CryptoNews

The crypto market bounced back this week, with Bitcoin surging to a record high and the total valuation of all coins reaching over $3.5 trillion.

Traders are betting on a new crypto bull run that will push Bitcoin (BTC) to $150,000 and most altcoins higher. 

Altcoins likely to do well in the new altcoin season are those with strong fundamentals and technicals. This article compares Polkadot (DOT) and Berachain (BERA), highlighting the best one to buy and the one to sell or avoid. and highlights the best one to buy and the one to sell or avoid. 

Crypto to buy: Polkadot

Polkadot is one of the most contrarian crypto assets to buy in this bull run. It offers a staking yield of 11.5%, significantly higher than most layer-2 cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum (ETH), TRON (TRX), and Solana (SOL).

In addition to strong fundamentals, the main reason DOT is a good buy is that it has remained in a three-year consolidation between $3.76 and $11.33.

This consolidation resembles the pattern Monero (XMR) followed over the past two years before its eventual surge. DOT appears to be in the accumulation phase of the Wyckoff Theory, which is typically followed by a markup phase. Markup is characterized by higher demand than supply.

DOT has also formed a triple bottom at $3.76, a level it has not dropped below since 2023. Therefore, the most likely outlook is a rebound to at least $11.32, a gain of 132% from the current level. A move above that price would signal further upside, potentially to the 50% retracement level at $30, an increase of 500% from its present value.

DOT price chart | Source: crypto.news Crypto to sell: Berachain

Berachain is one of the top crypto to sell because of its fundamentals and technicals. Fundamentally, there are signs that its network is not doing well, as the total value locked has slumped by 43% in the last 30 days to $3 billion. 

The market cap of all stablecoins in the ecosystem has fallen from over $1.6 billion earlier this year to $300 million today, signaling a slowdown in growth.

Berachain TVL and stablecoins | Source: DeFi Llama

Berachain is also set to begin monthly token unlocks in February next year, continuing through March 2028. Token unlocks increase supply and can pressure a coin’s price, especially when demand is not keeping pace.

BERA price chart | Source: crypto.news

BERA has dropped below the 50-period moving average on the eight-hour chart. It has also formed a small rising wedge pattern, suggesting a potential drop to the all-time low of $2.70.

You might also like: Pi Network price could miss out on the crypto bull run as insiders sell

Volatility Shares has launched the first-ever XRP futures ETF on Nasdaq today, offering investors indirect exposure to XRP through regulated derivatives for the first time.

According to a SEC filing dated May 21, Volatility Shares, a U.S. firm specializing in innovative ETFs —including leveraged and futures-based products tied to crypto, is launching the first-ever Ripple (XRP) futures exchange-traded fund today, May 22. The new product, listed on Nasdaq under the ticker $XRPI, is the first ETF of its kind to offer indirect exposure to XRP through futures contracts.

The ETF, part of the Volatility Shares Trust, will invest at least 80% of its net assets in XRP-linked instruments, including futures contracts traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, via a subsidiary based in the Cayman Islands. In addition to the standard product, Volatility Shares also plans to introduce a leveraged 2x XRP futures ETF, aimed at delivering twice the daily performance of XRP futures.

Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, called the 1x XRP futures fund a “market first” in a post on X, noting that its debut follows the successful launch of a 2x XRP futures ETF by Teucrium in April. That leveraged fund has already amassed $120 million in assets under management and sees daily trading volumes around $35 million, an encouraging signal for demand.

You might also like: Analysts project high approval odds for pending crypto ETFs as SEC delays mount

The rollout of these XRP-related financial products comes amid broader speculation that the SEC could approve spot XRP ETFs by the end of this year. Several firms, including Franklin Templeton, 21Shares, and Bitwise, are vying to launch spot-based XRP funds, which would hold XRP directly rather than rely on derivatives.

According to Polymarket, traders are placing the probability of a spot XRP ETF being approved in 2025 at 83%. Nate Geraci, president of The ETF Store, echoed that sentiment, stating, “I simply don’t see this SEC not approving a spot XRP ETF.

2x leveraged XRP ETF is *currently* live & trading…I simply don’t see this SEC not approving spot XRP ETF.And sooner, rather than later.

— Nate Geraci (@NateGeraci) April 16, 2025

You might also like: 21Shares launches ETP giving exposure to Crypto.com’s CRO

FIFA is turning to Avalanche for a purpose-built blockchain to power digital collectibles and future web3 products.

The world’s football governing body FIFA is creating its own blockchain on Avalanche, named the FIFA Blockchain, as the latest move in its web3 strategy focused on digital collectibles and fan engagement, starting with hosting its digital collectibles platform, FIFA Collect.

In a blog announcement on Thursday, Avalanche said the new platform wil lbe designed to offer “high throughput, low latency, and full governance control.” FIFA said the move is aimed at delivering more scalable and consistent digital products for its global fan base, which spans over five billion people. Amid the news, the price of Avalance (AVAX) soared 10.49% to $24.92, per data from crypto.news’ price tracking page.

You might also like: VanEck’s new fund targets real-world utility in Avalanche ecosystem

FIFA will develop the FIFA Collcet marketplace with Modex, a blockchain development firm. The rollout of FIFA Blockchain will start with FIFA Collect but may expand further as “more future business cases are still kept confidential and might be unveiled at a later stage.” Still, FIFA hasn’t disclosed a timeline for when the FIFA Blockchain will fully launch.

The announcement follows earlier talks from FIFA’s leaders about digital tokens. In early March, FIFA boss Gianni Infantino told U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House Crypto Summit that FIFA was very interested in developing a FIFA coin to engage the five billion soccer fans worldwide. Trump responded that the coin might be worth more than FIFA itself and called it “quite a coin, actually.”

Read more: Bitcoin staking protocol Solv unveils RWA-backed token on Avalanche

Texas is on the verge of becoming the third U.S. state to establish a state-managed Bitcoin. 

The Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Investment Act, SB 21, was approved by the House of Representatives with a vote of 101-42. The bill now heads to Governor Greg Abbott’s desk for final approval.

SB 21 would authorize the state comptroller to invest in Bitcoin and, potentially, other cryptocurrencies with a market cap exceeding $500 billion over the past 12 months. 

Currently, Bitcoin is the only asset that qualifies. The legislation also directs the creation of a formal Bitcoin reserve, positioning the state to diversify its financial strategy with digital assets.

The bill’s sponsor, State Senator Charles Schwertner, and House advocate Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, framed the initiative as a move to secure Texas’s leadership in digital innovation. 

You might also like: DefaiCon Istanbul set to be the headline DeFi & AI agent event at Istanbul Blockchain Week 2025

State’s embrace of Bitcoin

If signed, Texas will join New Hampshire and potentially Arizona in establishing a Bitcoin reserve. However, not all states have embraced the idea. 

Governors in Arizona and Montana recently vetoed or blocked similar proposals, citing the volatility of cryptocurrency markets.

Texas, which boasts a $2.7 trillion economy—ranking eighth globally if it were a country—has already positioned itself as a crypto-friendly state. Governor Abbott has previously expressed strong support for digital assets and accepted Bitcoin donations for his political campaigns.

The bill’s passage comes amid renewed momentum for Bitcoin, which recently hit a record high above $109,000. 

You might also like: Bitcoin breaks records, but Strategy stock stalls: here’s why

Monero price continues to chart its own path this month as demand for the biggest privacy coin rises.

Monero (XMR) has rallied for seven consecutive weeks as Bitcoin (BTC) and other altcoins stalled. It jumped to a high of $367.67 this week, its highest level since May 17, up by 265% from its lowest level in 2024.

Monero gained momentum following the Tornado Cash (TORN) court ruling and the eventual lifting of U.S. government sanctions, which drove investors back to privacy coins. 

One hope is that centralized exchanges that previously delisted it, like Binance and Coinbase, will relist it this year. Additionally, the Donald Trump administration is composed of pro-crypto officials, including Paul Atkins, the head of the SEC.

You might also like: Chainlink price targets $20 as exchange outflows surge

Monero’s surge continues this week even as the hash rate crashed to its lowest point since May 13. It dropped from a record high of 5.64 GH/s last week to 4.51 GH/s. Hash rate refers to the computational power used by a network to process and validate transactions. A falling hash rate indicates reduced mining activity in the network.

XMR price technical analysis

XMR price chart | Source: crypto.news

The weekly chart shows that the XMR price has been in a strong bullish trend over the past few weeks. This rebound followed a prolonged period in which the coin remained between the support and resistance levels at $134.42 and $186.18 for over two years.

This consolidation was likely part of the accumulation phase of the Wyckoff Theory. It has now moved into the markup phase, which is characterized by higher demand than supply.

Monero has moved above all moving averages. Additionally, the Average Directional Index has risen to 25, a sign that the trend is strengthening. The Relative Strength Index and the Stochastic Oscillator have both reached overbought territory.

Therefore, the coin will likely keep soaring as bulls target the all-time high of $515, which is about 40% above the current level. An alternative scenario is that it drops to retest the support at $200 before resuming the uptrend.

You might also like: Top 4 of the best crypto to invest in June 2025

Prediction market platform Kalshi is partnering with Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, to provide tailored insights for users making bets on real-world events. 

The collaboration aims to enhance Kalshi’s event-based derivatives marketplace by integrating xAI’s models, which are trained on data from Musk’s social platform X. 

These models will help Kalshi synthesize news and historical data, providing traders with real-time context around topics ranging from central bank rate decisions to political races, according to a Bloomberg report.

“There’s deep alignment between prediction markets, social media and AI. Prediction markets capture what people know — AI scales what people can know,” Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour said in a statement per Bloomberg. 

Both companies say they are investing significant engineering resources into the initiative.

You might also like: XLM Price up 1.17% from key support: bullish structure points to $0.35 rally

Kalshi’s recent ventures

The move comes as Kalshi gains traction among retail and political bettors, bolstered by a recent deal with Robinhood Derivatives to integrate prediction markets into the Robinhood trading app. 

That integration, announced in March, will begin with markets focused on politics, economic data, and sports.

The partnership also highlights the overlapping political affiliations of the two companies. Kalshi counts Donald Trump Jr. as a strategic adviser and had former CFTC commissioner Brian Quintenz on its board. xAI, meanwhile, has tapped Kalshi’s former general counsel to lead regulatory strategy at Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

Musk’s xAI also made headlines this week by announcing that Microsoft Azure will host its flagship Grok models, further expanding its reach in the AI space. The collaboration with Kalshi adds another use case for AI in financial and betting markets, especially as regulators watch both sectors closely.

You might also like: Why Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ bill is bullish for Bitcoin and altcoins

Virtuals Protocol, a top AI agent generator, has performed well in recent weeks, surging over 350% from its lowest point in April.

Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL) price was trading at $1.9400 on Tuesday, May 20, giving it a market cap of over $1.25 billion. 

The token has several catalysts that may help push it to a record high in the ongoing bull run. The first is that analysts anticipate the AI agent industry will continue growing in the coming years.

A study by BCG estimates that the market size for AI agents will grow from $5.7 billion in 2024 to $52.1 billion by 2030, representing a 45% compounded annual growth rate. The report notes that complex disciplines like software development, customer service, and business analytics will be most impacted.

Microsoft, the world’s largest company by market cap, stated on Monday that we are now in the age of AI agents, unveiling new tools for agentic web advances in Azure Foundry. As a result, Virtuals Protocol may benefit from this macro theme as investors continue piling into AI tokens.

You might also like: Why Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ bill is bullish for Bitcoin and altcoins

There are also signs that AI agents on Virtuals Protocol are gaining traction. Aixbt price jumped by 6% on Tuesday, giving it a fully diluted valuation of over $180 million. 

Similarly, the AVA token jumped 12%, reaching a valuation of $60 million. Ribbita, GAME, VaderAI, and Luna are each valued at over $15 million.

A short-term risk for VIRTUAL is the potential for profit-taking after its 350% rally since April. Nansen data shows that 15.64 million tokens are now held on exchanges, up 22.67% from a week earlier.

VIRTUAL price technical analysis

Virtuals Protocol price | Source: crypto.news

The eight-hour chart shows that VIRTUAL has been in an uptrend over the past few weeks, climbing from a low of $0.4165 in April to $2.20 this month.

More recently, the coin has formed an ascending triangle pattern, consisting of a horizontal resistance level and an ascending trendline. This is one of the most bullish patterns in technical analysis.

VIRTUAL remains above the 50-period moving average. A breakout above the upper boundary of the triangle could signal further upside, potentially toward the all-time high of $5.1160, which would represent a 170% gain from the current level.

You might also like: XRP price forms bullish pattern as whale accumulation grows

Aztec Network, the Ethereum layer-2 protocol focused on programmable privacy, has officially launched its public testnet.

According to a May 1 press release shared with crypto.news, the launch marks a key milestone in Aztec’s eight-year journey to bring stronger data protection to web3. The testnet is now open to developers and paves the way for a fully decentralized mainnet, where no central authority will have hidden access to user data.

The release follows successful internal testing phases that included over 100 sequencers. Years of research and development at Aztec led to innovations in zero-knowledge technology and programming tools that allow developers to create secure applications. These tools make it possible to keep sensitive user data private while still using Ethereum’s (ETH) infrastructure.

PLONK, a proving system created by Aztec’s team to enable fast and secure zero-knowledge proofs, is at the heart of Aztec’s advancements. This technology powers the testnet’s privacy layer and served as the basis for previous products such as zk.money and Aztec Connect.

You might also like: Interview with Aztec Labs CEO: ZKPs, privacy pools, and why Ethereum needs privacy to scale

Additionally, developers can use Noir, Aztec’s proprietary programming language, designed to simplify the creation of zero-knowledge applications. With Noir’s developer-friendly design, adding privacy to smart contracts is easier and doesn’t require a deep understanding of cryptography.

According to Zac Williamson, co-founder of Aztec, privacy on blockchains doesn’t need to be “all-or-nothing,” as Aztec enables more flexible approaches.

“Developers can use Aztec to build dApps with privacy features that seamlessly blend with Ethereum’s existing infrastructure, and they won’t need to struggle implementing complex cryptography.”

— Zac Williamson, Co-founder of Aztec

 

Backed by a $100 million Series B led by a16z, Aztec is building a privacy-first Ethereum layer-2 that can scale encrypted smart contracts and support real-world use cases. Ali Yahya, General Partner at a16z Crypto, said their investment in Aztec was driven by the team’s vision of making privacy programmable and widely accessible.

Read more: Privacy Pools debut on Ethereum with Buterin’s support, aiming for legal on-chain privacy

A discarded hard drive, a billion-dollar Bitcoin wallet, and a trash-strewn landfill in Wales are now the foundation for a high-stakes docuseries. 

Entertainment company LEBUL announced this week that it has acquired exclusive rights to the story of James Howells, the British engineer who famously lost access to 8,000 Bitcoin (BTC) in 2013.

Dubbed ‘The Buried Bitcoin: The Real-Life Treasure Hunt of James Howells,’ the multi-platform project will span a premium docuseries, a podcast, and a social-first storytelling campaign.

 It aims to dramatize Howells’ decade-long quest to recover the drive—now estimated to be worth more than $800 million, from a municipal dump in Newport, Wales.

“This isn’t just content,” said Reese Van Allen, President of Unscripted Entertainment at LEBUL. “It’s a live-action tech thriller with nearly a billion dollars on the line.”

Howells, an early Bitcoin miner, says his former partner accidentally tossed the hard drive in 2013. Since then, he’s taken Newport City Council to court multiple times, seeking permission to excavate the site or demanding a share of the value, at one point requesting £495 million in compensation. 

Despite offering to split any recovered funds with the city and local residents, courts have ruled against him, citing environmental and property law concerns.

You might also like: Kazakhstan eyes crypto banks to boost digital asset ecosystem: report

Howells’ legal battle

Most recently, Howells lost a major legal battle in Cardiff High Court in early 2025. The council plans to shut down the landfill during the 2025–2026 fiscal year and redevelop part of it into a solar farm. 

Undeterred, Howells has suggested he may appeal to the Supreme Court—or even try to buy the entire landfill.

LEBUL’s adaptation will blend real-time environmental conflict, blockchain lore, and personal obsession. According to the company, global streaming platforms and crypto sponsors are already circling the project.

Howells’ story, often likened to a modern-day treasure hunt, will now reach a broader audience as LEBUL turns a forgotten piece of e-waste into entertainment gold.

You might also like: XRP poised for another 500% surge as bullish pattern reappears, RTX, XLM may follow

Polkadot price continued to consolidate at a crucial support level, pointing to a potential strong rebound as development activity rises.

Polkadot (DOT) token was trading at $4, a few points above the crucial support at $3.63, where it has failed to break below since 2023.

According to data from Santiment, the number of commits in the network jumped to 53.6 on Wednesday, the highest level since April 14. That marked a significant increase from this month’s low of 31.8. Meanwhile, seven-day development activity rose by 25.7% to 314.

Polkadot developer activity | Source: Santiment

Similarly, activity in Kusama (KSM), its canary network, also jumped by over 25% in the same period. These numbers make Polkadot and Kusama some of the most active chains in terms of Github activity after Internet Computer (ICP), Filecoin (FIL), and Cardano (ADA).

You might also like: Can Cardano price rebound as staking inflows jump by $215m?

This uptick in development is likely linked to the ongoing transition to Polkadot 2.0. Two of the three major components have already been implemented: agile coretime and asynchronous backing. Agile coretime replaces the parachain slot auction system with an on-demand blockspace model, while asynchronous backing reduces block time to just six seconds.

Developers are now working on the third phase: elastic scaling, which introduces dynamic resource allocation, allowing parachains to scale based on demand.

Polkadot price technical analysis

DOT price chart | Source: crypto.news

The daily chart shows that the DOT price bottomed around $3.5, where it has failed to drop since November 2023. It has formed a triple-bottom chart pattern whose neckline is at $11.70, its highest swing on December 2 last year. 

The last time Polkadot dropped to this level was in November, after which it surged by 187%. Prior to that, it rebounded nearly 200% to its peak on March 13, 2023.

The two lines of the Percentage Price Oscillator have formed a bullish crossover. Additionally, the Relative Strength Index has been trending upward.

Therefore, the outlook for Polkadot is bullish, with the key target being the December high at $11.63. This bullish view remains intact as long as DOT holds above the support level at $3.50.

You might also like: Why is Bitcoin price stuck in a tight range?

Web3 platform SmarTrust is taking on platforms like Upwork with an on-chain escrow system.

Web3 is coming to the growing market of freelance work. On Wednesday, April 30, Reactive Network Developer Fund announced the latest funding recipient, SmarTrust. The project is building a multichain escrow layer for Web3 freelancers and clients, based on Reactive Smart Contracts.

The network will enable clients to lock funds in smart contracts, which can be released in milestones for payments. These programs are transparent and programmable, without the need for centralized intermediaries. The network also enables third-party dispute resolution, which boosts security for both clients and freelancers.

You might also like: Web2 has failed the planet—It’s up to web3 to fix it | Opinion

Reactive Network at the core of SmarTrust

SmarTrust leverages Reactive Smart Contracts. Its event-driven infrastructure enables SmarTrust to work across several EVM-compatible chains and even to bridge logic and state across these chains. Emilijus Pranckus, Ecosystem Head at Reactive Network, explains the role Reactive plays in SmarTrust.

You might also like: Web3 won’t scale until wallets grow up | Opinion

“SmarTrust is tackling a clear and pressing real-world problem. By placing Reactive at the core of their application, they are enabling trustless mechanisms between clients, freelancers, and adjudicators in a scalable way. This beautifully illustrates the value that a decentralized, events-driven IFTTT network brings to a wide range of smart contract-based applications,” Emilijus Pranckus, Reactive Network.

The global freelancing market is growing, both in terms of its workforce and revenue. Between 2020 and 2024, the number of freelancers in the United States increased by 90%, with the trend expected to continue.

By 2027, Statista projects that 86.5 million people in the US will be freelancing, which is more than half of its labor force. At the same time, the freelancing market will grow from the 2024 figure of $6.55 billion to $14.17 billion in 2029. A key factor driving this growth is the need for a more flexible workforce, enabling companies to adapt and scale faster.

Read more: What is web3? Understanding the next era of the internet

Aztec Labs chief executive officer Zac Williamson explains why bringing privacy to Ethereum is more than a technical upgrade but a necessity.

Zac Williamson is the co-founder and CEO of Aztec Labs, a layer-2 network focused on bringing privacy to Ethereum (ETH). Before crypto, he earned a PhD in particle physics from Oxford and worked at CERN. In the blockchain world, he’s best known as a co-inventor of PLONK, one of the most widely used zero-knowledge proof systems today.

In a recent conversation with crypto.news, Zac explains why privacy isn’t just a nice-to-have but a core part of what Ethereum needs to grow. He talks about what legitimate privacy in blockchain really means, how privacy pools can offer both privacy and compliance, and why private layer-2s could make it easier to bring real-world assets on-chain.

CN: How do you define privacy in a blockchain context? Is it about anonymity, selective disclosure, or something else entirely? 

When I talk about privacy in blockchain, I break it down into three core pillars.

First, there’s user privacy, which means hiding the identities of both the sender and the receiver. Then you have data privacy, which is about keeping transaction amounts confidential. And finally, there’s code privacy, where even the logic being executed on-chain is hidden.

To me, achieving all three is the holy grail of blockchain privacy. That’s the level we should be aiming for if we’re serious about building truly private systems.

And I guess, more generally, privacy in a blockchain context is the ability to leverage information asymmetries on-chain. As in, I can perform a transaction where I know something you don’t know. And this is foundationally important for a lot of basic types of interactions in our daily lives.

For example, when you vote in elections, that’s an information asymmetry. I know how I voted, you don’t know how I voted.

CN: What are the biggest misconceptions about privacy in crypto that you wish the broader ecosystem understood better?

ZW: The biggest misconceptions about privacy and crypto, I think, are that:

a) It’s  just about tokens and private token transfers, and;

b) It’s currently viewed as this completely separate sphere from the rest of crypto, like you have DeFi, NFTs, and then privacy, etc.

Well, both of these are wrong, and they’re a function of the technological immaturity of privacy solutions so far. Privacy is not a separate little sphere of crypto, and I think that in the future, all crypto will be private. 

If we want crypto to break out of its bubble and interact with the real world systems and more than just technological early adopters, or even compete on a level playing field with web2 and TradFi, we need to provide the same kind of privacy benefits that users normally expect.

With the technology we’re trying to build at Aztec and others in the ecosystem, we have this concept of composable privacy, where just like in an Ethereum smart contract, you get to define the rules and the logic around how you like your transactions. 

You can code up your own digital assets, but unlike in transparent blockchains, you have private data as a first class primitive. You can hide who the message and recipients are. You can perform compliance checks on people that require knowledge of sensitive information and ensure that information stays encrypted and nobody sees it, things like that. 

CN: Do you think there’s a moral imperative for public blockchains to offer private options, especially in authoritarian contexts? If so, how should the Ethereum community define “legitimate privacy”?

ZW: Well, the main thing about blockchains, one of its core values, is that they’re neutral and permissionless. Anybody can transact on a blockchain and code up their own digital assets. And so, I don’t think it’s really my place to determine what is and isn’t a moral imperative on a blockchain. 

There’s a space for both public and private blockchains. However, private blockchains are going to be more valuable and useful. But it’s important to define legitimate privacy, and I think it’s actually quite simple. 

As a user, I should have confidence that I’m not enabling bad actors, and because of my participation, I’m not making life easier for criminals and bad actors to use the network for nefarious acts.

To give an example, when you use Tornado Cash, you’re helping bad actors, because you’re increasing the size of the anonymity set that the bad actors can hide in. If you’re using privacy pools, you’re not.CN: And how does censorship resistance fit into this context?

ZW: The network itself should be censorship-resistant. No one should be able to censor transactions at the protocol level. However, if I’m programming a smart contract on that network, I should have the freedom to define what constitutes a legitimate transaction within that contract.

Privacy is a fundamental human right, and I believe people should have the ability to present themselves privately on-chain. That said, I don’t believe users are entitled to interact with any application however they choose, especially if their actions go against the intentions of the developers or the rules coded into the smart contract.

CN: What’s your take on the Privacy Pools model, which has enjoyed support from Vitalik Buterin, as a middle ground between full anonymity and full transparency?

ZW: I think Privacy Pools is a good first step — one of many. When it was being developed, it had to work within really fierce technological constraints. The idea was, how do we create private transaction tech that can work on Ethereum today? And that means the ZK tech they’re using is relatively primitive, which limits what you can do with it. So yeah, I think it’s a good starting point, but definitely not the end goal.

What we’re chasing at Aztec is full programmability. I’ll give an example of what I mean. There’s a company in our ecosystem called ZKPassport. Basically, modern phones have NFC scanners, and modern passports have NFC chips that can sign digital signatures.

ZKPassport built an app where you can tap your passport to your phone and get a ZKP that shows you have a valid passport. You can choose what information you want to disclose — your nationality, your date of birth, your name, whatever you decide.

You could use that tech for, say, a DeFi application that only citizens of a certain country can access. Instead of someone manually checking passports, the proof happens automatically with digital signatures and ZKPs. It’s permissionless, it’s privacy-preserving, and it ensures strong compliance. 

Honestly, that’s a lot more powerful in many ways than what Privacy Pools currently offer. And once you have full programmability in privacy networks, you can build an almost infinite variety of things on top of it.

You might also like: Interview with Alchemy’s Will Hennessy: Pectra’s EIP-7702, why newbies should wait and what blockchain devs should do

CN: Are there any design patterns or UX breakthroughs you think will be key to mainstreaming private transactions?

ZW: Yeah, totally. PLONK is one of the enabling design patterns for UX breakthroughs, I guess. But there are a lot of breakthroughs needed to make private transactions mainstream. The complexity of a private transaction is way higher than a transparent one, because you can’t just broadcast sensitive information to the blockchain. You have to construct everything privately on the client side.

And so the real question becomes: who pays for that complexity? Right now, in 2025, the answer is — the application developer pays, and the user pays. The app developer has a much harder time creating a usable application, and the user is going to have a harder time too. They’ll have to wait longer for proofs to be constructed, and the apps they use might struggle to integrate with the wider web3 ecosystem because they’re operating under different privacy standards.

Within Aztec, my general operating principle has been: okay, complexity in private transactions is much higher — who pays? And my answer is: the cryptography researchers pay, by creating better ZK tech. That’s what we did back in 2019 when we created the first practical universal ZK-SNARK. Since then, it’s been iterated on a lot. The version of PLONK we’re using today is about 250 times faster than what we had in 2019. That allows much more performant applications.

Then, you have language designers and tooling engineers. Their job is to create a programming language that can efficiently turn programs into zero-knowledge proofs — a language where writing private smart contracts is intuitive and simple. That’s what we’ve been doing with Noir, our programming language. It lets you build efficient private apps without needing to be a cryptographer.

Finally, the protocol engineers and blockchain designers have to handle complexity by building chains that have private state semantics baked in from the start, meaning the blockchain understands what’s public, what’s private, that a transaction sender can be anonymous, and so on. That takes an enormous amount of work.

And beyond all that, you need a massive amount of tooling so that developers can build compelling private applications without having to understand deep, sophisticated cryptography. We’re about to launch our testnets, and we’re very confident that the complexity of developing compelling private apps has dropped by orders of magnitude because of what we’ve built.

CN: Do you believe Ethereum should be a fully private base layer eventually, or is privacy better served at the edges with apps or layer-2s like Aztec? 

ZW: Privacy comes with a lot more complexity, and I think it’s appropriate for that to be handled by L2s or specialized L1s. It comes with trade-offs. If Ethereum had been private by default, it probably wouldn’t have launched yet. It would be harder to develop, and there would be more security risks. 

I do think L1s are going to incorporate more and more privacy tech over time. Building composable privacy requires re-architecting the blockchain model from the ground up. For existing L1s, I think that’s too much of an ask, because it would inevitably break backwards compatibility with their current ecosystems. So yeah, for now at least, I think privacy should very much stay in the domain of L2s and the apps built on top.

CN: Are ZKPs alone enough for privacy, or do we also need network-layer protections like mixnets or private mempools?

ZW: Yeah, we need all of it. We need good infrastructure, we need private mempools. The whole point is to have an end-to-end encrypted blockchain. If I’m doing a very sensitive transaction, like something significant in the real world, nobody should be able to see what I’m doing, apart from whatever app I’m interacting with.

The only entities that should know what I’m doing are the ones needed for the app to function. For example, if I’m paying my mortgage, there shouldn’t be anyone snooping on that. If I’m interacting with a DAO and I live in a country where that kind of work might be disapproved of, I should still be able to do that safely.

I think privacy is a human right, and to really fulfill that, it’s not just blockchain-level privacy. We need full network-layer protections too.

CN: Is the fragmentation of ZK tooling (PLONK, STARKs, SNARKs) a strength or a bottleneck for ecosystem maturity?

Very much a strength. Right now, ZK tech is still in its relatively early stage. There’s a lot of diversity in technologies and proving systems because it’s not clear yet what’s going to be the best long-term solution. Research is evolving every six months in this space.

Every technology solution comes with trade-offs. Some trade-offs will be appropriate for certain applications and not for others. What we need is experimentation. We need a diversity of ideas where multiple pathways are tried out, tested, and either succeed or are destroyed.

I’ll give a minor example of how early standardization can kill a network: France’s Minitel. France basically had a version of the internet decades before anyone else, in the 1980s, because the French government built a proto-information network.

People could access things like train tickets, university exam results — all kinds of services. But they chose terrible architecture. It was highly centralized. Unlike today’s internet, where anyone can build a website, with Minitel you had to petition the government to run an app.

So they were ahead of the curve for a few years, but then they stagnated massively because they standardized on the wrong architecture. Right now, it’s way too early to standardize on anything in ZK. We need far more experimentation and research to figure out what’s really going to stand the test of time.

CN: So, another emerging privacy technology is fully homomorphic encryption. Where are we currently with FHE? Do you see a possibility of having the first fully fledged FHE applications in the market soon?

ZN: It’s extremely valuable, but it needs a few more years in the oven. I’d suggest you listen to people who are experts in FHE and don’t stand to benefit financially from the FHE hype to get a better understanding. It’s too early!

The amount of computation overhead you need to do things in FHE is just so heavy. Which means that, yes, I think it will be good for production soon, but only for extremely limited use cases. I think the state of FHE today is very similar to the state of ZK in 2010.

Read more: ‘One of important challenges of our time’: Ethereum’s Buterin calls for greater crypto privacy amid AI, govt risks

During a panel discussion at Token2049, the founders of Real Vision, Pantera Capital and Ex Uno Plures talk about how the world is shifting towards crypto amidst piling global debt and economic uncertainty.

On April 30 at Token2049 in Dubai, founder and managing partner of Pantera Capital, Dan Morehead explained how the global trade system is now being disrupted. He compared the macroeconomic phenomenon to the shaking of a snow globe, meaning that traditional investments like stocks and bonds are no longer holding up amidst the economic uncertainty.

Though no direct quotes were permissible at the event, crypto.news attended and can confirm that participants discussed the role of crypto in navigating today’s increasingly complex macro environment.

Moreover, as Morehead pointed out, the contradiction of having high bond yields at the same time as high stock prices, suggests uncertainty in the market. Currently, as of April 30, U.S. 10-year treasury notes have a bond yield of 4.18%, while U.S. 30-year treasury bond yields stand at 4.71%.

Adding to that, Morehead said he views crypto as the safest bet amidst all the economic uncertainty happening in the world. This is mainly because crypto is largely disconnected from the traditional financial markets. He believes there is an emerging separation between crypto and the more traditional assets like stocks and real estate.

Historically, when traditional assets plummet, investors would flock to safe haven assets such as gold or cryptocurrency. Over the weekend, crypto assets soared, breaking the $3 trillion threshold in market cap amidst rising U.S. bond yields and public debt servicing.

You might also like: Brock Pierce and Charles Hoskinson talk where crypto is headed in the future after 2025

Founder and CEO of Ex Uno Plures, Zoltan Pozsar echoes Morehead’s sentiment. He stated that even with the Trump Administration’s emphasis on strengthening the dollar’s position as the world’s reserve currency, it is ultimately just the invoice used to purchase other assets.

Even when traders purchase gold or cryptocurrency, the assets are mostly valued in dollars. Therefore, he argued the world is moving toward a more balanced and constrained framework. This framework might involve assets like gold, Bitcoin (BTC), and even changes in how the U.S. handles its fiscal policies

Ultimately, the focus is shifting from how much surplus one earns to how that surplus is stored and used, with more alternative assets like crypto now being considered legitimate and even supported by governments.

Co-Founder and CEO of Real Vision, Raoul Pal said the traditional financial system has always benefited the elite, because printed money became a scarce asset. What makes crypto a game-changer is how it essentially democratizes investments because of its fractional nature that enables everyone to get involved, even the unbanked population.

You might also like: Gold hits new ATH at $3,390, is Bitcoin close behind?

Bitcoin is trading over $95k and gunning for the $100k level again. Meanwhile, Ethereum has broken out of a big range and moved closer to the $2000 level.

Following this, Ethereum Classic has also experienced bullish momentum. Let’s find out how high it can go in this Ethereum Classic price prediction.

Table of Contents

What is Ethereum Classic?

Ethereum Classic price prediction

Ethereum Classic coin price prediction: short-term outlook

Ethereum Classic price prediction 2025

Ethereum Classic price prediction 2030

Since its launch, Ethereum Classic (ETC) has seen an all-time high of $167.09 back in May 2021, and since then, the price has seen a decline of 89.8%. At the time of writing, it is now trading at $17.05, with a market cap of $2.58 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of $85.36 million.

ETC 1d chart | Source: crypto.news

In this article, we’ll discuss ETC price prediction by giving you its short-term and long-term price forecasts and exploring whether this token can continue its bullish run.

You might also like: Ethereum Classic Hashrate Jumped 280% Post Merge

What is Ethereum Classic?

The original Ethereum (ETH) blockchain, known as ETC, went live in July 2015.  Its primary role is that of a smart contract network, capable of hosting and facilitating decentralized applications (DApps).  ETC is its native token.

ETC has worked to set itself apart from ETH since its inception, and over time, the two networks’ technical roadmaps have become increasingly divergent.

The way that ETC and ETH handle governance is one of their primary distinctions.  With a core development team that decides on the platform’s future, ETH has a more centralized structure.  ETC, on the other hand, takes a more decentralized approach to governance, with community members reaching consensus to make choices.

Their development roadmaps are another significant distinction between the two.  Following The Merge in September 2022, ETH switched from a Proof-of-Work (POW) consensus mechanism to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) algorithm.  In contrast, ETC has prioritized upholding its original PoW algorithm and adhering to its decentralized tenets.

Now let’s discuss ETC price prediction for this year and in the coming years as well. 

Ethereum Classic price prediction

What can be a realistic projection for the ETC token? Let’s dive into the ETC price prediction for 2025 and 2030.

Ethereum Classic coin price prediction: short-term outlook

According to CoinCodex’s Ethereum Classic price prediction for the near future, the token is projected to  rise by 64.86% and reach $28.06 by May 29, 2025.

As of Apr. 29th, 2025, the overall sentiment of the ETC price outlook is neutral, with 11 technical analysis indicators showing bullish signals, 12 indicating bearish trends, and 12 indicators showing neutral forecasts.

Ethereum Classic price prediction 2025

For the remaining months of 2025, DigitalCoinPrice predicts that the ETC token’s price could fluctuate between $15.32 and $37.50, and may likely hold a yearly average of $32.65.

CoinCodex projects that the ETC token can trade in the price channel of  $16.95 and  $46.26 in 2025.

While the general sentiment in the financial markets is that 2025 will be the year of the bull, it is important to understand that this prediction also has a chance of being wrong. BTC has already breached the $100k mark, and there is a possibility that it may be at the top of this bull cycle. Hence, it is advised to do your research before investing in ETC or any other cryptocurrency with the hopes of gaining on your investment in 2025.

Ethereum Classic price prediction 2030

As per CoinCodex’s Ethereum Classic crypto price prediction for 2030, ETC’s price could vary between $5.15 and $ 14.52.

DigitalCoinPrice expects that ETC’s price could climb to $81.01 and $92.01 by the end of 2030. 

Before trusting any source that is trying to predict the ETC price prediction for 2030, you should understand that it is a cryptocurrency and, like all other tokens, the ETC  token’s price can be highly volatile. 

2030 is five years away, and many cryptocurrencies can become obsolete in that time. This is why it is hard to give a realistic price prediction for any token, including ETC.

A great way for ETC to survive these five years and continue its ascent in the crypto market is to continue building its blockchain technology and partner with key players in the digital crypto space.

You should research and keep yourself updated with the latest developments in the upcoming years to make an informed investment decision in the ETC token.

You might also like: Cardano Founder Speaks On Ethereum Classic (ETC) Twitter Account Ban

Is Ethereum Classic a good investment?

Before investing in any cryptocurrency, including ETC, please identify and understand the inherent risks that can come due to market volatility. Also, it should be noted that the sentiment in the cryptocurrency market changes quickly, and a token that was once considered the future may also be delisted from major exchanges. Hence, it is advisable to do your research on the token’s fundamentals before having any price expectations for the future of the ETC token. 

Will Ethereum Classic go up or down?

Cryptocurrencies in general experience rapid price swings that are directly driven by market sentiments, community engagement, events like token burns, and so on. 

While it is hard to determine how high the ETC token will go, it is important to look out for potential buying factors that may include new partnerships, increased token holders, or viral campaigns in general.  

It is also vital that you rely on financial experts and consult them for Ethereum Classic price prediction, but even after all that, you should remain cautious, as no one can accurately predict how high or low ETC can go. 

Should I invest in Ethereum Classic?

Before investing in any cryptocurrency or trusting any Ethereum Classic price forecast, please identify and understand the inherent risks that can come due to market volatility. Also, it should be noted that cryptocurrencies in general are a highly speculative investment, and their success not only relies on market volatility but also on the constant and sustainable growth of their community. Hence, it is advisable to do your research on the token’s fundamentals, which may very well decide the future of the ETC token.

Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.

The UK government has unveiled comprehensive draft legislation aimed at regulating cryptocurrency exchanges, dealers, and agents.

Announced by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves during UK Fintech Week, the proposed rules aim to enhance consumer protection, boost investor confidence, and promote innovation within the growing crypto industry.

Under the new framework, crypto firms operating in the UK will be required to adhere to stringent standards on transparency, consumer protection, and operational resilience, aligning them with the regulatory expectations of traditional financial institutions.

This move comes in response to the rapid rise in crypto adoption across the UK, where approximately 12% of adults have engaged with cryptocurrencies, up from 4% in 2021.

The legislation also extends its reach to overseas firms offering services to UK retail clients, ensuring that any business dealing directly or indirectly with UK consumers secures appropriate authorization from the Financial Conduct Authority.

This includes operations such as crypto asset trading platforms, stablecoin issuance, custody services, and staking activities. ​

“This is a massive year for crypto in the UK,” said Keith Grose, head of UK at Coinbase, speaking to CNBC. “The FCA and the Bank of England are rolling out their crypto regulation regime this year … this is the year for the UK to show that it can lead from the front.”

You might also like: Space and Time introduces foundation to drive ZK-proven data adoption

US and UK cooperation 

In a bid to address the global nature of digital assets, the UK is strengthening its international regulatory ties, particularly with the United States. Chancellor Reeves recently met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington, D.C., where they discussed collaboration on digital asset regulation.

The discussions included proposals from U.S. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce for a transatlantic regulatory sandbox, aimed at allowing firms on both sides of the Atlantic to develop compliant digital securities solutions collaboratively. ​

This transatlantic cooperation is set to continue through the UK–U.S. Financial Regulatory Working Group, with the next meeting scheduled to further explore ways to support the responsible growth of digital assets.

The UK government’s proactive approach reflects its commitment to making Britain a global hub for fintech and responsible digital asset innovation.

You might also like: PopCat poised at critical higher low support: can bulls trigger a 100% rally?

‘Plan for Change’

The draft legislation is part of the government’s broader “Plan for Change” agenda, which aims to drive growth and innovation across the UK’s financial services sector.

Grose said there are two major hurdles the UK must overcome to make crypto competitive: de-banking and regulation. “Fifty percent of crypto firms have been denied a bank account in the UK or been offboarded… You can’t build the future of the financial system here if we don’t have that level playing field.”

The final crypto legislation is expected to be introduced following industry consultation on the draft provisions, with the government planning to publish its first Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy on July 15.

As the UK positions itself at the forefront of digital asset regulation, these developments signify a concerted effort to balance innovation with consumer protection, ensuring that the crypto industry can thrive within a secure and well-regulated environment.

You might also like: Sonic to upgrade from bridged to native USDC, adds CCTP V2 support

Space and Time introduces its foundation to drive the protocol forward, with governance, grants, and more.

Space and Time, a decentralized database platform focused on zero-knowledge proofs, is changing its governance structure. On Tuesday, April 29, the blockchain startup introduced the Space and Time Foundation as an independent organization in charge of the ecosystem.

Introducing the Space and Time Foundation.The Foundation will work alongside the Space and Time community to empower developers to build the next generation of crypto apps with ZK-proven data.https://t.co/GuW1u0i5ZN pic.twitter.com/KTFuY7tqYg

— Space and Time (@SpaceandTimeDB) April 29, 2025

Originally launched in 2024, the Foundation was just now formally introduced. It will serve as a non-profit arm of the protocol, leading its long-term development and decentralization. The Foundation will have its own board of directors and will gradually assume control over the protocol.

Space and Time Foundation to focus on grants, scaling

The Foundation will focus on the grants for developers, growing the community, and protocol transparency. What is more, it will also focus on achieving global scale, both in terms of its technology and legal issues.

At the same time, Space and Time Labs, the company behind the protocol, will change its name to MakeInfinite Labs. The for-profit arm of the protocol will focus on research and development, enterprise clients, and technology.

You might also like: Karak integrates Space and Time to power trustless rewards

Space and Time is a decentralized data platform built on the blockchain. What sets it apart is that data queries come with zero-knowledge proofs, increasing trust in the system. This enables the data on the network to be verifiable and secure.

Its key innovation is “Proof of SQL,” which creates a ZK proof with each query to the database. While queries are run off-chain, the generated ZK proof is submitted to a smart contract on the blockchain, verifying the data without ever seeing it directly.

At the same time, ZK proofs also enable applications to scale more efficiently, because most data transfers don’t happen on-chain. Instead, the blockchain serves as a registry of zero-knowledge proofs to verify the integrity of the data.

You might also like: Space and Time debuts sub-second ZK prover

Taurus and Figment announced a partnership to enable institutional staking for major global banks.

Crypto staking may soon be coming to major TradFi banks. On Tuesday, April 29, crypto custody company Taurus and staking service Figment partnered to enable banks to easily stake Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), among others.

Notably, banks that hold Ethereum, Solana, or other proof-of-stake tokens on Taurus custody can now earn staking rewards on their assets. What’s more, they can do this within the Taurus PROTECT platform for crypto custody, while also retaining full ownership over their funds.

You might also like: Balchunas: Canadian Solana ETFs to include staking, may face slow start

“This collaboration leverages both companies’ experience working with leading regulated banks and large institutions, and we are proud to provide a seamless and robust asset custody solution that enables staking, which is tailored to meet the needs of this customer base,” Eva Lawrence, Figment’s Regional Managing Director in EMEA.  

Staking for banks becomes easier

Figment’s staking services tap directly into Taurus PROTECT, enabling banks to stake their assets without performing complex blockchain operations. At the same time, Taurus claims that the staked assets remain within their secure platform.

“This collaboration between Taurus and Figment brings together two firms that share a deep institutional DNA. It reflects our commitment to providing regulated financial institutions with secure, compliant, and scalable access to staking services,” said Victor Busson, Chief Marketing Officer at Taurus.

For institutions that invest in altcoins like Solana and Ethereum, staking income is essential for making their investment worthwhile. This is especially true for Solana holders, whose high staking rewards make it attractive for staking.

For instance, some 64.98% of Solana tokens are currently staked, and its staking market cap has recently overtaken that of Ethereum. What is more, some of the upcoming Solana ETFs are expected to include staking rewards as well.

You might also like: SOL Strategies secures $500m in funding for Solana purchases and staking

Zimbabwe is reviving gold coins to support its embattled currency, as earlier efforts with gold-backed digital tokens failed to curb economic instability.

Zimbabwe is yet again turning to gold to defend its embattled currency, as the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the country’s central bank, has revived sales of physical gold coins just 10 months after scrapping the program, betting that tangible bullion might succeed where digital tokens have struggled, Bloomberg reports.

The so-called “Mosi-Oa-Tunya” coins, named after Victoria Falls, are being reintroduced during what officials are calling a “time of attractiveness” for gold. For context, minting had been paused in July 2024, after Reserve Bank Governor John Mushayavanhu suggested the focus would shift toward digital alternatives.

Now, however, officials seem to be thinking differently. Persistence Gwanyanya, a member of the central bank’s monetary policy committee, told Bloomberg that the spike in global gold prices made it an opportune moment to act.

“Gold is more attractive to the market at the moment and it supports our value preservation efforts. We are taking advantage of firm gold prices and re-injecting the gold coins into the market.”

Persistence Gwanyanya

Two major banks, the Central Africa Building Society and Nedbank Zimbabwe, have already confirmed they are selling the new coins as an “alternative investment option” that adds a “valuable asset” to portfolios, Bloomberg reports. The coins are available in denominations ranging from one-tenth of an ounce to a full ounce, offering flexibility to buyers who may not want to commit large amounts of cash upfront.

Unrealized hopes

Officials are no doubt hoping that physical gold’s enduring appeal will succeed where more experimental strategies — the country’s digital currency — have faltered.

Zimbabwe introduced a gold-backed digital token, initially named ZiG (Zimbabwe Gold), in April 2023 to stabilize its currency and provide a value-preserving instrument amid ongoing inflation and currency instability.

Introduction of the Zimbabwe Gold-Backed Digital Token (Zig) as a Means of Payment pic.twitter.com/o1CL5dsbaQ

— Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (@ReserveBankZIM) October 5, 2023

The token was later renamed GBDT (Gold-Backed Digital Token) to avoid confusion with the new official currency, also called ZiG, introduced in Q2 2024. GBDTs can be stored in e-gold wallets or e-gold cards and are tradable for peer-to-peer and business transactions.

At first, the move seemed to generate some enthusiasm. The central bank had even reportedly received 135 applications valued at 14 billion Zimbabwe dollars, around $12 million, during the first round of sales.

But signs of trouble appeared quickly. Ordinary Zimbabweans, still scarred by memories of hyperinflation and economic collapse in the 2000s, were slow to embrace the unfamiliar tokens. Many remained wary of anything new, preferring to keep their trust, and savings, in the U.S. dollar. By June 2023, only 35 new applications for the digital currency were reported.

You might also like: South Africa’s DeFi sector to reach $180 million by 2028, the study finds

Despite heavy official backing, the local currency continued its slide. It has weakened roughly 65% against the dollar so far this year on the official market ,and even more on the streets, where parallel exchange rates dominate daily life, Bloomberg notes.

Some outside observers had warned from the start that digital tokens would not be a silver bullet. The International Monetary Fund, for one, was openly skeptical. It reportedly urged Zimbabwe’s government to liberalize the exchange rate instead of experimenting with gold-backed digital currencies. The IMF also cautioned that using gold reserves to prop up alternative currencies risked depleting precious national assets.

Even the high-profile token auctions failed to ease those concerns. While the first two sales were fully subscribed, the long-term viability of the gold-backed token remains uncertain, with officials saying only about one ton of gold reserves had been deployed to support the digital currency.

For comparison, Tether revealed that it purchased nearly eight tons of gold in the first quarter of this year to back its gold-pegged token, XAUT.

Biggest export

In contrast, physical gold coins may feel more reassuring. At least for now.

The revival comes as global bullion prices have surged about 25% this year, buoyed by rising economic uncertainty and simmering global trade tensions. Zimbabwe’s economy could use the boost: gold is one of the country’s biggest exports, and revenue from shipments reportedly jumped to nearly $396 million in Q1, up sharply from $303.1 million a year earlier.

Still, even officials seem aware that this is no guaranteed fix. Zimbabwe’s history with alternative monetary schemes is long, and often painful. The local dollar itself was scrapped in 2009 after hyperinflation rendered it worthless, then reintroduced a decade later with mixed results.

In that sense, gold coins may feel like a safer bet, though they are also something of a throwback.At a time when countries like Nigeria are experimenting with central bank digital currencies like the eNaira, Zimbabwe now appears to be reaching back to older ideas, betting that physical assets will hold their ground better than tech-driven solutions.

Crypto.news reached out to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe but didn’t receive a response at the time of publication.

Read more: Zimbabwe introduces gold-backed currency to combat inflation

Vaulta, the web3 banking network looking to power the next frontier of finance, is teaming up with Ultra to accelerate web3 gaming and digital finance.

Vaulta, previously EOS Network (EOS), shared the massiv via a press release sent to crypto.news on April 29.

The strategic partnership aims to tap into blockchain technology to drive tokenization, trading, and monetization within the blockchain gaming space. Accordingly, the two platforms are targeting a full-service platform, with Vaulta gaining traction through gaming network.

As a one-stop destination for gamers, publishers, and developers, Ultra seeks to develop into the “Netflix of gaming.” With this partnership, Ultra will effectively be Vaulta’s gaming hub, with key integrations bringing access to decentralized marketplaces, metaverse banking, and cross-game integrations to users.

“Positioning Ultra as Vaulta’s gaming hub provides a gateway to Gaming and GameFi opportunities to our community,” Yves La Rose, founder and chief executive officer of Vaulta Foundation, said. “At the heart of our collaboration is a shared ambition to elevate digital assets to the standards of traditional finance, empowering users with new financial opportunities powered by Web3.”

Gus van Rijckevorsel, the chief executive officer of Ultra, said in a statement that web3 gaming growth will soon outpace both television and movies. With a consumer shift seeing the market reach $615 billion by 2030, now is the time to build infrastructure set to tap into this potential.

“To harness this potential, the gaming industry needs better infrastructure designed for publishers, developers, and gamers, and we’re here to deliver that,”Rijckevorsel noted. “We’re laser-focused on creating the content and structural partnerships necessary to make Ultra THE gaming platform recognized by the gaming industry. Vaulta is a major brick on that path, and this partnership is a solid foundation on which we build the future of gaming and finance.”

Growth via the Vaulta and Ultra partnership will see the platform’s native token UOS power in-game transactions, rewards, and monetization. The alliance also plans to leverage artificial intelligence to support intelligent ecosystems and real-time gameplay guidance, among other key interactions across the network.

As noted, Vaulta recently rebranded from EOS Network amid its strategic realignment to become the web3 Banking network.

Meanwhile, Ultra recently closed a $12 million funding round as part of its 2025 roadmap.

Read more: Vaulta Q&A: From EOS roots to stablecoin rails with VirgoPay

So far, most crypto trading bots remain black boxes. Oasis Protocol has unveiled a different one, but one that also protects privacy. This move comes amid a broader surge in AI-powered crypto trading tools. However, many of these bots operate without meaningful transparency, raising concerns among retail and institutional users alike.

Oasis Protocol unveiled WT3, a new autonomous AI trading agent designed to solve crypto trading’s transparency and trust problems. WT3 operates inside a secure Trusted Execution Environment while producing on-chain cryptographic proofs of its actions, letting users verify the bot’s behavior without exposing its sensitive trading strategies

Crypto trading bots face the dual problem of privacy and verifiability. If they run in public, other traders can see all the trades from users. However, if they remain private, users themselves can’t know if the bot is doing what it is supposed to do.

For this reason, Oasis Protocol (ROSE) has unveiled a new verifiable AI agent for crypto trading, one that protects privacy while also being transparent for users. It does so through Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), which remain private while generating cryptographic proofs that can be used to verify their operation.

You might also like: Oasis Network Price Prediction as ROSE Transactions Jump

The bot will begin trading on April 29, with an initial funding of $100,000 from the Oasis Protocol Foundation. In the future, users will be able to stake stablecoins to participate in strategy yields, while 50% of the returns will support ROSE token buybacks and burns.

WT3’s first strategies will incorporate Ocean Protocol’s Predictoor trading signals. Built using Oasis’s Runtime Off-chain Logic Framework, WT3 represents a shift toward confidential, verifiable AI agents in DeFi. Future versions will allow users to stake into strategies or even deploy their own customizable trading bots

The launch comes as Oasis positions itself more aggressively at the intersection of decentralized finance and AI, following the broader trend of blockchain platforms embracing confidential computing.

In an interview with crypto.news on April 28, Matej Janež, Head of Partnerships at Oasis Protocol Foundation, explained the advantages of these bots and what they mean for users.

Recently, there has been a push to promote AI bots to retail users. What is the potential for AI bots in this market, and what’s the appeal for retail users? 

The appeal of AI agents/bots for retail users is probably underestimated right now, and they have the highest potential right now in the crypto markets. Crypto always had a problem with onboarding due to the UX of creating wallets and securely storing keys, as well as having funds on the right chains to be able to interact. AI agents are meant to help the users and act on their behalf or based on their intention, simplifying the experience through a known interface. This is a key element that will make a significant change in the onboarding of new users

A significant number of people are aware of how LLMs work, and they know that these models make mistakes and hallucinate. Usually, users can correct these mistakes, but with autonomous trading agents, mistakes can cost users a lot of money. How does your agent tackle this issue? 

That is correct, LLMs can still make mistakes or can even be tricked, or what we call jailbroken, into doing actions that are against their internal logic. That is why having a fully autonomous agent at this point in time is not the right move yet. For that reason, WT3’s trading and capital management system isn’t connected to an LLM but is rather hardcoded into the agent’s logic.

Will the WT3 agent be fully autonomous, or do you reserve the right to intervene directly in the trades at some point? 

The agent will be autonomous as we won’t have access to modify things on the go, like modifying or cancelling trades. Although we do retain admin control over the TEE enclave, which means we can update the agent logic, all of that will be visible on-chain through a change in the remote attestation. There’s nothing that we could secretly do or change, everything is tracked and verified on-chain.

We know that trust is a key concern for business clients. Do you know what the level of adoption of third-party AI bots is among institutions, and do they consider the lack of transparency a risk?

Crypto agents are still black boxes: Oasis Protocol

I’d say institutions are still very much used to the reputation trust model, where they trust Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, etc, because of their status and track record, even though there is not a lot of transparency in their AI operations. But as soon as you move into the crypto space, trustlessness becomes a key factor. LLMs had the first round and have become widely accepted and adopted. Agents and frameworks like MCP are the next round of AI adoption. Here is where we’re going to see more of an overlap between Web2 and Web3 agents, which I believe will bring a lot more demand for verifiability and trust minimization from the said institutions.

Since most AI crypto trading bots are black boxes for users, this presents a unique risk. In your estimate, how many so-called AI trading bots use actual AI, and how many are just Ponzi schemes riding the AI hype? 

That’s quite a spicy question. As you’ve said, the majority of crypto AI agents are black boxes, so it’s very difficult to distinguish between the true AI ones and the ones that try to mimic AI to extract from the community. And this is exactly what we’re working towards changing. Code verifiability and reproducibility are key to being able to have confidence in the agents, and this is what our ROFL framework enables. WT3 is the flagship example of it!

You might also like: INTERVIEW: Pontus-X taps Oasis for private, cross-border data sharing in E.U.