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Michael Saylor hints at Bitcoin purchase as whales stack aggressively

Whales and large institutions continue their aggressive Bitcoin accumulation, with Strategy hinting at another Bitcoin investment that may be announced on Monday.

Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor hinted at another imminent Bitcoin (BTC) investment on April 27, a week after the firm acquired $555 million worth of Bitcoin at an average price of $84,785 per coin.

“Stay Humble. Stack Sats,” Saylor wrote, spurring investor speculation of the size of the firm’s next Bitcoin investment.

Source: Michael Saylor

“1.4-1.6b range imo,” wrote popular blockchain analyst RunnerXBT in anticipation of Saylor’s announcement, which would make it three times as large as Strategy’s previous investment.

Related: Bitcoin treasury firms driving $200T hyperbitcoinization — Adam Back

Michael Saylor hints at Bitcoin purchase as whales stack aggressively
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El Salvador adds Bitcoin, but is complying with IMF deal — Director

El Salvador, the world’s first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, is still acquiring Bitcoin despite comments from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) appearing to claim the opposite.

The treasury of El Salvador acquired 7 Bitcoin (BTC) worth over $650,000 in the seven days leading up to April 27, blockchain data from El Salvador’s Bitcoin Office shows.

When asked about the country’s Bitcoin investments, Rodrigo Valdes, director of the Western Hemisphere Department at the IMF, said that the country continues to comply with its agreement to halt government Bitcoin accumulation.

El Salvador Bitcoin holdings. Source: El Salvador Bitcoin Office

“In terms of El Salvador, let me say that I can confirm that they continue to comply with their commitment of non-accumulation of Bitcoin by the overall fiscal sector, which is the performance criteria that we have,” said Valdes during an April 26 press briefing.

Related: Crypto sentiment recovers, but weekend liquidity risks remain

El Salvador adds Bitcoin, but is complying with IMF deal — Director
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Bitcoin treasury firms driving $200T hyperbitcoinization — Adam Back

Investment firms with Bitcoin-focused treasuries are front-running global Bitcoin adoption, which may see the world’s first cryptocurrency soar to a $200 trillion market capitalization in the coming decade.

Institutions and governments worldwide are starting to recognize the unique monetary properties of Bitcoin (BTC), according to Adam Back, co-founder and CEO of Blockstream and the inventor of Hashcash.

“$MSTR and other treasury companies are an arbitrage of the dislocation between the bitcoin future and todays fiat world,” Back wrote in an April 26 X post.

“A sustainable and scalable $100-$200 trillion trade front-running hyperbitcoinization. scalable enough for most big listed companies to move to btc treasury,” he added.

Hyperbitcoinization refers to the theoretical future where Bitcoin soars to become the largest global currency, replacing fiat money due to its inflationary economics and growing distrust in the legacy financial system.

Bitcoin treasury firms driving $200T hyperbitcoinization — Adam Back
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Bitcoiner TJ Miller says ‘50-hour’ rule is why celebs stay off orange pill

Comedian and actor TJ Miller says it only takes a little over two full days to get the average person up to speed on Bitcoin. However, when asked why more celebrities aren’t Bitcoiners, he says most people simply refuse to ever sit down and study again.

“It is really hard to get people to study after they graduate, from any level,” Miller told Natalie Brunell on the April 23 episode of Coin Stories. Miller claimed it takes “about 50 hours of study” to understand Bitcoin (BTC).

Hollywood rewards those who “do not think differently”

“So to say to somebody it is going to take 50 hours for you to understand this, they are like, ah, I don’t want to,” he said. “They can’t even watch a Netflix series; they can’t even watch White Lotus because it takes seven hours,” he said.

Comedian and actor TJ Miller spoke to Bitcoiner Natalie Brunell on the Coin Stories podcast. Source: Natalie Brunell

Miller said it takes “such a paradigm shift” to embrace Bitcoin, not just in money or the internet, but in life — and that’s also why you don’t see more Hollywood celebrities becoming Bitcoin maxis:

“Hollywood rewards people that do not think differently.”

During a Bitcoin lunch hosted by crypto entrepreneur Anthony Pompliano, Miller introduced himself that, to his knowledge, he is “the only celebrity that is a Bitcoiner.”

Bitcoiner TJ Miller says ‘50-hour’ rule is why celebs stay off orange pill
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Bitcoin trades at ‘40% discount’ as spot BTC ETF buying soars to $3B in one week

Key takeaways:

Data suggests that Bitcoin currently trades at a 40% discount.

Over 36,000 Bitcoin were withdrawn from Coinbase and Binance on April 25.

Bitcoin’s fractal pattern from Q4 2024 could propel prices above $100,000 in April.

Bitcoin (BTC) is currently trading at a 40% discount to its intrinsic value, according to Capriole Investments founder Charles Edwards.

Bitcoin trades at ‘40% discount’ as spot BTC ETF buying soars to $3B in one week
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Bitcoin ‘power law’ model forecasts $200K BTC price in 2025

Key takeaways:

Based on power curve trends, Bitcoin may hit $200,000 in Q4 2025.

Bitcoin follows gold’s price trend with a 100-150 day lag.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) price has rallied 11% this week, its best weekly return in 2025 and its highest seven-day growth since early November 2024. Bitcoin also reached $95,000 on April 25 for the first time since Feb. 24. 

Bitcoin 1-week chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

21st Capital co-founder Sina mentioned that Bitcoin reclaimed the power-law price. The power law's predictive accuracy stems from Bitcoin's network growth following Metcalfe's Law, where value scales with the square of users. 

Bitcoin ‘power law’ model forecasts $200K BTC price in 2025
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US crypto rules like 'floor is lava' game without lights — Hester Peirce

SEC Commissioner and head of the crypto task force, Hester Peirce, says US financial firms are navigating crypto in a way that’s similar to playing the children’s game “the floor is lava,” but in the dark.

“It is time that we find a way to end this game. We need to turn on the lights and build some walkways over the lava pit,” Peirce said at the SEC “Know Your Custodian” roundtable event on April 25.

The lava is crypto, says Peirce

Peirce explained that SEC registrants are forced to approach crypto-related activities like “the floor is lava,” where the aim is to jump from one piece of furniture to the next without touching the ground, except here, touching crypto directly is the lava. “A D.C. version of this game is our regulatory approach to crypto assets, and crypto asset custody in particular,” she said.

Peirce said that, much like in the game, firms wanting to engage with crypto must avoid directly holding it due to unclear regulatory rules. “To engage in crypto-related activities, SEC-registrants have had to hop from one poorly illuminated regulatory space to the next, all while ensuring that they never touch any crypto asset,” Peirce said.

Source: US Securities and Exchange Commission

Peirce said that investment advisers are often unsure which crypto assets qualify as securities, what entities count as qualified custodians, and whether “exercising staking or voting rights” could trigger custody violations.

US crypto rules like 'floor is lava' game without lights — Hester Peirce
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Solana's Loopscale pauses lending after $5.8M hack

Update (April 26 at 8:57 PM UTC): This article has been updated to include updates from Loopscale.

Solana decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Loopscale temporarily halted its lending markets after suffering an approximately $5.8 million exploit. 

On April 26, a hacker siphoned approximately 5.7 million USDC (USDC) and 1200 Solana (SOL) from the lending protocol after taking out a “series of undercollateralized loans”, Loopscale co-founder Mary Gooneratne said in an X post. 

Loopscale has since “re-enabled loan repayments, top-ups, and loop closing”, but “[a]ll other app functions (including Vault withdrawals) are still temporarily restricted while we investigate and ensure mitigation of this exploit,” Loopscale said in an April 26 X post.

The exploit only impacted Loopscale’s USDC and SOL vaults and the losses represent around 12% of Loopscale’s total value locked (TVL), Gooneratne added. 

Solana's Loopscale pauses lending after $5.8M hack
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US Senator calls for Trump impeachment, cites memecoin dinner

United States Senator Jon Ossoff expressed support for impeaching President Donald Trump during an April 25 town hall, citing the President’s plan to host a private dinner for top Official Trump memecoin holders. 

“I mean, I saw just 48 hours ago, he is granting audiences to people who buy his meme coin,” said Ossoff, a Democrat, according to a report by NBC News. 

“When the sitting president of the United States is selling access for what are effectively payments directly to him. There is no question that that rises to the level of an impeachable offense.”

Senator Ossoff said he “strongly” supports impeachment proceedings during a town hall in the state of Georgia, where he is running for reelection to the Senate.

The Senator added that an impeachment is unlikely unless the Democratic Party gains control of Congress during the US midterm elections in 2026. Trump’s own Republican Party currently has a majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. 

US Senator calls for Trump impeachment, cites memecoin dinner
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Countries must add DePIN tokens to their digital asset stockpiles

Opinion by: Raullen Chai, co-founder and CEO of IoTeX

The United States and other superpowers are on the brink of a financial evolution. With President Donald Trump’s recent executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) and a US Digital Asset Stockpile (DAS), the conversation around digital assets in government reserves is gaining momentum.

Countries like Czechia have also followed suit with their sovereign digital asset reserve plans. While Bitcoin (BTC) and select altcoins are being considered, the discussion remains incomplete without including decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) tokens.

DePIN represents a new paradigm in infrastructure development, where communities, not corporations, build and operate essential networks like telecommunications that self-govern and distribute rewards to their individual contributors. 

If it were to include DePIN tokens in its DAS, the US could use blockchain technology to create a self-sustaining infrastructure economy that strengthens technological leadership.

Countries must add DePIN tokens to their digital asset stockpiles
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Crypto sentiment recovers, but weekend liquidity risks remain

Crypto investor sentiment has seen a significant recovery from global tariff concerns, but analysts warn that the market’s structural weaknesses may still result in downside momentum during periods of weekend illiquidity.

Risk appetite appeared to return among crypto investors this week after US President Donald Trump adopted a softer tone, saying that import tariffs on Chinese goods may “come down substantially.”

However, the improved investor sentiment “does not guarantee that Bitcoin will avoid volatility over the weekend,” analysts from Bitfinex exchange told Cointelegraph:

“Sentiment improvements reduce fragility, but they do not eliminate structural risks like thin weekend liquidity.” 

“Historically, weekends remain vulnerable to sharp moves — especially when open interest is high and market depth is low,” the analysts said, adding that unexpected macroeconomic news can still increase volatility during low liquidity periods.

Related: Trump fought the bond market, the bond market won: Saifedean Ammous

Crypto sentiment recovers, but weekend liquidity risks remain
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DeFi Development seeks $1B to boost Solana investments, expand treasury

DeFi Development Corp (formerly Janover) aims to raise over $1 billion worth of capital to invest in Solana, the industry’s sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.

The Nasdaq-listed firm, previously a real estate financing platform connecting commercial property lenders and buyers, announced its plans in a Form S-3 registration statement filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 25.

The filing states that the funds will be used for general corporate purposes, including Solana (SOL) token acquisitions.

DeFi Development Corp S-3 filing. Source: SEC

According to the filing, the company may use proceeds from the offering to purchase more Solana, noting:

“Solana does not pay interest, but staking rewards can be earned on Solana. The ability to generate a return on investment from the net proceeds from this offering will depend on whether there is appreciation in the value of Solana following our purchases of Solana with the net proceeds from this offering.”

The company also warned that fluctuations in Solana’s price could lead to it converting the tokens into cash at a value “substantially below” the net proceeds raised.

DeFi Development seeks $1B to boost Solana investments, expand treasury
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Trump’s WLFI crypto investments aren’t paying off

World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the crypto firm associated with the family of US President Donald Trump, made waves when it debuted late last year.

WLFI caused a stir when it launched ahead of the president’s inauguration. Observers have accused the project of front-running important crypto-related events, like the White House Crypto summit, and presenting a conflict of interest.

Trump is in a unique position to influence outcomes that would affect his portfolio, but WLFI is not insulated from the broader market trends, which have seen crypto and stock prices drop amid significant macroeconomic concerns.

The Trump administration will soon mark 100 days in office. Here’s what WLFI has been up to, and how the president’s crypto investments are shaking out.

The “gold paper” for WLFI features flattering Trump imagery. Source: WLFI


Trump’s WLFI crypto investments aren’t paying off
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What are reciprocal tariffs, and what do they mean for the crypto industry?

What are reciprocal tariffs?

Reciprocal tariffs might sound like textbook trade jargon, but the idea is pretty straightforward: If one country slaps tariffs on your goods, you hit back with the same. Think of it as a tit-for-tat strategy in global trade — a way for governments to say, “If you’re charging our exporters 20%, we’re doing the same to yours.”

The roots of this concept go back to the 1930s, when the US passed the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act. The goal back then was to break down trade barriers through mutual deals, not trade wars. But fast forward to today, and the term is making a comeback — this time with a bit more edge.

For example, in early 2025, in an effort to address what it perceived as unfair trade practices and a significant trade deficit, the US government, under President Donald Trump, imposed a series of escalating tariffs on Chinese imports. These tariffs began with a 10% baseline and, through successive increases, reached a staggering 145% on a wide range of Chinese goods.

China responded in kind, implementing its own set of reciprocal tariffs. Initially, Beijing imposed a 34% tariff on all US imports, which was later increased to 84% and eventually to 125%, targeting various American products, including agricultural goods and machinery.

What are reciprocal tariffs, and what do they mean for the crypto industry?
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Deloitte predicts $4T tokenized real estate on blockchain by 2035

Over $4 trillion worth of real estate could be tokenized on blockchain networks during the next decade, potentially offering investors greater access to property ownership opportunities, according to a new report.

The Deloitte Center for Financial Services predicts that over $4 trillion worth of real estate may be tokenized by 2035, up from less than $300 billion in 2024. The report, published April 24, estimates a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 27%.

The $4 trillion of tokenized property is predicted to stem from the benefits of blockchain-based assets, as well as a structural shift across real estate and property ownership.

Global tokenized real estate value, growth predictions. Source: Deloitte

“Real estate itself is undergoing transformation. Post-pandemic work-from-home trends, climate risk, and digitization have reshaped property fundamentals,” according to Chris Yin, co-founder of Plume Network, a blockchain built for real-world assets (RWAs).

“Office buildings are being repurposed into AI data centers, logistics hubs and energy-efficient residential communities,” Yin told Cointelegraph.

Deloitte predicts $4T tokenized real estate on blockchain by 2035
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Crypto banking rule withdrawal by Fed ‘not real progress’ — Senator Lummis

United States Senator Cynthia Lummis suggests the crypto industry may be celebrating too soon over the US Federal Reserve softening its crypto guidance for banks.

“The Fed withdrawing crypto guidance is just noise, not real progress,” Lummis said in an April 25 X post. Lummis called the Fed’s April 24 announcement — withdrawing its 2022 supervisory letter that had discouraged banks from engaging with crypto and stablecoin activities — “just lip service.”

Lummis is “not fooled”

Lummis, a pro-crypto advocate known for introducing the Bitcoin (BTC) Strategic Reserve Bill in July 2024, pointed out several flaws in the Fed’s announcement, even as Strategy founder Michael Saylor and crypto entrepreneur Anthony Pompliano suggested it was a step forward for banks and crypto.

Source: Anthony Pompliano

She argued that the Fed continues to “illegally flout the law on master accounts” and still relies on reputational risk in its bank supervision practices. It comes as the Federal Insurance Deposit Corporation (FDIC) is working on a rule to stop examiners from considering reputational risk when reviewing a bank’s operations, according to a recent Bloomberg report.

Lummis also highlighted the Fed’s policy statement in Section 9(13), which hasn’t been withdrawn, stating that Bitcoin and digital assets are considered “unsafe and unsound.”

Crypto banking rule withdrawal by Fed ‘not real progress’ — Senator Lummis
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Bitcoin ETFs on $3B ‘bender,’ log first full week of inflows in 5 weeks

Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) in the United States saw over $3 billion in inflows this week, marking the first full week of consecutive inflows in five weeks.

On April 25, the 11 spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs saw $380 million in inflows, bringing the total for the week to around $3.06 billion over five consecutive inflow days, according to Farside data. The last time spot Bitcoin ETFs had a full week of inflow days was the trading week ending March 21.

Strong inflow week turns April into positive month

ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said in an April 24 X post that “ETFs are on a Bitcoin bender.”

“What’s really notable here is just HOW FAST the flows can go from 1st gear to 5th gear,” Balchunas said, forecasting that some of those flows may be due to the “basis trade back in effect.”

Source: Satoshi Stacker

Amid ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty, spot Bitcoin ETFs have experienced a volatile April, with nine out of the 18 trading days so far being outflow days. 

Bitcoin ETFs on $3B ‘bender,’ log first full week of inflows in 5 weeks
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Bitcoiner Jack Mallers vows not to let Twenty One distract from Strike

Strike CEO Jack Mallers said his new role as CEO of Bitcoin treasury firm Twenty One Capital won’t distract him from heading Strike, revealing the platform processed over $6 billion in volume in 2024.

“This is not a shift in my commitment; it’s an extension of it,” Mallers said in an April 25 letter to Strike investors.

Every decision based on if it is “good for Bitcoin”

“If Bitcoin wins, humanity wins. Every business decision I make starts with one question: Is this good for Bitcoin? Twenty One exists because I believe it is good for Bitcoin and, therefore, good for the world,” Mallers said.

Mallers explained that Strike, a Bitcoin payments platform, and Twenty One Capital have different goals. He said Strike focuses on making “Bitcoin accessible globally,” while Twenty One aims to increase “Bitcoin ownership per share (BPS) and pioneer Bitcoin-native financial tools.”

“These are separate companies, but they share the same ethos: Bitcoin wins, we win,” he said.

Bitcoiner Jack Mallers vows not to let Twenty One distract from Strike
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Price predictions 4/25: BTC, ETH, XRP, BNB, SOL, DOGE, ADA, SUI, LINK, AVAX

Key points:

Bitcoin price pushed above $95,000, increasing the chance of a rally to $100,000.

Institutional investor demand is back, suggesting that the bearish trend could be over.

Select altcoins could break above their respective overhead resistance levels if Bitcoin remains strong

Bitcoin (BTC) bulls are trying to sustain the price above $95,000, but they are likely to face significant resistance from the bears. Will buyers succeed in pushing the price toward the psychologically important level of $100,000, or is a pullback around the corner? That is the big question on the traders’ minds.

Price predictions 4/25: BTC, ETH, XRP, BNB, SOL, DOGE, ADA, SUI, LINK, AVAX
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Traders still offloading TRUMP holdings after dinner announcement — Nansen

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

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

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

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

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

Who is investing in Trump’s memecoin?

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

Traders still offloading TRUMP holdings after dinner announcement — Nansen
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Stripe opens testing for new stablecoin product following Bridge acquisition

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

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

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

Source: Patrick Collison

Related: Former Square, Coinbase execs raise $58M for Bridge stablecoin network

Stablecoin adoption grows in 2025

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

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

Stripe opens testing for new stablecoin product following Bridge acquisition
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Semler Scientific buys another $10M worth of BTC

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

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

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

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

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

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

Semler Scientific buys another $10M worth of BTC
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SEC chair suggests 'huge benefits' in agency's third crypto roundtable

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

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

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

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

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

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

SEC chair suggests 'huge benefits' in agency's third crypto roundtable
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Crypto Biz: Cantor Fitzgerald crypto play, ETF inflows highlight industry’s big sentiment shift

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

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

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

Bitcoin ETFs see largest inflows since January

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

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

Crypto Biz: Cantor Fitzgerald crypto play, ETF inflows highlight industry’s big sentiment shift
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Nasdaq urges SEC to treat certain digital assets as 'stocks by any other name'

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

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

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

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

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

Related: Certain stablecoins aren't securities, SEC says in new guidance

Nasdaq urges SEC to treat certain digital assets as 'stocks by any other name'
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BlackRock, five others account for 88% of all tokenized treasury issuance

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

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

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

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

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

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

BlackRock, five others account for 88% of all tokenized treasury issuance
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Crypto firms launch Wall Street-style funds: Finance Redefined

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

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

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

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

Fear & Greed Index chart. Source: CoinMarketCap

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

Crypto firms launch Wall Street-style funds: Finance Redefined
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If Trump fired Powell, what would happen to crypto?

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

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

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

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

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

If Trump fired Powell, what would happen to crypto?
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Nigerian court green lights arrest for six CBEX promoters — Report

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

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

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

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

Related: Nigeria still open to crypto business despite rocky past: Report

Nigerian court green lights arrest for six CBEX promoters — Report
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Ethical finance must guide crypto’s evolution

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

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

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

The rise of layer 2

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

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

Ethical finance must guide crypto’s evolution
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