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Why is the AI sector in cryptocurrencies still in its early stages of development? Let's take a look at some promising tokens in this category that were highlighted by analysts at Grayscale in their report.
Asset management company Grayscale has suggested that cryptocurrencies could become one of the tools for developing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Grayscale Research's analytics department has also published a list of the top 20 AI tokens that, in their opinion, are forming a new sector in the crypto market with huge growth potential.
Experts believe that AI technologies used in blockchain allow such projects to be classified as a separate sector in the crypto economy. Grayscale Research has now divided the blockchain market into the following categories, adding AI as a separate item:
Currencies. Assets that are used as a decentralized payment system and a means of storing capital (e.g., Bitcoin and XRP).Smart contract platforms. Blockchain networks that provide the basic infrastructure for decentralized applications in the form of smart contracts (e.g., Ethereum and Solana).Finance. Financial applications that allow users to borrow, lend, and trade on the blockchain (e.g., Uniswap and Aave).Consumption and culture. Decentralized media applications, gaming, and entertainment projects (e.g., Decentraland or Sandbox).Artificial intelligence. Assets related to the development, production, or application of artificial intelligence technologies (e.g., Bittensor, Near, and Grass).Infrastructure. Services that extend the functionality of existing decentralized applications (e.g., Chainlink, Filecoin, and Lido).
Grayscale Research believes that AI built on decentralized principles can complement centralized AI technologies. Moreover, over the past year, these applications have become the most discussed topic in the crypto market, and many new tokens have reached a sufficient threshold in terms of market capitalization and liquidity to be included in the crypto sector. Below is a list of the top 20 tokens, according to experts.

This sector includes 20 assets with a combined market capitalization of approximately $20 billion. With this size, the artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency sector is the smallest segment of the market, representing approximately 0.67% of the total market capitalization. By comparison, finance, the third-largest sector, has a market capitalization of approximately $519 billion. In our opinion, the relatively modest size of this cryptocurrency sector reflects the early stage of many projects. The market for blockchain-based AI applications is potentially very large. And we believe that the AI sector in cryptocurrencies will grow both in absolute terms and relative to the rest of the market," the report noted.
Prospects for AI
Discussions about AI optimizing business and other areas have been a hot topic in various communities for many years. According to forecasts, experts expect deeper synergy between the cryptocurrency and AI markets.
At the end of 2024, Coinbase Ventures analyst Jonathan King suggested that AI could be built on blockchain technology, where multiple individual AIs would begin to interact in a shared space, stimulating economic activity and growth. Experts from the traditional finance sector are also paying attention to this trend — for example, analysts at Franklin Templeton noted that “the maturation of this emerging sector is worth watching.”
Speaking at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas, Vlad Tenev, CEO of brokerage firm Robinhood, said that “one-person companies” powered by artificial intelligence will become the norm, according to Decrypt.
“I think you're going to have more one-person companies. Imagine that they are tokenized, trading on blockchains alongside other assets. So you can essentially invest in a person or the economic activity of a project run by one person,” Tenev said.
However, venture capitalists do not consider the synergy between blockchain and AI to be the most promising investment. As of March 2025, venture capital funding in the US since the beginning of January amounted to approximately $822 million for 167 projects. Only one of them involves the development of AI technologies. The global indicator for investments in AI crypto projects without jurisdiction was 55 projects.
#ArtificialInteligence

The cryptocurrency from the confidential coin sector, Monero (XMR), entered the top 20 largest by market capitalization on May 26, according to Coinmarketcap, ahead of blockchain projects Litecoin (LTC), Toncoin (TON), and Polkadot (DOT).
From its local low in April 2025, around $170, the price of XMR rose by almost 250% by May 26, trading at around $417 per coin. According to information from the beginning of the year, XMR quotes have risen by more than 110%, which is the second best result among the 100 largest cryptocurrencies after the token of the platform for creating memecoins on the BNB Chain — Four (FORM), which rose in price by more than 600%. The growth range of the remaining 98 coins was up to 50%, with Bitcoin quotes rising by about 17% since January 1.
The absolute maximum for XMR was recorded at $518 in 2021, while last year the coin was in the $120–170 range.
The History of XMR
 Unlike Bitcoin, where transactions remain transparent and potentially traceable, Monero provides complete anonymity. The project uses cryptographic methods to guarantee security and prevent transactions from being traced. Monero does not simply hide transfer amounts and addresses — it makes transactions completely invisible to third-party observers. This allows users to make payments without the risk of being de-anonymized.
The Monero blockchain is known for running on a Proof-of-Work (PoW) algorithm, also used in the Bitcoin blockchain, where the network is powered by the computing power of specialized hardware. This distinguishes XMR from most modern solutions that use Proof-of-Stake, where blockchains are secured by locking native cryptocurrencies, as is the case with Ethereum and Solana.
The technical documentation for Monero was prepared by Nicolas van Saberhagen (probably a pseudonym) in 2013. The blockchain itself was launched in 2014. From the outset, the project was positioned as a solution to the privacy problem that Bitcoin was said to lack.
The Monero (XMR) cryptocurrency was created based on the ByteCoin token blockchain, developed in 2014. ByteCoin is the first cryptocurrency to use the CryptoNote protocol. This protocol includes mechanisms that make the blockchain completely anonymous.
Monero is one of the few crypto projects that are developed by volunteers or through community donations. One of the founders of XMR is considered to be Riccardo Spagni, who was arrested by US law enforcement agencies in 2021 on charges of fraud amounting to $100,000 between 2009 and 2011, when he worked for the South African company Cape Cookies. He was released from custody in the same year.
Cost of confidentiality
Monero has become a kind of cult cryptocurrency in the blockchain technology segment, providing anonymity for transactions. There was an episode in the project's history when, in 2020, the US Internal Revenue Service offered $625,000 to companies seeking to hack Monero's confidentiality. The government subsequently entered into agreements with Chainalysis, a company that tracks data across various blockchains, and Integra FEC, a company that conducts forensic data analysis. However, there are still no documented ways to hack Monero.
Nevertheless, Chainalysis itself acknowledged that XMR is not popular among criminals — according to the company, attackers are increasingly returning to Bitcoin as their primary cryptocurrency due to growing liquidity issues with Monero.
This thesis was also voiced by crypto detective ZachXBT, pointing to the reason for the tens of percent rise in XMR prices at the end of April — the analyst noted that the growth occurred against the backdrop of the conversion of $330 million in Bitcoin into XMR coins.
All reports of XMR transactions linked to crimes refer to third-party services where criminals exchanged cryptocurrencies for other assets. Due to its anonymity, financial regulators in various countries are introducing bans on its circulation.
As a result, many major cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, OKX, and Bybit, have had to delist Monero. This happened after the intergovernmental anti-money laundering organization (FATF) required all cryptocurrency exchange services to comply with CFT (countering the financing of terrorism) and AML (anti-money laundering) procedures. Due to the peculiarities of Monero's architecture, it is impossible to comply with these requirements.
#CryptoNewss

American banks and financial institutions are increasingly considering issuing stablecoins and other blockchain-based payment instruments. Who is promoting them and why?
Major US banks, including JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo, are discussing the possibility of issuing a joint stablecoin. This was reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the negotiations.
The project is in its early stages, but according to the publication, Zelle and Clearing House, instant payment services owned by these banks, are participating in the discussions. It is expected that the stablecoin will be backed by dollar assets and can be used both within the banking system and by other market participants.
Wall Street sees the launch of a stablecoin as a way to maintain its competitive position amid the rise of the crypto industry, especially given the support the industry has received from the Trump administration, the WSJ writes.
The business model of most stablecoins is to purchase US government bonds as collateral for the issuance of tokens. Issuers receive interest income for holding these securities, with the ability to access liquidity at any time if stablecoin holders demand redemption of the issued crypto assets.
For example, according to its first quarter 2025 report, Tether's reserves to back its USDT stablecoin include about $120 billion in US Treasury bonds. The company claims that it has already surpassed Germany in terms of investments in US government debt.
It is precisely the demand for US government bonds from stablecoin issuers that may be driving the administration's interest in promoting them and creating a regulatory framework. As noted by analysts at the largest crypto exchange Binance, approximately one-third of US government debt is held in bonds by foreign investors. And if even a portion of these investors decide not to refinance their capital in these debt securities, all markets could experience stress.
Experts also noted that in 2025, a record number of treasury bonds are expected to be sold, reaching $31 trillion when refinancing is taken into account. Binance believes that this situation will require close attention from investors due to its potential impact on all trading markets, including cryptocurrencies.
Sell debts
Amid concerns about US government debt refinancing, White House officials have already openly stated that they expect to attract “trillions of dollars in demand” through stablecoins.
David Sacks, appointed by Donald Trump as “czar” for cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence, said in an interview with CNBC that the approval of the stablecoin bill could dramatically increase demand for US Treasury bonds. According to him, “if you give legal certainty, it will unlock trillions of dollars of demand almost instantly.”
This refers to the GENIUS (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act) bill, which establishes rules for stablecoins. This week, it passed a key vote in the Senate, and the White House is counting on the document's final adoption.
Sacks called stablecoins “a new payment system for the US economy,” emphasizing that their peg to the dollar helps strengthen the position of the US currency in the digital sphere.
Alternative to CBDC
In the past, the US Federal Reserve System (Fed), the country's main monetary regulator, considered issuing a national digital currency (CBDC). However, during his election campaign, Trump openly opposed the launch of a CBDC. Upon taking office, he almost immediately signed an executive order on “strengthening US leadership in digital finance.” In addition to exploring the creation of a national reserve that includes cryptocurrencies, the order prohibits federal agencies from developing, issuing, or promoting CBDCs.
Instead of CBDCs, the order outlines priorities for the development of US dollar-backed stablecoins: “Promoting and protecting the independence of the US dollar, including by facilitating the development and growth of legitimate and lawful dollar-backed stablecoins around the world.”
Trump's initiative was supported by Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell, who said in February 2025 that as long as he remains in office, the Fed will not develop its own digital currency, referring to CBDC.
Powell's statement was in stark contrast to what the Fed had been doing in recent years. For example, as early as August 2024, US federal reserve banks were developing and discussing possible options for a CBDC.
Competition
The cryptocurrency market, or at least the blockchain technology underlying it, is penetrating deeper and deeper into the financial fabric of the modern system, and stablecoins are not the only use case in the banking sector.
For example, some banks are promoting “tokenized deposits” on the blockchain, according to Barrons, citing unnamed sources. This is essentially a competing form of stablecoins.
Their approach is that these crypto assets are created by banks specifically for their customers, while stablecoins are created by non-bank organizations and can be used by anyone at any time.
In the first half of last year, the concept was already put into practice when Mastercard, in collaboration with Standard Chartered, Mox, and Libeara, facilitated a transaction involving tokenized carbon credits and tokenized deposits, as reported on the Mastercard blog.
Outside the US, there are also arguments that their stablecoin policy is detrimental to banks. Thus, the strategy of promoting cryptocurrencies in the form of stable coins is not universal.
“This US strategy reduces the role of banks: they lose commissions and customers. That is why we need a digital euro,” said ECB board member Piero Cipollone.
#USDT

How the US stablecoin bill could affect the crypto market. What is the GENIUS Act and how is it being reacted to in the market?
On May 19, US senators voted in favor (66 to 32) of the GENIUS Act, which regulates the issuance of stablecoins based on the US dollar. The bill is expected to undergo several more votes on amendments before it is finally adopted. Citing experts, The Block described this event as a “historic” moment for cryptocurrencies, capable of ensuring the dominance of the US dollar.
This bill “will bring the US payment system into the 21st century,” said Republican Senator Bill Hagerty, who led the bill's development.
“Customers will be protected, demand for US Treasury bonds will grow to over $1 trillion, and innovation in digital assets will flourish in the US in the future,” Hagerty added.
The bill also found a high level of support from the crypto industry. According to the advocacy group Stand With Crypto, crypto users sent senators more than 60,000 emails urging them to support the initiative in the hours leading up to the vote.
“This is a historic victory on the path to passing stablecoin legislation,” said Coinbase Director Faryar Shirzad, adding that there is still a lot of work ahead.
The importance of GENIUS Act
The GENIUS Act could become the first law regulating the cryptocurrency market under the new administration of US President Donald Trump. Despite numerous crypto-friendly initiatives from the US government, such as the executive order “On Strengthening U.S. Leadership in Digital Finance” and the creation of a government bitcoin reserve, no cryptocurrency laws have been passed since Trump took office.
The GENIUS Act is imperfect, but “much better than the current state of affairs,” said Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, before the vote, adding, according to DLNews: “It sets high standards for issuers, limits large technological excesses, and creates a safer, more transparent framework for digital assets.”
After the final adoption of GENIUS, analysts expect a multiple increase in the capitalization of stablecoins. The British bank Standard Chartered believes that the figure could reach $2 trillion by the end of 2028, compared to nearly $244 billion on May 20, 2025 (data from Defillama).
The importance of passing the law was also noted by Matt Hogan, chief investment officer at Bitwise. He pointed out that delaying the adoption of even one law on cryptocurrencies could jeopardize the entire momentum of the crypto market.
Experts and market participants are hoping for at least some regulatory clarity regarding crypto assets. “The bill provides much-needed regulatory clarity for both issuers and consumers,” said Gabe Feinberg, chief legal counsel at Sui Foundation.
Criticism of this bill
Dollar-backed stablecoins are currently virtually unregulated in the US, as noted by Galaxy Research. However, GENIUS outlines specific rules for issuing stable tokens, including requirements for issuers and reserve requirements. It also includes provisions for bankruptcy protection, anti-money laundering compliance rules, marketing restrictions, and rules for international companies.
Nevertheless, some officials criticize the GENIUS bill, saying it will encourage corruption and crime. As noted by prominent cryptocurrency critic Senator Elizabeth Warren, a bill that significantly strengthens oversight of the stablecoin market should be passed. But, she said, a law that disrupts the stablecoin market, encourages presidential corruption, and undermines national security, financial stability, and consumer protection is worse than no law at all.
The bill also partially addresses the issue of stablecoins being introduced by tech giants, which is a concern for some experts. According to Mark Hayes, representing the non-profit organization Americans for Financial Reform, the document has serious security issues that would allow public companies such as X and TikTok to issue their own stablecoins.
Hayes noted that rushing to pass such documents will only do harm: “Pushing this through on an arbitrary timeline because the crypto industry is breathing down your neck is not the best way to make policy.”
#GENIUSAct

The forecast was made by JPMorgan. What are the reasons why a major bank believes that Bitcoin is more promising than gold, and why is the first cryptocurrency being compared to precious metals?
Bitcoin has more potential for growth than gold, thanks to catalysts specific to cryptocurrencies and growing institutional acceptance, writes Decrypt, citing a report by JPMorgan, which predicts that Bitcoin will surpass the precious metal in terms of returns in the second half of 2025.
In 2025, the price of gold showed one of the strongest growth dynamics. Since the beginning of January, the asset has grown by more than 22%, outperforming the major stock indices tracking US company share prices — the S&P 500 and NASDAQ100, which showed growth of up to 2% over the same period, according to TradingView data on May 16. At the same time, Bitcoin rose 11% to $104,100.
“We expect the zero-sum game between gold and Bitcoin that began at the start of the year to continue through the end of the year, but believe that catalysts for cryptocurrencies will create greater upside potential for Bitcoin relative to gold in the second half of the year,” JPMorgan noted.
A zero-sum game is a term from game theory where the gain of one side or group is offset by the loss of the other.
“From mid-February to mid-April, gold rose at the expense of Bitcoin [a zero-sum game], while in the last three weeks we have seen the opposite, i.e., Bitcoin rising at the expense of gold,” The Block report quotes.
The comparison of Bitcoin to gold stems in part from its relative scarcity. Like the limited supply of precious metals, Bitcoin's blockchain is designed to automatically slow down the rate at which new coins are created through approximately four-year cycles, or so-called halving. As a result, only 21 million BTC will ever be in circulation.With the arrival of the new administration in the US and Donald Trump's inauguration as president, not only cryptocurrency experts began to note the similarities between Bitcoin and gold, but also government officials. For example, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that people use Bitcoin as virtual, digital gold and do not use it as a form of payment or a store of value, noting that the main cryptocurrency “is not a competitor to the dollar, it is a real competitor to gold.” A March 6 executive order by US President Donald Trump describing plans to create a state reserve of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies also noted that “due to its scarcity and security, Bitcoin is often referred to as ‘digital gold.’”
Over the past three weeks, the upward trend in gold has diverged from other markets. For example, since April 22, when gold reached its historic high of around $3,500 per ounce, the price of bitcoin has risen by approximately 19%, while the price of gold has fallen by 8.5% from its peak.
JPMorgan analysts noted that this dynamic is driven not only by the weakening of gold, but also by catalysts specific to cryptocurrencies. Companies such as Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) and Metaplanet continue to buy more Bitcoin. Some US states are also planning to add Bitcoin to their reserves. For example, New Hampshire now allows up to 5% of state assets to be invested in Bitcoin and gold, according to The Block.
Many other companies have followed Strategy's example. These include the largest US mining company MARA, the US retail chain for game consoles, computer games, and gaming accessories GameStop, as well as the Japanese investment company Metaplanet and even companies from the healthcare sector.
“As the list grows and other US states potentially consider adding Bitcoin to their strategic reserves, this could prove to be a more sustainable positive catalyst for Bitcoin,” analysts write.
JPMorgan noted the “maturation” of the crypto derivatives market as a separate point. As an argument, experts cited recent deals by US exchanges — Coinbase bought the largest crypto options exchange Deribit, and Kraken acquired the retail futures trading platform NinjaTrader. Gemini received a license to offer derivatives throughout Europe. Analysts say these events could stimulate more active institutional participation in the crypto space.
#BTC

Experts analyzed the situation in the crypto market, talked about expectations and possible changes in the near future
The growth of crypto market capitalization in recent days is associated with the weakening of the dollar, rising gold prices and expectations of a key rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve System (FRS). As noted by experts interviewed by RBC Crypto, an important catalyst for growth was the speech of U.S. President Donald Trump, who expressed confidence in the rapid resolution of the trade conflict with China, calling for a softer monetary policy. All this increased appetite for risk assets, including bitcoin - analysts expect further growth, especially ahead of a possible rate cut in June, with the first targets for BTC at $100k.
Why prices have risen
The main factors affecting the situation in the crypto market right now are fears and concerns about the US-China tariff war and the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy, said Ryan Lee, lead analyst at Bitget Research.
“The market got a strong boost yesterday after Donald Trump's speech in which he touched on pressing economic issues. Investors were encouraged by Trump's words that the tariff dispute with China could be resolved soon,” Lee wrote, noting Trump's stance on the Fed's credit rate cuts.
As an additional trigger for bitcoin growth turned out to be the weakness of the dollar according to our analysts.
“Against the backdrop of weakness in the U.S. stock market, the cryptocurrency continues to be quite resilient and is playing off the first quarter's decline, as well as the likelihood of de-escalation of the “trade wars”, the consequence of which will be an increase in demand for risk assets that have fallen in price in recent weeks,” our analyst said.
However, there is no significant change in the situation, and “the market continues to be in a bullish cycle”. The analyst believes that the decline in quotations in the first quarter fits into an ordinary correction, which occurred due to external rather than internal factors for the crypto market.
Forecasts and expectations
Experts' expectations on the trajectory of prices are unanimous - they will grow. For example, Lee believes the main catalyst for continued growth is the change in the Fed rate, which could push bitcoin above $100 thousand.
“Depending on how the situation develops further, growth may continue or stall. Given that most market participants expect a key rate cut at the June Fed meeting, bitcoin has every chance to return to the zone above $100,000,” Lee forecasts, noting that he expects the rate to consolidate above this level in the second half of May, ahead of the monetary policy decision.
The $100k per bitcoin level also serves as the first target, according to our analysts, and in addition our analysts expect the total crypto market capitalization to grow to $3.2 trillion. At the same time, higher targets for the bitcoin price in 2025 were also noted.
Our analysts continue to expect targets of $130-150 thousand per bitcoin this year. The likelihood of bitcoin updating its price high in the coming months remains, which opens up ample opportunities for a price recovery for the most capitalized altcoins, primarily SOL.
#BTC

How the average cost of bitcoin mining has changed, how US trade duties affect mining, and what the market's prospects are in the next few years
Mining bitcoin is getting more expensive. The largest Western mining companies, whose shares are traded on the stock exchange, spent an average of $82,162 to produce one bitcoin in the fourth quarter of 2024. This is according to a new report from research company CoinShares. By comparison, just a quarter earlier, the average cash cost was $55,950. Thus, costs have increased by almost 47% in just three months.
The authors of the report separately distinguish between two measures of cost of sales. Operating cash cost (cash cost) takes into account only the direct costs of companies (electricity, equipment operation and administrative costs). It is this indicator that reflects the real financial burden on miners.
At the same time, total cost also includes accounting items, such as equipment depreciation and employee share payments. These costs don't require immediate cash payments, but they do affect companies' financial statements and bottom line. CoinShares notes that if non-cash expense items such as equipment depreciation and stock-based compensation are included, the full cost of mining one bitcoin rises to $137,018.
However, it is the operating expenses that reflect real cash flow that provide the most accurate picture of the state of the industry. CoinShares in its study analyzed the performance of the largest publicly traded mining companies such as Hut 8, CleanSpark, Iren, Cormint, Core Scientific and Cipher Mining. It was their financial data that formed the basis for calculating the average cost of bitcoin mining.
Impact of US duties
However, equipment amortization costs could increase significantly in the near future due to trade duties imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, CoinShares noted:
“Miners using older or less efficient equipment are most affected by these duties.”
On April 2, Trump announced duties for dozens of countries. On April 5, minimum duties of 10% for all partners began to take effect. Additional duties, set separately for each country, were planned from April 9. The increase in duties also affected the countries from which mining equipment comes to the U.S., including China, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.
The imposition of the duties coincided with an all-time high in bitcoin's aggregate hash rate, reached on April 11 at 924 Eh/s (exahashes per second), according to the Blockchain.com service. As of April 26, the figure had plunged 12% to 815 Eh/s, leveling out the entire 2025 hashrate growth, which had been rising from around 790 Eh/s from January to a peak in April.
Bitcoin market forecasts
Despite all the macroeconomic conditions surrounding the imposition of duties in the US, CoinShares believes that the long-term outlook for the mining market will not be affected in any way.
“Our latest forecasts now indicate that the long-awaited 1,000 Eh/s threshold could be reached as early as July this year. At the same time, computing power is expected to grow to 1,280 Eh/s by the end of the year and reach 2,000 Eh/s by early 2027,” the analysts suggest.
In addition, experts point to the trend of diversifying the mining business into data center infrastructure that offers more predictable revenue streams. A possible weakening of the dollar is also cited as another important trend, which will lead to an increase in the price of bitcoin, which will also affect the revenues of mining companies in an upward direction.
“The imposition of duties is likely to spur inflation in both the US and its trading partners. This dynamic could force the adoption of more adaptive fiscal and monetary policies - measures that often lead to currency depreciation, ultimately increasing bitcoin's appeal as a state-independent, inflation-resistant asset,” CoinShares wrote.
CoinShares isn't the only one who sees dollar weakness and monetary policy in the U.S. as possible influential factors for bitcoin price growth. Analysts of the largest crypto exchange Binance also note the weak impact of the imposed duties in the U.S. compared to its monetary policy, which is the reason why the conjuncture on the world trade markets is formed.
Some experts believe that the deterioration of the situation in the mining market may affect only participants from the United States, which occupy about 30% of the mining market. However, the decline in the share of US miners in the global market may lead to a more global distribution of computing power, from which other regions will benefit.
#BTCMiningRevenue

Crypto industry and banking representatives are beginning to expand into each other's niches
A number of cryptocurrency companies are planning to apply for banking licenses in the United States, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. At the same time, several large banks are studying the possibility of entering the crypto industry.
Some U.S. cryptocurrencies are interested in becoming a national trust or industrial bank, which would allow them to operate like traditional lenders, such as accepting deposits and making loans. Others are seeking highly specialized licenses that would allow them to issue stablecoins.
Among those cryptocurrency companies looking to expand are exchange Coinbase, steablecoin issuers Circle and Paxos, and custodian BitGo. The latter is close to applying for a banking license, people familiar with the situation told the publication.
BitGo is one of the largest custodian providers in the crypto industry, founded in 2013. The company offers cryptocurrency storage solutions, multi-signature wallets, and provides institutional infrastructure for trading and settlement. It serves exchanges, investment funds and corporate clients.
Earlier it became known that BitGo will provide custodial services to the Trump family's crypto project World Liberty Financial (WLFI). The service will hold reserves securing the USD1 stablecoin issued by WLFI.
Following US President Donald Trump's return to the White House, regulators rescinded previously imposed rules requiring banks to be authorized to participate in cryptocurrency activities. Additional guidelines are expected to be issued this year on how banks can work with cryptocurrency, a source familiar with the situation told the publication.
However, any cryptocurrency company that receives a banking license will be subject to stricter scrutiny from regulators, the report noted. Currently, the only cryptocurrency company in the US with a federal bank license is Anchorage Digital. The company said it has spent tens of millions of dollars on regulatory compliance.
Anchorage, along with Coinbase, this year became the custodian for BlackRock's bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), which has an asset value of more than $48 billion, according to SoSoValue data as of April 17. Anchorage has also teamed up with Cantor Fitzgerald and cryptocastodian Copper for a $2 billion bitcoin lending program. Cantor was previously headed by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and that company holds the Treasury bonds that make up Tether's USDT stablecoin reserves.
Meanwhile, some banks are looking to connect with the cryptocurrency industry. In February, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said his bank would issue its own stablecoin if the legal framework was in place to do so.
In April, U.S. Bancorp said it would relaunch its cryptoasset storage service. And a consortium of banks that includes Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered has begun exploring the possibility of expanding cryptocurrency operations in the U.S., according to reporters.
Cryptocurrency companies' entry into the traditional finance market is not limited to banking. Since mid-April, the Kraken crypto exchange has opened trading for its clients not only in digital currencies, but also in classic instruments - shares of companies and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
#BTCvsMarktes

What stimulus the crypto market needs for altcoins. Bitcoin holds its position better than other cryptocurrencies, but alternative digital coins need liquidity
There are no conditions for altcoins to start growing now, Matrixport analysts believe. They published a market review under the title “Altcoins Come and Go - Only Bitcoin Remains” (Altcoins Come and Go - Only Bitcoin Remains). According to their assessment, alternative cryptocurrencies to bitcoin will not be able to start growing until new liquidity appears in the sector.
 Matrixport is a Singaporean crypto platform owned by billionaire entrepreneur Jihan Wu, who is also the co-founder of the largest mining equipment manufacturer Bitmain. The trading turnover of the Matrixport platform is $5 billion per month.
Since the launch of spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on Ethereum in the United States in the summer of 2024, the market share of the leading altcoin has fallen by almost 50%, Matrixport notes. According to experts, if Ethereum is the “oil” that fuels the crypto economy, then the current state of this economy resembles a deep recession.
But Ethereum is not the only altcoin losing ground to bitcoin. Experts have pointed out that countless cryptocurrency narratives have appeared and disappeared over the past year, from Dogwifhat (WIF) to US President Donald Trump's memcoin Official Trump (TRUMP). Experts note that these tokens often “live” according to the same pattern: sharp, euphoric growth, followed by an equally sharp collapse, forming pyramid-like price structures with long, elongated tails symbolizing oblivion.
For altcoins to gain significant growth momentum, we would need to see either an increase in demand driven by viable asset options or a surge in liquidity similar to what was seen during the 2020-2021 cycle, the report said. However, based on the metrics tracked, analysts concluded that a significant influx of liquidity into the crypto market seems unlikely, making near-term altcoin growth unlikely as well.
The US Federal Reserve (Fed) is likely to keep interest rates unchanged over the summer as it assesses the inflationary impact of Trump's proposed duties, experts said. They pointed to a situation in which markets are forecasting four rounds of rate cuts for 2025 and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is emphasizing the need for a cautious approach to assessing the economic impact of the new tariffs.
In addition, the issuance of stablecoins has sharply decreased recently. Analysts called it a signal of low liquidity. This supports the prediction that bitcoin is likely to remain in the $80k to $90k range for now. Trading volumes, including bitcoin-ETFs, also remain low, telling experts there is limited speculative activity.
“Investors seem preoccupied with their inefficient equity portfolios as Trump's drive to renegotiate trade agreements and change the world order has a big impact on the markets,” Matrixport said.
What the analysts find interesting is that the tariff situation has led to a weaker US dollar. Since the global money supply is usually measured in dollars, a weakening of the U.S. currency leads to a mechanical increase in the money supply. This effect has historically supported bitcoin prices, experts reminded.
They noted that bitcoin's “survival” has often been questioned in past bear markets, largely due to regulatory concerns, heavy enforcement or outright bans. That risk has now diminished significantly, which helps explain why bitcoin is holding up much better during the current correction than in previous cycles, the report said.

#MarketRebound

What is tokenomics. What basic elements the economic model of cryptoprojects includes
Before making investment decisions, you should consider many different factors that can affect the value of a cryptocurrency asset. A fundamental element of almost any cryptocurrency is tokenomics, a term that refers to the economic model of the project.
What is tokenomics
Tokenomics (token and economics) is an economic model of a token that takes into account the interests of project participants, including the team, investors and users, as well as the mechanisms and schedule of coin distribution.
Tokenomics can be compared to the economy of a state or enterprise, where tokens act instead of money and resources. Skillful use of existing resources and planning to create demand for cryptoassets in the future plays one of the key roles in the viability of the project. And inefficient decisions regarding the economic model of the project can ruin even the most advanced platforms.
Tokenomics is a general concept that combines many different elements, which include the mechanisms of cryptocurrency issuance and their utilization or utilitarianism, the distribution of cryptoasset among project participants.
Tokenomics is usually laid down by the project developers before the token is launched. And the blockchain technology underlying almost every crypto project allows any willing market participant to check the economic model of the project online and at any time. This is different from the economics of a conventional enterprise, where an outside observer has no way to assess the inner workings of an organization in this way.
Issuance
One of the main elements of tokenomics includes the issuance of cryptocurrency. It determines how much, when, for whom, and how cryptocurrency is created or withdrawn from circulation.
For example, bitcoin has a strict limit on the maximum number of coins - 21 million BTC - and the rate of issuance is programmed to gradually decrease every four years. And the creation of new BTC coins is available only through mining on specialized devices. There are also no bitcoin sales and early investors to whom coins were sold before launch, nor is there a development team that is allocated a portion of the coins from the total BTC supply.
Ethereum, on the other hand, sold ETH before launch as part of a fundraising effort to develop the blockchain. Unlike bitcoin, ETH has no limit on the number of coins in circulation, but has a built-in ETH burn mechanism that permanently removes some coins from circulation. Ethereum's economic model also requires blockchain cryptoassets to create new coins - this type of issuance is called staking.
The mechanism of issuance is important to evaluate in the aggregate. Even limited issuance, as in the case of bitcoin, without demand for the cryptoasset will play no role. So, for example, even if an asset is limited to a supply of 1,000 units of cryptocurrency, the price of the asset needs demand to rise, i.e. users buying it on the open market and using it for some purpose. Conversely, even those cryptocurrencies that do not have a strict issuance limit can grow in price due to high demand that exceeds supply.
Uses and motivations
The next equally important element in tokenomics is the utilization options of the crypto asset. In the case of bitcoin and Ethereum, their utility is that both BTC and ETH are used to pay all transaction fees on the network.
They also serve as a reward for the network node operators who are responsible for performing all transactions on the network. With the development of the crypto economy, these assets have also been used to pay for various goods and services and as an investment tool, which is also an element of utility.
In addition to the applied use of tokens, projects offer various bonus systems for their users or even the opportunity to participate in the management of the project.
For example, token holders of the Optimism blockchain network (OP) can participate in voting on the development of the platform and put forward their management initiatives. And as an incentive, the OP team distributed 19 million tokens, or about $25 million, for voting activity.
Distribution
The next data to consider when researching crypto projects includes the distribution of assets among investors and other project participants. In recent years, almost all major crypto projects have been launched thanks to raising capital through fundraising in the early stages of development even before the release of their own cryptocurrency.
Thus, at the time of cryptocurrency creation, the project distributes a significant portion of it to early investors, development advisors, team members, and other participants. Since the intentions of these groups can be quite different, potential sales of their assets can put pressure on the price.
In this way, the ownership by any of the participants of large amounts of the project's crypto assets carries significant risks to the price. As an example, the trend is low float, high FDV, which means low circulating supply with high fully diluted value.
Practically, this looks like, for example, issuing 10% of tokens at the start of trading and unlocking the other 90% over the next few years. In this case, due to the small volume of tokens at the start, it is easier to keep the price of the asset at a conditionally high level. If a token was able to reach $1 billion capitalization at 10% of the supply, the next unlocked 10% of the total supply will automatically increase the capitalization to $2 billion.
But the market may not be able to withstand the sale of such a volume of new tokens, and the price will go down. As Ari Paul, founder of the investment company BlockTower, pointed out, the market needs a huge amount of new money every day to keep prices stable.
Qualitatively thought out tokenomics does not guarantee the growth of the asset price, but it increases the probability of success of the cryptoproject. After all, the project's robust economic correlations can lead to high demand for the crypto asset in the long run. These core elements of tokenomics are important to consider along with a host of other metrics and characteristics of crypto projects.

#Tokenomics

Tether has allowed the issuance of a separate stablecoin in the US
Tether is studying the possibility of launching a new stablecoin for institutional clients in the U.S., the company's head Paolo Ardoino told Bloomberg in an interview. He explained the idea of launching a token different from USDT for US companies by the request of the local market.
Ardoino estimates that 40% of all USDT holders in the world use the token as a savings instrument. In emerging markets, in countries where local currencies are volatile, USDT is used as a dollar surrogate - a “safe haven asset.”
In the U.S., where dollars are easily accessible, any Tether-issued stablecoin will be targeted at institutions that need to make payments quickly, as “the product's relevance to the market is completely different than a stablecoin used in Africa,” Ardoino said.
Tether is one of the fastest growing companies in the crypto market. In late January, Tether reported record profits - it earned more than $13 billion for 2024. The company's main income comes from interest on U.S. Treasury bonds, which are used as reserves that support the issuance of USDT
The topic of developing a dollar-based stablecoin market has been promoted by US President Donald Trump since late January, when the first executive order after his inauguration - “Strengthening US Leadership in Digital Finance” - was signed, where stablecoins were singled out as a key item. The US Congress is now considering a bill to regulate such tokens.
At the same time, Tether's competitor, the American company Circle, is promoting the idea that issuers of dollar-denominated steblecoins should be registered in the United States. Tether, on the other hand, is registered in El Salvador. According to Ardoino, it was this bill that prompted Tether to consider launching an alternative to its flagship USDT product in the US.
“We are discussing this possibility. We need to wait for the final version and see what bill is passed, but we're definitely open to it,” Ardoino said.
In 2024, the European Union introduced new rules to regulate stablecoins, which require issuers of such tokens to have a special license. Circle received such authorization, while Tether did not. Cryptocurrency exchanges have delisted USDT in the EU. At the same time, Tether announced that it will issue MiCA-compliant EURQ and USDQ stablecoins together with Quantoz Payments.
#USDT

The spaceship will fly over the poles of the Earth for the first time, one of the goals of the flight was to be able to observe the polar lights from space
Cryptomillionaire Chun Wang has funded and led SpaceX's space mission called Fram2. The Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying a civilian crew was launched into Earth's orbit on the evening of March 31.
“Today we ranked 681st among those who flew over the Kármán line and 626th among those who circled the Earth,” Chun wrote in X.
 The Kármán line in space is a conventional boundary between the Earth's atmosphere and outer space, located at an altitude of 100 km above sea level. The line was named after the scientist who defined it - Theodor von Kármán
Chun Wang was born and raised in China before moving to South Korea. In August 2023, he announced that he became a citizen of Malta. Chun is one of the first bitcoin enthusiasts who started mining the cryptocurrency back in 2011. He subsequently co-founded the F2Pool mining pool, as well as the validator and staking service Stakefish.
F2Pool accounts for one-tenth (10.1%) of the global bitcoin hashrate, according to the Hashrate Index as of April 1. It ranks third globally after Foundry USA and Antpool pools.
The entrepreneur has always been interested in space missions. In 2007, Chung attended the launch of China's “Chang'e-1” lunar orbiter. Since 2020, he has been visiting the Starbase test spaceport every year to observe all Starship missions.
Chung keeps meticulous statistics of his travels. The crypto millionaire's X profile states that he has visited 135 out of 249 countries (54%), which he keeps track of using the ISO 3166 standard classifier. The businessman stated that the Fram2 mission flight was his 1,000th in his lifetime.
Chung has been appointed “mission commander” for Fram2, although it is his first time in space. Accompanying him on the 27,589 km/h flight at an altitude of 435 kilometers will be Arctic robotics scientist Rabea Patricia Rogge from Germany, Australian polar explorer and physician Eric Phillips and filmmaker Jannike Mikkelsen from Norway.
The spaceship will fly over the Earth's polar regions for the first time. The crew is preparing to see the northern lights, and Mikkelsen will try to capture the colorful lighting effects. The mission is expected to last three to five days and end with a landing in the Pacific Ocean.
During it, the ship's crew will conduct 22 research experiments designed to help “advance humanity's ability to extend long-term space exploration and understanding of human health in space,” The Block writes. Among the experiments are taking the first X-ray image in space and growing oyster mushrooms in microgravity.
Last week, Ripple co-founder Jed McCaleb admitted that he is ready to lose $1 billion to launch a private space station. His company Vast plans to put a space station into orbit by May 2026, and in case of success will be able to qualify for a contract with NASA.

Why the crypto market is following US stocks, what investors predict and what investors fear in April
US macroeconomic factors continue to affect the crypto market and bitcoin ($BTC ), particularly due to investors categorizing cryptocurrencies as risky assets. Experts from 10x Research attributed this to investors' anticipation of new U.S. trade duties, which are scheduled to be imposed starting April 2. In addition to the duties, analysts noted the impact of investors' concerns about rising inflation in the United States. Following this, 10x predicts a further drop in the bitcoin price below $80k.
“We now expect bitcoin to fall below $80k this week, especially given the numerous risk-aversion factors, which will likely put pressure on equities and affect the cryptocurrency market,” 10x wrote.
“President Trump's proposed duties, including a 25 percent levy on Mexican and Canadian goods effective April 2, have renewed fears of a trade war. Historically, such protectionist measures have caused risk aversion across all asset classes. And cryptocurrency has not been left out,” Ryan Lee, principal analyst at Bitget Research, told The Block.
After the price drop last week from the local maximum of $88.7 thousand, reached on March 24, the price of bitcoin for the second day in a row is in the trading range from $81.5 thousand to $83.5 thousand. The main decline in the price of bitcoin last week occurred from March 28 to 29, when quotes fell by almost 7%, below $82 thousand. Since March 24, the total capitalization of cryptocurrencies fell by about 6%, about 80% of tokens from the list of the top 100 lost in value up to 25%.
10x noted an increase in investor concerns about inflation in the US. They attributed this to the release of the Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index data released on March 28 (reflects changes in the prices of goods and services purchased by consumers for personal consumption), which pointed to rising inflation. PCE came in above expectations of 0.3% month-to-month - the February estimate was 0.4%.
According to experts, this is partly due to Trump's imposition of duties, which is “affecting consumer sentiment.”
“Annualized inflation expectations jumped to 5.0%, which negatively impacted risk assets. While Trump initially hinted at a measured approach to duties, his rhetoric has shifted toward a more aggressive stance,” the 10x report wrote.
However, not everyone is negative. Samer Hasn, senior market analyst at global asset broker XS.com, told CNBC that April will be a defining moment for the direction of markets in the coming months and, if a trade war can be avoided, “the market may have already bottomed out and we could see a significant recovery from the global downturn for both cryptocurrencies and stocks.”
Experts also pointed out the high correlation with the major stock indexes - the SP 500 and NASDAQ100, which track the prices of the largest U.S. stocks. The correlation value of bitcoin price with these indices is around 0.83 and 0.87 respectively.
“Timing turns out to be particularly important as digital assets remain highly correlated with traditional markets, suggesting that weakness in equities could continue to pull cryptocurrency prices down,” Lee added.
Experts also believe that positive momentum for bitcoin could come from additional actions by the U.S. administration regarding the bitcoin reserve.
“If Trump implements at least some of the expected initiatives by his 100th day in office, such as launching the first phase of the cryptocurrency reserve or legalizing some format of bitcoin settlement at the federal level, it could trigger a short-term boost in April, potentially pushing prices beyond $100k,” MEXC exchange chief operating officer Tracy Jin told CNBC, adding that if they continue to focus on duties and geopolitical threats, the effect could be the opposite.
 #BTC

Top managers of the media business owned by the US president intend to raise hundreds of millions to buy cryptocurrency companies
Executives at Trump Media, owned by U.S. President Donald Trump, have created a special purpose entity (SPAC) with the goal of acquiring cryptocurrency or blockchain companies. According to Forbes, Renatus, which is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, plans to raise at least $179 million through an initial public and private placement.
Renatus' management team, which is a SPAC company, is closely aligned with Trump's media company. Eric Swider, a Trump Media board member, is CEO at the new organization. Devin Nunes is chairman of Trump Media and Renatus' board of directors. Alexander Cano, who was president of Digital World, which helped Trump Media go public, is chief operating officer of Renatus.
The proceeds from the stock sale are planned to be used to buy third-party businesses including cryptocurrency, blockchain, data security and the military-industrial complex, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
SPAC (a special purpose acquisition company) is a company created specifically to merge with another private company that wants to go public without going through the IPO process. SPAC has no assets, no operating history, and no business plan - it is in fact nothing.SPAC does an initial public offering, raising funds blindly from investors - in fact, that's where the company's story begins. Their IPOs are called blank-checks - by buying such shares, investors are de facto buying air. However, it could pay off in the long run if SPAC executives agree to merge with a good private company.
“Our team has extensive experience in digital assets, blockchain infrastructure, and the regulatory and policy issues impacting the sector. With experience spanning finance, technology and public policy, our leadership is at the forefront of navigating the intersection of crypto innovation and government oversight.”
It is also pointed out that this experience will enable the company to identify and capitalize on opportunities in the evolving ecosystem of digital assets, leveraging strategic insights, industry connections and a forward-thinking approach to create value.
The documents also note the current Trump administration's efforts to integrate digital assets into the national financial strategy, as well as the huge role of initiatives such as the creation of a strategic U.S. bitcoin reserve by stockpiling cryptocurrency assets seized by law enforcement.
Trump Media (DJT) went public in March 2024 through a merger with SPAC - Digital World Acquisition Corporation (DWAC).The merger was announced back in October 2021, but the deal itself was not approved until three years later.In that time, the SEC managed to accuse a former Digital World board member and two others of insider trading related to the company. As a result, Digital World agreed to pay the SEC $18 million to settle the fraud charges for “material misrepresentation,” according to Forbes.After the merger was finalized, the turmoil continued and the SEC charged Trump Media's accountant, BF Borgers, with fraud involving more than 250 clients.Borgers agreed to pay a $12 million fine as well as a ban from the industry.This is not the first initiative to buy a crytobusiness by Trump-affiliated traditional companies. In late November 2024, Trump Media discussed buying Bakkt, a platform that provides digital asset trading services. While no new details have been released since then, information about the possible purchase coincided with Bakkt's (BKKT) share price rising 240% in the two days since Nov. 18, according to platform TradingView, to $37.21.
After that, BKKT quotations were in the range of $23-$32. However, after Trump's inauguration on January 20, the price of BKKT collapsed more than 70% from its peak on January 24 to $9.3.
Initiatives by the U.S. presidential administration, Renatus said, include an executive order signed by Trump in early March to create a national bitcoin reserve and establish a fund to hold other digital assets seized by authorities. And an executive order signed in late January to regulate the crypto market, which also initiated the creation of a working group to develop a “federal regulatory framework for digital assets, including stablecoins.”
Despite this, Renatus noted that “third parties may not want to partner with the company due to the affiliation of their management team and our board of directors with Trump Media and President Donald Trump.”
#BTC

Expectations around the US cryptocurrency reserve failed to materialize and the market reacted with a decline, but the long-term consequences of this move could be much more significant
The creation of the US cryptocurrency reserve raised expectations in the market, but did not lead to a rise in prices - on the contrary, bitcoin and other assets continued to fall. Why this happened and how to look at it in the long term, our analysts analyze.
The US President did sign an executive order to create a crypto reserve, but its implementation turned out to be far from market expectations. Trump never said he would spend taxpayers' money to buy bitcoin or that the Fed would be in charge of it,” our experts note. Instead, the reserve was built up from seized assets held by the US Department of Justice.
Of course, it was possible to realize the reserve in different ways, but in the end it was created at the expense of those assets that are already there. Our expert emphasized that the market had expectations of a more aggressive model with active purchases, but it did not happen. Everyone was expecting Trump to stop by the Coinbase office, start pressing the “buy” button with his finger and buy bitcoin for hundreds of millions of dollars. But we realize it doesn't work that way.
In addition to the fact that more than half of the reported 200 thousand $BTC is subject to return to the Bitfinex exchange as part of a court judgment, which makes the reserve itself much smaller than it may seem.
At the same time, our analysts consider the very fact of appearance of the crypto reserve an important event for the crypto industry. Because a year and a half ago, when the Biden administration was crushing the industry, we couldn't talk about something like this at all. Now the White House is gathering representatives of the crypto industry and discussing issues with the President.
Creating such a reserve is not exclusively an American idea. This story a few years ago was discussed in Switzerland, in Hong Kong, and now the U.S. is just the first to put it into practice” According to our analyst, such a model can be used in other countries, but it is still an open question how it will change in the future.
#BTC

What will change for Ethereum users and what the major innovations will be as part of the major Pectra update
In April 2025, the Ethereum blockchain network is slated for one of the largest upgrades in recent years, dubbed Pectra. The implementation includes mechanisms to increase scalability, reduce transaction fees, improve staking rewards for node operators, and make the network easier for end users to use.
On March 5, developers successfully activated the Pectra update on the Sepolia test network, completing the final phase before launching on the main Ethereum network.
Pectra is the third major update following Ethereum's transition to a new algorithm, Proof-of-Stake. The transition took place as part of an update called The Merge. This event meant that the Ethereum blockchain network no longer runs on the Proof-of-Work algorithm as it does in bitcoin.
The Merge implied that instead of buying computing hardware, such as video cards, one should lock in at least 32 ETH (about $70 thousand as of March 5) in a special smart contract of the network. Only through such investments one can get the opportunity to create new ETH coins, as well as participate in the validation process of users' transactions, receiving a commission for transactions from them.
As of the beginning of March, Pectra is in the active testing stage, on March 5 the update took place in the Sepolia test network, after which the implementation will take place in the Ethereum blockchain itself.
And the Pectra update itself is divided into two stages. According to Decrypt's estimates, the tentative time of implementation of the first stage in the Ethereum core network is scheduled for March 2025, while the second stage is planned for the end of the year or early 2026.
First stage of update
At the first stage, expected this spring, mechanisms will be introduced to reduce commissions in the main network and so-called L2 networks such as Arbitrum, Optimism, zkSync, Starknet. It is also planned to include the Account Abstraction feature, designed to introduce the possibility of paying transaction fees in tokens other than $ETH , such as USDT, DAI or USDC.
This is important because all blockchain networks only use native blockchain tokens to pay commissions. This is different from the usual banking apps, where the user pays the commission in the currency of the transfer without thinking about what exchange mechanisms are behind it. For example, in Ethereum (as well as other networks), if a user has USDT on their balance, they don't have the technical ability to transfer it to another address or conduct a transaction without paying a fee in ETH.
As part of the first phase, they also plan to implement an increase in the limit on staking from 32 to 2048 ETH (from $70 thousand to $4.5 million). This move will allow node operators to manage their investments more efficiently. Prior to the update, operators install special software separately for each locked 32 ETH, and cannot receive additional rewards on the accumulated percentage of their investments.
For example, a small operator who invested 32 ETH in staking after a year was able to accumulate about 4% (1.28 ETH) of the invested 32 ETH (according to the approximate current rate in Ethereum). However, he is unable to earn interest income on that 1.28 ETH due to restrictions. The only thing he can do is leave the income on his balance, or withdraw it.
Second stage of update
The second phase of the Pectra upgrade, scheduled for late 2025 or early 2026, will implement elements to improve data storage and network efficiency. The improvements will relate to the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), which will make smart contracts more efficient. And technologies to increase Layer 2 scalability by reducing network loads.
The fact is that Ethereum and the networks based on it (L2) are very sensitive to loads, at the moment of increase of which the fees for any transactions increase. At the time of writing, according to the L2Fees service, the commission in the Ethereum network, depending on the nature of the transaction (transfer, exchange, interaction with smart contracts) ranges from $1 to $5. And in L2 networks from $0.04 to $3, at the time of congestion fees can multiply up to tens of dollars.
#ETH

The developers of the popular cryptocurrency wallet MetaMask announced that it will support bitcoin, as well as tokens and applications of the Solana ecosystem.
According to the updated roadmap, $SOL integration is scheduled for May, and bitcoin compatibility is scheduled for the third quarter of 2025. The developers announced plans to add bitcoin a year ago.
MetaMask has more than 100 million users worldwide, according to the service. Since 2021, more than 5 billion transactions have been conducted through it.
So far, MetaMask has only supported bitcoin in the form of “wrapped” tokens (Wrapped BTC, WBTC), which run on the Ethereum blockchain and other compatible networks. This meant that users had to exchange $BTC for WBTC through third-party services and pay fees. Now they will be able to directly store or send “native” bitcoins.
Also, MetaMask has always supported only blockchains with Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) support, such as BNB Chain (Binance Smart Chain), Avalanche, zkSync, Polygon, Arbitrum and others. In contrast, bitcoin and Solana have their own architecture. Support for Solana is scheduled to launch in May, marking the first integration into MetaMask of a blockchain that does not use EVM.
The update also includes an improved interface, including an updated logo, and new features. Users will be able to pay commissions (“gas”) with the token sent without having to hold ETH, manage multiple wallets in one app, and use batch transactions by combining multiple transactions into one.
US users will have access to a physical MetaMask card for cryptocurrency payments through the Mastercard network. It is scheduled to launch in April.
MetaMask also listed several promising, in their opinion, directions for development in the field of decentralized Internet (Web3). The company named several “ideas for impatient developers,” including: subscription-based payments, deferred transactions (give DEX permission to buy a token at a future price) and decentralized AI agents.
“We need to make Web3 more user-friendly, intuitive and useful for everyone from power users to newcomers to cryptocurrencies. The application areas are still limited. The number of networks is growing and it's difficult to navigate through them. And most importantly: we need to make wallets more powerful and at the same time more secure,” the roadmap says.
Earlier, on February 27, Joseph Lubin, head of Consensys, the developer of MetaMask, said that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has agreed to close the case against the cryptocurrency wallet. He noted that Consensys “was prepared to fight this lawsuit to a victorious conclusion, but is happy with this outcome as well.”
The SEC sued Consensys in June 2024, alleging that the blockchain company violated the law by providing a steering service to MetaMask. Consensys received notice that the regulator planned to initiate legal proceedings against it back in April.
In response to the April notice, Consensys sued the SEC for the regulator's treatment of Ethereum as a security. The company claimed that the SEC was “targeting” MetaMask software. In September, the court dismissed Consensys' lawsuit.
#BTC

Token sniping is a race for milliseconds. Bots instantly buy up assets, selling them at a profit while regular traders remain at a loss. Let's find out how it works and what risks are hidden behind this tactic
The launch of a new token on decentralized exchanges (DEX) is always a volatile event. In the first seconds after the start of trading, the price can rise thousands of times, attracting the attention of traders. However, behind this excitement are often automated strategies of large players, including token sniping - a tactic of instant buying followed by selling on a sharp rise. We analyze how it works and what impact it has on the market.
How DEXs work and why sniping is possible
Unlike classic crypto exchanges, where orders are executed through a book of orders, on DEX trading takes place through a pool of liquidity. Each trading pair is represented by a pool containing two assets. The price is formed by an automated market maker (AMM) algorithm, which redistributes the balance of assets in the pool depending on supply and demand.
When a new token is launched, liquidity in the pool is minimal, so even a small transaction can change the price dramatically. This creates conditions in which the first buyers can get the asset for pennies, and a short time later sell it hundreds of times more expensive. Such a mechanism makes sniping possible.
How sniping works: the mechanics of manipulation
Sniping is the instantaneous purchase of tokens in the first fraction of a second after the start of trading and then selling them at an inflated price. Snipers monitor the blockchain in advance looking for new trading pairs on DEX. Their bots analyze the token contract and wait for the moment when there is an opportunity to send a transaction. As soon as liquidity is added to the pool, the bot sends a command to buy tokens at the lowest price using a high priority on the blockchain.
In some cases, snipers themselves initiate a sharp rise in the rate by injecting large purchases of their own funds into the market to create the appearance of demand. Seeing the rapid growth of the asset, regular traders start buying en masse, supporting the price movement already organically. At this point, snipers sell their assets, locking in their profits, after which the rate usually drops precipitously.
Who uses sniping and why it's manipulation
Sniping tactics are used by both private traders and large funds that have the technical capabilities to execute trades instantly. Some teams of cryptoprojects themselves implement bots in advance to control a part of the token supply and direct the price movement in the desired direction. In other cases, snipers rent powerful nodes, gaining priority access to the blockchain.
While sniping does not formally violate DEX rules, it creates an uneven playing field for retail investors. The price at the start is artificially high, traders buy the token at the peak of growth, and after the mass exit of snipers, the value of the asset falls sharply, leading to losses.
How projects protect themselves from sniping
Some projects try to combat manipulation by implementing defense mechanisms. Common methods include anti-bot filters that limit the speed or volume of the first purchase. As well as delays on the execution of the first transactions to prevent ultra-fast buys. Some teams employ phased liquidity unlocking, which makes access to tokens more gradual. However, these measures are not always effective, as experienced snipers find ways around the restrictions, and sometimes the projects themselves use these tactics to their advantage.
But despite the opportunity to make millions quickly, sniping is a high-stakes game in which not everything ends in profit.
First, the liquidity of the token may not support the price, especially if other bots are running in parallel. If the assets can't be sold in time, the sniper will be left with useless tokens that no one will buy anymore.
Secondly, token developers can build in protection against bots. Some projects introduce mechanisms that limit the number of tokens available for purchase in the first seconds or block sniper transactions. In such a case, the sniper's money ends up frozen in an illiquid asset.
The third risk is errors in strategy. In December 2024, one trader decided to use sniping during the launch of the PENGU token. He received the contract address in advance and sent a token purchase order through the Jupiter aggregator, hoping to beat the market. However, the transaction hit the wrong, almost empty, liquidity pool on the Raydium platform. Due to the AMM algorithm, the price instantly skyrocketed and Sniper paid over $10,000 in SOL for 78 PENGU, which were worth about $5 when the transaction was finalized. This scenario can happen if the bot is misconfigured or the trader acts manually without checking the details of the transaction.
Another risk is the so-called rug pull. If the token was originally created as a scam token, the developers may suddenly remove the liquidity, leaving all holders with impaired assets. In this case, the sharpshooter will suffer if he or she doesn't get out first.
Finally, the risks associated with the law. In some jurisdictions, such manipulation may qualify as fraud or market manipulation. If the sniper works with large sums of money and is identified, he or she could face criminal charges.
Token sniping is not just a quick buy, but an elaborate price manipulation strategy that redistributes profits in favor of algorithmic traders. Ordinary market participants find themselves at a disadvantage, entering the asset already after the main movement. As long as decentralized exchanges remain open and transparent, it is impossible to completely exclude sniping. But understanding this mechanics helps to avoid traps and make more informed decisions when participating in early listings.
#TradingSignals

James Howells, who 12 years ago threw away a hard drive containing 7,500 bitcoins, is considering buying a city dump after the municipality refused to help him find it
Briton James Howells, who threw away a hard drive containing 7,500 $BTC in 2013, is considering buying the entire city dump to search for the device, The Guardian reports. Previously, the Newport city administration refused to help him, and the court sided with the officials, but Howells has not given up hope of finding his savings, whose value has grown to nearly $750 million over the years.
According to the Briton, the disk was thrown away by mistake 12 years ago and the man has been trying to get it back ever since. Howells has repeatedly asked local authorities to help him recover the hard drive, but has been turned down several times. He made various plans that included sorting through trash and sharing the bitcoins if found. The city administration explained their refusals by saying that excavation was impossible for legal, economic and environmental reasons.
The Briton began legal proceedings with the authorities, but the court eventually dismissed the lawsuit, in which Howells asked for access to the dump or compensation of £495 million (about $613 million). The judge said at the time that there was no “reasonable basis” for the claim.
The administration plans to close the landfill and has already received permission to build a solar power plant on part of its site, the newspaper reported. And Howells is now considering buying the landfill to find the missing fortune.
He said the news of the landfill's imminent closure came as a “complete surprise” to him. He said the administration had said in court that closing the landfill to find bitcoins would have a huge negative impact on Newport residents, and now it has come out that they were actually planning to close the landfill anyway.
“I expected it to close in the next few years because it's 80-90% full, but I didn't expect it to close so soon. If Newport City Council is willing, I would potentially be interested in buying the landfill 'as is'. I've discussed this option with investment partners and it's a distinct possibility,” Howells said.
According to reporters, city officials have resisted Howells' attempts to secure a permit to search for the drive. They insisted that the device became their property when it went into the landfill. The report said Newport officials declined to comment.
#BTC

In February 2025, several important updates to several popular crypto projects and the launch of new parties of tokens are scheduled for the market
Movement (MOVE): Starting the main network
The Movement Labs project is actively working on integrating the MoveVM virtual machine into the Ethereum ecosystem. A test network was launched in December 2024 and the main developer network was launched on January 28, allowing select partners to begin implementing MoveVM-based decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.
The public launch of the core network is scheduled for February 2025, allowing a wide audience of developers and users to access the new capabilities offered by MoveVM's integration with Ethereum.
In December 2024, Movement Labs announced the launch of its MOVE token and airdrop called MoveDrop. The campaign distributed 1 billion MOVE tokens, representing 10% of the total offering, to early adopters and community members.
Unlocking tokens in February of major projects:
Sui (SUI): 64.19 million tokens on Feb. 1
ZetaChain (ZETA): 44.26 million tokens on Feb. 1
Cheelee (CHEEL): 23.63 million tokens on Feb. 9
Aptos (APT): 11.31 million tokens Feb. 10
StarkNet (STRK): 23.19 million tokens Feb. 15
Arbitrum (ARB): 92.65 million tokens Feb. 16
Melania Meme (MELANIA): 61.25 million tokens Feb. 20
Immutable (IMX): 24.52 million tokens Feb. 21
Optimism (OP): 31.44 million tokens Feb. 28
#CryptoNews🚀🔥