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Bloomberg's exchange-traded fund (ETF) market analysts predict a wave of approvals for spot ETFs on altcoins, similar to those that currently exist for Bitcoin and Ethereum. According to Blockworks, experts say that the likelihood of a Solana-based exchange-traded fund being approved has risen from 70% to 90%.
 Analyst James Seyffort and his colleague Eric Balchunas previously accurately predicted the approval and launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in 2024. Now Balchunas has written on X that we should expect an “Altcoin ETF Summer,” which will begin with the launch of a fund on Solana.
The experts specified that applications have also been filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for ETFs for Litecoin (90% chance of approval), XRP (85%), Dogecoin (80%), Cardano, Polkadot, and Avalanche (75% each), as well as for SUI (60%). The review for TRON has not yet begun, with a deadline set for 2026.

Many issuers are planning to launch Solana ETFs, including Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, VanEck, Bitwise, Canary Capital, 21Shares, and Grayscale. The SEC's 240-day deadline for making a decision on these products expires in October. However, analysts are optimistic that the agency may approve the ETFs earlier.
"We think the SEC may now focus on processing the 19b-4 applications for Solana and launching ETFs sooner than planned. Issuers and industry participants have likely been working with the SEC and its cryptocurrency task force to develop rules, but the agency's final decision on these applications will not come until October at the earliest," Seyffort was quoted as saying.
According to journalists, the SEC has asked companies wishing to launch Solana ETFs to submit updated documents with amendments on redemption mechanisms in the fund and staking. This is part of a bureaucratic procedure, following which a response may be issued within 30 days, meaning that approval for a Solana-based ETF is possible as early as July.
In February, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange launched SOL futures, which was seen as a positive step for potential ETFs on this cryptocurrency, the report said. The exchange had previously opened futures markets for Bitcoin and Ethereum prior to the launch of ETFs, which ultimately helped the SEC approve these products.

#Solanaetf #solana

BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes has predicted an IPO boom in the crypto industry between 2025 and 2027. The listing of USDC stablecoin issuer Circle is the first in a series of IPOs by cryptocurrency companies.
 “We've come full circle (circle — a reference to the company's name), a wonderful day, the spirit of ICO 2017 transformed into 2025–2027? Cryptocurrency IPO madness. This is the beginning of the craze,” Hayes wrote on Twitter.
On June 5, Circle ended its first day of trading on the NYSE with a 168% increase over its IPO price. The stock rose from $31 to $83.39. According to Yahoo Finance, the trading volume for the day exceeded 47.1 million shares. Circle's market capitalization at the end of the day was $18.5 billion, while on the day before the IPO, based on the number of shares in circulation, the company was valued at $6.9 billion.
During the first hour after trading began on the NYSE, Circle shares were suspended three times under the LULD (Limit Up-Limit Down) mechanism, which occurs when there are sharp price fluctuations and a surge in trading volume. The same measures were applied, for example, to GameStop (GME) shares, when trading was suspended several times due to the hype.
According to Hayes, the end of the craze will be “a blockbuster similar to the IPO of the EOS crypto project, which will extract a huge amount of capital from fiat and immediately collapse.”
EOS is a blockchain platform from Block.one that raised $4.2 billion during its ICO in 2017–2018. After its launch, the project faced technical and legal problems. In 2019, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fined the developers $24 million for an unregistered ICO, and in 2020, a class action lawsuit was filed against Block.one for violating securities laws during the ICO.
In mid-May, EOS rebranded, changing the name of the project to Vaulta and the native token from EOS to A. On June 6, the platform's cryptocurrency is trading at 97% below the peak set in April 2018 during the project's IPO.
In mid-May, American Bitcoin, a mining company created with the participation of the Trump family, announced its intention to go public. To do so, it will undergo a merger. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of the year, with the miner's shares trading on NASDAQ under the ticker ABTC.
#USDT

British company Bluebird Mining Ventures has announced that it intends to convert future revenue from its projects into Bitcoin and use it as a reserve asset. The company calls this a strategy of “converting gold into digital gold.”
The company's shares soared by almost 60% on the back of this news.
“We believe that combining revenue streams from gold mining projects and processing these revenues as part of a proactive approach to managing ‘bitcoins in treasury’ while maintaining minimal corporate overheads will set an example for the UK mining industry,” Bluebird said in a statement.
Bluebird is developing projects in South Korea and the Philippines with combined reserves of approximately 1.8 million ounces of gold. The company's shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker BMV.
The company has announced plans to hold bitcoin on its balance sheet as part of its corporate strategy. According to Bluebird, this approach will preserve the value of its revenue, reduce costs, and attract investors, as has been the case with other public companies that have added bitcoin to their reserves.
Bluebird's strategy update is aimed at monetizing its flagship project in the Philippines, CryptoTimes reports. The company recently extended the license to implement its Philippine project. It is reported that negotiations with a local partner have progressed significantly since then, and Bluebird expects the agreement to be finalized in the coming weeks.
The company is also actively seeking a new CEO with experience in digital assets to lead this initiative. Several candidates are currently being considered.
“By adopting a ‘gold plus digital gold’ strategy, the company will be able to turn the page, look to the future, and attract a new type of shareholder,” said Bluebird's interim CEO Aidan Bishop.
Following the announcement of the new strategy, Bluebird's shares rose 60% on June 5, according to TradingView. However, the price of the securities is still 92% below the peak reached in the fall of 2020.
A pioneer in Bitcoin accumulation, Michael Saylor's Strategy announced the creation of a crypto reserve in mid-2020. Over the past five years, MSTR shares have risen 2,850%. Strategy owns 2.7% of all Bitcoin, worth about $64 billion. By 2027, the company plans to raise another $86 billion to buy BTC.
#BTC

Find out which DeFi projects are leading the way in 2025. We will also talk about multi-chain solutions, AI integration, asset tokenization, and the best platforms for staking and lending.
DeFi (Decentralized Finance) is an ecosystem of financial services operating on the blockchain without the involvement of banks or other intermediaries. Unlike traditional finance, where transactions are controlled by centralized institutions, DeFi uses smart contracts—self-executing programs that automate lending, trading, staking, and other financial transactions.
DeFi applications are built on four key principles: complete transparency of all transactions on the blockchain, no traditional intermediaries such as banks, automation of processes through smart contracts, and decentralized management through DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations). This category of crypto services gives users direct access to financial services, and all actions are recorded in a public registry (blockchain) that cannot be changed retroactively.
 The DeFi space offers a variety of solutions, including:
Decentralized exchanges (DEX) such as Uniswap and PancakeSwap, which allow trading without intermediaries;Stablecoins (USDT, USDC, DAI) pegged to national currencies, commodities, or securities (gold, stocks, bonds) to minimize volatility;staking platforms (Lido, Rocket Pool), where users earn income for supporting the blockchain;credit protocols (Aave, Compound) with algorithmic interest rate determination;yield aggregators (Yearn Finance), which automatically search for the best conditions for deposits;platforms for creating synthetic assets (Synthetix), which provide access to tokenized stocks, commodities, and indices.
What to look for when choosing a DeFi platform
When choosing DeFi, it is important to evaluate the key economic parameters of the project. It is worth paying attention to liquidity because a high indicator means lower price losses when performing transactions — to do this, check the metrics of the number of user deposits locked in the application (TVL, Total Value Locked) on services such as DefiLlama. Protocols with liquidity of less than $10 million can be considered risky.
Analyze not only APY/APR (potential annual return), but also the stability of returns. High expected returns, over 10% or even 20% per annum, often turn out to be temporary. Study the native token issuance and inflation models, otherwise your funds may depreciate over time.
It is worth paying attention not only to the potential return, but also to key reliability parameters.
 Code security and auditing
Check whether the project has undergone independent audits (e.g., by CertiK or PeckShield). Study the history of hacks — even top protocols have vulnerabilities, and it is important to understand how they have dealt with them in the past. Pay attention to the availability of insurance funds (e.g., Nexus Mutual).
 Ease of use and wallet support
A high-quality DeFi project should support popular wallets (MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Ledger) and have an intuitive interface even for beginners. For user convenience, high-quality projects operate on multiple blockchain networks (Ethereum, BSC, Arbitrum, etc.).
It is also worth paying attention to active social networks such as Discord, Telegram, X, regular code updates on the GitHub developer platform, and community participation in DAO voting — these are all positive signs for a project.
The best DeFi projects of 2025
Uniswap is one of the largest decentralized trading platforms in the world in terms of daily trading volume, with $2.3 billion, according to DEfillama on May 30. This gives it a 13 percent share of the DEX market. Among centralized exchanges such as Binance, Bybit, Coinbase, OKX, and Upbit, it would rank third. Uniswap supports 34 blockchains and has also launched its own L2 network, Unichain.
Aave is the largest lending DeFi platform on the crypto market. The total amount of funds locked exceeded $24 billion, with $15 billion in loans issued through the platform, according to Defillama at the end of May. For over a year, the protocol's monthly revenue has not fallen below $4 million.
Lido is the second largest DeFi application in the cryptocurrency market after Aave and also the largest in terms of total value locked (TVL) among projects in the liquid staking sector. The platform's TVL exceeds $23 billion. The project's share of the total DeFi market exceeds 19%.
Curve Finance is a decentralized trading platform specializing in the exchange of stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies whose prices usually do not differ much from each other. The volume of user deposits on it exceeds $2.3 billion.
GMX is a decentralized exchange for trading cryptocurrencies and perpetual futures contracts, offering low fees and zero slippage (price changes at the time of trade execution). It is supported by the Arbitrum, Avalanche, and Solana networks. Its key advantages are trading with 50x leverage and a transparent revenue model without KYC. Synthetix is a protocol that allows synthetic assets to be issued on the Ethereum blockchain.
A Synthetic asset can be viewed as a derivative that allows you to access an asset without owning it. The main thing is that thanks to Synthetix, traders can access certain assets that are not available on the network. Synthetix also allows you to create indices, such as the DeFi index, which can be used to track the prices of several DeFi assets.
Promising newcomers and second-tier projects
In addition to the DeFi market leaders in 2025, there are a number of promising fast-growing projects.
Radiant Capital is a protocol that aims to solve the problem of capital fragmentation in the DeFi market landscape. The platform combines liquidity from various blockchains, bringing everything together in one place.
Pendle is a platform focused on tokenizing the future returns of assets. Users can split their assets into components, trading the “returns” as a standalone asset on the secondary market. Pendle can use artificial intelligence algorithms to optimize management strategies and predict future returns.
Stargate — The protocol offers a unique single liquidity pool model that enables instant cross-chain transactions between dozens of blockchain networks without the need for traditional bridges. The project also allows users to earn income for storing assets in bridges.
Morpho — a project in the decentralized lending sector. The platform's solutions automatically distribute liquidity across different lending protocols, ensuring maximum returns with minimal risk. There is a particular focus on working with stablecoins.
Frax Finance is a platform specializing in the creation of hybrid stablecoins with the ability to generate income through investments in traditional financial instruments.
DeFi trends in 2025
Modern DeFi users are increasingly favoring platforms that operate across multiple blockchain networks, as they eliminate the need for complex bridges and reduce transaction costs. Solutions such as LayerZero, Stargate, and Chainlink CCIP enable the secure transfer of assets between Ethereum, Solana, Cosmos, and other blockchains, making DeFi truly accessible. This is especially important for traders and investors who want to maximize returns without being limited to a single blockchain.
In the future, artificial intelligence (AI) could radically change DeFi. Currently, AI is used by platforms for complex, resource-intensive calculations. For example, Pendle uses AI to predict returns, automatically rebalance portfolios, and identify optimal strategies in real time. Other examples include analyzing historical data, market trends, and liquidation risks, helping users earn more with minimal involvement.
#DEFİ

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

Why do some cryptocurrencies get listed on Binance in a matter of days, while others wait for months. How will listing rules change in 2025
Adding cryptocurrencies to Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, is an important milestone for any crypto project. Developers often spend months negotiating listing and millions of dollars on related expenses, but there are cases when a project is listed within days of its creation.
In 2025, the process and results of listing on Binance and other major platforms drew criticism from experts, who noted a drop in the price of crypto assets by tens of percent immediately after trading began on the exchanges. Problems in the process of adding new crypto assets were also noted by the exchange executives themselves.
“We need to review the listing process at Coinbase, because right now there are about 1 million tokens being created per week, and that number continues to grow. It is no longer possible to evaluate each individual token separately,” wrote Brian Armstrong, CEO of the US crypto exchange Coinbase.
Although Binance co-founder Yi He has a slightly different view on listing new tokens on Binance. She noted that it is not only a process of analysis, but also a strategy to attract new users, as was the case with game tokens on Telegram. She also noted that lengthy project reviews can slow down their launch on the exchange.
Since there are no generally accepted market rules for listing, the process and conditions for adding a crypto asset to trading lists depend on the specific exchange. The example of Binance shows that the listing process has gone beyond the usual framework, with the platform offering four different options through which a crypto project can be listed on this exchange.
How to be listed on Binance
As of mid-May 2025, the Binance cryptocurrency exchange offers three different trading markets where crypto project assets can be listed. These include Binance Alpha, Binance Futures, and Binance Spot.
Binance Alpha — is a marketplace designed to discover promising early-stage crypto projects in the Web3 ecosystem with the potential to be listed on the main Binance exchange in the future.
Binance Futures — is the largest cryptocurrency derivatives trading platform by trading volume. Projects can enter this market after successful trading on Alpha, as well as directly, provided they meet all requirements.
Binance Spot — is the largest cryptocurrency spot trading platform by trading volume (approximately $23 billion in trading volume as of May 14, according to CoinMarcetCap, compared to its closest competitor, OKX, with approximately $5 billion), which allows users to directly buy, sell, and store crypto assets. 
At the end of April, Binance announced some requirements for listing on its main spot market — the exchange will only consider projects that have already been traded on Alpha or Futures. With a slight clarification that new tokens that have not been traded before and have not been released on the open market at all may also be admitted to the spot market.
These opportunities include mechanisms such as Launchpool, Megadrop, and airdrops for holders of BNB Chain (BNB) tokens, which are affiliated with the crypto asset exchange. These mechanisms are designed to help new projects enter the open market using Binance's infrastructure.
Binance Launchpool allows users to earn new project tokens for free by locking BNB and other tokens, such as stablecoins, on the exchange or an affiliated Web3 wallet.
Binance Megadrop also offers users the opportunity to lock their BNB by participating in the company's products or completing Web3 quests to earn bonus points, which will determine their proportional rewards in tokens.
As part of the airdrop program for BNB holders, the exchange also distributes rewards in the form of tokens based on user balances in BNB, rewarding holders with new project tokens that may be listed on Binance in the future.
Another mechanism is the ability to get listed through voting - Vote to List. This feature allows users to vote for projects they want to see on the exchange starting in early March. Projects with the most votes that pass Binance's review will be selected for listing.
The old way
At the beginning of the year, Binance avoided the topic of listing rules and procedures, and even the approximate description that exists today was not published, with the exception of local comments.
A telling example that goes beyond Binance's April statements on the listing process is the addition of the TST token to the spot trading platform at the beginning, when only about three days had passed between the token's creation and the start of trading. Now, given all the input, such tokens cannot enter the Binance spot market.
The change in publicity regarding the listing process came amid criticism from experts who noted a trend of token prices falling by up to 90% within a few months of trading on exchanges. At the time, Arthur Chong, founder of venture capital firm Defiance Capital, pointed out that if major industry players did not take steps to improve the situation, most of the market would remain unsuitable for investment in the foreseeable future. #Binance

If authorities tighten control over stable cryptocurrencies, there may be demand in the market for similar tokens that are not subject to government censorship.
Tighter government regulation could trigger the emergence of a black market for stablecoins, according to Ki Young Ju, CEO of blockchain analytics platform CryptoQuant. In his opinion, the authorities' desire to control the use of stablecoins will lead users to seek alternatives that are not subject to censorship.
Stablecoins serve as a bridge between the digital and real worlds, and until recently, governments, with the exception of cases involving money laundering, did not interfere with stablecoins, Ki writes. According to him, this made such tokens a safe way to store assets for various groups, such as Chinese miners.
“But that is changing. Soon, any stablecoin issued by a country could face strict government regulation, similar to that of traditional banks. Automatic tax collection via smart contracts, wallet freezes, or documentation requirements based on government rules could be introduced. People who have used stablecoins for large international transfers may start looking for censorship-resistant shadow stablecoins instead,” Ki writes.
He noted that there are two ways to create “black” stablecoins. These are either algorithmic tokens that are not controlled by governments, or stablecoins issued in countries that do not censor financial transactions.
Ki believes that one possible example could be a decentralized stablecoin whose rate would be pegged to the price of regulated tokens, such as USDC, via oracles such as Chainlink. The analyst added that he does not yet know of any such projects, but mentioned Chainlink CEO Sergey Nazarov in a comment under the post, drawing his attention to the idea.
“I'm not sure if there are still long-term investors in cryptocurrency, but I think assets linked to dark stablecoins may have investment potential in internet capital markets. DYOR,” Ki concluded.
US President Donald Trump is actively promoting the development of the market and regulation of dollar-pegged stablecoins. At the end of January, his first executive order after his inauguration was a document entitled “Strengthening America's Leadership in Digital Finance,” which highlighted stablecoins as a key point.
At the same time, in early May, a number of Democratic senators in the US did not support the stablecoin bill (GENIUS Act) during a key vote, which stalled the document's adoption. Senators argue that the bill still needs to be refined.
The industry believes that the halt in the adoption of GENIUS could have further negative consequences for other cryptocurrency bills. Matt Hogan, head of the large management company Bitwise, said that if the US Congress does not pass at least one of the cryptocurrency bills, the industry could face a “difficult summer.” #NewsTrade

Experts discuss factors influencing the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Is a new price high possible for BTC in the near future.
The price of Bitcoin is just a few percent away from its all-time high (around $110,000). Some investors are optimistic that it will break through the $110,000 mark, buoyed by easing trade tensions between the US and China and positive expectations for US macroeconomic indicators. Others believe that Bitcoin is overbought, which could lead to a reversal or sideways movement in prices.
“Bitcoin is hovering near historic highs, supported by strong technical momentum, trading above its 50- and 200-day moving averages. Growing institutional adoption and a favorable outlook for 2025 point to a likely path to another high,” said Vincent Liu, IT director at Kronos Research.
As of May 12, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) stands at $104,400. The price briefly approached $106,000 on the Binance exchange but fell back to $104,000 within an hour. Over the past week, the price of Bitcoin has risen by about 10% from around $94,000.
However, other analysts note that the relative strength index (RSI) indicates that the cryptocurrency is in an “overbought” zone. The importance of the $100,000 level for Bitcoin is also noted.
“This does not necessarily mean an immediate reversal, but it does increase the likelihood of some short-term cooling or sideways movement. Retesting and consolidation above the key psychological level of $100,000 would be a healthy development and could lay the foundation for further growth,” said BTC Markets analyst Rachel Lucas.
Geopolitics and macroeconomics
The rise in Bitcoin prices occurred amid easing trade tensions between China and the US. Experts suggest that this could lead to a flow of liquidity into other cryptocurrencies.
On the evening of May 11, US officials announced that they had reached a trade agreement with China after two days of talks in Geneva, according to a White House statement citing US Treasury Secretary Scott Bassett.
“The recent rise in the crypto market was driven by renewed optimism about trade negotiations between the US and China. We are now seeing a classic rotation as Bitcoin's dominance reaches levels last seen before the 2021 bull market, and capital begins to flow into altcoins,” said Presto Research analyst Min Jung.
Experts see macroeconomic expectations regarding inflation data (expressed in the consumer price index) in the US, which will be published on May 13 for April, as another factor for Bitcoin's growth.
According to 10x Research, the consensus among market participants is that the overall consumer price index is likely to remain unchanged at 2.4% in April.
“If these expectations are met, the market may view the inflation report as positive. Excluding negative headlines about tariffs, this week's inflation data could be a catalyst for growth,” Marcus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, said in an interview with CoinDesk, noting that this could prove to be a catalyst for growth to a new price high.
However, experts warn that caution should be exercised in such a highly volatile market.
“With macroeconomic events looming, such as the upcoming release of the consumer price index, investors should remain vigilant, manage risk prudently, and adhere to diversified strategies to navigate this highly volatile environment,” added Liu from Kronos.
#NewsTrade

The Ethereum network has received its biggest update in two years. We explain what new features have been added and why they are useful for users.
The Pectra update is the biggest technical change to Ethereum since the network switched to the Proof-of-Stake algorithm. It was activated on May 7, 2025, and combined 11 so-called EIPs — proposals for improving the protocol. The update underwent a series of tests on Ethereum test networks (Holesky, Sepolia, and Hoodi) and is now officially live on the mainnet.
Developers call Pectra a preparatory stage for the next major updates, but it is already changing the rules of the game: making wallets smarter, validators more efficient, and L2 networks faster and cheaper. We'll walk you through the key changes and explain how they'll affect users, projects, and infrastructure players.
EIP-7702. Account abstraction and “smart” wallets
One of the main innovations of the Pectra update is the implementation of the account abstraction principle. This means that regular wallets (such as Metamask) can now perform smart contract functions. In practice, this gives users more flexibility: applications can now charge fees in a token other than ETH, such as USDT. Previously, to exchange USDT, you needed to have ETH in your balance to pay the fee, but now you can complete the transaction by paying the fee directly from the funds you already have in your wallet.
It is also now possible to combine several actions into a single transaction (e.g., approval, exchange, and token transfer). This saves time, reduces fees, and simplifies working with DeFi protocols.
In addition, the new features will enable more familiar scenarios: authorization via Face ID instead of a password, access recovery via trusted contacts, and other features that users of traditional applications are accustomed to. According to the developers, all of this brings Web3 closer to the mass user experience.
EIP-7251. Efficient staking for large participants
Previously, on the Ethereum network, a single validator could stake no more than 32 ETH. Anything exceeding this limit had to be divided into separate “slots” — essentially creating new validators. This complicated things for both institutional players and those running their own nodes. With EIP-7251, the limit has been increased to 2,048 ETH per validator.
Why is this necessary? For example, if a large platform wanted to stake 3,200 ETH, it previously had to create 100 separate validators, each with its own set of keys, monitoring, and infrastructure. Now, only two are needed. This reduces the load on the network, simplifies maintenance, and cuts costs.
For the average user, this may not seem that important, but in practice, it means increased performance for large players such as exchanges, staking services, or DeFi platforms. It is easier for them to manage client funds, which means they can offer more favorable terms, connect new users faster, and experience fewer technical glitches.
EIP-7691. Lower fees for second-layer networks
This update directly affects users of so-called rollups such as Arbitrum and Optimism, which operate on top of Ethereum as second-layer networks. It increases the size of special “blobs” — temporary data stores that L2 networks use to publish their transactions to the main blockchain. Now, there can be up to nine such blobs in a single block instead of six.
What does this mean in practice? When you use cheap L2 networks, such as exchanging tokens on Arbitrum, your transactions are ultimately published on the main Ethereum network. The more efficiently this data is packaged, the cheaper the transactions are. Increasing the limit on the number of blobs means more space for such transactions. As a result, fees on L2 networks will become lower and more stable, especially during peak hours.
This is especially important as rollups gain more users, as they are already becoming the primary way to interact with Ethereum. With EIP-7691, projects will be able to scale faster, and users will spend less on fees while maintaining the same speed and reliability.
EIP-7002. Managing fund withdrawals via smart contracts
This update makes operations with validators more flexible and secure. Previously, exiting staking and withdrawing funds required the participation of consensus-level keys, which had to be constantly active and present on the network. This created risks: if such a key was compromised, an attacker could influence the validator or withdraw funds.
With EIP-7002, it is now possible to manage validator exits and fund withdrawals through the execution layer — the part of Ethereum that handles regular transactions and smart contracts. Now, exiting staking and withdrawing funds can be initiated through regular transactions or built-in smart contract logic.
This is important for staking services and large players who need to manage dozens or hundreds of validators. Instead of relying on hot keys, they can set up a more secure and transparent exit procedure, for example, with delays, multi-signature, or other security measures.
This does not directly affect the experience of retail users, but in the long run, it improves the security of the entire system. This is especially true for decentralized services that build products on Ethereum and manage validators on behalf of users.
EIP-6110. Quick start for validators
Previously, after depositing into staking, you had to wait up to 12 hours for the network to process the request through the consensus layer. EIP-6110 moves this function to the execution layer, and now new validators are activated in just 13 minutes.
For large staking pools, this means more precise control over liquidity flows: validators can be launched in near real time, which is especially important during spikes in staking interest or significant market movements. This also simplifies the implementation of features such as auto-deposits and instant distribution of user funds.
Regular users may not notice this directly. But in the future, it lays the foundation for services where funds are automatically staked immediately after being deposited, with activation occurring almost without delay. The improvement also reduces the technical load on operators, which is important, for example, for large pools that process many requests in real time.
Internal improvements
The Pectra update includes a number of improvements that do not directly affect the user interface but make the network faster and more stable.
EIP-2935 allows smart contracts to access the hashes of recent blocks without resorting to external services. This is important for oracles and cross-chain solutions.
EIP-7623 makes storing data in the usual format more expensive to encourage projects to use the “blobs” mentioned above. This helps reduce network congestion and lower fees.
EIP-2537 speeds up the processing of cryptographic operations (in particular, BLS signatures) used in staking. This reduces the load on the network and can lower costs for infrastructure providers.
EIP-7685, EIP-7549, and EIP-7840 improve the Ethereum architecture by optimizing inter-layer communication, increasing stability, and making fee calculations more predictable. #ETH

When will the Plasma project's blockchain network launch, and how is the platform connected to Tether?
The market capitalization of Tether's USDT stablecoin has approached a record high of $150 billion, according to Defillama. In addition to becoming more than just a trading instrument on crypto exchanges, the stablecoin has become a multifunctional tool for everyday use. It has also become a source of income not only for the issuer (Tether) but also for entire blockchain networks that earn revenue from transaction fees for USDT. However, other mechanisms for generating profits, different from the usual collection of fees, may soon emerge — one such option is offered by the Plasma blockchain.
The platform is scheduled to launch on May 6, but at the end of April, Tether began testing the project's solutions with a large African payment startup, Yellow Card, in more than 20 countries. Around the same time, Plasma founder Paul Fex and Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino spoke at a panel discussion in Dubai as part of the Token2049 crypto conference, “The Future of Stablecoins in Global Payments.”
Plasma developers are creating a blockchain for fast, commission-free USDT transfers. This is achieved by redistributing revenue within the ecosystem: the network itself does not charge users, but earns money from integrated services in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, such as Curve, Aave, and Ethena, which will operate on Plasma.
This approach differs significantly from traditional revenue models because the income of network node operators who process transactions depends on the number of transactions in a given blockchain. This is a characteristic feature of blockchain networks, where virtually any transaction requires the user to pay fees that go to independent operators as payment for conducting the transaction.
For context, the capitalization of USDT issued on the Tron blockchain is $71.4 billion, while on Ethereum it exceeds $64.7 billion, which is more than 91% of all USDT issued on other networks. And the total number of transactions with USDT on Tron is tens of times higher than on Ethereum. For example, in the first quarter of 2025, Tron processed about 130 million USDT transactions. Meanwhile, Ethereum recorded only 11.1 million.
Over the past few years, Tron has been considered one of the cheapest blockchains for USDT token transactions, offering an economical alternative to USDT transfers via Ethereum. And if we look at the cumulative revenue figures for a particular blockchain from the beginning of 2025 to May 6, according to Token Terminal, Tron is one of the most profitable crypto projects after Tether. For example, over the past month, the figure exceeded $8.5 million, while Ethereum's was around $106,000.
What is the Plasma project?
The Plasma crypto project is essentially a competitor to Tron in terms of USDT usage. Although Tether's management previously stated in mid-2024 that it was not interested in launching its own blockchain project, the situation may change over time.
“We are very knowledgeable about technology. In the future, blockchain will become almost a commodity. Launching it independently may not be the right move. There are very good solutions,” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino told Bloomberg in August 2024.
However, in October 2024, Plasma developers raised $3.5 million from the Bitfinex crypto exchange and several venture capital funds. At the time, they stated that the project's goal was to create a fast tool for dollar payments based on Bitcoin, which could also be used to work with DeFi and real-world assets (RWA).
And in February 2025, Plasma, a company developing infrastructure for the USDT stablecoin, raised $24 million in an investment round, according to Fortune. The round was led by Framework Ventures, with other investors including the Bitfinex exchange, billionaire Peter Thiel, and Paolo Ardoino.
It is noteworthy that in February 2025, Tron founder Justin Sun also announced a feature for sending USDT without fees.
How the Plasma project works
Plasma uses Bitcoin technology but is also compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Developers have adapted Bitcoin's transaction recording system, adding accounts similar to those in Ethereum. This, in particular, opens up the possibility of passive income (staking) for Bitcoin holders, as well as full compatibility with EVM.
The Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) mechanism used in blockchains such as Solana and Ethereum is used as the consensus mechanism. However, Plasma has introduced its own modification of BFT called HotStuff, which is a faster version of traditional BFT designed specifically for high-volume stablecoin transactions.
Byzantine fault tolerance (BFT) is a property of a computer system or dispute resolution algorithm where consensus is achieved regardless of the failure or malicious actions of some of its participants.
According to the developers, the Plasma network is capable of processing up to 2,000 transactions per second for USDT transfers. According to Zahir Ebtikar, founder and chief investment officer of Split Capital (a Plasma investor), these figures are achieved because the network has reduced the functionality of the blockchain, focusing on minimizing fees for stablecoin users.
#USStablecoinBill

A senior CIA official has stated that the agency is actively using cryptocurrencies to track US adversaries
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are “perfectly suited” for intelligence activities, said Michael Ellis, deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), in a podcast with Anthony Pompliano, head of Professional Capital Management. He also said that the CIA uses Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as a tool to combat US adversaries.
Michael Ellis was appointed deputy director of the CIA in February 2025 by President Donald Trump. At the time, Trump called Ellis a “smart and respected lawyer” who would help restore the effectiveness of the intelligence agency. During Trump's first term, Ellis served on the White House National Security Council and, according to Trump, helped uncover abuses by the Obama administration in the “Russian interference” case, which Trump called a hoax.
U.S. law enforcement agencies are “thrilled” about the possibility of using Bitcoin to track criminal activity, Ellis said. The CIA itself, he said, views Bitcoin in a similar light because of its ability to track transactions. He confirmed that the CIA regularly works with law enforcement agencies to track illegal crypto payments.
Bitcoin is an important tool for intelligence gathering
Cryptocurrency is “another area of technological competition” in which the US must not fall behind, Ellis explained, stressing that President Donald Trump's administration must not allow the US to fall behind China and other adversaries in the field of technology.
During his election campaign, Trump noted the role of cryptocurrencies in the confrontation between major powers.
“If we don't do it, China will. If we don't do it, we won't be the greatest,” Trump said in the context of his intention to make the US the world's largest crypto hub.
Referring to the capabilities of cryptocurrencies, Ellis noted the enormous potential for law enforcement and intelligence agencies to track the actions of adversaries and destabilize them. He also emphasized that the CIA uses these technologies as “another tool in the toolbox” to combat US adversaries.
In addition to cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin being an excellent tool for law enforcement and intelligence, Ellis is convinced that the crypto market is firmly entrenched in the global financial system.
“Bitcoin is here to stay. Cryptocurrencies are here to stay. More and more institutions are adopting them. I think it's a great trend,” he said.
Role of the CIA in the creation of Bitcoin
It is noteworthy that the CIA representative's comments and opinion on Bitcoin were voiced in a podcast on the anniversary of the disappearance of Bitcoin's anonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. Fourteen years ago, on April 26, 2011, Satoshi stopped posting messages in private correspondence and thematic forums where the main cryptocurrency was discussed.
In one of his last messages on April 23, 2011, Satoshi wrote that he had “moved on to other things and that Bitcoin was in the capable hands of Gavin and everyone else.”
Gavin Andresen is an American developer who has been involved in the development of Bitcoin since 2010. In 2011, Satoshi himself named him the lead developer of Bitcoin Core (Bitcoin software).
On April 27, 2011, Andresen publicly announced that he would give a presentation on Bitcoin at the CIA headquarters in June at a conference on new technologies for the US intelligence community. Bitcoin is “already on their radar,” he wrote, explaining his decision.
At the same conference, Andresen even managed to sell some Bitcoin to a CIA agent, according to a quote from Blockworks: “A few people came up to me afterwards and said that Bitcoin was really cool. One interesting case: I actually sold some Bitcoin to one of the CIA guys.”
Many speculate that it was the fact that Andresen was invited to speak at the CIA that may have influenced Satoshi's decision to cease public activity. At the same time, a theory emerged that Bitcoin was a CIA project.
Journalist Tucker Carlson gave it new momentum during a closed panel discussion at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in the summer of 2024. “It's obviously the CIA, we all know that. It's like [messenger app] Signal, they got there first. It's a trap!” he said from the stage, while clarifying that cryptocurrency is ”the world's best tool for financial sovereignty.”
#BTC

The Ethereum Foundation has announced a restructuring of its management structure and new development goals
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has published the goals for the Ethereum Foundation (EF), which is engaged in the development and advancement of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Almost simultaneously, the EF blog published a series of posts about changes to the fund's management structure, as well as plans to focus on attracting new users to Ethereum. However, experts doubt that the changes will have a positive impact on the price of ETH.
The EF's two main goals now include plans to expand the use of Ethereum by offering benefits to users and strengthening its sustainability and decentralization by addressing the project's weaknesses. The EF blog also noted the importance of upholding the project's values: resistance to censorship, open-source development, privacy, and security.
In early 2025, the organization behind Ethereum's development faced criticism for its lack of activity in the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization — several developers also left the EF, and its leadership changed. At the end of January, Buterin personally took responsibility for the future structure and strategy of the fund.
The Ethereum ecosystem remains the leader in terms of applications based on smart contract technology. It ranks first in terms of user deposits in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, with a share of over 51% ($51.2 billion, according to Defillama).
Ethereum is also the second cryptocurrency after Bitcoin to be approved (in mid-2024) for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US. These funds have total assets under management of $6.2 billion.
However, these figures do not correspond to the price dynamics of ETH. For example, Pierre Rouchard, head of The Bitcoin Bond Company, commented on EF's published goals, suggesting that this does not help the price of ETH in any way and that it is all just platitudes. Moreover, he suggested that the fund abandon the idea of decentralization altogether in favor of issuing shares and listing on an exchange such as the US NASDAQ. He also proposed switching to a strategy of issuing convertible bonds to accumulate more ETH.
Unlike many major cryptocurrencies, which reached new all-time highs in 2024 and early 2025, ETH's absolute price peak has remained at $4,900 since the end of 2021.
Since mid-2024, prices have tested the $4,000 level three times, but each time they fell by tens of percent. The decline since the beginning of 2025 has been more than 45%.
This contrasts sharply with the price dynamics of Bitcoin, which has risen 2% since the beginning of 2025 to $94.8 and nearly 250% since October 2023, when Ethereum was worth the same as it is now.
Management problems
The Ethereum Foundation positions itself as a non-profit organization that supports the Ethereum ecosystem and funds protocol development. EF received 12 million ETH coins during its ICO in 2015. Half of these funds were distributed among 85 early project participants, and another 3 million coins were allocated to 50 employees who worked on Ethereum from September 2014 to March 2015.
The company has gradually sold some of the remaining 3 million ETH over the years to fund ecosystem projects and has also awarded grants for protocol development, event organization, and other initiatives. According to the EF's latest financial report dated December 31, the organization's balance sheet totals approximately $970.2 million, of which $788.7 million is in cryptocurrencies and $181.5 million is in investments in other assets.
Until February 2025, the fund had never publicly used its funds to participate in decentralized financial applications or investment activities. All known ETH sales were used to pay salaries to EF participants and donations to Ethereum-based developers and startups.
In mid-February 2025, EF reported transferring 45,000 ETH (almost $120 million at February 13 prices) to DeFi applications in the lending sector, including the largest protocols Aave and Compound. The organization reserved part of the funds for similar initiatives in the future.
#ETH

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