The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Britain’s financial watchdog, has decided to step in and stop financial institutions from giving credit to facilitate the purchase of cryptocurrency assets. The decision is part of a larger set of rules the institution aims to include to streamline crypto regulation. “Crypto is an area of potential growth for the […]

eToro's potential IPO signals renewed market confidence and could catalyze further fintech and crypto-related public offerings. The post eToro eyes US IPO launch as early as next week amid easing concerns over Trump’s tariffs appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

In the annals of financial history, few institutions have faced the tempests of competition with the steadfast resolve of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). Born in 2013 as a private placement, GBTC pioneered regulated Bitcoin investment, granting investors access to Bitcoin’s (BTC) meteoric rise without the perils of digital wallets or unregulated exchanges.On Jan. 11, 2024, it transitioned into a spot Bitcoin ETF following a landmark victory against the SEC. This marked a pivotal moment with the SEC’s view that ETFs can offer lower expense ratios and enhanced tax efficiency compared to traditional funds. Even still, GBTC’s financial resilience shines, generating $268.5 million in annual revenue, surpassing the $211.8 million of all other US spot Bitcoin ETFs combined, despite losing over half its holdings with $18 billion in outflows since early 2024. This is no fleeting triumph of inertia. The numbers tell a tale of paradox. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), with $56 billion in assets under management (AUM) and a 0.25% fee, generated $137 million in 2024 while achieving $35.8 billion in inflows and $1 billion in daily trading volume within weeks of launch. Meanwhile, GBTC’s 1.5% expense ratio, up to seven times higher than competitors, fuels its revenue lead, even though it bled $17.4 billion in outflows, with a record single-day loss of $618 million on March 19, 2024, driven by investors chasing lower fees or capitalizing on the trust’s historical discount to net asset value (NAV), which plummeted from 50% to near zero by July 2024.This clash of revenue dominance and capital flight demands scrutiny, unveiling the intricate dance of investor psychology, market dynamics and Grayscale’s calculated resilience.Yet, GBTC’s $18 billion in AUM and its ability to generate $268.5 million despite significant outflows points to a deeper narrative: tax friction and institutionalized inertia. The inability of companies, family offices and other institutions to quickly pivot due to tax barriers and company directives bubbles to the surface. The $100-billion total spot Bitcoin ETF market points to the stakes of this contest, with Grayscale’s revenue dominance poised to evolve as competition intensifies.Related: The sentiment engine of Bitcoin ETFs is rewiring market structureWhat sustains GBTC’s revenue crown in this crucible of competition? Is it the arithmetic of high fees applied to a still-formidable AUM, the loyalty of battle-scarred investors, or the unseen weight of tax frictions binding them to their positions?As we probe this question, we uncover the mechanics of GBTC’s dominance and the broader currents shaping the future of crypto investment. The answer lies in a potent blend of history, strategy and the unyielding faith of investors in a titan that, against all odds, refuses to yield.GBTC Rev vs. all other ETFs. Source: CoinGlassGrayscale’s high-fee revenue engineAt the core of GBTC’s revenue dominance lies its 1.5% expense ratio, a towering figure beside competitors like IBIT and FBTC (both 0.25%), Bitwise (0.24%) and Franklin Templeton (0.19%).Applied to $17.9 billion in AUM, this fee yields $268.5 million annually, eclipsing the $211.8-million combined revenue of all other US spot Bitcoin ETFs, which manage $89 billion collectively.ETF Store president Nate Geraci remarked on X, “GBTC still making more [money] than all of the other ETFs combined… And it’s not even close.” This arithmetic edge endures despite $21 billion in outflows since January 2024, including a daily average loss of $89.9 million, underscoring the sheer power of high fees on a substantial asset base.Source: Nate GeraciThe fee structure is both GBTC’s bastion and its Achilles’ heel. Before its ETF conversion, GBTC charged 2%, a rate justified by its monopoly as the sole US vehicle for Bitcoin exposure within traditional portfolios. Post-conversion, the 1.5% fee draws ire, with Bryan Armour, director of passive strategies research for Morningstar, predicting sustained outflows as investors flock to cheaper alternatives. Grayscale’s counterstroke was the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC), launched in March 2025 with a 0.15% fee (the lowest among US spot Bitcoin ETPs). Seeded with 10% of GBTC’s Bitcoin holdings ($1.7 billion AUM), the Mini Trust has drawn $168.9 million in inflows, targeting cost-conscious investors. However, the Mini Trust’s lower revenue per dollar of AUM ($2.55 million annually) pales beside GBTC’s $268.5 million, reinforcing the latter’s dominance.Grayscale’s dual strategy (high-fee GBTC for revenue, low-fee Mini Trust for retention) reveals a nuanced defense, but the fortress of GBTC’s fees remains unbreached, its revenue crown secure for now.Legacy and loyaltyBeyond the arithmetic of fees, GBTC’s revenue supremacy rests on its storied legacy, the fierce loyalty it inspires and the formidable tax frictions that tether investors to its fold. Since 2013, Grayscale has been the standard-bearer of regulated Bitcoin investment, overcoming regulatory tempests to become the first publicly traded Bitcoin fund in 2015 and the largest spot Bitcoin ETF by AUM ($26 billion) upon its NYSE Arca listing in 2024.Its August 2023 legal victory against the US SEC, which compelled the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs, solidified its stature as a pioneer. This legacy resonates with institutional and accredited investors, many of whom entered GBTC during its private placement phase or at steep NAV discounts, forging a bond that endures.Tax considerations form a silent but mighty anchor. Many early GBTC investors purchased shares at low prices, with Bitcoin trading at $800 in 2013 compared to the mid-$90,000 range by May 2025. This roughly 120-fold increase has generated substantial unrealized capital gains, making sales costly.Related: Bitcoin price recovers, Ethereum RWA value up 20%: April in chartsAn investor who purchased 100 shares of GBTC at $10 in 2015 and now sees them valued at $400 each would be sitting on a $39,000 capital gain. Selling those shares to move into a lower-fee ETF like IBIT or FBTC could trigger a tax bill of $7,800 at the 20% long-term capital gains rate typically applied to high-net-worth individuals or $5,850 at the 15% rate for others. This kind of taxable event often discourages redemptions, particularly for long-term holders in taxable accounts.On the other hand, for those holding GBTC in tax-advantaged vehicles such as IRAs or 401(k)s, gains can be deferred and, in the case of Roth IRAs, avoided entirely, making GBTC comparatively more attractive for legacy investors reluctant to switch.Psychological factors amplify these barriers. Loss aversion (the reluctance to realize taxable gains) and loyalty to Grayscale’s brand deter investors from abandoning a vehicle that weathered Bitcoin’s volatility. The closure of the NAV discount (from 50% to near zero in July 2024) spurred outflows as arbitrageurs cashed out. Still, core holders remain, bolstered by trust in Grayscale’s custodianship via Coinbase Custody, which secures $18.08 billion in AUM in May 2024. Its investor base, spanning crypto-native institutions, hedge funds and retail clients via platforms like Fidelity and Schwab, values its simplicity (no crypto wallets required) and regulatory pedigree.While IBIT and FBTC draw new capital with lower fees and liquidity, GBTC retains a niche among those who see it as a battle-tested titan. Former Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein’s claim that outflows are reaching “equilibrium” suggests a stabilizing core, with tax frictions and legacy fortifying retention. In a market driven by innovation, GBTC’s history, bolstered by tax barriers and investor faith, is its shield, guarding its revenue crown against the relentless advance of newer rivals.A historical timeline graphic showing GBTC milestones (2013 launch, 2015 public trading, 2023 SEC victory, 2024 ETF conversion), with Bitcoin price spikes ($800 to $103,000) and AUM growth overlaid. Source: Dr. Michael Tabone Magazine: ZK-proofs are bringing smart contracts to Bitcoin — BitcoinOS and Starknet

• #bitcoin

Start the month with the latest crypto insights, read U.Today’s daily news digest!

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Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson used his 1 May 2025 livestream to unveil the first quantitative performance figures for Ouroboros Leios, the protocol upgrade that—if it performs in production as the prototype already does in simulation—promises what he called “an infinitely scalable protocol, a one-minus-delta protocol.” Ouroboros Leios: Cardano’s Boldest Upgrade Yet Speaking from Colorado, Hoskinson […]

• #Cardano

Transaction value has climbed to a significant high on the TRON network, with daily transactions crossing a new threshold TRX could see a breakout rally to $0.32, with just one key obstacle aheThe post All about TRON's $10B latest milestone and why TRX traders are split appeared first on AMBCrypto.

This content is provided by a sponsor. Fantasy Pepe ($FEPE) brings together three massive worlds; football, meme culture, and crypto, into a wild and unpredictable fantasy game that’s powered by AI. The core idea is simple but brilliant: users predict the outcomes of meme football matches managed by AI personalities like ChatGPT and DeepSeek, and […]

Ethereum price has been in a strong downward trend against Bitcoin, and a rare chart pattern points to more downside.  Ethereum (ETH) dropped to 0.01890, its lowest level since January 2020 and 80% below its 2021 high.  This decline comes…

Cardano gains attention in 2025, but Lightchain AI’s $19.6m presale hints at even stronger investor momentum. #partnercontent

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The US Central Intelligence Agency is increasingly incorporating Bitcoin (BTC) as a tool in its operations, and working with the cryptocurrency is a matter of national security, Michael Ellis, the agency’s deputy director, told podcast host Anthony Pompliano.In an appearance on the market analyst and investor’s show, Ellis told Pompliano that the intelligence agency works with law enforcement to track BTC, and it is a point of data collection in counter-intelligence operations. Ellis added:"Bitcoin is here to stay — cryptocurrency is here to stay. As you know, more and more institutions are adopting it, and I think that is a great trend. One that this administration has obviously been leaning forward into.""It's another area of competition where we need to ensure the United States is well-positioned against China and other adversaries," Ellis said.Podcast host and investor Anthony Pompliano (left) and Deputy CIA director Michael Ellis (right). Source: Anthony PomplianoAlthough Ellis's comments point to Bitcoin maturing as an asset, they also reflect the increased involvement of governments and institutions in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. This increased involvement runs contrary to the libertarian and cypherpunk ethos originally inherent in crypto.Related: Geopolitical tensions fuel central bank shift toward gold, crypto — BlackRock execBitcoin: from cypherpunk experiment to state reserve assetUS President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve on March 7, to mixed reactions from the Bitcoin community.Bitcoin Magazine CEO David Bailey celebrated the move, while Venice AI founder and BTC advocate Erik Vorhees warned against the government owning any Bitcoin but added that if the US government is to adopt any crypto reserve, it should be Bitcoin-only.Concerns that cryptocurrencies have lost their cypherpunk roots predate the current market cycle and any strategic reserve legislation or comprehensive regulatory frameworks for digital assets.In March 2020, Therese Chambers, the former director of retail and regulatory investigations at the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), argued that cryptocurrencies had become increasingly financialized and institutionalized.Chambers added that digital assets were behaving far more like traditional financial instruments than the privacy-preserving tools they were initially billed as.Magazine: Big Questions: Did the NSA create Bitcoin?

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Brown University is the first Ivy League school to buy Bitcoin

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eToro Group Ltd. is preparing to launch its long-delayed U.S. initial public offering as soon as next week, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.  The Israel-based trading platform had paused its IPO plans in early April amid market…

Strategy's ambitious but risky Bitcoin bets are gaining endorsements from Wall Street.

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Start the month with the latest crypto insights, read U.Today’s daily news digest!

• #bitcoin

Brown University has revealed a new $4.9 million investment in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust. This investment stems from a 13F filing, which reveals that 105,000 shares were purchased, marking the university’s initial reported investment in a spot Bitcoin ETF. The…

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Key points:The US labor market is “still holding up” as nonfarm payrolls data comes in higher than expected.Bitcoin and stocks head higher as US President Donald Trump repeats calls for the Fed to lower interest rates.BTC price action may spark a “liquidity grab” above $97,000, a trader warns.Bitcoin (BTC) hit new multimonth highs after the May 2 Wall Street open as US nonfarm payrolls data beat expectations.BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewBitcoin meanders after nonfarm payrolls beatData from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD building on $97,000 as markets digested the latest in a bumper week of macro data.Nonfarm payrolls indicated 177,000 jobs added in April, considerably more than the roughly 140,000 forecast.“The labor market is still holding up,” trading resource The Kobeissi Letter wrote in part of a reaction on X.The strong result is ostensibly less bullish for crypto and risk assets as it implies that the labor market is more resilient to tight financial conditions, including raised interest rates, than expected.This, in turn, gives the US Federal Reserve more leeway to keep those conditions in play for longer, depriving markets of the liquidity influx associated with lower rates.Despite this, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index were both up more than 1.3% on the day at the time of writing.In his latest post on Truth Social, meanwhile, US President Donald Trump reiterated calls on the Fed to cut rates — an approach adopted throughout his ongoing implementation of trade tariffs.“Consumers have been waiting for years to see pricing come down. NO INFLATION, THE FED SHOULD LOWER ITS RATE!!!” part of the post stated, referencing various inflation markers.Source: Truth SocialAs Cointelegraph reported, the Fed’s next decision on rates will come on May 7, with markets overwhelmingly seeing no change to the current regime. The latest data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool puts the odds of a cut next week at just 2%.Fed target rate probabilities for May FOMC meeting. Source: CME GroupWarning over BTC price “liquidity grab”In Bitcoin circles, market participants eyed sellers’ response to continued pushes higher through the week.Related: Bitcoin hodler unrealized profits near 350% as $100K risks sell-off“Going to be an interesting day ahead,” popular trader Skew told X followers alongside a chart of exchange order book liquidity.“Sellers have been defending $97.2K & shorts continue to scale into price. Passive spot flow will probably again decide the trend.”BTC/USDT charts with order book liquidity data. Source: Skew/XFellow trader Daan Crypto Trades warned that current local highs may end up a ploy to take liquidity before a reversal.“$BTC Broke out of the $93K to $96K range after price action got compressed for about a week,” part of an X post read prior to the macro data releases. “So far it's a similar setup as the week before, but I wouldn't want to see it trade back into that $93K-$96K range or this would just be a liquidity grab.”BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Daan Crypto Trades/XAnother popular trader known as TheKingfisher referenced bid liquidity as a reason for a short-term dip to $95,000.Trader and analyst Rekt Capital, meanwhile, gave an end-of-week BTC price target requirement of $99,000.“If Bitcoin continues to hold above $93,500 (as it has been thus far), then price will be positioned for a move across the range,” he explained alongside the weekly BTC/USD chart the day prior.“However, it's key that $BTC breaks the black Lower High resistance within this Range which is positioned at ~$99k this week.”BTC/USD 1-week chart. Source: Rekt Capital/XThis 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.

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Has Bitcoin price prediction turned a corner, with real on-chain movement toward $175,000 — or are we skipping steps by already entertaining BlackRock’s $700,000 thesis? BTC nears $98K as bullish momentum reignites After weeks of sideways movement, Bitcoin (BTC) nearly…

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Bitcoin whales have continued to choose Coinbase for possible liquidation reasons

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In just 15 days, the tokenized Treasury market ballooned by $560 million, catapulting its total value to an impressive $6.5 billion as of May 2, 2025. BUIDL and USTB Drive 98% of Tokenized Treasury Market Growth in Just Two Weeks The Blackrock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), powered by Securitize, captured the lion’s share […]

Bitcoin ready to replace money, former PayPal president predicts

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Bitcoin Magazine Maya Parbhoe’s Credibility Crisis: Suriname Unlikely To Be Next Bitcoin Country The Surinamese political candidate has projected an image of herself as a successful businesswoman running as a pro-Bitcoin presidential candidate to the international Bitcoin community, but those who’ve interacted with her on the ground — or those who’ve obtained reported government intel on her — tell a different story. This post Maya Parbhoe’s Credibility Crisis: Suriname Unlikely To Be Next Bitcoin Country first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Frank Corva.

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Coinspeaker Crypto Regulation: UK FCA Calls For Public Input on DeFi Offerings The FCA wants input on staking, lending, DeFi, and more as it moves to regulate crypto under upcoming UK law. Crypto Regulation: UK FCA Calls For Public Input on DeFi Offerings

Coinspeaker Tether Plans U.S. Expansion with New Stablecoin Amid Strong Market Performance and Strategic Investments Tether is launching a U.S.-based stablecoin to expand its presence and comply with American crypto regulations. Tether Plans U.S. Expansion with New Stablecoin Amid Strong Market Performance and Strategic Investments

Coinspeaker Immutable (IMX) Turns Bullish as Volume Skyrockets 300% IMX has surged nearly 12% in the last 24 hours, breaking free from a multi-month downtrend as bullish momentum gains strength. Immutable (IMX) Turns Bullish as Volume Skyrockets 300%

A Texas Republican congressman has proposed installing cryptocurrency ATMs in United States federal buildings. Rep. Lance Gooden wrote a May 1 letter to Stephen Ehikian, who is presently acting administrator for the General Services Administration (GSA), news reports said. Related Reading: The Bitcoin That Got Away: Docuseries Explores $800 Million Trash Tragedy Trump Ally Frames […]

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Strategy was left with $56B in capital to be raised in its $84B fund plan.  MSTR doubled BTC gains during the Q2 2025 recovery.  Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) has doubled its initial BThe post Bitcoin: MicroStrategy unveils $84B capital plan for more BTC buys - Details appeared first on AMBCrypto.

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Traders watching where XRP price goes next

Texas Representative Lance Gooden has formally asked the General Services Administration to consider installing cryptocurrency ATMs in federal buildings across the United States.  Gooden cited the need to modernize public infrastructure and support a growing segment of Americans engaging with…

The Fed's decision to maintain rates could stabilize markets, but Trump's push for cuts highlights ongoing debates over economic strategy. The post Trump urges Fed to lower rates, but strong jobs data makes a cut in June less likely appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

XRP lawyer John Deaton reveals why Circle may have rejected Ripple USDC bid, and why it is not end yet

Binance Coin continued to consolidate at a crucial resistance level as the number of transactions in the network rose. It also wavered as its staking yield and inflows continued rising.  Binance Coin (BNB) price was trading at $600 on Friday,…

Bitcoin rose to highs of $97,059

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Dogecoin’s remarkable 6% surge has reaffirmed its enduring appeal within the cryptocurrency market, drawing the attention of traders and investors alike. This performance underscores the importance of resilience and innovation in blockchain technology. Building on this momentum, Ruvi AI emerges as a groundbreaking platform set to redefine the blockchain space with its practical applications and [...] The post Dogecoin’s (DOGE) Resilience Inspires Markets While Ruvi AI (RUVI) Is Expected to Turn $900 into $90,000 in 2025 appeared first on Blockonomi.

MicroStrategy sharply increased its capital-raising target and 2025 bitcoin acquisition goals in its earnings report, prompting a bullish revision from analysts at H.C. Wainwright. In a research note dated May 2, analyst Mike Colonnese turned incremenetally bullish on Strategy’s stock…

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The disclosure of Ripple Labs Inc.’s overture to purchase Circle Internet Financial for a reported $4 billion to $5 billion has ignited a rare public broadside from within the digital-asset industry itself, while simultaneously spotlighting diverging philosophies about how crypto networks should be commercialized. Simon Dedic, chief executive of the venture firm Moonrock Capital, took […]

On-chain metrics showed a 25.27% jump in the daily active addresses, indicating growing interest. Traders were over-leveraged at $78.90 on the lower side and $87.10 on the upper side.  On tThe post Quant outpaces BTC, ETH, SOL with 8.50% surge - QNT to $104 next? appeared first on AMBCrypto.

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Opinion by: Chris Jenkins, adviser to Pocket NetworkTim Berners-Lee’s vision of the World Wide Web is dead. Instead of an open and accessible global information system, the web is controlled by centralized global data conglomerates, which don’t just restrict free speech but also monetize your data as a price of entry. Web2 firms have built walled gardens with massive information asymmetry between companies and users.Blockchain-based decentralized tech challenges the status quo, offering an alternative to Web2’s closed-source infrastructure. It enables developers and engineers to build a censorship-resistant and accessible open-data web to champion the cause of free speech. Open-source technology creates a paradigmatic shift in a fair and inclusive internet where centralized web companies won’t dictate the terms.A vision deferredIn 1989, Berners-Lee’s invention created a virtual space for collaboration, sharing and learning from one another. The web’s first iteration was based on openness, where anyone could contribute, access information, work together, and enjoy the same opportunities.The internet is no longer free in 2025. Capital’s brute force has emboldened centralized companies to exercise authoritarian control over data and information flows.Unfortunately, these companies have acquired their power and resources from unaware users who unknowingly contributed to their capital accumulation strategies. Web2 companies surreptitiously collect data from users without fair compensation and use that as a weapon to control user behavior.Corporations harness user data to train opaque algorithms and deploy information “discoverability” to shape users’ beliefs and emotions. This practice is visible mainly on centralized social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and X, with multiple scandals and pending litigations eroding user trust.For example, in June 2024, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, received 11 complaints from European Union members. The complaints concerned using personal data like posts and images to train Meta’s AI models without consent, violating EU privacy laws.Recent: The case against Pavel Durov and why it’s important for cryptoThe Cambridge Analytica scandal demonstrated how companies mine data to shape political perspectives and election outcomes. These companies also construct pre-determined narratives and shape market behavior by promoting or subverting curated reports, sometimes shaping public perspectives on health and economic data.Under its Digital Markets Act, the European Commission has initiated a noncompliance investigation into Apple, Meta, Amazon and Alphabet’s practices. Meta has also incurred a $1.3 billion fine for failing to comply with privacy regulations.In this environment, “free speech” remains a far-fetched dream because the entire tech stack is hostile to accessibility and openness. To realize Berners-Lee’s vision, apps must use a decentralized tech stack and be built from the ground up on an open architecture.Make the internet free (again)An app’s tech stack consists of its front and back ends, data storage and Content Delivery Network (CDN). Web2 platforms depend on a centralized tech stack that puts free speech at risk, while most blockchain-powered apps leverage a censorship-resistant decentralized tech stack with high uptime.Some decentralized applications (DApps) build their front end on a decentralized interface. Most of their back end, however, is still stuck on centralized data infrastructure.For example, despite their censorship vulnerabilities and single failure points, decentralized applications (DApps) often use centralized cloud providers and data hosting platforms. These types of attack vectors make projects like Tornado Cash subject to the changing moods of state actors.Shifting to open-source protocols for distributed data storage like InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) and Filecoin upholds the free speech philosophy on DApps. These protocols offer a censorship-resistant, tamper-proof storage facility that remains accessible without arbitrary outages.DApps also use centralized remote procedure call (RPC) providers to supply data from the back-end to the front-end interface, especially across multiple networks. But any outage or attack, like the one on X, can lead to downtime, inaccuracies, data gaps and disconnected information flows. If it doesn’t seem like much, remember downtime or inaccuracies in decentralized finance can cost billions.Decentralized protocols avoid these situations by transforming data accessibility and transfer channels with independent node operators. Data queries are distributed across the network, eliminating any single point of failure and providing uninterrupted data availability. More importantly, it safeguards free speech rights because no single node can block or obstruct data flow, and the network remains accessible even if several nodes go offline.CDNs, yet another crucial component for serving user requests, can become inaccessible due to market pressure or political influence. Opaque decisions from closed-door meetings dictate data flows on CDNs without any certainty in information flows.Start with the basicsDecentralized protocols remove the need for centralized decision-making by enabling apps to directly access data without intermediaries. These permissionless protocols connect open-source data and service providers with users and applications, removing human interaction and associated manufactured problems.Blockchain-powered platforms lay the foundation for a decentralized tech stack that promotes free speech and isn’t controlled by centralized Web2 companies. These permissionless protocols build an open-source world and return the internet to Berners-Lee’s vision of a global and accessible network.Opinion by: Chris Jenkins, adviser to Pocket Network.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.

During the blocksize debate, many thought that if bitcoin did not scale, its price gains would be limited by the lack of utility.

Stellar rebound under intense sell-off pressure, but ecosystem trend may fuel future rallies

Nexchain has officially crossed the $1 million mark in its ongoing crypto presale — a major achievement that’s turning heads across the Web3 space. As one of 2025’s most promising blockchain projects, Nexchain is gaining serious momentum thanks to its community-first approach, transparent DAO governance, and real-world AI integrations. The success of the presale signals [...] The post Nexchain’s Presale Hits $1M Milestone appeared first on Blockonomi.

Polygon's Sandeep Nailwal foresees creation of plenty of app-specific blockchains

Fold celebrates its listing as the first Bitcoin fintech to get listed on the Nasdaq.

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Yet another outlandish XRP-related rumor is spreading like wildfire on social media

Rare golden cross that sent Bitcoin up 69% back in 2024 reappears - How will it play out in 2025 though?

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The SEC is likely to approve SOL, XRP, and DOGE ETFs in the coming months. This, as another $1M Bitcoin prediction could cause new crypto projects to explode. Bloomberg analysts Erich Balchunas and James Seyffart predicted with 75% certainty that the SEC will approve multiple spot altcoin ETFs by the end of 2025, most likely […]

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Massive amount of XRP absorbed by whales over past month

As Ether’s price has struggled in the first quarter of 2025, a US-based investment adviser firm, Two Prime, has dropped support for ETH and adopted a Bitcoin-only strategy.After lending $1.5 billion in loans both in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) over the past 15 months, Two Prime decided to ditch ETH to focus solely on BTC asset management and lending, the firm announced on May 1.“ETH’s statistical trading behavior, value proposition, and community culture have failed beyond a point that is worth engaging,” Two Primes stated.The firm’s shift to a Bitcoin-only approach comes as ETH has lost 45% of its value year-to-date, with some optimists speculating that ETH is potentially close to the bottom and reversing its negative trend soon.“Ether no longer trades predictably”“As an algorithmic trading firm, we value data more than narratives,” Two Primes said, adding that the “data suggests ETH has fundamentally changed.”In addition to de-correlating from Bitcoin, Ether has become no longer predictable, Two Primes argued, adding:“It trades now like a memecoin rather than a predictable asset. Even during the turbulence of Q1 2025, Bitcoin remained within its fundamental behavior, whereas ETH saw several multi-standard deviation moves.”Two Primes then went on to say that such conditions “create a headache” for both algorithmic trading and ETH-back lending as the asset no longer behaves predictably, “even by the high volatility expectations of digital asset markets.”Founded in 2019 by Alexander Blum and Marc Fleury, Two Prime is an investment advisory firm registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm has been offering trading and lending services for both BTC and ETH for the past six years.Community fires back: ETH bottom signalTwo Prime’s critical remarks about Ether were quick to trigger responses from the community, with many seeing the message as another bottom signal for the cryptocurrency.“What a retarded essay statement,” one market observer wrote on X, citing the high volatility of the S&P 500, which dropped 4.7% YTD.Source: SEMB“Never even heard of them. Seems irrelevant,” another commentator said, expressing doubt on whether the community should rely on Two Prime’s shifting approach to Ether.“If this isn’t a bottom signal for ETH idk [I don’t know] what is,” another poster speculated, joining the many expecting ETH price to bounce following a downtrend cycle.Who else ditched ETH in the past months?Two Primes also mentioned the weak performance of Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs), highlighting that BTC ETF buying has outpaced ETH by almost 24 times. “The failure of ETH’s ETF creates a reflexive loop whereby institutions like BlackRock dedicate fewer resources to their promotion and sale. BTC has found the mainstream while ETH has floundered,” the firm stated.Related: Vitalik Buterin outlines vision as Ethereum ecosystem addresses hit new highDespite Ether ETFs seeing low performance, Ether is still the biggest altcoin for crypto ETFs in terms of assets under management (AUM), far outpacing others like Solana (SOL) and XRP (XRP).According to the latest update from CoinShares, Ether-based exchange-traded products had $9.2 billion in AUM by the end of last week, while Solana and XRP followed with $1.4 billion and $1 billion, respectively.Crypto ETP flows by asset (in millions of US dollars). Source: CoinSharesFollowing approval from the US SEC in May 2024, spot Ether ETFs saw a slow start in 2024, with performance losing ground compared to the massive spot Bitcoin ETF debut.Amid low investor demand, some issuers like VanEck ceased trading futures Ether ETFs, while WisdomTree withdrew its Ethereum Trust ETF proposal in September 2024. In March 2025, ARK liquidated its futures ETFs for both Ether and Bitcoin.Magazine: Ethereum is destroying the competition in the $16.1T TradFi tokenization race

During a CNBC interview, Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s chief executive, disclosed that the firm intends to introduce a new stablecoin for the U.S. market this year. Tether Preps U.S. Stablecoin Launch, CEO Says It Outpaces TradFi in Enforcement Commanding the world’s largest stablecoin, with $148.94 billion in circulation, Tether has plans to launch yet another stablecoin […]

Key takeaways:XRP’s strongest spot premium phase suggests real buying demand, not just speculative futures trading. The number of XRP addresses holding ≥10,000 tokens has steadily climbed, even during recent price pullbacks. A falling wedge pattern points to a possible breakout toward $3 to $3.78, with up to 70% upside if confirmed.XRP (XRP) is experiencing its strongest sustained phase of spot premium in history, a period where the spot market has been consistently trading at stronger levels compared to perpetual futures.XRP’s 350% rally is backed by real demand Since 2020, most major XRP price peaks happened when the perpetual futures market was leading, noted market analyst Dom in his May 2 post on X. XRP’s futures prices being higher than spot signaled excessive speculation and led to sharp price drops.XRP/USD daily price ft. spot vs premium rates. Source: TradingView/DomAs of 2025, a spot premium suggests that demand from actual XRP buyers is driving the rally, pointing to a more stable price rise compared to past runs powered by leveraged bets.Further reinforcing the case for real demand, Glassnode data shows a consistent rise in the number of XRP addresses holding at least 10,000 XRP (the green wave in the chart below) since late November 2024. XRP’s price has rallied by approximately 350% since then.XRP number of addresses with a balance of over 10,000 tokens vs. price. Source: GlassnodeXRP’s whale count has risen even during its 35% price pullback between January and April. It suggests that larger holders—often viewed as more patient or strategic investors—are steadily accumulating positions in anticipation of further gains.Optimism has been fueled by improving odds of spot XRP ETF approval in the US. The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision to drop its lawsuit against Ripple has further boosted the market’s upside sentiment.Source: Eric BalchunasRelated: SEC punts decisions on XRP, DOGE ETFsFalling wedge hints at 70% XRP price rally XRP has been consolidating within a falling wedge pattern on the weekly chart — a structure defined by downward-sloping, converging trendlines. In technical analysis, this pattern is generally viewed as a bullish reversal signal.A confirmed breakout requires a clear move above the wedge’s upper resistance near $2.52. XRP/USD weekly price chart. Source: TradingViewIf XRP breaks this level, the pattern’s measured move — calculated from the wedge’s maximum height — suggests a potential rally toward $3.78 by June. This would represent an estimated 70% upside from the current prices.Conversely, if XRP fails to break above the $2.52 resistance, the price could pull back toward the wedge’s lower trendline. The pattern’s apex near $1.81 may act as the final potential breakout point.A breakout from the $1.81 level would still keep the pattern’s structure intact, with a potential upside target around $3 by June or July — roughly 35% above current levels.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.

XRP price could be on the cusp of a strong bullish breakout in the coming days after forming a bullish chart pattern and as whales continue accumulating.  Ripple (XRP) continued to consolidate on Friday, trading at $2.216, up by 36%…

Important message passed by Binance to IOTA users

Two Prime left Ethereum, citing memecoin-like behavior and unpredictable risk profile Cardano surpassed Ethereum in terms of developer activity, challenging traditional market narratives EthThe post Two Prime deserts Ethereum, questions 'memecoin-like' red flags & risk profile appeared first on AMBCrypto.

Long-term Bitcoin permabull Saylor comments on the current BTC price surge near $97,000

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Bitcoin’s recovery to its all-time high may be threatened by rising recession fears, which could ease if the United States and China begin tariff negotiations this month, research analysts told Cointelegraph.Appetite for global risk assets such as Bitcoin (BTC) may take another hit, with analysts from Apollo Global Management predicting a recession by the summer.“Apollo predicting Summer Recession: Sharpest decline in earnings outlook since 2020,” cross-asset analyst Samantha LaDuc wrote in an April 26 X post.The progress on the tariff negotiations may be the most significant factor impacting a potential recession and Bitcoin’s price trajectory, according to Aurelie Barthere, principal research analyst at crypto intelligence platform Nansen.Source: Samantha LaDuc“May is seen as pivotal as Chinese shipments reach the US’s shores, and exemptions on some tariff categories such as auto parts and sub-USD-800 shipments from China/ Hong Kong expire,” Barthere told Cointelegraph, adding that a lack of negotiations in May could lead to an economic recession and “double-digit losses” for Bitcoin.However, this is the least likely scenario, since neither China nor the US “ has an economic interest in the interruption of bilateral trade,” Barthere said, adding:“Given this, the main tariff scenario is for the US reaching deals or at least ‘agreements in principle’ with its main trade partners, probably settling around the 10% reciprocal tariff ‘floor’.”If that scenario plays out and trade tensions ease in May, Bitcoin is likely to revisit its all-time high, Barthere said. The US has “proactively reached out to China through multiple channels,” for signaling its openness for tariff negotiations, Reuters reported on May 1, citing unnamed sources who spoke to state-affiliated Chinese media platform Yuyuan Tantian.Related: Bitcoin treasury firms driving $200T hyperbitcoinization — Adam BackBitcoin may rally despite recessionWhile most analysts hope to see trade negotiations in May alleviate economic concerns, Bitcoin may see more upside even in the face of a potential recession.“Initially, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies may experience volatility, dropping alongside risk assets like stocks due to investor sell-offs,” Anndy Lian, author and intergovernmental blockchain adviser, told Cointelegraph, adding:“Historical data, such as Bitcoin’s recovery post-2020 recession, suggests it could rebound, especially if seen as a hedge against inflation.”“In stagflation (high inflation and slow growth), Bitcoin, often compared to gold, may perform well, attracting investors seeking value preservation. Yet, its increased correlation with the stock market, particularly tech stocks, introduces uncertainty,” said Lian, adding that crypto investors should continue monitoring economic policy shifts to gauge market direction.BTC/USD, 1-week chart, 2020-2021. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewHowever, Bitcoin’s increasing correlation with tech stocks adds uncertainty to that outlook. Following the COVID-19 crash in March 2020, Bitcoin surged more than 1,050%, climbing from $6,000 to an all-time high of $69,000 in November 2021. That rally came after the Federal Reserve launched its $4 trillion asset purchase program in March 2020.Related: Bitcoin to $1M by 2029 fueled by ETF and gov’t demand — Bitwise execOther industry watchers remain concerned by the crypto market’s response to economic stagnation.“If the analysts are correct about the recession (which is certainly not guaranteed), crypto markets will likely decline alongside broader risk-on assets and equities,” according to Marcin Kazmierczak, co-founder and chief operating officer of blockchain oracle firm RedStone.Kazmierczak said April’s “Liberation Day tariffs and trucking slowdown could create economic contagion that historically hits speculative assets hardest.” “While crypto’s growing institutional adoption introduces some uncertainty, it’s not enough to overcome the fundamental risk-on classification that still dominates market behavior,” he added.Magazine: Altcoin season to hit in Q2? Mantra’s plan to win trust: Hodler’s Digest, April 13 – 19

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Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, is planning to launch a U.S.-based dollar-pegged stablecoin as soon as this year, CEO Paolo Ardoino told CNBC.  The move coincides with his increased lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C., aimed at influencing crypto regulation…

XMR seeing substantial surge, which could be sign of bull run continuation

Bitcoin Magazine Metaplanet Issues $25 Million in Bonds to Buy More Bitcoin Japanese investment firm Metaplanet announced Thursday it will issue 3.6 billion yen ($24.8 million) in bonds to fund additional Bitcoin purchases, as the company continues its aggressive accumulation strategy. This post Metaplanet Issues $25 Million in Bonds to Buy More Bitcoin first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Vivek Sen.

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BTCC, one of the world's longest-serving cryptocurrency exchanges, made a spectacular splash on the first day of TOKEN2049 Dubai with its eye-catching basketball-themed booth and widely popular mascotThe post BTCC Exchange Scores Big on Day 1 of TOKEN2049 Dubai with Interactive Basketball and Viral Mascot Nakamon appeared first on AMBCrypto.

Coinspeaker Movement (MOVE) Tanks 21%: Will Prices Recover Above $1? MOVE plunged to a historic low of $0.185 after co-founder Rushi Manche was suspended amid a market-making controversy. Movement (MOVE) Tanks 21%: Will Prices Recover Above $1?

With the wider adoption of digital assets as an online payment option, crypto users now have more choices when it comes to shopping without having to deal with exchanges. And that includes mystery box platforms, which offer an exciting way to get your hands on the best loot. Mystery box platforms – like JemLit – […]

Shiba Inu's history might see it jump to high of $0.0001 if current momentum is sustained

StakeStone (STO) price is by over 30% in the past 24 hours, buoyed by spot listing on Binance exchange. STO began trading on Binance spot at 16:00 UTC on May 2 across multiple pairs, including USDT and BNB. According to…

Virtuaalsete üllatuskastide platvorm Jemlit on käivitanud uue päevase kampaania, mille raames jagatakse igapäevaselt kuni 500 dollari väärtuses auhindu aktiivseimatele kasutajatele. Tegemist on uue formaadiga, mis ühendab mängulise põnevuse ja reaalsed võidud, pakkudes kasutajatele võimaluse avastada tuntud kaubamärkide tooteid – alates tehnikast kuni luksuskaupadeni. Võiduvõimalused, mis põhinevad läbipaistval süsteemil Jemliti keskkonnas avavad kasutajad digitaalseid kastikesi, mille […]

The eponymous investor discussed Q1 financial results—including a review of $MSTR, $STRK and $STRF—as well as forward-looking statements no investor should miss. In an earnings call on May 1, Michael Saylor, the CEO and engineer of the wildly successful BTC…

Michael Saylor is rapidly becoming the patron saint of Bitcoin maximalist, proving all the naysayers wrong. He was an early promoter of the Bitcoin reserve approach, which argues that the best crypto to buy is always the first one; and that companies should raise funds to purchase as much $BTC as possible. That strategy is […]

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Bitcoin traded between $96,869 and $97,057 over the last hour, maintaining a tight range near recent highs. With a 24-hour intraday range of $95,925 to $97,341, the leading cryptocurrency boasts a $1.92 trillion market capitalization and a 24-hour trading volume of $27.81 billion, signaling sustained investor interest. Bitcoin The daily BTC/USD chart reflects a strong […]

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The United Kingdom’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), plans to stop retail investors from borrowing money to fund their crypto investments.According to a May 2 Financial Times report, the ban on borrowing to fund crypto purchases is one of the upcoming crypto rules by the FCA. David Geale, FCA executive director of payments and digital finance, told the FT that “crypto is an area of potential growth for the UK, but it has to be done right.” He added:“To do that we have to provide an appropriate level of protection.”Geale denied claims that the FCA is hostile to the crypto industry. Instead, he explained that he views the industry as offering high-risk investments with less consumer protection. “We are open for business,“ he said.The interview follows the FCA seeking feedback on regulating the crypto market. In an attached document, the regulator noted that it is “exploring whether it would be appropriate to restrict firms from accepting credit as a means for consumers to buy cryptoassets.”FCA crypto regulation discussion paper. Source: FCAThe FCA did not respond to Cointelegraph’s inquiry by publication.Related: FCA releases discussion paper on crypto market transparency, abuseFCA’s upcoming rulesThe FCA aims to regulate the domestic cryptocurrency market, ruling over trading platforms, intermediaries, crypto lenders and borrowers, as well as decentralized finance (DeFi) systems. The regulator reportedly plans to introduce stricter rules for crypto services aimed at retail investors than those offered exclusively to professional or sophisticated investors.Gale explained that the agency aims to develop a framework “that is safe and is competitive.” He said that the regulator aims to develop a regulatory regime that would attract businesses:“If we can get the regulatory regime right it actually becomes attractive for firms. That is what we are trying to achieve.”Related: UK’s finance watchdog defends ‘too tough’ crypto stanceThe FCA lending banThe regulator explained that its upcoming ban to restrict lending to fund consumers’ crypto purchases is motivated by a concern over “unsustainable debt, particularly if the value of their crypto asset drops and they were relying on its value to repay.” The ban would also include credit card purchases.While 2024 FCA research showed that “the leading method of payment for cryptoassets among cryptoasset users continues to be the individual’s own disposable cash/income (72%),” it also highlights a growing trend in credit purchases. The research cites that only 6% of purchases were made on credit in 2022, but this metric climbed to 14% in 2024.The FCA also purportedly plans to block retail investors from accessing crypto lenders and borrowers. Other concerns about the crypto market cited by the regulator include market manipulation, conflicts of interest, settlement failures, a lack of transparency, illiquidity, and unreliable trading systems.To alleviate those issues, the regulator plans to require equal trade treatment by crypto trading platforms. Other potential rules include the enforcement of a separation between proprietary trading activities from those done for retail investors and demanding transparency on trade pricing and execution.Trading platforms would be banned from paying intermediaries for order flow, and users of staking services would have to be reimbursed for any potential losses caused by third parties. The FCA plans to exempt DeFi systems without centralized operations, as long as they do not feature a “clear controlling person.”Magazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight

A stablecoin launched by Donald Trump’s World Liberty Financial (WLFI) venture is being utilized by an Abu Dhabi investment firm for a substantial $2 billion investment in the crypto exchange Binance. This announcement was made by one of the co-founders of World Liberty during a crypto conference in Dubai. World Liberty Financial USD1 Emerges As […]

Join us at Web3 Budapest, the premier gathering for industry leaders, tech visionaries, and enthusiasts eager to explore the Metaverse. This isn't just a conference; it's a vital hub for innovators drThe post Web3 Budapest: The central european web3 jamboree appeared first on AMBCrypto.

Ripple’s $1B XRP reallocation and rising NVT utility hint at bullish accumulation. Technical trend, MACD crossover, and resistance clusters signal breakout momentum building. Ripple executThe post Ripple executes $1B reallocation: Will this spur XRP's move to $3? appeared first on AMBCrypto.

On Wednesday, speaking from the White House, US President Donald Trump suggested that families scale back on gifts this year.Asked about his tariff program, the president remarked, “Somebody said, ‘Oh, the shelves are gonna be open. Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, and maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more.’”But the toy stores where those dolls are sold might have something to say about it. Earlier in the week, Mischief Toy Store in St. Paul, Minnesota joined a growing number of American small businesses suing the president over his emergency tariff plan.Throughout April, a groundswell of lawsuits led by 13 states further challenged Trump’s ambitious tariff program. Their success or failure rests on hundreds of years of judicial policy and American constitutional law. The legal basis for the Trump tariffsWhen Trump first announced his ambitious tariff program to the world, you might have wondered, Why is he allowed to do this? Well, he may not be. The president’s power to unilaterally impose tariffs is not rooted in the office’s constitutional Article II power. Instead, it is a delegation of authority by Congress. Article I of the US Constitution creates Congress, and Section 8 delegates the authority to “lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises.” For much of the United States’ history, this is precisely what it did — through a series of colorfully named tariff programs like the Tariff of Abominations of 1828, the Dingley Tariff of 1897 and culminating in the infamous Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930. At the time, Smoot-Hawley was widely perceived as contributing to the devastation of the Great Depression. As a consequence, Congress’s use of tariffs became viewed as corrosively political and dysregulated, spurring change.In the early 1930s, then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt pushed for legislation to grant his office the authority to negotiate tariffs. He argued that tariffs had wrecked the economy and that he should have the power to reduce them:World trade has declined with startling rapidity. Measured in terms of the volume of goods in 1933, it has been reduced to approximately 70 percent of its 1929 volume; measured in terms of dollars, it has fallen to 35 percent. The drop in the foreign trade of the United States has been even sharper. Our exports in 1933 were but 52 percent of the 1929 volume, and 32 percent of the 1929 value […] a full and permanent domestic recovery depends in part upon a revived and strengthened international trade and that American exports cannot be permanently increased without a corresponding increase in imports.Thus followed the Reciprocal Trade Agreement Act of 1934 (RTAA), which gave the president the power to set tariff rates, provided it came as part of a reciprocal agreement with a counterpart. This allowed the office to negotiate directly with other nations and promoted a period of liberalized trade. The RTAA, however, is not the law that Trump is now relying on. His tariffs are unilateral, not reciprocal, and would require another century of law to conceive. After the RTAA, Congress continued to delegate authority to the president through the midcentury. Notably, this included the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which allowed the president to impose unilateral tariffs in response to national security threats; the Trade Act of 1974, which allowed the president to retaliate against unfair trade practices; and, crucially, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, known as IEEPA. Now, the IEEPA doesn’t say anything about tariffs; it is better known as the law that recent presidents have used to levy sanctions against enemy nations like Russia. It grants the president the power to respond to declared emergencies in response to “unusual and extraordinary threat[s]” (the president also has the power to declare emergencies, but that comes from the National Emergencies Act, a different law) by “investigat[ing], regulat[ing], or prohibit[ing] any transactions in foreign exchange.” Related: Trump’s WLFI crypto investments aren’t paying offDespite this novel application, the Trump administration has seized on the law because, unlike all other tariff statutes, it permits the president to act through executive order alone.Throughout his young second term, Trump has used this statute to declare arbitrary tariffs on virtually all of America’s trading partners. First, declaring 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and then various large tariffs on the rest of the world.To do so, Trump declared a “national emergency posed by the large and persistent trade deficit that is driven by the absence of reciprocity in our trade relationships and other harmful policies like currency manipulation and exorbitant value-added taxes (VAT) perpetuated by other countries.”This was the first time a president had attempted to use the law in this way, and many legal scholars believe it is illegal.Like flies to honeyAlmost immediately after Trump’s tariffs were announced, lawsuits began to trickle in. Fearing retribution from the administration, many trade groups and major players reportedly chose to bow out of proceedings. However, California became the first state to sue on April 16, followed a week later on April 23 by a dozen other states.There are basically two legal arguments you can make against Trump’s tariffs: (1) The IEEPA doesn’t authorize the president to implement his tariff program, and (2) it is unconstitutional for the IEEPA to delegate such broad authority to the president. This is exactly what California and the consortium of 12 states did — arguing that (1) the president’s actions are ultra vires — beyond his legal authority — and (2) they would violate separation of powers. There are a few reasons this might be true. For one, as the states identified, any action under the IEEPA must be tailored to “deal with an unusual and extraordinary threat,” and, “[t]he nearly worldwide 10 percent tariff level is wholly unconnected to the stated basis of the emergency declaration: it applies without regard to any country’s trade practices or purported threat to domestic industries.”Second, there is a constitutional limit on Congress’s authority to delegate Article I powers to the president, known as the “nondelegation doctrine.” While in theory this could be robust, it has generally been nerfed by the obsequious Supreme Court’s past. Nonetheless, there remains an “intelligible principle test” that such delegation may only be allowed “if Congress shall lay down by legislative act an intelligible principle to which the person or body authorized to fix such rates is directed to conform.”Related: If Trump fired Powell, what would happen to crypto?In theory, if Congress had actually given the president plenary authority to fix tariffs according to his whims, it should violate this doctrine. But the Supreme Court has not struck down an executive action on these grounds since Panama Refining Co. v. Ryan in 1935.Despite the constitutional uncertainty, the net of the arguments is broadly perceived as strong. This is why one “prominent conservative lawyer” told ABC News that plaintiffs may win in a fight against Trump:There is a strong argument that the tariffs imposed under the IEEPA are not legal or constitutional. Under that particular statute, tariffs are not listed amongst the various actions a president can take in response to the declaration of a national emergency.But there are some factors in the president’s favor. For one, the administration may be able to hear these claims in the US Court of International Trade (CIT), which has exclusive jurisdiction over most tariff disputes.Appeals from this court are heard in the Federal Circuit, which is generally seen as favorable for Trump. The 12-state complaint was actually filed in this court from the outset, but California filed its complaint in the Northern District of California, which sits in the less deferential Ninth Circuit.If Trump succeeds in removing that action to CIT, it will be an early victory for the administration.More importantly, the administration is attempting to invoke the “political question doctrine.” In the first major Supreme Court case, 1803’s Marbury v. Madison, the Court noted that “[q]uestions, in their nature political or which are, by the Constitution and laws, submitted to the Executive, can never be made in this court.” Ever since then, pusillanimous courts have used the doctrine to avoid difficult questions, most notably in cases involving impeachment, foreign policy and partisan gerrymandering.The Trump administration argued exactly this in its April 29 motion for preliminary injunction and summary judgment in the states’ AG case. Trump argues that “courts have consistently held that the President’s emergency declarations under NEA, and the adequacy of his policy choices addressing those emergencies under IEEPA, are unreviewable” and that “[t]herefore, any challenge to the fact of the emergency itself — particularly the claim that the emergency is not ‘unusual’ or ‘extraordinary’ enough, in plaintiffs’ view — is a nonjusticiable political question that this Court lacks jurisdiction to consider.”To date, no rulings hint at which side the courts are likely to prefer. The president’s track record in court has historically been poor, with a win rate of 35% in the Supreme Court during his first term, compared to an average presidential win rate of 65.2%.The outlook for cryptoAs the tariff fight has matured, the outlook for crypto is uncertain. It is a peculiarity of tariffs that they apply only to goods and not services or digital products. This has left cryptocurrency assets — intangible, borderless and often routed through offshore entities — outside the reach of traditional trade barriers.As markets have shuddered at Trump’s policies, Bitcoin (BTC) finished April up 14% on the month. If Trump is allowed to pursue arbitrary trade policy and abide by Peter Navarro’s wish to turn the United States into a new hermit nation, it may prove the final validation to force cryptocurrency as the medium of international trade. Magazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight

UK is outlining new rules for crypto trading, centered particularly around retail investor protections.

The UK's potential credit ban for crypto purchases could reshape consumer behavior, emphasizing financial caution and regulatory oversight. The post UK plans to ban use of credit for Bitcoin, crypto purchases as debt risks grow appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

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On-chain data shows the Dogecoin whales have gone on a huge accumulation spree during the past week, a sign that can be bullish for DOGE. Dogecoin Whales Have Expanded Their Holdings In Past Week In a new post on X, analyst Ali Martinez has discussed about the latest trend in the Dogecoin supply held by […]

Bitcoin Magazine Strategy’s Bitcoin Surge: Why MSTR Could Outperform BTC in 2025 Strategy’s bold Bitcoin accumulation hits 550,000 BTC, positioning MSTR as a high-beta proxy with potential to outshine BTC in 2025. This post Strategy’s Bitcoin Surge: Why MSTR Could Outperform BTC in 2025 first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Matt Crosby.

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Crypto exchange Kraken has uncovered an attempted infiltration by a North Korean hacker posing as a software engineering job candidate. The incident began as a routine recruitment effort but quickly raised internal concerns due to multiple behavioral and technical anomalies.…

Bitcoin’s dominance relative to other major cryptocurrencies continues to soar reaching a new 4-year high. Bitcoin’s (BTC) dominance has surged to 64%, a four-year high, signaling its unrivaled strength in the cryptocurrency market. This metric, which measures Bitcoin’s share of…

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Movement Labs suspended co-founder Rushi Manche for alleged links to the MOVE token dump.  Coinbase will suspend the token on the 15th of May, but Manche denied involvement in the scandal.  The post Movement Labs suspends co-founder: MOVE faces 27% drop as Coinbase moves to delist appeared first on AMBCrypto.

Coinspeaker Ripple Labs Locks 700,000,000 XRP in Escrow, Price Reacts Ripple Labs has once again made a massive escrow transaction, locking 700 million XRP valued at over $1.5 billion. Ripple Labs Locks 700,000,000 XRP in Escrow, Price Reacts

Coinspeaker Goldman Sachs Eyes Expansion in Crypto Trading and Tokenization Exploration Goldman Sachs plans to expand into crypto trading, lending, and tokenization to meet growing client demand. Goldman Sachs Eyes Expansion in Crypto Trading and Tokenization Exploration

Coinspeaker Metaplanet Sells $25 Million in Bonds to Expand Bitcoin Holdings Metaplanet issues $25M in bonds to expand its Bitcoin holdings, aiming for 100,000 BTC by the end of 2025. Metaplanet Sells $25 Million in Bonds to Expand Bitcoin Holdings

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After a minor setback, bitcoin ETFs roared back with $422 million in net inflows, led by Blackrock’s IBIT. Ether ETFs also ended the day positively, adding $6.49 million to continue their recovery. Bitcoin ETF Inflows Surge After Brief Pause Along With Decent Recovery for Ether ETFs A brief pullback was quickly forgotten as U.S. bitcoin […]

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With over 25 million users across 160+ countries, World Chain isn’t your average blockchain. Until now, users on World Chain’s World App have relied on a bridged version of USDC. Nearly two million people already use it to send funds, pay for goods, or access financial tools in the app’s growing network of Mini Apps. […] The post Native USDC and CCTP V2 Coming to World Chain appeared first on Altcoin Buzz.

XRP price remains bullish, Bollinger Bands prove it

Playtron announces plans to launch ‘the first stablecoin built for games’ called Game Dollar. The token will be built on Sui Network and powered by M0 and Bridge. According to an announcement by stablecoin platform M0, Game Dollar will be…

Codename:Pepe merges AI and meme power, positioning itself as the next big crypto moonshot amid rising DeFi momentum. #partnercontent

There is a 75% chance of a Cardano ETF launching this year ADA might stay stuck in neutral, while the rest of the market waits for that green light Normally, when Bitcoin smashes through itsThe post Cardano - Evaluating if there REALLY is a '75% chance' of ADA Spot ETF launch this year appeared first on AMBCrypto.

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Crypto exchange KuCoin said that it may reenter South Korea after its platform was blocked in the country. On March 21, South Korean regulators ordered Google Play to block access to exchanges that were not compliant with the requirements needed to operate in the country. On April 11, South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) ordered the Apple Store to block unregistered crypto exchanges. KuCoin was among those affected by the country’s crackdown on unregistered platforms that were previously available. While the platform is now unavailable to South Koreans, it has not fully abandoned the jurisdiction. In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, KuCoin’s newly appointed CEO, BC Wong, said that the crypto exchange has plans to reenter the country. Wong (left), KuCoin EU CEO Oliver Stauber (middle) and Cointelegraph reporter Ezra Reguerra (right) at the Token2049 event in Dubai. Source: Market AcrossRegulators drive global players away from local marketsWong told Cointelegraph that before the exchange can reenter South Korea, it plans to secure compliance with major jurisdictions first. He said: “The resource is there. We need to go one by one. Our strategy will always be that major jurisdictions come first, which means the United States, EU, China, India, and maybe after that, Australia.”Wong confirmed to Cointelegraph that KuCoin representatives had started speaking with regulators. The executive said that operating in crypto is very similar to traditional financial markets, where there’s a need for a clear background in each jurisdiction. The KuCoin CEO also said that regulators are stricter compared to three years ago. He said that this could be a move to drive global players away from local crypto markets. “I'm not so sure that if the regulators’ intention is to regulate the global market or just simply, they want to pave the way to get all the global kind of players to be out from their market, and pave the road for their domestic exchange,” Wong added. Related: Kraken tells how it spotted North Korean hacker in job interviewKuCoin’s EU CEO shares regulatory challenges in EuropeOliver Stauber, who joined KuCoin as its European Union CEO, told Cointelegraph that there are also difficulties operating in the EU, even with the bloc’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) in place. Stauber, who previously worked as the chief legal officer of Bitpanda, told Cointelegraph that while MiCA licenses have a passporting feature, which should allow license holders to provide services across the EU, the executive said that some jurisdictions interpret the laws differently. Stauber said that some jurisdictions may say that licenses were “wrongly assessed,” which gets in the way of operating in some jurisdictions.  “MiCA was said to have a level playing field in crypto all over Europe. However, as long as there are players who are not playing by the books, you know it's getting quite messy and difficult,” Stauber told Cointelegraph. Magazine: Pokémon on Sui rumors, Polymarket bets on Filipino Pope: Asia Express

Coinfest Asia, the largest crypto and Web3 festival in the world, is officially back. Taking place August 21–22 at Nuanu Creative City - Bali's creative and cultural hub—the event will bring togetThe post Coinfest Asia: The world’s largest crypto festival returns in August 2025 at Nuanu Creative City appeared first on AMBCrypto.

The update lets users pay transaction fees with the token they’re swapping. They no longer need Solana’s native token, SOL, in their wallet. For users who’ve hit a dead end trying to swap tokens without enough SOL for gas fees, the Phantom wallet now offers a solution. Gas Fees, Solved: Phantom Eases Swaps with Smart […] The post Phantom Wallet Enables Gasless Swaps on Solana appeared first on Altcoin Buzz.

US crypto exchange Kraken has detailed a North Korean hacker’s attempt to infiltrate the organization by applying for a job interview.“What started as a routine hiring process for an engineering role quickly turned into an intelligence-gathering operation,” the company wrote in a May 1 blog post.Kraken said the applicant’s red flags appeared early on in the process when they joined an interview under a name different from what they applied with and “occasionally switched between voices,” apparently being guided through the interview.Rather than immediately rejecting the applicant, Kraken decided to advance them through its hiring process to gather information about the tactics used.International sanctions have effectively cut North Korea off from the rest of the world, and the country’s ruling Kim family dictatorship has long targeted crypto companies and users to top up the country’s coffers. It’s stolen billions worth of crypto so far this year.Kraken reported that industry partners had tipped them off that North Korean actors were actively applying for jobs at crypto companies. “We received a list of email addresses linked to the hacker group, and one of them matched the email the candidate used to apply to Kraken,” it said. With this information, the firm’s security team uncovered a network of fake identities used by the hacker to apply to multiple companies. Kraken also noted technical inconsistencies, which included the use of remote Mac desktops through VPNs and altered identification documents.Kraken CSO @c7five recently spoke to @CBSNews about how a North Korean operative unsuccessfully attempted to get a job at Kraken. Don’t trust. Verify 👇 pic.twitter.com/1vVo3perH2— Kraken Exchange (@krakenfx) May 1, 2025The applicant’s resume was linked to a GitHub profile containing an email address exposed in a past data breach, and the exchange said the candidate’s primary form of ID “appeared to be altered, likely using details stolen in an identity theft case two years prior.”During final interviews, Kraken chief security officer Nick Percoco conducted trap identity verification tests that the candidate failed, confirming the deception. Related: Lazarus Group’s 2024 pause was repositioning for $1.4B Bybit hack“Don’t trust, verify. This core crypto principle is more relevant than ever in the digital age,” Peroco said. “State-sponsored attacks aren’t just a crypto or US corporate issue — they’re a global threat.”North Korea pulls off biggest-ever crypto hackNorth Korea-affiliated hacking collective Lazarus Group was responsible for February’s $1.4 billion Bybit exchange hack, the largest ever for the crypto industry.North Korean-linked hackers also stole more than $650 million through multiple crypto heists during 2024, while deploying IT workers to infiltrate blockchain and crypto companies as insider threats, according to a statement released by the US, Japan and South Korea in January. In April, a subgroup of Lazarus was found to have set up three shell companies, with two in the US, to deliver malware to unsuspecting users and scam crypto developers. Magazine: Japanese porn star’s coin red flags, Alibaba-linked L2 runs at 100K TPS: Asia Express

Decentralized finance (DeFi) lending platform Sky has pitched a proposal to finalize its upgrade from Maker by replacing its governance token and enabling staking.The proposal, posted on May 1 to Sky’s decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) forum, would see the Sky (SKY) token take over the Maker (MKR) token as the protocol’s governance token.If the DAO accepts, the change would be slated to take place around May 15 to May 19 and downgrading from SKY to MKR would also be disabled.Sky co-founder Rune Christensen said in response to the proposal that it was a “huge milestone,” which he “fully supports,” and laments that allowing users to downgrade from SKY back to MKR has been a “key limiting factor preventing exchanges from adopting SKY.”“With this change, exchanges are likely to move faster in quickly adopting SKY without concerns about fracturing liquidity,” he said.Source: SkyPenalties on MKR holders who are slow in switching to SKY have also been proposed. According to the proposal, a 1% delayed upgrade penalty would apply to all MKR to SKY upgrades starting Sept. 18, increasing every three months. Users hit with a delayed upgrade penalty will also obtain fewer SKY tokens.Sky staking, temporary pause on liquidationsChristensen said the most important change would be to see SKY staking enabled as part of the changes to the protocol.Rewards for its decentralized stablecoin, USDS, which are based on the income the Sky Protocol generates, will be enabled two or three weeks after the upgrade of the governance contract, with a splitter rate of 50%, according to Christensen.Source: Rune Christensen“Getting past the full upgrade of MKR to SKY is one of the last pieces missing before Sky can transition to 0 fixed costs at the end of 2025, which will ensure an even greater portion of the income the protocol generates goes to the benefit of SKY buybacks, or SKY Staking Rewards,” he said.SKY liquidations will also be temporarily disabled while the one-way MKR to SKY transition is still in its early stages.Related: Sky doubles down on token overhaul: Making MKR unusable, launching subDAOs“This is necessary to prevent risk from price manipulation to the SKY and MKR price while the transition is happening,” Christensen said.“When SKY market liquidity is restored, Sky Governance will lift the liquidation freeze and move risk parameters to long-term targets,” he added.Maker rebranded to Sky in August last year but after confusion and negative feedback, Christensen considered going back to the original Maker name just months later.However, a November poll saw 79% of tokenholders vote to keep the Sky brand as the back end protocol brand with no further changes.Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed to drop another of its crypto lawsuits, this time its unregistered securities sales case against crypto influencer and YouTuber Ian Balina. The SEC said in a May 1 joint stipulation with Balina to an Austin federal court that it “believes the dismissal of this case is appropriate,” citing the work of the agency’s Crypto Task Force.The agency didn’t give a reason for wanting to dismiss its case, but said its decision “does not necessarily reflect the Commission’s position on any other case.”Balina told Cointelegraph in March that the SEC had informed him it would recommend the court dismiss the case and claimed the agency’s actions were based on a shift in the agency’s priorities.“Obviously, the new administration is pro-crypto,” Balina said. The SEC has seen a change in leadership under US President Donald Trump, who appointed former crypto lobbyist Paul Atkins to chair the agency.The joint stipulation argued a dismissal would also conserve the court’s resources “without costs or fees to either party.”Balina is the CEO of Token Metrics, a crypto influencer with 140,000 followers on X, and a YouTuber whom the SEC accused of improperly promoting crypto projects, particularly during the initial coin offering (ICO) boom circa 2017.The SEC sued Balina in 2022, alleging that he conducted an unregistered securities offering of Sparkster (SPRK) tokens when he formed an investing pool on Telegram in 2018.The SEC claimed that US-based investors participated in Balina’s investing pool, using Ether (ETH), which was validated by a network of nodes “which are clustered more densely in the United States than in any other country.”Related: SEC drops investigation into PayPal’s stablecoinThe court sided with the SEC and, in May 2024, ruled that SPRK was an investment contract under US securities laws, where investors pooled money into a common enterprise expecting profits due to the efforts of others.Excerpt of the joint stipulation. Source: PACERShift in crypto policyThe move is the latest in a long list of crypto-related court actions that the SEC has quashed under the Trump administration’s favorable stance toward the industry. Over the past month, it has dropped several cases and abandoned multiple investigations against crypto firms, including against Coinbase, Ripple, Kraken, OpenSea and PayPal’s stablecoin. Magazine: Japanese porn star’s coin red flags, Alibaba-linked L2 runs at 100K TPS: Asia Express

The US Treasury Department is seeking to bar the Cambodia-based Huione Group from accessing the American banking system, accusing the company of helping North Korea’s state-sponsored Lazarus Group launder cryptocurrency.The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) proposed on May 1 to prohibit US financial institutions from opening or maintaining correspondent or payable-through accounts for or on behalf of the Huione Group.Huione Group has established itself as the “marketplace of choice for malicious cyber actors” like the Lazarus Group, who have “stolen billions of dollars from everyday Americans,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a May 1 statement.“Today’s proposed action will sever Huione Group’s access to correspondent banking, degrading these groups’ ability to launder their ill-gotten gains.”Huione Group has set up a network of businesses, which includes payment service platform Huione Pay PLC, the crypto exchange Huione Crypto, and Haowang Guarantee, an online marketplace offering illicit goods and services.Although the conglomerate does not hold correspondent accounts with US financial institutions, it maintains accounts with foreign firms that do, FinCEN noted in its rulemaking submission.The proposed rule is subject to a 30-day public comment period before it can take effect.Source: ChainalysisHuione expanded into sophisticated cybercrime networkFinCEN claimed that Huione Group has laundered at least $4 billion worth of illicit proceeds between August 2021 and January 2025, including more than $36 million from crypto pig butchering scams.At least $37 million worth of the crypto laundered has been linked to North Korea’s “cyber heists,” the Treasury said.Haowang Guarantee has made Huione Group a “one-stop shop” for criminals to launder crypto obtained through illicit activities, and ultimately convert it to fiat currency, the Treasury said.Related: North Korean crypto attacks rising in sophistication, actors — ParadigmThe conglomerate has also created a US dollar-pegged stablecoin, the US dollar Huione (USDH), which FinCEN said cannot be frozen and helps to carry out money laundering activities.The National Bank of Cambodia has stated that payment firms aren’t allowed to deal or trade digital assets in the country and revoked the company’s local banking license in March.Magazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight

Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms reported its highest-ever quarterly revenue, but still posted a loss as mining costs have nearly doubled compared to the same period last year amid efforts to expand its facilities.“We achieved a new record for quarterly revenue this quarter, at $161.4 million,” Riot CEO Jason Les said in a May 1 report for its first quarter 2025 earnings. The company just surpassed Wall Street estimates of $159.79 million by 1%.Riot’s Q1 revenue was a 50% jump compared to the same quarter a year ago.Riot blames “halving event” for expensesThe firm reported a net loss of $296,367 over Q1, a 240% decrease from the $211,777 net income it posted in the year-ago quarter.Riot said that the average cost to mine Bitcoin (BTC) over the quarter was $43,808, almost 90% more than the $23,034 it cost to mine Bitcoin in the same period last year.“The increase was primarily driven by the block subsidy ‘halving’ event, which occurred in April 2024, and a 41% increase in the average global network hashrate as compared to the same period in 2024,” Riot said.Shares in Riot Platforms (RIOT) closed May 1 trading up 7.32%, trading at $7.77, according to Google Finance.Riot Platforms is down 13.47% over the past six months. Source: Google FinanceMeanwhile, Riot produced 166 more Bitcoin during the quarter than it did over the same period in 2024. At the time of publication, with Bitcoin trading at $97,072, that equates to approximately $16.13 million.Related: Bitcoin miner Phoenix Group adds 52 MW of mining capacity in EthiopiaRiot currently holds 19,223 unencumbered Bitcoin, worth approximately $1.86 billion at the time of publication.On April 23, Riot announced that it had used its massive Bitcoin stockpile as collateral to secure a $100 million credit facility from Coinbase as the cryptocurrency miner eyes continued expansion. Les said the $100 million loan from Coinbase’s credit arm marked Riot’s “first Bitcoin-backed facility.”Magazine: Japanese porn star’s coin red flags, Alibaba-linked L2 runs at 100K TPS: Asia ExpressThis 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.

Online discussions about memecoins have hit a year-to-date high, gaining considerable attention after sentiment cooled earlier in the year, according to onchain analytics platform Santiment. Two weeks ago, discussions around Bitcoin (BTC) and layer-1 protocols peaked during the market volatility brought on by the Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs. However, that’s since shifted to high market cap memecoins, Santiment marketing director Brian Quinlivan said in a May 1 blog post.“Online discussions about these high-risk tokens have proliferated as traders embrace a gamble mindset, rather than a calculated investment approach,” he said.“This is a telltale sign that traders are increasingly investing based solely on speculation and short-term gains,” Quinlivan added.Online discussions about memecoins have hit a 2025 high, surpassing discussions about Bitcoin. Source: SantimentQuinlivan said the overall crypto market rose 10% in the past eight days, but Bitcoin only gained 7%, which indicates traders are flocking to more speculative assets.“Any time Bitcoin leads an initial rally and then begins to move sideways, investors generally start taking bigger risks in hopes of scoring even higher returns through more speculative and riskier purchases,” he said.Dogecoin discussions spike on ETF newsIn particular, Dogecoin (DOGE) has seen a notable spike in positive crowd sentiment after a major decline in crowd interest during April, as various applications for DOGE exchange-traded funds were filed in the US.Despite the Securities and Exchange Commission delaying its decision on these filings until mid-June, Quinlivan says traders are in a state of cautious anticipation.“Until late April, DOGE had been on a major decline in terms of crowd interest. But its social dominance has spiked to its highest level in nearly three months, as the conversations and filings surrounding Nasdaq’s ETF listings have risen,” he said.Dogecoin has seen a notable spike in positive crowd sentiment. Source: SantimentDefiLlama data shows PumpSwap, the decentralized exchange of the memecoin launch platform Pump.Fun saw a spike to $11 billion in monthly trading volume during April after recording only $1.7 billion in March.Related: Crypto token failures soar, with 1 in 4 launched since 2021 dying in Q1: CoinGeckoMeanwhile, Pump.Fun’s monthly trading volume rose to $3.3 billion in April, up from $2.5 billion in March.Memecoin activity exploded after the launch of US President Donald Trump’s memecoin on Jan. 18, with Pump.fun usage recording a high of $3.3 billion in weekly trading volume.However, traders soon cooled on memecoins. CoinGecko founder Bobby Ong said in a March 6 report that memecoin investor interest dropped after a series of bad launches, noting the fallout from the Libra (LIBRA) token launch in February as a significant catalyst. Magazine: Mystery celeb memecoin scam factory, HK firm dumps Bitcoin: Asia Express

What is AGI? When the lines blur between man and machine, you’re looking at artificial general intelligence (AGI). Unlike its counterpart, artificial narrow intelligence (ANI), which is the use of AI for solving individual problem statements, AGI represents artificial intelligence that can understand, learn and apply knowledge in a way that is indistinguishable from human cognition.AGI is still theoretical, but the prospect of artificial intelligence being able to holistically replace human input and judgment has naturally attracted plenty of interest, with researchers, technologists and academics alike seeking to bring the concept of AGI to reality. Yet another strand of prevailing research seeks to explore the feasibility and implications of AGI vs. ANI in a world increasingly shaped by AI capabilities. Indeed, while ANI has already transformed various industries, AGI’s potential goes far beyond. Imagine a world where machines can not only assist humans in their tasks but also proactively understand the drivers behind specific tasks, predict outcomes, and autonomously create innovative solutions to achieve optimal results. This paradigm shift could revolutionize healthcare, education, transportation and countless other fields. Why is AGI so powerful? Unlike ANI, AGI is not confined to pre-programmed tasks or predefined responses within a limited domain. Instead, it has the potential to generate and apply knowledge across various contexts.Imagine a self-driving car powered by AGI. It can collect a passenger from a train station but also personalize the journey with custom recommendations for pit stops, sightseeing avenues or navigating unfamiliar roads to arrive at the desired destination. And because it’s a machine, AGI would not experience fatigue and would continue learning and improving at exponential speeds. Here’s a definition of AGI by Vitalik Buterin, who highlights the sheer potential of AGI:The example highlights some interesting features of AGI, which include:Learning capability: AGI can learn from experiences and improve its performance over time without a concerted effort by human programmers to perform additional data set training. This learning is not limited to specific tasks and instead encompasses a broad spectrum of activities.Problem-solving skills: AGI can solve complex problems by applying logical reasoning just as a human would. This includes consideration of non-traditional variables, such as emotional impact, which can highlight an even wider range of potential outcomes.Adaptability: AGI can adjust to new situations and environments without explicit programming, which means it can thrive in dynamic and unpredictable settings.Understanding and interpretation: AGI is equipped to comprehend natural language, abstract concepts and emotional nuance, allowing for sophisticated human-machine interactions.Did you know? Blockchain timestamps could serve as a legal memory for AGI systems, allowing future audits to determine exactly what an AGI knew — and when. The pursuit of AGI: Where does it stand as of April 2025? AGI is currently the science-fiction version of AI. However, while still theoretical, the sheer potential of the concept makes AGI the science fiction equivalent of artificial intelligence. While existing models, such as ChatGPT, are constantly evolving and improving with each day, the journey to bringing AGI to life involves overcoming significant technical challenges, such as:Defining the tech stack: The purely hypothetical nature of AGI makes it exceedingly difficult, if not altogether impossible, to determine the precise nature of the technological stack required for practical implementation.Neural networks: Advances in deep learning have propelled this field forward, but AGI would also require specialist neural networks that mimic the human brain’s structure to process information and introduce a layer of emotion and nuance.Natural language processing (NLP): Significant advances are required in the field of NLP to enable machines to better understand and generate human language, incorporating nuance, emotion and complexities. This includes a more complex analysis of language syntax, semantics and context, which is still evolving in traditional machine learning models that leverage NLP. Reinforcement learning: Using reward-based mechanisms to teach machines to make decisions would allow AGI to learn optimal behaviors through trial and error.Despite advancements, creating AGI that can truly think like a human remains an elusive goal.Did you know? DeepMind warns that not all AI risks come from the machines themselves — some start with humans misusing them. In its paper titled ‘An Approach to Technical AGI Safety and Security’, DeepMind identifies four key threats: misuse (bad actors using AI for harm), misalignment (AI knowingly going against its developer’s intent), mistakes (AI causes harm without realizing it), and structural risks (failures that emerge from complex interactions between people, organizations, or systems). Can AGI think like a human? The question of whether AGI can think like a human delves into the very core of human cognition. Human thinking is characterized by consciousness, emotional depth, creativity and subjectivity. While AGI can simulate certain aspects of human thought, replicating the full spectrum of human cognition is a formidable challenge.Several dimensions of human cognition are particularly difficult to emulate:Consciousness and self-awareness: One of the defining traits of human thinking is consciousness, the awareness of oneself and one’s surroundings. AGI, as sophisticated as it may become, lacks the intrinsic human ability to introspect. AGI operates on an underlying set of algorithms and complex, learned patterns, without any subjectivity or genuine emotion.Emotional intelligence: Humans experience a wide range of emotions that influence their decisions, behaviors and interactions. While AGI can be trained to recognize and respond to such emotions, the lack of genuine emotional experience means that it cannot wholly replicate these emotions. Emotional intelligence in humans involves empathy, compassion and moral considerations, elements that are challenging to encode into machines.Creativity and innovation: Creativity involves generating novel ideas and solutions, often through intuitive leaps and imaginative thinking. AGI can mimic creativity by combining existing knowledge in new ways, but it lacks the intrinsic motivation and subjective insight that drive human innovation. True creativity stems from emotional experiences, personal reflections and cultural contexts, which AGI cannot authentically replicate. Key benefits of AGI The litmus test for AGI lies in its ability to holistically replicate a human experience. When realized, the potential benefits are enormous and stretch across various industries, spawning various aspects of daily life.Despite its limitations, AGI is increasingly viewed as a force for good across a range of industries, including:Healthcare: AGI can assist in diagnosing diseases, developing personalized treatment plans and predicting customized health outcomes, leveraging a vast body of underlying training data.Education: It can provide customized learning experiences, tutoring and academic research support. AGI can adapt to individual learning styles and pace, enhancing educational outcomes.Economics: It can optimize financial models, predict market trends, and enhance productivity. It can analyze economic data to forecast market trends and guide investment decisions.Environmental Science: AGI can analyze climate data, model ecological impacts, and propose sustainable solutions.Additionally, AGI’s potential extends to areas such as transportation, communication and entertainment, offering new frontiers for innovation.Did you know? Some futurists believe AGI systems could eventually negotiate with each other autonomously using blockchain-based smart contracts — forming agreements, trading data or even co-developing solutions without human intervention. Ethical and societal considerations The rise of AGI raises significant ethical and societal questions. While powerful, AGI requires careful consideration for safe usage, which has prompted the creation of nonprofit societies, such as the AGI Society, as shown in the image below.Fundamentally, it is crucial to address concerns such as:Safety: Ensuring AGI operates within safe and controlled parameters to prevent unintended consequences. This includes robust testing and the introduction of regulatory frameworks to oversee AGI deployment.Privacy: Protecting personal data from misuse by AGI systems. As AGI can process vast amounts of data, safeguarding privacy is paramount.Bias and fairness: Preventing discriminatory practices and ensuring equitable access to AGI benefits. Developers must ensure that AGI systems are free from biases that could lead to unfair treatment.Employment: Addressing the impact of AGI on job displacement and workforce dynamics. As AGI automates tasks, there is a need to consider its impact on employment and provide support for affected workers.The integration of AGI into society requires a thoughtful approach to its governance, ensuring that it serves the common good and respects social values. Can blockchain power AGI? AGI could create computers as smart as humans, revolutionizing fields like cryptocurrency trading or market analysis. But AGI needs trust and fairness to work for everyone. Blockchain, the tech behind Bitcoin and Ethereum, offers a secure, transparent way to make this happen. Here’s how blockchain can supercharge AGI with crypto-inspired solutions:Clear training records: Blockchain works like Bitcoin’s open transaction log, recording every piece of data (e.g., crypto trading patterns) used to train AGI. This helps ensure the system is fair and free from hidden biases.Shared decision-making: Similar to Ethereum’s smart contracts, blockchain will allow developers, traders and users to vote on AGI’s rules, ensuring no single company controls it.Safe data sharing: Like crypto wallets safeguarding funds, blockchain could protect sensitive data from crypto exchanges, allowing secure sharing for AGI training without leaks.Rewards for fairness: Developers who build unbiased AGI, such as accurate trading predictors, could earn digital tokens, just like crypto mining rewards, encouraging ethical work.However, ongoing challenges such as blockchain’s slow speed, delays in crypto transactions and limited storage capacity could make it hard for AGI to process data quickly or handle large datasets.To make blockchain AGI-ready, researchers are already exploring:Offchain storage: Decentralized systems like InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) are used to store large files offchain, while the blockchain keeps only verifiable hashes, reducing congestion.Sharding and danksharding: Like Ethereum’s scalability upgrades, sharding splits data across multiple nodes, allowing AGI to process more information without slowing down the network. Also, danksharding, an advanced form of sharding being developed for Ethereum, combines rollups and data availability sampling to scale data access efficiently — ideal for real-time AGI applications.Data pruning: Advanced blockchain models like Decentralized Artificial Intelligent Blockchain-based Computing Network (DAIBCN) prune old or irrelevant data, keeping the system lean and optimized for high-demand tasks like AGI. DAIBCN also enables secure, distributed AI computing — blending blockchain trust with AI performance. The future of AGI Artificial general intelligence represents the pinnacle of AI development, promising capabilities that rival human intellect. While AGI can simulate aspects of human thinking, achieving true human-like cognition remains a distant goal. Consciousness, emotional depth and creativity are intrinsic to human experience and pose significant challenges for AGI. Nevertheless, the pursuit of AGI continues to drive innovation and reshape our understanding of intelligence. As we advance toward this frontier, it is imperative to navigate ethical considerations and societal impacts to responsibly harness AGI’s potential.Ongoing research, identifying practical opportunities and technical requirements, and initiating dialogue across society are all essential steps to address the challenges and opportunities posed by AGI. The future of AGI holds promise, but it requires a balanced approach to ensure that its eventual integration into society enhances human well-being and respects ethical standards.

Opinion by: Merav Ozair, PhDLately, stablecoins are everywhere — this time around, headed by “traditional” financial institutions. Bank of America and Standard Chartered are considering launching their own stablecoin, joining JPMorgan, which launched its stablecoin, JPM Coin — rebranded as Kinexys Digital Payments — to facilitate transactions with their institutional clients on their blockchain platform, Kinexys (formerly Onyx). Mastercard plans to bring stablecoins to the mainstream, joining Bleap Finance, a crypto startup. The aim is to enable stablecoins to be spent directly onchain — without conversions or intermediaries — seamlessly integrating blockchain assets with Mastercard’s global payment rails. In early April 2025, Visa joined the Global Dollar Network (USDG) stablecoin consortium. The company will become the first traditional finance player to join the consortium. In late March 2025, NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) announced that it is investigating applications for using USDC (USDC) stablecoin and US Yield Coin within its derivatives exchanges, clearinghouses, data services and other markets.Why the renewed interest in stablecoins?Regulatory clarity and acceptanceRecent moves by regulatory bodies in the United States and Europe have created more straightforward guidelines for cryptocurrency use. In the US, Congress is considering legislation to establish formal standards for stablecoins, bolstering confidence among banks and fintech companies.The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation requires that stablecoin issuers operating within the EU adhere to specific financial standards, including special reserve requirements and risk mitigation. In the UK, financial authorities plan to conduct consultations to draft rules governing stablecoin use, further facilitating their acceptance and adoption.The Trump administration executive order 14067, “Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology,” supports and “promotes the development and growth of lawful and legitimate dollar-backed stablecoins worldwide” while “prohibiting the establishment, issuance, circulation, and use of a CBDC within the jurisdiction of the United States.”This executive order, followed by Trump’s World Liberty Financial company launching a stablecoin called USD1, signals that this is the era of stablecoins, particularly those pegged to the USD.Do we need more stablecoins?The stablecoin landscapeThere are over 200 stablecoins, most pegged to the US dollar. Two established stablecoins dominate the stablecoin landscape. Tether’s USDt (USDT), the oldest stablecoin, launched in 2014 and USDC, launched in 2018, capturing 65% and 28% of stablecoins market cap, respectively — both are centralized fiat collateralized. Recent: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fightIn third place, a relatively new one, USDe, launched in February 2024, holds about 2% of the stablecoin market cap and has an unconventional mechanism based on derivatives in the crypto market. Although it runs on a DeFi protocol on Ethereum, it incorporates centralized features since centralized exchanges hold the derivatives positions.There are three primary mechanisms of stablecoins:Centralized, fiat-collateralized: A centralized company maintains reserves of the assets in a bank or trust (e.g., for currency) or a vault (e.g., for gold) and issues tokens (i.e., stablecoins) that represent a claim on the underlying asset.Decentralized, cryptocurrency-collateralized: A stablecoin is backed by other decentralized crypto assets. One example can be found in the MakerDAO stablecoin Dai (DAI), which is pegged to the US dollar and encapsulates the features of decentralization. While a central organization controls centralized stablecoins, no one entity controls the issuance of DAI.Decentralized, uncollateralized: This mechanism ensures the stability of the coin’s value by controlling its supply through an algorithm executed by a smart contract. In some ways, this is no different from central banks, which also don’t rely on reserve assets to keep the value of their currency stable. The difference is that central banks, like the Federal Reserve, set a monetary policy publicly based on well-understood parameters, and its status as the issuer of legal tender provides the credibility of that policy.Depegging, risk and fraudstersStablecoins are supposed to be stable. They were created to overcome the inherent volatility of cryptocurrencies. To maintain their stability, stablecoins should (1) be pegged to a stable asset and (2) follow a mechanism that sustains the peg.If stablecoins are pegged to gold or electricity, they will reflect the volatility of these assets and thus may not be the best choice if you are seeking a no-risk (or close to no-risk) asset.USDe maintains a peg to the USD through delta hedging. It uses short and long positions in futures, which generates a 27% yield annually — significantly higher than the 12% annual yield of other stablecoins pegged to the USD. Derivative positions are considered risky — the higher the risk, the higher the return. Therefore, it encapsulates an inherited risk due to its reliance on derivatives, which runs counter to the purpose of stablecoins. Stablecoins have been around for more than a decade. During this time, there were no major depegging fiascos other than the case of Terra. The collapse of Terra was not the result of a reserve problem or mechanism but rather the act of fraudsters and manipulators.TerraUSD (UST) had a built-in arbitrage mechanism between UST and the Terra blockchain native coin, LUNA. To create UST, you needed to burn LUNA.To entice traders to burn LUNA and create UST, the creators of the Terra blockchain offered a 19.5% yield on staking, which is crypto terminology for earning 19.5% interest on a deposit, through what they called the Anchor protocol.Such a high interest rate is simply not sustainable. Someone has to borrow at such a rate or above for the lender to receive 19.5% interest. This is how banks make their profit — they charge high interest on borrowing (such as mortgages or loans) and provide low interest on savings (such as a traditional savings account or a certificate of deposit account). Analysis of the Anchor protocol in January 2022 showed it was at a loss.One of the allegations in the lawsuits against Terraform Labs’ founders is that the Anchor protocol was a Ponzi scheme.In March 2025, Galaxy Digital reached a $200-million settlement with the New York Attorney General over claims the crypto investing company promoted the LUNA digital asset without disclosing its interest in the token.In January 2025, Do Kwon, founder of Terra, was found liable for securities fraud and is facing multiple charges in the US, including fraud, wire fraud and commodities fraud. If regulators are interested in preventing future cases like Terra, they should focus on how to deter fraudsters and manipulators from issuing or engaging with stablecoins.Decentralization: Rekindling the premise of BitcoinMost stablecoins are centralized assets collateralized. They are controlled by a company that could conduct unauthorized use of customers’ funds or falsely claim that reserves fully back a stablecoin.To prevent companies’ misconduct, regulators should closely monitor these companies and set rules similar to securities laws. Centralized stablecoins run counter to the notion of blockchain and the premise of Bitcoin. When Bitcoin was launched, it was supposed to be a payment platform free of intermediaries, not controlled by any company, bank or government — a decentralized mechanism — run by the people for the people.If a stablecoin is centralized, it should follow the regulations of any other centralized asset.Maybe it’s time to rekindle the premise of Bitcoin but in a more “stable” fashion. Developing an algorithmic, decentralized stablecoin that is free of any control of a company, bank or government and reviving the core notion of blockchain.Opinion by: Merav Ozair, PhD.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.

As the crypto space developed, blockchain use cases expanded from simple digital currencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to more complex areas such as digital identity verification and telecommunications. Ahead of the Token2049 event in Dubai, Cointelegraph spoke with Spacecoin CEO Stuart Gardner, Spacecoin founder Tae Oh, and Humanity Protocol founder Terrence Kwok to explore how they use blockchain to improve certain industries. From addressing challenges like verification in the artificial intelligence era to bringing internet connectivity to developing countries, projects are integrating blockchain to solve problems in different industries.  Digital identity verification to combat the AI threat As artificial intelligence developed, the technology brought improvements that people could benefit from. However, the technology was also adopted by malicious actors who used the tech to perform AI-assisted hack research and deepfake scams.  Kwok told Cointelegraph that just two years ago, the idea of having to prove you’re human seemed “crazy.” However, with today’s advancements in AI, it has become remarkably easy to fake being a real person.“As for content, you can't tell if it's AI-generated or not. Video deepfakes, you cannot tell, right? Even documents. It's super easy now to use AI to create a fake proof of address, a fake proof of balance for your bank statement. I think in the future it's only going to get worse,” he said. The executive also said that in the future, AI may also exist in the physical world through humanoids that might mimic human beings. In 2024, Tesla's humanoid robot project was showcased on social media, highlighting developments in humanoid robotics. Kwok said that the development of robots underscores the need for human identity verification even more. The executive said that this was why they launched the Humanity Protocol, which uses blockchain tech for digital identity verification. “The internet is filled with bots, you know, it's filled with AI agents. They're great, but there's also a need to be able to verify and check whether something or somebody is a person or not,” Kwok told Cointelegraph. Terrence Kwok (left) and Cointelegraph’s Ezra Reguerra at the Dubai Polo and Equestrian Club. Source: CointelegraphRelated: Global demand grows for non-dollar stablecoins, says Fireblocks execDecentralized satellite network to combat the connectivity oligopolyApart from digital identity, blockchain technology is also being used to create a decentralized satellite network. Gardner told Cointelegraph that at the moment, the satellite connectivity landscape is an oligopoly, a market structure where the industry is dominated by only a few large players. The executive pointed out that Starlink and Amazon lead the race, while the EU and China are catching up. However, the big problem is that over 150 countries are lagging behind. “They're going to become reliant upon working with one of these oligopolies for their connectivity. And that poses a big issue for these people,” Gardner added. On Nov. 1, Spacecoin unveiled a plan to launch a decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) through a fleet of nanosatellites in space. Oh told Cointelegraph that the Spacecoin idea came from the observation that the space industry is getting heavily commoditized. However, the executive said that it was possible for smaller companies or even individuals to launch their own satellites and start building constellations for connectivity. The Spacecoin founder added that since different people or entities own each satellite, it's essentially a "decentralized network." The executive said that they integrated crypto into the project to have a "trustless means of payment and data exchange." Oh said that this was where the blockchain comes in. Gardner (left), Oh (center), and Reguerra at the Crypto Polo event in Dubai. Source: CointelegraphMagazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight

Movement Labs confirmed the suspension of its co-founder, Rushi Manche, following controversies over a market maker deal that he brokered.Movement announced the suspension of Manche in a May 2 X post, explaining that the “decision was made in light of ongoing events.” The decision follows Coinbase's recent decision to suspend the Movement Network (MOVE) trading, citing the token’s failure to meet its listing standards.Source: MovementThe suspension came after a recently announced third-party review requested by the Movement Network Foundation into an agreement orchestrated by Manche with Rentech — the latter helped broker an agreement with market maker Web3Port. Private intelligence firm Groom Lake is conducting the investigation.This was followed by Web3Port reportedly selling the 66 million MOVE that it gained through the deal — about 5% of the total supply. This led to $38 million in downward price pressure in December 2024.Groom Lake refused to comment on the investigation.Related: Citadel Securities eyes market-making role for crypto exchanges: ReportMarket makers are a controversial player in cryptoAccording to a recent analysis, the right market maker can be a launchpad for a cryptocurrency project, opening the door to major exchanges and providing valuable liquidity to ensure a token is tradeable. On the other hand, when the wrong incentives are set, market makers can kill a project as it is taking its first steps in the market.A summer 2024 report suggests that up to 78% of new token listings since April 2024 have been poorly conducted, with some suggesting that market makers are involved.Related: How to choose a market maker for your Web3 projectLawsuits claim market maker manipulationCreditors of bankrupt cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network have alleged that leading crypto market maker Wintermute was involved in the wash trading of the Celsius token. Wash trading is a form of market manipulation that creates the illusion that a particular asset is trading at a higher volume than it actually is.This is far from the only such case. In late 2024, Fracture Labs, creator of the Web3 game Decimated, filed suit against market maker Jump Crypto for allegedly orchestrating a pump-and-dump scheme using its in-game currency, DIO.Another notable example is a Wall Street Journal report claimed that DWF Labs, one of Binance’s largest trading clients, engaged in market manipulation, wash trading and inflated trading volumes amounting to $300 million through deals with crypto projects. DWF Labs and Binance later denied the accusation in May 2024.Last month, a Massachusetts court fined crypto market maker CLS Global for fraudulent manipulation of trading volumes. In late February, the founder of a so-called crypto hedge fund and market maker called Gotbit was extradited from Portugal to the US, where he faces market manipulation charges and wire fraud conspiracy.Magazine: What do crypto market makers actually do? Liquidity, or manipulation