Spot Bitcoin ETFs showed early signs of stabilizing in mid-April following an aggressive seven-day period of outflows exceeding $872 million triggered by intensified US-China trade tensions. After ETF withdrawals tapered on April 10 with $14.9 million in outflows, activity nearly halted on April 11, recording minimal outflows of just $1 million. This reduction indicated cautious […]
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The Texas company, which pivoted from crypto mining to high-performance computing, said it will sell its cloud computing business to struggling cloud computing business.
The recent collapse of the Mantra (OM) token triggered comparisons to the infamous Terra ecosystem crash in May 2022, with some commentators referring to Mantra as the “next Terra.” Still, many in the community argue that the two projects share nothing in common besides visual similarities in price charts.“While it’s tempting to draw parallels between OM’s recent crash and the Terra Luna collapse, they’re fundamentally very different events,” said Ben Yorke, vice president of ecosystem at the decentralized finance (DeFi) project Woo, in a statement to Cointelegraph.Alexis Sirkia, chairman of the DeFi infrastructure project Yellow Network, agreed. “There are no real similarities apart from the visual of the price dropping,” he said.Visual similarity — different numbersMantra’s OM token dropped 92% on April 13, dropping from over $6 to around $0.52 within hours. According to data from CoinGecko, OM lost $5.4 billion in market capitalization in less than four hours.By contrast, TerraClassicUSD (formerly UST) took five days to lose a similar percentage, shedding $17.2 billion.Mantra’s OM crash in April 2025 versus USTC (formerly UST) crash in May 2022 (seven-day chart). Source: CoinGeckoThe LUNA crash was more gradual than both the OM token and USTC. It started plummeting some time before the UST token depegged on May 9, 2022.Still, the visual resemblance of the price charts has prompted comparisons among observers, despite significant structural differences between the projects.Terra collapse was systemic in contrast to MantraWoo’s Yorke and Yellow Network’s Sirkia agreed that Terra’s collapse was systemic and occurred due to the failure of its algorithmic stablecoin, while Mantra was not proven to be subject to any systemic flaws.“OM appears to be more of a case of mismanagement or negligence,” Yorke said, adding that the Mantra crash involved a “large number of insider-held tokens” moved to exchanges, which sparked cascading liquidations.Source: ZachXBT“The issue wasn’t a structural flaw in the protocol, but rather a breakdown in token handling and trust,” he noted.Related: Mantra CEO says OM token recovery ‘primary concern’ but in early stages“Mantra is not broken. There was no peg to fail. This is a market structure issue, not a protocol failure,” Sirkia stated, stressing that only an event like a smart contract failure could indicate a serious issue in the protocol. He added:“Terra collapsed because of how it was built. Mantra went through a market-driven correction. The team remained transparent throughout. After the drop, OM bounced over 200%, showing real demand and community belief. That kind of recovery never happened with Luna.”Yorke and Sirkia’s Mantra comments mark the second day after the OM crash, with the token slightly recovering to $0.80 by publishing time after a brutal sell-off from above $6 to $0.50 per token on April 13.According to the latest update by Mantra CEO John Mullin, Mantra expects to share a post-mortem report detailing the events leading to the crash of the OM token in the next 24 hours.Magazine: Illegal arcade disguised as … a fake Bitcoin mine? Soldier scams in China: Asia Express
XRP may have spent the past few weeks struggling to hold above the $2 level, but one analyst believes the recent price action is only in its early stages of a much larger surge. For those who think $3 is a reasonable target, this outlook predicted that the real move could take the altcoin far beyond that mark and possibly much sooner than expected. Multi-Stage Price Path With $10 To $20 The $3 price level has become the psychological and technical battleground for bullish XRP investors this cycle, serving as the most active price point. Earlier in January, the token briefly surged past this level, coming within striking distance of its all-time high of $3.40, before a wave of selling pressure triggered a pullback. Related Reading: XRP Price Forms Rounded Bottom Within Descending Channel, Target Set Above $3 Since then, XRP has seen price corrections that pushed it as low as $1.65 on April 7. Yet, the outlook is once again tilting bullish. XRP has rebounded above $2 and is building a strong base to support another run toward $3. If the current momentum continues to gain traction, reclaiming $3 is not only likely, it could happen within a matter of weeks. One of the boldest predictions comes from a trader known as BarriC, who has laid out a roadmap that extends far beyond the $3 threshold. In a recent post on social media platform X, he forecasted that XRP, now trading near $2.20, will break $3 soon. But his outlook doesn’t stop there. He predicted that by May, the sentiment surrounding XRP could shift so drastically that $5 would be seen as the new “cheap” price for XRP. Taking things a step further, the analyst noted that if the broader crypto market transitions into a full-blown altcoin season, XRP could establish a new short-term trading range between $10 and $20 within the next few months. Utility Run Scenario Places “Cheap” XRP Closer To $1,000 Perhaps the most striking part of BarriC’s analysis comes from what he describes as a “utility run.” This utility run is a scenario where XRP’s real-world use cases as a bridge cryptocurrency start to gain adoption and reflect in its price. Under such conditions, the term “cheap XRP” would apply to prices below $1,000. Related Reading: XRP Price Flashes Symmetrical Triangle From 2017, A Repeat Could Send It as Flying To $30 At the time of writing, XRP is trading at $2.14, up by 1.4% in the past 24 hours. As ultra-bullish as it might seem, the analyst’s price prediction isn’t surprising, as the cryptocurrency has been subjected to similar bullish outlooks in the past few days. Beyond bullish price targets, a few analysts now believe that XRP will flip both Ethereum and Bitcoin in the coming months. One such example is analyst Axel Rodd, who cited the breakdown in Bitcoin dominance as a reason why XRP will flip Bitcoin. Similarly, analysts at Standard Chartered recently predicted that the altcoin will flip Ethereum in market cap by 2028. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com
Bo Hines, Executive Director of the Presidential Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, has outlined how he claims the US plans to grow its newly established Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) budget-neutrally. On Anthony Pompliano’s podcast, Hines explained that the administration is exploring several budget-neutral strategies, including leveraging tariff revenue and revaluing Treasury gold certificates. Buying Bitcoin […]
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MSTY’s portfolio consists primarily of U.S. Treasury bills, cash, and short-term call options on MSTR, allowing it to synthetically replicate exposure without directly owning the stock.
For developers, traders, and analysts, having access to real-time blockchain data is very important. Access to transactions, smart contract interactions, and network activity encourages fast decision-making, smarter trading strategies, and more efficient dApp development. In this article, we will focus on the top 3 APIs that developers, analysts, and traders can use to get real-time …
Four issuers — Purpose, Evolve, CI and 3iQ — are bringing their products to the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
The passage of the Genius Act in the U.S., expected in coming months, will further legitimize the stablecoin industry, the report said.
Market data shows PumpSwap, the decentralized exchange of memecoin launch platform Pump.Fun, processed $2.5 billion of trades last week.DefiLlama data shows that in the week of April 6, PumpSwap saw a trading volume increase of nearly 40% over the previous week starting on March 30, with its trading volume of $1.8 billion. Since its launch in late March, the decentralized exchange (DEX) has processed $98.4 million of trades.The news follows Pump.Fun launching PumpSwap on March 19, as a dedicated “frictionless environment” for trading memecoins. The DEX attracted considerable trading activity, exceeding $1 billion of volume in its first week of activity.Related: Pump.fun memecoins are dying at record rates, less than 1% surviveAccording to Dune data, PumpSwap’s trades reached a new record high daily count of over 6.1 million on April 12, and on April 14 the platform saw over 5.7 million swaps. It also saw its highest daily active wallets, reaching nearly 264,500 — over 163,000 recurring and 101,000 new.PumpSwap daily active wallets. Source: DuneOn April 15, PumpSwap broke its daily volume record, reaching $417.8 million at the time of publication. The previous record was reported on Monday, April 14, when the volume reached $412.7 million.PumpSwap’s trading volume shows a clear uptrend. Source: DefiLlamaRelated: Memecoins, markets and Trump: Cointelegraph’s Q1 editorial roundtableRevenues are growing alongside volumePumpSwap’s income is growing alongside its trading volume, with Dune data showing that daily fees reached a record of over $1.05 million on April 14. That day, $840,000 were liquidity provider fees and $210,000 protocol fees.PumpSwap daily fees. Source: DuneParaSwap features a 0.25% fee, with 0.2% going to liquidity providers and 0.05% to the protocol itself. The total lifetime fees generated by the DEX stand at $14.2 million at the time of publication, out of which $3.56 million were destined for the protocol.Pump.Fun making millionairesThe developers behind the platform are not the only ones who managed to make money on Pump.Fun. Dune data shows that 506 wallets managed to earn over $1 million on the platform, while over 9,000 made over $100,000.Top five 30-day active Pump.Fun wallets. Source: DuneThe most profitable wallet over the past 30 days has realized gains of nearly $40.6 million, the data shows.Magazine: Memecoin degeneracy is funding groundbreaking anti-aging research
The exploit highlights vulnerabilities in crypto airdrop security, potentially undermining investor confidence and impacting market stability.
The post ZKsync’s ZK token drops over 15% after airdrop contract exploit, $5 million stolen appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
The ZK token is down by 13.7% in the past 24 hours.
Decentralized exchange (DEX) KiloEx has offered the hacker who exploited $7.5 million in crypto from its platform a 10% white hat bounty. On April 15, KiloEx posted an offer directed to the hacker who stole millions from the DEX. KiloEx said it had worked with law enforcement, cybersecurity agencies and exchanges to uncover information about the hacker’s activities. The DEX also shared wallet addresses linked to the hackers that the DeFi platform and other organizations are actively monitoring. KiloEx said they were prepared to freeze the stolen funds. However, the DEX offered the hacker $750,000 in exchange for returning 90% of the stolen assets. KiloEx said that it would treat the incident as a white hat exploit if the hacker returned the funds.Hacker stole $7.5 million from KiloExOn April 14, cybersecurity companies reported that an exploiter looted the platform through a price oracle vulnerability. A report from PeckShield said that about $3.3 million in Base, $3.1 million opBNB and $1 million BSC tokens were taken. The blockchain security company said that the information used by a smart contract to determine price assets was manipulated, which led to the exploit. In response to the attack, the platform suspended its DEX. The platform also said the exploit had been contained. Related: Ethical hacker intercepts $2.6M in Morpho Labs exploitKiloEx to pursue legal action if the hacker doesn’t return the fundsThe DEX added that it would drop the matter and publicly acknowledge that the incident is settled if the hacker agrees to return the funds. KiloEx wrote: “We will tweet about this resolution, acknowledging your cooperation and closing the case without further action.”The DEX informed the hacker to contact its email or send an onchain message if they accepted the offer. If the hacker doesn’t accept the offer, the DEX said it would escalate the matter with the relevant law enforcement and pursue the investigation with its cybersecurity partners. “Your identity and activities will be exposed to relevant authorities. We will pursue legal action relentlessly. The choice is yours. Act now to avoid irreversible consequences,” KiloEx wrote. Magazine: Illegal arcade disguised as … a fake Bitcoin mine? Soldier scams in China: Asia Express
Treasury’s move to shift prosecutorial resources away from crypto may please the industry. But the decision could prove harmful down the line, says Yoav Keren, CEO and Co-founder of BrandShield.
The crypto industry’s inability to access banking services still concerns many industry observers despite recent policy victories.In past years, financial services firms and banks concerned about fiduciary risk, reporting liabilities and reputational risk often would refuse to offer service to crypto firms — i.e., “debanking” them. Legislative efforts in the United States and Australia are attempting to remove these barriers for the crypto industry. In the former, legislators repealed guidelines that made it difficult for banks to custody crypto assets, as well as those stating that crypto carried “reputational risk” for banks. In the latter, the Labor Party has introduced a bill to create a legal framework for crypto, giving banks the clarity they need to interact with the crypto industry.Despite these tangible efforts, some crypto industry observers say that the crypto’s debanking problem is far from over. US crypto execs say debanking is still an issue The crypto industry has long decried “Operation Chokepoint 2.0,” its nickname for a suite of policies that they claim constrained the crypto industry from growing under the administration of former President Joe Biden. Among these were measures making it more difficult for crypto firms to access banking services. The early days of the second administration of President Donald Trump have seen many of these repealed or changed. One of the first was the repeal of Staff Accounting Bulletin 121, which required banks offering custody for customers’ cryptocurrencies to list them as liabilities on their balance sheets — this made it very difficult for banks to justify offering such services. The administration also appointed a new head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Rodney Hood. Dennis Porter, CEO of the Bitcoin-focused policy organization Satoshi Action, told Cointelegraph that under Hood’s tenure, the OCC has already said banks can offer crypto-related services like custody, stablecoin reserves and blockchain participation.Related: Atkins becomes next SEC chair: What’s next for the crypto industry“This opens the door for broader adoption of digital asset technology and custodial services by traditional financial institutions, signaling a major shift in how banks engage with crypto,” he said.Despite these victories, Caitlin Long, founder and CEO of Custodia Bank, said on March 21 that debanking is likely to remain a problem for crypto firms into 2026. Long said the non-partisan board of governors of the Federal Reserve is “still controlled by Democrats,” alluding to Democrats’ more skeptical stance on crypto. Long claimed that “there are two crypto-friendly banks under examination by the Fed right now, and an army of examiners was sent into these banks, including the examiners from Washington, a literal army just smothering the banks.”Long noted that Trump won’t be able to appoint a new Fed governor until January, meaning that, while other agencies may be more crypto-friendly, there are still roadblocks. Australia’s Labor Party to create crypto frameworkStand With Crypto, the “grassroots” crypto advocacy organization started by Coinbase that has spread to the US, UK, Canada and Australia, said that “in Australia, debanking is quietly shutting out innovators and entrepreneurs — particularly in the crypto and blockchain space.”In a post on X, the organization claimed that debanking results in “reputational damage, loss of revenue, increased operational costs, and inability to launch or sustain services.” It also claimed that it forces some companies to move offshore. In response to these concerns, the ruling center-left Labor Party in Australia has proposed a new set of laws for the cryptocurrency industry. The changes to current financial services law seek to tackle the issue of debanking in the country’s cryptocurrency industry.Australia’s Treasury says its new crypto regulations have four priorities. Source: Australian Department of the TreasuryEdward Carroll, head of global markets and corporate finance at MHC Digital Group — an Australian crypto platform — told Cointelegraph that in Australia, debanking decisions were “not the result of regulatory directives.”“Rather, they appear to stem from a more general sense of risk aversion due to the current lack of a clear regulatory framework.”Related: US gov’t actions give clue about upcoming crypto regulationCarroll was optimistic about the Labor Party’s proactive stance. The major political parties were “showing a shift in sentiment and a shared commitment to establishing formal crypto regulation.” “We are hopeful that this will give banks the confidence to reengage with crypto businesses that meet compliance standards,” he said.Canada unlikely to relieve crypto firmsIn Canada, “debanking remains a serious and ongoing challenge for the Canadian crypto industry,” according to Morva Rohani, executive director of the Canadian Web3 Council.“While some firms have successfully established relationships with banking partners, many continue to face account closures or denials with little explanation or recourse,” she told Cointelegraph. While debanking actions aren’t explicit, financial institutions’ interpretation of Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer regulations “creates a risk-averse environment where banks weigh compliance and reputational concerns against the relatively low revenue potential of crypto clients.”The end result, per Rohani, is a systemic debanking problem for the digital assets industry.But unlike in the US and Australia, the Canadian crypto industry may not find relief anytime soon. Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose more crypto-skeptic Liberal Party is surging in the polls ahead of the April 28 snap elections, is himself a crypto-skeptic.Polls show Carney firmly in the lead. Source: IpsosCarney has stated that the future of money lies more in a “central bank stablecoin,” otherwise referred to as a central bank digital currency.Rohani said that “no comprehensive legislative solution has been implemented” as regards to debanking. “A more structured approach, including mandated disclosure of reasons for account termination and regulatory oversight, is needed,” she said.Critics claim crypto is “hijacking” the debanking issueThere is another side to the debanking debate, which claims that crypto’s debanking “problem” is a non-issue or a vehicle for crypto firms to get what they want in terms of regulation. Molly White, the author of Web3 Is Going Just Great and the “Citation Needed” newsletter, has noted that, in the US at least, crypto firms have claimed to be victims of debanking while lauding Trump’s efforts to end protections for debanking at the same time.In a Feb. 14 post, White stated that the crypto industry had “hijacked” the discussion around debanking, which contains legitimate concerns regarding access to financial services — particularly regarding discrimination due to race, religious identity or industry affiliation. She claims the crypto industry has used debanking as a means to deflect legitimate regulatory inquiries into crypto companies’ compliance efforts. Further of note is the fact that Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has applauded the efforts of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), with Elon Musk at the helm, to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). One of the CFPB’s responsibilities is to investigate claims of debanking. But when DOGE instructed the agency to halt all work, Armstrong said it was “100% the right call,” in addition to making dubious claims about the agency’s constitutionality. In the meantimeWhether the industry’s debanking concerns stem from legitimate discrimination or an attempt at regulatory capture, crypto firms are developing solutions in the interim. Porter said that, as an alternative to banking services, “many crypto companies have leaned on stablecoins as a primary tool for managing finances,” while others have worked with “smaller regional banks or specialized trust companies open to digital assets.”Rohani said that this kind of “patchwork of relationships” can increase operational costs and risks and are “not sustainable long-term solutions for growth or to build a competitive, regulated industry.”Porter concluded that the banking workarounds could actually strengthen the industry’s position, stating that they may “continue evolving into fully integrated relationships with traditional financial institutions, further cementing crypto’s place in mainstream finance.”Magazine: UK’s Orwellian AI murder prediction system, will AI take your job? AI Eye
All existing users will be onboarded to Ethena's entity in the British Virgin Islands.
CleanSpark's holdings now exceed 12,000 BTC, worth just over $1 billion at current prices.
Polygon’s new product, AggLayer, aims to fix the fragmentation that has slowed growth in assets. Afra Wang meets the man making it happen.
Bitcoin joins the safe-haven debate as trade tensions rise For decades, investors fled to gold and US Treasurys during crises, but in today’s digital, decentralized world, Bitcoin is starting to enter the safe-haven conversation. Despite its volatility, Bitcoin (BTC) has shown signs of resilience during global turbulence, including trade wars, prompting a fresh look at its role in preserving value.Let’s rewind a bit to understand where this question comes from. For decades, whenever uncertainty rattled the global economy, be it war, inflation, or sudden political shifts, investors did what they always do — run to the safest hills. Historically, those hills were made of gold or filled with US Treasury bonds. But things are changing. In a world that’s more digital, decentralized, and volatile than ever, people are asking whether Bitcoin might now be part of the conversation as a modern safe-haven asset, especially during disruptive events like trade wars.To get into this, you need to explore what makes an asset a safe haven in the first place, how Bitcoin has behaved during recent trade-related turbulence and whether it has earned its spot alongside more traditional defensive plays.First, the concept of a “safe haven” isn’t about making a profit. It’s about preserving value. In times of crisis, investors want assets that hold up under pressure. Gold has done this for decades. The US dollar, despite being fiat, is often seen as a safe haven due to its global reserve status and the strength of US financial institutions. Treasury bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the US government. All these assets are supposed to be relatively low in volatility and high in liquidity.Now, here’s the twist: Bitcoin is not low in volatility. It’s notoriously wild. But despite that, you might have seen moments where it behaves like a safe haven. Not always, but sometimes, and that’s interesting.Isn’t it? The 2018-19 trade war vs Bitcoin’s role in times of turmoil During the 2018–19 US-China trade war, Bitcoin surged as traditional markets faltered, hinting at its potential as a hedge in turbulent times. While its “digital gold” narrative gained traction, Bitcoin’s behavior often mirrors that of speculative tech stocks, keeping its safe-haven status an open question.Take the 2018–19 US-China trade war, for example. As tariff threats escalated and tensions between the two economic giants intensified, global markets became increasingly jittery. Tech stocks took a hit. Commodities wavered. Amid all this, something strange happened. Bitcoin quietly surged. From April to July 2019, the price of Bitcoin climbed from about $5,000 to over $12,000. It wasn’t alone. Gold also rallied during that time. However, this was one of the earliest signs that Bitcoin might not be just a risk-on asset but could also serve as a hedge in turbulent times. That period sparked a new narrative: Bitcoin as “digital gold.”The fixed supply of 21 million coins gave it scarcity. Its decentralized nature meant it wasn’t bound to any single government’s policies. And because it lived on a global, censorship-resistant network, it was insulated from the kind of capital controls that often follow during periods of financial stress. These qualities started to resonate with investors looking for alternatives to traditional safe havens.To be fair, Bitcoin hasn’t always stuck to the script. While there are moments where it moves inversely to risk assets, more often than not, it behaves like a speculative tech stock, especially over short time frames. Historically, Bitcoin has had a strong correlation with the Nasdaq. So, while the “digital gold” narrative is growing, it still sits side-by-side with the idea of Bitcoin being a high-beta bet for risk-seeking investors.Did you know? A 2025 study titled Institutional Adoption and Correlation Dynamics: Bitcoin’s Evolving Role in Financial Markets analyzed daily data from 2018 to 2025. The study found that Bitcoin’s correlation with the Nasdaq 100 intensified following key institutional milestones, with peaks reaching 0.87 in 2024. This suggests that Bitcoin has transitioned from an alternative asset toward a more integrated financial instrument. Inside the Trump tariff wars of 2025: Markets rattle, Bitcoin rises In early 2025, Trump’s sweeping tariffs triggered panic across financial markets, with the Nasdaq and S&P suffering historic drops. Within two days, US stock indexes lost trillions, reigniting the debate over Bitcoin's role as a modern safe haven.Fast forward to April 2025, and the question of whether Bitcoin can serve as a safe haven got tested again. This time, it was in a much more pronounced way. In February 2025, Trump, now in his second term as president, announced a fresh wave of aggressive tariffs aimed at revitalizing American manufacturing. This was the kind of headline that immediately spooks financial markets, especially when major trading partners began whispering about retaliation. By April 2, Trump had declared what he called “Liberation Day,” a sweeping set of tariffs covering nearly all imported goods. It was framed as economic patriotism, but to markets, it spelled chaos.Chaos came quickly. On April 3, the Nasdaq Composite plunged by nearly 6%, losing over 1,000 points in one session. This was a record-setting drop in terms of raw numbers. The S&P 500 didn’t fare much better, falling close to 5%. Investors began to panic about supply chain disruptions, inflationary pressures and a possible global slowdown. Then came April 4, and the panic only deepened. The Nasdaq slid into official bear market territory, and the Dow lost over 2,200 points in a single day. Within 48 hours, America’s major stock indexes had lost trillions in value.Did you know? Barry Bannister, chief equity strategist at Stifel, noted that Bitcoin and the Nasdaq 100 have been driven by speculative fervor fueled by lenient Fed policies. He highlighted that Bitcoin tends to trade in tandem with highly leveraged tech-focused ETFs, indicating a strong correlation between Bitcoin and tech stocks. Bitcoin didn’t soar amid market crash, but It didn’t sink either During the April 2025 market crash, Bitcoin held steady while stocks plunged, surprising many with its resilience. It didn’t surge, but its stability amid chaos hinted at its growing role as a value-preserving asset in turbulent times.So, what did Bitcoin do? Surprisingly, nothing catastrophic, and that was the story. While nearly everything else was tanking during the tariff-fueled sell-off, Bitcoin didn’t crash. That alone turned heads.In a market where even the most established benchmarks were falling apart, Bitcoin’s relative stability stood out to portfolio managers and institutional watchers.Long criticized as too volatile for serious portfolios, Bitcoin quietly weathered the storm better than many traditional assets. This wasn’t a moonshot moment. It was a resilience moment. Value preservation over value multiplication. And that’s what investors look for in a safe haven. Its ability to hold ground while the Nasdaq and S&P plunged gave more weight to the idea that Bitcoin might be evolving into something sturdier.To be clear, Bitcoin hasn’t fully decoupled from risk assets. It still responds to liquidity flows, monetary policy and investor sentiment. But at times like April 2025, it showed something different. It didn’t break. It held! And for a growing number of investors, that’s starting to matter. Bitcoin isn’t the new gold, but it’s not the old BTC either Bitcoin’s growing resilience stems from a maturing market, rising institutional adoption and its appeal as a non-sovereign, portable hedge in times of financial or geopolitical stress. While not yet the ultimate safe haven, it’s clearly moved beyond its speculative roots and is earning a seat at the table.Part of this growing strength is structural. Over the past few years, the Bitcoin market has matured. Institutional adoption has risen. Spot Bitcoin ETFs now live in major markets. Custody solutions are better. And perhaps most importantly, there’s a broader understanding of what Bitcoin represents. Bitcoin is not just a speculative coin anymore. It’s a tool for financial sovereignty, for hedging against fiat depreciation and for stepping outside the boundaries of politicized financial infrastructure.There’s also the fact that Bitcoin is entirely non-sovereign. In a trade war scenario, where fiat currencies can be weaponized, and capital controls are deployed, Bitcoin becomes very attractive to people who want to move money across borders without interference. It’s portable, permissionless and increasingly liquid. These are three attributes of an asset you want in a crisis.Of course, none of this means Bitcoin is now the undisputed king of safe havens. Gold still plays that role for most of the world’s conservative investors. The US dollar is still the default when people want liquidity in a crunch. And Bitcoin’s price swings can still make people nervous. But you are seeing it graduate amid the market chaos. It’s no longer the outsider it once was. Bitcoin in times of crisis, safe haven 2.0? In both 2019 and 2025, Bitcoin showed flashes of safe-haven behavior, proving it can act as a hedge in times of geopolitical stress. While it’s not gold just yet, its unique properties make it an increasingly serious contender in the global financial playbook.During both the 2019 trade tensions and the 2025 tariff escalation, Bitcoin acted more like a hedge than it did in earlier cycles. And that’s noteworthy. Even if Bitcoin doesn’t yet consistently play the safe-haven role, it’s starting to show it can, at least in specific contexts.There’s a bigger question brewing here, too. What does it mean for financial markets if Bitcoin does become a mainstream safe-haven asset? How does that change portfolio construction, risk models or even geopolitical strategy? After all, Bitcoin isn’t gold. It plays by entirely different rules.Bitcoin is programmable. It can be moved across the world instantly. It can be sliced into satoshis and embedded into smart contracts. If it becomes part of the global toolkit for navigating crises, that changes the game. So, is Bitcoin the new safe haven during trade wars? Not quite, at least not in the traditional sense. But it has undoubtedly earned a seat at the table. Bitcoin may not be the asset your grandparents bought to protect themselves in uncertain times, but for a growing number of investors, especially in the digital age, it’s becoming their version of safety. As geopolitical tensions rise and confidence in traditional financial systems erodes, Bitcoin is positioning itself as a potential hedge for the future.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
Key takeawaysPi coin finally went live on open mainnet in February 2025, unlocking real-world use cases after years in closed beta.You can spend Pi coin, but mostly within P2P communities and KYC-verified Pi apps — mainstream adoption is still in its early stages.Pi is now tradable on several CEXs, such as OKX, Bitget and MEXC, but Binance still hasn’t listed it despite 2 million+ user voters lobbying for the listing.Merchant adoption is growing slowly, with real goods and services being exchanged for Pi in localized markets and app-based ecosystems.Often described as a crypto for the people, Pi is a decentralized project that runs without the need for GPUs or gas fees. But five years since its closed mainnet launch in 2021, the million-dollar question still hangs in the air: Can you actually buy anything with Pi coin in 2025?Let’s dive into the Pi Network’s real-world usability and answer what every Pi miner and curious crypto observer is wondering: Does Pi coin work in real life, or is it still just theoretical digital dust?What is Pi coin, and what’s driving the attention around it in 2025? Launched in March 2019 by a trio of Stanford Ph.D.s — Nicolas Kokkalis, Chengdiao Fan and Vincent McPhillip — the Pi Network set out to solve one of crypto’s core problems: accessibility. Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, which require specialized hardware to mine, Pi coin was designed to be mined directly from a smartphone, without draining battery or data. The idea? Democratize crypto from the palm of your hand.The Pi Network quickly went viral, spreading through invitation-only mining that created a sense of exclusivity and social virality. By 2021, the app had surpassed 20 million engaged users, or “Pioneers,” and by late 2023, that number had reportedly hit 47 million, making it one of the largest pre-mainnet crypto communities in the world.Here’s a quick timeline of key moments:March 2019: The Pi Network launches a beta version of its app on Android and iOS.2020–2021: User growth accelerates through referrals; Pi phases move toward testnet. December 2021: Closed mainnet goes live; Pi transactions remain within the ecosystem. 2022–2024: Over 100 Pi apps are built for testing in the closed economy.February 2025: Pi Network officially launches its open mainnet, enabling blockchain interaction with the outside world. This long-awaited mainnet move opened the doors for Pi (PI) coin to be listed on centralized exchanges (CEXs) and used outside its sandbox — finally bringing the project closer to its goal of becoming a real digital currency for everyday use.From an ambitious student project to one of the most downloaded crypto apps ever, Pi Network’s journey has been anything but ordinary. But now that the tech is live and tradable, the big question is: Can you actually use Pi coin to buy things?Did you know? Over 2 million users voted for Binance to list Pi coin — and yet, Binance has remained completely silent. Despite Pi Network boasting 47 million users and a fully launched mainnet, the world’s biggest exchange hasn’t budged. Why? Some say it’s a lack of decentralization. Others point to the controlled KYC rollout. Either way, it’s a reminder that in crypto, even a viral army can’t force the gatekeepers to open the doors.Where can you buy Pi coin in 2025?Following the launch of Pi Network’s open mainnet in February 2025, Pi coin has become available for trading on several cryptocurrency exchanges. As of April 2025, Pi coin is listed on the following exchanges:OKX: One of the first to list PI, offering trading pairs such as PI/USDT.Bitget: Provides PI trading with liquidity and user-friendly interfaces.MEXC: Another early adopter, supporting PI trading pairs.BitMart: Supports PI trading, though some listings may be IOUs.HTX (formerly Huobi): Has listed PI, though it’s based on IOU listings.Despite community efforts, including over 2 million votes in favor, Binance has not listed Pi coin as of April 2025. Concerns over blockchain compatibility, transparency and regulatory issues have been touted as reasons for the hesitation.Did you know? Many Pi coin listings on exchanges are actually IOUs, which is not the real deal. These “I Owe You” tokens are speculative placeholders that aren’t backed by mainnet Pi, meaning you can’t withdraw or use them within the Pi Network ecosystem. It’s like trading a movie ticket for a film that hasn’t even premiered yet. Always check whether you’re buying the actual PI token or just a promise.What can you actually buy with Pi coin?Here’s where things get real (or not so real). While you might not be buying a Tesla with Pi (yet), the Pi community has been documenting purchases such as:T-shirts, mugs and phone accessoriesFreelance graphic design servicesBasic electronics and gadgetsFood, drinks and small restaurant meals (in localized Pi events)Handmade crafts and collectibles.The catch? Most of these transactions happen via social media groups, Telegram chats or Pi’s own ecosystem apps such as Pi Browser and Pi Chat. These platforms act as informal marketplaces, often relying on trust and reputation rather than formal escrow systems.So, while Pi isn’t quite ready for prime time in major retail environments, it is functioning — in a grassroots, community-driven way. Think of it more as a barter system with crypto flair than a fully integrated payment network. For now, at least.Pi Network merchant list — fact or fiction?If you search “Pi coin accepted stores” on Google, hoping for a list of your favorite retailers, you’ll be disappointed.There is no official Pi Network merchant list that guarantees where Pi is accepted. Instead, adoption is grassroots and highly localized. One group of Pi Pioneers in Indonesia might be able to buy food with Pi, while another in Vietnam uses it for mobile data top-ups. But it’s hard to track, standardize or verify.Merchant adoption is still early — but gaining traction.Now that Pi Network’s open mainnet is live, the conversation is no longer about “if” Pi will integrate with the broader crypto ecosystem — it’s about how fast it can onboard real merchants and use cases.One promising trend is the rise of Know Your Customer (KYC)-verified Pi apps, platforms that require users and businesses to complete identity verification before participating in the Pi economy. This layer of trust helps Pi Network build a more legitimate commercial environment, where merchants feel more confident accepting Pi coin as payment.In the months following the open mainnet launch, Pi Network’s developers and community have focused on scaling real-world integrations, which include:Local businesses in countries such as Nigeria, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines accept Pi for goods and services. Pi Chain Mall and other marketplaces are enabling digital commerce in Pi. Third-party integrations are being tested to connect Pi with decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, crosschain bridges and non-fungible token (NFT) platforms. Pi Browser and Pi Apps allow decentralized application (DApp) developers to launch new payment-enabled services using mainnet Pi.With over 100 Pi apps already built during the testnet phase — and a global army of KYC-verified users — Pi Network now has the tools to grow a real, scalable economy. Whether that turns into a bustling merchant network or a niche payment layer depends on what the community builds next.With that said, there’s growing interest in onboarding merchants through KYC-verified Pi apps, hinting at a slow but potentially scalable adoption model.Now with the open mainnet live, Pi is also expected to launch integrated DeFi protocols, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and NFT marketplaces. If these integrations succeed, serious use cases beyond the Pi bubble could be unlocked.Did you know? During PiFest 2025, over 1.8 million users engaged in transactions using Pi coin across 58,000 active merchants worldwide. This event showcased Pi Network’s growing real-world adoption and its potential to facilitate everyday commerce.Is Pi coin ready for real-world payments?Let’s be honest: Pi coin isn’t a Visa killer at the moment. It’s not ready to power global commerce or even compete with Bitcoin in El Salvador. However, it serves as a testbed for what crypto payments might look like when driven by community trust rather than institutional backing.Think of it less like a universal payment tool and more like a local barter system on crypto steroids.If the Pi Network nails its open mainnet rollout and expands merchant onboarding with real compliance and liquidity support, 2025 could mark the moment Pi goes from playful experiment to actual contender.Final verdict: Can you buy stuff with Pi coin?Yes — but with limitations.You can spend Pi coin, but only in select peer-to-peer (P2P) markets, community-driven stores or pilot programs run by Pi Pioneers. Most of it is still happening in closed circuits, with no large-scale merchant integration yet.But is that really a problem?Maybe not. After all, the early days of Bitcoin weren’t much different — experimental, niche and often dismissed.Back then, buying a pizza with Bitcoin (BTC) was groundbreaking. Now, BTC sits in exchange-traded fund (ETF) portfolios and corporate treasuries.Whether Pi Network breaks through or fades into obscurity depends on what happens next: regulatory clarity and whether the network can scale beyond its internal community.Believer or skeptic, one thing’s certain: The real-world test of the Pi Network economy is just getting started — and the world is watching.
These could be protective plays, one observer said, referring to the activity in the NVDA put options.
A coalition of US lawmakers led by Senator Elizabeth Warren has introduced a new ethics reform bill targeting Special Government Employees (SGEs) like Elon Musk and White House crypto advisor David Sacks. The proposal, titled the Special Government Employee Ethics Enforcement and Reform (SEER) Act, seeks to apply stricter transparency and accountability standards to individuals […]
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Janover's strategic Solana investment highlights a growing trend of traditional firms integrating crypto assets to diversify and enhance returns.
The post Nasdaq-listed Janover purchases $10.5 million worth of Solana after stock soars to record high appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
In a market update, prominent crypto commentator Rekt Capital examined Bitcoin’s latest dip through the lens of previous bull cycles, asserting that it closely resembles the 2017 pattern of multiple corrections en route to a parabolic top. Speaking in a video titled “Where’s The Bitcoin ‘Banana Zone’? – An Update,” the analyst referred to the “banana zone” as “effectively a term of endearment for the parabolic phase of the cycle when it comes to Bitcoin’s price action.” He described the current retracement as a natural but extended correction, emphasizing that it is “still on track” despite many traders feeling discouraged. Will Bitcoin Enter ‘The Banana Zone’ Again? Rekt Capital drew parallels between the present dip and historical market behavior, spotlighting the cyclical tendency for Bitcoin to experience two or more corrective periods once it breaks into new all-time highs. Citing the 2017 rally, he noted that there were instances of “34% to 38% to 40%” pullbacks, at least four in total, before the ultimate peak was reached. He also referenced 2013’s bumpy ascents and traced them against today’s price movement, explaining that “when we break to new all-time highs, it can get a little bit bumpy” both around old highs and immediately following new ones. Despite the current drawdown of 32% (max height), he maintained that “we’re going to see additional upside after this corrective period like we’ve seen in the past” and classified the market’s present position as part of the first of two probable corrections in the current price discovery phase. Related Reading: Bitcoin Weekly RSI Breakout Signals Trend Shift – Is $100,000 Next For BTC? Throughout his analysis, Rekt Capital underscored the importance of patience, noting that what might feel like a prolonged drawdown is not “out of the ordinary” for Bitcoin which historically endures multiple phases of uptrends and retracements on its way to a peak. “What’s out of the ordinary,” he said, “is that it’s taking longer, but it’s going to enable that next price discovery uptrend in the future.” He provided historical context by looking back at mid-2017 and other phases when Bitcoin underwent repeated downturns that ranged from around 30% to 40%. According to him, these corrections often deepen as the cycle progresses, although the final one before the next major move can sometimes be shallower. The analyst also delved into technical indicators such as the 21-week and 50-week exponential moving averages, suggesting that Bitcoin’s price has begun forming a triangular market structure as it becomes “sandwiched in between the 21-week EMA and the 50-week EMA.” He drew comparisons to the mid-2021 period, when a similar formation preceded a 55% downside move that eventually broke out into another bullish phase. “We ended that period with a weekly close and post-breakout retest of the 21-week EMA into support,” he recounted, predicting that a similar situation could see Bitcoin rally toward the $93,500 level if the move above the 21-week EMA holds. Related Reading: Bitcoin Lags Gold As Wall Street Doubts Persist, Claims Expert In addressing concerns that the market is entering a bear cycle, Rekt Capital asserted that “it’s not a bear market like everybody is saying.” While he acknowledged the emotional toll of large pullbacks and the prevalence of conflicting signals in the media, he advised keeping a level head and focusing on strong indications such as moving-average confluence, historical correction ranges, and the fact that “we’re in this first price discovery correction” rather than any final downturn. According to his outlook, the crypto’s price is still following the overarching blueprint set by previous bull runs, even if it is “a little bit of a deep one” and has disappointed traders hoping for more immediate parabolic momentum. Rekt Capital concluded his commentary by stressing reaccumulation phases are part of a lasting bull-market framework rather than the onset of a prolonged downtrend. At press time, BTC traded at $85,914. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
Bitcoin (BTC) was also a top performer, rising 0.7%.
The card will initially only support funds transferred from SVM wallets, with additional chains including EVM to be implemented later.
The infrastructure provider underpins tokenized funds by BlackRock, Franklin Templeton and Republic facilitating stablecoin settlements across 22 blockchains.
UK government minister Lucy Powell’s X account was recently hacked to promote a fake cryptocurrency called “$HCC” claiming to be a “House of Commons” coin, BBC reported. House of Commons Leader’s Account Hacked to Promote Fake Coin The now deleted posts on the House of Commons leader’s account described the coin as “a community-driven” digital …
A crypto investment executive said the biggest problem with digital asset markets is price manipulation, claiming that collusion between market makers and exchanges distorts token prices. Arthur Cheong, founder of crypto investment firm DeFiance Capital, said in an X post that market makers and crypto projects work together to create artificial prices that can be sustained for long periods. Cheong wrote: “You don’t know whether the price is a result of organic demand & supply or simply due to projects and market makers colluding to fix the price to achieve other objectives.”He added that if the industry’s players don’t step up and improve the situation, a big part of the crypto market will remain “uninvestable for the foreseeable future.”Centralized exchanges turning a “blind eye” Cheong said it was strange that centralized exchanges (CEXs) are “turning an absolute blind eye” to the issue. He described the altcoin market as a “lemon’s market,” a term in economics that describes a market where low-quality products drive out the good due to information asymmetry.In addition, Cheong described most token generation event pricing in 2025 as an “absolute joke” where the assets’ prices went down by 70% to 90% a few months after listing. “Anyone that bought is down massively,” Cheong added. Related: Binance, KuCoin, MEXC report service issues due to AWS network interruption88% of crypto tokens listed on Binance in 2025 declined after listing Data compiled by crypto analyst Miles Deutscher showed that among crypto tokens listed this year on the trading platform Binance, only 3 out of 27 are performing well. This means that 88% of the tokens have declined since listing. The price drops ranged from 19% up to 90%. Deutscher said this was the reason why retail investors were quitting. Only 3 out of 27 tokens listed in Binance in 2025 are in the green. Source: Miles Deutscher A community member responded to the data saying that this is where the industry is currently at. The X user added that they hoped Binance would realize starting at a high valuation wasn’t good for users. Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao previously admitted that Binance’s listing process needs reform. On Feb. 10, the former Binance CEO said that the current system is flawed and suggested that CEXs should automate listings similar to how decentralized exchanges (DEXs) work. Magazine: New ‘MemeStrategy’ Bitcoin firm by 9GAG, jailed CEO’s $3.5M bonus: Asia Express