Visa has premiered an Online Analytics Dashboard for stablecoins. The website seeks to cut through the “noise” to provide easily accessible and digestible data on four stablecoins across nine blockchains.

In a blog post introducing the new service, Visa head of crypto Cuy Sheffield stated that stablecoin data, despite being publicly available in real time, requires interpretation before they can be compared to activity on traditional financial networks.

Source: Cuy Sheffield

The noise in stablecoin data is the result of their varying use cases. Smart contracts, or “bot programs,” are used for arbitrage, liquidity provision, market making and other functions in decentralized finance (DeFi) that are not comparable to “settlement in the traditional sense.” Visa applies filters out bot activity:

“When we apply a simple heuristic that removes inorganic data, we see that transfer volume for the last 30 days can be adjusted from $2.65T to $265B.”

Furthermore, stablecoin accounting is represented differently from traditional transactions. Sheffield noted in an X post:

“If a consumer converts $100 of USDC to PYUSD on Uniswap, this is counted as $200 of total stablecoin volume ($100 of USDC from the consumer's wallet to the Uniswap contract, and $100 of PYUSD from the contract to the consumers wallet).”

In the Visa analytics, that transaction would be considered $100 in volume. The website provides data on USD Coin (USDC), Tether (USDT), PayPal USD (PYUSD) and Pax Dollar (USDP) supply, transactions and users using charts and graphs. Off-chain transactions with stablecoins are not captured in the data.

Stablecoin transaction volumes, with and without heuristic adjustment. Source: Visa Onchain Analytics Dashboard

Visa is engaged with crypto and blockchain technology on several fronts. It announced a project to “drive mainstream adoption of public blockchain networks and stablecoin payments” in 2023 and it already supports USDC. It has also partnered with MetaMask to allow crypto withdrawals on its debit cards.

Related: Bitcoin to surge to $80K as stablecoins overtake Visa in 2024 — Bitwise

Visa participated with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and two banks on a project using central bank digital currency and tokenized deposits in 2023. This year, it was one of 11 financial institutions that experimented with use cases of the U.K. Regulated Liability Network.

Magazine: The real risks to Ethena’s stablecoin model (are not the ones you think)

Meta recently announced that it would “open” the operating system that powers its Quest line of mixed-reality devices for third-party hardware and software development. 

The change comes with a new name, “Meta Horizon OS,” and a rebranding of the Quest Store to the “Meta Horizon Store.” It also brings a trio of high-profile partners in Asus, Lenovo, and Microsoft’s Xbox brand.

According to a blog post from Meta, each of the partners will work with Meta to develop their own mixed/virtual reality devices.

Asus’s Republic of Gamers is working on a “performance gaming headset,” though details are currently scarce on exactly what that means. It’s possible that this indicates it’ll be geared towards high-fidelity visuals and audio with a focus on multiplayer connectivity.

Lenovo is also slated to build its own Meta Horizon OS devices. The Chinese tech giant previously worked with Meta to develop the company’s Oculus Rift S headsets before Facebook became Meta and the Oculus vertical was rebranded to Quest.

Microsoft’s Xbox brand is also working with Meta to develop a limited-edition Xbox-themed Meta Quest headset. There’s no indication that Xbox is getting its own VR devices to compete with PlayStation VR. Per the blog post this’ll be a continuation of the two companies’ previous Quest headset partnership which saw users able to play Xbox games on a flat, 2D screen set inside of a virtual reality environment.

Also announced, Meta will be launching an “App Lab” to publish titles from smaller developers. Based on the verbiage in the blog post this’ll be somewhat akin to the “arcade” or independent developer offerings in many gaming storefronts featuring lower-priced and lesser-known titles:

“We’re beginning the process of removing the barriers between the Meta Horizon Store and App Lab, which lets any developer who meets basic technical and content requirements release software on the platform. App Lab titles will soon be featured in a dedicated section of the store on all our devices, making them easy for larger audiences to discover.”

Related: Meta drops 15% on weak outlook and high AI and metaverse spending

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched another round of consultations on a proposed rule change for trading options on Bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs).

According to an April 24 filing, the securities regulator wants to better understand how listing Bitcoin (BTC) options could affect the overall market, especially during times of stress. Part of the review will assess whether the exchanges’ current surveillance and enforcement mechanisms are adequate to handle the unique aspects of Bitcoin options.

Initial comments must be submitted within 21 days after the document is officially registered, which would make the final deadline May 15, 2024. Likewise, rebuttal comments may be submitted up to May 29, 2024.

SEC requests public feedback on Bitcoin options trading. Source: SEC

Bitcoin options are financial instruments that give the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell Bitcoin at a specified price by a certain date. Options are typically used by traders familiar with option pricing and market movements. Similar to other investments, options trading carries risks that may not be suitable for all investors.

The Commission previously sought comments on the rule change and included the feedback received in its filing. Most of the comments highlighted how options on Bitcoin ETPs would increase liquidity and improve market efficiency:

“In addition, the commenter stated that approving the listing and trading of options on spot Bitcoin ETPs “would further bring Bitcoin into the regulatory perimeter by allowing additional regulated market participants such as CFTC-regulated designated contract merchants and SEC-regulated broker-dealers to trade the products.” “

Several financial firms, including Nasdaq and Cboe, have submitted proposals to the SEC seeking permission to trade Bitcoin options. Nasdaq’s application seeks to list and trade options on BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, while Cboe intends to offer options trading on various ETPs that hold Bitcoin.

Additionally, asset managers like Bitwise and Grayscale are also seeking regulatory approval to list options on their Bitcoin ETFs through New York Stock Exchange applications.

Magazine: 1 in 6 new Base meme coins are scams, 91% have vulnerabilities

Representative Maxine Waters, ranking member of the United States House Financial Services Committee, has suggested that lawmakers are making progress on passing stablecoin legislation.

In an April 24 interview with Bloomberg, Representative Waters said she had been working “very well together” with committee chair Patrick McHenry in legislation on stablecoins and clawbacks for banks and talking to lawmakers in the U.S. Senate. According to the ranking members, only a “few more tweaks” were necessary for the stablecoin bill to move forward in the House.

“It’s been very complicated,” said Representative Waters. “We have so many entities that are involved [...] everybody has had something to say. We’ve had to recognize all of those concerns. In doing that, in the final analysis, it’s about making sure that investors and that the people are protected and that we don’t have a stablecoin bill where [...] companies don’t have the assets that they say that they have.”

She added:

“We’re talking with the Senate side. We’ve met with Schumer. Talked with Sherrod Brown. We’re on our way to getting a stablecoin bill in the short run.”

Senator Brown, who chairs the Senate Banking Committee, reportedly said in April he was open to passing stablecoin legislation, provided his concerns were addressed. Lawmakers in the House and Senate have proposed different legislative paths to regulate stablecoins, but any bill would need to pass through both chambers before being signed into law.

Related: Crypto advocacy group claims stablecoin bill would ‘violate free speech rights’

Representative Waters suggested in February that lawmakers were “very close” to a deal on stablecoins. On April 17, Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Cynthia Lummis introduced a payment stablecoin bill they had been teasing for months. It’s unclear how the bill could divide support in the Senate from the efforts Representative Waters described.

In July 2023, lawmakers in the House Financial Services Committee passed the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act, setting the stage for a full floor vote. The legislation has not moved forward since then.

Magazine: Unstablecoins: Depegging, bank runs and other risks loom

The crypto arm of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z crypto) is warning startup co-founders to stay out of the United States market when conducting token sales. 

“Public sales of equity and tokens outside the U.S. and private sales of equity and tokens can all be done in a compliant manner without being subject to the registration requirements of securities laws,” wrote Miles Jenning, a16z crypto’s general counsel and head of decentralization. “Public sales in the U.S. are an own-goal, avoid at all costs.”

Jennings explained that initial coin offerings (ICOs) often met all conditions of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ’s Howey test for determining whether a financial asset should be classified as a security. The Howey test is defined as “a contract, scheme or transaction in which there is an investment of money in a common enterprise with a reasonable expectation of profits based on the managerial or entrepreneurial efforts of others.”

"Nowhere is the application of the Howey test easier than with respect to primary transactions (i.e., token sales to investors by token issuers)," wrote Jennings. “In many ICOs, token issuers made clear representations and promises to investors that they were going to fund their operations with the proceeds from the token sale and deliver a future return to investors." He further warned: 

"Those cases were securities transactions regardless of whether the instruments being sold were digital assets or shares of stock. Case closed."

If the asset is deemed to be a security, issuers face lengthy paths, disclosures, and financial requirements for registration. Strict penalties are often imposed for non-compliance. 

In a landmark case last July, United States District Court Judge Analisa Torres ruled that fintech firm Ripple’s sale of the XRP token on secondary markets, or digital exchanges, within the U.S. did not constitute security offerings. However, Torres also ruled that the firm’s sale of XRP to U.S. institutional investors met the Howey test’s securities classification. Ripple is currently contesting a $2 billion fine imposed by the SEC. As a result of recent step-ups in enforcement, some crypto firms have opted to avoid the U.S. market entirely.

Related: SEC pushes decision on Franklin Templeton spot Ether ETF

Movement Labs’ vision to build a network of blockchains based on Facebook’s Move programming language bagged a $38 million boost through a Series A funding raise.

The San Francisco-based blockchain development team secured the funds in a round led by Polychain Capital and supported by Aptos Labs, Bankless Ventures, OKX Ventures and eight other venture capital firms.

Through Move-based Ethereum virtual machines (EVMs), Movement Labs aims to enhance smart contract security and transaction throughput within the Ethereum ecosystem. 

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Rushi Manche, the co-founder of Movement Labs, said that reentrancy attacks, arithmetic errors stemming from incorrect math within a contract and faulty input verification are some of the most common vulnerabilities impacting smart contracts.

According to Movement Labs, Move-EVM can help protocols fend off common reentrancy attacks, which previously affected major protocols like Curve and KyberSwap. The team estimates that smart contract exploits alone resulted in losses of over $5.4 billion between 2022 and 2023. Manche said:

“Move eliminates reentrancy vulnerabilities by ensuring resources are uniquely accessed, preventing recursive exploits. It also ensures that transactions are completed before another can start, blocking approximately as much as 90% of attack vectors found in Solidity.”

The team launched M2, a Move VM-based layer-2 for Ethereum, in November 2023, which introduces an execution environment designed for more than 30,000 transactions per second (TPS).

With Move-EVMs, Movement co-founder Rushi Manche wants to set the stage for developers to build “the next Facebook” on-chain. He added:

“Move addresses the shortcomings of Solidity (smart contract programming language) and we are bringing it to market in a crypto-native way.”

The company also plans to introduce a cross-compatible execution layer framework called Move Stack, allowing rollup frameworks from companies like Optimism, Polygon, and Arbitrum to interact. 

Additionally, MoveVM supports localized fee markets which can help mitigate gas spikes and further reduce resource expenditure. “Our aim with Movement is to deliver the speed and affordability needed for mass adoption of Web3 applications,” Manche added.

The latest fund injection will be redirected to global hiring efforts and investing heavily in Move developer tooling and education.  

Related: OKX launches Ethereum layer-2 network for lower fees & interoperability

Prior to the $38 million Series A funding, Movement Labs had raised $3.4 million in the pre-seed round to aid the upcoming launch of its public testnet, Parthenon.

Degen Chain, a new Ethereum layer-3 network, recently recorded the highest TPS count in the Ethereum ecosystem.

On April 19, Degen’s TPS count increased 62% over the last day to notch 35.7 TPS — beating out the blockchain it was built on, Base, at 29.7 TPS, according to L2BEAT.

TPS by Ethereum-based blockchain over the last 24 hours. Source: L2BEAT

Multiplying Degen’s 35.7 TPS by 86,400 seconds in a day means the memecoin chain processed 3.08 million transactions over that timeframe.

Magazine: 7 ICO alternatives for blockchain fundraising: Crypto airdrops, IDOs & more

Decentralized artificial intelligence (AI) development is crucial for creating safer and unbiased AI algorithms.

While centralized AI solutions have been receiving the lion’s share of funding, decentralized AI solutions will be key for creating more transparent and unbiased AI solutions, according to Calanthia Mei, the co-founder of Masa Network. Mei told Cointelegraph:

“Decentralized AI attempts to address the existential flaws in AI, ensuring a more unbiased and safer AI.”

The key benefits of blockchain-based decentralized AI include more transparent decision-making, enhanced data privacy, and user-owned models that enable people to contribute their data or computing resources in exchange for token incentives, explained the founder.

Some of the most popular centralized AI models produced significant inaccuracies and social media outrage in the past. Back in February, Google pulled its AI image generator after it produced historically inaccurate and “woke” images, causing widespread concerns over the application’s decision-making process.

Decentralized AI will be key in addressing similar biased output, as seen with Gemini AI, by creating a more transparent decision-making process for the algorithms, Mei told Cointelegraph:

“Centralized AI amplifies pre-existing power imbalances, privacy concerns and biases at an unprecedented pace, as exemplified by the Google Gemini AI incident where the AI depicted U.S. founding fathers as people of color, possibly as an overcorrection to long-standing racial bias problems in AI.”

Related: Google to fix diversity-borked Gemini AI, ChatGPT goes insane: AI Eye

Blockchain-based, decentralized AI protocols offer transparency to verify the data provenance of the AI output, which is crucial for improving the algorithms, as the AI is only as good as the data it is trained on. According to Mei:

“The quality, diversity and representativeness of the data directly influence the performance and fairness of AI systems. Biased or limited data can lead to skewed and biased results, compromising the reliability of AI-driven decisions.”

Masa Network is among the largest decentralized AI data and large language model protocols aiming to offer more reliable data to AI applications.

Over 1.58 million unique wallets have contributed personal data to Masa Network, according to Dune.

Masa unique wallets. Source: Dune

Masa Network unveiled the first 13 AI developer partners building on its decentralized infrastructure on April 25. The network has committed $100,000 in MASA tokens for its decentralized AI developer to help builders advance the capabilities of decentralized AI.

The network and its MASA token launched on the mainnet on April 11. The first 13 projects on Masa include the decentralized social network CharacterX; Pond, a graph AI model for on-chain trading; and RootData, an AI-powered Web3 data layer.

AI vs. crypto: Will it make a real difference? Source: Cointelegraph

Related: Hong Kong Bitcoin and Ether ETFs officially approved to start trading on April 30

Venture capital activity in the cryptocurrency industry has seen an uptick in early 2024, marking a potential revival of investor optimism following the bear market.

According to data from “The 2024 Crypto Spring Report” by Chainalysis, Q1 2024 was the first quarter that saw a quarter-over-quarter increase in crypto investment since early 2023. According to the firm, the dynamics may signal a shift in the investment landscape in the crypto industry.

Overall, 2023 saw a sharp decline in capital raised by cryptocurrency companies, which aligned with the crypto winter that started in 2022. After nearing the $10 billion mark in Q4 2022, quarterly crypto funding volumes declined below $2.0 billion in Q2 2023.

In Q1 2024, crypto VC volumes edged up for the first time since 2022, nearing $2.5 billion. The median deal size has also recovered since a sharp decline in Q4 2022, consistently hovering around the $10 million mark.

Investments in crypto over time and median deal size from 2022 to 2024. Source: Chainalysis

Though VC activity in crypto declined overall in 2023, the industry saw a number of significant deals over $100 million, including early-stage deals that took place in Q3 2023 and into Q1 2024.

According to Chainalysis, the biggest deals were made by the blockchain interoperability projects Wormhole and the Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN) called Together.ai.

The cross-chain protocol Wormhole raised a $225 million investment at a valuation of $2.5 billion in November 2023, while Together.ai raised a total of $225 million as well, the report notes.

Related: Memecoins are like a ‘risky casino’ — Andreessen Horowitz exec

The crypto asset management and taxes platform Swan Bitcoin secured a $165 million investment in late 2023. Major cryptocurrency exchange service Blockchain.com received $110 million funding in November 2023.

Totter, the open-source cloud storage platform, and the Ethereum protocol EigenLayer are also on the list of major VC deals by Chainalysis, raising $101 million and $100 million, respectively.

The uptick in crypto VC deals comes amid the cryptocurrency market’s significant surge in early 2024. Bitcoin (BTC) hit new all-time highs at $73,600 in mid-March. The rally was primarily attributed to spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds launching in the United States in January 2024.

Magazine: 7 ICO alternatives for blockchain fundraising: Crypto airdrops, IDOs & more

Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $62,000 into the April 25 Wall Street open as “stagflationary” United States macro data unsettled markets.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: TradingView Fed rate cuts edge further away on GDP print

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView tracked new multi-day lows of $62,785 on Bitstamp.

Markets opened to troubled sentiment after U.S. Q1 GDP came in significantly lower than expected at 1.6%.

At the same time, prices rose by more than anticipated, and reactions highlighted the difficult task of taming inflation ahead of the Federal Reserve.

Source: Holger Zschaepitz

“If 1.6% is the final reading, it will end 6 STRAIGHT quarters of 2%+ growth. However, we still have not had 2 consecutive quarters with declining GDP since Q2 2022,” trading resource The Kobeissi Letter wrote in part of a reaction on X (formerly Twitter).

“Is the economy beginning to weaken?”

Kobeissi additionally noted the surprising nature of the GDP data, which came in at nearly 50% lower than a forecast by Goldman Sachs.

“What does the Fed do when inflation is rising but the economy is weakening? If you cut rates, inflation will skyrocket. If you raise rates, economy crashes. Not exactly the definition of a ‘soft landing,’” it continued.

Markets were already decreasing the odds of a loosening of economic policy by the Fed on the day, no longer fully pricing in an interest rate cut earlier than December.

The latest data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool showed just a 6.3% chance of a cut coming at the next meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, or FOMC, scheduled for May 1.

Fed target rate probabilities. Source: CME Group Bullish BTC price targets persist

Bitcoin thus followed U.S. equities — and in particular, tech stocks — downhill, struggling to maintain ground reclaimed the week prior after a geopolitically-induced dip below $60,000.

Related: $1M Bitcoin price still in play amid ‘macro liquidity surge’ — Arthur Hayes

Not everyone, however, was gearing up for losses.

In his latest X post, popular trader Crypto Chase suggested that BTC/USD could put in more upside to top out at $68,000.

“IMO the job on the upside is not finished. I'm already long $ETH from 3100, but this is where I'd be bidding BTC targeting 68K~,” part of X commentary stated.

Zooming out, fellow trader Crypto Tony likewise called for new macro highs to come before more consolidatory price action.

BTC/USD chart. Source: Crypto Tony/X

For analyst Caleb Franzen, meanwhile, the short-term holder (STH) realized price, currently at $59,530, formed the definitive line in the sand.

STH realized price refers to the aggregate price at which STH entities — wallets holding coins for 155 or less — last moved them. It has functioned almost without fail as market support since the end of the 2022 bear market.

“If BTC falls below STHRP, then I'll get bearish,” Franzen concluded.

Bitcoin STH realized price. Source: Caleb Franzen/X

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Avail, a blockchain solution focused on Web3 unification, announced new strategic collaborations with five leading layer-2 networks in an effort to create more scalable data availability and rollup unification.

On April 25, Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, StarkWare and zkSync were revealed as new partners that will leverage Avail’s data availability layer and unification architecture. Avail said the collaboration aims to create more scalable, cost-efficient, and composable chains that are able to onboard millions of users.

This is possible through Avail’s data availability layer (DA), which will serve as the basis for the unification architecture through mathematical guarantees of data availability, along with a built-in validator ecosystem.

Marc Boiron, the CEO of Polygon Labs, said that a strong DA layer is important for an enhanced developer experience. 

“It’s important to provide this type of optionality to developers when the ultimate goal is to enable a thriving and robust ecosystem of connected blockchains through the AggLayer.”

Limited data availability remains one of the blockchain industry’s biggest roadblocks when it comes to mainstream adoption and optimizing networks for mass usage. Without the proper amount of DA, scaling becomes bottlenecked.

Related: ‘No bridges or wrapping’ — dWallet and Avail are building native Bitcoin rollups

According to the announcement Avail is operating with an “un-opinionated base layer” that can support any blockchain. 

Eli Ben-Sasson, the CEO of StarkWare, said that in trying to build a “seamless user experience for everyone” solutions that optimize data and unify the Web3 are key.

The idea of lower friction for developers in order to scale for mass adoption of blockchain applications has been widely discussed throughout the last year. It is a major hurdle for networks looking to expand.

During the ETHGlobal conference in London in March, the co-founder of Avail, Anurag Arjun, spoke with Cointelegraph stressing the ecosystem’s need for more infrastructure that unifies rollups. 

In March, he said that they aim to become a rollup agnostic platform serving major rollup protocols such as StarkWare, zkSync, Arbitrum and Optimism. Therefore this latest announcement marks a step in that direction.

It comes shortly after Avail announced an airdrop on April 18 of 600 million of its native AVAIL tokens to users.

Magazine: 7 ICO alternatives for blockchain fundraising: Crypto airdrops, IDOs & more

It may only be April, but it has already been a fairly eventful year for crypto. 

In January, the United Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) begrudgingly approved spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), while the fourth Bitcoin halving event has dominated the news more recently.

In non-Bitcoin news, Ethereum launched its Dencun upgrade in March, improving its integration with layer-2 blockchains.

What, then, of decentralized finance (DeFi)?

In December 2023, Cointelegraph asked industry experts to predict the future of DeFi in 2024. One of the experts we spoke to was Kevin de Patoul, CEO of crypto market maker Keyrock.

At the time, de Patoul pointed to tokenized U.S. Treasurys (T-Bills) and the tokenization of other real-world assets (RWAs) as significant trends to watch. Amid the market resurgence, Cointelegraph caught up with de Patoul to ask if DeFi was progressing as he expected:

“We do see more and more real-world assets on-chain,” confirmed de Patoul. “The T-Bills were the big hit of last year. Things have continued to grow, but by a bit less as the rates are a little less enticing. We are continuing to see that story unravel. We are very much in the process but it is something that will take a long time.”

BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), which launched in March, is one example de Patoul highlighted as on-trend, demonstrating a convergence of tokenized real-world assets and stablecoins. BUIDL seeks to offer a stable value of $1 per token while paying daily accrued dividends to investor wallets at the end of each month.

Over $1 billion in U.S. Treasurys have been tokenized. Source: Dune Analytics

De Patoul also cited PV01, which issued its digital native bond as recently as April 8.

For de Patoul, however, these examples only constitute “baby steps” toward a much larger transformation where every asset eventually becomes digitized. De Patoul says these changes will take time to be fully realized.

Recent: SEC targets Uniswap Labs, raising concerns over open-source code liability

“It’s not something that I would see happening in one year,” said de Patoul.

As de Patoul explains, “Crypto is a proof-of-concept for digitally represented value,” and if the last 15 years have demonstrated the efficacy of that proof-of-concept, the next 15 will be about expanding the franchise.

“Where are we going to be in 15 years — what will the world look like when all assets are on-chain?”

It’s a question that demands untypically long-term thinking in an industry where most participants are notoriously impatient.

Exceeding expectations in DeFi

The tokenization of assets is a trend that was widely predicted, but Eduard Jubany Tur, founder of perpetual trading exchange ZKX, still finds some surprises in the details.

“We spent years talking about crypto going to the real world, and actually, the real world came into crypto,” Tur told Cointelegraph.

“RWAs are happening, and they’re happening on-chain on the main networks,” said Tur. “I think that’s a very different shift compared to what the entire industry has been working on in the last ten years, which traditionally was permissioned blockchains and specific infrastructure built for institutions.”

Tur explains, “What we’re seeing now is that institutions have realized that these decentralized networks fit within their risk parameters, and they actually just deploy directly onto Ethereum and other networks.”

As Tur points out, this “is an incredible achievement for the industry” and something that simply could not have been predicted just a few years ago.

The evolution of DeFi

Danny Chong, founder of yield-enhancing asset tracker Tranchess, believes that 2024 is realizing the predictions made in 2023 — especially with regard to RWAs.

Similarly to Tur, Chong points to the convergence of “crypto into the real world, the real world into crypto” and tells Cointelegraph, “DeFi is evolving.”

“Crypto is now being invested in or being looked upon with interest by the financial giants, the likes of Fidelity, the likes of BlackRock, the banks and so on.”

For Chong, the spot Bitcoin ETFs are just another example of this convergence, but they won’t be the last. In fact, traditional finance and crypto are becoming increasingly intertwined.

Chong admits surprise at the speed with which “centralized DeFi” has emerged and accelerated as a trend, even if the concept appears to be a contradiction in terms.

“People realized that having some form of centralization in DeFi may not be a bad thing. It’s becoming more acceptable as time passes. So we now have DeFi protocols that have some element of centralization,” said Chong.

“Some DeFi users who are extreme purists have even come to terms with the fact that, actually, it may not be that bad a thing. At the end of the day, people in DeFi — or in the real world of finance — all they want is, first of all, protection of their money, and second, returns.”

So, while the sector’s idealism may suffer, centralization will continue to gain traction in DeFi.

Good intentions never last

Tur points to another area where reality erodes idealism.

In December 2023, the crypto market was in the grips of a long winter, but as April comes to an end, the market is bullish once more. Tur believes bear cycle psychology is reflected in the industry predictions of December 2023.

“It’s an interesting situation because during every bear market, I think people tend to think that’s when we’re going to, and excuse me for the language, ‘wash our sins away,’” Tur told Cointelegraph.

It is often said that the bear market is a time for building. Tur explains that it is also a time for good intentions and seeing the best in the market. But those good intentions are easily forgotten when the bull begins to outrun the bear.

As Tur puts it, “At every turn in the market, we prove ourselves wrong, and we go back to the same old shenanigans — but with greater energy.”

“We’re back into what I call Ponzinomics, which is probably the law of gravity in crypto. How do you pile up and distribute incentives in a way that motivates users to come and use different protocols?”

The solution that the market has chosen this time is what Tur calls “recursive airdrops.”

As Tur explains, “The idea of recursive airdrops is that you can use different platforms, and each platform will give you points or potential eligibility for airdrops of other third-party platforms.”

Recent: Bitcoin ETF demand turns negative around BTC halving

In this new paradigm, depositing liquidity on a protocol can potentially make you eligible for multiple airdrops. The issue for airdrop hunters is the rules for airdrop qualification are not always clear or publicized in advance, making the sport a form of educated guesswork.

Similarly, picking a winner with layer-2s may be a challenge. Tur says to prepare for “a Cambrian explosion of layer-2s, and as we have seen in the past in crypto, about 90% of them will disappear or fade away.”

But for developers and airdrop hunters alike, that’s the gambling spirit bull market optimism creates.

The United States may lead the world in stablecoin transaction volumes, but its share of stablecoin purchases relative to its gross domestic product (GDP) has been eclipsed by Turkey.

According to “The 2024 Crypto Spring Report,” released on April 25 by the blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis, Turkey has the highest share of stablecoin purchases relative to its GDP.

Based on Chainalysis’ data, stablecoin buying in Turkey accounted for 4.3% of its GDP between April 2023 and March 2024, making it the world’s biggest spender of stablecoins relative to its GDP.

Turkey’s GDP was $907 billion as of 2022, and total stablecoin purchases were $38 billion, Chainalysis director of research Kim Grauer told Cointelegraph. She added that such purchases included any swap between the Turkish lira and a stablecoin in either direction. She stated:

“This is an aggregate figure of transfers of the Turkish lira to stablecoins and stablecoins to the lira, that stablecoin activity does not impact the GDP; rather, we expressed the stablecoin activity as a percentage of GDP in order to provide context for readers.”

The size of the stablecoin market in the Turkish economy stands out from other economies analyzed by Chainalysis. According to the report, stablecoin purchases in Thailand and Georgia accounted for 1.3% and 0.7% over the same period, respectively.

Ranked fourth, the U.S. has a 0.5% share of stablecoin buying from its GDP, while the European Union follows with a share of 0.3%.

Stablecoin purchasing as a share of GDP by country from April 2023 to March 2024. Source: Chainalysis

The use of all stablecoins — including Tether (USDT) and USDC (USDC) — has surpassed all other types of cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), representing more than 50% of all transaction volume in recent months, according to the report.

The analysts believe the rapid growth of stablecoins in overall transaction activity shows a high level of utility as they played a major role in the broader adoption of crypto for everyday transactions outside of trading.

According to Chainalysis findings, the U.S. has been the biggest jurisdiction in the world in terms of stablecoin transactions over the past year. Fiat purchases of stablecoins in the United States surpassed $20 billion in March 2024, adding at least 200% since April 2023.

Other major jurisdictions like the European Union, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Brazil and Thailand have also significantly increased fiat purchases of stablecoins over the past year, according to Chainalysis data.

Fiat purchases of stablecoins from April 2023 to March 2024. Source: Chainalysis

Chainalysis analysts suggested that nations have been increasingly buying stablecoins amid local currency volatility and devaluation. That particularly relates to Turkey, which saw its inflation rate surge to as high as 67% in March, according to the Chainalysis’ "Geography of Cryptocurrency Report 2023."

Local industry experts previously claimed that residents of countries like Turkey frequently turn to stablecoins like USDT to preserve their savings when the local currency loses value.

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The chief technology officer (CTO) of the American venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, also known as a16z, has compared the ongoing memecoin frenzy to a “risky casino.”

a16z CTO Eddy Lazzarin said in an X post that memecoins hamper the long-term vision of crypto that has kept so many of the original builders in the space.

He added that these memecoins aren’t technically exciting or attractive to builders and alter how the public, regulators, and entrepreneurs see crypto.

“At best, it looks like a risky casino. Or a series of false promises masking a casino. This deeply affects adoption, regulation/laws, and builder behavior. I see the damage every day,” Lazzarin said.

He addressed whether memecoins can find a place in mainstream investments like other crypto assets such as Bitcoin. The raging debate on the memecoin frenzy comes amid a recent report that suggests hedge funds are being lured into memecoin investment, looking for hefty returns.

The a16z CTO received much flak from the memecoin community, who were quick to point out the venture capitalist also funds investment in nonfungible tokens which have seen prices tumble.

Source: 0xen

The memecoin frenzy this bull season has seen explosive growth and hefty returns for tokens that are barely a couple of days old.

For example, the Book of Memes (BOME) surged over 30,000% within a week of launch and garnered a billion-dollar market cap before being listed on centralized exchanges.

Related: SEC lawyers resign after ‘gross abuse’ of power in crypto case — Report

Similarly, another popular memecoin, Dogwifhat (WIF), which launched in November last year, has risen to over $3 billion in market capitalization placing it in the top three memecoins.

Half a dozen memecoins have grown to gain mainstream media attention this cycle. However, that is only half the picture, as thousands of other memecoin projects have either orchestrated rug pulls or been dumped on the market right after launch.

The stories of traders turning a few hundred dollars into millions often lure hundreds of new inexperienced traders to the crypto market.

However, most traders lose money chasing that one memecoin that could turn their fortune around. Thus, just like gambling, these memecoins become a way for newcomers to try their luck.

Pro-crypto enthusiasts have voiced their opinions against memecoins saying they don’t have any use case or real-world value.

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Blockchain-based voting systems could foster more transparency and public trust in the election process, according to Brian Rose, an independent mayoral candidate in London and the host of the London Real podcast.

Rose told Cointelegraph in an exclusive:

“Wouldn't we all sleep better at night if the voting system was on the blockchain and you could really prove that identity and you could actually prove that vote and there would be an immutable record? This is the future and I think it takes someone like me who comes from a business background who's intimately involved in the blockchain.”

Public trust in the election processes and political parties has taken a significant hit in recent years. In 2023, only 12% of the public in the United Kingdom said they trusted political parties, down from 20% in 2022, according to a report by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published in March 2024.

Levels of trust in public institutions, UK, 2023, Source: Office for National Statistics

Rose clarified that he still maintains confidence in the United Kingdom’s election system, but sees great public benefits from introducing blockchain-based voting:

“I’m not implying that the U.K. voting system is not true, but the problem is that when humans are involved, sometimes things don’t go as planned. So we want to put voting on the blockchain.”

Beyond introducing an on-chain voting system, Rose also aims to make London more crypto innovation-friendly, to restore its status as a leading global financial center. He said:

“[London] is not pro-crypto, whereas it used to be the greatest financial center in the world.”

Brian Rose, Interview with Cointelegraph. Source: Cointelegraph

The former Wall Street banker said that financial education is severely lacking in the country, which is why he aims to create a new London cryptocurrency and a financial education platform to empower citizens.

“Financial education is king. But the only way to do it is to do it now with blockchain… I also want to create the London coin and get it into the hands of every man, woman, and child in this city to finally create a system for financial education.”

While the details of the London token are still being finalized, Rose said that it will function as a regular cryptocurrency with price fluctuations and that it could potentially be launched on the Polygon or Avalanche blockchain.

Rose plans to offer day-to-day utilities for the London crypto, including staking, payment of public transport, taxes, and other public services.

Related: Hong Kong Bitcoin and Ether ETFs officially approved to start trading on April 30

Financial institutions would pay a 1% financial education tax for London coin

The independent mayoral candidate is planning to issue the London token to around 10 million people living in the Greater London area, to incentivize users to learn about the intricacies of blockchain and crypto.

To subsidize the costs, large financial institutions headquartered in London would be required to pay a 1% tax:

“We're going to give a 1% one-off financial education tax to any institution that has a global headquarters here behind me in the city of London that will be a liquidity pool that gets injected into The London coin.”

Rose said he invested over $10 million into 40 different Web3 companies, which is part of the reason he is so confident about the potential of blockchain technology.

Related: Bitcoin outperforms Tesla stock for the first time since 2019

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will most likely deny spot Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETF) in May, according to a new report.

Reuters reported on April 24 that U.S. issuers and other firms expect the SEC to reject spot Ether ETF applications next month following meetings with the regulator in recent weeks, citing four people who participated in the meetings.

The four persons, who asked to be anonymous due to the private nature of the discussions, said recent meetings between issuers and the SEC have been one-sided, and agency staff have not discussed substantive details about the proposed products.

The sources opposed the unsuccessful talks regarding Ether ETFs to detailed discussions between issuers and the agency in January, weeks before it approved spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Before the historic approval, the SEC rejected spot BTC ETF filings for over a decade. It only changed its stance after Grayscale Investments won a court victory against the securities regulator in August 2023.

Many analysts agree that the SEC is likely to further delay possible approval of Ether ETFs.

“It seems more likely that approval will be delayed until later in 2024, or longer,” VettaFi ETF data analyst Todd Rosenbluth reportedly said, adding that the regulatory landscape is still too “cloudy.”

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas previously estimated chances of the SEC approving a spot Ether ETF in May at around 35% in March. He also noted that he’d sourced “good intel” to suggest that the SEC may be giving the silent treatment to prospective fund issuers on purpose.

Related: SEC lawyers resign after ‘gross abuse’ of power in crypto case — Report

Balchunas also mentioned that SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s stance on Ether could also impact the decision process as Gensler has refused to give clarity on whether Ether was a security.

While the U.S. is apparently set for another delay, some global jurisdictions have been moving forward with plans to start trading ETF products.

On April 24, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) officially approved the first batch of spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether ETFs, including three BTC and three ETH ETFs by China Asset Management’s (ChinaAMC), Harvest Global Investments and Bosera.

Following approval, Hong Kong’s crypto ETFs are expected to start trading on April 30.

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BNB Chain said it will enable native liquid staking on its BNB Smart Chain (BSC) as part of its shift to migrate the BNB Beacon Chain’s functions to BSC as the former is wound down. 

In an announcement sent to Cointelegraph, BNB Chain noted that the BNB Beacon Chain will be completely shut down by June 2024. However, the company said it will transfer its features to the BSC before it closes.

BNB Chain’s road map for transitioning from the Beacon Chain to the Smart Chain. Source: BNB Chain 

BNB Chain said that enabling liquid staking on BSC will allow ecosystem participants to secure the network while keeping the liquidity of their assets.

While the organization did not give a specific date for the rollout of the liquid staking feature, BNB Chain said it will happen in April or May.

The BNB Chain core development team told Cointelegraph that the move to BSC is the organization’s attempt to streamline the network. They said:

“The implementation aligns with the sunset of the BNB Chain Fusion, streamlining the network, improving efficiency, reducing security risks and matching current technological demands.” 

The team added that the move is also a part of the company’s growth plans to make the BNB Chain “more attractive to users.”

BNB Chain explained that with the feature, users can engage in decentralized finance activities without sacrificing the asset’s utility because they will have liquid staking tokens representing their staked crypto assets. 

The BNB Chain core development team also told Cointelegraph in a statement that holders can delegate their BNB (BNB) to a liquidity pool or directly to the validator. They said:

“Liquidity staking not only rewards BNB stakers but also enhances security for the BNB Chain network. It offers BNB holders increased flexibility in staking their assets and more options for staking BNB.”

The team explained that when BNB holders stake their tokens in the liquidity pool, they can receive liquidity provider tokens, which they can use in many activities within the ecosystem.

Related: New crypto users shouldn’t ‘rush into DeFi’ — Security firms

According to the development team, liquid staking and the maximum extractable value (MEV) optimization for the BNB Chain will be rolled out together.

“Validators with MEV enabled will have the opportunity to boost their staking returns through MEV revenue, which will ultimately be factored into Liquidity Staking rewards,” the team added.

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Nigeria’s blockchain stakeholders have expressed hope and confidence in the newly appointed Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The new SEC chair’s pro-crypto background is seen as an added advantage for the local crypto industry. 

The President of the country, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has appointed Emomotimi Agama, the former managing director of the Nigerian Capital Market Institute (NCMI), as the new chair of the SEC.

This appointment aims to regulate the capital market, enhance investor confidence, and promote economic development.

In interviews with Cointelegraph, local crypto stakeholders shared their opinions about the new appointment.

Nathaniel Luz, CEO of Flincap, an OTC crypto exchange platform, expressed his excitement about the appointment, saying that the DG’s favorable views on crypto will likely bring positive changes to the crypto sector.

Luz said that the community is looking forward to the new chair working together with startups to streamline their licensing process for operating crypto platforms in Nigeria.

With the government issuing licenses for crypto organizations this year, Luz believes assisting numerous crypto startups in obtaining these licenses will ensure compliance and operational stability for exchanges in the country.

Related: Nigeria’s central bank forced to deny claims of crypto account freeze

Similarly, Lucky Uwakwe, chair of the Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee of Nigeria (BICCoN) and founder of SaBi Exchange described the appointment as a “wise decision,” considering the new Director-General’s wealth of experience in blockchain and the capital market.

According to Luz, the new leader needs to clearly state that cryptocurrency is not prohibited in Nigeria. Given recent developments and uncertainties surrounding cryptocurrency regulations in the country, stakeholders are seeking a clear declaration from the leadership to confirm the legality of crypto activities. Luz said:

“We expect that his administration will separate the baby from the bath water and show that the crypto industry has several exciting benefits for the country. We need to prove to the whole world that we are open for crypto business, despite the issues that some exchanges might have experienced in the country.”

In February, the Nigerian government used the country’s telecommunication providers to prevent local crypto users from accessing the websites of various crypto exchanges like Binance, OctaFX and others.

Authorities then accused Binance of illegally moving $26 billion out of the country and invited the firm to send representatives to discuss the issue.

Two Binance staff were subsequently detained and charged with five counts related to money laundering after meeting with Nigerian officials.

One of them, Nadeem Anjarwalla, escaped custody and was tracked down to Kenya, from where he faces extradition.

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Bitcoin (BTC) traded lower on April 25 after a fresh knee-jerk reaction to geopolitical news cost bulls up to 5%.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: TradingView BTC price stays sensitive to Middle East

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC price action attempting to form support at $64,000 prior to the Wall Street open.

This followed a dip to $63,575 around the previous daily close, resulting from renewed Middle East tensions.

According to the latest figures from monitoring resource CoinGlass, liquidity increased on both sides of the spot price across crypto exchanges on the day.

Notably, a large cloud of asks had appeared, beginning with around $75 million at $64,765 and laddering up to $67,700.

To the downside, there was comparatively modest bid interest focused on $63,500 — the local low.

Bitcoin liquidation heatmap (screenshot). Source: CoinGlass

Bitcoin managed to fill one of two recently-created CME Group futures gaps with its latest downside.

Source: Johnny

Commenting on the current status quo, popular trader Daan Crypto Trades reiterated the “healthy” state of funding rates as a basis for a slow but steady BTC price recovery going forward.

“Keep it this way as we grind up and we should have a solid base for higher. Don't want to see longs ape back in on the next best green candle,” he wrote in part of commentary on X (formerly Twitter) alongside CoinGlass data.

Bitcoin funding rates heatmap (screenshot). Source: CoinGlass

In the latest edition of its “New York Color” market updates sent to Telegram channel subscribers on April 24, trading firm QCP Capital revealed shifting crypto sentiment on low-timeframes.

“The market is expecting upside to be capped and for spot price to consolidate in the short term,” it wrote.

Bitcoin ETF flows tread water

Meanwhile, the United States' spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) returned to net outflows on April 24.

Related: $1M Bitcoin price still in play amid ‘macro liquidity surge’ — Arthur Hayes

These were driven mostly by outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), data from sources including United Kingdom-based investment firm Farside.

Bitcoin spot ETF flows (screenshot). Source: Farside

In an unusual event, as Cointelegraph reported, the largest ETF offering from asset manager BlackRock saw zero inflows.

Spot ETFs are due to begin trading in Hong Kong on April 30, marking another first for Bitcoin institutional adoption.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Researchers from the blockchain oracle platform Chainlink believe asset managers have a “sizable” opportunity to jump into tokenization as financial assets infrastructures continue to go digital. 

In an industry report titled Beyond Token Issuance, blockchain oracle platform Chainlink explained where the opportunity lies and how interoperability and real-world data could unlock the value of tokenized assets.

Industries and markets that could benefit from tokenization. Source: Chainlink

The report laid down the potential benefits of tokenization for asset managers. This includes unlocking dormant capital, giving assets greater availability and creating novel revenue models.

Apart from these, Chainlink said that asset managers could also create unified client portfolios, differentiate their service offerings and improve their risk management as tokenization allows for more automated risk assessment.

Within the report, Chainlink also argued that blockchains continued to evolve into an “integral component of the existing financial ecosystem.” In addition, the company highlighted that traditional and blockchain-based assets are already merging into a single financial ecosystem.

The researchers believe this resulted from continued digitization, as blockchains offered superior infrastructure for asset storage and transactions.

Related: New crypto users shouldn’t ‘rush into DeFi’ — Security firms

Ryan Lovell, Chainlink Labs’ director of capital markets, told Cointelegraph that tokenization has been in a research and development phase for several years.

Lovell explained that institutions were bringing simple account balances on-chain and were trying to figure out the potential impact of tokenization for their businesses only at a basic level. Lovell said:

“This was kind of like building a concept car without an engine or interior. Just a basic shell of what the future will hold.”

However, the executive believes that the next phase for tokenization will be more about building foundational infrastructure. This is necessary to make tokenized assets composable and programmable across traditional systems and private and public chains.

Meanwhile, the Chainlink executive believes that enhancing tokens with real-world data and letting them become interoperable across blockchains and traditional systems could unlock powerful applications.

Lovell said these use cases would feature more transparency, lower costs and more streamlined administrative processes than traditional finance infrastructure.

“We’re actively working on several exciting initiatives at the moment to enable institutions to go beyond mere token issuance, manage tokenized assets throughout their entire lifecycle, and transact across the cross-chain economy,” Lovell added.

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The European Parliament approved new regulations that establish formal due diligence obligations for cryptocurrency companies with a goal of combating money laundering.

The new laws are aimed at improving “due diligence measures and identity checks” for customers, extending to entities such as crypto asset managers. These entities will also be required to report any suspicious activities to authorities.

This new legislation, approved on April 24, will impact crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), like centralized crypto exchanges under MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation) and various other entities, including gambling services.

Source: Patrick Hansen

MiCA is a regulatory framework introduced by the European Union to oversee digital assets and their markets. It was enacted in June 2023 and will be fully enforceable by the end of the year.

A new agency — the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLA) — has been designated to oversee and supervise the implementation of the new rule.

AMLA’s office will be situated in Frankfurt. However, the law has not been formally adopted by the Council and has yet to be published in the EU Office Journal.

Patrick Hansen, Circle’s EU Strategy and Policy Director, expressed anticipation for the vote’s outcome in a post on X. He mentioned that the package would proceed to be officially adopted by the Council of the EU and come into effect three years later.

Related: EU watchdog warns handful of exchanges may dominate crypto market

In a post, Hansen mentioned that these CASPs will be required to adhere to standard KYC/AML procedures such as customer due diligence (CDD).

He noted that this requirement is not novel, as all crypto exchanges and custodial wallet providers in the EU are already obligated to comply with these regulations under existing legislation.

Hansen described the final version as a “positive result” for the crypto sector. He noted that earlier iterations of the proposed AMLR suggested a much stricter approach, which would have necessitated KYC on the self-custody originator/beneficiary.

However, he credited industry efforts for advocating a risk-based approach with multiple options, ultimately leading to consensus.

Last month, a majority of the European Parliament’s lead committees scrapped the 1,000 euro ($1,080) limit on cryptocurrency payments from self-hosted crypto wallets as part of new Anti-Money Laundering laws.

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