Decentral Block Post

Major cryptocurrency asset manager Grayscale Investments announced two new Bitcoin outcome-oriented exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

According to an April 2 announcement, the new products are the Grayscale Bitcoin Covered Call ETF (BTCC) and the Grayscale Bitcoin Premium Income ETF (BPI). According to an email sent to Cointelegraph, the two new Bitcoin (BTC) funds are meant to generate revenue by harnessing BTC volatility:

A complex derivative product

The Bitcoin Covered Call product seeks to capture the highest premiums and maximize potential income. Grayscale suggests that it may serve as a complement to Bitcoin exposure.

Related: Bitcoin traders are overstating the impact of the US-led tariff war on BTC price

The fund's strategy involves systematically writing calls very close to spot prices. The hope is that, due to Bitcoin’s historically high volatility, it would generate income through paid call generation.

A new report by Cointelegraph Research explores Coreum’s role in institutional blockchain adoption. It analyzes the project’s technical architecture, compliance framework and its potential impact on regulated asset tokenization. The report presents insights into transaction efficiency, security mechanisms and crosschain interoperability. It also evaluates how Coreum fits into the evolving financial landscape.

Blockchain evolution and institutional requirements

The adoption of blockchain technology by financial institutions has been increasing in lockstep, with the value locked in tokenized real-world assets (RWA). The latter grew by 85% in 2024. 

Our report examines how third-generation blockchains, such as Coreum, are addressing the challenges of scalability, regulatory compliance and interoperability. Improvements in the infrastructure on the base layer will lead to more seamless institutional adoption in the future.

Read the full version of the report for free here.

Coreum is structured to support applications that require predictable transaction costs, regulatory oversight and seamless integration with financial infrastructure. Network data indicates that Coreum achieves a transaction throughput in excess of  7,000 TPS and a time to finality of about 1.2 seconds. This positions Coreum well in a crowded and highly competitive layer-1 blockchain landscape. 

The crypto industry’s sway in Washington DC has made it more likely that the industry will get beneficial legislation, but it’s also creating problems. 

Concerns of regulatory capture — a situation in which regulators or lawmakers are co-opted to serve the interests of a small constituency — have grown as crypto lobbying gains influence in Washington.

The risks of regulatory capture are twofold: First, the public interest is shut out from policy-making in favor of a single industry or company, and second, it can make regulators blind to or paralyzed by economic risks. 

Now, not even three months into Trump’s presidency, American lawmakers and industry crypto observers have voiced concerns that this regulatory capture could not only negatively affect the country but curb competition within the crypto industry as well. 

Regulatory capture in the battle for crypto policy

In a March 28 letter, prominent members of the US Senate Banking Committee and Committee on Finance addressed Acting Comptroller Rodney Hood and Michelle Bowman, Chair of the Federal Reserve Board of Governor’s Committee on Supervision and Regulation.

Social messaging apps tend to make major news headlines a few times per year for either their use in planning some sort of crime or, more routinely, for users’ privacy concerns over how companies like Meta — which owns WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger — handle user data. 

In a somewhat separate event, the Trump administration became the focus of national discussion after members of US President Donald Trump’s cabinet were found to be using Signal to plan military actions in Yemen. While a hack, backdoor access or misuse of user data was not the source of criticism in this scenario, the event did raise national security concerns about Signal’s security and whether or not high-ranking government officials should be using messaging apps to discuss classified information. 

Apple’s recent decision to stop offering end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) cloud storage in the UK instead of creating a backdoor that would allow the UK government access to user data also raised eyebrows, and it highlights the ability of tech companies to make unilateral decisions about users’ data and their privacy. 

On Episode 58 of The Agenda podcast, hosts Ray Salmond and Jonathan DeYoung spoke to Sessions technical co-founder Kee Jefferys about how the decentralized, encrypted messaging app works to protect users’ privacy and data. 

Decentralize, or else the writing is on the wall

By downloading and using messaging apps, users, whether they realize it or not, often give the app and its operator permission to track their location, view their contacts and other data on their phone, and also keep records of their conversations.

DNA testing firm 23andMe is bankrupt, and now the genomic data of its 15 million users is up for sale to the highest bidder. Could that data end up on the blockchain?

The company announced on March 23 that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and that its CEO, Anne Wojcicki, had stepped down. The announcement sent waves of concern among 23andMe’s customers, many of whom are now scrambling to delete their data from the service.

Privacy advocates and government officials have weighed in, urging users to download and then delete their data. The sense of urgency increased on March 26 when a judge gave 23andMe the official stamp of approval to sell user data. Still, there is the question of where these users should move their data and whether there is a better alternative.

In the wake of the bankruptcy, blockchain advocates have seized the opportunity to make the case that DNA is better off on the blockchain, whether directly stored on the servers of a decentralized network or using some elements of Web3 technology on the back end. 

The promise of a more private 23andMe, where users control their own data, is alluring to many, yet actually bringing the world of DNA sequencing onto the blockchain is not without its challenges.

Over $2 billion was lost to cryptocurrency hacks in the first quarter of 2025.

According to a report shared with Cointelegraph by crypto cybersecurity firm Hacken, in Q1 2025, nearly $1.63 billion was lost just to access control exploits. Anmol Jain, vice president of investigations at crypto forensics firm AMLBot, told Cointelegraph that the exceptionally high figure is mainly attributable to the recent hack of the crypto exchange Bybit.

The data is similar to that recently shared by crypto cybersecurity firm PeckShield. The competing firm’s report — which excludes scams — suggested that crypto hacks total at $1.6 billion in Q1 2025.

Total 2025 Q1 crypto hack losses by category. Source: Hacken

Late February reports indicate that the North Korean hackers behind the $1.4 billion Bybit hack control over 11,000 cryptocurrency wallets used to launder stolen funds. The increasing participation of North Korean state actors highlights increasing sophistication and scale.

Avalanche saw a significant surge in stablecoin supply over the past year, but the onchain deployment of this capital points to passive investor behavior, which may be limiting demand for the network’s utility token.

The stablecoin supply on the Avalanche network rose by over 70% over the past year, from $1.5 billion in March 2024, to over $2.5 billion as of March 31, 2025, according to Avalanche’s X pos

Market capitalization of stablecoins on Avalanche. Source: Avalanche

Stablecoins are the main bridge between the fiat and crypto world and increasing stablecoin supply is often seen as a signal for incoming buying pressure and growing investor appetite.

However, Avalanche’s (AVAX) token has been in a downtrend, dropping nearly 60% over the past year to trade above $19 as of 12:31 pm UTC, despite the $1 billion increase in stablecoin supply, Cointelegraph Markets Pro data shows.

XRP (XRP), the native cryptocurrency of the XRP Ledger (XRPL), has been touted by proponents as a high-speed, low-cost solution for cross-border payments. But just how much value flows through the network on a daily basis? Let’s examine.

XRP volumes have risen since Trump’s reelection

Based on recent data from Glassnode, XRP’s daily transfer volume settled on its blockchain in US dollars frequently ranges between $300 million and $1 billion.

However, since November 2024, when Donald Trump won the US presidential election, XRP has settled an average of $2.28 billion per day, signifying heightened network activity likely fueled by XRP’s price boom in the same period.

XRP total transfer volume. Source: Glassnode

That said, these spikes don’t necessarily reflect steady adoption or payment activity; instead, they could further be tied to speculative behavior, Ripple-related transfers, whale moves, and reshuffling between exchanges.

Update (April 2, 1:50 pm UTC): This article has been updated to add official registration data from the Ontario Securities Commission.

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken obtained a new registration in Canada as its latest compliance milestone.

Kraken secured a restricted dealer registration from the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) on April 1, according to official data on the OSC website.

The registration reaffirms Kraken’s commitment to serving Canadian investors as its platform now has more than $2 billion Canadian dollars ($1.4 billion) in combined assets under custody.

An excerpt from the list of crypto asset trading platforms registered with the OSC. Source: OSC

Social cryptocurrency project Pi Network’s price approaches all-time lows as more and more coins are unlocked.

CoinMarketCap data shows that Pi Network (PI) is trading at $0.6722 as of press time, very close to its all-time low of $0.6152 reported on Feb. 20. The price action comes as over 126.6 million PI tokens are expected to be unlocked this month, equivalent to just under 1.87% of the coin’s current circulating supply.

Monthly Pi unlock chart. Source: PiScan

Founder of Obchakevich Research, Alex Obchakevich, attributed the price downturn to continued PI unlocks in correspondence with Cointelegraph. He described the event as “inevitable in any case” and said:

“Monthly unlocks exceed demand, which greatly affects the value of the token.“

The cryptocurrency market may see a local bottom in the next two months amid global uncertainty over ongoing import tariff negotiations, which have been limiting investor sentiment in both traditional and digital markets.

US President Donald Trump is set to detail on April 2 his reciprocal import tariffs, measures aimed at reducing the country’s estimated trade deficit of $1.2 trillion in goods and boosting domestic manufacturing. 

While global markets took a hit from the first tariff announcement, there is a 70% chance for cryptocurrency valuations to find their bottom by June, according to Aurelie Barthere, principal research analyst at the Nansen crypto intelligence platform.

The research analyst told Cointelegraph:

“Once the toughest part of the negotiation is behind us, we see a cleaner opportunity for crypto and risk assets to finally mark a bottom,” she added.

XRP (XRP) price fell 22% between March 19 and March 31, potentially forming a local bottom at $2.02. The price then increased by 9% to $2.20 before retracing to current levels.

Has the popular altcoin finally bottomed out, or is there a deeper retracement in the cards?

XRP bullish divergence on multiple timeframes

The XRP relative strength index (RSI) displays bullish divergence conditions in lower timeframes, according to analyst CasiTrades.

A bullish divergence is when the asset’s price prints lower lows and the RSI produces higher lows, indicating that downward momentum is waning.

“After reaching the 0.786 retrace at $2.05, XRP is printing bullish divergences from the 15-min all the way up to the 4-hour chart,” the analyst said in a March 31 post on X. 

Investment company VanEck filed to register a Delaware trust company for an exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking Binance-linked BNB cryptocurrency.

VanEck, on March 31, registered a new entity under the name VanEck BNB ETF in Delaware, according to public records on the official Delaware state website.

In filing 10148820, the entity is registered as a trust corporate service company in Delaware, hinting at a potential spot BNB (BNB) ETF in the United States.

VanEck BNB ETF trust registration in Delaware. Source: Delaware.gov

According to social media reports, VanEck is the first company to propose a potential BNB ETF in the US, potentially signaling an expansion of BNB Chain — formerly known as Binance Chain — across traditional financial products in the market.

The Bitcoin price may still rise to over $250,000 before the end of the year, with expectations of an increasing fiat supply remaining the significant catalyst for the world’s first cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) 2025 price rally may be boosted by the US Federal Reserve pivoting to quantitative easing (QE), when the Fed buys bonds and pumps money into the economy to lower interest rates and encourage spending during difficult financial conditions. 

“Bitcoin trades solely based on the market expectation for the future supply of fiat,” according to Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and chief investment officer of Maelstrom.

Hayes wrote in an April 1 Substack post:

The Fed reduced the Treasury runoff cap to $5 billion per month from $25 billion effective April 1, while keeping mortgage-backed securities (MBS) runoff steady at $35 billion.

South Korea’s 7-Eleven stores will accept payments in the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) until June, as the retailer participates in the test phase of its CBDC project. 

The convenience store chain will reportedly provide a 10% discount on all products paid for with CBDC during the test period. According to Moon Dae-woo, head of 7-Eleven’s digital innovation division, the company is making an effort to incorporate digital technology advancements in its operations. 

The executive added that the company’s participation in the CBDC test will help accelerate the firm’s digital transformation. 

Many stores will participate in South Korea’s CBDC testing phase, which runs from April 1 to June 30. The project also involves 100,000 participants who will be allowed to test payments using CBDC issued by the central bank. 

Central bank digital currencies are digital assets issued by government agencies. Like other digital assets, CBDCs offer faster and more modernized payment features. However, unlike Bitcoin and other privacy-focused tokens that offer certain levels of anonymity, CBDCs are controlled and monitored by governments. 

Bitcoin (BTC) investors who bought BTC in 2020 or later are still waiting for higher prices, new research says.

In findings published on X on April 1, onchain analytics firm Glassnode revealed that $110,000 was not high enough to make many hodlers sell.

Glassnode: 2020 Bitcoin buyers “still holding”

Bitcoiners who entered the market between three and five years ago have retained their holdings despite significant BTC price upside.

According to Glassnode, this investor cohort, with a cost basis between the 2020 lows of $3,600 and the 2021 highs of $69,000, is still hodling.

“Although the share of wealth held by investors who bought $BTC 3–5 years ago has declined by 3 percentage points since its November 2024 peak, it remains at historically elevated levels,” it said.

The online store of a Singapore-based subsidiary of Japanese tech behemoth Sony is now accepting USDC payments through Crypto.com.

According to an April 2 announcement, Sony Electronics Singapore now accepts USDC (USDC) stablecoin payments through an integration with the Crypto.com exchange. Crypto.com Singapore general manager Chin Tah Ang said:

The Sony subsidiary is not the only high-profile partnership Crypto.com is involved in. At the end of 2024, the mobile-first crypto exchange partnered with Deutsche Bank to provide corporate banking services across Asian-Pacific markets, covering regions such as Singapore, Australia and Hong Kong.

Related: CFTC mulling probe of Crypto.com over Super Bowl contracts: Report

Singapore bets on stablecoins

Still, the Singaporean Sony subsidiary allowing stablecoin payments may be the start of a new trend in the region. Late February reports indicated that Metro, a publicly listed department store chain in Singapore, had enabled its customers to pay for products using stablecoins like Tether’s USDt.

Video game retailer GameStop Corporation (GME) has finished a convertible debt offering that raised $1.5 billion, with some proceeds earmarked for buying Bitcoin.

The offering was initially set to raise at least $1.3 billion, but purchasers opted for an additional $200 million aggregate principal amount of notes, GameStop said in an April 1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"The company expects to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of Bitcoin in a manner consistent with the Company's Investment Policy," GameStop added.

The convertible notes are debt that can later be converted into equity and are scheduled to mature on April 1, 2030, unless earlier converted, redeemed or repurchased.

The conversion rate for the notes will initially be 33 shares of Common Stock per $1,000 principal amount of notes, according to the filing. 

The US Securities and Exchange Commission and crypto exchange Gemini have asked to pause the regulator’s suit over the exchange's Gemini Earn program, saying they want to discuss a potential resolution. 

In an April 1 letter to New York federal court judge Edgardo Ramos, lawyers representing the SEC and Genesis requested a 60-day hold on the case and that all deadlines be pulled “to allow the parties to explore a potential resolution.” 

“In this case, the parties submit that it is in each of their interests to stay this matter while they consider a potential resolution and agree that no party or non-party would be prejudiced by a stay,” the letter states.

The lawyers added that a stay was in the court’s interest as “a resolution would conserve judicial resources” and proposed that a joint status report be submitted within 60 days after the entry of the stay.

The SEC sued Gemini and crypto lending firm Genesis Global Capital in January 2023, alleging they offered unregistered securities through the Gemini Earn program.

Two Republicans who received a combined $1.5 million from the crypto-backed political action committee (PAC) Fairshake will enter the US House after winning special elections in Florida.

Republican Jimmy Patronis won the vacant seat in Florida’s 1st Congressional District to replace Matt Gaetz, taking 57% of the vote to defeat Democrat Gay Valimont, according to AP News data.

Randy Fine also took Florida’s 6th Congressional District with 56.7% of the vote to beat his Democratic rival, public school teacher Josh Weil, and fill a seat left vacant by Mike Waltz, who took a job as White House national security adviser.

Florida’s 1st and 6th Congressional Districts — located in Florida’s western panhandle and along the state’s northeast coast — have been controlled by Republicans for roughly 30 years, but their lead has narrowed in recent years.

Fairshake, a PAC backed by crypto industry giants including Coinbase, Ripple and Andreessen Horowitz, gave Fine around $1.16 million in advertising spending and funneled $347,000 to Patronis to support his campaign.

Several British trade associations have asked Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office to appoint a special envoy dedicated to crypto and for a dedicated action plan for digital assets and blockchain technology.

In a March 31 letter, the coalition of six UK digital economy trade bodies urged Starmer’s special adviser on business and investment, Varun Chandra, for a “greater strategic focus and alignment to deliver investment, growth and jobs” for the crypto industry. 

The group, which consisted of the UK Cryptoasset Business Council, Global Digital Finance, The Payments Association, Digital Currencies Governance Group, the Crypto Council for Innovation and techUK, noted the US policy shift on crypto under President Donald Trump and his appointment of a crypto czar.

Britain’s commitment to an economic trade deal focused on technological cooperation with the US “presents a significant opportunity to mirror the United States’ ambition in fostering leadership in blockchain, digital assets, and other emerging financial technologies,” the letter stated. 

The group recommended that the UK appoint a blockchain special envoy, similar to the US, to coordinate policy, foster innovation, and position the country competitively in global markets.

Fraudulent tech workers with ties to North Korea are expanding their infiltration operations to blockchain firms outside the US after increased scrutiny from authorities, with some having worked their way into UK crypto projects, Google says.

Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) adviser Jamie Collier said in an April 2 report that while the US is still a key target, increased awareness and right-to-work verification challenges have forced North Korean IT workers to find roles at non-US companies.

“In response to heightened awareness of the threat within the United States, they’ve established a global ecosystem of fraudulent personas to enhance operational agility,” Collier said. 

“Coupled with the discovery of facilitators in the UK, this suggests the rapid formation of a global infrastructure and support network that empowers their continued operations,” he added. 

Google's Threat Intelligence Group says North Korea's tech workers expanded their reach amid a US crackdown. Source: Google

Kentucky’s finance watchdog has dismissed its lawsuit against Coinbase over the exchange’s staking rewards program, following its peers in Vermont and South Carolina.

Kentucky’s Department of Financial Institutions filed the stipulation to dismiss jointly with Coinbase on April 1, ending the state’s legal action against the exchange first filed along with 10 other state regulators in June 2023.

Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal posted to X on April 1, calling for Congress “to end this litigation-driven, state-by-state approach with a federal market structure law.”

Source: Paul Grewal

Financial regulators from 10 states launched similar suits against Coinbase in June 2023, on the same day the Securities and Exchange Commission sued the exchange — a lawsuit the SEC dropped last month.

Despite Bitcoin’s 2.2% gains on April 1, BTC (BTC) hasn’t traded above $89,000 since March 7. Even though the recent price weakness is often linked to the escalating US-led global trade war, several factors had already been weighing on investor sentiment long before President Donald Trump announced the tariffs.

Some market participants claimed that Strategy’s $5.25 billion worth of Bitcoin purchases since February is the primary reason BTC has held above the $80,000 support. But, regardless of who has been buying, the reality is that Bitcoin was already showing limited upside before President Trump announced the 10% Chinese import tariffs on Jan. 21.

Gold/USD (left) vs. Bitcoin/USD (right). Source: TradingView / Cointelegraph

The S&P 500 index hit an all-time high on Feb. 19, exactly 30 days after the trade war began, while Bitcoin had repeatedly failed to hold above $100,000 for the previous three months. Although the trade war certainly affected investor risk appetite, strong evidence suggests Bitcoin's price weakness started well before President Trump took office on Jan. 20.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs inflows, strategic Bitcoin reserve expectations and inflationary trends

Another data point that weakens the relation with tariffs is the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which saw $2.75 billion in net inflows during the three weeks following Jan. 21. By Feb. 18, the US had announced plans to impose tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, while the European Union and China had already retaliated. In essence, institutional demand for Bitcoin persisted even as the trade war escalated.

Crypto exchange Backpack has initiated the first phase of the claims process for former FTX users in Europe.

According to an April 1 announcement, users will need to create an account on the exchange, submit Know Your Customer information, and connect it to their FTX EU claim account.

Backpack has not set a deadline for this phase of the claims process and has yet to provide a timeline for when distributions will begin. Users will face a withdrawal fee of €5 ($5.39) for claims under €2,000 ($2,158) and 0.25% for amounts above it.

Source: Armani Ferrante

Backpack acquired FTX EU in January 2025 to offer crypto derivatives, including perpetual futures, throughout Europe. The acquisition marked the end of a lengthy battle to buy the European arm of the bankrupt exchange.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz proposed a bill aimed at incentivizing crypto miners to use flared gas for energy generation in the state.

In an April 1 notice, Cruz said he had introduced the Facilitate Lower Atmospheric Released Emissions, or FLARE, Act in the US Senate, aiming to make Texas “the number one place for Bitcoin mining.” Mining advocacy group Digital Power Network supported the bill, and Bitcoin (BTC) miner MARA Holdings endorsed the proposed legislation on X, claiming it would reduce emissions and “unlock stranded energy.”

April 1 draft of FLARE Act. Source: Ted Cruz

According to the text of the bill, the FLARE Act proposed amending the US Internal Revenue Code to incentivize market participants — including digital asset miners — to “capture gas that would otherwise be flared or vented and to use such gas in value-added products.” If signed into law, the legislation would take effect on properties put into service starting in 2026.

Related: Bitcoin mining using coal energy down 43% since 2011 — Report

Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group has filed an S-1 registration statement for an initial public offering in the US, an April 1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission shows.

The USD Coin (USDC) issuer is planning to list its Class A common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “CRCL,” the filing shows.

Circle’s prospectus does not detail the number of shares to be offered or what the IPO target price will be.

The IPO filing also showed that Circle brought in $1.67 billion in revenue for 2024 — marking a 16% year-on-year increase — while its EBIDTA (Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortization) fell 29% to $284.8 million.

Circle’s financials over the last three years ended Dec. 31. Source: SEC

This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.

American Bitcoin Corp., a Trump family-backed crypto mining operation, has plans to raise additional capital, including through an initial public offering (IPO), according to an April 1 report by Bloomberg. 

On March 31, Hut 8 — a publicly traded Bitcoin (BTC) miner — acquired a majority stake in American Bitcoin (formerly American Data Centers), whose founders include Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. 

After the deal announcement, Hut 8 transferred its Bitcoin mining equipment into the newly created entity, which is not yet publicly traded. 

While American Bitcoin will focus on crypto mining, Hut 8 plans to target data center infrastructure for use cases such as high-performance computing. The deal “evolves Hut 8 toward more predictable, financeable, lower-cost-of-capital segments,” Asher Genoot, CEO of Hut 8, said in a statement.

“So you can see this in the long term as two sister publicly traded companies,” Genoot told Bloomberg. “One that is energy, infrastructure data centers and the other one that’s Bitcoin, AISCs and reserves and together they form a vertically integrated company that has some of the best economics out there.”

The Ethereum network’s main source of income from layer-2 (L2) scaling chains — “blob fees” — has sunk to the lowest weekly levels so far this year, according to data from Etherscan. 

In the week ending March 30, Ethereum earned only 3.18 Ether (ETH) from blob fees, according to Etherscan, or approximately $6,000 US dollars as of April 1. 

This figure marks a 73% drop from the prior week and a more than 95% decline from the week ending March 16, when Ethereum’s income from blob fees exceeded 84 ETH, Etherscan said in an X post. 

Source: Etherscan

Related: Ethereum fees poised for rebound amid L2, blob uptick