Regulators in Pakistan have proposed a regulatory framework for digital assets that is compliance-focused, in accordance with rules laid out by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the supranational organization that polices finance for money laundering, The Express Tribune reported.According to the report, Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) introduced the regulatory framework to address terrorism financing, money laundering provisions, and Know Your Customer (KYC) controls enforced by the supranational organization. The report cited FIA Director Sumera Azam as saying:"This is a paradigm shift in how Pakistan views digital finance. The policy proposal seeks to strike a historic balance between technological advancement and national security imperatives.”The proposed framework is subject to legislative approval and input from digital asset firms operating in the country, with an expected multi-phased rollout beginning in 2026.Regulators in Pakistan recently spearheaded a regulatory pivot embracing cryptocurrencies after being explicitly anti-crypto for years. The government's anti-crypto stance hit a crescendo in 2023 when Pakistani officials called for a country-wide ban on digital assets.Appointments to the Pakistan Crypto Council. Source: Bilal Bin-Saqib. Source: Bilal Bin-SaqibRelated: Pakistan eyes crypto legal framework to boost foreign investmentPakistan embraces the future of money in regulatory shiftIn May 2023, former minister of state for finance and revenue, Aisha Ghaus Pasha said that Pakistan would never legalize cryptocurrencies due to the potential for digital assets to circumvent FATF regulations.Less than two years later in February 2025 the Finance Ministry of Pakistan signaled a seismic regulatory shift by forming the Pakistan Crypto Council to establish clear crypto regulations in the country and attract foreign investment."Pakistan is a low-cost, high-growth market, with 60% of the population under 30. We have a web3 native workforce ready to build," CEO of the Pakistan Crypto Council Bilal bin Saqib said in a March 20 X post.Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao meets with Pakistan foreign minister Ishaq Dar. Source: Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign AffairsThe Council is exploring using excess energy to mine Bitcoin (BTC) as part of a broader effort to turn Pakistan into an international hub for crypto mining.On April 7, the Council appointed Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao as a crypto adviser to guide the organization's policy efforts.Magazine: How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025
S&P 500 briefly sees ‘Bitcoin-level’ volatility amid Trump tariff war
The S&P 500 Index briefly experienced Bitcoin-level volatility in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” tariff announcement, underscoring the panic and fear gripping traditional markets amid the ongoing trade war. Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas alerted his followers on X that the S&P 500’s volatility, as measured by the “SPY US Equity Hist Vol” chart, reached 74 in early April, exceeding Bitcoin’s (BTC) 71 level. Source: Eric BalchunasThe increase marks a significant deviation from the S&P 500’s long-term volatility average, which is below 20. For Bitcoin though, extreme volatility has been a feature since the asset’s inception. “Bitcoin’s volatility remains elevated at 3.9 and 4.6 times that of gold and global equities, respectively,” according to BlackRock. While Bitcoin’s average volatility has declined over time, it tends to experience much higher price swings than more established assets. Source: BlackRockStocks are experiencing crisis-level volatility due to Trump’s trade war, which threatened duties of anywhere from 10% to 50% on imports from America’s largest trading partners. While Trump has since paused some of his tariffs for 90 days, the administration has ratcheted up duties on Chinese imports to at least 145%. The volatility has also extended into other assets, most notably US Treasurys, which experienced a large sell-off this week. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond is on track for its steepest rise since 2001.Related: As Trump tanks Bitcoin, PMI offers a roadmap of what comes nextDespite “macro relief,” Bitcoin remains under pressureUS equity markets experienced a historic relief rally on April 9 after Trump’s tariff pause. However, the “macro relief” didn’t extend to Bitcoin or its spot exchange traded funds (ETFs) in any meaningful way, which is a sign that “institutional confidence remains cautious in the near term,” Bitfinex analysts told Cointelegraph in a note. “After January’s record inflows, ETF demand has cooled, with several products seeing net outflows in recent weeks,” the analysts said. “This reflects hesitation among large allocators who may be waiting for more favorable entry points or clearer regulatory guidance.” The US spot Bitcoin ETFs have experienced six consecutive days of outflows. Source: FarsideDespite Bitcoin’s disappointing performance, Bitfinex said the second quarter through the end of 2025 is potentially bullish for the asset class as a whole as “new narratives take hold,” such as sovereign accumulation and growth in real-world asset tokenization.Unchained’s director of market research, Joe Burnett, shared a similar view, arguing that Bitcoin has more attractive characteristics for long-term investors who are worried about government policy and fiat risk impacting their portfolios. While the S&P 500’s volatility spike is likely to be short-lived, Burnett said its recent performance “challenges the long-held belief that traditional markets are safer, less risky, or more stable.” Related: Weaker yuan is 'bullish for BTC' as Chinese capital flocks to crypto — Bybit CEO
Bitcoin (BTC) is showing strength as buyers have pushed the price above $82,500, but higher levels are likely to attract solid selling from the bears. CryptoQuant analysts said in a recent market report that Bitcoin could face resistance around $84,000, but if the level is surpassed, the next stop may be $96,000.Although trade tensions between the United States and China have flared up, institutional crypto investment firm Bitwise remains bullish on Bitcoin. Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan said in a post on X that the firm’s previously predicted year-end target of $200,000 for Bitcoin remains in play.Crypto market data daily view. Source: Coin360However, market participants remain cautious in the near term. The US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds continued to witness outflows on April 9 and April 10, according to Farside Investors data. Could Bitcoin break and sustain above the overhead resistance? Will altcoins follow Bitcoin higher? Let’s analyze the charts of the top 10 cryptocurrencies to find out.Bitcoin price analysisBitcoin’s recovery from the $73,777 support has reached near the resistance line, which is a critical level to watch out for in the near term.BTC/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewThe 20-day exponential moving average ($82,435) is turning down, but the relative strength index (RSI) has risen close to the midpoint, indicating that the bearish momentum is weakening. The BTC/USDT pair is expected to face intense selling at the resistance line, but if the bulls prevail, the rally could reach $89,000 and then $95,000.Sellers are likely to have other plans. They will try to defend the resistance line and pull the price below the immediate support at $78,500. If they manage to do that, the pair could retest the vital support at $73,777.Ether price analysisEther (ETH) rebounded off the $1,368 support on April 9, but the bulls are struggling to sustain the higher levels.ETH/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewThe downsloping moving averages and the RSI in the negative territory suggest that the bears hold the edge. Sellers will try to sink the ETH/USDT pair below $1,368. If they can pull it off, the selling could accelerate, and the pair may tumble to $1,150.If buyers want to prevent the breakdown, they will have to quickly push the price above $1,754. That clears the path for a rally to the breakdown level of $2,111. This is an essential level for the bears to defend because a break above $2,111 suggests a short-term trend change.XRP price analysisXRP (XRP) rose back above the breakdown level of $2 on April 9, but the recovery is facing selling at the 20-day EMA ($2.09).XRP/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewIf the price turns down from the 20-day EMA, the bears will try to sink the XRP/USDT pair to the critical support at $1.61. Buyers are expected to fiercely defend the $1.61 level because a break below it may clear the path for a decline to $1.27.Alternatively, if the price rises above the 20-day EMA, it suggests that the markets have rejected the breakdown below $2. The pair could rally to the resistance line, where the bears are expected to mount a strong defense.BNB price analysisBNB (BNB) has reached the 20-day EMA ($590), which is an important near-term resistance to watch out for.BNB/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewSellers will try to defend the zone between the 20-day EMA and the downtrend line, but if the bulls do not give up much ground, it improves the prospects of a break above the overhead resistance zone. The BNB/USDT pair could then ascend to $644.Contrary to this assumption, if the price turns down sharply from the overhead resistance, it suggests that the bears have not given up. That could keep the pair stuck inside the triangle for a while longer.Solana price analysisSolana (SOL) rose above the breakdown level of $110 on April 9, but the bulls are facing resistance at the 20-day EMA ($121).SOL/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewA minor advantage in favor of the bulls is that the bears did not allow the price to slip back below $110 on April 10. That shows buying on dips. If the bulls kick the price above the 20-day EMA, the SOL/USDT pair may rally to the 50-day SMA ($133) and then to $153.This positive view will be invalidated in the short term if the price turns down sharply from the 20-day EMA and breaks below $110. The pair could then retest the April 7 intraday low of $95. Dogecoin price analysisBuyers have successfully defended the $0.14 in Dogecoin (DOGE) but are yet to clear the moving averages.DOGE/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewIf the price turns down sharply from the moving averages, it suggests that the sentiment remains negative and traders are selling on rallies. That increases the likelihood of a break below $0.14. The DOGE/USDT pair could then plummet toward the next significant support at $0.10.Conversely, a break and close above the moving averages will be the first sign of strength. There is resistance at $0.20, but if the bulls overcome it, the pair will complete a double-bottom pattern. The pair could march to $0.24 and subsequently to $0.26.Cardano price analysisCardano (ADA) has reached the 20-day EMA ($0.65), which is a strong near-term resistance to watch out for.ADA/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewIf the price breaks above the 20-day EMA, the ADA/USDT pair could reach the 50-day SMA ($0.71). This level may again pose a strong challenge, but if the buyers prevail, the pair could rally to $0.83.On the contrary, if the price turns down sharply from the 20-day EMA, it signals that the bears are selling on every minor rally. That heightens the risk of a break below the $0.50 support. If that happens, the pair could slide to $0.40.Related: Bollinger Bands creator says Bitcoin forming 'classic' floor near $80KUNUS SED LEO price analysisUNUS SED LEO (LEO) rose back above the uptrend line on April 9, signaling solid demand at lower levels.LEO/USD daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewThe 20-day EMA ($9.38) is flattening out, and the RSI is near the midpoint, suggesting a balance between supply and demand. If the price breaks above the 20-day EMA, the LEO/USD pair could reach the overhead resistance at $9.90. If the price turns down from the 20-day EMA, it suggests that the bears continue to sell on rallies. The bears will then make one more attempt to sink the pair below $8.79. If they succeed, the decline could extend to $8.30.Chainlink price analysisChainlink (LINK) has been trading inside a descending channel pattern for several days. The rebound on April 9 shows that the bulls are trying to defend the support line.LINK/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewThe moving averages are expected to act as a stiff resistance on the way up. If buyers propel the price above the moving averages, the LINK/USDT pair could pick up momentum and rally to $16 and later to $17.50.Contrarily, if the price turns down from the moving averages, it suggests that the bears are active at higher levels. The bears will then make one more attempt to sink the pair below the support line.Avalanche price analysisAvalanche (AVAX) rebounded sharply off the $15.27 support on April 9, indicating solid buying at lower levels.AVAX/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewThere is resistance in the zone between the 50-day SMA ($20) and the downtrend line, but if the buyers overcome it, the AVAX/USDT pair could surge to $23.50.Sellers are expected to aggressively defend the $23.50 level because a break and close above it will complete a double bottom pattern. This reversal setup has a target objective of $31.73.Instead, if the price turns down from the overhead resistance, it suggests that the pair could remain range-bound between $15.27 and $23.50 for some time.This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
Bitcoin holds $82K as US dollar falls to 3-year low and PPI inflation drops sharply
Bitcoin (BTC) sought higher levels around the April 11 Wall Street open as the week’s final US inflation data gave bulls hope.BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewAnalyst: PPI undershoot “great” for US trade warData from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD reaching highs of $83,245 as US Producer Price Index (PPI) data came in below expectations.The Index came in at 2.7% versus the anticipated 3.3%, while the core PPI print also surprised to the downside.An official news release from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) added:“In March, over 70 percent of the decrease in the index for final demand can be traced to prices for final demand goods, which fell 0.9 percent. The index for final demand services declined 0.2 percent.”US PPI for final demand. Source: BLSReacting, trading resource The Kobeissi Letter was among those noting the rapid pace at which US inflation appeared to be slowing.“We just saw the first month-over-month decline in PPI inflation, down -0.4%, since March 2024,” it told followers in part of a post on X. “Both CPI and PPI inflation are down SHARPLY.”S&P 500 4-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewRisk-asset performance, however, failed to reflect the notionally positive inflation developments. The S&P 500 was 0.2% lower on the day, while the Nasdaq Composite index was flat.As Cointelegraph reported, after stocks fell precipitously the day prior despite bullish inflation numbers, commentators explained that macro data was helping to fuel the ongoing US trade war.Continuing, crypto trader, analyst and entrepreneur Michaël van de Poppe saw a repeat playing out post-PPI. “PPI comes in significantly lower. That's great for Trump and his strategy,” he argued, referring to trade tariffs implemented by US President Donald Trump. “The only thing that needs to be resolved is the on-going Trade War, but the ingredients are building up.”Bitcoin gets key bullish dollar triggerAnother macro development failing to provide its standard risk-asset tailwind came in the form of multiyear lows in US dollar strength.Related: Bollinger Bands creator says Bitcoin forming 'classic' floor near $80KThe US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the dollar against a basket of US trading partner currencies, fell below the psychological 100 mark for the first time since 2022.US dollar index (DXY) 1-week chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewAs Cointelegraph reported, long-term lows on DXY have historically sparked a delayed BTC price bull run.“Traditionally, DXY going down is very bullish for $BTC, we now have a massive bearish divergence for DXY, which may suggest it goes to 90,” popular crypto analyst Venturefounder observed in part of an X post on the topic this week.“Last 2 times this happened triggered a Bitcoin parabolic bullrun in final phase of the bullmarket (lasting 12 months).”US Dollar Index (DXY) vs. BTC/USD chart with RSI data. Source: Venturefounder/XAn accompanying chart examined relative strength index (RSI) data for the DXY monthly chart, showing it retesting a downward-sloping trend line as support from above.This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
Opinion by: Billy Campana, contract developer, Api3 Speculation is a cornerstone of price discovery for traditional finance institutions like hedge funds and major banks and plays an essential role in their day-to-day operations. It is the mechanism by which they can establish reliable valuations for everything, ranging from simple stocks and bonds to complex derivatives and structured products. While decentralized finance (DeFi) is often criticized for its speculative “casino” nature, this is, in reality, one of its strengths: making practices like arbitrage more accessible to everyone and empowering individuals to participate in opportunities once out of reachDeFi’s volatilityCritics have highlighted DeFi’s extreme volatility, a concern exemplified by Ether’s (ETH) recent 15% price drop that triggered over $100 million in long position liquidations. These dramatic market movements continually test market resilience and investor confidence in the ecosystem. The accusations that DeFi platforms function essentially as gambling venues persist throughout the industry. Such criticisms have gained further traction following several high-profile memecoin crashes that collectively erased over $46 billion in market value, revealing the systemic vulnerabilities that speculative activities can introduce to the broader ecosystem.Additionally, the recent Bybit hack spotlighted the major security concerns, exposing critical vulnerabilities within DeFi infrastructure and triggering intense scrutiny of the sector’s security protocols. These systemic risks have only escalated institutional skepticism, resulting in increasingly vocal calls for greater transparency and comprehensive regulatory oversight. Simultaneously, the media narrative surrounding DeFi remains overwhelmingly focused on its spectacular failures, growing institutional skepticism and persistent market instability. This one-sided portrayal continues challenging DeFi’s credibility as a serious financial ecosystem capable of responsible innovation.Evening the playing fieldCritics consistently miss that DeFi democratizes the same speculative mechanisms that traditional finance has always employed for price discovery. The fundamental difference is that Wall Street gatekeepers no longer control who benefits from these opportunities. While traditional finance has historically restricted arbitrage opportunities to institutional players with privileged access, DeFi effectively removes these gatekeepers, allowing anyone with an internet connection to participate in the price discovery process that hedge funds and banks have monopolized for decades.Smart contracts have revolutionized financial operations that once required privileged access and teams of highly paid professionals. Smart contracts effectively break down the artificial barriers that have systematically kept ordinary people out of sophisticated markets. Recent: Bitwise makes first institutional DeFi allocationLeading financial institutions increasingly recognize this paradigm shift, with established businesses progressively adopting DeFi mechanisms to automate transactions and enhance operational efficiency. Institutional adoption validates speculation as a legitimate financial practice rather than dismissing it as mere gambling.An arbitrage utopiaThis unprecedented democratization manifests concretely in decentralized lending platforms that enable automated market makers (AMMs), enabling anyone to provide liquidity and earn fees previously reserved exclusively for institutional market makers with significant capital reserves. With unprecedented data transparency across blockchain networks, even uncollateralized crypto loans can enable capital-efficient arbitrage opportunities spanning multiple blockchain ecosystems without requiring the millions in upfront collateral that traditional finance demands from participants. As institutional involvement continues to grow and regulatory frameworks gradually mature, these speculative mechanisms steadily evolve toward the same legitimacy traditional finance instruments enjoy. This evolution reveals that speculation itself was never the problem — the exclusionary access to its benefits was. The practical execution of this democratized speculation includes cross-exchange arbitrage through DeFi aggregators, crosschain bridges that naturally equalize asset prices across different blockchains and automated liquidation mechanisms that maintain system solvency. All these components serve the same fundamental purpose as traditional financial instruments but with radically expanded access for participants worldwide.As institutional investors and traditional financial markets return their gaze to the industry, with increased involvement from regulatory bodies and political figures in the US, DeFi must remember its core value proposition. The actual value of DeFi is not in recreating the current structures that allow the powerful to benefit from methods that regular people don’t have access to but in making these opaque systems transparent and open to everyone.Rather than apologizing for speculation, the industry should embrace and refine it as its revolutionary tool — one that brings financial opportunities to billions systematically excluded from traditional markets. Innovation in DeFi isn’t just technological; it is also social, creating a financial system where opportunity isn’t determined by privilege but by insight, creativity and willingness to participate. The future belongs not to those who can eliminate speculation but to those who can make it fair, transparent and accessible to all.Opinion by: Billy Campana, contract developer, Api3This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
Vitalik Buterin unveils roadmap for Ethereum privacy
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin outlined an extensive plan to enhance the privacy of the network he helped create.In an April 11 roadmap, Buterin argued for incorporating privacy tools into Ether (ETH) wallets and implementing privacy-enhancing norms and features in the Ethereum ecosystem and protocol. He explained that the roadmap in question is a short-term solution that requires limited changes to the base protocol along with supplemental long-term updates.Buterin recommends adopting privacy-enhancing systems such as Railgun or Privacy Pools by existing wallets, according to the plan. When funds are sent with those wallets, he argues that users should be greeted by an option to “send from shielded balance,” which anonymizes the transaction, and should be “ideally turned on by default.” He wrote:“Users should NOT have to download a separate ‘privacy wallet.’“Related: Privacy Pools launch on Ethereum, with Vitalik demoing the featureMajor changes recommended for DeFiButerin further recommended profound changes in how decentralized finance (DeFi) and broader decentralized applications (DApp) are implemented. He argued that those systems should be limited to “one address per application.”The Ethereum co-founder acknowledged that this would require “significant convenience sacrifices, ” but it “is the most practical way to remove public links between all of your activity across different applications.” He also highlights that the user experience would be “very similar” to depositing funds to one chain from another in crosschain interoperability systems.Buterin also highlighted that to enjoy the benefits of this change, developers would need to ensure that user withdrawal functions are privacy-preserving by default.Ethereum protocol changes neededOther changes included are the implementation of fork-choice enforced inclusion lists (FOCIL) and the Ethereum improvement proposal (EIP) 7701. The latter is an improvement to Ethereum account abstraction, and the former is a censorship-resistance improvement.FOCIL functionality diagram. Source: Ethereum ResearchEIP-7701 ensures that privacy protocols can operate without needing relays or public broadcasters. This, in turn, simplifies the development and maintenance of this kind of protocol. Relays, in this context, are intermediaries or nodes responsible for accepting and forwarding transactions. On the other hand, broadcasters are responsible for publishing transactions to the public blockchain.EIP-7701 divides Ethereum transactions into phases, natively allowing third parties to step in and pay the fees in the right phase. This means there is no need for a relay to accept users’ private transactions to be anonymously broadcast by a separate entity.FOCIL, on the other hand, prevents the censorship of transactions, including privacy-preserving ones. The relevance is presumably that anonymized transactions are at a significantly higher risk of falling victim to censorship attempts.Related: Financial privacy and regulation can co-exist with ZK proofs — Vitalik ButerinInfrastructure changes are requiredA short-term solution to address the privacy limitations of current remote procedure call (RPC) systems used to interact with the blockchain, as proposed by Buterin, is the implementation of a trusted execution environment (TEE).TEE is a secure area within a processor that ensures code and data loaded inside it are protected. Buterin explained that “this allows users to interact with RPC nodes while getting stronger assurances that their private data is not being collected.”As a long-term solution, TEEs should be replaced with a private information retrieval (PIR) system. PIR is a cryptographic protocol that allows users to retrieve a specific item from a database without revealing which item was retrieved.This would allow users to retrieve data concerning blockchain contents without the provider knowing which data is being shared. Buterin highlighted that it is superior because it provides “cryptographic guarantees.” The Ethereum co-founder also argued that wallets should be connected to multiple RPC servers. They should also use a separate RPC per DApp and potentially a mixnet — a privacy-enhancing technology designed to obscure metadata.Other recommendations include the development of proof-aggregation protocols for privacy-preserving protocols. This would result in significantly lower fees for using such systems.Magazine: Big Questions: What did Satoshi Nakamoto think about ZK-proofs?
Memecoins, markets and Trump: Cointelegraph’s Q1 crypto editorial roundtable
The year 2025 kicked off with a bang and a meme. Just weeks into the New Year, a frenzy of politically fueled memecoins sent Crypto Twitter into overdrive, while lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic turned up the heat on stablecoins, securities laws and tokenized assets, usually with different approaches.It was a whirlwind first quarter, shaped by Bitcoin’s dominance in the crypto market and a US political climate that put digital assets back in the spotlight. Q1 delivered no shortage of storylines.Who better to break it all down than the journalists tracking it in real time? In the latest episode of Decentralize with Cointelegraph, editorial team members sit down for an unfiltered newsroom roundtable.Savannah Fortis, head of podcasts and EU reporter, is joined by Gareth Jenkinson, chief of multimedia; Zoltan Vardai, breaking news reporter on the EU news team; and Vince Quill, US news reporter, to reflect on Q1’s biggest stories and what they signal for the months ahead.Memecoins, power and perceptionAs memecoins surged in early 2025, questions regarding their legitimacy and political entanglement intensified. For Cointelegraph’s editorial team, the frenzy wasn’t just a market quirk, it revealed deep tensions among innovation, opportunism and influence.Jenkinson was first to comment on what the impact of US President Donald Trump and greater political memecoin frenzies may mean for the industry in the long term, saying, “I struggle to still trust what the Trump administration and his group of advisers are doing, when they are launching things like memecoins...”“Yes, we’ve seen a much more favorable approach to the wider crypto industry, and that’s been really great. But a lot of the lobbying, from Ripple, Circle and others, was about making sure their cryptocurrencies were included in this bundle of assets the US wants to hold.”Related: Bitcoin may hit a wall at $84K if bullish conditions don’t pick up: CryptoQuantThe team acknowledged that while regulatory clarity and institutional support have created a more stable environment for crypto companies in general since the new administration took office, that progress risks being overshadowed by spectacle.More memes…Trump’s big moves seem to domino into other political figures, namely Argentina’s President Javier Milei, to become entangled in a high-profile memecoin controversy that rippled far beyond national politics.For an industry seeking legitimacy, this kind of involvement by world leaders sends a mixed message. “It’s terrible for the industry,” Jenkinson added. “Milei was supposed to be a savior for Argentina after years of hyperinflation. And now he’s launching a memecoin with a known rug puller.”Still, the roundtable remained hopeful. “I’m an eternal optimist,” he continued. “At least we got the affirmation for Bitcoin. People now understand what it is, governments are starting to hold it. That’s how good the fundamentals are.”Stablecoins and the altcoin falloutWhile much attention has centered on Bitcoin’s institutional glow-up and the memecoin spectacle, several members of the Cointelegraph team voiced deeper concerns around emerging stablecoin legislation and the quiet moves behind it.“One thing that I think kind of flew under the radar is that the Trump-linked World Liberty Forum actually launched a US dollar-backed stablecoin in March,” Vardai pointed out. “These stablecoins would fall completely in line with both requirements in the Genius Act and Stable Act... but it could really be interpreted as Trump trying to pass stablecoin legislation while having a vested interest. His World Liberty Financial is launching a lot of crypto-related products.”The fallout from politically aligned memecoins has also weighed heavily on the broader crypto markets, particularly altcoins. “Altcoins aren’t really winning at all this quarter,” Vardai also noted.“Memecoins have had this premature rally, and they’ve been rallying independently from other cryptocurrencies. A lot of people are concerned whether Bitcoin’s rise is going to come before Ether’s, and before any altcoin rise.”So what defined Q1 of 2025? Tune in to the full episode to hear all of the insights! Listen to the full episode of Decentralize with Cointelegraph on Cointelegraph’s podcast page, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your podcast platform of choice. And don’t forget to check out Cointelegraph’s full lineup of other shows!Magazine: Memecoin degeneracy is funding groundbreaking anti-aging research
Trump memecoins worth $321M to hit the market next week
United States President Donald Trump’s official memecoin is set to unlock $321 million worth of vested tokens on April 18.Token vesting tracker Tokenomist data shows that 40 million Trump tokens will be released in a cliff unlock, meaning the tokens will be available all at once. With the tokens currently trading at about $8, the unlock represents about $321 million in supply entering the market at once.Token vesting is a common practice in the crypto space to incentivize long-term holding and prevent early investors or team members from dumping tokens during the start of the project. Instead, projects impose a vesting period that allows individuals or entities to gradually get access to the tokens. Trump memecoin down 89% since its peakWhile the token’s creators reportedly profited by more than $350 million, retail investors have not fared as well. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis estimates that at least 813,000 wallets suffered losses totaling roughly $2 billion following the memecoin’s rapid rise and fall.Trump’s official token has seen a sharp decrease in value since its peak. On Jan. 19, the token reached an all-time high (ATH) of $73.43. This happened a day before the then-incoming US president was inaugurated. The hype surrounding the token has died down since. Its current value of $8 represents an 89% drop since its ATH. The forthcoming token unlock might also cause a further price drop for the Trump memecoin. Massive token unlocks are often followed by sharp declines in crypto prices as holders who previously couldn’t sell will be allowed to offload their crypto. In March 2024, Arbitrum unlocked $2.32 billion in vested crypto tokens. At the time, its ARB token was worth $1.89. However, the event was followed by a decline in the crypto asset’s value, with the token trading at $0.29 at the time of writing, an 84% drop since the unlock. The Trump token is the largest single crypto unlock scheduled for the week of April 14–20. It accounts for roughly 61% of the total $519 million in tokens set to be released across several projects, according to Tokenomist.$519 million in locked crypto tokens will be released next week. Source: TokenomistRelated: Trump administration reportedly shutters DOJ’s crypto enforcement teamTokens worth $519 million due to be unlocked next weekIn addition to Trump’s memecoin, projects including Arbitrum, Fasttoken and Starknet will release vested tokens next week. FTN’s unlock is the second-biggest release after Trump’s memecoin. Tokenomist data shows the project will release 20 million FTN worth $80 million. The crypto assets are allocated to the team and its founders. Arbitrum will release ARB (ARB) tokens worth over $27 million next week, which will be unlocked for its founders, team members and private investors. Meanwhile, Starknet will release 127 million STRK (STRK) tokens worth $16 million. Magazine: Memecoin degeneracy is funding groundbreaking anti-aging research
StarkWare researchers propose smart contracts for Bitcoin with ColliderVM
Sidechain developer StarkWare and Weizmann Institute of Science researchers claim to have created a workaround for multiple Bitcoin script limitations.According to a recent research paper, the new design claims to allow the deployment of complex smart contracts on Bitcoin in a more capital-efficient manner. The new system may also be vastly more efficient from a computing standpoint.ColliderVM is a protocol designed to enable stateful computation on Bitcoin, allowing multi-step processes to be securely executed over multiple transactions. Traditionally, Bitcoin script output is not accessible to other scripts, making complex calculations nearly impossible.The researchers argue that ColliderVM could allow the use of Scalable Transparent Arguments of Knowledge (STARKs) — a type of zero-knowledge proof — on Bitcoin without requiring consensus-level changes to the network. The architecture would let Bitcoin verify complex offchain computations with minimal onchain data.ColliderVM targets Bitcoin limitationsEach Bitcoin block can contain up to 4 million OPCodes (commands) across all transactions, and a single Bitcoin script can contain up to 1,000 stack elements (data entries). Furthermore, stateless execution means that each script executes without memory of previous state or intermediate computations from earlier transactions, making complex computations impractical.The BitVM implementation from a 2023 paper by Robin Linus from Bitcoin research firm ZeroSync allowed for complex smart contracts on Bitcoin but required fraud proofs. Fraud proofs are cryptographic proofs that prove a particular transaction or computation was performed incorrectly, possibly triggering corrective actions.Fraud-proof implementation typically requires operators to front capital for potential corrective actions. In BitVM, operators pay an advance to cover potentially fraudulent transactions, recovering the capital after the fraud-proof window closes.The new system is also more efficient from a computing point of view, compared with previous implementations, but still expensive. Previous implementations used cryptographic one-time signatures (Lamport and Winternitz) that were notably computationally heavy.ColliderVM draws from the November 2024 ColliderScript paper by researchers from StarkWare, web services firm Cloudflare and Bitcoin sidechain developer Blockstream. This system relies on a hash collision-based commitment setting a challenge to produce an input that, when run through a hash function, produces an output with pre-determined features.Related: A beginner’s guide to the Bitcoin Taproot upgradeThis setup requires significantly fewer computing resources from honest operators than from malicious actors.Computational resources needed by honest and malicious actors depending on collision difficulty. Source: ColliderVM paperHash, but no food or weedA hash is a non-reversible mathematical function that can be run on arbitrary data, producing a fixed-length alphanumeric string. Non-reversible means that it is impossible to run the computation in reverse to obtain the original data from a hash.This results in a sort of data ID identifying data to the bit, without containing any underlying data.Hash function examples. Source: WikimediaThis system — somewhat resembling Bitcoin (BTC) mining — requires significantly fewer hash operations compared to BitVM, reducing both script size and processing time. ColliderVM researchers claim to have reduced the number of those operations even further, by at least a factor of 10,000.The researchers seemingly suggest that this implementation is nearly making a STARKs-based Bitcoin sidechain practical. The paper reads:“We estimate that the Bitcoin script length for STARK proof verification becomes nearly practical, allowing it to be used alongside other, pairing-based proof systems common today in applications.”STARKs are a ZK-proof system recognized for their scalability and trustless nature (no trusted setup is needed). ZK-proofs are a cryptographic system that allows users to prove a particular feature of a piece of data without revealing the underlying data.Many early ZK-proof systems necessitated a one-time secure setup that relied on “toxic waste” data. If a party were to keep hold of the toxic waste, it would allow them to forge signatures and generate fraudulent proofs. STARKs do not rely on such a setup, making them trustless.Traditional implementation of STARK verifiers would require scripts that exceed Bitcoin’s limits. Now, researchers behind ColliderVM argue that their more efficient system approaches make an onchain verification script for STARK-proofs “nearly practical.”Related: Bitcoin sidechains will drive BTCfi growthBitcoin-based trustless sidechains?Bitcoin is widely considered the most secure and reliable blockchain, but its critics raise issues with its feature set being significantly more limited when compared to many altcoins. Sidechains such as Blockstream’s Liquid exist, but are not trustless.Director of research at blockchain firm Blockstream and mathematician Andrew Poelstra told Cointelegraph as far back as 2020 that ZK-proof-based systems are “one of the most exciting areas of development” in the cryptography space. Cypherpunk, a developer cited in the Bitcoin white paper and Blockstream founder, explained in a 2014 paper that more work was needed to implement trustless ZK-proof-based sidechains on Bitcoin.Still, even 10 years later, a system based on ColliderVM would be trust-minimized rather than trustless. This is because users would still need to trust that at least a minimal subset of network participants will act honestly to ensure the correct functioning of the system.The study’s lead authors include Eli Ben-Sasson, co-founder of StarkWare, along with researchers Lior Goldberg and Ben Fisch. Ben-Sasson is one of the original developers of STARKs and has long advocated for the use of zero-knowledge proofs to improve blockchain scalability.In a recent interview with Cointelegraph, StarkWare co-founder Ben-Sasson noted that a real Bitcoin layer-2 solution would need to have “the security of Bitcoin itself.” Instead, current solutions rely on trust in signers or fraud-proof-based economic incentives. Still, he recognized the Lightning Network:“We should also acknowledge there’s, of course, today, lightning networks, which have the security of Bitcoin.“Magazine: ‘Bitcoin layer 2s’ aren’t really L2s at all: Here’s why that matters
New York bill proposes legalizing Bitcoin, crypto for state payments
A New York lawmaker has introduced legislation that would allow state agencies to accept cryptocurrency payments, signaling growing political momentum for digital asset integration in public services.Assembly Bill A7788, introduced by Assemblyman Clyde Vanel, seeks to amend state financial law to allow New York state agencies to accept cryptocurrencies as a form of payment.It would permit state agencies to accept payments in Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH), according to the bill’s text.Source: Nysenate.govAccording to the bill, state offices could authorize crypto payments for “fines, civil penalties, rent, rates, taxes, fees, charges, revenue, financial obligations or other amounts,” as well as penalties, special assessments and interest.Related: Trump’s tariff escalation exposes ‘deeper fractures’ in global financial systemCryptocurrency legislation is becoming a focal point in New York, with Bill A7788 marking the state’s second crypto-focused legislation in a little over a month.In March, New York introduced Bill A06515, aiming to establish criminal penalties to prevent cryptocurrency fraud and protect investors from rug pulls.Crypto-focused legislation has gathered momentum since President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20, with Trump signaling during his campaign that his administration intends to make crypto policy a national priority, as well as making the US a global hub for blockchain innovation.Related: Illinois Senate passes crypto bill to fight fraud and rug pullsNew York may mandate state “service fee” on crypto paymentsIf passed, the bill would mark a significant shift in how New York handles digital assets. It would allow state entities to integrate cryptocurrency into the payment infrastructure used for collecting public funds.The proposal also includes a clause allowing the state to impose a service fee on those choosing to pay with crypto. According to the text, the state may require “a service fee not exceeding costs incurred by the state in connection with the cryptocurrency payment transaction.” This could include transaction costs or fees owed to crypto issuers.Assembly Bill A7788 has been referred to the Assembly Committee for review and may advance to the state Senate as the next step.New York’s legislation comes shortly after the state of Illinois passed a crypto bill to fight fraud and rug pulls after the recent wave of insider schemes related to memecoins, Cointelegraph reported on April 11.Magazine: XRP win leaves Ripple and industry with no crypto legal precedent set
