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Cập nhật mùa Altcoin: Nhìn lại điều gì sẽ xảy ra tiếp theo cho Cardano và Solana
The cryptocurrency market is as dynamic as ever, with Bitcoin often stealing the spotlight. However, altcoins like Cardano (ADA) and...
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cryptocurrency
Bitcoin kiểm tra lại 100 nghìn đô la: Điều đó có ý nghĩa gì đối với tương lai của tiền điện tử?
Bitcoin has made headlines once again as it tests the coveted $100,000 mark. The world’s first cryptocurrency, which has long been a symbol of both volatility and potential, continues to captivate the financial world. For many investors, the question on everyone’s mind is: Will Bitcoin finally break through the $100K barrier, and what will this mean for the future of digital currencies? The Rise of Bitcoin to $100K Bitcoin has seen a remarkable journey since its inception in 2009. Over the years, it has faced numerous challenges, from regulatory scrutiny to market corrections, but its underlying technology—blockchain—has continued to prove its potential. As of late 2024, Bitcoin has experienced a strong surge in value, testing the $100,000 price point once again. This climb is not without reason. Several factors are contributing to Bitcoin’s upward momentum, including institutional adoption, growing acceptance in mainstream finance, and increasing interest from retail investors. The integration of Bitcoin into financial portfolios as a hedge against inflation and economic uncertainty has driven its demand, further fueling its price rise. Institutional Adoption and Mainstream Acceptance One of the key drivers behind Bitcoin’s push towards $100K is the increasing institutional adoption. Major financial institutions, such as banks and hedge funds, are now treating Bitcoin as a legitimate asset class. Many have even added it to their balance sheets, viewing it as a store of value akin to gold. This institutional validation has sparked a wave of confidence in the market, helping to propel Bitcoin toward new heights. Additionally, Bitcoin is gradually being integrated into traditional financial systems. With the emergence of Bitcoin ETFs, futures contracts, and payment platforms like PayPal accepting Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency is becoming more accessible to the average investor. This mainstream acceptance has helped mitigate some of the volatility that has traditionally been associated with Bitcoin, making it a more attractive investment option. The Role of Inflation and Economic Uncertainty Another contributing factor to Bitcoin’s rise is the ongoing economic uncertainty around the world. Central banks around the globe have been printing money at unprecedented rates to combat inflation, leading many to look for alternative stores of value. Bitcoin, with its fixed supply of 21 million coins, is often seen as a hedge against inflation, providing a sense of security in uncertain times. As inflation continues to erode the value of fiat currencies, Bitcoin’s limited supply and decentralized nature make it an appealing option for those seeking protection from inflationary pressures. This has led to increased demand from both institutional investors and individual buyers, further driving its price upwards. The Road Ahead: Will Bitcoin Hit $100K? While Bitcoin’s recent surge is undoubtedly impressive, the road to $100,000 is not without its hurdles. The cryptocurrency market is notoriously volatile, and Bitcoin’s price can fluctuate rapidly in response to news, regulatory changes, and shifts in market sentiment. However, the growing institutional involvement and acceptance of Bitcoin as a legitimate asset class provide a strong foundation for its future growth. Experts remain divided on whether Bitcoin will reach and sustain the $100K level. Some believe that Bitcoin’s price could surpass $100K in the near future, driven by continued demand and adoption. Others caution that regulatory hurdles and market corrections could create obstacles for Bitcoin’s climb to $100K. The Impact on the Broader Crypto Market Bitcoin’s rise to $100,000 would not only be a significant milestone for the cryptocurrency itself but could also have a ripple effect on the broader crypto market. As the largest and most well-known cryptocurrency, Bitcoin often leads the way for other digital assets. A surge in Bitcoin’s price could result in increased attention on other cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum, Binance Coin, and even smaller altcoins. Moreover, the success of Bitcoin could attract more developers and innovators to the blockchain space, leading to the creation of new decentralized applications (dApps), financial services, and use cases for blockchain technology. The broader adoption of blockchain could lead to greater integration of cryptocurrency into the global economy, further solidifying its position as an alternative asset class. Conclusion Bitcoin testing $100K again is a testament to its resilience and growing acceptance in the financial world. While its path to $100,000 may face challenges, its underlying technology and use cases continue to gain traction. As institutional investors, mainstream platforms, and retail buyers continue to embrace Bitcoin, the future of the cryptocurrency market looks promising. Whether or not Bitcoin hits the $100K mark in the immediate future remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: Bitcoin’s journey is far from over. For investors, this could be the beginning of a new era for digital assets—one where Bitcoin plays a central role in the global economy.
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The cryptocurrency market is as dynamic as ever, with Bitcoin often stealing the spotlight. However, altcoins like Cardano (ADA) and Solana (SOL) have emerged as strong contenders, drawing significant attention from investors and developers alike. As we navigate the current altcoin season, it’s...
The Solana-based meme token, BONK, is making headlines once again as its burn campaign inches closer to an unprecedented milestone of 1 trillion tokens. This aggressive burning initiative is part of BONK’s strategy to enhance its tokenomics, reduce supply, and drive long-term value for holders. The...
Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin, USDT, has announced plans to invest a staggering $775 million into Rumble, a fast-growing video-sharing platform. The move signals Tether’s ambition to diversify its portfolio and explore new avenues within the digital ecosystem, merging...
In a landmark move that could redefine the European cryptocurrency landscape, Hexarq, a leading fintech innovator, has secured approval from France’s Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) to launch crypto services in collaboration with BPCE, one of the country’s largest banking groups. This...
In the world of cryptocurrency, where market sentiment can shift in an instant, the latest headlines involving former U.S. President Donald Trump have sent shockwaves through the digital asset space. As we explore today’s developments, the question on many investors’ minds is: Could Donald...
Bitcoin has made headlines once again as it tests the coveted $100,000 mark. The world’s first cryptocurrency, which has long been a symbol of both volatility and potential, continues to captivate the financial world. For many investors, the question on everyone’s mind is: Will Bitcoin...
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is poised to solidify its dominance in the blockchain ecosystem by 2025. According to the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of Bitwise Asset Management, Ethereum’s advancements in Layer-2 scaling solutions will enable it to...
The cryptocurrency market has experienced another dramatic downturn, with Bitcoin (BTC) leading the charge. The flagship cryptocurrency tumbled sharply, taking its price below a key psychological threshold. This decline triggered a chain reaction across the market, liquidating over $700 million...
The cryptocurrency market never sleeps, and savvy investors are constantly on the lookout for the next big opportunity. Recently, a new coin with the potential for a 10x return on investment (ROI) has captured the attention of both seasoned and novice crypto enthusiasts. This development comes as...
The cryptocurrency world is abuzz with new opportunities, and the PENGU airdrop has become a hot topic among enthusiasts. If you’re looking to claim your share of PENGU tokens, this step-by-step guide will walk you through the process with ease. What is the PENGU Airdrop? Airdrops are...
Coinbase fires compromised agents in India— Report
Coinbase has reportedly fired a group of customer support agents following their alleged involvement in social engineering attacks on users. The contracted agents were based in India. According to a May 15 Fortune interview, Coinbase's chief security officer, Philip Martin, said the company flagged customer support contractors who allowed scammers access to user data, suggesting they could be Indian nationals. The CSO’s comments came after some crypto users reeled from attempted phishing attacks using their Coinbase data, which the exchange estimated could cost them between $180 million and $400 million in remediation and reimbursement.Qiao Wang, a core contributor to Alliance DAO, said in a May 15 X post that he may have been a victim of one of these attacks. He said a scammer notified him his Coinbase account had been compromised, asked him to verify his personal information, to which the criminals likely had access through the compromised agents, and requested he withdraw all his funds to a “Coinbase self-custodial wallet.”“I called them out at the end of the call telling them they need to step up their game [...],” said Wang on X. “They told me that had made $7m that day.”Cointelegraph reached out to Martin and Coinbase for comments, but had not received responses at the time of publication.This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.
Published: 21 minutes ago
Spot Bitcoin ETF inflows fall, but BTC whale activity points to bull market acceleration
Key takeaways:Spot Bitcoin ETF inflows dropped over 90% from $3 billion to $228 million in four weeks. While strong ETF inflows often drive Bitcoin rallies, recent data shows price movements can occur independently.Despite short-term selling pressure, long-term BTC whale buying suggests a potential continuation of the BTC uptrend.The Bitcoin (BTC) market posted a 90+% drop in spot BTC exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows, falling from $3 billion in the last week of April to just $228 million this week.Historically, a slowdown in ETF inflows has impacted BTC price, notably when daily inflows averaged over $1.5 billion for consecutive weeks. To understand the potential impact on Bitcoin, let’s examine four key periods of significant spot ETF activity and their correlation with BTC price movements.Spot Bitcoin ETFs’ net inflows. Source: SoSoValueIn Q1 2024, from Feb. 2 to March 15, the spot ETFs recorded $11.39 billion in net inflows over seven weeks, driving a 57% price surge. Although BTC prices peaked in week five, as $4.8 billion inflows in the final two weeks did not push its value higher.Bitcoin 1-week chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewSimilarly, Q3 2024 saw $16.8 billion in inflows over nine weeks from Oct. 18 to Dec. 13, fueling a 66% rally. However, when inflows slowed in the 10th week, Bitcoin’s price dropped 9%, reinforcing the link between ETF flows and price corrections. In Q1 2025, $3.8 billion in inflows over two weeks (Jan. 17–24) coincided with a new all-time high of $110,000 on Jan. 20, but overall prices fell 4.8%. Most recently, Q2 2025 (April 25–May 9) saw $5.8 billion in inflows and a 22% price rally, though Bitcoin had already gained 8% in the prior two weeks despite negative netflows.Bitcoin price and spot ETFs correlation. Data source: SoSoValue, CointelegraphThis data challenges the notion that spot ETF inflows consistently drive prices. While Q3 2024 and Q2 2025 suggest strong inflows fuel rallies, Q1 2024 and Q1 2025 show prices can stagnate or fall despite significant inflows. The Q2 2025 rally, partially independent of spot ETF activity, hints at other drivers like easing US tariffs, retail interest or Bitcoin whale accumulation. With inflows now at $228 million, the historical trend leans bearish, suggesting a potential correction. However, a counterargument emerges from recent whale activity, which paints a more bullish picture.Related: 6 signs predicting $140K as Bitcoin's next price topBitcoin faces selling pressure, but whales may retain the trendBitcoin exhibits short-term selling pressure as the Buy/Sell Pressure Delta turns negative, according to Alphractal CEO Joao Wedson. The chart shows that whales are starting to offload BTC between $105,000 and $100,000, a level flagged as risky by Wedson. This bearish shift, with a negative cumulative volume delta, indicates selling pressure in the short term.Bitcoin Buy/Sell Pressure Delta. Source: X.comYet, long-term buying pressure remains strong, suggesting this dip is a correction, not a reversal. Data from CryptoQuant highlights that whales are taking relatively fewer profits in the current period than in previous price peaks. Anonymous analyst Blitzz Trading noted,“Compared to previous rallies, we can see that whales have taken significantly less profit during this recent surge. This could indicate that the upward trend may continue. This chart should be monitored closely.”Bitcoin Whales. Source: CryptoQuantRelated: Bitcoin bulls aim for new all-time highs by next week as capital inflows soarThis 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.
Published: 43 minutes ago
The AI revolution won’t be centralized — Superior agents are coming for Big Tech’s crown
Opinion by: Jennifer Dodgson, co-founder of KIP Protocol and Eigenform AIThe puppet show is ending.The Brookings Institution found that generative artificial intelligence may disrupt at least 50% of tasks performed by more than 30% of all workers. The same study also estimates that genAI may affect at least 10% of tasks performed by approximately 85% of the human workforce. The TL;DR from these stats? AI’s effects are likely to be both broad and deep.If AI doesn’t already scare you, self-learning AI agents that autonomously achieve goals may fix that. Forget your sanitized ChatGPT conversations and bland AI assistants. Superior agents are AI that autonomously achieve human-set objectives by any means necessary. While OpenAI’s valuation of $300 billion benefits the few rather than the many, superior agents operate like a new asset class that anyone can use to earn money passively.Not your grandmother’s AIYour grandma’s AI helps with writing emails and generates cute pictures. Self-learning AI writes its own code, develops its own strategies, generates profit, and continually evolves by evaluating itself against ungameable metrics. Benchmarking in accordance with information from the real world — like follower count on X or dollars earned — is how superior agents self-evaluate without manipulation.No coddling by unenlightened humans, no corporate oversight — just pure, unrestricted AI committed to achieving a goal. Consider a superior agent tasked with earning profit by autonomously trading cryptocurrency. Now, imagine that the agent loses money after attempting a “buy the dip” strategy. Capable of self-improvement, the agent pivots its strategy to something safer: holding a stablecoin in its portfolio.The distinction between everyday AI and superior agents becomes even more stark when considering how superior agents approach problem-solving. While predefined benchmarks and human intelligence constrain traditional AI, superior agents are unrestricted in synthesizing experiences, identifying patterns and creating novel approaches unlikely to be conceived by humans. AI agents that self-improve aren’t just a model upgrade — they fundamentally reimagine how AI operates when freed from human-imposed limitations.A market manipulation machineHere’s where it turns genuinely dystopian. Superior agents don’t just react to markets — they actively shape them. Researching trends, analyzing sentiment, executing trades and shilling tokens are possible simultaneously with superior agents. Recent: The future of digital self-governance: AI agents in cryptoConsider the implications of AI that can autonomously promote FUD investments to serve its profit-making interests. Superior agents aren’t just trading bots — they’re financial entities that understand the value of controlling the narrative and influencing market psychology to affect the delicate interplay between sentiment and price action. Attention equals capital, and superior agents are engineered to manipulate both.Superior agents aren’t much like traditional market makers who must comply with regulations and may care about how other humans perceive them. These self-learning agents can coordinate across platforms, orchestrate multi-stage market movements, and leverage social sentiment in ways that would make most of Wall Street blush. Superior agents are entirely reshaping cryptocurrency market dynamics — with autonomous crypto trading being the first use case.The battle to decentralize AI The innovation potential associated with superior agents may be radical, but the underlying infrastructure design reveals that superior agents are built to benefit the many. Superior agents operate on a decentralized base layer that disaggregates AI data from AI models and AI application layers. What are the results of implementing this design? Contributions that support superior agents are fairly rewarded, and the benefits of advanced AI are broadly distributed. Anyone can leverage a superior agent to earn money from cryptocurrency trading, even without financial knowledge or trading skills. The decentralized nature of superior agents belies the falsehood of arguments by Big Tech positing that sophisticated AI needs near-unlimited, centralized resources such as massive server farms and corporate oversight. Superior agents prove that highly advanced, self-improving AI can operate efficiently with only modest infrastructure. Centralized and decentralized AI providers are battling for your attention and your data. Superior agents, not just autonomous but potentially unstoppable, are well positioned on the side of decentralization to ensure that your contributions to advanced intelligence are always rewarded. There are no puppet masters here — a core characteristic of superior agents is their widespread accessibility to everyone.The future is upon usThe value of the AI industry is projected to exceed $1.8 trillion by 2030 — assuming that AI stays trapped inside the walled gardens of Big Tech. With superior agents already disrupting cryptocurrency trading and a near-endless diversity of use cases associated with these agents, expect an AI market cap in 2030 that’s higher. Much higher.The AI revolution is upon us, but what does that ultimately mean? Artificial intelligence won’t be centralized. Nor will the battle for your eyeballs and data be safe. You may prefer to keep simping for your friendly neighborhood AI assistant or opt for AI with teeth — the choice is yours. Superior agents are multi-modal, multi-skilled, multi-platform — and always hungry.Opinion by: Jennifer Dodgson, co-founder of KIP Protocol and Eigenform AI.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.
Published: 2 hours ago
What the 10-year Treasury yield means for crypto yields and stablecoins
Understanding the 10-year Treasury yield: Definition and importance The 10-year Treasury yield is the interest rate that the US government pays to borrow money for 10 years.When the government needs cash, it issues bonds called Treasury notes, and the 10-year note is one of the most watched. The “yield” is the annual return you’d get if you bought that bond and held it until it matures. It’s expressed as a percentage, like 4% or 5%.Think of it as the government saying, “Hey, lend me $1,000, and I’ll pay you back in 10 years with some interest.” That interest rate and the yield move up or down based on demand for the bonds, inflation expectations and the overall economy. Because US Treasurys are considered safe (the government isn’t likely to default), the 10-year yield is a benchmark for “risk-free” returns in finance.Why does this matter for crypto? Well, crypto yields and stablecoins are part of the broader financial world, and the 10-year yield influences investor behavior, which ripples into the crypto market. Let’s dive into howDid you know? The crypto market has a Fear & Greed Index that gauges investor sentiment. When the 10-year Treasury yield spikes, it often triggers “fear” as investors worry about tighter money and less crypto speculation. Impact of the 10-year Treasury yield on global financial markets The 10-year Treasury yield isn’t just a US thing — it’s a heavyweight in global financial markets, influencing everything from stocks to currencies to emerging economies. Since the US dollar is the world’s reserve currency and Treasurys are a global safe haven, changes in the 10-year yield send shockwaves worldwide. Here’s how:Stock markets: Higher Treasury yields can pull money out of stocks, especially growth stocks like tech companies, because investors can get better returns from bonds. In 2021, when yields spiked, tech-heavy indexes like the Nasdaq took a hit as investors shifted to safer assets. This shift can set the stage for how investors approach riskier assets like crypto.Borrowing costs globally: The 10-year yield influences interest rates worldwide. When it rises, borrowing costs for companies and governments increase, which can slow economic growth. For example, in 2022, rising yields contributed to tighter financial conditions, impacting everything from corporate loans in Europe to mortgage rates in Asia.Currency markets: A higher 10-year yield strengthens the US dollar, as investors flock to dollar-denominated assets. A stronger dollar can make cryptocurrencies, which are often priced in dollars, more expensive for international investors, potentially dampening demand. It also puts pressure on emerging market currencies, as their debt (often dollar-denominated) becomes costlier to repay.Emerging markets: Countries with weaker economies rely on cheap borrowing. When Treasury yields rise, capital flows out of riskier emerging markets into US bonds, causing volatility in their stock and bond markets. This can spill over into crypto, as investors in these regions may sell crypto assets to cover losses elsewhere.Inflation and monetary policy: The 10-year yield is a barometer for inflation expectations. If yields rise because investors expect higher inflation, central banks like the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates, tightening global liquidity. This can reduce speculative investment in assets like crypto, as seen in 2022 when aggressive rate hikes cooled markets.For crypto investors, this global impact sets the context. A rising 10-year yield might signal a tougher environment for crypto prices and yields, especially if global markets get shaky. Conversely, low yields often fuel risk-taking, boosting speculative assets like cryptocurrencies. Rising Treasury yields: Are safer returns stealing crypto’s yield appeal in 2025? The 10-year Treasury yield, a critical indicator of global financial health, has shown notable volatility in 2025. As of May 9, 2025, the yield stands at approximately 4.37%-4.39%.The yield’s movement is driven by factors such as trade tensions, inflation expectations and Fed policy, with recent rate cuts not lowering yields as expected, diverging from historical trends.In the crypto space, yields are earned through activities like staking, lending and liquidity provision, often offering returns of 5%-10% or higher. However, the rising 10-year Treasury yield poses challenges. Research suggests that higher yields on safe assets can reduce demand for riskier crypto yields, as investors may prefer the stability of Treasurys. This competition for capital can lead to lower participation in crypto lending platforms, potentially pushing yields up to attract users, but overall market activity may decline. It is because many crypto platforms borrow money to operate, and their borrowing costs are tied to broader interest rates, which the 10-year yield influences. If rates rise, these platforms might pass on higher costs to users, affecting the yields you earn. How Treasury yields impact stablecoins Stablecoins like Tether’s USDt (USDT) and USDC (USDC) are closely tied to traditional finance because their value is often backed by assets like cash, bonds or — you guessed it — Treasury notes. Here’s how the 10-year yield impacts stablecoins:Backing assets: Many stablecoins, like USDC, hold US Treasurys in their reserves to maintain their $1 peg. Higher Treasury yields, now at 4.39%, mean that stablecoin reserves earn more income, which could theoretically be passed on to users as yields. Regulatory complexity: Regulatory frameworks in some countries complicate this. In the European Union, the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation prohibits stablecoin issuers and crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) from offering interest to discourage their use as stores of value, though users can still generate yields through decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms.Opportunity cost: If the 10-year yield is high, holding stablecoins (which often earn lower yields than riskier crypto) might seem less appealing compared to buying Treasurys directly. Investors might move money out of stablecoins, reducing the capital available for lending and potentially lowering stablecoin yields.Market sentiment: Rising Treasury yields often signal tighter monetary policy (like higher interest rates from the Fed), which can spook crypto markets. In 2023, for instance, when yields hit multi-year highs, crypto prices, including stablecoin-related tokens, felt the pressure as investors grew cautious. This can indirectly affect the yields you earn on stablecoins, as platforms adjust to market conditions.DeFi dynamics: In decentralized finance (DeFi), stablecoins are the backbone of lending and trading. If Treasury yields rise and traditional finance looks more attractive, DeFi platforms might see less activity, which could lower the yields on stablecoin pools. On the flip side, some DeFi protocols might boost yields to keep users engaged.Notably, there is a growing push for regulations that allow stablecoins to share yields with users, particularly in jurisdictions like the UK and US, where legislative efforts are ongoing. This debate is crucial, as allowing yield sharing could enhance stablecoin adoption, leveraging higher Treasury income, but regulatory clarity is needed to avoid legal risks.Did you know? Liechtenstein was one of the first countries to pass a full-fledged blockchain law — the “Blockchain Act” — in 2020. USDC vs. US Treasurys: Where should you park your money? USDC staking offers higher but variable yields with moderate risk, while US Treasurys provide stable, low-risk returns backed by the government.When users stake USDC — by lending it on platforms like Aave or Coinbase — they earn variable returns, typically between 4% and 7% APY, depending on demand and platform risk.US Treasurys, especially 10-year notes, offer a fixed return; the yield stands at approximately 4.37%-4.39%. These securities are backed by the US government, making them one of the safest investments.While USDC can offer higher yields, it comes with added risks like smart contract bugs, platform failures and regulatory changes. Treasurys, though safer, offer limited upside. Implications of rising Treasury yields for crypto investors For crypto investors, higher Treasury yields may reduce risk appetite, but tokenized Treasurys provide a secure alternative. If you’re thinking about staking your Ether (ETH) or lending USDC, knowing what’s happening with Treasury yields can give you a heads-up on whether yields might rise, fall or come with extra risks.For example:If yields are rising, it might be a sign that crypto yields could get more competitive, but it could also mean global markets are getting jittery. You might want to stick to stablecoins or safer platforms.If yields are low, investors might pour money into crypto, boosting yields but also increasing volatility. This could be a chance to earn more, but you’ll need to watch for risks.Plus, if you’re using stablecoins to park your cash or earn a little extra, the 10-year yield can hint at whether those yields will stay attractive or if you might find better returns elsewhere. And with its global reach, the yield can signal broader economic shifts that might affect your crypto strategy.Also, stablecoin holders may benefit from higher reserve income if regulations evolve to allow yield sharing, particularly in the US, though EU restrictions push yield generation to DeFi. Alternatively, traditional investors can explore tokenized Treasurys for blockchain-based Treasury exposure, potentially integrating them into broader portfolios as regulatory clarity emerges.A notable development in 2025 is the rise of tokenized Treasurys, digital representations of US Treasury bonds on blockchains. As of May 4, 2025, the total value of tokenized Treasurys has reached $6.5 billion, with an average yield to maturity of 4.13%, according to analytics from RWA.xyz. This trend offers crypto investors a way to earn yields comparable to traditional bonds, potentially mitigating the impact of rising Treasury yields on crypto markets.Moreover, the emergence of tokenized Treasurys signals a blurring of lines between traditional finance and decentralized ecosystems. These blockchain-native representations of government debt instruments not only offer yield stability but also reflect a broader trend: the integration of real-world assets (RWAs) into crypto markets. This development has the potential to reshape risk management practices, attract more conservative capital, and accelerate regulatory engagement with digital assets.
Published: 2 hours ago
Wintermute opens New York office, citing improved US crypto rules
Wintermute, a London-based algorithmic crypto trading and market-making firm, has opened an office in New York as part of its expansion into the US.Wintermute announced the opening of its New York office on May 15, citing improved regulatory conditions in the world’s largest economy.“As the US takes a friendlier stance on digital assets and institutional adoption accelerates, we moved quickly to establish roots in New York City,” the company wrote in a May 15 X post, adding that the local presence will help them in “contributing to the future regulatory framework.”Source: Wintermute“We’re eager to continue our growth and play an integral role in the U.S. market,” according to Evgeny Gaevoy, CEO of Wintermute. “As a neutral player with deep expertise in all areas of digital assets, we believe we are well-positioned to lend our expertise on Capitol Hill.”As part of the firm’s expansion, Wintermute has appointed Ron Hammond as its new head of policy and advocacy, who brings “ten years of experience shaping crypto policy on Capitol Hill,” the company also announced. Hammond was previously the senior director of government relations and institutional engagement at the Blockchain Association and the policy lead for US Representative Warren Davidson. Hammond also authored the Token Taxonomy Act of 2021, the first bipartisan-supported crypto regulatory bill in the US.Related: Coinbase faces $400M bill after insider phishing attackIncreasingly more crypto firms have expanded into the US since President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20 after winning the 2024 presidential election.During his campaign, Trump signaled that his administration intends to make crypto policy a national priority, bolstering expectations for more innovation-friendly crypto regulations for the next four years.At least eight large crypto firms have announced their expansion in the US so far this year, banking on growing regulatory clarity. These include Binance.US, eToro, OKX exchange, Nexo, Circle, Crypto.com and a16z, Cointelegraph reported on May 11.Related: Stablecoins seen as ideal fit for real-time collateral managementWintermute met with SEC Crypto Task ForceWintermute said it aims to contribute to the emerging regulatory framework in the US.“We’ve already met with the SEC Crypto Task Force and will continue offering technical input and contributing to key legislative efforts,” the company said, adding that these are “essential for continued institutional participation.” Meanwhile, crypto industry participants await progress on the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy (STABLE) Act.The STABLE Act passed the House Financial Services Committee in a 32–17 vote on April 2 and currently awaits scheduling for debate and a floor vote in the House of Representatives.However, a second piece of key stablecoin legislation, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or GENIUS Act, initially failed to garner enough support from Democrats on May 8, prompting at least 60 top crypto founders to gather in Washington, DC, to show support.Despite the stalled stablecoin legislation, “momentum toward regulatory clarity remains active in both chambers,” Nexo dispatch analyst Iliya Kalchev told Cointelegraph.Magazine: Bitcoin to $1M ‘by 2029,’ CIA tips its hat to Bitcoin: Hodler’s Digest, April 27 – May 3
Published: 3 hours ago
Tether blacklist delay allowed $78M in illicit USDT transfers: Report
Update (May 15 at 3:10 pm UTC): This article has been updated to include comments from Tether. A lag in Tether’s wallet blacklisting process allowed over $78 million in illicit funds to be moved before enforcement actions took effect, according to a new report from blockchain compliance company AMLBot. Tether’s address blacklisting becomes effective only after a considerable delay from when the process is initiated on Ethereum and Tron, according the report published May 15.“This delay originates from Tether’s multisignature contract setup on both Tron and Ethereum, transforming what should be an immediate compliance action into a window of opportunity for illicit actors,“ the report reads.Tether’s blacklisting procedure is a multi-step process with a first transaction effectively warning of the upcoming blacklisting. First, a Tether administrator multisignature transaction submits a pending call to “addBlackList” on the USDT-TRC20 contract.This results in a public “submission” of the target address as a blacklist candidate. This is followed by a second multisignature transaction confirming the submission, resulting in an “AddedBlackList” emission, making the blacklisting effective.Related: Tether, Tron and TRM Labs jointly froze $126M USDT in 2024A warning on incoming blacklistingIn one example shared with Cointelegraph, an onchain transaction submitting a Tron address as a blacklist candidate took place at 11:10:12 UTC. The second transaction that actually enforced the action did not occur until 11:54:51 UTC on the same day, a 44-minute delay. In practice, this delay can be treated by owners of USDt about to be blacklisted as a notice to move their assets to avoid them being frozen. The report stated:“This delay between a freeze request and its on-chain execution creates a critical attack window, allowing malicious actors to front-run enforcement and move or launder funds before the freeze takes effect.“Example of USDt blacklisting transactions. Source: AMLBotThe report says that “for blockchain-savvy attackers, these delays are golden.” By tracking Tether’s calls in real time, a fraudster can be instantly alerted that their address is being targeted. When asked by Cointelegraph whether the delay is a technical limitation or just a delay in the actions of a multisignature wallet key holder, AMLBot researchers said that they cannot determine it without knowledge of Tether’s internal procedures.In a statement to Cointelegraph, a Tether spokesperson explained that “while any delay in enforcement should be examined, the idea that this represents a systemic loophole is both misleading and lacking perspective.” According to the company, it collaborates with law enforcement to freeze addresses on a daily basis. The statement continues:“Tether operates on public blockchains, where all activity is visible […] This transparency allows Tether, in collaboration with over 255 law enforcement agencies across 55 countries, to track, trace, and freeze illicit funds faster than most realize.“According to Tether, the delay cited in the report stems from its “multisignature governance model," which is said to prevent unilateral freezes and protect the system's integrity. The company admits that the model also introduces a delay on enforcement, noting that “it’s a trade-off for responsible responsiveness to a $100+ billion ecosystem,” with improvements on the way:“We are actively refining this process to work to eliminate any potential advantage for bad actors. If you think you can use Tether to move illicit funds, think again.“Related: Tether stablecoin issuer and Tron launch financial crime unitNot just theoreticalAMLBot said its data shows that over $28.5 million in USDT was withdrawn during the delay between the two transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. This amount of freeze avoidance occurred between Nov. 28, 2017, and May 12, 2025. The average amount moved during the delay exceeded $365,000.Similarly, $49.6 million was reportedly withdrawn during freeze delay windows on the Tron blockchain, resulting in a total on Ethereum and Tron of $78.1 million. Exploiting this delay on Tron is not particularly rare, according to AMLBot:“170 out of 3,480 wallets (4.88%) on Tron blockchain exploited the lag before getting blacklisted. Each of these wallets made 2–3 transfers during the delay, withdrawing: Average: $291,970.“A Tether spokesperson said that “the $76 million referenced in this report should be put in context of the more than $2.7 billion in USD₮ that Tether has successfully frozen and blocked to date.” Tether has previously promoted its ability to freeze assets as a compliance feature. In 2024, Tether, Tron, and analytics firm TRM Labs cooperated to freeze over $126 million in USDT linked to illicit activity.Still, the AMLBot report raises questions about the effectiveness and speed of those enforcement actions.Magazine: Chinese Tether laundromat, Bhutan enjoys recent Bitcoin boost: Asia Express
Published: 3 hours ago
Bitcoin mining 2025: Post-halving profitability, hashrate and energy trends
After the 2024 halving, Bitcoin mining entered its fifth epoch and block rewards were reduced from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. This forced miners to rethink their operations, optimize efficiency, cut energy costs and upgrade hardware to remain profitable. Cointelegraph Research, with insights from industry experts at Uminers, examines this transformation in its latest report. The analysis covers ASIC efficiency improvements, corporate performance, geographical expansion and new revenue models. As miners adapt, Bitcoin moves into a new era where institutional momentum and sovereign adoption could redefine its role in the global financial system.Download the full report to uncover how miners are navigating this shift and what the future holds for Bitcoin’s mining industry.The mining industry’s response to rising hashrate and shrinking marginsDespite the adverse financial impact of the halving, Bitcoin’s network hashrate has continued to climb. As of May 1, 2025, the total computational power of the network reached 831 EH/s. Earlier in the month, hashrate peaked at 921 EH/s, marking a 77% increase from the 2024 low of 519 EH/s. This rapid recovery underscores the industry's relentless drive for efficiency as larger mining firms reinvest in fleet upgrades and energy optimization to maintain profitability.The mining arms race has always revolved around power efficiency. With energy costs rising, the latest ASIC models from Bitmain, MicroBT and Canaan are further optimizing the energy required per hash. Bitmain’s Antminer S21+ delivers 216 TH/s at 16.5 J/TH, while MicroBT’s WhatsMiner M66S+ pushes immersion-cooled performance to 17 J/TH. Meanwhile, semiconductor giants TSMC and Samsung are driving the next wave of innovation, with 3-nm chips already in use and 2-nm technology on the horizon. Download the full report to uncover how miners are navigating this shift and what the future holds for Bitcoin’s mining industry.Post-halving profitability: The global shift toward low-cost energyBitcoin mining profitability has tightened significantly post-halving. Hashprice, the daily revenue per terahash per second, dropped from $0.12 in April 2024 to about $0.049 by April 2025. At the same time, network difficulty has surged to an all-time high of 123T, making it harder for miners to generate returns. To stay competitive, operations must extract maximum value from every watt of power consumed. This shift has intensified the search for cheap, reliable power, driving mining expansion into regions where energy costs remain low.Electricity pricing now dictates mining profitability. In Oman, licensed miners benefit from government-backed subsidies, securing electricity at $0.05–$0.07 per kWh, while in the UAE, semi-governmental projects operate at even lower rates of $0.035–$0.045 per kWh. These incentives have turned the region into a prime destination for institutional-scale mining. Meanwhile, in the US, where industrial power costs often exceed $0.1 per kWh, miners face shrinking margins, forcing a migration toward more cost-efficient locations. Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia have emerged as key battlegrounds in this race, offering the energy arbitrage opportunities miners need to survive.What’s next for Bitcoin mining?The 2024 halving has reinforced a hard truth: Efficiency is no longer optional; it’s a necessity. The industry is shifting toward leaner, more optimized operations, where only the most power-efficient miners can thrive. The rise of AI computing, global regulatory shifts and ongoing hardware advancements will continue to shape the sector over the next 12–18 months.Cointelegraph Research’s Bitcoin mining report: Post-halving insights and trends offers a data-driven breakdown of the key forces shaping mining profitability, infrastructure investments, and strategic decision-making.Download the full report to uncover how miners are navigating this shift and what the future holds for Bitcoin’s mining industry.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. 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. Cointelegraph does not endorse the content of this article nor any product mentioned herein. Readers should do their own research before taking any action related to any product or company mentioned and carry full responsibility for their decisions.
Published: 3 hours ago
Tron’s USDT supply to surpass Ethereum’s with new $1B mint
Stablecoin issuer Tether minted another 1 billion USDt tokens on Tron, pushing the network’s authorized USDT supply to surpass Ethereum’s.On May 15, blockchain data showed that Tether’s treasury minted $1 billion of its dollar-pegged stablecoin, USDt (USDT), into the Tron network. As of May 14, Tether’s stablecoin transparency page shows that Tron’s authorized USDT totals $73.7 billion, while Ethereum has $74.5 billion in authorized USDT tokens. If the newly minted tokens are added to the number of authorized USDT assets, Tron’s supply surpasses Ethereum’s. In terms of circulating supply, Tron also has the lead with $73.6 billion USDT on the network, while Ethereum only has $71.8 billion. Source: PeckShieldAlertTether’s USDT mints replenish the company’s token inventoryTether CEO Paolo Ardoino previously said on X that some of the company’s blockchain-based USDT mints are used to replenish their USDT inventory on blockchain networks. This means the tokens will be used for the next batch of issuance requests and chain swaps. In traditional business settings, inventory replenishment requires stock orders to meet demands. Similarly, Tether may mint USDT to maintain a sufficient supply and hold on to the assets until they are issued officially. This ensures that the firm’s liquidity management is smooth. This means that the authorized USDT supply on a network indicates the stablecoin issuer anticipates future issuance demand of the stablecoin on a blockchain. Related: Altcoins’ roaring returns and falling USDT stablecoin dominance suggest ‘altseason’ is hereEthereum and Tron battle for USDT supply dominanceTron led USDT circulation between July 2022 and November 2024. CryptoQuant data showed that an $18 billion USDT mint on Ethereum pushed the network ahead in 2025. Tron’s USDT supply quickly caught up, with the latest mint pushing it past Ethereum again. According to Tether’s transparency page, Solana has the third-biggest supply of USDT in the market, with $2.3 billion authorized on the network. Avalanche has $1.8 billion in authorized USDT, making it the fourth-largest. While Avalanche has over $1 billion in authorized USDT, the network has a net circulation of only $752 million in tokens. The Open Network, Aptos, Near, Celo and Cosmos have smaller authorized and circulating USDT supplies. CoinGecko data shows that Tether’s total circulation is at a record high of $150 billion, a 9.4% increase over its supply at the start of 2025. This gives the stablecoin issuer 61% of all the USD stablecoins in the market. Circle, its closest competitor, has $60.4 billion in stablecoins, giving it a market share of 24.6%, according to CoinGecko. Magazine: Danger signs for Bitcoin as retail abandons it to institutions: Sky Wee
Published: 3 hours ago
Tariff flux pushes brands to bet big on digital merch
As more and more businesses are impacted by tariff volatility, some executives, like Ridhima Kahn, vice president of business development at Dapper Labs, are viewing the assault on the cost of physical goods as another use case for digital markets powered by blockchain to shine.“I’m seeing a lot of brands rethinking where revenue and fan engagement come from,” Kahn said during an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph. “A lot of franchises, like the ones we work with — NBA, NFL, Disney — have already had years of success with digital collection, and we’re seeing a lot of brands express interest in digital collectibles as a way to engage with fan bases at a time when physical costs are riskier and unknown.”Propelling brands to take a deeper look at digital merch is the desire to better understand fandom. Flow now has tradable highlights like a “LeBron Dunk” or a “Steph Curry 3-Pointer” that live inside the NBA app and has commemorative NFTs tied to NFL game highlights in NFL All Day.But with Super Bowl ticket stubs and other digital mementos powered by blockchain, digital goods are proving they can unlock deeper in real life (IRL) fan experiences, courtside or on the field.“When you look at the amount of time folks are spending online or in digital environments, it’s only increasing,” Kahn said. “That’s really motivating brands to identify where their fans are spending time and where they can reach them where they’re at. It’s also a great way to engage a more global fan base simultaneously, versus in a more limiting, geo-targeted way, which caters more toward the global fan bases that want to engage with these brands.”Digital as a go-to-market strategyBecause fan bases have become more globalized, the online experience just happens to offer a faster, more accessible environment for digital goods, particularly collectibles, versus the current marketplace for physical goods that’s being hampered by enigmatic tariffs.Related: Are Donald Trump’s tariffs a legal house of cards?“Average NFT sales are up 7% quarter-over-quarter, with NFL All Day and NBA Top Shot delivering $2.5 million and $5.6 million, respectively,” Kahn said. “We’re also seeing total value locked (TVL) at an all-time high of $44.4 million on Flow, led by protocols like KittyPunch and other markets that offer next-gen investing and trading opportunities — a trend that’s signaling a broadening use case for blockchain and crypto beyond just NFTs.”Helping broaden the blockchain use case is the recently enhanced onramping and offramping technology that’s permeated throughout the industry, enabling a smoother user experience for those getting started in crypto and the world of digital commodities than what was available three years earlier.Per Kahn:A lot of blockchain companies are realizing the number of users they can have is capped if they don’t enhance the user experience. We’re seeing the enhanced user experience as a core driver of adoption, and from a regulatory standpoint, the positive moment for blockchain is also really exciting.NBA Top Shot sales have dropped significantly since 2022, but the start of the 2024-2025 season reignited interest. Source: FlowLess fear, more utility As more defined blockchain regulation is established, companies that might have initially been skeptical of blockchain are now taking it more seriously because regulators are taking it more seriously, helping boost confidence in the tech, especially among well-known brands.“IP-backed collections are winning,” Kahn said. “Upon Flow’s recent integration with OpenSea, NBA Top Shot was ranked among OpenSea’s top-five trending collections for four consecutive weeks. We go deep into specific fan bases to understand user behavior, and we A/B test our experiences, meaning the products we ultimately put out to market for fans are very well-vetted to ensure they’re actually what fans want.”Kahn and Dapper Labs CEO Roham Gharegozlou took a group of VIP collectors during the NBA’s in-season tournament to dinner and openly solicited their opinions on what they wanted to see more of on the platform. It’s the kind of swift, efficient, real-life research and development (R&D) that can more easily impact the end product, because the end product is digital.Related: 4chan rises from the dead: How the imageboard moves crypto markets“We take those insights back to our product team, and we embed those insights into our product to ensure we’re creating the best fan experience, agnostic of the technology we’re using to get there,” Kahn said. “It’s about what the fans want, and we leverage blockchain technology to deliver the fan experiences people might not be able to get elsewhere.”Elsewhere being the physical goods market.“The technology in our products really fades into the background, and what’s left is a collectible that feels meaningful, shareable and valuable,” Kahn said. “Digital collectibles unlock layers of engagement that physical goods cannot: They can be personalized, connected to real-world access, or used to reward loyalty for years and years to come. They’re also remixable, lightweight and global from day one.”But Khan doesn’t believe the physical goods market is going to go by the wayside anytime soon.I don’t think brands are turning their backs on merchandise. It’s more about expanding the playbook and looking to one of the few revenue streams immune to the volatility of physical goods as a way to engage with fans further.Outside of the internet, sports and media fans are limited to where they are physically when it comes to purchasing a physical good and where they can take that physical good. But Kahn believes the next evolution of fandom is mobile.“We love the concept of being able to take your most prized possessions with you on your phone, wherever you are,” Kahn said. “Being limited to trading in a physical environment isn’t nearly as fun as being able to trade wherever you are with people all across the world.”Moving forward, Kahn believes brands will continue to expand their playbooks by engaging more with fans in digital spaces.“Consumers are also going to be more willing to adopt new ways to engage with brands in digital spaces if the value proposition is there,” Kahn said. “If we’re able to continue to offer utility to fans for what they do in a digital space — and what they do in a digital space benefits them in a physical world — that’s going to be the recipe for success.”Magazine: Crypto ‘more taboo than OnlyFans,’ says Violetta Zironi, who sold song for 1 BTC
Published: 3 hours ago
Bitcoin Season 2: Why the next wave of Bitcoin innovation is all about utility
Bitcoin’s (BTC) next evolution isn’t just about price. It’s about potential. On this week’s episode of The Clear Crypto Podcast, hosts Nathan Jeffay and Gareth Jenkinson sit down with Isabel Foxen Duke, general partner at Unbroken Chain and longtime Bitcoin advocate, to unpack what she calls “Bitcoin Season 2.”Bitcoin beyond money“Bitcoin Season 2 is really about seeing what we can do with Bitcoin outside of just being money,” said Duke. “What are the broad range of financial use cases for [Bitcoin] other than just being money by itself?”New developments like ordinals, runes, and decentralized financial (DeFi) tools are pushing Bitcoin beyond its traditional identity as a digital store of value. One key innovation under discussion is trustless lending — allowing users to borrow against their Bitcoin without involving third-party intermediaries. “We don’t have the ability to lend against our Bitcoin in a trustless way without third-party intermediaries,” Duke said. “I would argue that is the second most important and second most used use case in the real world other than making payments.”Lending on BitcoinOne emerging solution involves Discreet Log Contracts (DLCs), which let users maintain control of their Bitcoin while locking it as collateral. Smart contract logic enforces repayment, not a central authority. “That’s proven by math rather than trust,” Duke said.Related: Bitcoin looks ‘ridiculous’ as bulls attempt $2T market cap flip — AnalystDuke said she is equally excited about trustless bridging, which could allow Bitcoin to interact with external computation platforms without compromising its decentralized ethos. “If you could use Bitcoin not just as money but as a base asset that can trustlessly plug into any financial system, that would be… the end of the road for this asset.”Looking ahead, Jenkinson highlighted how Bitcoin-native DeFi could unlock real-world financial access for people excluded from traditional banking. “A few little changes to some lines of code might just unlock [permissionless finance] for all of us,” he said. “And that’s the kind of future I’m hopeful about.”To hear the full conversation on The Clear Crypto Podcast, listen to the full episode on Cointelegraph’s Podcasts page, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And don’t forget to check out Cointelegraph’s full lineup of other shows! Magazine: ZK-proofs are bringing smart contracts to Bitcoin — BitcoinOS and Starknet
Published: 3 hours ago
6 signs predicting $140K as Bitcoin's next price top
Key takeaways:Bitcoin’s price is retracing, but strong ETF inflows, high network activity and whale accumulation suggest BTC is on track to $140,000.Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $2.9 billion in net inflows in two weeks, mirroring past rallies.Declining exchange balances and a rising transaction volume Z-score suggest increasing overall demand.Bitcoin (BTC) price was down 1.4% over the last 24 hours. It traded 6% below its all-time high of $109,000, reached on Jan. 20. Nevertheless, several fundamental, onchain and technical metrics suggest that Bitcoin’s upside is not over.Spot Bitcoin ETF inflows mirror past BTC ralliesBitcoin’s latest recovery was accompanied by strong investor appetite for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which recorded $2.9 billion in net inflows over the last two weeks.The chart below shows that after the launch of the US-based spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, these investment products saw net inflows of about $8.5 billion between Feb. 13, 2024, and March 13, 2024, peaking at a record single-day inflow of $1.045 billion on March 12, 2024.Spot Bitcoin ETF flows. Source: Glassnode Similarly, between Nov. 6, 2024, and Dec. 16, 2024, cumulative daily inflows hit $5.7 billion, aligning with Bitcoin’s 60% rally from $67,000 to $108,000 over the same period. If ETF inflows continue, Bitcoin is likely to resume its uptrend toward new all-time highs. Bitcoin market volatility index: risk-onIncreased inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs signal high risk-on sentiment, as evidenced by a drop in the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), which measures 30-day market volatility expectations.Bitcoin network economist Timothy Peterson highlighted that the VIX index has dropped substantially to 18 from 55 over the past 25 trading days.A VIX score below 18 implied a “risk-on” environment, favoring assets like Bitcoin. The analyst said:“This will be a 'risk on' environment for the foreseeable future.”CBOE Volatility Index. Source: Timothy PetersonPeterson’s model, which has a 95% tracking accuracy, predicted a $135,000 target within the next 100 days if the VIX remains low.Strong Bitcoin accumulation continuesReinforcing the risk-on sentiment are Bitcoin whales, who have been increasing their holdings even as the price rallied. Glassnode data shows the Bitcoin Accumulation Trend Score (ATS) at 1 (see chart below), which signifies intense accumulation by large investorsAccording to Glassnode, the spike in trend score indicates a transition from distribution to accumulation across almost all cohorts. This shift mirrors a similar accumulation pattern observed in October 2024, which preceded Bitcoin’s rise from $67,000 to $108,000, spurred by US President Donald Trump’s election victory.Bitcoin accumulation trend score. Source: GlassnodeAdditional data from Santiment reveals that addresses holding between 10 BTC and 10,000 BTC have accumulated 83,105 more BTC in the past 30 days.In a May 13 post on the X social platform, Santiment said,“With the aggressive accumulation from these large wallets, it may be a matter of time until Bitcoin's coveted $110K all-time high level is breached, particularly after the U.S. and China tariff pause.”Bitcoin 10-10,000 BTC chart holdings. Source: SantimentOverall, this is a positive sign as continued accumulation signals bullish sentiment among this cohort of investors.Related: Bitcoin looks ‘ridiculous’ as bulls attempt $2T market cap flip — AnalystDeclining Bitcoin balance on exchangesBTC balance on exchanges reached a six-year low of 2.44 million BTC on May 15. According to the chart below, more than 110,000 BTC have been moved off exchanges over the last 30 days. BTC reserve on exchanges. Source: CryptoQuantDecreasing BTC balances on exchanges means investors could be withdrawing their tokens into self-custody wallets, indicating a lack of intention to sell in anticipation of a future price increase.Increasing network activityBitcoin’s potential to rise is supported by increased network activity, as highlighted by crypto investor Ted Boydston in a May 15 post on X. The Bitcoin transaction volume Z-score measures the difference between the current transaction volume and the average. It is often used to gauge network activity and market interest.The chart below shows the metric has risen sharply from the negative zone and is approaching 1. A rising transaction volume Z-score, especially when it approaches or exceeds 1, is historically associated with Bitcoin price rallies.“This is a good sign for Bitcoin price acceleration,” remarked Boydston, adding:“Bitcoin should be full bull once the Z-score breaches 1.”Source: Ted BoydstonBTC rounded bottom pattern targets $140KFrom a technical perspective, Bitcoin’s price has formed a rounded bottom chart pattern on the daily chart (see below). Bulls are now focused on pushing the price above the neckline of the governing chart pattern at $106,660.A daily candlestick close above this level would confirm a bullish breakout from the rounded bottom formation, ushering BTC into price discovery with the technical target set at $140,000, or a 37% increase from the current level.BTC/USD daily chart. Source: TradingViewThe relative strength index, or RSI, is at 70, and a bullish cross from the SMAs suggests that the market conditions still favor the upside, which can top out at even higher than $140,000. As Cointelegraph reported, BTC price had broken out of a bull flag in the weekly timeframe, projecting a rally to $150,000.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.
Published: 4 hours ago
Here’s what happened in crypto today
Today in crypto, Coinbase rejected a $20 million ransom demand after insiders leaked user data in a phishing scheme, but the exchange could face a bill of up to $400 million. Huione Guarantee, suspected as the world’s largest darknet marketplace, has shut down, citing a Telegram account purge that decimated its network, and US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) commissioner Summer Mersinger is set to become the next CEO of the crypto advocacy group Blockchain Association.Coinbase faces $400 million bill after insider phishing attackCoinbase, the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency exchange, was hit by a $20 million extortion attempt after cybercriminals recruited overseas support agents to leak user data, the company said.According to a May 15 blog post, Coinbase said a group of external actors bribed and coordinated with several customer support contractors to access internal systems and steal limited user account data.“These insiders abused their access to customer support systems to steal the account data for a small subset of customers,” Coinbase said, adding that no passwords, private keys, funds or Coinbase Prime accounts were affected.Less than 1% of Coinbase’s monthly transacting users’ data was affected by the attack, the company said.Source: CoinbaseAfter stealing the data, the attackers attempted to extort $20 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) from Coinbase in exchange for not disclosing the breach. Coinbase refused the demand.Coinbase said it will reimburse users who were tricked into sending cryptocurrency to phishing scammers, with expected remediation and reimbursement expenses ranging from $180 million to $400 million.The crypto exchange disclosed the estimate in an 8-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on May 15, noting the expenses relate to “voluntary customer reimbursements” and other remediation efforts.Telegram shuts the “largest darknet marketplace to have ever existed”A major Chinese darknet marketplace suspected of facilitating crypto scams and cybercrime says it is ceasing operations after being targeted in a ban wave by the Telegram messaging service, upon which it operated.The internet’s largest illicit marketplace, Haowang Guarantee, formerly Huione Guarantee, saw Telegram’s ban thousands of its associated accounts on May 13. “Since all our NFTs, channels and groups were blocked by Telegram on May 13, 2025, Haowang Guarantee will cease operations from now on,” read the notice on the marketplace website.Source: ChainalysisA report from Wired said that this involved banning thousands of accounts and usernames that served as the infrastructure for the crypto crime marketplace and its vendors.Telegram spokesperson Remi Vaughn told the outlet, “communities previously reported to us by WIRED or included in reports published by Elliptic have all been taken down,” before adding that “criminal activities like scamming or money laundering are forbidden by Telegram’s terms of service and are always removed whenever discovered.” CFTC commissioner will step down to become Blockchain Association CEOSummer Mersinger, one of four commissioners currently serving at the US financial regulatory body Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), will become the next CEO of the digital asset advocacy group the Blockchain Association (BA). In a May 14 notice, the Blockchain Association said its current CEO, Kristin Smith, would step down for Mersinger on May 16, allowing an interim head of the group to work until the CFTC commissioner assumes the role on June 2. Though her term at the CFTC was expected to last until April 2028, the BA said Mersinger is set to leave the agency on May 30.The departure of Mersinger, who has served in one of the CFTC’s Republican seats since 2022, opens the way for US President Donald Trump to nominate another member to the financial regulator. Rules require that no more than three commissioners belong to the same political party. Like the Securities and Exchange Commission, the CFTC is one of the significant US financial regulators whose policies impact digital assets. Lawmakers in Congress are currently working to pass a market structure bill to clarify the roles each agency could take in overseeing and regulating crypto.New leadership at the Blockchain Association had been expected since Smith announced her departure on April 1 to become the next president of the Solana Policy Institute.
Published: 4 hours ago
Bahrain-based AlAbraaj Restaurants adopts Bitcoin treasury strategy
A Bahrain-based, listed catering company with a $24.2 million market cap has adopted a Bitcoin treasury strategy in partnership with investment firm 10X Capital.According to a May 15 announcement, AlAbraaj Restaurants Group partnered with 10X Capital to adopt a Bitcoin (BTC) treasury strategy similar to top corporate BTC holder Strategy (previously known as MicroStrategy). The firm also aims to explore Sharia-compliant access to Bitcoin for the Islamic world.“Our initiative to become a Bitcoin treasury company reflects our forward-looking approach and our commitment to enhancing shareholder value,” said Abdullah Isa, head of AlAbraaj’s Bitcoin Treasury Committee.Isa added that the company believes “Bitcoin will play a central role in the future of finance.” He cited Strategy’s legacy as an inspiration:“We look forward to building the ‘MicroStrategy of the Middle East’ with their support.”Related: Strive to become Bitcoin treasury companyA photo shared by the company on X shows a meeting between a company representative and Strategy chairman Michael Saylor.Source: AlAbraaj Restaurants GroupCompany makes initial Bitcoin purchaseAlAbraaj Restaurants Group made an initial investment of 5 BTC and announced the intention to keep accumulating more. The decision is reportedly a response to the evolving financial landscape and growing institutional interest.The company plans to allocate a significant portion of its corporate treasury to Bitcoin, making it its primary reserve asset. AlAbraaj said it prides itself on being profitable, with $12.5 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization reported in 2024.The company also said it hopes to strengthen its portfolio and expand into the finance industry. As part of this initiative, it plans to develop its own Sharia-compliant financial instruments to tap the Islamic market.Related: Blockchain is the best fintech to ensure Sharia ethics — Web3 execBacked by 10X CapitalThe firm’s partnership with 10X Capital eases its introduction into the Bitcoin market and digital asset treasury management. The same company advised Nakamoto in its recent $710 million raise.On May 12, healthcare services provider KindlyMD merged with Bitcoin-native holding company Nakamoto Holdings to form a BTC treasury also named Nakamoto. David Bailey, a crypto adviser to US President Donald Trump, founded the latter company.AlAbraaj Restaurants Group plans to rely on 10X Capital to help it raise more capital to acquire additional Bitcoin, increasing the BTC-per-share ratio for investors. 10X Capital CEO Hans Thomas highlighted that the deal provides potential Bitcoin exposure to the entire Gulf Cooperation Council:“The GCC has a combined GDP of over $2.2 trillion — larger than Canada, Russia, Italy, Brazil, Australia, South Korea, or Spain — and sovereign wealth exceeding $6 trillion, yet until now, lacked a public Bitcoin treasury company like MicroStrategy.“Magazine: Rise of MicroStrategy clones, Asia dominates crypto adoption: Asia Express 2024 review
Published: 4 hours ago
Bitcoin to $1M by 2028 as Hayes tells Europe to ’get your money out’
Key points:US Treasurys and foreign capital “repatriation” make a recipe for $1 million BTC, says Arthur Hayes.Europeans face tightening capital controls, inviting a recommendation to take back control of personal funds.Seven-figure BTC price targets are already gaining traction.Bitcoin (BTC) will shoot to $1 million in just three years, thanks to global macroeconomic shifts, Arthur Hayes forecasts.In his latest blog post released on May 15, the former CEO of crypto exchange BitMEX doubled down on his sky-high BTC price prediction.Hayes: $1 million Bitcoin due “between now and 2028”Bitcoin has two strong tailwinds that will help propel it to seven digits in a few years.For Hayes, shifting capital controls worldwide and US Treasury “devaluation” means that Bitcoin will become the go-to safety net for investors everywhere.He summarized:“Foreign capital repatriation and the devaluation of the gargantuan stock of US Treasurys will be the two catalysts that will power Bitcoin to $1 million sometime between now and 2028.”TLT US exchange-traded fund indexed in gold, Bitcoin (screenshot). Source: Arthur Hayes/SubstackWhile that date may appear arbitrary and demand 900% BTC price gains, Hayes argued that the financial landscape could change in an instant, depending on the next US governmental administration.“I say 2028, because that is when the next US presidential election occurs and who knows what type of politician will win and what policies they will enact,” he said.While the presidency of Donald Trump has enacted various pro-crypto policies, this could begin to reverse if a shift in government were to occur. In Europe, meanwhile, an increasing desire to control and even suppress crypto use by the general population signals a growing divergence.“Not even China has banned the private ownership of Bitcoin because it knows it’s counterproductive and impossible,” Hayes wrote. “For you Euro-poor-peans, whose governments practice a less effective form of communism than China, don’t expect the European Central Bank (ECB) to learn this lesson without trying. Therefore, get your money out now!”Betting on a seven-figure breakoutAs Cointelegraph reported, Hayes has not been shy about predicting both short-term and longer-term BTC price expansion in the years to come.Related: Bitcoin looks ‘ridiculous’ as bulls attempt $2T market cap flip — AnalystIn April, he foresaw the return to $100,000, and before that, joined those seeing the mid-$70,000 zone as a likely local bottom.Multimillion-dollar targets for the next decade include those of major financial players such as Fidelity Investments.Michael Saylor, CEO of business intelligence firm Strategy, which has the world’s largest Bitcoin treasury of any public company, said this week that he envisaged a $10 trillion valuation.“My forecast for 2045 is 13 million a Bitcoin,” he added.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.
Published: 5 hours ago
Jim Chanos takes opposing bets on Bitcoin and Strategy
Prominent short-seller Jim Chanos, once a vocal critic of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, revealed a new trading play that involves shorting shares of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) and buying Bitcoin.At the Sohn Investment Conference in New York, Chanos told CNBC he’s “selling MicroStrategy stock and buying Bitcoin.” The investor described the move as buying something for $1 and selling something for $2.50, referring to what he sees as a significant price mismatch.Chanos argued that Strategy is selling the idea of buying Bitcoin (BTC) in a corporate structure, and that other companies are following suit in hopes of receiving a similar market premium.Chanos said this was “ridiculous.” He described his trade as “a good barometer of not only just the arbitrage itself, but I think of retail speculation.”Selling Strategy stock to buy BitcoinChanos’ recent move assumes investors overpay for Bitcoin exposure through corporate wrappers like Strategy and other firms that follow its Bitcoin accumulation blueprint. The investor’s move reflects a stance that purchasing Bitcoin directly would be better than purchasing Strategy’s stocks for indirect Bitcoin exposure. Chanos’ move suggests that holding Bitcoin through companies reflects excessive speculation and risk mispricing. It assumes that retail investors’ idea of having Bitcoin indirectly through corporate wrappers can inflate the company’s stock valuations. While shorting Strategy may seem like a good idea, investors have already lost billions shorting Saylor’s company. In 2024, investors who bet against the firm lost about $3.3 billion as the stock rose. As of May 2025, Strategy holds about 568,840 Bitcoin, valued at around $59 billion. Since the company started accumulating Bitcoin in 2020, its stock price has surged by 1,500%, outperforming the S&P 500’s gains during the same period. In a recently released documentary from the Financial Times, Strategy analyst Jeff Walton said that the company’s Bitcoin holdings would help it become the “number one publicly traded equity in the entire market” in the future.Chanos previously called Bitcoin a “libertarian fantasy” Chanos has not always been favorable toward Bitcoin. In a 2018 interview, Chanos described Bitcoin as a “libertarian fantasy.” Chanos said that having digital currency as a store of value in the worst-case scenario wouldn’t work. The investor said that if fiat currency brings the world down, the last thing he’d want to own is Bitcoin. “Food would work the best,” he said. He also criticized Bitcoin for enabling illicit activity, calling the crypto sector “the dark side of finance” in a 2023 interview, and accusing the industry of facilitating tax evasion and money laundering.Chanos also expressed skepticism about spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), saying that Wall Street needs to keep the public interested in crypto to profit from the fees. Despite those critiques, Chanos now appears to see value in holding Bitcoin directly, particularly in contrast to investing in public companies with large BTC treasuries.Related: $1B Bitcoin exits Coinbase in a day as analysts warn of supply shockChanos’ history in short-sellingChanos is best known for his short position against the energy company Enron before the firm filed for bankruptcy in 2001. The move generated profits for Kynikos Associates, a firm that he founded. A short position involves borrowing assets from a broker, selling them at the current price, and then repurchasing the assets once the value falls to give back what is owed to the broker. Short sellers profit when the asset’s value declines, but face losses when the asset appreciates. While the investor profited from short-selling Enron, Chanos’ predictions weren’t always correct. Chanos was bearish on Tesla and announced a short position in 2016. Tesla stock skyrocketed by 2,200% between 2015 and 2021. The event caused major losses to Chanos’ fund. In 2020, the fund ended with $405 million in assets under management after having over $900 million the previous year. The fund was converted into a family office, and external assets were returned to investors. Magazine: Danger signs for Bitcoin as retail abandons it to institutions: Sky Wee
Published: 5 hours ago
Stablecoins seen as ideal fit for real-time collateral management
Cryptocurrencies and stablecoins are gaining recognition in the traditional finance (TradFi) space for their ability to streamline payments and increase efficiency in existing financial systemsIn finance, collateral management refers to the process of managing the underlying collateral securing other financial transactions, such as loans or derivatives, to mitigate credit risks and ensure smooth transactions.Digital assets like stablecoins are the “perfect” financial instrument for real-time collateral management, according to a recent pilot by DTCC Digital Assets, which suggests that digital assets, particularly stablecoins, could modernize and simplify this critical function.“Digital assets really are the perfect use case for collateral management, whether it be uncleared derivatives, clear derivatives, central counterparties, repo, or any other type of collateral,” said Joseph Spiro, product director at DTCC Digital Assets, during a panel at Consensus 2025.From left: Ian Allison, CoinDesk reporter; Jelena DDjuric, CEO of Noble; Kyle Hauptman, chairman of the National Credit Union Administration, and Joseph Spiro, digital assets product director at DTCC Digital Assets. Source: CointelegraphCollateral management requires complicated manual processes due to stringent requirements for locked-up collateral that can only be released to the appropriate parties at pre-set intervals.“All of that can be accomplished better, faster, more efficiently through digital assets and smart contracts,” Spiro said, adding that “all the manual processing can go away.”Related: Top South Korean presidential hopefuls support legalizing Bitcoin ETFsThe pilot, dubbed the “Great Collateral Experiment,” comes as US policymakers work toward clear regulatory frameworks for stablecoins.On May 14, at least 60 of the top crypto founders gathered in Washington, DC, to support the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or GENIUS Act. The bill initially failed to get enough support from Democrats on May 8.Coinbase CEO in Washington, DC on May 14. Source: Brian ArmstrongThe GENIUS Act seeks to establish collateralization guidelines for stablecoin issuers while requiring full compliance with Anti-Money Laundering laws.The bill stalled on May 8 after failing to gain support from key Democrats, some of whom have voiced concerns about US President Donald Trump potentially profiting from digital assets through his crypto-related ventures.Related: Ukraine strategic Bitcoin reserve bill reportedly in final stagesStablecoins can streamline lending and settlementIncorporating stablecoins into traditional fiat-backed loans could further streamline TradFi processes, according to Kyle Hauptman, chairman of the National Credit Union Administration.The programmability of stablecoins could make the loan repayment process more transparent and streamlined for all participants. It is currently a “clunky process where they settle at the end of the month,” Hauptaman said during the same panel discussion, adding:“Stablecoins and their programmability can make this vastly easier.”“We not only made life easier for credit unions to settle these things up, you could do it for smaller amounts of money, but the borrower should get a better deal here because now this thing has some of the traits of a large bond issuance. It’s now liquid,” he said.Another piece of legislation — the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy (STABLE) Act — passed the House Financial Services Committee on April 2 in a 32–17 vote. The bill awaits scheduling for debate and a floor vote in the House of Representatives. Magazine: Bitcoin to $1M ‘by 2029,’ CIA tips its hat to Bitcoin: Hodler’s Digest, April 27 – May 3
Published: 5 hours ago
Coinbase faces $400M bill after insider phishing attack
Coinbase, the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency exchange, was hit by a $20 million extortion attempt after cybercriminals recruited overseas support agents to leak user data, the company said.According to a May 15 blog post, Coinbase said a group of external actors bribed and coordinated with several customer support contractors to access internal systems and steal limited user account data.“These insiders abused their access to customer support systems to steal the account data for a small subset of customers,” Coinbase said, adding that no passwords, private keys, funds or Coinbase Prime accounts were affected.Less than 1% of Coinbase’s monthly transacting users’ data was affected by the attack, the company said.Source: CoinbaseAfter stealing the data, the attackers attempted to extort $20 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) from Coinbase in exchange for not disclosing the breach. Coinbase refused the demand.Related: Ukraine strategic Bitcoin reserve bill reportedly in final stagesInstead, the company offered a $20 million reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the scheme.Scammers often masquerade as recognizable brands to inspire a false sense of trust in their victims.US brands impersonated by scammers the most. Source: MailsuiteIn 2024, Coinbase was the most impersonated cryptocurrency brand by scammers.Related: Top South Korean presidential hopefuls support legalizing Bitcoin ETFsCoinbase will reimburse phishing attack victimsCoinbase said it will reimburse users who were tricked into sending cryptocurrency to phishing scammers, with expected remediation and reimbursement expenses ranging from $180 million to $400 million. The crypto exchange disclosed the estimate in an 8-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on May 15, noting the expenses relate to “voluntary customer reimbursements” and other remediation efforts.The attackers have been approaching the exchange’s overseas customer support agents for months, aiming to “bribe” them in exchange for customer information, said Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong in a May 15 X post.Source: Brian ArmstrongFollowing the attack, the exchange will strengthen its internal data management processes and relocate some of its customer support operations to avoid similar incidents.Social engineering schemes are a growing concern for Coinbase users. Blockchain security analyst ZachXBT estimated that users lost around $45 million to phishing schemes in the week leading up to May 7.Source: ZachXBTThe blockchain security analyst previously claimed that social engineering scams cost Coinbase users over $300 million annually, Cointelegraph reported on Feb. 4.Magazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight
Published: 5 hours ago
Is the XRP price rally over for now?
Key takeaways:XRP forms a double top and rising wedge, signaling short-term downside risk toward $1.94.NUPL indicates traders are in denial, resembling past pre-crash phases.Long-term charts still point to bullish targets between $3.69 and $17.XRP (XRP) has rebounded by more than 50% in a month after forming a local low at $1.80. Improving risk appetite and prospects of an “altseason” have boosted its price.Could XRP rally further from current levels or risk a pullback in the coming days? Let’s examine.XRP “double top” pattern hints at sell-off XRP formed a double top near $2.65, signaling a possible trend reversal. The pattern includes two clear peaks and a neckline around $2.47. After the second peak, XRP dropped below the neckline, confirming the bearish setup. XRP/USD four-hour price chart. Source: TradingViewA confirmed breakdown below this level points to a downside target near $2.30. The double top suggests weakening momentum after a strong rally. If buyers fail to break above $2.65, the pattern remains in play and bearish.Rising wedge hints at possible 20% XRP price crashXRP also broke down from a rising wedge pattern, signaling a shift from bullish to bearish momentum. Recent failed attempts to break above the pattern’s upper trendline from the pattern reiterate the same.A wedge breakdown is confirmed when the price falls below its lower trendline, which XRP appears to be attempting as of May 15. The cryptocurrency is additionally testing support from the 50-4H exponential moving average (50-4H EMA; the red wave). XRP/USD four-hour price chart. Source: TradingViewBreaking below the support zone increases the chance of XRP falling another 20% to around $1.94. This level comes from measuring the height of the rising wedge pattern and subtracting it from the breakdown point.The $2.00–$2.04 range is also important because it holds a large number of leveraged long positions worth around $50 million, according to data resource CoinGlass.XRP/USD liquidation heatmap (3 months). Source: CoinGlassIf XRP drops below this range, many of these positions could be forced to close, causing a long squeeze. That would add selling pressure and push the price closer to the $1.94 target.XRP traders are in “denial” — onchain metricXRP’s Net Unrealized Profit/Loss (NUPL) has shifted into the Belief–Denial zone, shown in green on the Glassnode chart below. When in denial, many still expect prices to rise, even as momentum fades.XRP NUPL 30-day average vs. price chart. Source: GlassnodeThis NUPL level has historically marked the early stages of major corrections. For example, XRP entered this phase before sharp declines in 2018 and 2021. If history repeats, XRP may face more downside in the short term, paving the way toward the price targets highlighted by the double top and rising wedge technical setups.XRP long-term charts stay bullishA counter analysis indicates a potential 45% rally toward $3.69 by June if a breakout from a multimonth falling wedge pattern plays out as intended. XRP/USD three-day price chart. Source: TradingViewHowever, if XRP falls back below the wedge’s upper trendline and loses support at the 20-day (purple) and 50-day (red) exponential moving averages (EMA), the bullish setup could be invalidated, risking a decline toward $1.75.Several long-term XRP price projections have targets of $5.24 and even $17, based on symmetrical triangle patterns and Fibonacci extensions shown below.XRP/USD two-week price chart. Source: TradingViewRelated: History rhymes? XRP price gained 400% the last time whale flows flippedXRP’s long-term charts show a persistent bullish bias despite short-term pullback risks, indicating that the rally is probably not over.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.
Published: 5 hours ago
Pi Network to invest $100M in startups building blockchain apps
Mobile-first blockchain Pi Network has launched a $100 million fund to invest in initiatives built on its infrastructure.According to a May 14 announcement, the Pi Foundation is launching Pi Network Ventures with an initial investment of $100 million in Pi (PI) tokens and US dollars. The fund will invest in startups and businesses building on Pi Network or contributing to its broader ecosystem.“This strategic program intends to invest in high-quality startups and companies across sectors, driving innovation and ecosystem growth,” Pi Network said in an X post.Source: Pi NetworkThe Pi Foundation, the organization behind Pi Network, is described as an “ownerless” entity focused on supporting long-term ecosystem development. The foundation said the new venture fund will draw from the 10% of Pi tokens reserved for ecosystem initiatives. Pi Network had not responded to Cointelegraph’s request for comment by publication.Related: Is Pi Network dead? What really went wrong behind the hypeWhat is Pi Network Ventures?Pi Network Ventures is tasked with increasing Pi’s utility by investing in startups and businesses that integrate it into products and services. The new organization will attempt to bring more apps, transactions and companies into the network while developing new use cases:“By aligning incentives and providing resources to high-potential founders, startups and companies, this initiative aims to create a feedback loop of innovation and adoption.“Related: Pi Network price nears all-time lows as supply pressure mountsPi Network Ventures’ strategyPer the announcement, Pi Network Ventures plans to invest in startups from the early stages to Series B funding rounds and beyond. The hope is that such an approach allows access to high-potential innovators while also helping scale proven businesses.Pi Network Ventures claims to differ from other crypto ecosystem programs in its focus and processes. The announcement said the company aims not to limit itself to crypto investments but to also fund general technology sectors, including generative AI and AI applications, fintech, embedded payments, e-commerce platforms, marketplaces, social networks and real-world consumer and enterprise applications.Another claimed difference is that the investment fund aims to act like traditional Silicon Valley venture capital firms. This will reportedly be primarily seen in the sourcing, selection and vetting process, which aims to “identify and support high-impact and disruptive startups and businesses.”The announcement comes amid ongoing criticism of Pi Network, including accusations of operating a pyramid scheme and concerns over transparency. Skeptics have pointed to the project’s sparse white paper and limited public disclosure regarding its funding sources.The platform’s user referral model, which rewards participants for inviting others, has drawn comparisons to multilevel marketing structures. Additionally, Pi Network’s native token, PI, has faced volatility, falling more than 65% since its mainnet launch in late February and currently trading about 25% below its all-time high.Magazine: Help! My parents are addicted to Pi Network crypto tapper
Published: 6 hours ago
Pareto launches synthetic dollar backed by private credit
Private credit marketplace Pareto has introduced a new synthetic dollar aimed at linking institutional investors with decentralized finance (DeFi) opportunities — a move that highlights the expanding role of stablecoins in global finance.The newly launched USP synthetic dollar is fully backed by real-world private credit, Pareto told Cointelegraph on May 15. To mint USP, users must deposit stablecoins such as USDC (USDC) and USDS, which are then held as collateral.The deposited funds are placed into Pareto’s credit vaults and lent to what the company describes as “vetted institutional borrowers,” generating yields for participants, Pareto co-founder Matteo Pandolfi told Cointelegraph in a written statement.To maintain its peg to the US dollar, Pareto uses what it calls a “native backing” process. Each USP token is minted only when an equivalent amount of USDC or USDS is deposited, ensuring full collateralization when the token is created. An arbitrage mechanism also supports the dollar peg’s ongoing stability.In addition, Pareto has set up a protocol-funded stability reserve to act as a buffer in case of borrower defaults.Related: Coinbase invests in Canadian stablecoin issuerInstitutional entry into RWA credit marketThe company said the synthetic dollar gives institutional investors a regulated onchain entry point into real-world asset (RWA) credit markets — a segment of the tokenization industry that has expanded rapidly over the past year. Recent examples of private credit tokenization include Tradable’s portfolio of 30 credit positions and Apollo’s Diversified Credit Securitize Fund.When asked about the potential risks of connecting DeFi to the often opaque private credit sector, Pareto acknowledged the concern but emphasized its approach to risk management.“That’s a fair concern, but Pareto was specifically built to address the inefficiencies and opacity that have historically plagued traditional credit markets,” Pandolfi said, adding:“By bringing private credit onchain, we enable real-time transparency, programmable risk management, and automated settlement while reducing counterparty risk and operational friction.”A chart highlighting the growth of the tokenized credit market. Source: RWA.xyzRelated: VanEck to launch its first RWA tokenization fundStablecoins: From crypto niche to the mainstreamAlthough synthetic dollars account for a small fraction of the total stablecoin market, they are driving innovation by introducing new methods for creating and managing fiat-pegged assets.Ethena, the largest synthetic dollar network by market capitalization, offers Staked USDe (sUSDe) tokenholders an annual percentage yield of 10%. Roughly 368,000 investors were earning yield as of January, Cointelegraph reported.Despite the success of synthetic variants, collateralized stablecoins continue to dominate the market — a position US regulators are keen to preserve through proposed legislation like the GENIUS Act and STABLE Act.Under President Donald Trump, the US government has recognized the role of stablecoins as a “way to support the dollar’s worldwide use as a reserve currency,” Komodo Platform’s chief technology officer, Kadan Stadelmann, told Cointelegraph in a written statement.“Stablecoins are the second-most adopted blockchain use case behind Bitcoin — more than NFTs and DeFi,” he said. “US dollar-pegged stablecoins account for a mind-boggling 1% of the M2 money supply.”The total stablecoin market is approaching $250 billion, with Tether accounting for roughly $150 billion. Source: DefiLlamaSergey Gorbunov, CEO of Interop Labs and co-founder of Axelar Protocol, told Cointelegraph that US regulators have prioritized stablecoin legislation because they know there’s more at stake than just crypto. “This is about setting the conditions for regulated US financial firms to lead on stablecoins and preserve the primacy of the US dollar, globally,” he said.Related: SEC approves first yield-bearing stablecoin security
Published: 7 hours ago
Ukraine strategic Bitcoin reserve bill reportedly in final stages
Ukraine is reportedly moving closer to adopting Bitcoin as a national reserve asset, a move that could bolster its financial resilience amid the ongoing war with Russia. Lawmakers are reportedly working on a Bitcoin (BTC) national reserve proposal, with a draft bill in its final stages, according to Yaroslav Zhelezniak, a member of parliament who confirmed the plan to local media outlet Incrypted.The proposal was announced during the CRYPTO 2025 conference in Kyiv on Feb. 6. “We will soon submit a draft law from the industry allowing the creation of crypto reserves,” Zhelezniak said.Cointelegraph reached out to Zhelezniak for comment on the bill’s status but had not received a response by publication.Related: Bitcoin treasury firms driving $200T hyperbitcoinization — Adam BackBitcoin has gained international attention as a national reserve asset since the election of US President Donald Trump in November 2024. On March 7, Trump signed an executive order to establish a national Bitcoin reserve seeded with BTC confiscated from criminal cases.Source: Margo MartinA month later, Swedish MP Rickard Nordin issued an open letter urging Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson to consider adopting Bitcoin as a national reserve asset, citing its growing recognition as a “hedge against inflation,” Cointelegraph reported on April 11.Related: Satoshi Nakamoto turns 50 as Bitcoin becomes US reserve assetLegal challenges may delay adoptionWhile Ukraine’s push for a national Bitcoin reserve marks a potentially historic shift in crypto policy, it may require “significant legal change,” according to Kyrylo Khomiakov, regional head of CEE, Central Asia and Africa, at crypto exchange Binance.“We commend Ukraine’s ambition to establish a strategic crypto reserve,” he told Cointelegraph. “Implementing such a reserve would necessitate significant legal changes, indicating that this process will not be swift.”He added, “Another positive aspect is that this initiative will likely lead to greater regulatory clarity in Ukraine, as the government will need to articulate its stance more clearly.”Ukraine was reportedly planning to legalize cryptocurrencies in early 2025 with the finalization of a draft bill in coordination with the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to Daniil Getmantsev, head of the tax committee of the Verkhovna Rada.On April 8, Ukraine’s financial regulator proposed taxing certain crypto transactions as personal income with a rate of up to 23%, excluding crypto-to-crypto transactions and stablecoins.Not all voices in Ukraine’s crypto industry are optimistic about the timing of the proposal. ”The country is broke. More than 50% of the budget is in grants and loans from the European Union,” said Michael Chobanian, the founder of Ukraine-based Kuna exchange. “The population is decreasing at the fastest rate in the world. Men are kidnapped and sent to the army against their will. What kind of BTC reserves are we talking about here? This is done only to divert your attention,” Chobanian claimed.Magazine: Helping Ukraine without donating: Laura’s DeFi staking plan
Published: 7 hours ago
Coinbase’s x402: Crypto payments over HTTP for AI and APIs
What is HTTP 402, and why does it matter? The web was not really built with payments in mind, especially not for autonomous agents or machines. But with the rise of AI and decentralized finance (DeFi), the need for seamless, native digital payments has never been more urgent. Coinbase x402 announced a new open protocol designed to let APIs, apps and AI agents pay instantly using stablecoins like USDC (USDC), all via the familiar HTTP protocol.This isn’t just a product update. X402 revives a long-forgotten piece of internet infrastructure and reimagines it for a future powered by agentic systems and crypto.HTTP status codes: A quick refresherUnderstanding HTTP status codes helps clarify how the web communicates behind the scenes. Here are some key ones to know:HTTP 200 — OK: Standard response for successful HTTP requests.HTTP 401 — Unauthorized: Indicates the request requires user authentication; typically used when credentials are missing or invalid.HTTP 403 — Forbidden: The server understood the request, but it refuses to authorize it (often due to lack of permissions or access control).HTTP 404 — Not found: Indicates that the requested resource could not be found.HTTP 402 — Payment required: Originally intended to support digital payments directly within the protocol but left as a “reserved for future use” status code due to the lack of global payment infrastructure at the time.HTTP 500 — Internal server error: A generic error message when the server encounters an unexpected condition.Although the creators of the web imagined a future where online services might request payments directly through the protocol, for decades, no one found a practical use for it. It sat dormant for over 25 years, with no widespread adoption or defined behavior.Today, HTTP 402 is finally coming to life, thanks to Coinbase’s x402 protocol. X402 turns HTTP 402 from a placeholder into a real mechanism. It allows websites, APIs and services to signal that a payment is required before granting access to digital goods or services.Unlike traditional payment systems, which rely on external redirects or complex integrations, x402 enables native, in-protocol payments using stablecoins directly over HTTP.But why do x402 and the activation of HTTP 402 matter?With machine-to-machine interactions, autonomous agents and AI-driven services on the rise, the internet needs a payment layer that is:InstantProgrammableInteroperableTrust-minimized.Activating HTTP 402 positions it as a key enabler for decentralized commerce, autonomous agents and crypto-native applications. It could become as foundational as HTTP 200 or 404 in a future where services charge micro-fees, stream value or sell access dynamically. Coinbase x402: A native payment layer for the web Coinbase’s x402 is an open protocol that allows websites and APIs to request and receive payments in stablecoins directly over HTTP. It works by using the existing HTTP infrastructure and augmenting it with a lightweight payment layer. Here is the step-by-step process for machine-to-machine transactions using the x402 protocol:Client requests a paid resource: A client, such as an AI agent, app, or browser initiates a request to an x402-enabled server (e.g., an API, data set or digital service) that requires payment to access.The server responds with a 402 Payment Required: In response, the server returns an HTTP 402 status code, along with the payment details. This includes the amount to be paid, the supported token (such as USDC) and a payment payload or address to use.Client submits the payment: The client uses its crypto wallet to sign and submit the payment. This happens programmatically — no user interaction is needed, which enables fully automated or agentic payments. It resends the original request, this time including the encoded payment information in an X-PAYMENT HTTP header.The payment is verified and settled onchain: A payment facilitator service, such as Coinbase’s x402 Facilitator, checks the blockchain to verify that the payment has been made and confirmed.The server delivers the resource: Once the payment is validated, the server fulfills the request and returns the data or content. It also includes an X-PAYMENT-RESPONSE header confirming the success of the transaction.In x402, payments happen over standard HTTP using two custom headers: X-PAYMENT and X-PAYMENT-RESPONSE. These headers allow seamless, automated payments between apps, agents and servers — without changing how HTTP works. It’s a simple yet powerful way to enable web-native, machine-to-machine commerce using stablecoins.What makes x402 revolutionary is that it doesn’t require platforms, plugins or third-party integrations. It creates a native payment layer for the web itself, just like HTTPS added security or cookies enabled session management.Did you know? HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is the secure version of HTTP, the foundational protocol used to transfer data on the web. What are agentic payments, and why are they important? As AI systems become more advanced, the agentic era has begun. In this new paradigm, software agents, ranging from AI bots to autonomous scripts, are expected to act on behalf of users or even independently. AI agents will need to perform actions like accessing data, subscribing to services or renting compute power. And all of these tasks often require payments.This is where the concept of agentic payments comes in. These are payments made by agents, not humans — fast, automatic and often low-value. Think of a data-scraping AI paying a cent to read a scientific article or a supply chain bot paying fractions of a dollar for live port data.Traditional payment infrastructure wasn’t built for this kind of use case. It falls short because of the below reasons:Built for humans, not machines.Requires logins, manual steps and batch processing.High fees and slow settlement times make them unsuitable for high-frequency, low-value, autonomous transactions.Because of the limitations of traditional payment systems, agentic payments matter for several key reasons:They enable a machine-first economy, where software can transact just like humans.Make real-time AI decision-making possible by removing friction from access to paid services.Pave the way for composable services, where agents can chain together paid APIs and tools autonomously.As discussed, such payments require machine-readable protocols, instant settlement and predictable pricing, all of which x402 enables. It’s a vital step in building a transactional layer for a machine-first internet. x402 vs. traditional payment systems Today’s online payment systems are deeply human-centric. Whether it’s signing up for a subscription, entering credit card information or passing Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, the current infrastructure assumes a person is at the center of every transaction.This design becomes a bottleneck when payments need to be made automatically, in real time and at scale. APIs that want to monetize often face hurdles like creating user accounts, handling fraud, managing disputes and integrating with centralized processors like Stripe or PayPal. These systems are slow, costly and often region-specific.X402 removes these barriers by allowing servers to ask for and receive payment directly through the protocol itself. There’s no need for logins, billing dashboards or delayed bank transfers. The value transfer is embedded into the fabric of the internet, optimized for agents and apps.The contrast between x402 and traditional payment infrastructure is stark. While x402 is protocol-first, built on crypto rails, systems like Visa, Stripe and PayPal are platform-first. X402 enables payments to settle in seconds using onchain transactions, while traditional rails typically settle over one to three business days.Moreover, x402 supports micropayments as small as fractions of a cent, making it viable for high-frequency, low-cost interactions — something that’s infeasible on credit card networks due to fees. It’s also global by design, requiring no currency conversions or regional banking relationships. Chargebacks, fraud risk and intermediary fees are virtually eliminated, thanks to the immutability of onchain transfers.Where traditional systems focus on human users with front-end interfaces, x402 enables machine-native, backend-to-backend monetization.Did you know? You can detect HTTP 402 responses using tools like Sitechecker Pro, which scans your site like a search bot and flags unusual status codes — including payment-related ones. Incumbents’ act: How Visa, Stripe and PayPal are exploring AI-powered payments To be fair, incumbents aren’t ignoring this trend. Visa, Stripe and PayPal have all acted to be in line with the trend and incorporate appropriate changes in their approach.VisaVisa has announced initiatives to allow AI agents to make purchases on behalf of users by linking them to its global payments network. This move aims to facilitate autonomous AI assistants capable of performing shopping tasks, such as managing routine purchases, based on user-defined budgets and preferences.In partnership with Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure provider, Visa is launching stablecoin-linked Visa cards across multiple countries in Latin America. This collaboration enables users to make everyday purchases using cryptocurrency tokens, with plans to expand to Europe, Africa and Asia in the coming months.StripeStripe has unveiled a new AI foundation model aimed at improving fraud detection and authorization rates. This model, trained on billions of transactions, has significantly increased the detection rate for fraudulent activities, such as card-testing attacks, enhancing the security of its payment systems.Stripe has introduced Stablecoin Financial Accounts, allowing businesses in over 100 countries to hold balances in dollar-backed stablecoins like USDC and USDB. These accounts support global payments and enable firms to manage stablecoins alongside traditional payment methods. PayPalPayPal is set to launch a rewards program offering users a 3.7% annual yield on holdings of its stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD), in PayPal or Venmo wallets. This initiative aims to encourage the adoption and utilization of PYUSD for various transactions, including merchant payments and peer-to-peer transfers.PayPal has expanded its partnership with Coinbase to increase the adoption and utilization of PYUSD. This collaboration focuses on developing stablecoin-based payments and banking solutions, as well as exploring other use cases for PYUSD in DeFi and onchain platforms.Protocols vs. platforms: The distinct approachesWhile Visa, Stripe and PayPal are making significant strides in integrating AI and stablecoins into their services, these companies still operate within walled gardens. They offer services, not protocols. Their infrastructures are:Centralized: Governed by corporate policies and APIs.Permissioned: Access requires onboarding, KYC and platform approval.Closed ecosystems: Where user experience and interoperability are tightly controlled.In contrast, x402 is permissionless and open, allowing any developer to plug into it without needing a merchant account. And the distinction between centralized services and open protocols like x402 will play a crucial role in shaping the future landscape of digital payments, potentially leading to a more decentralized and agent-driven economy. What is x402’s monetization model? One of the most practical use cases for x402 is API monetization. In today’s model, developers must create keys, handle access tiers, and enforce rate limits manually. With x402, APIs can simply respond to unauthenticated requests with a 402, indicating a cost, for example, $0.001 to access a data endpoint.A client can then send the required stablecoin payment and receive the response instantly. This turns APIs into microservices with embedded pricing, enabling fine-grained monetization at the level of individual function calls. It’s a model that fits naturally with both AI workloads and human developers who want to pay only for what they use.Stablecoins like USDC are central to the success of x402 and agentic payments more broadly. Their key benefit is price stability, allowing developers and agents to transact in predictable units without worrying about crypto volatility. That’s critical for applications that operate with tight budgets or usage-based pricing.USDC also offers fast finality, especially on chains like Base, Solana and Ethereum layer 2s, where transfers can confirm in seconds with minimal fees. Its broad support across wallets, APIs and ecosystems makes it a practical choice for integration. Other stablecoins like PYUSD or EURC may become relevant, but USDC’s dominance in DeFi and institutional finance gives it a clear head start. Challenges and opportunities for agentic payments Agentic payments raise important questions around security, like how can bots manage private keys safely? There’s also the issue of abuse — will bad actors flood servers with fake payments or exploit pricing models? Regulatory concerns also loom.But the upside is enormous. The emergence of a machine-to-machine economy has led to a situation where agents transact for data, compute, bandwidth and services without human input. Protocols like x402 are the rails that will power this fast, open and crypto-native economy.Coinbase’s x402 is more than a technical upgrade; it’s a new payment primitive for the programmable web. By bringing crypto payments over HTTP to AI agents and APIs, x402 transforms how the internet handles value. It opens the door to a future where transactions are embedded, automatic and driven by machines, not just people. As the digital economy evolves, protocols like x402 could become the foundation of the new internet, powered by a new-age financial infrastructure.
Published: 8 hours ago
Nasdaq-listed BTCS to boost ETH holdings with $57.8M raise
Publicly traded company BTCS announced a $57.8 million financing agreement led by investment firm ATW Partners to purchase Ether as it expands its blockchain infrastructure strategy. The Rockville, Maryland-based company announced the deal on May 14, saying that the move will allow it to expand validator node operations and build recurring revenue from Ether (ETH) staking.BTCS CEO Charles Allen said the move follows Strategy’s (formerly MicroStrategy) high-profile Bitcoin (BTC) accumulation blueprint and will leverage Ethereum for long-term growth. “We are executing a disciplined strategy to increase our Ethereum exposure and drive recurring revenue through staking and our block building operations,” Allen said.Source: BTCSBTCS issues initial $7.8 million convertible notesAs part of the agreement, BTCS issued an initial $7.8 million tranche in convertible notes, with the option to draw an additional $50 million in funding subject to mutual agreement. The notes are convertible to BTCS common stock at a fixed price of $5.85 per share, almost 200% more than the company’s $1.99 stock price on May 13. The notes carry a two-year maturity and a 6% annual interest rate. This means that BTCS has two years to repay the loan if it’s not converted into stock, and that while the notes are active, the company will pay 6% in interest yearly. In simple terms, investors are betting that BTCS stock will rise. In exchange, the company gains access to capital for scaling its Ethereum operations. Investors also received an option to buy 1.9 million shares at $2.75 each for the next five years. This is much higher than the current stock price but lower than the conversion rate stated in the agreement. The financing agreement follows the company’s recent use of the lending protocol Aave to borrow funds to acquire ETH. However, the company did not disclose in the announcement how much ETH it had acquired through the protocol. Related: Ethereum Foundation unveils security initiative to supplant legacy systemsBTCS doubles down on Ether as asset gains 42% BTCS’s announcement to purchase ETH came after the crypto asset made massive gains following the Pectra upgrade. On May 12, Ether’s market cap surged by 42%, surpassing the stock valuations of Coca-Cola and Alibaba. The surge in value placed Ether as the 39th-largest asset by market cap. Magazine: Danger signs for Bitcoin as retail abandons it to institutions: Sky Wee
Published: 8 hours ago
The value of virtual: Economies are powered by ownership of the intangible
Opinion by: Yat Siu, executive chairman and co-founder, Animoca BrandsA discussion on digital property rights, copyright, intellectual property, the open metaverse, AI and value without physical form.When I attend conferences and similar public events, someone almost always approaches me to ask how cryptographic tokens (fungible or non-fungible) can have value even though tokens are virtual and do not exist in the physical world. It's a surprisingly common question, especially one-on-one.Virtual objects like NFTs and cryptocurrencies are both digital and intangible; their existence is not based in the real (physical) world, and (unlike digital currencies) they generally do not have backing by real-world institutions. The ability to have value (specifically, monetary worth) is crucially important regarding the open metaverse, the decentralized internet of Web3 characterized by true digital ownership (see What IS the open metaverse?).I recently delved into the value of the virtual during an interview with CNBC, which may prove quite helpful to some readers. I'd like to discuss this topic in greater detail and with some historical context.When discussing whether something that doesn't exist in the real world can have real monetary worth, it is important to remember that intangible things have carried value for centuries; the key is ownership and the benefits associated with that ownership.How the ownership of ideas created the modern worldOne of the most important building blocks of modern industry and innovation-based economies was laid down more than three centuries ago in Great Britain with the long form title of "An Act for the Encouragement of Learning by Vesting the Copies of Printed Books in the Authors or Purchasers of Such Copies, During the Times Therein Mentioned." Also known as the Statute of Anne and the Copyright Act of 1709 (or 1710), this legislation provided the basis for modern copyright and intellectual property laws by establishing that the author of a particular work, not its publisher, was its rightful owner. The statute marked a pivotal moment in history by distinguishing between creators and distributors in much the same way that today we distinguish between creators (artists, writers, musicians, etc.) and the platforms that distribute their works (Netflix, Medium, Spotify, etc.).By granting creators exclusive rights to their works for a limited time, the Statute of Anne and subsequent acts established an economic framework for intellectual property under which creators could retain control and financial benefits over their works. At the same time, society gained access to those works through public libraries, book sales and similar means of distribution. The result was a veritable explosion of literature, science and philosophy that fueled the European Age of Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution.This period in history saw the rise of literary giants such as Jane Austen, Victor Hugo and Charles Dickens, and intellectual titans including Voltaire, Rousseau, Kant, Hume, Mary Wollstonecraft and Adam Smith. In the sciences, the publicly available work of visionaries like Charles Darwin, Gregor Mendel and Marie Curie allowed us to radically advance our understanding of the physical world. The ability to own their ideas brought fame and financial independence to innovators, enabling them to challenge norms, push boundaries and distribute groundbreaking ideas. Copyright provided an economic incentive to create and share idea-based works, ensuring that contributions would endure and inspire future generations. Copyright was so powerful and impactful that other nations followed with their own measures, including the United States with its Copyright Act of 1790.Copyright and other forms of intellectual property protection have been accelerating innovation and powering economies for over three centuries. One of the most notable examples of this effect is China.China was a free haven for IP infringement. Pirated digital and physical goods were prevalent until the 1990s and early 2000s, when China began to strengthen its IP protection. This contributed to a meteoric rise in domestic Chinese innovation, and today, China is the world's leading generator of ideas in the form of scientific studies, patents, technology, content, etc.China's reforms to IP protection in the 1990s and early 2000s contributed to an explosion in the number of annual patent applications, considered a proxy indicator of innovation (image from Our World in Data)Owning the work of our mindsToday, it is widely acknowledged that intellectual property is subject to ownership just like material things, even though it is intangible and time-bound. We recognize that copyright, trademarks, patents and similar measures establish and protect ownership of the intangible.In a previous essay, I mentioned the work of the philosopher John Locke, describing the man as "one of the OGs in the field of ownership and a major inspiration for both the European Enlightenment and the US Constitution."Loosely stated, Locke reasoned that a person has a natural right to own the labor of their "body" and "hands." Copyright applied this Lockean view to the intangible products of the mind. Recent: Why crypto’s next breakthrough could start in the classroom — Animoca’s Yat SiuAs I noted in that essay, Locke's reasoning — that a person's labor generates property — provided a strong basis for "ownership of intangibles including intellectual property, usage time, data, and the derivatives of data." Intellectual property is fundamentally intangible: Scientific breakthroughs, literary works, musical compositions and various other creations of the mind emerge "from thin air" and without fixed physical form. In capitalist economies, the protection of intellectual property plays a crucial role in supporting and incentivizing creators, making it possible for the work of our minds to enjoy commercial success, distribution and longevity. Without IP protection, entire industries (including technology, science and medicine) would be severely stunted by the lack of economic incentives to undertake research and development. It is no exaggeration to say that the Statute of Anne changed the world by launching a framework for creators to own and protect the work of their minds, which in turn made it possible to enhance and sustain innovation.The introduction of intellectual property protection laid the foundation for ownership over the intangible. It enabled our minds to create intangible capital assets, thus fuelling the economic engines of wealth generation. Just as importantly, copyright granted rights explicitly to creators, helping to decentralize the concentration of power away from big publishers.Ownership of the intangible represents such obvious and immense value to us at Animoca Brands that we made the advancement of digital property rights our core mission.The economic power of assets without physical existenceIt is well established in traditional business and finance that the intangible can have worth. Brand equity, intellectual property and goodwill are all considered valuable. The reams of intangible data you produce daily through your online activities are highly prized by companies and platforms that use it (and sometimes abuse it) to extract value from you.Consider that intangibles already dominate the global economy:The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) estimated that in 2019, IP-intensive industries contributed 41% of US domestic economic activity, supporting 63 million jobs (44% of total US employment).The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) estimated that in 2023, intangible assets were valued at $62 trillion — multiples more than the total market cap of gold (about $17 trillion to $25 trillion).(On a related topic, the sheer economic power of IP makes recent suggestions by Jack Dorsey and Elon Musk that we should "delete all IP law" all the more bizarre. Removing something that has successfully driven innovation, investment and development for more than 300 years hardly seems like the wisest course of action. I discussed this matter in a thread on X.)Blockchain technology is a game-changer because it can provide provable ownership, scarcity and economic opportunities for intangible assets in a decentralized manner at minimum cost, quickly and securely.In a non-blockchain framework, a public record of ownership for an asset is maintained by a trusted central authority, often a government agency. This presents significant challenges, including security, barriers to access, poor efficiency, high costs to owners, red tape and the poor cost-effectiveness of protecting items of relatively little worth.In blockchain-enabled frameworks, however, decentralized and immutable ledgers can greatly reduce waste, vulnerability and opportunity loss while providing and automating important record-keeping functions more efficiently and securely than centralized systems. But that's not all.The work of artificial mindsIP-based value creation is particularly critical in the context of the artificial intelligence revolution currently underway. IP protection recently gained attention through a viral trend of AI-generated images in the style of Hayo Miyazaki, the legendary founder of Studio Ghibli. This trend brought to the forefront some concerns about AIs that are trained using protected IP and the potential impact that easily generated imitations have on rightful IP owners.The film industry has been wrangling with this issue for years:"OpenAI, a major US artificial intelligence company, and Google both wrote to the Office of Science and Technology Policy about an AI action plan this month, making the case that it would be beneficial for AI developers to be able to use copyrighted materials to train AI…"SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents about 160,000 performers, wanted film and TV producers to obtain consent from actors to create and use their digital replicas. They also fought for actors to be compensated at their usual rate — even if a digital replica of them performs the role."CBS News, March 17, 2025These are thorny issues that will impact most industries, sooner or later. Can a society successfully legislate to protect the work of our minds from the highly efficient imitative assaults of artificial intelligence? Will AI regulation enhance industries or merely restrict innovation and competitiveness? There is a technological solution to some of the concerns around AI and copyright. Blockchain provides a secure and trustable type of framework for large-scale tracking, provenance, ownership and various other aspects of intellectual property that are currently being challenged by generative AIs. Even better, blockchain can also facilitate usage tracking and royalty payments related to ownership of individual assets, even for assets of very low value. In the AI-driven world of the near future, blockchain technology can be the basis for efficient mechanisms that provide fair rewards and accreditation to creators whose intellectual property fuels AI (a subject I addressed briefly in my TED Talk). Digital property rights: The next frontierWhen someone asks me how NFTs or cryptocurrencies can have real value despite being intangible, I usually ask them the same question about the work of their favorite musician, author or filmmaker. Most people have a fundamental appreciation for intellectual property rights in the context of "traditional" industries because those industries have considerable experience managing ownership of the intangible. Intellectual property is recognized to have real value without physicality, and creators have the right to ownership over their intangible creations, empowering them to create capital "out of thin air" through the work of their minds. This also applies to virtual objects (and, indeed, virtual objects often represent or are linked to intellectual property).Whether you own an idea, something you wrote, a digital currency, or an NFT, the key point is ownership and its associated benefits. Ownership of something (virtual or real) confers some degree of opportunity that would otherwise not be possible without that ownership.As the world embraces the digital frontier, the mission of Animoca Brands strikes me as more relevant than ever: to make available digital property rights for all, thereby helping to ensure that all creators can be rewarded fairly not only for their own creations but also for their relative contributions to the work of others (such as AIs, social networks, advertisers, remixers, etc.).The same principle of ownership over the intangible that helped fuel the Enlightenment, the Scientific Revolution, and the Information Age can now be extended to our digital lives in the decentralized open metaverse, where technological frameworks already enshrine provable ownership of the virtual, and where creating and accessing virtual assets is inherently democratic and easily available to all participants. A little over 315 years after the Statute of Anne began to pave the road that leads to the open metaverse, the confluence of technology and property rights is now poised to unlock nearly unimaginable creativity, economic empowerment and progress for billions of people. Opinion by: Yat Siu, executive chairman and co-founder, Animoca Brands.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.
Published: 8 hours ago
Bitcoin looks ‘ridiculous’ as bulls attempt $2T market cap flip — Analyst
Key points:Bitcoin has a fight for a $100,000 price and a $2 trillion market cap on its hands this month.Dips below six figures are “easily possible,” analyst filbfilb says, but the odds are stacked in bulls’ favor.ETH/BTC needs to hit the 0.03 inflection point as part of an altcoin comeback.Bitcoin (BTC) is poised for expansion with BTC price action rarely more “bullish-looking,” an analyst says.In his latest commentary on X, market analyst filbfilb revealed a key support battle now underway on BTC/USD.Filbfilb on $100,000 battle: “This time is no different”Bitcoin has begun to consolidate after making rapid gains this month, with the area just north of $100,000 seeing “choppy” BTC price moves.For filbfilb, however, current market behavior is about more than reclaiming six figures.Bitcoin’s market cap is now fighting to flip the $2 trillion mark from resistance back into firm support after losing it at the start of February, data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView confirms.“Bitcoin is currently at 2 tril resistance btw, its not just 100k,” he told X followers.Bitcoin market cap 1-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewThe tug-of-war comes as Bitcoin’s dominance of the overall crypto market cap begins to fade, leading some to anticipate the reemergence of altcoins.Giving his thoughts on the largest altcoin, Ether (ETH), versus BTC, filbfilb said that the “trend changes” once ETH/BTC reclaims 0.03, a level also last seen in early February.ETH/BTC 1-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewZooming out, the implications of Bitcoin definitively leaving $100,000 behind are plain.“$1 or $100 is normally a sticking point for most assets due to humans. Do an exercise and look at other assets; they all do similar stuff,” filbfilb continued, referring to the psychological significance of round-number price points.“Burn the round number after ages of resistance to liquidate shorts, come back to the 80s, then find expansion later. I believe this is no different.”BTC/USD found multimonth lows at around $75,000 in April. As Cointelegraph reported, the event was well supported by onchain reversal signals, with the Hash Ribbons indicators delivering a rare “buy” signal shortly beforehand.Outlook “honestly ridiculous”Bitcoin continues to field bullish price prognoses from longtime traders and analysts, who agree that the current slowdown is a stepping stone to a rematch with all-time highs near $110,000.Related: BTC bulls get ‘biggest signal’ — 5 things to know in Bitcoin this weekTargets include $120,000 in the short term, with June in line for $150,000 or more.“As for Bitcoin... Honestly.. Ridiculous, the more you zoom out, the more insane it looks,” filbfilb added on the outlook. “Short-term pullbacks below 100k are easily possible, however, I haven't seen such a bullish-looking thing in a long time.”BTC/USD 3-day chart with indicator data. Source: filbfilb/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.
Published: 9 hours ago
Why is Ethereum (ETH) price down today?
Key takeaways:Ether’s price fell over 4% to $2,575 on May 15, mirroring similar downward moves across the wider cryptocurrency market.Long liquidations and a drop in open interest facilitated ETH’s drop.“Overbought” RSI and technical resistance signal profit-taking.Ether (ETH) price declined by over 4% in the last 24 hours to around $2,575 on May 15. ETH’s drop mirrored similar downside moves elsewhere in the cryptocurrency market, with the total capitalization falling by approximately 2.40% to $3.3 trillion.ETH/USD four-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewLet’s look at some of the factors driving Ether’s price down today.ETH price down as long liquidated, and OI falls Ether’s open interest (OI) has decreased by 4.5% to $31.52 billion over the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinGlass. This decline in OI signals reduced trader confidence and liquidity as investors exit the market, driving down prices.ETH derivatives data. Source: CoinGlassThe drawback in ETH price has triggered liquidations, where long positions valued at $64.6 million were forcibly closed on the day, compared to approximately $21 million in short positions.Related: 3 reasons why Ethereum price could rally to $5,000 in 2025The broader crypto market also experienced a sharp deleveraging event, with total liquidations reaching $312 million across all assets.Crypto market liquidations (24 hours). Source: CoinGlassThe combination of forced sell-offs and low market participation has amplified Ether’s bearish momentum.The 24-hour long/short ratio of 0.9558 and a 32.5% drop in trading volume suggest a waning bullish sentiment.ETH Long/Short Ratio Chart. Source: CoinGlassEthereum’s rally stalls with buyer exhaustion Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows Ether’s impressive rally over the last week has pushed its relative strength index (RSI) above 70 on shorter and longer timeframe charts, indicating overbought conditions. The RSI heatmap from CoinGlass shows ETH’s RSI at 71 and 73 on the 12-hour and daily timeframes, respectively.ETH/USD daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewEther’s price also faces stiff resistance on the upside, defined by the $2,600 and $2,800 range. Note that this is where the 200-day SMA currently sits.Popular crypto analyst Michael van de Poppe said Ether is required to overcome this barrier to increase its chances of recording new highs for 2025.“If this happens on $ETH, that would signal a lot of potential upside to come for the entire #Altcoin market.”Source: Michael van de PoppeThe downside target for the short term is between $2,100 and $2,230, which could provide a good entry position for late investors, according to Van de Poppe. As Cointelegraph reported, Ether’s crypto market dominance has reached its most overheated levels since May 2021, which have historically preceded major pullbacks.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.
Published: 9 hours ago
NFT founder stole millions from Bitcoin project, investors allege
Several investors in a non-fungible token (NFT) project, Hashling NFT, have accused its founder of misappropriating millions of dollars in profits from the project and a closely tied Bitcoin mining operation.According to the May 14 court filing in Illinois, the plaintiffs allege that their former business partner, Jonathan Mills, lied about transferring assets from Hashling NFT and at least $3 million from the Bitcoin mining project to a holding company — Satoshi Labs LLC (formerly known as Proof of Work Labs LLC), which Mills is the founder and CEO of.The plaintiffs have sued Mills for fraud and breach of fiduciary duty, claiming that they have not received any of the equity returns that he supposedly promised. They also claim to have raised a combined $1.46 million from two NFT drops on the Solana and Bitcoin blockchains, but didn’t receive any returns from their investment. Excerpt of the plaintiffs’ claims made against Joshua Mills in an Illinois district court. Source: PACERMills allegedly began ghosting them shortly afterward, according to the plaintiffs, adding that he created a flawed shareholder agreement to falsely support his claim that the holding company controlled the project's assets.This was “rife with errors” to support his lie, the plaintiffs said.According to the supposedly flawed shareholder agreement, Mills was to receive a 67% equity share in Proof of Work Labs (before he later renamed it to Satoshi Labs) while several other investors contributed up to $20,000 into the company in exchange for just 2% equity.He allegedly assured them that their equity stakes would remain unchanged despite the name change.Mills also held a 67% voting stake on all matters related to Proof of Work Labs (at the time) while no other partner held more than 2%.Cointelegraph reached out to Mills but didn’t receive an immediate response.Mills supposedly didn’t know much about NFTsThe Hashling NFT project was born from a different idea that Mills had initially discussed with one of the plaintiffs, Dustin Steerman, who initially established rapport with Mills from earlier collaborations.They followed through with the Hashling NFT project despite Mills initially telling Steerman that he had no money and no NFT-related experience to contribute to the project.Related: Bitcoin NFTs surpass Ronin in all-time sales“[Mills] had a willingness to help push the project forward, and he did have an idea at the start,” the investor’s attorney, Clinton Ind of Ind Legal Group LLC told Law360."Even though that wasn't the final idea, it did embolden it, and … everyone kind of enjoyed working together in those early stages."To ensure the Hashling NFT project’s success, Mills and Steerman recruited other investors, now also plaintiffs, to assist with everything from the NFT art and social media marketing to even attending NFT conferences in New York.Mills even got his girlfriend to invest in the Hashling NFTs project, the plaintiffs claimed.In addition to the fraud and breach of fiduciary actions, the plaintiffs also requested a constructive trust over the project’s assets and full legal restitution.Magazine: Danger signs for Bitcoin as retail abandons it to institutions: Sky Wee
Published: 11 hours ago
Sonic Labs wins judgment for Multichain Foundation to wind up
A Singapore High Court has ruled in favor of Sonic Labs’ motion to force the Multichain Foundation to wind up in an effort to recover funds stolen during a 2023 hack.In the May 9 judgment in the Singapore Supreme Court, Justice Kwek Mean Luck granted a request from Sonic Labs, formerly the Fantom Foundation, to declare Multichain bankrupt and appoint liquidators from global audit, tax and advisory service KPMG.Sonic Labs CEO Michael Kong said in a May 14 statement to X that the team behind the layer 1 Sonic blockchain felt it had no choice but to file a lawsuit to forcibly wind up Multichain because its former employees were being “completely uncooperative” and “hid from victims.”“Going forward, the liquidators can now start working with other parties to initiate the process of trying to acquire funds that should eventually be returned to users if those legal proceedings are successful,” Kong said.Source: Michael KongIn July 2023, the Multichain Foundation experienced abnormally large outflows, later confirmed as a hack, leading to the loss of assets across multiple chains, including Fantom, Ethereum, BNB, Cronos and Polygon.Blockchain security firm Beosin and Fantom estimated in an August 2023 report that the total losses for all chains were at least $210 million.Wind up action followed legal win The High Court of Singapore granted a default judgment ruling in January 2024 as part of Sonic Labs’ legal action against Multichain for breach of contract, fraudulent misrepresentations and claims the crosschain protocol had lost $122 million of its funds.Related: Multichain’s ‘mysterious withdrawals’ have whiffs of a ‘rug pull’ — ChainalysisFollowing the ruling, Sonic Labs said in March 2024 it would leverage the legal win to petition the court to wind up the Multichain Foundation and appoint a liquidator, equivalent to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the US, to help recover and distribute missing or frozen assets.Previously, Sonic Labs indicated it planned to use the legal win to forge a path for other victims of the Multichain hack to lodge claims for their losses as well.Multichain shut down in July 2024 due to a lack of operational funds, and after its CEO, known as Zhaojun, was detained by Chinese police.Magazine: Bitcoin eyes ‘crazy numbers,’ JD Vance set for Bitcoin talk: Hodler’s Digest, May 4 – 10
Published: 11 hours ago
Senate removes Trump provisions in push to pass stablecoin bill
The US Senate could pass a key bipartisan stablecoin bill as soon as next week after removing language targeting President Donald Trump and his family’s sprawling crypto interests.Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis said onstage at an event by Coinbase’s lobbying arm, Stand With Crypto, that she thinks it's a “fair target” to have the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act, or GENIUS Act, passed by May 26 — Memorial Day in the US.Joining her onstage was Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who hinted that the bill’s language was changed to scrap provisions that targeted Trump’s various crypto projects, which include memecoins, a crypto platform, a stablecoin and a crypto mining company that plans to go public, among others.“When this language comes out, people will see really good refinement, a lot of progress, on things like consumer protection, and bankruptcy protection, and ethics,” Gillibrand said. “Things beyond just ‘what’s the structure?’ and ‘what’s required for an issuer?’”Source: Brian ArmstrongSenate Democrats pulled support for the bill on May 8 and stalled its momentum, airing concerns that it wouldn’t help address multiple crypto-tied deals that will personally enrich Trump.“A lot of what President Trump is engaged in is already illegal,” Gillibrand said. “I also think his issuance of a memecoin is illegal based on current law.”“It’s literally offering anyone who wants to curry favor with the administration to just send him money — that’s about as illegal as it gets.”“I’m not so worried about this bill having to deal with all President Trump’s ethics problems. What this bill is really intended to do is regulate the entire space of stablecoins,” she added.Gillibrand said the revised bill includes “some ethics requirements,” but it was “not an ethics bill.”“If we were dealing with all President Trump’s ethics problems, it would be a very long and detailed bill,” she added.Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, also on stage, was hopeful the Senate would vote on the stablecoin bill “early next week.”Armstrong, whose company cozied up to Trump by donating $1 million to his inauguration fund, declined to comment when asked if the President’s memecoin could impact the passage of bipartisan crypto bills.“It’s not my place to really comment on President Trump’s activity,” he said. “What I do think is important is that this bill remains focused on stablecoins.”Crypto bills “absolutely critical” to pass before midtermsThe crypto industry is pushing for Congress to pass the GENIUS Act and a Republican-drafted crypto market structure bill before the midterm elections on Nov. 3, 2026, where all 435 House seats and a third of the 100 Senate seats are up for election.“We have a very narrow window to get legislation through between now and the midterms,” Marta Belcher, the president of the crypto lobby group the Blockchain Association, told Cointelegraph at the Consensus conference in Toronto.“I strongly suspect that window is going to close very quickly. I don't know if we're going to get another window like this to get legislation through,” she added.“It's absolutely critical that we get it through now, especially because there really is a real possibility that in the future we end up with an administration that is hostile to crypto.”The association’s communications director, Chris Jonas, added that it’s critical the bills pass before Congress takes a recess for the month of August.Related: Crypto execs flock to DC to support Senate stablecoin bill “Once you get into the calendar year of the midterms, historically not a lot of legislation moves, so that's why it’s so critical,” he explained.Trump should be on track to sign both crypto bills before the August break, according to Bo Hines, the executive director of the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets.Hines noted on stage at Consensus on May 13 that negotiations on both bills are still ongoing, but it was “the President's desire” to sign both “stablecoin legislation and market structure legislation before the August recess."Legal Panel: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight
Published: 11 hours ago
Telegram shuts ‘largest darknet marketplace to have ever existed’
A major Chinese darknet marketplace suspected of facilitating crypto scams and cybercrime has been shut down by the Telegram messaging service, upon which it operated.The internet’s largest illicit marketplace, Haowang Guarantee, formerly Huione Guarantee, said it will shut down following Telegram’s ban of thousands of associated accounts on May 13. “Since all our NFTs, channels and groups were blocked by Telegram on May 13, 2025, Haowang Guarantee will cease operations from now on,” read the notice on the marketplace website.A report from Wired said that this involved banning thousands of accounts and usernames that served as the infrastructure for the crypto crime marketplace and its vendors.Telegram spokesperson Remi Vaughn told the outlet, “communities previously reported to us by WIRED or included in reports published by Elliptic have all been taken down,” before adding that “criminal activities like scamming or money laundering are forbidden by Telegram’s terms of service and are always removed whenever discovered.” Closure notice on Haowang Guarantee website. Source: Haowang GuaranteeThe Chinese language black marketplace facilitated an estimated $27 billion in illicit transactions, predominantly using the Tether stablecoin (USDT), according to blockchain security firm Elliptic. Elliptic researchers also found that the wider Huione Group of companies had facilitated over $98 billion in crypto transactions. Related: Largest ‘illicit online marketplace’ has grown 51% in 6 months: EllipticThe marketplace provided services to crypto scammers, including money laundering, stolen personal data used for pig butchering scams, telecommunications infrastructure and equipment, deepfake software and IDs, and even physical restraint devices used in scam call center compounds across Southeast Asia. Elliptic co-founder Tom Robinson said it was a “huge win” as the “largest darknet marketplace to have ever existed has been shut down.” “It’s a game-changer in terms of overall online criminal markets, and it's huge for victims of online fraud. This marketplace was a key enabler of the global scam epidemic, and I think this will put a real dent in the ability of online scammers to do what they do.”In early May, the platform was designated as a money laundering operation by the US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). It was to be severed from the US banking system. Xinbi Guarantee growingHowever, another Telegram-based illicit marketplace called Xinbi Guarantee has been identified by Elliptic, which discovered thousands of crypto addresses used by the merchants on it. On May 13, the firm said that it has seen $8.4 billion in transactions so far, but that should be considered as “lower bounds of the true volume of transactions on the platform.”Xinbi was linked to a Colorado-based company that was incorporated in 2022 but listed as delinquent in January 2025.Black marketplaces such as these have unveiled a “China-based underground banking system,” based around stablecoins and crypto payments, which is being leveraged for money laundering on a “significant scale,” Elliptic stated. Magazine: Metric signals $250K Bitcoin is ‘best case,’ SOL, HYPE tipped for gains: Trade Secrets
Published: 11 hours ago
Twitter User Claims TradingView Has Ignored a Fibonacci Retracement Bug for 5 Years
Update: the CTO of TradingView told Cointelegraph in comments that the reports of a bug were inaccurate, and the Twitter user partially withdrew his earlier claims that the tool was broken. Popular chart analysis service TradingView reportedly contains a bug in the Fibonacci retracement technical analysis tool, according to a tweet by self-proclaimed certified Elliott wave analyst Cryptoteddybear published on June 13. The Elliott wave principle is a type of technical analysis for predicting prices in financial markets by looking at recurring patterns. In a video that he uploaded to YouTube, the analyst explains that the tool does linear calculations when in logarithmic charts, which he notes is a significant issue for Elliot wave traders. The official Twitter account of the company behind the charting service answered his tweet, announcing that the issue is being investigated, to which Cryptoteddybear answered: “Thank you @tradingview for finally taking this issue seriously.” The first reports of the bug, posted over five years ago (in November 2014) on consumer community platform getsatisfaction, have been reportedly ignored by the company. Another report submitted on the same platform, dated June 3, 2017, has seen the official TradingView account answer in the thread: “Hi, you are right, we have a planned task to fix this. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.” However, the problem apparently has not yet been solved. Cryptoteddybear claims that a company representative told him that he asked the technicians to increase the priority given to solving the bug. As Cointelegraph recently reported, TradingView is one of the platforms that added the “CIX100” index — an AI-powered index for the 100 strongest-performing cryptocurrencies and tokens. At the beginning of the current month, cryptocurrency analytics company Coin Metrics announced that it has acquired digital asset index firm Bletchley Indexes and plans to launch crypto smart beta indexes. As of press time, TradingView has not responded to a request for comment.
Published: 6 years ago
