand why you’re interested in this thing — so I think we did that,” Ingrasci said.

“Vitalik believes technology can be used to make our lives better, especially today when there’s a lot of polarization and cynicism surrounding blockchain tech and questions around if it’s worth it. If we use these technologies in good ways and invest the energy into finding real use cases for them, it can make our lives better, and Vitalik showed us these are questions worth asking.”

Magazine: 3 reasons Ethereum could turn a corner: Kain Warwick, X Hall of Flame

Arkansas city rejects crypto mining proposal after community pushback

Cointelegraph by Amin Haqshanas — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 04:27:03 -0400

The planning commission of Vilonia, Arkansas, has unanimously rejected a proposal to establish a cryptocurrency mining facility within the city limits following strong opposition from local residents.

According to local reports, the decision came after weeks of community pushback, where citizens voiced concerns over potential noise pollution, increased energy consumption, and the overall environmental impact associated with crypto-mining operations.

During public meetings, Vilonia residents expressed concern that the mining operation could disrupt the town’s quiet atmosphere and strain local infrastructure.

Many pointed to examples from other regions where similar facilities led to rising electricity costs and constant noise from mining rigs.

“I just want to ask, like, did we make a mistake moving here? We’re not asking these people to come here. I grew up here. I graduated from Vilonia, and we [are] Arkansas, the Natural State, not Arkansas, the Bitcoin state,” one community member told THV11.

Vilonia community members oppose a new crypto mine in their town. Source: YouTube

Vilonia has a history of rejecting crypto mining

Vilonia has confronted the prospect of crypto mining before. In previous years, residents expressed disinterest in hosting miners, citing long-term sustainability concerns and minimal local economic benefits.

In 2023, the city’s planning commission denied Vilo AR permission to build a crypto mine in town and revoked its permit permanently.

During the same year, Vilonia residents voiced strong opposition to a proposed crypto-mining facility by Green Digital near residential areas, citing concerns over constant loud noise from powerful mining computers and potential ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

In 2024, the Arkansas State House passed two bills that restrict cryptocurrency mining within the state.

In January 2025, Arkansas lawmakers introduced a new bill that would ban crypto mining operations within 30 miles of any US military facility in the state.

Senate Bill (SB 60) was introduced by Senator Ricky Hill and House Speaker Brian Evans, aiming to amend the Arkansas Data Centers Act of 2023 to keep crypto mining facilities away from military installations.

However, the Arkansas Senate’s City, County and Local Affairs Committee eventually rejected the bill.

The opposition against crypto mining centers in Arkansas follows a broader trend seen across various US municipalities where crypto-mining initiatives face increasing scrutiny.

In October 2024, a group of residents in Granbury, Texas, filed a lawsuit against Marathon Digital, alleging that the mining facility generated too much noise.

The lawsuit claimed that residents were experiencing physical symptoms from the noise, including fatigue, headaches, nausea, hearing loss, memory issues and even psychological problems.

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RTFKT’s CloneX avatars reappear after issue blacks out NFTs

Cointelegraph by Brayden Lindrea — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 04:15:12 -0400

More than 19,800 CloneX digital avatars developed by non-fungible token firm RTFKT Studios have reappeared after Cloudflare blacked out the NFTs for apparently violating its terms of service.

“This content has been restricted. Using Cloudflare’s basic service in this manner is a violation of the Terms of Service. Please visit cfl.re/tos to learn more,” the message read on April 24.

RTFKT’s head of tech, Samuel Cardillo, has refuted claims that it missed a payment, attributing the issue to changes happening with RTFKT’s “current Cloudflare setup.”

NFT content creator Wale Swoosh earlier speculated that RTFKT may have subscribed to an inadequate Cloudflare plan for high-traffic image serving. Cloudflare offers a range of web infrastructure services.

Source: Wale Swoosh

Most of the CloneX NFTs have started to reappear, according to Cardillo, who added that Cloudflare has fixed the issue.

However, the incident sparked considerable outrage from some CloneX holders, including one NFT holder who spent $1.25 million on a CloneX NFT.

Source: mOpO680

The issue prompted Cardillo to find a more decentralized solution to host the NFTs.

“I am working closely with ArDrive to decentralize both CloneX and Animus to ensure that post-30 April, no downtime of your favorite art ever happen again.”

In a separate post, Cardillo said CloneX would specifically move to the decentralized data storage platform Arweave.

Cardillo is RTFKT’s last man standing since the firm shuttered in January

RTFKT — which pioneered virtual sneakers and was bought out by Nike in December 2021 — has largely been a one-man show since the shoe maker shuttered its operations in January.

“Keep in mind that I am the last man standing and therefore I am doing it all myself,” Cardillo said in response to a flood of complaints shortly after the incident occurred.

RTFKT confirmed its closure with an ambiguous letter, claiming it “isn’t ending” and would become what it has always meant to be — an “artifact of cultural revolution.”

No substantial developments at RTFKT have come about since the December announcement.

Several NFT marketplaces have also shuttered in recent months.

DraftKings, GameStop and crypto exchange Bybit all closed their NFT marketplaces, with Bybit citing falling NFT trading volumes in its April 8 announcement.

X2Y2 also recently announced that its NFT marketplace would shut down on April 30 as the firm looks to pivot into artificial intelligence.

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How long will Bitcoin’s price consolidation last?

Cointelegraph by Nancy Lubale — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 03:26:31 -0400

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin trades within a narrowing range between $91,000 and $94,500 over the last three days.
A rare divergence between rising open interest and negative funding rates could set up a short squeeze.
BTC price must establish $95,000 as new support to continue the uptrend.

Bitcoin (BTC) price has been consolidating within a tight $91,700- $94,490 range since April 22. However, expert opinions and indicators suggest that Bitcoin’s choppy price action could soon end. The key question remains when Bitcoin will break out of consolidation.

BTC/USD four-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

BTC funding rates hint at potential short squeeze

One of the most significant signs that consolidation will end soon is the presence of negative funding rates in its futures markets.

While the recent recovery in Bitcoin price was accompanied by a 15% rise in open interest, average funding rates declined, suggesting rising short interest.

Bitcoin’s funding rates dropped to as low as -0.023% as the price tapped $94,700. This indicates a growing bias toward short-side positioning, indicating that many traders are betting against the uptrend.

This suggests that futures traders are “potentially viewing the recent move as overextended,” Glassnode said in its latest Week Onchain report, adding:

“This divergence between rising open interest and negative funding sets the stage for a possible short squeeze scenario if upward momentum continues.”

Bitcoin open interest and funding Rates. Source: Glassnode

A short squeeze occurs when prices rise sharply, forcing traders with short positions to buy back contracts to cover losses. Often triggered by unexpected market events or supply constraints, this buying pressure further drives prices up, trapping short sellers.

Commenting on this, analysts at Jlabs Digital said that “a rally with negative funding and rising OI is rare and bullish.”

“Until that flips, the momentum has room to run despite some caution signals we see elsewhere.”

Bitcoin must break $95K to end consolidation

According to one popular crypto analyst, Bitcoin may continue consolidating in its current range for a bit longer, particularly if the resistance at $95,000 is not broken.

“Bitcoin consolidating under resistance,” said market analyst AlphaBTC in an April 25 post on X.

He referred to the resistance at $95,000, which capped Bitcoin’s latest rally. As Cointelegraph reported, $95,000 remains the next significant resistance.

Until it is reclaimed, AlphaBTC says that the price is likely to continue consolidating within the $93,000-$95,000 range before moving higher.

“The best case is $BTC consolidating and building a base before pushing higher to take liquidity above 100k.”

BTC/USD four-hour chart. Source: AlphaBTC

Analyst Jelle shared similar sentiments, saying Bitcoin’s current consolidation cycle could continue until the price breaks above $94,000.

“Bitcoin is slowly munching its way through the monster resistance zone,” Jelle said in an April 24 post on X, highlighting the weekly resistance around $95,000.

“Impressive strength. A break above $94K and this sends a lot higher.”

BTC/USD daily chart. Source: Jelle

The breakout could come in the next few days as April ends. QCP Capital said, "Call options at $95K strikes for end-April and end-May expiries have dominated flow, pointing to a tactical appetite for further upside.”

In an April 25 Telegram note to investors, the investment firm said:

“With macro risks temporarily subdued and trade tensions cooling, BTC is likely to consolidate in a narrow $90K–$94.5K range while awaiting a catalyst for a decisive push toward the elusive $100K mark.”

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

North Korean hackers set up 3 shell companies to scam crypto devs

Cointelegraph by Stephen Katte — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 02:14:26 -0400

A subgroup of the North Korea-linked hacker organization Lazarus set up three shell companies, two in the US, to deliver malware to unsuspecting users.

The three sham crypto consulting firms — BlockNovas, Angeloper Agency and SoftGlide — are being used by the North Korean hacker group Contagious Interview to distribute malware through fake job interviews, Silent Push Threat Analysts said in an April 24 report.

Silent Push senior threat analyst Zach Edwards said in an April 24 statement to X that two shell companies are registered as legitimate businesses in the United States.

“These websites and a huge network of accounts on hiring / recruiting websites are being used to trick people into applying for jobs,” he said.

“During the job application process an error message is displayed as someone tries to record an introduction video. The solution is an easy click fix copy and paste trick, which leads to malware if the unsuspecting developer completes the process.”

During the sham job interview, an error message is displayed, requiring the user to click, copy, and paste to fix it, which leads to the malware infection. Source: Zach Edwards

Three strains of malware — BeaverTail, InvisibleFerret and Otter Cookie — are being used according to Silent Push.

BeaverTail is malware primarily designed for information theft and to load further stages of malware. OtterCookie and InvisibleFerret mainly target sensitive information, including crypto wallet keys and clipboard data.

Silent Push analysts said in the report that hackers use GitHub, job listing's and freelancer websites to look for victims.

AI used to create fake employees

The ruse also involves the hackers using AI-generated images to create profiles of employees for the three front crypto companies and stealing images of real people.

“There are numerous fake employees and stolen images from real people being used across this network. We’ve documented some of the obvious fakes and stolen images, but it’s very important to appreciate that the impersonation efforts from this campaign are different,” Edwards said.

“In one of the examples, the threat actors took a real photo from a real person, and then appeared to have run it through an AI image modifier tool to create a subtly different version of that same image.”

This malware campaign has been ongoing since 2024. Edwards says there are known public victims.

Silent Push identified two developers targeted by the campaign; one of them reportedly had their MetaMask wallet compromised.

The FBI has since shut down at least one of the companies.

“The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) acquired the Blocknovas domain, but Softglide is still live, along with some of their other infrastructure,” Edwards said.

At least three crypto founders have reported in March that they foiled an attempt from alleged North Korean hackers to steal sensitive data through fake Zoom calls.

Groups such as the Lazarus Group are the prime suspects in some of the biggest cyber thefts in Web3, including the Bybit $1.4 billion hack and the $600 million Ronin network hack.

Magazine: Lazarus Group’s favorite exploit revealed — Crypto hacks analysis

Saylor holding 10M BTC won’t ‘threaten the protocol,’ says author

Cointelegraph by Ciaran Lyons — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 02:09:35 -0400

Key Takeaways

Bitcoin Standard author Saifedean Ammous says that even if one entity owned a huge amount of Bitcoin, it wouldn’t hurt the protocol
Ammous reiterated major companies like BlackRock and Strategy don’t own the Bitcoin they hold since it belongs to the investors
Ammous said if these companies ever abused their position, people would likely pull their money and invest somewhere else.

Michael Saylor’s Strategy hypothetically hoarding nearly 48% of Bitcoin’s total supply wouldn’t pose any risk to the Bitcoin protocol or its price, says Bitcoin Standard author Saifedean Ammous.

“If Michael Saylor ends up with 10 million Bitcoin, what is he going to do? He’s likely just going to leverage them to buy more Bitcoin,” Ammous said during an April 25 interview with crypto entrepreneur Anthony Pompliano.

Ammous dismisses Bitcoin hoarders posing risks

“Ultimately, I don’t see how it would threaten the protocol in the serious sense,” Ammous said.

Ammous said if Saylor managed to accumulate 10 million Bitcoin (BTC), he would be unlikely to “wake up one day and say let’s try and hard fork this so we can make another 5 million Bitcoin supply so that I can have 15.” He reiterated it would diminish the value of his existing 10 million Bitcoin.

Bitcoin is trading at $93,250 at the time of publication. Source: CoinMarketCap

Several crypto market participants have previously raised concerns about Bitcoin whales and at what point their holdings could lead to risks like market manipulation, centralization, or liquidity issues.

At the time of publication, Saylor’s firm Strategy holds 538,200 Bitcoin, worth approximately $50.18 billion, according to Saylor Tracker. Meanwhile, the BlackRock iShares spot Bitcoin ETF has net assets worth $54.48 billion, which equates to roughly 585,000 Bitcoin, according to BlackRock data.

Strategy paid an average of $67,793 per Bitcoin. Source: Saylor Tracker

Collectively, the two firms hold approximately 5.3% of the total Bitcoin supply. However, Ammous said this is not a cause for concern.

“It’s not like Michael Saylor or Larry Fink owns all those Bitcoins. They have shareholders who own all those Bitcoins, or ETF holders that own those Bitcoins.”

“To the extent that BlackRock and Strategy hold those, they hold those because they are doing their fiduciary share of duties to their shareholders and the ETF holders in a satisfactory way,” Ammous added.

Ammous explained that if BlackRock or Strategy ever started to manage their holdings in a way that’s harmful to shareholders or ETF holders, or starts abusing their position, that’s when investors would sell and look for other ways to gain exposure to Bitcoin.

On April 24, Cointelegraph reported that Twenty One Capital, a new Bitcoin treasury company led by Strike founder Jack Mallers with the support of Tether, SoftBank and Cantor Fitzgerald, is looking to supplant Strategy to become the “superior vehicle for investors seeking capital-efficient Bitcoin exposure.”

Magazine: Crypto AI tokens surge 34%, why ChatGPT is such a kiss-ass: AI Eye

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

SEC bids to drop securities suit against Dragonchain over crypto ICO

Cointelegraph by Jesse Coghlan — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 01:51:41 -0400

The US Securities and Exchange Commission is looking to drop its unregistered securities lawsuit against blockchain firm Dragonchain in the agency’s latest crypto-related backdown.

In a joint stipulation filed with Dragonchain on April 24 in a Seattle federal court, the SEC said it “believes the dismissal of this case is appropriate,” citing the work of the agency’s Crypto Task Force in helping “develop the regulatory framework for crypto assets.”

“The Commission and the Defendants stipulate that this Litigation be dismissed with prejudice [...] and without costs or fees to either party,” the filing reads.

The SEC sued Dragonchain, Inc.; its backer, the Dragonchain Foundation; The Dragon Company; and Dragonchain’s founder, Joseph Roets, in August 2024, claiming they raised $16.5 million through a crypto token that was an unregistered securities offering.

According to the SEC, the Dragonchain (DRGN) tokens raised $14 million in an August 2017 presale and an initial coin offering (ICO) that ran in October and November of that year. At the time, it said the company needed to register as the tokens were investment contracts under securities laws.

The SEC said a further $2.5 million worth of DRGN was sold between 2019 and 2022, which it alleged was used to cover business expenses and develop the firm’s tech.

The suit was stayed in October after Dragonchain made a settlement offer to the SEC, which was extended in January after the agency said the case should remain paused due to US President Donald Trump’s sweeping executive order earlier that month calling for the country’s “leadership in digital assets.”

Meanwhile, the DRGN token has jumped 95% over the past day to over 8.5 cents on news of the SEC’s planned dismissal, but it’s still down around 98.5% from its $5.46 peak in January 2018, according to CoinGecko.

Dragonchain’s token jumped after the SEC filed to dismiss its lawsuit. Source: CoinGecko

SEC backs off crypto under Trump

It’s the latest case involving crypto that the SEC has abandoned under the Trump administration.

The SEC spun up a Crypto Task Force in January, the day after Trump re-entered the White House, to lead the regulator’s engagement with the crypto industry.

An agency memo shows its task force met with Dragonchain representatives on March 24 to discuss how the SEC should approach handling crypto.

The SEC has also dismissed some of its most high-profile lawsuits against crypto firms, including its actions against Coinbase, Ripple and Kraken.

It’s also dropped investigations into other crypto firms, including OpenSea, Crypto.com and Immutable, with no further action planned.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

Ethereum devs test a 4x increase in gas limit for Fusaka hard fork

Cointelegraph by Stephen Katte — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 01:17:39 -0400

Ethereum core developers are considering a four times increase in the layer 1 gas limit as one of the key features for the next hard fork after Pectra, known as Fusaka.

The devs are proposing to test a raise in Ethereum’s gas limit to 150 million by the Fusaka hard fork, according to Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 9678, introduced on April 23 by Sophia Gold, a developer on the protocol support team at the Ethereum Foundation.

During the last All Core Devs Execution (ACDE) meeting, there were discussions to make the gas limit increase a “key feature” of Fusaka, Ethereum core developer Tim Beiko said in an April 24 meeting summary.

“To align on client defaults and keep this as a priority, we’ve drafted an EIP. It’s a bit unconventional, but not unprecedented (see EIP-7840). We plan to get it merged early next week and formally SFI it on the next ACDE,” Beiko said.

“As we continue this work, we expect to identify changes that need to be made in-protocol to support a higher gas limit. This implies adding more EIPs to Fusaka, even though the fork scope is final.”

Source: Tim Beiko

The next Ethereum upgrade, Pectra, is scheduled to go live on the mainnet in May. Fusaka has been flagged as possibly going online in late 2025.

Gas limit increase a priority ahead of Fusaka

As part of the motivation for increasing the gas limit, the developers said there was great interest in scaling layer 1 execution and that it could likely be done by implementing any new features.

However, it requires guidance from execution layer developers because “we expect to find bugs in clients at higher gas limits than currently used on mainnet,” which will “require time from client developers both to test and to fix any bugs that arise, therefore it makes sense to include as an EIP in a hard fork to commit to this.”

The developers behind the EIP say client developers will need time to test and fix any bugs that arise while increasing the gas limit. Source: GitHub

“While the gas limit is ultimately set by validators, we agreed that having an EIP to coordinate client defaults would help keep this a priority and ensure all clients update their defaults by the time Fusaka goes live,” Beiko said.

The average Ethereum gas limit was around 30 million after increasing in August 2021, according to data on Ycharts.

Validators supported raising the network’s gas limit on Feb. 4, increasing the maximum amount of gas used for transactions in a single Ethereum block. It’s just under 36 million at the moment, Ycharts data shows.

Magazine: Ethereum is destroying the competition in the $16.1T TradFi tokenization race

Bitcoin is holding above $90K, so why is ‘greed’ sentiment slipping?

Cointelegraph by Ciaran Lyons — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 23:53:57 -0400

Key takeaways:

Crypto market sentiment hit a two-month high with the Crypto Fear & Greed Index returning to “Greed” territory on April 23.
Despite Bitcoin’s price hold, the sentiment score is gradually declining, and analysts are expressing doubt over the rally’s sustainability.
The crypto market remains Bitcoin-heavy, with its dominance above 64%, strong ETF inflows and a low altcoin season score.

Bitcoin’s several-day surge above $90,000 pushed crypto market sentiment to its highest point in more than two months on April 23, but it’s gradually tapering off again as analysts air concerns about the sustainability of Bitcoin’s rally.

On April 23, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index clocked a score of 72 out of 100, putting it in the “Greed” zone as Bitcoin (BTC) returned above the $90,000 level. However, as of April 25, the score has fallen to 60 despite the relatively stable price.

Crypto sentiment at two-month high

The last time the index hit this score was on Feb. 4, around the same time US President Donald Trump introduced tariffs and Bitcoin fell below $100,000. Bitcoin has since reclaimed the $90,000 price level for the first time since March 6.

Bitcoin is trading at $93,130 at the time of publication. Source: CoinMarketCap

However, despite Bitcoin trading between $91,800 and $94,304 over the past two days, sentiment within the “Greed” territory has been gradually cooling off, with the index falling to April 24 and 60 on April 25.

The slight pullback follows warnings from several crypto analysts who remain cautious about the Bitcoin rally, including 10x Research's head of research, Markus Thielen, who isn’t yet convinced of a rally.

“Given that our stablecoin minting indicator has yet to return to high-activity levels, we remain cautious about the sustainability of the current Bitcoin rally,” Thielen said on April 23.

Meanwhile, Bitfinex analysts said on April 24 that while Bitcoin’s relative strength against US equities “appears real,” it is yet to be confirmed as structural.

However, others are more bullish. MN Trading Capital founder Michaël van de Poppe said on April 24 that “buyers are likely going to step in, and then we’ll be continuing our path toward a new [all-time high].”

CoinMarketCap’s altcoin season index indicates that the market is still heavily favoring Bitcoin over altcoins, with the altcoin season score sitting at a lowly 17 out of 100. It comes as Bitcoin Dominance is sitting at 64.39%, according to TradingView data.

Bitcoin sentiment has gained momentum since it touched the mid-$80,000 price range. On April 17, crypto analytics firm Santiment pointed out that the tone of Bitcoin-related social media posts has flipped to bullish.

Meanwhile, crypto analyst Trader T pointed out in an April 25 X post that US-based spot Bitcoin ETFs have, so far to April 24, seen their third-best week of inflows since launching in January 2024. Over the past four trading days, the spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen $2.6 billion in net inflows.

Magazine: Pokémon on Sui rumors, Polymarket bets on Filipino Pope: Asia Express

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Blockchain could be headed for ‘ChatGPT moment’ in adoption: Citigroup

Cointelegraph by Stephen Katte — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 22:18:35 -0400

Regulatory changes could be the catalyst to spark significant adoption of stablecoins and blockchain tech in 2025, according to investment banking giant Citigroup.

“2025 has the potential to be blockchain’s ‘ChatGPT’ moment for adoption in the financial and public sector, driven by regulatory change,” a team of Citigroup financial analysts said in an April 23 report.

A combination of growing regulatory support and adoption by financial institutions has set the stage for the stablecoin market cap to fly as high as $3.7 trillion by 2030, or in a base case, $1.6 trillion.

“The main catalyst for their greater acceptance may be regulatory clarity in the US, which could enable greater integration of stablecoins specifically, and blockchain more widely, into the existing financial system,” Citi said in its report.

“The tailwinds of regulatory support and the increased integration of digital assets into incumbent financial institutions are setting the scene for increased usage of stablecoins.”

On the heels of US President Donald Trump’s crypto-friendly administration assuming power earlier this year, lawmakers are weighing stablecoin legislation, such as the GENIUS Act, which seeks to regulate US stablecoins, ensuring their legal use for payments.

A US regulatory framework for stablecoin would also support demand for dollar risk-free assets inside and outside the US, according to the report.

“The stablecoin issuers will have to buy US Treasuries, or comparable low risk assets, against each stablecoin as a measure of having safe underlying collateral,” Citi said.

“Stablecoin issuers could hold more US Treasuries by 2030 than any single jurisdiction today.”

Stablecoin issuers could have significant holdings of US Treasuries by 2030. Source: Citigroup

US will continue to dominate stablecoins

In the future, Citi predicts the stablecoin supply will remain US dollar-denominated, with non-US countries promoting national currency or a central bank digital currency.

In April, the stablecoin market cap had crossed $230 billion, an increase of 54% since last year, with Tether (USDT) and USDC (USDC) dominating 90% of the market.

“While the dollar’s dominance may evolve over time, with the euro or other currencies being promoted by national regulations, stablecoins may be viewed by many non-US policy makers as an instrument of dollar hegemony,” Citi said.

“Geopolitics remain fluid. Should the world continue to drift into a multi-polar system it is likely that policymakers in China and Europe will be keen to promote central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) or stablecoins issued in their own currency.”

However, there are still some challenges ahead for the market. The stablecoin market cap could settle around $500 billion if “adoption and integration challenges persist.”

Depegging has also been flagged as a potential issue, with 1,900 instances in 2023, according to Citi, including the major USDC depeg following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

“A major depegging event would likely dampen crypto market liquidity, trigger automated liquidations, impair trading platforms’ ability to meet redemptions, and potentially have broader contagion effects for the financial system,” the firm said.

Magazine: Ridiculous ‘Chinese Mint’ crypto scam, Japan dives into stablecoins: Asia Express

ARK Invest ups its 2030 Bitcoin bull case prediction to $2.4M

Cointelegraph by Brayden Lindrea — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 22:15:01 -0400

Billion-dollar asset manager ARK Invest has raised its “bull case” Bitcoin price target from $1.5 million to $2.4 million by the end of 2030, driven largely by institutional investors and Bitcoin’s increasing acceptance as “digital gold.”

ARK’s “bear” and “base” case scenarios for the price of Bitcoin (BTC) were also bumped up to $500,000 and $1.2 million, ARK research analyst David Puell said in an April 24 report.

The new bear and base targets were bumped up from ARK’s $300,000 and $710,000 Bitcoin price predictions on Feb. 11.

ARK’s price projections were modeled on Bitcoin’s total addressable market (TAM), penetration rate — the percentage of Bitcoin’s TAM that it could capture in certain cases — and Bitcoin’s supply schedule.

ARK’s bear, base and bull case price targets for Bitcoin by Dec. 31, 2030. Source: ARK Invest

“Institutional investment contributes the most to our bull case,” said Puell, who estimated that Bitcoin would achieve a 6.5% penetration rate into the $200 trillion financial market in a best-case scenario (that figure excludes gold).

Bitcoin’s acceptance as “digital gold” was also a major contributor to the lofty estimate, with Puell estimating that it could capture up to 60% of gold’s $18 trillion market cap (2024 figures) by the end of 2030 in a bull scenario.

Bitcoin becoming a “safe haven” in emerging markets was the third-largest contributor to ARK’s $2.4 million bull case prediction at 13.5%.

“This Bitcoin use case has the greatest potential for capital accrual,” Puell said, pointing to Bitcoin’s ability to protect wealth from inflation and devaluation in developing countries.

Nation-state and corporate Bitcoin treasury strategies and Bitcoin financial services were also factored into ARK’s Bitcoin price projections.

Bitcoin use cases contributing to ARK’s Bitcoin price targets. Source: ARK Invest

ARK’s Bitcoin predictions are bold

A $2.4 million Bitcoin price tag would send Bitcoin’s market cap to $49.2 trillion, assuming that Bitcoin’s total supply will have reached 20.5 million by the end of 2030.

A $49.2 trillion valuation would be almost larger than the current gross domestic products of the US and China combined.

It would also put Bitcoin in a good position to overtake gold as the world’s largest asset, which currently boasts a market cap of $22.5 trillion.

Even ARK’s bear and base targets of $500,000 and $1.2 million would mean Bitcoin needs to increase at a compounded annual growth rate of 32% and 53% by the end of 2030 — a return that isn’t achieved too often for assets that have already notched trillion-dollar valuations.

Since then, Bitcoin has recovered from a 2025 low of $75,160, soaring back up to the $94,000 range, while the Trump administration established a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

Magazine: Ethereum maxis should become ‘assholes’ to win TradFi tokenization race

Slovenia’s capital of Ljubljana ranked as world’s most crypto-friendly city

Cointelegraph by Jesse Coghlan — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 21:53:59 -0400

The capital city of Slovenia — Ljubljana — has been named the world’s most crypto-friendly city by migration advisory firm Multipolitan.

The city outranked runners-up Hong Kong and Switzerland’s economic powerhouse Züric, which scored the same in the Crypto-Friendly Cities Index, found in its 2025 Crypto Report.

The index featured 20 cities and ranked their crypto-friendliness based on their regulations, tax environment, lifestyle factors and digital and crypto infrastructure.

Multipolitan said its evaluation included weighing areas such as a city’s licensing frameworks, capital gains tax rates, GDP per capita, housing affordability and internet speeds.

“The presence of crypto ATMs and retail adoption rates were analysed to reflect each city’s embedded cryptocurrency culture,” it explained. “High concentrations of these assets earned the top scores.”

The city-state of Singapore and the United Arab Emirates’ capital of Abu Dhabi were respectively ranked fourth and fifth after the second-place tie. Both cities were already attractive to businesses due to offering low or no taxes, but they’ve also worked to attract crypto companies with industry-specific licensing and regulatory regimes.

Sydney, Australia’s most populous city, ranked in the middle of the pack in 10th spot, with the report noting it was home to the most crypto ATMs of the group. Source: Multipolitan

Madison, the capital city of the US state of Wisconsin, was the only city in the Americas to rank on the index, hitting the same 11th place score as Latvia’s capital of Riga, Qatar’s capital of Doha, and Saudi Arabia’s capital of Riyadh.

Slovenia’s crypto embrace

Slovenia also topped Multipolitan’s Crypto Wealth Concentration Index, combining crypto ownership rates and trading volumes, which reported that the average Slovenian crypto owner held around $240,500 worth of assets.

The figure outranked second-place Cyprus by over $65,000, with the average crypto-holding Cypriot hanging onto around $175,000. Hong Kong came in third with holdings averaging $97,500.

The US ranked at the bottom of the 20-strong list, coming in 17th spot with average crypto holdings of around $23,300, just above Malaysia’s nearly $21,000 average holdings.

Slovenia, being part of the EU, regulates crypto under the bloc’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), which the industry received as mostly positive.

The advocacy group Blockchain Alliance Europe is based in Ljubljana. The city also houses the blockchain real estate platform Blocksquare, which teamed up with Vera Capital on April 18 to tokenize $1 billion worth of US real estate.

Magazine: Tbilisi Crypto City Guide: Crypto is used for payments in Georgia, not to get rich

Italian town to unveil locally financed Satoshi Nakamoto monument

Cointelegraph by Turner Wright — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 18:30:00 -0400

The Italian municipality of Fornelli in the Molise region of Italy will be dedicating a monument to pseudonymous Bitcoin (BTC) creator Satoshi Nakamoto.

In an April 23 Facebook post from the municipality, Fornelli said it plans to unveil the Satoshi artwork on May 1. Details surrounding the monument were unclear in the announcement, but the municipality said it had been designed by artist Mattia Pannoni and financed by the local government.

“It is important, indeed fundamental, as an administration, to take into consideration all the new ideas that come from our young people,” said Fornelli Mayor Giovanni Tedeschi.

According to the local government, Fornelli has the “highest density of Bitcoin adoption in the world” among its roughly 1,800 residents. Other regions have attempted to use BTC or other cryptocurrencies to attract visitors, including the Bitcoin Beach area of El Salvador and the Swiss city of Zug, which accepts crypto payments for many local goods and services.

Portraying a faceless individual through art

The identity of Satoshi, whether a single individual or a group of people, remains one of the biggest mysteries in the crypto space since the publication of the Bitcoin white paper in 2008.

Many artists, both crypto investors and otherwise, have released artwork attempting to represent the pseudonymous creator through statues and digital images. A common theme in these pieces is showing Satoshi without any clearly defined facial features, sometimes wearing a hoodie or working on a computer.

According to the announcement, the monument will be unveiled in the Piazza Umberto I area of Fornelli on May 1.

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SEC delays decision on Polkadot ETF

Cointelegraph by Alex O’Donnell — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 18:10:00 -0400

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed a decision on whether to approve a proposed exchange-traded fund (ETF) holding Polkadot’s native token, regulatory filings show.

Grayscale’s ETF filing adds to a roster of roughly 70 proposed ETFs awaiting SEC approval, including funds holding altcoins, memecoins, and crypto-related financial derivatives, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

Polkadot is a layer-1 blockchain network launched in 2020. Its native token, DOT (DOT), has a market capitalization of approximately $6.6 billion as of April 24, according to CoinMarketCap.

Polkadot’s price over time. Source: CoinMarketCap

Altcoin ETF pipeline

Grayscale is among multiple asset managers seeking regulatory clearance to list altcoin ETFs in the US. The company is already behind several crypto funds, including spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) ETFs.

The asset manager has also asked for permission to launch ETFs holding tokens such as Solana (SOL), Litecoin (LTC), XRP (XRP), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Cardano (ADA).

Crypto ETFs scheduled for SEC review. Source: Eric Balchunas/Bloomberg

The pipeline of proposed fund listings comes as more than 80% of institutional investors say they plan to boost allocations to crypto in 2025, according to a March report by Coinbase and EY-Parthenon.

However, analysts caution that demand for altcoin ETFs is likely to be much more limited than for funds holding core cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether.

“Having your coin get ETF-ized is like being in a band and getting your songs added to all the music streaming services,” Balchunas said.

“Doesn’t guarantee listens but it puts your music where the vast majority of the listeners are.”

Magazine: Altcoin season to hit in Q2? Mantra’s plan to win trust: Hodler’s Digest, April 13 – 19

Federal Reserve withdraws crypto guidance for banks

Cointelegraph by Brayden Lindrea — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 17:56:46 -0400

The US Federal Reserve has announced it would withdraw guidance for banks engaging in crypto asset and stablecoin-related activities.

”The Board is rescinding its 2022 supervisory letter establishing an expectation that state member banks provide advance notification of planned or current crypto-asset activities,” the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve explained in an April 24 statement.

Any crypto-related activities will now be monitored through the Federal Reserve’s normal supervisory process, it said.

The Federal Reserve is also rescinding its 2023 supervisory letter that impacted how state banks could engage in stablecoin activities.

This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.

Federal Reserve withdraws crypto-unfriendly banking guidance

Cointelegraph by Brayden Lindrea — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 17:56:46 -0400

The US Federal Reserve announced it is withdrawing guidance that served to deter banks from engaging in crypto and stablecoin activities.

”The Board is rescinding its 2022 supervisory letter establishing an expectation that state member banks provide advance notification of planned or current crypto-asset activities,” the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve explained in an April 24 statement.

The Federal Reserve Board’s withdrawal giving banks guidance on crypto activities. Source: Federal Reserve

Its guidance initially flagged that crypto may pose risks related to safety and soundness, consumer protection and financial stability of the American financial system.

”Certain types of crypto-assets, such as stablecoins, if adopted at large scale, could also pose risks to financial stability including potentially through destabilizing runs and disruptions in the payment systems.”

The Federal Reserve also flagged that crypto is commonly used for money laundering and counter-terrorism financing at the time.

Fed also withdraws statement warning banks of crypto fraudsters

Along with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve withdrew from two 2023 statements concerning banks interacting with crypto-asset sector participants that may be engaging in fraud.

”Inaccurate or misleading representations and disclosures by crypto-asset companies […] may be unfair, deceptive, or abusive, contributing to significant harm to retail and institutional investors,” the agencies added in the now-withdrawn joint statement.

Source: Michael Saylor

The withdrawals mark the Federal Reserve’s first major move addressing crypto activities under the Trump administration, which has undertaken several initiatives to make the US more crypto-friendly and support innovation.

The Securities and Exchange Commission also revoked a controversial rule that called on banks and financial firms holding crypto to record them as liabilities on their balance sheets on Jan. 23 — eliminating a regulatory barrier that slowed crypto banking adoption.

Magazine: Ethereum is destroying the competition in the $16.1T TradFi tokenization race

White House receives over 10,000 comments on AI development plan

Cointelegraph by Christopher Tepedino — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 17:28:00 -0400

The White House said on April 24 that it received more than 10,000 public comments on its planned artificial intelligence action plan, indicating widespread interest in the technology as the global race for AI leadership accelerates.

Among the stakeholders providing inputs were AI giants such as OpenAI, Meta, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. In addition, organizations in academia, non-profits, and industry associations also took part in the discussion.

A preliminary review of comments from major private-sector companies highlighted several recurring themes, including the need for greater investment in US energy resources to support AI growth, foreign policy efforts to enhance the global influence of American AI firms, and improved infrastructure to advance AI development domestically.

Excerpt from Meta’s comments. Source: NITRD

In addition, many companies lobbied for an open, innovative framework to guide the American AI industry and provide safeguards to individuals.

The White House issued a request for comments on Feb. 6. The administration says these comments “will help define the priority policy actions needed to sustain and enhance America’s AI dominance.” US President Donald Trump has pledged to make the United States the “world capital” of AI and crypto.

National security concerns

National security emerged as a key concern among companies submitting feedback. Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz wrote that “AI model development is an issue of national concern that should be regulated on a national level. It is critical to American national security, geopolitical objectives, and the nation’s economic and social welfare.”

OpenAI also raised the issue, explicitly naming China as a competitor with “strategic advantages,” including the capacity, as an “authoritarian state," to rapidly mobilize resources.

In January 2025, Chinese company DeepSeek launched their R1 model, sparking alarm in the US tech sector and triggering volatility in domestic equity markets.

AI and crypto are widely viewed as two of the most transformative emerging technologies, with growing overlap of AI-powered agents and digital financial products.

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Avalanche-powered Axiym bets on money services businesses

Cointelegraph by Sam Bourgi — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 17:15:00 -0400

Global cross-border payment platform Axiym is targeting the rising demand from money services businesses (MSBs) for blockchain-based infrastructure and stablecoin solutions for international transactions, the company told Cointelegraph.

Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Axiym disclosed on April 24 that it has processed more than $132 million in cumulative volume on the Avalanche blockchain.

The platform uses Avalanche to deliver real-time credit and liquidity infrastructure to MSBs worldwide.

Source: Avalanche

MSBs — a broad category that includes money transmitters like Western Union, currency exchanges, crypto platforms, fintech firms, and check cashers — are embracing these innovations, Morgan Krupetsky, head of institutions and capital markets at Ava Labs, told Cointelegraph.

In the case of Axiym, “MSBs themselves don’t operate onchain,” Axiym CEO Khibar Russel told Cointelegraph. Instead, “Axiym connects their existing payment operations to Avalanche behind the scenes using blockchain to automate, move, and manage capital far more efficiently.”

“Under the hood, Axiym has built an application that provides credit to global MSBs using stablecoins to power payments — these transactions occur on the Avalanche C-Chain,” Krupetsky said, adding:

“This enables real-time cross-border liquidity provisioning that would be difficult or expensive through legacy payment rails or slower blockchains.”

The case for cross-border payments continues to grow

Russel told Cointelegraph that Axiym’s clients are primarily licensed payment companies based in major financial centers like the UAE, the United Kingdom and Singapore. However, these companies’ users often send funds to major remittance hubs across Asia, Africa and Latin America, he said.

Axiym’s platform has been developed to address many of the pain points in traditional cross-border payments, including “capital inefficiency, SWIFT-based delays, high costs and fragmented frameworks,” Russel said.

While blockchain offers significant advantages in speed and transparency, regulatory fragmentation has made it harder for the technology to replace legacy payment systems.

Axiym is attempting to solve this problem by “embedding blockchain capabilities directly into existing payment operations” using Avalanche, Russel said.

Blockchain-based stablecoins have become a key tool for enabling low-cost, efficient cross-border payments, which explains why these fiat-pegged assets have gained traction in emerging markets.

A 2024 Chainalysis report showed that stablecoin remittances from Sub-Saharan Africa are 60% cheaper than traditional fiat rails.

The power of blockchain technology: An average $200 remittance from Sub-Saharan Africa is 60% cheaper using stablecoins than fiat. Source: Chainalysis

As Cointelegraph recently reported, blockchain company Ripple has partnered with African payment infrastructure provider Chipper Cash to support cross-border crypto transactions.

Meanwhile, crypto-focused payment startups are also gaining traction in venture capital circles, with the Tether-backed Mansa recently closing a $10 million funding round to expand its stablecoin cross-border payment services.

Magazine: Altcoin season to hit in Q2? Mantra’s plan to win trust: Hodler’s Digest, April 13 – 19

Was $1.4K Ethereum’s ‘generational bottom?’ — Data sends mixed signals

Cointelegraph by Marcel Pechman — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 17:05:00 -0400

Ether (ETH) price has climbed above $1,700 after 16 days of selling pressure caused by macroeconomic uncertainty and a sharp decline in onchain activity. Despite the rebound, Ether has underperformed the broader altcoin market by 23% year-to-date.

Some traders claim that ETH is set for a “generational” bull run by offering a “truly” decentralized and permissionless financial system, but is that really the case?

Source: X/0xMontBlanc

Ether was one of the few major cryptocurrencies that did not reach a new all-time high in 2025, unlike competitors such as Solana (SOL), Tron (TRX), and BNB (BNB).

Some critics argue that moving away from proof-of-work mining removed a competitive advantage that Ethereum once had over its rivals.

Ethereum fee drop signals ETH price weakness

Eventually, Ether may outperform its competitors, even if only for a short period, and influencers who are calling for a “generational bottom” will celebrate their predictions, despite the lack of strong fundamentals to support lasting price growth. However, considering the 95% drop in Ethereum fees since January, the chances of an immediate ETH surge seem low.

Ethereum network daily fees, USD. Source: DefiLlama

The low demand for data processing on the Ethereum network causes ETH to become inflationary, as the built-in burn mechanism is not enough to balance the new coins issued to cover staking rewards.

Despite being the clear leader in Total Value Locked (TVL), traders are generally uninterested in this metric since it hasn’t translated into higher demand for the Ethereum network or increased scarcity for ETH.

As a result, even if Ethereum’s fundamentals improve, optimism among ETH holders is declining, while competitors—especially Solana (SOL) and XRP (XRP) investors—are hopeful about the approval of their spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US. Currently, spot ETFs in the US are only available for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), so additional offerings would likely reduce the potential institutional demand for altcoins.

Adding to the concerns, US-listed spot Ether ETFs saw $10 million in net outflows between April 21 and April 23, while similar BTC instruments experienced record-breaking inflows.

History shows ETH price rallies seldom last long

Historical evidence does not favor a lasting outperformance compared to competitors, which lowers the odds of a sustainable ETH rally.

Ether market share among altcoins. Source: TradingView / Cointelegraph

For example, Ether’s market share in the altcoin capitalization reached a low point in June 2022 at around 26.5% when the ETH price dropped below $1,100. After a quick rally to $2,000 by August 2022, the momentum faded, and ETH’s price fell below $1,200 less than three months later. This sudden correction likely left many investors frustrated, as they had to wait eight months for ETH to reclaim $2,000 in April 2023.

A similar pattern happened in April 2021, when Ether’s altcoin market share bottomed out at 26.8%. After that, the ETH price climbed from $2,100 to $4,200 by May 2021, only to fall below $2,000 the following month. Again, traders who bought near the cycle top had to wait six months just to recover their investment. This history has taught Ether traders to take profits quickly, which reduces the chances of reaching a new all-time high.

It is difficult to pinpoint what triggered previous Ether bull runs, especially as the narrative has shifted from utility tokens to NFT marketplaces, artificial intelligence, memecoins, and, more recently, RWA tokenization. While some influencers believe in strong ETH momentum, others warn there could be another 15% drop compared to Bitcoin’s performance.

In the end, historical evidence does not support a lasting ETH price rally, even if it bottoms out relative to the broader altcoin market capitalization.

Ethereum's L2 approach equals many high-throughput chains — Avail exec

Cointelegraph by Vince Quill — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 16:55:00 -0400

Ethereum's focus on scaling through many layer-2 networks, each with its own transaction processing speed and parameters, potentially gives the network an unlimited number of unique high-throughput chains, according to Anurag Arjun, co-founder of Avail, a unified chain abstraction solution.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Arjun acknowledged that Ethereum and high-throughput competitors with monolithic architecture are fundamentally different products. However, Ethereum's choice to scale through a plethora of L2 solutions gives it an overlooked quality:

"The under-appreciated beauty of this rollup-centric roadmap architecture is that it allows multiple teams to experiment with different execution environments and different block times."

This allows a diverse set of high-throughput sidechains to appear rather than just one singular architecture on any monolithic layer-1s, the executive added. However, without true interoperability, switching between L2s will remain as complex as bridging assets between different blockchain ecosystems altogether, Arjun warned.

An overview of Ethereum’s layer-2 ecosystem. Source: L2Beat

The Avail co-founder's perspective runs contrary to the many critics of Ethereum's L2-focused approach, who say that the network's scaling solutions silo liquidity and are ultimately corrosive to the base layer. Ethereum's critics argue that L2s are one of the primary causes of Ether's (ETH) poor price performance in the last year.

Ethereum fees drop to five-year lows

Fees on the Ethereum layer-1 network dropped to five-year lows in April 2025, with the average transaction fee sitting at around $0.16.

According to Brian Quinlivan, the marketing director for the Santiment onchain analytics firm, the reduction in fees signals decreased demand for the base layer and waning investor interest in Ethereum.

Ethereum network daily transaction fees dropped significantly in Q1 2025. Source: Token Terminal

"This large reduction in fees coincides with fewer people sending ETH and interacting with smart contracts," Quinlivan wrote in an April 16 blog post.

These smart contract interactions include transactions across decentralized finance, digital collectibles like non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and other digital asset sectors, the Santiment executive added.

Ether's declining base layer transaction fees and reduced retail interest also caused many institutional investors to slash their Ether allocations and issue revised price outlooks for the second-largest digital asset by market capitalization.

Magazine: Make Ethereum feel like Ethereum again: Based rollups explained