AI integration in finance is reshaping enterprise systems, enhancing efficiency and transforming user interactions globally.

The post Rob Goldstein: Technology is reshaping financial services, AI’s unpredictability challenges accountability, and asset management relies on information processing | Odd Lots appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Ripple's expansion in Dubai underscores the Middle East's growing influence in the blockchain sector, potentially reshaping global finance dynamics.

The post Ripple expands headquarters in Dubai’s financial hub as regional demand accelerates appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

OKX's protocol could revolutionize AI-driven commerce by enabling autonomous transactions, potentially reducing human intervention in business operations.

The post OKX publishes open protocol enabling AI agents to quote, escrow and settle autonomously appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The ongoing blockade heightens geopolitical tensions, potentially driving up oil prices and increasing market volatility amid diplomatic uncertainty.

The post Trump rejects Iran proposal, keeps naval blockade amid nuclear deal stalemate appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The incident underscores vulnerabilities in US air defenses, potentially prompting more aggressive military strategies and policy shifts.

The post Iranian jet bombs US base in Kuwait, challenges air defense systems appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitcoin Magazine

Strike CEO Jack Mallers Announces Lending Proof-of-Reserves, Volatility-Proof Loans, and Backs Tether Merger Plan

Strike CEO Jack Mallers announced a series of product updates and strategic moves Wednesday, including the launch of lending proof-of-reserves, a new “volatility-proof” bitcoin-backed loan structure built with Tether, and a $2.1 billion credit facility. 

He also said he supports a proposal by Tether Investments to merge Strike with Twenty-One Capital and bitcoin miner Elektron Energy.

Mallers said Strike’s bitcoin-backed loan and line-of-credit business has grown since launch, with users drawn to the ability to borrow against bitcoin rather than sell it. 

He described bitcoin as a savings account for many customers and said Strike cut its rate tiers across the board. Pricing now ranges from approximately 10.5% APR for loans under $250,000 to approximately 7.49% APR for loans above $5 million.

Strike announced the first iteration of its lending proof-of-reserves, which gives borrowers the ability to verify that their collateral is present and segregated in a distinct on-chain address. 

“We want you to trust us and know that we are who we say we are,” Mallers said. The disclosure mechanism was developed in partnership with Tether, which Mallers credited with helping Strike build the transparency infrastructure.

The two companies also jointly developed what Mallers called “volatility-proof” bitcoin-backed loans, a structure that removes the risk of forced liquidation when bitcoin prices fall or broader markets drop. 

Mallers said the segregated collateral product is available now through Strike’s private client desk, and the volatility-proof loan feature is available to customers as part of the bitcoin-backed lending suite.

Mallers announced that Strike has secured a $2.1 billion credit facility, which he said gives the company capacity to meet demand at any order size within its lending business.

Merger proposal

Earlier Wednesday, Tether Investments published a proposal to merge Twenty-One Capital with Strike and Elektron Energy, a large-scale bitcoin mining operator that manages approximately 50 EH/s, or roughly 5% of the current Bitcoin network hashrate. 

Tether said the combined entity would integrate bitcoin treasury holdings, mining, financial services, lending, and capital markets under a single listed platform.

Mallers said he backs the plan. “Simply put, I think it’s a great idea,” he said, adding that building a Bitcoin company — not a narrow payments app — was his founding goal. Elektron founder Raphael Zagury has been proposed as President of the combined entity under the plan.

The bitcoin company quadrant and Maller’s vision

Mallers used a quadrant framework onstage to argue that the Bitcoin industry has a gap at the intersection of high conviction and high operating income. 

He placed crypto exchanges in the high-income, low-conviction corner, saying they run profitable businesses but list many coins and build products across asset classes. He placed bitcoin treasury companies in the high-conviction, low-income corner, describing them as deeply committed to bitcoin but limited in operating business scope. 

He cited Coinbase as an exchange that could carry more bitcoin on its balance sheet, and praised MicroStrategy executive chairman Michael Saylor while drawing a distinction between a treasury strategy and a product strategy. “I love him and his company,” Mallers said of Saylor, “but I want to build bitcoin products.”

His answer to the gap was a four-pillar model: a financial services arm covering brokerage, custody, lending, payments, treasury, and prime services; bitcoin infrastructure spanning energy, power generation, mining, hardware, and hosting; a capital markets operation built around loan-book securitization, mining revenue securitization, bitcoin-backed debt, and structured products; and a mergers-and-acquisitions function targeting profitable bitcoin businesses across software, custody, payments, energy, and distribution. 

The stated goal of the M&A arm, as presented on his slide, is to give “every dollar of operating income one job: buy more Bitcoin.”

Mallers closed by saying a platform of that scope could “change the world with its products” and cited a phrase he has used throughout his career: “Fix the money, fix the world.”

This post Strike CEO Jack Mallers Announces Lending Proof-of-Reserves, Volatility-Proof Loans, and Backs Tether Merger Plan first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Strategy and Blockstream CEOs Paint Vision of Bitcoin’s Financial Future

Strategy CEO Phong Le and Blockstream CEO Adam Back appeared Wednesday on a panel moderated by Natalie Brunell, covering Bitcoin treasury strategy, tokenization, digital credit, and the enduring mystery of Satoshi Nakamoto. 

The conversation drew a picture of a financial system in transition, with Bitcoin at its center.

Le opened with a striking observation about Strategy’s Bitcoin holdings. The company now holds 818,334, putting it second behind only one entity. 

“There is only one individual entity with more Bitcoin than Strategy,” Le said. “That’s Satoshi.” 

The firm is on pace to reach 1 million BTC in the next couple of months, a milestone that would cement its place in financial history.

Digital credit in the bitcoin space

Much of the discussion centered on Stretch, or STRC, Strategy’s perpetual preferred stock that pays an 11.5% annual dividend with proceeds used to purchase Bitcoin.

Le was direct about why the product matters. “This product does good,” he said, contrasting it with industries like tobacco and processed food. 

Investors use STRC as a place to park short-term money, and it has served as a lower barrier for people seeking BTC exposure. Layer 2 products and DeFi protocols are now being built on top of it, Le said, describing STRC as “the most important credit product of all time” and a cornerstone for bringing BTC and DeFi together.

Back addressed the intersection of cypherpunk ideology and institutional finance, a tension the Bitcoin community has long wrestled with. 

He said BTC’s acceptance by sovereign wealth funds and private funds is “a sign of success,” not a compromise. Cypherpunks, he explained, believed in capital formation and free markets, not just cryptographic privacy. 

Back said treasury companies exist to grow Bitcoin per share, and when they do, individual holders benefit too.

Le reinforced the point, saying he learned much from Back when they first met. “Cypherpunks are gifted minds who understand the markets very well,” Le said, framing the movement as one that has always operated at the intersection of technology and capital.

On tokenization, both men saw it as the next structural shift. Le described it as “the digitalization of markets,” with blockchain providing the transparency layer.

He pointed to tap-to-pay as an analogy. “Why can’t you do that to a stock, peer to peer?” he asked. Back added that tokenization enables 24/7 trading, use of assets as collateral, and unlocks value in assets that are hard to discover or trade, like private notes and contracts.

When asked if major banks would compete in bitcoin digital credit, Le said he expected them to. He compared it to Amazon reshaping retail and forcing Walmart to respond. 

Then he added: “I’d love to see Morgan Stanley on that list” regarding massive bitcoin companies. 

The panel closed on a lighter note. Brunell asked Back about a New York Times investigation published earlier this month that named him as Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto. 

Back, who denied the claim when the story broke, did not address it directly. “We are in a very good place regarding people adopting the technology,” he said. 

This post Strategy and Blockstream CEOs Paint Vision of Bitcoin’s Financial Future first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Morgan Stanley Executive on Bitcoin: ‘We Are Still So Early on This Journey’

Morgan Stanley launched its bitcoin exchange-traded product, the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT), into a market it believes is still in its infancy. 

At a panel on Wednesday moderated by Tyler Evans, Amy Oldenburg, the bank’s head of digital assets, spent the better part of an hour making a case for bitcoin that few clients have heard in full, and said that gap is the industry’s most urgent problem.

“We have to start with bitcoin,” Oldenburg told the audience, citing the asset’s roughly 1.5 trillion dollar market cap and its distance from the rest of the crypto landscape. 

She was careful to draw a line between bitcoin and crypto as a broad category, a distinction she said most retail and institutional clients still do not make with confidence. The firm wants to see that distinction anchored in fundamental research, not just narrative.

Oldenburg: Bitcoin has an education problem 

The education problem, she said, runs deep. Many investors still associate bitcoin with its early history of use by bad actors, and struggle to see past that frame when weighing an allocation. 

Oldenburg said that when clients ask about yield or structured exposure, her team tries to be direct: “you can present it as a yield, but the underlying asset is bitcoin.” That clarity, she said, is still missing from most conversations in the market, and there is “so much more work to do.”

MSBT pulled in more than $100 million in its first week of trading, a strong early signal for a product the bank describes as designed for the full spectrum of its client base rather than a narrow segment. 

But Oldenburg was quick to put that number in context. All of the initial flows came through self-directed accounts, because the fund had not yet been made available on the advisory platform.

She noted that the bank has announced a 2–4% crypto allocation recommendation, and that even with that guidance in place, take-up through advisors has been slow. The product, she reminded the audience, has been on the market for less than a year.

To bridge that gap, Morgan Stanley is working from the inside out. Oldenburg said the firm is rolling out internal training so that financial advisors can speak to clients on bitcoin with confidence, and that her team spends “hour after hour after hour” on the phone walking clients through models and allocation frameworks. 

She said the bank designs products for clients with different needs and wants its platform to cover each of those needs, including clients who want a direct ETP wrapper, and that spot crypto trading is coming for those on the wealth management side.

On custodians, Oldenburg acknowledged the complexity of the decision. The market has no shortage of providers, and choosing among them was not straightforward, which led the firm to work with more than one. Morgan Stanley ultimately tapped Coinbase and BNY Mellon as custodians for MSBT.

When the conversation turned to high-beta bitcoin plays, Oldenburg called Strategy, the Michael Saylor-led company formerly known as MicroStrategy, “a good friend of Morgan Stanley,” and said the bank has worked alongside it through its evolution. 

She said most of the exposure in that vehicle so far is coming from retail and that “digital credit” as a category will take time to develop.

Morgan Stanley buying bitcoin is “not out of the question”

On the question of banks holding bitcoin on their balance sheets, Oldenburg said it is “not out of the question” if regulatory progress continues, but was measured in framing it. 

The U.S. needs greater alignment among its financial regulators, she said, and for a global firm like Morgan Stanley, the picture is more complex still — each jurisdiction comes with its own framework.

She closed where she began: on the need for research with reach. The market has commentators and personalities that investors trust and follow, she said, and the work ahead is to bring that kind of accessible, grounded analysis into the mainstream. 

“We are still so early on this journey,” she said. “So little allocation. It’s still really early.”

This post Morgan Stanley Executive on Bitcoin: ‘We Are Still So Early on This Journey’ first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin, WikiLeaks, and a Film the Streamers Wouldn’t Touch: Jack Dorsey and Eugene Jarecki Make Their Case

Filmmaker Eugene Jarecki and tech entrepreneur Jack Dorsey took the stage Wednesday to discuss The Six Billion Dollar Man, Jarecki’s documentary on Julian Assange, and the role the bitcoin community may play in getting it to the public — a conversation that stretched from censorship and surveillance to Satoshi Nakamoto and the original principles of the internet.

Dorsey joined the panel virtually. The setting itself carried weight: Jarecki told the crowd that the casino sitting close to where he stood had ties to the private security firm that spied on Assange while he lived inside London’s Ecuadorian Embassy — a revelation the documentary places at the center of its surveillance narrative.

Dorsey: Bitcoin embodies a gatekeeper-free, open network

Jarecki said he went to Dorsey first for money. He needed help distributing a film that, despite premiering at Cannes and earning recognition on the festival circuit, found no takers among major streaming platforms. Dorsey shifted the conversation. 

Rather than write a check, he told Jarecki that the bitcoin community represented something larger than a funding source — a constituency built around the same principles Assange had fought to defend.

“Bitcoin is an open protocol for money transmission,” Dorsey said. “It routes around the gatekeepers — Visa, Mastercard, the banks.” 

He described the community as one that views Assange as a hero, someone who stood for the idea that information should remain free and open, values he traced back to the founding culture of the internet itself.

Dorsey pointed to 2011 as a proof of concept. After financial institutions cut off WikiLeaks from donation channels under pressure from the U.S. government, bitcoin stepped in as the only payment rail that could not be blocked.

He called WikiLeaks adopting bitcoin out of necessity one of the most significant moments in the protocol’s early history — not because it was planned, but because it revealed an immediate, real-world use case under conditions of state pressure.

He then drew a line between Assange and Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of bitcoin. Dorsey said what matters most about bitcoin is that its founder walked away. He called that exit a selfless act — one that made the network founderless, and therefore resistant to the kind of pressure that governments and institutions can apply when a single person stands at the center of a project. 

He placed Assange and Edward Snowden in the same category: people who trusted the technology they used, put their lives at risk for principles larger than themselves, and paid for it.

Jarecki said making the film carried its own risks. While shooting in Russia, he said his crew felt they were being followed and monitored — a layer of pressure that shaped the production from the inside. He described the mutual regard between Assange and Snowden, two figures who understood each other’s positions with precision, as one of the documentary’s most striking undercurrents.

A pay-per-view watch party in less than 60 days

The film’s distribution model is the most unusual element of the project. Dorsey proposed a global private pay-per-view watch party as an alternative to the traditional release pipeline. Ticket buyers at thesixbilliondollarman.com receive a credit line on the film itself, turning the audience into participants in the project rather than passive consumers. 

Jarecki framed it as a test of whether a community organized around open financial infrastructure could do what media gatekeepers would not — get a film about press freedom in front of the people who need to see it.

Dorsey said the website and the viewing model offer a way to crowdfund and bring the community together around a shared cause. 

At the panel, Jarecki showed never-before-seen clips from the documentary — behind-the-scenes footage that gave the audience a direct look at material that has not circulated publicly.

Jarecki and Dorsey are betting that the bitcoin community, which absorbed that argument in 2011 when it mattered most, will carry the film where the streaming industry declined to go.

This post Bitcoin, WikiLeaks, and a Film the Streamers Wouldn’t Touch: Jack Dorsey and Eugene Jarecki Make Their Case first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Eric Trump, John Koudounis Call Bitcoin a Global Reserve Asset, Float $1M Price Target

At Bitcoin 2026 in Las Vegas, Eric Trump and Calamos Investments CEO John Koudounis sat down with Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas for a panel that covered bitcoin’s maturation from speculative instrument to global reserve contender. 

The conversation ranged across institutional adoption, government debanking, currency debasement, and the challenge of winning over ordinary investors who still view bitcoin as too risky, too complex, or both. 

It was a panel that reflected how much the room has changed — a mix of long-time bitcoin believers and fresh institutional money that, a decade ago, would have dismissed this gathering entirely.

Trump: Bitcoin is a sticky, limited supply asset

Trump opened on a structural theme, arguing that bitcoin has become “sticky.” The U.S. government now holds approximately 300,000 bitcoin and will not sell, he said, a claim consistent with the creation of a U.S. strategic bitcoin reserve. 

Corporate treasury buyers like Strategy and Metaplanet, which surpassed 40,000 bitcoin in holdings by the end of the first quarter of 2026, are doing the same. The world’s largest financial platforms — Trump named Charles Schwab and Morgan Stanley — have also moved in. 

American Bitcoin, the company Trump co-founded, is mining bitcoin and holding every coin rather than selling. 

“We are compressing bitcoin,” Trump said. “There is a limited supply.”

The argument, in essence, is that the natural sellers are leaving the market while a new class of permanent holders takes their place.

Koudounis put the bitcoin supply compression argument in the context of a broader capital shift. He cited research projecting that 124 trillion dollars in wealth will transfer across generations through 2048, and said the 60 billion dollars that have moved into spot bitcoin ETFs so far represent a fraction of what is coming. 

For context, 60 billion dollars is roughly the size of a mid-tier U.S. asset manager’s total book. Set against a 124 trillion dollar transfer of accumulated Boomer wealth to Millennial and Gen Z inheritors who are far more comfortable with digital assets, it reads as a starting line.

Koudounis told the audience that the institutional conversation has already moved on. “The question used to be, ‘Are you buying bitcoin?'” he said. “Now it’s, ‘What percent are you allocating?'”

And his conclusion on what full institutional entry means for the asset: “Once institutions get involved, it’s game over.”

How can bitcoin attract retail clients?  

Balchunas pressed both men on the retail challenge, asking how they would sell bitcoin to his mother — a stand-in for the generation of older investors who remain nervous about volatility and complexity. It is a question the industry has never fully answered. 

Bitcoin’s price history, with its 80% drawdowns and euphoric recoveries, is not a comfortable pitch to someone managing a fixed retirement income. 

In response to this quandary, Koudounis said that Calamos has built a line of protected bitcoin ETFs that cap downside and smooth returns, turning a perceived deterrent into a feature for conservative investors who want exposure without the full ride. 

The goal, he said, is to add bitcoin exposure to products that already feel familiar to traditional investors. 

Trump’s answer to the same question was more direct. Fixed income, he argued, is not a genuine alternative at current yields. 

“Do yourself a favor, go invest in fixed income at 4%,” he said. “I’ll invest in bitcoin. I’ll ride out the volatility and we’ll see who wins that equation in a 10-year period of time.” 

He claimed BTC has averaged roughly 70% annual growth per year over the past decade and called it “a better gold,” adding that “every country in this world needs it.”

The macro case Trump made was not only about returns. He pointed to currency weakness and geopolitical instability — citing Iran specifically — as reasons traditional store-of-value assets are under pressure, and argued that BTC’s ability to transfer value across borders without a bank intermediary is a feature that becomes more valuable the more fragile existing systems look.

Currency debasement, he said, is real and ongoing, and bitcoin is designed to resist it. “Would you rather have the euro,” he asked, “or would you rather have bitcoin, an asset that’s grown at 70% a year on average, year over year for the last decade? It’s not even close.”

Koudounis: Banks can ‘debank’ you at any time

On the question of why he became an advocate at all, Trump’s answer was personal. He described how major banks shut down hundreds of Trump Organization accounts — covering buildings, golf courses, and restaurants — following the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot.

JPMorgan has since confirmed it closed those accounts. Trump and the Trump Organization later filed suit against Capital One over similar closures.

“They threw us away like dogs,” Trump said on stage. 

The debanking experience, combined with what he described as slow, friction-heavy bank wire transfers, pushed him toward bitcoin’s censorship-resistant architecture. “That’s why I advocate like hell for this industry,” he said. 

On usability, Trump conceded that early crypto technology was clunky, but said banks entering the space will be the force that finally makes the experience simple.

“The industry will grow,” he said, “when the user experience is simple and easy and not torturous.”

Koudounis broadened the debanking argument beyond the Trumps. He drew on personal history, recounting Greece’s 2015 debt crisis, when the government imposed daily withdrawal limits on bank accounts that lasted roughly four years before capital controls were fully lifted. 

Citizens woke up one day to find the state had placed a ceiling on how much of their own money they could access. 

“You don’t have to be the Trumps to be targeted by banks,” Koudounis said. “This can happen to anybody. You, me, any of us.” 

Banks told you to stay away, then ‘snuck into’ bitcoin

Koudounis then turned the spotlight on the financial industry’s own behavior. While banks spent years publicly dismissing BTC and warning customers away from it, they were constructing the infrastructure to invest in it out of sight. 

“Banks got the clue,” he said, and delivered a pointed summary to the crowd: “You guys won.”

Trump closed with three statements that drew the loudest reaction of the panel. He called government spending “dangerous” and pointed to a federal investigation that found some government spending to be fraudulent, citing it as evidence for why a transparent, programmable, decentralized form of money has real-world value beyond trading.

If fraud of that scale is hard to eliminate in the best-administered country on earth, he argued, it is a structural problem that BTC’s transparent ledger is built to address. He acknowledged the macro backdrop has been rough for holders over the past three months but told the audience to stay the course.

And then he closed his remarks in plain terms: “I have absolute conviction that bitcoin is going to hit one million dollars… I’ve never been more bullish on this asset class in my life.”

This post Eric Trump, John Koudounis Call Bitcoin a Global Reserve Asset, Float $1M Price Target first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

The old Bitcoin playbook ran on the simple logic that when global M2 expands, capital flows into risk assets, and Bitcoin captures a disproportionate share.

That relationship powered the 2020-2021 bull market, and crypto Twitter spent the better part of 2024 charting M2 overlays as proof that the next leg was imminent.

Now, the global M2 has been expanding while Bitcoin has continued to underperform.

Related Reading

Bitcoin breaks from M2 money supply as dollar strength overrides global cash growth

Liquidity is still expanding, but faster-moving dollar strength is tightening conditions before it reaches Bitcoin.

Apr 1, 2026 · Gino Matos

March 2026 US M2 printed at nearly $22.7 trillion, up 4.6% year over year, and Bitcoin spent much of the first quarter unable to hold above $76,000, a level that Real Vision chief crypto analyst Jamie Coutts identified as key resistance on CryptoQuant's Unbiased podcast.

Coutts' diagnosis was that the transmission mechanism had changed, as the kind of liquidity now determines if the expansion actually reaches financial assets.

In the post-2008 QE era, the Federal Reserve bought assets directly, flooding the system with bank reserves that had nowhere to go but into equities, credit, and eventually crypto.

Today, Treasury issuance, reserve management, cash balance swings, and bank credit creation have replaced the central bank's balance-sheet firehose.

The plumbing problem

The US public debt closed the fourth quarter of 2025 at over $38.5 trillion, up 6.3% year over year. Meanwhile, US M2 grew by 4.6% over the same period.

Based on the most basic numbers available, debt is outpacing broad money by nearly two percentage points annually. The debt stock now equals roughly 1.70x total M2, a ratio with no modern precedent in a supposedly accommodative monetary environment.

The Treasury's own borrowing estimates called for $574 billion in net marketable debt in the January-March 2026 quarter and another $109 billion in April-June, while maintaining a cash balance above $1 trillion.

The Treasury General Account, which sits at the Federal Reserve, held roughly $1 trillion in the latest H.4.1 data. Cash parked at the Fed drains reserves from the banking system even as M2 continues to tick up.

Reserve balances fell to about $2.9 trillion in the Fed's Apr. 22 release, down approximately $355 billion from a year earlier.

Broad money expands on paper while the plumbing that actually moves reserves into financial markets tightens at the margin.

Bank credit is still expanding, with commercial loans and leases reaching roughly $13.7 trillion by mid-April, while that credit appears to be flowing into real-economy absorption.

At the Apr. 29 FOMC meeting, the policy rate was held at 3.5%-3.75%, and total assets stayed around $6.7 trillion. Officials cited inflation as their primary restraint, with no balance sheet expansion on the agenda.

Why the old chart broke

Coutts argued on the podcast that Bitcoin's underperformance reflects plumbing friction.

The selloff from late 2024 into early 2025 drew on tightening reserve conditions in the fourth quarter, Treasury dynamics tied to a government shutdown, derivatives-driven deleveraging, and the expanding role of ETF and derivatives markets in Bitcoin's price structure.

None of those forces appear in a global M2 overlay, as they are features of a financial system in which Treasury supply, reserve management, and funding conditions have become the real battleground.

Gold offers the clearest cross-market confirmation. Central banks bought 244 tonnes of gold in the first quarter, up 3% year over year, with total gold demand reaching 1,231 tonnes and a record $193 billion by value, per the World Gold Council.

Official institutions are hedging sovereign debt credibility at scale, but they are doing it through gold, an asset central banks can legally hold.

The IMF's latest Fiscal Monitor found that global public debt now looks set to reach 100% of GDP by 2029, with the US and China driving most of the acceleration.

The Congressional Budget Office projects a $1.9 trillion federal deficit in FY2026 and debt held by the public expanding from 101% of GDP to 120% by 2036, a structural supply overhang that will continue to compete with risk appetite for the same pool of reserves and capital.

Related Reading

Central bankers call crypto a “shadow” financial system as Binance breaks over $1 trillion trading volume

Binance’s early-year trading surge shows how market power is clustering around platforms that now combine trading, custody, leverage and yield.

Apr 25, 2026 · Oluwapelumi Adejumo

Two outcomes

In the bull case, inflation cools toward the Fed's projected path, the Treasury cash balance declines, reserves rebuild, and bank credit continues to expand without a growth scare.

In that setup, the “liquidity is still expanding” thesis regains traction. Bitcoin can re-rate quickly because the debt-to-liquidity mismatch prevents the tightening of financial conditions at the margin.
Coutts treated the $60,000 zone as a value floor and put the odds that the cycle low is already in at better than 50-50.

In the bear case, debt issuance stays heavy, inflation stays sticky, Treasury funding strain persists, and the Fed cannot ease without reigniting the inflation it has spent two years suppressing.

Bitcoin then behaves less like a monetary hedge and more like a high-beta risk asset exposed to rates, funding conditions, and periodic deleveraging.

The April flash PMI from S&P Global already described growth running close to a 1% annualized pace. This fragile expansion does not need to tip into recession to generate the kind of funding shocks that hit Bitcoin hardest.

Coutts separates the long-term monetary case for Bitcoin from the medium-term price behavior that reserve flows actually drive.

In a regime where debt outpaces broad money, where the Fed manages from a restrictive floor, where Treasury cash balances drain reserves even as M2 ticks up, the operative question for investors is whether that expansion is running fast enough to absorb debt, reserves, and Treasury supply simultaneously.

Until debt and reserve conditions turn decisively in Bitcoin's favor, the asset will keep delivering the sharp drawdowns and frustrating consolidations that define a market caught between a constructive long-run thesis and a tighter-than-expected short-run funding environment.

The post Bitcoin’s next risk is hiding in the gap between debt and liquidity appeared first on CryptoSlate.

This month, Israel and Pakistan supplied a quieter test for crypto than the one playing out in US capital markets. What if the more important 2026 shift is happening where digital assets meet local money and bank accounts?

Israeli crypto firm Bits of Gold said Israel's Capital Market Authority approved the issuance and distribution of BILS, a shekel-pegged stablecoin, after a two-year pilot. Days earlier, the State Bank of Pakistan issued BPRD Circular Letter No. 10 of 2026, replacing its 2018 virtual-currency prohibition.

The Pakistan circular allows regulated entities to open bank accounts for PVARA NOC or licensed VASPs and their customers under defined compliance conditions.

Those two moves sit far from the US spot ETF cycle. Yet they point to the operational layer that decides whether crypto becomes more than an investment wrapper. The US has supplied legitimacy, liquidity, and a powerful digital-dollar debate.

Other jurisdictions are testing a different operating layer: whether crypto can connect to local money, bank accounts, merchant checkout, and enforceable market rules.

Related Reading

CLARITY Act stablecoin fight shifts from yield to who captures digital-dollar economics

Washington’s stablecoin rules are turning a yield fight into a broader contest over payments, reserves, wallets, and bank rails.

Apr 28, 2026 · Liam 'Akiba' Wright

Perhaps we need to rethink how global adoption should be evaluated. A Bitcoin ETF lets investors buy exposure. A regulated shekel stablecoin lets users hold a domestic currency on-chain.

A central bank circular that lets licensed crypto firms open accounts gives the sector a bridge back into supervised banking. The first validates an asset class. The second and third test whether crypto can become usable financial infrastructure.

The test remains early. BILS still needs proof of issuance and usage. Pakistan still needs licensed VASPs with actual bank relationships. Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s new stablecoin licensees still need business launches, while the UAE, South Korea, Japan, the UK, and the EU are each testing different parts of the same adoption stack: payment tokens, merchant checkout, market conduct, authorization, and supervisory rules.

The UAE still needs clearer public mapping between dirham-token announcements and Central Bank register entries. Still, the pattern is becoming harder to dismiss: in 2026, the practical crypto work is increasingly about where digital assets touch money, banks, merchants, and settlement systems.

Local money and bank access

Bits of Gold says the approved BILS project is a shekel-pegged stablecoin designed initially on Solana, with Fireblocks, QEDIT, EY, and the Solana Foundation involved in the pilot.

The policy signal is the local-currency component. BILS brings the shekel into an on-chain market still dominated by dollar stablecoins and asks whether a national currency can gain a programmable version without ceding the entire payments layer to USD tokens.

That is monetary-sovereignty. Dollar stablecoins have become the working unit of much of crypto's settlement activity.

A shekel token, if issuance and adoption follow approval, gives Israel a way to test domestic-currency rails inside that same infrastructure. The result would be measured less by market attention and more by whether wallets, exchanges, payment firms, and regulated counterparties find a reason to use it.

Pakistan supplies the banking half of the opening. The State Bank of Pakistan circular is concrete because it replaces FE Circular No. 3 of 2018 and permits SBP-regulated entities to open accounts for PVARA NOC or licensed VASPs and their customers.

The circular also ties access to bank controls, documentation, monitoring, customer-risk checks, and compliance with Pakistan's virtual-asset framework.

That changes the operating surface for licensed crypto firms. Bank accounts are basic financial plumbing. They determine whether a regulated VASP can hold client money, reconcile flows, satisfy due diligence, and bring activity into monitored channels.

For a market such as Pakistan, which Chainalysis ranks among leading crypto adoption countries, banking access can decide whether usage remains informal or moves into traceable institutional structures.

Hong Kong offers a licensing comparator for the same rails-first pattern. On April 10, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority granted stablecoin issuer licenses to Anchorpoint Financial Limited and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited.

The HKMA register lists both with effective dates of April 10, 2026. That moves the jurisdiction from policy design to named licensed issuers, while leaving the business-launch and user-adoption tests ahead.

The active map is straightforward*:

* These focus on 2026. Brazil, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines are also moving pieces of crypto into regulated financial channels, from VASP licensing and stablecoin rules to tokenized settlement, tourist payments, and bank-supervised activity.

Rulebooks are becoming operating layers

The same movement shows up in conduct rules. Japan's Financial Services Agency has published materials pointing toward a shift from Payment Services Act treatment to Financial Instruments and Exchange Act-style oversight for crypto-assets.

The working-group report recommends information provision, crypto-asset service-provider controls, market-abuse rules, insider-trading rules, SESC powers, and stronger user protection. The FSA's weekly review also notes draft Acts submitted to the Diet tied to FIEA and PSA amendments.

Japan's signal is about classification and conduct. Crypto assets are being pulled toward a framework where disclosure, surveillance, and misconduct rules shape participation. That makes access conditional on behavior, supervision, and accountability.

It also shows why regulatory design can be a form of infrastructure. Markets use law as a routing layer when participants need to know who can list assets, who can custody them, who can market them, and which forms of trading behavior create liability.

The UK is building a similar operating layer with a longer runway. The FCA says firms that want to carry on new regulated cryptoasset activities can apply from Sept. 30, 2026 to Feb. 28, 2027.

The new regime is expected to come into force on Oct. 25, 2027. A related consultation notice shows the regulator moving through authorization, supervision, consumer-duty, custody, prudential, and market-abuse work.

Europe already has the broader framework in place. ESMA says MiCA establishes uniform rules for crypto-assets covering transparency, disclosure, authorization, supervision, consumer information, market integrity, and financial stability.

Our broader global regulatory map has already shown regulation moving as a multi-market process. The 2026 layer adds a sharper point: rulebooks are starting to decide how crypto products enter ordinary financial channels.

The UAE adds a payment-token example, but scope remains the constraint. The Central Bank's Payment Token Services Regulation provides the rulebook for payment-token activity, while a February CBUAE register provides a public check on licensed entities.

Separately, an ADX-hosted release says IHC, Sirius, and FAB received CBUAE approval to launch the dirham-backed DDSC on ADI Chain for institutional payments, settlement, treasury, and trade flows.

For now, the evidence points to a regulated payment-token framework and institutional settlement ambition; broad retail usage would need separate evidence.

South Korea adds a merchant layer. Crypto.com and KG Inicis said in March that they would integrate Crypto.com Pay across KG Inicis's merchant network for foreign travelers and K-commerce users, with merchants able to receive fiat or digital assets.

South Korea's K Bank partnership with Ripple points to another rail where bank and payments activity intersects with crypto. Both examples still need transaction data.

Their relevance is that they move the adoption debate toward checkout, settlement, remittance, and consumer-facing access.

Related Reading

The South Korean bank powering Upbit is testing Ripple integration for cross-border payments

South Korea’s Kbank is piloting Ripple-powered remittances, testing whether bank-linked crypto rails can evolve into real payment infrastructure.

Apr 27, 2026 · Liam 'Akiba' Wright

Usage is the harder test

The US-centered interpretation remains powerful because the numbers are large. On April 29, total crypto market capitalization stood near $2.59 trillion, with Bitcoin around $1.56 trillion.

Dollar stablecoins still dominate the working liquidity layer, with Tether‘s 24-hour volume near $111.50 billion and USDC near $47.84 billion.

Those figures explain why US policy and dollar rails keep pulling attention. The dollar stablecoin system is already large. US capital markets supply legitimacy at scale.

The CLARITY Act stablecoin fight shows that the US debate is also about who captures the economics of digital dollars. That benchmark remains essential, because global crypto infrastructure still depends heavily on dollar liquidity.

Usage data complicates that benchmark. Chainalysis said adjusted stablecoin economic volume reached $28 trillion in 2025, with a baseline projection of $719 trillion by 2035 and a catalyst scenario approaching $1.5 quadrillion.

As projections, those figures are scenario math rather than proof of future payment flows. Their direction changes the operating question: stablecoins are being evaluated as payments infrastructure, treasury infrastructure, and settlement infrastructure, alongside their role as trading collateral.

The Chainalysis adoption work shows why emerging markets sit near the center of that debate. It ranked India first, followed by the US, Pakistan, Vietnam, and Brazil, and described adoption as broad-based across income brackets.

It also tied durable adoption to on-ramps, regulatory clarity, and financial and digital infrastructure. Those are the variables being tested by Pakistan's banking circular and by local-currency stablecoin efforts such as BILS.

The IMF adds the risk side. Its March paper on stablecoin inflows and FX spillovers finds that stablecoin flows can affect parity deviations, local currency depreciation, dollar premia, and financial stability.

Put simply, stablecoins become more consequential once they start behaving like a segment of the FX market.

That creates live policy tension. Local-currency stablecoins can help keep domestic units relevant in on-chain finance. Banking access can pull VASPs into monitored channels.

Payment integrations can move crypto from portfolio exposure to checkout and settlement. Each rail also creates new supervisory demands around reserves, redemption, money laundering controls, market abuse, and currency pressure.

The evidence points to a specific split. US ETFs and Wall Street adoption have helped financialize crypto by improving access to exposure. The harder adoption test is happening where regulators decide whether crypto can touch local money, bank accounts, merchants, and FX markets.

That test is still early. BILS needs issuance and usage. Pakistan needs licensed VASPs operating through bank accounts. Hong Kong's new licensees need launches. Japan, the UK, and the EU need rules that work under market stress.

The UAE needs clean issuer and register mapping. South Korea needs merchant activity beyond announcements.

If those signals appear, the global crypto map will look less like a US-led investment-product cycle and more like a set of regional financial systems absorbing crypto under local rules. If they fail to appear, the dollar and US capital markets will keep doing most of the work.

The next test is usage, measured against attention.

The post Everyone is watching America’s crypto boom but Israel and Pakistan may be showing what comes next appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The 10 largest AI stocks now make up about 41% of the S&P 500, according to a BofA Global Research chart circulated online.

That puts the AI basket at the same concentration level that tech and telecom reached around the dot-com peak. The BofA chart put the Nifty Fifty at 40% in the 1970s and Japan at 44% in the late 1980s.

The comparison turns a stock-market concentration warning into a stress test for a corner of crypto that has spent the past year selling investors a new identity.

The market concentration is the stress trigger. Miner disclosures and mining reports supply the exposure map.

Public Bitcoin miners increasingly trade as hybrid infrastructure companies with BTC exposure. Many have signed AI or high-performance computing contracts, raised capital for denser data centers, converted premium power sites, or shifted investor attention toward long-term lease economics.

If the AI infrastructure premium fades, those companies face a different kind of pressure. The risk moves from hashprice alone into debt, contract durability, construction execution, and equity multiples.

At the same time, Bitcoin gets a second-order test. A weaker AI buildout could ease the scramble for power, rack space, interconnections, cooling equipment, and GPUs.

That would hurt miners whose new valuations depend on AI growth, while possibly helping remaining miners if scarce infrastructure becomes easier to secure.

Related Reading

Latest Bitcoin data proves BTC miners need price to retake $80k to stop lure of $4B in AI revenue

Yet top 10 public miners could earn $4.7B–$9.3B from BTC vs up to $4.1B in long-term AI contracts, reshaping Bitcoin’s security base.

Apr 18, 2026 · Liam 'Akiba' Wright

Miners Have Repriced Themselves Around AI

The miner pivot is now measurable in revenue forecasts. A projected revenue mix cited by S&P Global Market Intelligence showed listed miners, including IREN, Riot Platforms, Core Scientific, HIVE, Cipher, and TeraWulf, shifting into AI and HPC workloads.

The projected revenue mix is already large enough to change how these companies are assessed.

Visible Alpha expected HPC to account for 71% of 2026 revenue at IREN and Core Scientific, 70% at TeraWulf, 34% at Cipher, 15% at HIVE, and 13% at Riot.

That spread shows the sector has split into cohorts. Some miners are becoming data-center operators with Bitcoin exposure.

Others are preserving mining as the core business while keeping AI optionality at sites that have power and grid access.

The scale shows up in miner economics. Public miners have announced more than $70 billion in aggregate AI/HPC contracts, according to CoinShares.

The firm also said WULF, Core Scientific, Cipher, and Hut 8 are effectively becoming data-center operators that still mine Bitcoin.

That changes the market link from an AI stock selloff. A falling AI multiple would flow through miner equities because investors have assigned value to the HPC pipeline.

Lower AI demand would also pressure the financing case for projects built around long-duration tenants, higher-density cooling, and premium grid positions.

Mining margins would still depend on BTC price and difficulty, but the equity case would have another variable.

The leverage data points in the same direction. CoinShares said several miners had taken on large debt loads for AI buildouts, including $3.7 billion in convertible notes at IREN, $5.7 billion in total debt at WULF, and $1.7 billion in senior secured notes issued by Cipher.

CryptoSlate has separately tracked how miners have been funding the AI pivot with debt while selling BTC. Put simply, the AI pivot has added a credit cycle to a business that already lived with a Bitcoin cycle.

Related Reading

Bitcoin miners start funding pivot to AI with debt while selling BTC to stay liquid

CoinShares’ latest mining report suggests the biggest shift is that stressed miners are selling coins, stronger operators are pivoting into AI, and listed mining stocks are becoming less pure Bitcoin proxies than many investors assume.

Mar 26, 2026 · Gino Matos

The table below mixes 2026 revenue estimates, 2025 company disclosures, and contract updates, so each row signals exposure across different time horizons.

Cipher's rebrand toward HPC adds another example of the shift. TeraWulf's Fluidstack expansion shows how miners have paired large power portfolios with AI tenants and credit support.

The Risk Is In The Sites, Contracts, And Capital Stack

Core Scientific is the clearest example of the shift from mining sensitivity to infrastructure execution. In its fourth-quarter 2025 results, the company said it had energized about 350 MW under its CoreWeave contract and remained on track to deliver about 590 MW by early 2027.

It also reported that Q4 colocation revenue rose to $31.3 million from $8.5 million a year earlier, while digital asset self-mining revenue fell to $42.2 million from $79.9 million.

That is the pivot in operating form. Power and buildings once tied mainly to Bitcoin production are being monetized through colocation.

Core Scientific also said $226.2 million of its $279.2 million in fourth-quarter capital expenditures was funded by CoreWeave under existing agreements. That customer funding reduces some capital strain, but it also shows how deeply the buildout depends on an AI tenant's growth path.

The conversion also introduces accounting complexity. Core Scientific said it was restating prior financial statements after identifying improper capitalization of assets committed to demolition during facility conversion from mining to HPC colocation infrastructure.

The issue was company-specific, but it illustrates a broader point. Moving from mining halls to high-density AI infrastructure goes beyond marketing language.

Core Scientific's canceled CoreWeave merger agreement shows that AI-linked value already sits inside shareholder decisions.

CoreWeave's 2025 Form 10-K adds counterparty context, including large contracted power commitments and disclosed risks tied to AI demand.

The miner exposure is, therefore, linked to both site delivery and the financial health of the AI cloud ecosystem.

TeraWulf shows the same shift at a larger contracted scale. In its full-year 2025 results, the company reported long-term data center lease agreements totaling 522 critical IT MW, more than $12.8 billion in long-term credit-enhanced customer contracts, and $6.5 billion in long-term financings.

It said HPC hosting had become its primary growth engine while it continued to operate legacy mining infrastructure opportunistically.

CoinShares reported that WULF mined 262 BTC in Q4 alongside $9.7 million in HPC lease revenue. The same report said WULF's cost-per-BTC figures were distorted by the company's transition, including interest, SG&A, and depreciation linked to the new infrastructure base.

That distinction is crucial. Once a miner becomes an AI infrastructure company, per-BTC cost metrics can distort the business unless the balance sheet is separated from the rest of the mining fleet.

Riot's Corsicana decision shows how AI optionality can alter Bitcoin's capacity path before a final AI contract even exists. The company's Corsicana update said it was evaluating AI/HPC uses for about 600 MW of remaining power capacity, halting a previously announced 600 MW Phase II Bitcoin mining expansion, and cutting expected year-end 2025 self-mining capacity from 46.7 EH/s to 38.4 EH/s.

IREN adds a different exposure type. Its October 2025 AI cloud update targeted more than $500 million in annualized AI cloud revenue from 23,000 GPUs by the end of Q1 2026, with 11,000 GPUs contracted for about $225 million of ARR on average two-year terms.

That creates a faster repricing channel than long-term colocation. GPU cloud economics can shift as hardware supply, utilization, and customer budgets change.

Power Scarcity Sets Bitcoin's Side Of The Trade

The Bitcoin side of the trade is less direct. A weaker AI infrastructure cycle would first pressure AI-exposed miners through equity valuation, funding costs, and contract expectations.

Bitcoin's network would feel the change through the industrial base that competes for the same power and sites.

The AI-mining link is physical. Bitcoin mining remains the larger aggregate revenue pool in key BTC price scenarios, while AI has become an immediate economic risk to the network's industrial security base.

AI and mining compete for land, grid interconnections, substations, cooling design, financing, and management attention.

Energy demand from AI explains why the competition is durable. The IEA estimated that data centers consumed about 415 TWh of electricity in 2024 and projected that global data-center consumption would roughly double to 945 TWh by 2030 in its base case.

AI-driven accelerated servers account for a major share of the increase. Data centers can be built faster than power systems can add transmission, substations, and generation, which makes location and grid access valuable.

A North America data-center trends report adds the market bottleneck behind that argument. Low vacancy and high preleasing make power-ready capacity more valuable.

For miners, the scarce asset is often the energized site, with the ASIC fleet only one part of the stack.

As of press time, Bitcoin market data show BTC trading near $76,800, with a market cap of around $1.5 trillion, a current block reward of 3.125 BTC, and a network hashrate above 1.1 ZH/s.

CryptoSlate's aggregate market page shows Bitcoin's dominance at around 60% of the $2.6 trillion crypto market. Those figures put miner economics under pressure even before AI competition is considered.

BTC price, fees, difficulty, and energy costs still determine how much security Bitcoin can support.

A cooling AI cycle could ease one part of that pressure. If hyperscaler demand, GPU scarcity, or data-center preleasing weaken, miners that stayed closer to Bitcoin could find power sites and infrastructure less contested.

Difficulty could adjust if capacity exits mining, raising hashprice for remaining operators. That mechanism appears in CryptoSlate's analysis of miners as AI utilities.

Related Reading

Bitcoin miners are transforming into AI utilities based on math

With 500MW and 168MW hosting deals inked, miners get financing-friendly dollars while hashrate and fee trajectories determine who captures the upside.

Oct 31, 2025 · Gino Matos

That relief has limits. The fee and cost picture keeps the upside qualified, with fees near zero and cost pressure near $80,000 per BTC.

Difficulty relief alone leaves weak miner economics unresolved. Long-term AI leases, customer-funded buildouts, interconnection agreements, equipment specialization, and site conversion costs also create lag.

An AI unwind would release capacity unevenly, and some of it may remain unusable for mining at attractive returns.

Two Outcomes Depend On AI Demand

The market risk signaled by the AI concentration chart leads to two different outcomes for miners.

In the first, AI demand holds. Public miners with high-quality power campuses keep signing HPC contracts because AI tenants can offer longer revenue visibility than Bitcoin mining.

Premium sites keep drifting toward AI, while mining concentrates around flexible power, demand response, stranded energy, and geographies where interruption is acceptable.

In that scenario, public miner equities become less reliable proxies for BTC because enterprise value comes from leases and data-center execution as much as mined Bitcoin.

In the second, AI infrastructure prices. The miners most exposed to AI growth face pressure through leverage, equity multiples, contract assumptions, and construction pipelines.

Debt raised for data-center buildouts becomes harder to carry if expected AI returns fall. GPU cloud contracts with shorter terms can reset faster.

Long-term colocation leases may offer more protection, although they also lock sites into a path that may take years to reverse.

Bitcoin's possible benefit sits downstream from that damage. The upside is a loosening of scarce inputs, lower competition for power, and a better hashprice environment for operators still focused on mining.

It is an industrial-security argument, with BTC price sitting outside the direct claim.

That is why the AI concentration chart belongs in a discussion of Bitcoin-miner balance sheets. The chart raises the possibility that the AI trade has become crowded.

The miner data shows which crypto companies have built around that trade. The unresolved test is whether those AI/HPC contracts remain durable enough to justify the shift, or whether the same infrastructure that pulled public miners away from Bitcoin becomes a source of stress.

For Bitcoin, the result would be mixed instead of clean. A repricing could weaken some of the best-capitalized public miners while making energy and data-center inputs less scarce for the miners that remain.

The next signal will come less from AI rhetoric than from financing terms, tenant delivery schedules, new power contracts, and hashprice. Those are the variables that will show whether miners bought a stronger business model or imported a second cycle into Bitcoin's security base.

The post Concentration of AI stocks inside S&P 500 hits dot-com bubble peak – and Bitcoin miners are now exposed appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Bitcoin is trading near $76,600 after reversing from an earlier intraday push toward $78,000, while crude oil trades near $103 and the S&P 500 fell as the US stock market opened.

Before the US cash session, Bitcoin rose even as crude oil kept climbing, suggesting crypto-specific positioning was strong enough to resist the oil-inflation trade for part of the day.

After the open, the picture turned back toward equities. The chart below shows Bitcoin rolling over as the S&P 500 moved lower, while crude oil remained elevated.

That leaves two signals in tension: Bitcoin can trade independently of stocks while cash equities are closed, but US equity risk appetite can still pull it back once the main session begins.

Broader market data shows roughly $2.6 trillion in crypto market cap, about $122 billion in 24-hour volume, and Bitcoin dominance near 60%.

CryptoSlate's Bitcoin market page showed Bitcoin in the upper-$77,000s earlier today up about 1.6% over 24 hours, with market cap around $1.56 trillion. The latest chart shows why that intraday strength fell off: the US open turned the move from a simple oil-shock divergence into an equity follow-through test.

The open made equities the trigger

The first phase of the session weakened the simple April template that higher oil automatically means lower Bitcoin. Crude oil climbed through the $100 area, yet Bitcoin still moved toward $78,000 before US cash equities opened.

The second phase restored the equity branch of the trade. Once the S&P 500 fell at the open, Bitcoin slipped back toward the mid-$76,000s even as crude oil pushed higher.

Bitcoin showed it can resist the oil shock for part of a session. The same session also showed that the equity open can pull the asset back into the broader risk trade.

This is also consistent with prior CryptoSlate coverage. On Apr. 23, Bitcoin's drop below $78,000 looked more like an equity and risk-appetite impulse than a direct oil move, because crude was comparatively flat while the S&P 500 softened.

Related Reading

Bitcoin’s loses $78k while the US markets sleeps – risk takes over from oil as crude prices stay flat

Bitcoin’s pullback near $80K mirrors a risk-off move in equities, with oil and Fed expectations still framing the macro backdrop.

Apr 23, 2026 · Liam 'Akiba' Wright

Today's chart adds a sharper version of that setup. Oil is rising, Bitcoin initially resisted the pressure, and the S&P 500 open then became the event that pulled Bitcoin lower.

Oil still controls the outer boundary

The oil channel has already been built into Bitcoin's April setup. On Apr. 24, Bitcoin held near $78,000 as oil climbed past $100, turning the asset into a test of whether scarce-asset demand could survive a stronger dollar, higher real-yield pressure, and weaker liquidity conditions.

Related Reading

Bitcoin ends week resilient around $78,000 as Trump’s new rhetoric sent oil price back above $100

Bitcoin has demonstrated surprising resilience by holding near $78,000, following a massive derivatives short squeeze.

Apr 24, 2026 · Oluwapelumi Adejumo

A separate analysis of the global oil shock and the Fed said fuel, freight, and input costs can move from commodity screens into realized inflation.

That channel can keep setting rates and liquidity conditions even when Bitcoin finds a short-term bid.

The official inflation data keeps that risk concrete. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said March CPI rose 0.9% from February and 3.3% from a year earlier.

Energy rose 10.9% on the month, led by a 21.2% jump in gasoline. The New York Fed's March survey then showed year-ahead gas-price expectations at 9.4%, the highest reading since March 2022.

Energy-market structure adds another caveat. The Energy Information Administration described a wider Brent-WTI spread and disrupted navigation through the Strait of Hormuz as part of the global crude-market backdrop. Crude stress can move from commodity pricing into inflation expectations, which keeps the Fed channel open.

The calendar concentrates that pressure. The Federal Reserve calendar places the Apr. 28-29 FOMC meeting directly over this cross-asset move.

The BEA schedule lists Q1 GDP and March Personal Income and Outlays for Apr. 30. That same late-April window had already been framed as a volatility cluster around options, oil, and the Fed.

The next policy and data prints can still decide whether the oil move becomes a persistent financial-conditions problem.

Flows are the offset, equities are the confirmation

The counterweight is demand. CoinShares' latest weekly report showed digital asset investment products taking in $1.2 billion, the fourth positive week in a row.

Bitcoin accounted for $933 million of that total. CoinShares also said the Apr. 28-29 FOMC decision was likely adding caution at the margin.

On Apr. 28, fund flows and spot demand were strong enough to rebuild the bid, but the Fed still had the next hard test.

Related Reading

Bitcoin’s comeback is now in the Fed’s hands after big investors piled back in

Crypto funds have now posted three straight $1 billion-plus inflow weeks, while Glassnode says Bitcoin ETF and spot demand are recovering.

Apr 28, 2026 · Gino Matos

That helps explain the pre-open resilience. Bitcoin can rise even while crude oil stays elevated when fund demand, positioning, or crypto-specific liquidity is strong enough for a session. The post-open reversal shows why that alone is incomplete.

CME's E-mini S&P 500 futures remain a strong follow-up check for whether the equity branch supports or undermines the next Bitcoin move.

The Apr. 22 setup gave this move a useful threshold. It said Bitcoin holding flat or firming around $78,000 while oil stayed high would weaken the war-era template that higher oil automatically means lower Bitcoin.

So far today, Bitcoin met that test before the US equity open and then lost momentum once the S&P 500 turned lower.

A later Apr. 28 bond-market analysis placed the Bitcoin battleground around the $78,100 to $80,100 area.

Below that zone, sellers can argue that the rally is another failed attempt into resistance. Above it, flows have a better chance of turning the recent rebound into a durable demand signal.

CME FedWatch remains the live market-implied check on how rate expectations are moving through that test.

Two scenarios follow from the updated chart. In the flow-led case, crude oil stays elevated but does not accelerate, the S&P 500 stabilizes, and Bitcoin reclaims the upper-$77,000s before testing the $78,100 to $80,100 band.

In the macro-pressure case, crude keeps inflation expectations warm, Fed pricing moves against risk assets, the S&P 500 weakens, and Bitcoin remains below the upper-$77,000s. That would restore the familiar April sequence: oil pressure first, equity stress second, Bitcoin liquidity last.

Bitcoin ignored crude oil long enough to prove the oil shock is not the only intraday force. Once the US market opened, equities became the trigger that pulled Bitcoin back. The regime test now depends on whether flows can rebuild the bid while crude oil and the Fed keep pressure on risk assets.

The post Bitcoin surges alongside oil as BTC price finally decouples from the war narrative… until US markets opened appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Passive investing has become one of the most powerful forces reshaping equity markets, and the evidence is accumulating in the returns data.

Bloomberg Intelligence data compiled by ETF analyst James Seyffart shows stocks with rising passive ownership have dramatically outperformed those losing passive ownership over the past three years.

The market has been rewarding inclusion, ownership, and flow alongside fundamentals. The chart's most uncomfortable implication is that the anti-passive trade has often resembled a junk drawer with small, volatile, newly listed, low-quality names that structural flows have left behind.

Ownership concentration compounds over time, and the stocks inside the passive machine tend to stay there.

Bitcoin is now building a similar infrastructure. The SEC approved spot Bitcoin ETF listings in January 2024, and the two years since have redrawn how institutional capital reaches BTC.

US spot Bitcoin ETFs have accumulated roughly $58.4 billion in cumulative net inflows as of late Apr. 28, with BlackRock's IBIT carrying approximately $61.9 billion in net assets.

Euronext listed BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin ETP in Europe in March 2025, describing it as giving investors access to Bitcoin without the complexity of directly trading and holding it.

Deutsche Börse's Clearstream extended its institutional crypto custody and settlement services to include Bitcoin alongside conventional assets.

Bitcoin has become a wrapper investment accessible through standard brokerage rails, and that access has reshaped who can own it.

The wrapper changes the market

Recurring flows into funds holding the same names create a persistent, price-insensitive bid that compounds over time, and that is the engine behind passive equity outperformance.

Bitcoin ETFs work through investor demand, with purchases arriving as creation flows and sales clearing through redemptions on a discretionary timeline, independent of any reconstitution schedule or index mandate.

A BlackRock portfolio note from December 2024 described a 1% to 2% Bitcoin allocation as a reasonable range for multi-asset portfolios for investors who accept the risk of rapid price plunges and believe in wider adoption.

When the world's largest asset manager frames a volatile asset in allocation-sizing terms, it becomes a line item that advisors can discuss in portfolio construction terms.

A 2025 Fed note found that crypto ETP bid-ask spreads are comparable to those of other ETFs and ETPs of similar size. It argued that NAV premiums in crypto funds warrant monitoring as a measure of the extent to which crypto and equity markets have become interconnected.

The flows confirm the plumbing works, as from Apr. 14 through Apr. 24, US spot Bitcoin ETFs added about $2 billion in net inflows, based on Farside Investors' daily totals. Then Apr. 27 produced a $263.2 million single-day outflow.

In two weeks, the same vehicle demonstrated both its capacity to build a structural bid and its capacity to reverse it with institutional speed.

Allocation math becomes the driver

If April PCE and May CPI print near or softer than Cleveland Fed nowcasts, which put April CPI at 3.56% and April PCE at 3.60% year-over-year as of Apr. 28, April payrolls cool without triggering recession fears, the Fed can stay data-dependent through its June 16-17 meeting.

That keeps the 2-year Treasury yield anchored near its late-April level of 3.78%, holds the VIX below 20, and allows advisor and institutional allocations to accumulate through the June Fed window.

In that environment, Bitcoin trades as a portfolio sleeve, receiving recurring flows from model portfolios, registered investment advisors, and institutional mandates that size a position once and let it ride.

BlackRock's Spring 2026 outlook frames the current macro setup as a mild stagflationary trade-off, with the Fed on pause and moving toward gradual easing only if inflation continues to cool or growth moderates.

That is the backdrop where the wrapper bid can compound through steady accumulation by buyers watching portfolio weights, with allocation math as the driver.

If Bitcoin's weight in discretionary model portfolios continues to expand, the next leg could resemble what happens when an asset earns a permanent seat in a standard allocation framework.

The bull scenario puts BTC in an $88,000-$105,000 range into the summer, driven by allocation math alone. IBIT's cumulative net flows stand at $65.37 billion, while GBTC has bled $26.26 billion in cumulative outflows.

The allocation battle inside the Bitcoin wrapper market has already produced a winner, and the winner controls the institutional distribution network.

The machine institutionalizes selling

The same wrapper that built a $2 billion bid in ten days produced a $263.2 million outflow in one.

If inflation re-accelerates beyond nowcasts, as Cleveland Fed models already put April PCE at 3.60% year-over-year, Treasury yields back up, the dollar strengthens, and risk appetite contracts, ETF outflows can clear Bitcoin's order book at institutional speed and scale.

March CPI already came in at 3.3% year-over-year, core CPI at 2.6%, February PCE at 2.8%, and core PCE at 3.0%.

The inflation data has consistently held above target, and if April's prints land above the nowcasts, the Fed's Apr. 28-29 meeting sets a hawkish tone that runs through June.

In that environment, Bitcoin trades as a high-beta macro asset with a very efficient sell button. The 10-year Treasury yield was 4.31% as of late April, and a move toward or above 4.5% would compress equity multiples and remove the liquidity backdrop that makes small portfolio allocations to Bitcoin comfortable to hold.

Advisory models that sized a 1% to 2% position when risk appetite was supportive face the same rebalancing logic. Whether Bitcoin falls far enough relative to the portfolio, the allocation comes out.

The bear scenario puts BTC in a $60,000-$72,000 range, pulled lower by the same institutional machinery that had been carrying it higher.

The passive equity analogy carries a corresponding implication for the broader crypto market. The anti-passive bucket in Seyffart's data, stocks losing ownership share, has often been home to thinner, more volatile names dependent on stock-picking narratives, with structural flows consolidating around the dominant wrapper.

Bitcoin holds the dominant ETF wrapper and the institutional distribution. The long tail of tokens instead competes for discretionary attention.

If passive logic is genuinely migrating into crypto through the ETF channel, Bitcoin concentrates the structural bid while everything else competes for a shrinking pool of discretionary allocation.

The ETF machine amplifies whatever liquidity the macro environment supplies and directs it through a cleaner, more visible channel into Bitcoin's order book.

If Bitcoin's next move comes from allocation math compounding in a patient macro environment or from institutional exits clearing the book in a hawkish one, it depends on the same sequence of inflation prints, payroll data, and Fed language that governs every other risk asset in the portfolio.

The post Passive money is eating stocks and Bitcoin may be next to get a huge liquidity injection appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Meta Platforms Inc. is reportedly preparing to launch stablecoin payouts for content creators across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. According to recent industry reports and internal leaks surfacing in April 2026, the social media giant is targeting the second half of 2026 for a rollout that leverages third-party infrastructure rather than a proprietary token.

Meta’s New Crypto Strategy: Distribution Over Issuance

Unlike the ill-fated Libra (Diem) project, Meta’s new approach is focused on being a "distribution channel." By integrating existing, regulated stablecoins—likely USDC—Meta aims to solve the high-cost friction of international creator payments.

This "arm's length" strategy allows Meta to avoid the regulatory hurdles that crushed its previous attempts to act as a currency issuer. Instead, the company has issued Requests for Proposals (RFPs) to external infrastructure firms to handle the heavy lifting of compliance and settlement.

Will Stripe be Part of Meta Crypto Payments?

The leading candidate for this partnership is Stripe, specifically utilizing its Bridge platform. This connection is bolstered by the fact that Stripe CEO Patrick Collison joined Meta’s board in 2025. Stripe’s acquisition of Bridge for $1.1 billion and its recent OCC approval for a national trust bank charter position it as the ideal bridge between Web2 social platforms and Web3 liquidity.

Why Will Meta Use Stablecoins as Crypto Payments?

For Meta, the primary motivation is the efficiency of the engagement flywheel. Currently, creators in emerging markets receiving small payouts (around $100) lose a significant percentage to wire fees and foreign exchange margins.

• Traditional Payouts: 1–3 business days with 3%–7% fees.
• Stablecoin Payouts: Near-instant settlement with estimated fees below 1%.

By lowering these barriers, Meta ensures that creators remain on its platforms rather than migrating to rivals like Telegram or X, which have already made strides in crypto-integrated payments.

Fed Rate Decision Today

Today, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will release its third interest rate decision of the year. This specific meeting carries historic weight as it marks the final policy announcement and press conference for Jerome Powell before he concludes his tenure as Fed Chair.

What to Expect at 2 PM ET

Market participants are currently pricing in a near 99% certainty that the Fed will keep interest rates unchanged at the current target range of 3.50% to 3.75%. However, the "early query" for crypto investors isn't the rate itself, but the language used regarding inflation and the transition to incoming leadership.

• Announcement Time: 2:00 PM ET (Statement release)
• Press Conference: 2:30 PM ET (Jerome Powell’s final Q&A)
• Crypto Context: Bitcoin (BTC) is hovering around $77,200, showing a "wait-and-see" approach.

Why the Fed Announcement Matters for Crypto Today

Cryptocurrencies are widely categorized as "risk-on" assets. Their prices are heavily influenced by global liquidity conditions, which are directly controlled by the Federal Reserve's monetary policy.

When the Fed keeps rates high, borrowing becomes more expensive, and the US Dollar typically strengthens, which can put downward pressure on $Bitcoin and altcoins. Conversely, if Powell’s tone today leans "dovish"—suggesting that the peak of the rate cycle is behind us—it could provide the fuel needed for Bitcoin to break past the $80,000 psychological resistance level.

How does the Fed Rate Affect Crypto Prices

Historically, the minutes following a Fed announcement see "stop-hunting" behavior, where prices swing wildly in both directions before establishing a trend.

The Powell "Swan Song" Factor

Jerome Powell’s final appearance adds a layer of uncertainty. Analysts at major institutions, such as JPMorgan, suggest he may use this meeting to solidify his legacy as the Chair who tamed the 2020s inflation surge, potentially maintaining a hawkish stance to ensure price stability.

BTC and ETH Levels to Watch

• BTC Support: $74,500 remains a critical support zone.
• BTC Resistance: A move above $78,200 post-announcement could signal a new rally.
• Altcoin Impact: Ethereum and smaller caps often follow BTC's lead but with higher percentage swings.

The "Digital Gold" Divergence: Why Bitcoin Just Crashed

The relationship between Gold and Bitcoin has reached a fever pitch in 2026. Historically, these two assets have been viewed as siblings in the "store of value" category, but their recent price action tells a more complex story of liquidity rotation and market psychology.

When Gold recently peaked at an all-time high of $5,589 per ounce on January 28, 2026, the crypto market didn't celebrate. Instead, Bitcoin [BTC] experienced a sharp -33% correction, sliding toward the $81,000 mark. While this might look like a decoupling, historical cycles suggest this "shakeout" is often the precursor to an explosive bull run for digital assets.

Does Bitcoin Always Drop When Gold Peaks?

Not "always," but the correlation often turns negative at critical structural peaks. In August 2020, Gold hit what was then a record high, and Bitcoin immediately cooled off with a -21% retracement. Fast forward to January 2026, and we see a similar script: Gold reaches a parabolic peak, and Bitcoin sheds roughly a third of its value.

The pattern indicates that at the height of a Gold rally, liquidity is often "tapped out" or moving into defensive postures before rotating back into higher-risk, higher-reward assets like $Bitcoin.

Comparing the 2020 and 2026 "Gold Peaks"

To understand where we are going, we have to look at where we’ve been. The current market structure bears a striking resemblance to the 2020 cycle.

The Liquidity Rotation Theory

In finance, "Liquidity Rotation" refers to capital moving from one asset class to another. When Gold reaches a "blow-off top" (a rapid increase in price followed by a steep drop), investors often take profits. That "sideline cash" doesn't stay idle for long. In 2020, that capital flowed directly into the crypto market, fueling a 559% rally that took BTC from $11,000 to over $60,000 in less than a year.

Why the -33% Bitcoin Drop Matters Now

The 2026 drop has been more severe (-33% vs -21%) due to the increased presence of institutional leverage and Spot Bitcoin ETFs. However, the fundamental "why" remains the same:

• Profit Taking: Investors hedging with Gold and BTC simultaneously often sell the "winner" (Gold) and reduce exposure to the "volatile" (BTC) during a macro shift.
• Margin Calls: When Gold fell nearly 10% in a single day in late January, it forced liquidations across multi-asset portfolios, dragging BTC down with it.
• The "Spring" Effect: Much like a compressed spring, Bitcoin's deep corrections during a secular bull market often provide the necessary energy for the next leg up.

Strategic Positioning: Is the Bottom In?

Analysts suggest that the current Bitcoin/Gold valuation is at historic lows. This typically marks a "generational bottom" for the Bitcoin-to-Gold ratio. If the 2020 fractal repeats, the -33% drop we just witnessed is the final hurdle before Bitcoin targets the $150,000 - $200,000 range.

What to Watch Next

• The $80,000 Support: BTC must hold this level to validate the "2020-style" recovery.
• Gold Consolidation: If Gold continues to bleed toward $4,500, expect BTC to start outperforming as the "risk-on" alternative.
• ETF Inflows: Watch for a reversal in ETF outflows, which peaked at $800 million during the January crash.

Ethereum vs. NVIDIA: Which is the Better Investment in 2026?

Title: Ethereum vs NVIDIA: Which Asset is the Better Long-Term Investment? slug: ethereum-vs-nvidia-investment-comparison teaser: Ethereum or NVIDIA? We compare the 5-year and 10-year returns of ETH and NVDA to see which asset wins the battle for your portfolio in 2026. keywords: ethereum vs nvidia, eth price performance, nvda stock returns, crypto vs stocks, investing in ai, ethereum investment 2026, nvidia price today

Protocol vs. Processor

The investment debate in 2026 centers on two powerhouses: Ethereum ($ETH), the backbone of decentralized finance, and NVIDIA (NVDA), the hardware engine of the AI revolution. While both represent "frontier" technology, their returns vary wildly depending on your entry point.

Which ROI Comparison

NVIDIA has dominated the last five years due to the AI boom. Conversely, Ethereum remains the superior long-term play for those who entered a decade ago.

• 5-Year Winner: NVIDIA (+1,300%)
• 10-Year Winner: Ethereum (+459,900%)

The 5-Year Window: NVIDIA’s AI Dominance

Since 2021, NVIDIA has outperformed almost every major asset class, including Bitcoin.

• NVIDIA: A $100,000 investment in 2021 is now $1,400,000. Growth is driven by Blackwell chip demand and a $4.5 trillion market cap.
• Ethereum: A $100,000 investment in 2021 is worth $85,000 today. Despite the 2024 ETF launch, ETH has faced significant price stagnation compared to high-growth equities.

The 10-Year Window: The Power of Early Crypto

When extending the horizon to 2015, the "crypto multiplier" becomes evident.

• ETH: $100,000 invested in 2015 = $460 Million.
• NVDA: $100,000 invested in 2015 = $60 Million.

While NVIDIA’s 600x return is legendary for a stock, Ethereum’s 4,600x return highlights the asymmetric upside of successful blockchain protocols compared to centralized corporations.

Cash Flow vs. Network Utility

• NVIDIA (NVDA): A centralized company with record revenues ($215B in FY2026). Its value is tied to hardware sales and AI compute demand.
• Ethereum (ETH): A decentralized settlement layer. Its value is tied to network usage, the EIP-1559 burn mechanism, and its role as the primary platform for tokenized Real World Assets (RWA).

Performance Drivers in 2026

NVIDIA’s current lead is fueled by tangible earnings and the race for "AI Sovereignty." Major tech firms continue to buy GPUs at scale, keeping NVDA margins high.

Ethereum, however, is transitioning from a speculative asset to a utility-driven one. While the exchange comparison shows lower retail trading volume for ETH compared to previous cycles, institutional staking and Layer-2 scaling are at all-time highs. For long-term holders, securing these assets in hardware wallets remains the priority as the network matures.

Ethereum vs. NVIDIA: Growth or Moonshot?

• Better for Stability: NVIDIA. Its growth is backed by massive institutional contracts and a clear monopoly on AI hardware.
• Better for Asymmetric Gains: Ethereum. As the world’s financial rails move on-chain, ETH’s potential to repeat its "10-year" style growth remains higher than a stock already valued in the trillions.

Dogecoin (DOGE) Faces a Moment of Truth

Dogecoin (DOGE) is currently at a technical crossroads. After months of range-bound trading between $0.086 and $0.118, the world's most famous meme coin is showing signs of a potential "short squeeze." As of April 28, 2026, Dogecoin is trading at $0.099, precisely at a level that has historically acted as both a psychological and technical ceiling.

Dogecoin Price Analysis: The Squeeze is On

The daily chart reveals a clear period of volatility compression. Since February, DOGE has been printing higher lows, forming a gradual ascending support structure.

• Resistance: The immediate hurdle is the $0.099 – $0.100 zone. A daily close above this level is essential to confirm a trend reversal.
• Support: The green support line at $0.086 remains the "line in the sand" for bulls.
• RSI Indicator: The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is currently sitting at 58.67, trending upward. This suggests that while momentum is positive, there is still significant "overbought" headroom before the rally becomes overextended.

Why is Dogecoin Trending Today?

The recent price action isn't happening in a vacuum. Several fundamental catalysts are converging to keep DOGE in the headlines of crypto news.

1. The "X Money" Factor

Speculation is reaching a fever pitch regarding Elon Musk's X platform and its upcoming payment feature, X Money. While initial reports suggest a fiat-based system in partnership with Visa, the DOGE community is betting on a future crypto integration. Historically, any mention of payments on X (formerly Twitter) has led to massive spikes in $DOGE price.

2. Institutional Adoption: The Dogecoin ETF

In a surprise move for 2026, institutional interest has shifted toward meme coins. Following the success of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, Nasdaq began listing the 21Shares Dogecoin ETF (ticker: TDOG) earlier this year. This provides a regulated pathway for institutional capital to flow into DOGE, reducing the "joke" stigma and treating it as a legitimate digital asset.

3. SpaceX and the Lunar Mission

Elon Musk recently reignited interest in the DOGE-1 mission, a satellite project funded entirely by Dogecoin. During a talk with the Tesla Owners Club, Musk hinted that the project, which faced several delays, is back on track.

Strategic Trading Levels to Watch

For traders looking to capitalize on this movement, the following levels are critical:

Is the $1.00 Dream Still Alive?

While the $1.00 target remains a long-term goal for the fading "Doge Army," the immediate focus is reclaiming the $0.12 territory. The combination of technical compression and institutional products like the TDOG ETF suggests that Dogecoin is maturing beyond a simple pump-and-dump asset.

Alphabet and Microsoft crushed Q1 estimates on the same day, with Google Cloud up 63% and Microsoft's AI business hitting a $37 billion run rate.

The Labor Department unveils an online hub to help workers and employers build AI skills amid a quickly changing jobs market.

The AI model analyzes subtle tissue changes on routine CT scans invisible to human specialists, detecting pancreatic cancer up to three years earlier than doctors can.

Thom Tillis, a swing GOP vote on the Senate Banking Committee, says his colleagues should take up a months-delayed vote on the crypto bill.

Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta is now offering stablecoin payouts to content creators in certain countries.

A dormant 'Ryoshi-era' whale holding 16% of all Shiba Inu coins just moved 800 billion SHIB. Is the mysterious founder cashing out, or is this a liquidity play?.

Major cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase set to delist selected crypto assets in May, with Ethereum based stablecoin affected.

Veteran commodities trader Peter Brandt is reigniting his long-standing feud with the XRP community.

Dogecoin's breakout was just a fluke, at least for now: the rally continues.

Enterprise blockchain firm Ripple is significantly expanding its Middle East and Africa (MEA) operations by launching a new regional headquarters in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

TLDR:

• Gate officially joins Mastercard’s Crypto Partner Program launched in March 2026 to bridge blockchain and payments.
• The program targets cross-border payments, stablecoin networks, fiat-crypto on/off ramps, and crypto payment cards.
• Gate holds regulatory approvals in Malta, Italy, Gibraltar, and the Bahamas, supporting its global payment expansion.
• Gate will prioritize stablecoin use in cross-border settlement, B2B payments, and fund distribution under this program.

Gate has officially joined the Mastercard Crypto Partner Program, marking a key step in global crypto payment adoption.

The program, launched in March 2026, connects blockchain platforms with traditional payment infrastructure. This collaboration covers cross-border payments, stablecoin settlement, and fiat-crypto on/off ramps.

Gate will apply its digital asset trading capabilities within a compliance-focused framework. The move is expected to bring on-chain financial systems closer to real-world payment networks across multiple global markets.

Gate Enters a Global Framework for Crypto Payment Advancement

The Mastercard Crypto Partner Program serves as a global collaboration framework for the digital asset sector. It was launched in March 2026 to bring crypto platforms, payment service providers, and financial institutions together.

The program aims to connect blockchain technology with existing payment infrastructure on a worldwide scale.

Gate will use its digital asset trading and infrastructure capabilities to support relevant payment technologies. Within this framework, the exchange will focus on linking on-chain payment systems to real-world financial networks.

Stablecoin applications in cross-border settlement and B2B payment channels are also part of the plan. Fund distribution is another targeted area under Gate’s participation agenda.

Gate confirmed this development through a social media post, stating: “Gate is now an official Mastercard Crypto Credential partner. Cross-border payments, stablecoin settlement, and fiat-crypto on/off ramps. On-chain assets are now closer to real-world finance than ever.”

The program covers four core areas: cross-border payments, stablecoin payment networks, fiat-crypto on/off ramps, and crypto payment cards. Each area responds to a growing demand for efficient, transparent, and cost-effective payment solutions.

These use cases span individual remittances, enterprise transactions, and fund distribution channels. Together, they form the foundation for a blockchain-integrated global payment ecosystem.

Gate’s Regulatory Standing Supports Its Global Payment Ambitions

Gate currently holds regulatory registrations, licences, authorizations, or approvals across multiple jurisdictions, including Malta, Italy, Gibraltar, and the Bahamas.

These approvals provide a solid compliance base for the exchange’s role in global payment networks. Operating within regulated environments is essential when engaging with mainstream financial institutions.

This compliance-first approach aligns with the standards required under the Mastercard Crypto Partner Program. It positions Gate to build stronger relationships with institutional and enterprise partners.

Regulatory credibility adds weight to the exchange’s cross-border payment and stablecoin settlement ambitions.

Going forward, Gate plans to deepen its integration with global payment networks. The exchange aims to expand the practical use of digital assets in real-world payment settings. Cross-border remittances, fund settlement, and enterprise B2B payments are among the priority areas.

As digital assets gain further traction in mainstream finance, payments remain a key point of convergence. Gate’s partnership with Mastercard reflects a broader shift in how blockchain technology interacts with traditional financial systems.

The exchange’s continued push into payment infrastructure marks a compliance-led and strategically measured expansion.

The post Gate Joins Mastercard Crypto Partner Program to Connect Blockchain with Global Payment Networks appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Highlights

• First-quarter underlying sales growth reached 3.8%, surpassing the consensus estimate of 3.6%
• Volume expansion hit 2.9%, significantly exceeding the projected 1.8%
• Power Brands portfolio delivered 5.0% underlying sales growth alongside 4.0% volume increases
• Emerging market territories achieved 5.7% underlying sales expansion, with notable strength in India and Latin American regions
• Full-year outlook remains steady: sales growth projected at the lower boundary of the 4%–6% target range

The consumer goods giant delivered first-quarter underlying sales expansion of 3.8%, surpassing Wall Street’s 3.6% projection. Volume growth reached 2.9%, substantially outperforming the 1.8% consensus estimate.

The Power Brands portfolio emerged as the primary growth catalyst. This segment achieved 5.0% underlying sales expansion while volume climbed 4.0% during the three-month period.

All business divisions reported positive volume momentum. The Home Care segment particularly stood out, propelled by accelerating consumer demand throughout critical emerging market regions.

Unilever PLC, UL

Emerging market territories collectively registered 5.7% underlying sales growth. India demonstrated particularly robust performance, while Latin American operations rebounded following what management characterized as “decisive measures” implemented across the region.

Chief Executive Fernando Fernandez highlighted that the company launched the year with “volume-led expansion” and emphasized “widespread momentum” throughout its emerging markets operations.

Despite ongoing macroeconomic headwinds, Fernandez expressed continued confidence in achieving full-year targets. The executive, who assumed leadership last year, has spearheaded an extensive business transformation.

This transformation initiative has encompassed senior leadership replacements and reductions in corporate workforce levels.

Major Portfolio Transformation Underway

Approximately one month ago, the company announced an agreement with spice manufacturer McCormick to merge their respective food operations into a newly formed entity valued at approximately $65 billion, including debt obligations.

The transaction structure involves cash and stock, with Unilever shareholders receiving a 65% ownership stake in the combined enterprise. Some European institutional investors have expressed reservations about the deal, citing concerns over exposure to leveraged American food sector assets.

This McCormick transaction aligns with Unilever’s broader strategic pivot toward beauty, personal care, and household products — systematically reducing food business exposure.

In recent years, the company has separated its ice-cream division into Magnum Ice Cream, divested its tea operations, and sold off margarine and spreads brands.

Magnum Ice Cream, encompassing Ben & Jerry’s, posted Q1 organic sales growth of 4.5%, exceeding the 2.6% analyst projection. Quarterly revenue totaled €1.77 billion.

Home Care and Latin American Operations Outperform

RBC Capital Markets equity analysts highlighted Home Care and Latin American territories as the standout performers for organic sales expansion in Q1 — registering increases of 6.1% and 6.2% year-over-year, respectively.

Home Care’s advancement was entirely fueled by volume gains. Throughout Latin America, both volume increases and pricing contributed to the organic growth figure.

“Unilever’s initiatives to revitalize performance in these segments delivered results,” stated RBC analysts James Edwardes Jones and Wassachon Udomsilpa.

Quarterly turnover declined to €12.6 billion, representing a 3.3% year-over-year decrease, broadly aligned with market expectations.

Full-year guidance remains unmodified. The company anticipates underlying sales growth at the lower threshold of its 4%–6% multi-year range, with minimum 2% underlying volume expansion, and marginal operating margin improvement compared to the 20.0% achieved in 2025.

Management also confirmed its €1.5 billion share repurchase program — unveiled in February — commences today with an anticipated completion date of July 6.

The post Unilever (UL) Stock Climbs as Q1 Results Surpass Expectations on Strong Volume Growth appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR

• Operating profit jumped 750% year-over-year to 57.2 trillion won in Samsung’s first quarter
• Semiconductor business generated 53.7 trillion won, representing 94% of company-wide profit
• HBM4 memory chip production launched for Nvidia’s upcoming Vera Rubin AI architecture
• Memory chip supply crisis projected to intensify through 2027 amid AI infrastructure expansion
• Consumer electronics and display units experienced margin compression from elevated component prices

Samsung Electronics delivered a blockbuster financial performance for its first quarter on Thursday, reporting operating profit that skyrocketed more than 750% compared to the prior year period, reaching 57.2 trillion Korean won (approximately $38.5 billion). The company’s revenue totaled 133.9 trillion won, marking a 69% year-over-year increase and exceeding Wall Street expectations across the board.

The extraordinary results stemmed from a single dominant force: semiconductor sales.

The Device Solutions business segment — encompassing memory chips and semiconductor products — generated 53.7 trillion won in operating profit, a dramatic surge from merely 1.1 trillion won during the corresponding quarter of the previous year. This represents an astonishing 49-times multiplication within twelve months and comprised 94% of Samsung’s aggregate quarterly profits.

Samsung SDI Co., Ltd., 0L2T.L

A worldwide scarcity of memory chips, driven by unprecedented artificial intelligence data center expansion, has propelled pricing significantly upward. Samsung has emerged as one of the primary winners. The corporation’s operating margin within its semiconductor segment surpassed 70% during the first quarter, outperforming both Nvidia and TSMC during the identical timeframe, based on data from Counterpoint Research.

The company additionally disclosed that it has executed multi-year binding agreements with clients seeking to lock in supply availability — an indication of the severely constrained market conditions.

HBM4 Production and the Competition With SK Hynix

Samsung announced it initiated commercial-scale production shipments of HBM4 chips starting in February, establishing itself as the first manufacturer to deliver the sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory technology to market. These advanced chips are designed for integration into Nvidia’s forthcoming Vera Rubin artificial intelligence platform.

SK Hynix has maintained dominance in the HBM market, capturing a 57% revenue share during the fourth quarter of 2025 according to Counterpoint Research data. The competitor distributed HBM4 prototype samples to clients in March 2024 and organized for volume production by September, though commercial delivery announcements have not yet materialized.

Industry observers suggest the competitive landscape is shifting. “Samsung has achieved significant advances in HBM4 technology and the performance differential compared to SK Hynix is considerably smaller than in earlier generations,” noted Ray Wang from SemiAnalysis, while acknowledging that SK Hynix maintains an overall technological advantage.

Samsung projected that its HBM revenue will increase more than threefold in the current year relative to 2026 figures.

Memory Shortage Expected to Intensify

Kim Jaejune, Samsung’s memory division executive, informed analysts during Thursday’s earnings call that demand satisfaction rates have fallen to unprecedented lows. Customers anxious about future availability constraints are already accelerating their procurement schedules for 2027.

“Considering exclusively the orders we’ve already secured for 2027, the imbalance between supply capacity and customer demand in 2027 is projected to expand even more substantially than what we experienced in 2026,” Kim explained.

The electronics manufacturer plans to substantially increase capital investment this year in an effort to match demand levels.

Samsung is simultaneously monitoring a possible labor conflict. Labor unions representing the majority of employees in its semiconductor operations are contemplating strike action regarding compensation disputes. Management indicated it has established a specialized response team to mitigate any potential production interruptions.

Regarding cost pressures, the elevated chip pricing that benefits the memory business is creating headwinds for Samsung’s other divisions. The mobile unit experienced a 35% profit decline in the first quarter to 2.8 trillion won, negatively impacted by higher component expenses. The display division similarly reported a 20% profit reduction to 400 billion won.

Samsung’s shares climbed as much as 1.8% immediately following the earnings announcement before reversing course to finish 2.4% lower, with market analysts attributing the decline to investors taking profits following the stock’s remarkable 88% advance year-to-date.

The post Samsung Electronics Sees 750% Profit Explosion Driven by AI Memory Chip Boom appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Takeaways

• Shares of META declined roughly 8% during extended trading hours following quarterly results
• First quarter earnings reached $10.44 per share with revenues totaling $56.3 billion, surpassing analyst projections
• Capital expenditure outlook for 2026 increased to a range of $125B–$145B from the prior $115B–$135B estimate, driven by elevated component pricing
• The platform’s daily active users increased 4% annually, reaching 3.56 billion
• The social media giant recently revealed workforce reductions affecting 8,000 employees, representing roughly 10% of total staff

Meta Platforms delivered impressive first-quarter results, yet Wall Street’s attention quickly shifted to the company’s escalating investment plans and their substantial financial implications.

The company’s quarterly earnings of $10.44 per share significantly exceeded analyst expectations of $8.15. Total revenue reached $56.3 billion, surpassing the Street’s $55.5 billion projection. However, excluding a one-time $8 billion tax advantage, adjusted earnings would have been $7.31 per share.

Despite the positive performance, META shares plummeted approximately 8% during after-hours trading following the announcement of an increased capital investment roadmap for 2026.

The technology giant now projects 2026 capital spending will range from $125 billion to $145 billion, representing an increase from the previously communicated $115 billion to $135 billion range. Management attributed this upward revision to rising costs for technological components and expanded data center infrastructure requirements.

Total operating expenses for the full 2026 fiscal year are anticipated to hold steady at $162 billion to $169 billion.

To put this in perspective, Meta’s complete 2025 fiscal year expenses totaled $117.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $72.2 billion — already representing a substantial increase from previous periods.

Management provided Q2 revenue guidance between $58 billion and $61 billion.

Meta Platforms, Inc., META

Massive Tech AI Investments Create Market Uncertainty

Meta’s earnings release coincided with reports from other technology titans including Alphabet, Microsoft, and Amazon. However, those three competitors demonstrated more tangible returns from their artificial intelligence ventures, helping their stock performance remain relatively stable.

The aggregate AI capital allocation from these four technology behemoths is projected to exceed $650 billion during the current year. This staggering investment level has created considerable market apprehension, with financial analysts questioning the timeline and certainty of adequate returns.

Forrester analyst Lee Sustar highlighted persistent concerns “about the sustainability of the AI boom,” emphasizing the substantial capital requirements against limited demonstrated financial benefits thus far.

User Engagement Rises Annually Despite Sequential Decline

Regarding platform engagement, Meta’s daily active people count hit 3.56 billion at the end of March, representing a 4% year-over-year increase.

This figure showed a modest decrease from the 3.58 billion reported in the fourth quarter, which the company explained resulted from internet connectivity issues in Iran and regulatory restrictions on WhatsApp services in Russia.

Advertising impressions throughout Meta’s application ecosystem climbed 19% compared to the previous year’s first quarter, while average advertising rates increased 12%. Both metrics demonstrated improvement relative to fourth-quarter growth trends.

Total employee count reached 77,986 as of the March quarter-end.

The previous week, Meta disclosed plans to eliminate 8,000 positions — approximately 10% of its employee base — alongside canceling 6,000 unfilled positions. Company leadership characterized these reductions as part of an ongoing efficiency initiative necessary to “offset the other investments we’re making.”

META concluded regular trading hours on April 29 at $669.12 per share, before declining to approximately $613 during pre-market activity following the earnings announcement.

The post Meta Platforms (META) Stock Plunges 8% on Massive $145B AI Infrastructure Forecast appeared first on Blockonomi.

Quick Summary

• The bank delivered Q1 net profit of €1.70 billion, surpassing analyst expectations of €1.55 billion by approximately 9%
• Cost-cutting efforts exceeded targets with operating expenses declining 6% year-over-year, twice the bank’s 3% annual goal
• The French retail banking segment saw net income surge 48.4% compared to the prior year
• Fixed income trading revenues plummeted 18%, significantly underperforming competitors like JPMorgan which posted a 21% gain
• The bank’s CET1 capital ratio registered 13.5%, approximately 325 basis points beyond regulatory requirements

Societe Generale delivered first-quarter earnings that exceeded analyst projections on Thursday, propelled by aggressive expense management and a robust turnaround in its domestic retail banking operations. However, these positive developments were overshadowed by a significant decline in fixed income trading performance that placed the French lender behind most major competitors.

For the quarter ending March 31, the group reported net income of €1.70 billion, representing a 5.5% increase from the same period last year and approximately 9% above the analyst consensus forecast of €1.55 billion.

Operating costs decreased 6% year-over-year to €4.33 billion. This reduction is approximately twice the magnitude of the bank’s stated annual expense reduction objective of 3%, and came in below analyst projections of €4.40 billion.

The cost-to-income ratio showed meaningful improvement, declining to 60.9% from 65% in the year-ago quarter. When calculated on an IFRIC 21 linearised basis, the metric registered 57.6%, comfortably beneath the bank’s full-year goal of staying under 60%.

Return on tangible equity reached 11.7%, exceeding both the consensus estimate of 10.4% and the bank’s full-year target of above 10%. On an adjusted basis, ROTE climbed to 12.7%.

Net banking income increased modestly by 0.3% to €7.11 billion, slightly trailing the €7.15 billion consensus. When adjusted for constant perimeter and exchange rates, revenues expanded 4.4%.

Domestic Retail Banking Powers Performance

The French Retail, Private Banking and Insurance segment delivered net income of €625 million, marking a 48.4% year-over-year increase. The division’s return on normative equity climbed to 13.7% from 9.5% in the first quarter of 2025.

Revitalizing French retail operations has been a strategic priority for Chief Executive Slawomir Krupa. The unit previously suffered losses exceeding €2 billion from a poorly executed interest-rate hedging strategy. Following his appointment as CEO in 2023, Krupa assumed direct management of this division.

The segment’s performance benefited from a reduction in the Livret A savings rate, improved deposit composition stability, and increased lending activity, all contributing to enhanced net interest income.

Investment Banking Faces Trading Headwinds

The investment banking arm presented a contrasting narrative. Global Banking and Investor Solutions net income declined 9.7% to €773 million.

Fixed income, currencies, and commodities trading revenue contracted 18.2% to €571 million. Management attributed this weakness to sluggish commercial activity and challenging market conditions in European rates products.

This outcome diverged notably from peer performance. JPMorgan’s FICC revenue expanded 21% during the quarter. Goldman Sachs experienced a 10% decline, [[LINK_START_0]]Deutsche Bank[[LINK_END_0]] saw a 1% decrease, and BNP Paribas posted essentially flat results — all outperforming SocGen’s sharp drop.

Equities revenue provided a positive counterbalance, achieving a record €1.12 billion, up 5.5%.

The net cost of risk totaled €355 million, equivalent to 25 basis points — at the lower boundary of the bank’s 2026 guidance range of 25 to 30 basis points and substantially below the consensus expectation of €396 million.

The CET1 capital ratio stood at 13.5% at the end of March, approximately 325 basis points above minimum regulatory requirements.

Digital banking subsidiary BoursoBank contributed €92 million in quarterly profit and is projecting a full-year contribution exceeding €300 million.

Analysts at Jefferies observed that BoursoBank reduced promotional spending in the first quarter, which they interpret as evidence of a more defined trajectory toward sustained profitability.

Market attention has already shifted to the bank’s forthcoming medium-term strategic plan, scheduled for presentation on September 21.

The post Societe Generale (SOGN) Shares Decline After Strong Q1 Results Miss Market Expectations appeared first on Blockonomi.

Although the US Federal Reserve kept the interest rates unchanged as essentially everyone expected, BTC still dipped to a multi-day low of just under $75,000 before it rebounded by a grand.

Ethereum and HYPE have lost the most value from the larger-cap alts, while RAIN has defied the trend with a notable 6% surge.

BTC Rebounds After FOMC Dip

Although the US delegation was stopped from going to Pakistan for potential peace talks with Iran over the weekend and there was an alleged attempt on Trump’s life at a White House event, BTC began the business week on the right foot. After trading sideways around $77,500 on Saturday and most of Sunday, the asset flew to $79,500 on Monday morning.

However, the bears were quick to intercept the move and pushed it south immediately to its starting point. Hours later, the cryptocurrency plunged again, this time to $76,500. The selling pressure continued on Tuesday, and BTC dipped below $76,000 before it rallied to almost $78,000 before the highly anticipated third FOMC meeting on Wednesday.

Once it concluded and it became known that the Fed won’t change the rates, as expected, bitcoin slid once again, this time to just under $75,000. It has recovered around a grand since then, but it’s still down by over 1%. Its market cap has slipped to $1.520 trillion, while its dominance over the alts remains at 58% on CG.

WLFI, PI Drop

Most larger-cap alts are in the red today, with ETH sliding by roughly 3% to $2,250. HYPE has lost the $40 support after a 2.5% decline. BNB, XRP, SOL, ADA, BCH, and LINK have posted losses of 1-2%.

WLFI has plunged the most from the top 100 alts today after recent reports about a suspicious partnership. The token is down by over 16% to $0.06. Pi Network’s native token follows suit, as a 11% drop has pushed it to $0.175. Recall that the asset challenged the $0.20 resistance yesterday, where it was violently rejected.

RAIN has defied the overall market correction with a 6% pump to almost $0.008.

The total crypto market cap is down by over $60 billion since yesterday’s high to $2.620 trillion on CG.

The post Pi Network’s PI and WLFI Dump the Most, BTC Recovers From Post-FOMC Dip: Market Watch appeared first on CryptoPotato.

[PRESS RELEASE – San Francisco, United States, April 30th, 2026]

Kite today announced the launch of its mainnet and the Kite Agent Passport, an identity and payment infrastructure built specifically for autonomous AI agents.

The launch marks Kite’s transition from testnet to production, introducing a payments and settlement layer purpose-built for agent-driven transactions. The infrastructure combines three layers into a single platform: a stable native settlement layer (Kite Chain), a core agent service (Kite Agent Passport), and the Agent Interface & Experience.

The Kite Agent Passport gives AI agents a programmable, secure wallet to hold funds and make purchases on behalf of users—while users retain full control over spending limits and authorized destinations. For example, users can purchase physical goods, have them shipped home, and let their agent handle payments, all within Claude, with spending limits enforced by the Passport. Kite Chain serves as a stable native settlement layer, processing payments in digital dollars and connecting to traditional banking systems for everyday consumers. The Agent Interface & Experience enables agents and developers to interact with the system through agent registration, agent harnesses, and service discovery.

“The launch is just the beginning,” said Chi Zhang, Co-Founder and CEO of Kite. “Our mission is to create the trusted backbone for agent-driven economies—where every autonomous agent operates with verified identity, programmable permissions, and seamless settlement. This is the infrastructure that will finally let agents do everything for you. We’re thrilled to be building it.”

Now integrated with over 90 service providers, the platform enables users to explore a wide range of agentic payment use cases—from shopping and travel planning to DIY automated agentic workflows using paid agentic services.

Kite is also positioning itself as a unified hub for major payment protocol standards, including the x402 payment standard, Google’s AP2 protocol, Stripe’s Machine Payment Protocol (MPP), and Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol (MCP). The company is also a member of the Linux Foundation’s Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF).

Kite has raised $35 million in funding led by PayPal Ventures and General Catalyst. Pilot integrations with PayPal and Shopify are underway, extending Kite’s payment infrastructure into real-world commerce.

The Kite Agent Passport is available now. Interested parties can try it today https://agentpassport.ai/or read how to get started https://agentpassport.ai/quickstart/

About Kite

Kite is building the payment infrastructure for the agent-native web — a foundational layer where autonomous AI agents can operate with verifiable identity, programmable governance, and native stablecoin settlement

Users can learn more about Kite: https://gokite.ai/

The post Kite Launches Kite Chain and Kite Agent Passport, Enabling Autonomous AI Agent Payments appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Perhaps driven by some of the positive developments within its ecosystem, Pi Network’s native token defied the overall market sluggishness over the past several days and posted some impressive gains.

However, it all came to a screeching halt as the bears reemerged and pushed it south hard.

PI Plummets

The Core Team behind the project has announced some major protocol changes in the past few months, which upgraded it from v19.6 to v21 by mid-March. The subsequent one, version 22, is also rumored to be deployed, but there’s no official confirmation from the team yet.

In addition, they have made strides in different directions, such as AI and verifications. In fact, as reported yesterday, they managed to combine AI and human input to complete over 526 million verification tasks.

These are among the likely reasons behind the native token’s impressive performance by yesterday. Its rally began from $0.17, where it traded by April 26, before it skyrocketed to $0.20 by April 29. This became its highest price tag in over a month and prompted some analysts to speculate about an even more profound pump that could drive it north by 1,400%.

However, the $0.20 resistance was too strong, and the subsequent rejection has been quite brutal. PI first retreated to $0.19 before it nosedived again to just over $0.17. It found some support there and now trades above $0.175. Nevertheless, its daily losses are still over 10%, and its market cap has plunged to $1.830 billion.

Perfect Setup for Long Liquidations

Popular X user Dao World weighed in on PI’s latest rejection, noting that the $0.20 resistance is where the 200-day MA is located. The retracement drove it south to the 100-day MA, which serves as the first major support.

They explained that the number of high-leveraged long positions had started to build up during the rally, which “made it a perfect setup for a long liquidation.”

The other factor that could have contributed to the correction was the overall market state. As reported yesterday, bitcoin and most altcoins dumped after the FOMC meeting, in which the Federal Reserve maintained the key interest rates unchanged.

Nevertheless, Dao World reassured the PI community that the asset had not dropped below the 100-day MA, which could result in a more impressive rebound if market sentiment improves.

The post Pi Network’s (PI) Rally Comes to an End With Massive 10% Daily Drop appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Six years after establishing its first office in Dubai, Ripple has now doubled down on its presence in the region and in Africa by setting up a regional headquarters in the city’s International Financial Center (DIFC).

DIFC’s chief executive officer commented that Ripple’s expansion is a “strong signal of the confidence that world-leading digital assets firms have in Dubai as a global hub for blockchain technology.”

Ripple said the new HQ will increase its capacity to grow its local team as demand for regulated blockchain-powered payment and custody solutions continues to accelerate across the region.

The statement reads that it has been roughly six years since Ripple established its MEA regional HQs in Dubai in 2020, and it has grown its presence throughout the entire Middle East since then, which now represents a “significant share” of its global customer base.

Aside from setting up offices in Dubai, the company also secured in-principal approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority a couple of years back to expand its operations within the DIFC. In 2025, it became the first blockchain payments provider to be fully licensed by the DFSA, while its stablecoin, RLUSD, was recognized as a crypto token.

The new office will allow Ripple to expand support for clients and partners across the Middle East and Africa, such as already existing ones like Zand Bank, Ctrl Alt, Garanti BBVA, Absa Bank, and Chipper Cash.

“In recent years, the Middle East has become an increasingly vital driver of Ripple’s global growth. Our new regional headquarters is a reflection of our ongoing commitment to playing our part in the region’s upward trajectory. From our earliest days in the UAE, we have seen first-hand the appetite from local businesses for regulated, blockchain-powered payment infrastructure, an appetite that is only growing.

A larger team, based here in Dubai, will enable us to go further in supporting our clients and partners across the region and beyond,” commented Ripple’s Managing Director for the region, Reece Merrick.

The post Ripple (XRP) Drops Major Announcement for Middle East and Africa Clients appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Cardano’s native token, once part of crypto’s elite top 10 club, has been among the worst-affected digital assets during the ongoing bear market.

Its price has plummeted by 65% over the past year, but that hasn’t affected the optimism of many analysts who believe a major resurgence could be on the horizon.

ADA is Dead or…?

As of this writing, the asset trades at around $0.25, while the last time it touched the $1 milestone was roughly a year ago. And while some believe that ADA won’t be able to reclaim its former glory, X user Sssebi argued that “whoever thinks Cardano is dead has clearly not been through other bear markets.”

The analyst noted that underperformance during such phases is normal, but added that 200-300% pumps can occur within weeks once sentiment turns bullish.

“Don’t get fooled by an overall bad sentiment across all markets,” they stated.

The post triggered mixed reactions, with some sharing the same theory. The non-custodial staking infrastructural provider Everstake, for instance, predicted that Cardano “is set to surprise everyone this year.”

Others remain disappointed with the asset’s performance, doubting it will stage a meaningful recovery and advising investors to take profits should one occur.

JAVON MARKS is another analyst who recently gave their two cents on ADA. The market observer suggested that over the past few years, the token might have formed a base similar to the one that preceded a major rally in 2021.

Still Awaiting the Major Move

Earlier this month, the renowned analyst Ali Martinez opined that ADA has reached the “make-or-break” level at $0.243. He explained that this area has historically served as a key pivot and a launchpad for major price swings.

Holding this zone could pave the way for a move to $0.30, but losing it might signal structural weakness and potentially drag the valuation to as low as $0.10. Despite a short-lived drop to $0.24 on April 20, bulls have mostly defended that area.

Meanwhile, ADA’s recent exchange netflows have been mostly negative. This means that investors continue to shift tokens from centralized platforms to self-custody methods, thereby reducing immediate selling pressure.

The post Top Cardano (ADA) Price Predictions as of Late appeared first on CryptoPotato.