Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Hero.io: A 2024 Guide to the AI-Powered Web3 Platform

Leading cryptocurrencies rose alongside stocks on Monday as investors embraced a risk-on mood following the declaration of a peace deal with Iran.

Crypto Market Gains MomentumBitcoin extended gains, rising to an intraday high of $67,248 as trading volume jumped 40% over the last 24 hours. Ethereum topped $1.800 while XRP was up 4.5% from the previous day.

Over $480 million was liquidated from the market in the last 24 hours, predominantly in short bets, according to Coinglass data. Notably, more than $300 million in Bitcoin short positions were at risk of liquidation if the apex cryptocurrency rose to $70,000.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin's open interest rose 2.06% in the last 24 hours, suggesting an influx of new money into the futures market.

Top Gainers (24 Hours) 

The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.27 trillion, following an increase of 1.59% over the last 24 hours.

Stocks Enter Record TerritoryThe stock market started the new trading week on a high. The S&P 500 climbed 1.65% to 7,554.29,  while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 3.07% to close at 26,683.94. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 468.77 points, or 0.92%, for a record close of 51,671.03.  

The rally followed President Donald Trump's declaration that the peace deal with Iran is "complete" and that the Strait of Hormuz is open for normal traffic. The deal is due to be signed in Switzerland on June 19. 

Pullback: A Long-Term Buying Opportunity?Widely followed cryptocurrency analyst and trader Michaël van de Poppe said that Bitcoin has entered a zone where one'd want to be accumulating positions "over a longer period."

"It doesn’t mean we’ll be bottoming out here, but we’re at least close, and the ROI of buying here has historically been incredible," the analyst said. "That’s primarily why I’m not selling positions and instead want to stick with them as a whole."

On-chain analytics firm Santiment said the latest rally seems to be driven "as much by expectations as by current fundamentals."

"If inflation pressures ease and institutional investors finally begin feeling more comfortable themselves, the sharp gains following this announcement may end up looking less like a one-day relief rally and more like the opening chapter of a much larger bull cycle," the research firm added.

Photo Courtesy: Sodel Vladyslav on Shutterstock.com

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

© 2026 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.

Ink Upgrades to OP Enterprise Fully Managed Service and Signs Multi-Year Partnership

Inside Q1 2024s Largest Hack: Playdapp’s $290 Devastating Million Exploit

Power Ledger (POWR) is a project that has seen quite a bit of interest lately. This has resulted in increased demand and trading for its POWR token.

The project was one of the first to introduce blockchain based P2P power trading. They want to not only decentralise the process but also democratize it and give users a platform to sell their excess electricity. It also aims to optimise trading and eliminate waste that comes from centralised grids and providers.

Ambitious goals, but can it realistically achieve it?

In this Power Ledger Review I will attempt to answer that. I will also take a look at the long term use cases and adoption potential of the POWR token.

What is Power Ledger?Power Ledger was the very first ICO conducted in Australia, and as a blockchain company it is somewhat unique in being non-financial in the field of financial blockchain projects.

Power Ledger has a goal of decentralizing the renewable energy markets and placing it into the hands of the users, and out of the control of centralized energy companies.

Key Areas of Focus for Power Ledger. Image via Website

Power Ledger wants to make it possible for the end user to buy renewable energy, as well as selling their own unused renewable energy, by using the Ethereum blockchain to record energy consumption, usage, and creation.

When you consider the shift to renewable energies such as solar by industry, business, and residential users it seems common sense to have a system in place that allows these new renewable energy systems to sell their excess power back into the grid rather than simply letting it go to waste.

It’s an ambitious idea, but when you consider the vast usage of energy across the globe, could Power Ledger represent a new gold rush? Could this be a project that will become as valuable as the original coal, oil, gas, and nuclear power industries have become?

Let’s take a deeper look into Power Ledger and see the potential it has for the future.

Overview of Power LedgerPower Ledger token holders are empowered to sell their surplus renewable energy through Power Ledger’s blockchain based platform. It’s possible to transmit this privately generated energy through the existing electricity distribution networks, or through micro-grids created on the Power Ledger platform.

The platform is empowering for consumers because it allows them to manage their own energy production, usage, and distribution. This is something novel in today’s world, allowing consumers to also become producers and distributors of energy products.

Overview of Decentralised Electricity Market

Power Ledger facilitates the sale and trading of energy, and consumers can receive payments for their excess renewable energy production in real-time through the decentralized, trustless, automated, and totally secure Power Ledger platform.

Buyers are able to choose only clean, green energy sources, and both buyers and sellers leverage blockchain technology. This means settlement costs are significantly lower than in the traditional energy markets, and translates to significantly higher returns for consumers who choose to invest in renewable energy.

There are a number of applications already running on Power Ledger, with more planned for the future. Current applications allow for micro-transactions, data acquisition, grid management, power metering, and more.

Key Applications on Power LedgerThe Power Ledger platform has been designed to handle most aspects of renewable energy transfer, including such things as carbon trading and market price management. Below are the current six applications that have been developed and released for PowerLedger.

xGridThe xGrid application allows individuals to sell the energy they generate from their own solar panels to other households on the electricity grid.

In the 21st century consumers are increasingly aware of, and concerned with, their impact on the environment. Many are now aware of their carbon footprint and are seeking ways to reduce it, but not everyone has the money or the space to install solar panels.

xGrid Solving the Current Market Challenges

Power Ledger believes everyone should have access to low cost renewable energy sources, and the peer-to-peer trading capabilities of the xGrid application makes that possible. As an added benefit is also ensures that the investment value of installed solar panels remains in the community where that investment is made.

With xGrid it’s possible for users to sell their excess electricity to their neighbors. This also allows electric companies to add new consumers and prosumers to their roles. If the prosumer also has batteries to store energy they can help the energy retailer manage price risk through the Power Ledger VPP 2.0 product we will discuss later.

µGridWhere xGrid works for residential users, µGrid is meant for larger applications, such as shopping centers or apartment buildings. It allows these spaces to monetize their roof space, or allows the tenants to take control of their energy supply.

One barrier to installing solar in larger complexes such as apartment buildings has been convincing all the tenants to share the cost of installing solar panels. It’s just been too difficult to find a way to make sure everyone is being equally compensated in such a situation.

How µGrid addressees challenges

Now Power Ledger has made it possible to install solar in commercial spaces and monetize the often large rooftop spaces. Tenants and residents can use their share of the energy produced, or they can sell it, often to those who are closest to them. This keeps all the investment and proceeds from the renewable energy right within the same community.

This even benefits the building developers and managers because they can offer tenants more attractive energy rates compared with the traditional energy companies. And the detailed usage statistics allows building managers to track usage at a granular level, allowing for better energy efficiency in common areas and across the entire community.

VPP 2.0The VPP 2.0 application allows those renewable energy producers with batteries to sell the stored electricity during peak demand periods to achieve the best returns of their investment. It also helps to solve the demand shortages and price spikes that are so common within the electricity delivery industry.

VPP 2.0 And its Solutions

In the current system energy companies can offer incentives ahead of time when they anticipate demand will spike, but there’s been no way to account for the energy contribution that customers might be likely to make.

With the Power Ledger VPP 2.0 application it’s now possible for energy companies to track the contributions being made by customers in near real-time. This provides energy companies with readily available capacity and energy when they need it, and provides returns to customers more quickly.

PPA VisionPPA Vision is Power Ledger’s energy data management and settlement system for energy asset owners and operators, It provides greater visibility for energy that’s sold on the spot market or to offtakers.

With PPA Vision members in a Power Purchase Agreement can receive billing and settlement functionality for energy generated and sold to offtakers or on the wholesale energy market, as well as measurement tools.

The PPA Vision application was designed specifically for co-located renewable energy assets and PPA supply arrangements.

Data collected from onsite metering is then presented in an accessible dashboard with the following features:

Matching of coincidental generation and consumption.Showing energy transactions between buyers and sellers.Simple and in-depth analysis of the usage and transaction data by both parties.Settlements for the energy supplied from the generator to the offtaker.Reports to individual consumers of their energy transactions.Remittance of any energy sold to the wholesale market.In traditional metering and billing systems inaccuracies often exist, especially when multiple power providers are in the mix. This leads to delayed payments to power producers, and possibly even a loss of revenue.

C6The C6 application is used in the verification, reporting and measuring of carbon credits and renewable energy credits. It is blockchain based, and integrates with outside data management systems and smart meters to provide crucial information regarding carbon and renewable energy credits.

C6 can generate reports for small electric vehicle infrastructure trying to track carbon credits, or it can let a massive petrochemical plant know how many carbon credits they need to purchase.

C6 Features and Use Cases

C6 also makes it a simple task for owners of wind and solar farms to track their carbon credits, as well as monitoring and obtaining carbon and renewable energy credits. The carbon credit reporting procedures are complex, but C6 automates much of the work, reducing the time and effort spent in producing paperwork and reconciling data.

C6 has also been seamlessly integrated with C6+ to create an end-to-end system for the carbon and renewable energy credit ecosystem.

C6+C6+ also resides on the blockchain and it creates a digital exchange and marketplace for renewable energy credits and carbon credits. It does this by tokenizing credits which allows for the transfer and sale of carbon credits and renewable energy credits in a decentralized marketplace.

In the U.S. alone a majority of stats require electric companies to supply a portion of their electricity from renewable sources. Many electricity companies simply purchase Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to meet these requirements. As countries around the world begin to implement programs to meet their Paris Accord targets the demand for RECs will increase dramatically.

So far most of these REC programs are paper-based and broker-driven, but Power Ledger hopes to change that by allowing RECs to be traded on an intuitive digital exchange.

Major Product Features of C6 Plus

Most have been excluded from the carbon credit and renewable energy markets due to a lack of transparency and extreme complexity. This has led to the concentration of power in the hands of a few large players and brokers. C6+ will give energy players a new paradigm that is composed of transparency, efficiency, and relative simplicity.

Buyers will be able to log into the platform and easily begin buying, and sellers will be able to log in and easily begin selling. The platform itself will handle all the details and complexity behind the scenes.

Even more importantly for those involved in the energy markets will be a drop in costs. Sellers of renewable energy and carbon credits will face lower transaction costs and faster sales, while buyers will get better pricing in a fair and open marketplace.

What are POWR Tokens?Access and permissions on the Power Ledger platform are controlled by POWR tokens. They can be used for trading on the platform, but they also have real world uses.

Those hosting applications on the Power Ledger platform are required to purchase and hold a minimum number of POWR tokens to allow their users to interact in the marketplace.

All transactions are conducted in a deregulated and decentralized marketplace, without the need for third-party intermediaries. This is one of the top reasons for using blockchain technology and tokens in a marketplace system.

ERC20 POWR Tokens on Etherscan

The market’s customers can also convert their POWR tokens to Sparkz tokens from within the platform. No intermediary is needed for this, which keeps the applications working without any outside interference.

POWR tokens are similar to a software license in that they grant access to the platform and its features. They are also valid anywhere in the world, which will encourage wider participation in the Power Ledger ecosystem.

Sparkz and Smart BondsAll that is required to have access to the smart bond functionality is possession of POWR tokens. In addition to the initial tokens acquired to host an application, the application hosts also receive additional tokens from a growth pool as an incentive to spread the usage of their application, and to create new applications. All the POWR tokens can be held as surety for Sparkz.

The POWR tokens are kept in an Ethereum smart bond contract that was designed specifically for Sparkz. These Sparkz are the internal currency used for the Power Ledger platform and are the medium of exchange for buying and selling energy on Power Ledger.

Once they are done using Sparkz they can unlock their POWR by returning the Sparkz to the smart bond contract.

The Power Ledger team has been referred to as remarkable. It was co-founded by Dr. Jemma Green, Dr. Govert Van Ek, John Bulich, and David Martin. These four co-founders have extensive experience in renewable and sustainable energy, blockchain technology, and risk management.

Dr. Green remains the Chairman of Power Ledger, guiding it in accordance with the vision initially set when the company was launched in 2016. She spent a decade with JPMorgan Chase, following which she completed her Ph.D in Electricity Market Disruption.

The Power Ledger Team. Image via Power Ledger

John Bulich is the technical director of the project and provides strategic direction for the project. He was a co-founder of Power Ledger and a pioneer in Australia’s blockchain scene.

The founders of Power Ledger created the company with a hope that they could facilitate increased green energy production and usage through blockchain technology.

It's also worth mentioning Bill Tai recently joined their advisory board. A venture capitalist since 1991, Bill Tai has served on the advisory boards of 7 publicly listed companies where he joined in the initial stages and helped guide the companies to where they are today.

Power Ledger PartnershipsPower Ledger is engaged in partnerships with international energy companies and government around the world, including a number in Australia and Japan. They have also begun trials in the U.S., in Thailand, Italy, India and Malaysia.

Power Ledger Project Distribution and Footprint

In Australia they are working with Australian National Energy Market retailer Powerclub, and have inked a deal with EPC Solar Canberra. They are also involved in a peer-to-peer solar energy trading project in the Kanto region of Japan, and have recently entered a trial to bring a blockchain based REC marketplace to the Midwestern U.S.

Other recent developments include an agreement with Thailand’s largest renewable energy developer BCPG to bring the Power Ledger technology to Thailand. They are also trialing a peer-to-peer solar energy trading marketplace in Malaysia.

POWR PerformancePower Ledger held their ICO in September/October 2017, raising $13.2 million and selling 350 million POWR tokens for $0.0838 each. The token began trading on November 1, 2017 at a price of $0.052671, which must have been disappointing for early investors.

They didn’t remain disappointed however since the ICO occurred just before the parabolic rise of the cryptocurrency markets in December 2017. POWR rose along with the broader market, hitting an all-time high of $2.01 on January 4, 2018.

POWR Price Performance. Image via CoinMarketCap

It also followed the broader market lower in the cryptowinter of 2018, and nearly two years later on December 18, 2019 it hit its all-time low of $0.034268.

2020 has been kinder to the POWR token as it began the year with a gradual move higher from its start at $0.035, and then in February it exploded to a high of $0.128305 in mid-February. It has since pulled off those highs and as of late February 2020 trades at $0.086, which is roughly where it began at its ICO.

Trading & Storing POWRWhen it comes to the markets for POWR, it has pretty broad exchange support. Your best bet for trading the token is perhaps Binance that has pretty strong Bitcoin order books. However, there are also pretty well established markets on BitHumb and Upbit.

Register at Binance and Buy POWR Tokens

In terms of volume and liquidity, it is well spread out across these exchanges. This bodes well for the price discovery of the token as it means that traders are able to quickly and effectively arbitrage out any sort of mispricings. It also means that they can trade with large block orders without too much slippage.

For storage, given that POWR is an ERC20 token you should not have too much difficulty. You can use any wallet that will support Ethereum such as MyEtherWallet, Metamask etc. Although, your best bet is probably to get your hands on a hardware device like a ledger or a Trezor.

Power Ledger vs Grid+ vs WePowerGrid+ is similar to Power Ledger, although there are some key difference. On the similarity side both are blockchain based, and both allow consumers to buy renewable energy directly. Both utilize a token based system.

Power Ledger Compared to Others

On the differences, Power Ledger is P2P focused, while Grid+ offers wholesale sales and pockets the profits. Grid+ has its own hardware for figuring out energy pricing, while Power Ledger uses local metering. Grid+ is relatively new, and Power Ledger has been around since 2016.

WePower and Power Ledger are pretty similar in that they both allow for selling solar energy, they’re both blockchain based, and they both use tokens. Power Ledger uses a straight-forward P2P selling setup, while WePower uses an auction based system. Power Ledger and WePower have both developed global partnerships.

ConclusionPower Ledger has an admirable vision in looking to improve the energy sector by making renewable energy cheaper and more easily accessible. The system they’ve developed could eventually see even those in large developments obtaining electricity from local providers working on micro-grids and PAAs.

Since its beginnings in 2016 Power Ledger has been continually developing new services, and improving their existing services, which is exactly what we like to see from blockchain projects.

As the platform gains in adoption it becomes more likely that it will disrupt the entire energy production and distribution system. That could drive down prices for consumers dramatically given the current state of electricity generation and distribution. The growing adoption also makes people begin to change the way they view the means for purchasing and consuming energy.

If Power Ledger has its way renewable energy sources will become far more feasible and widespread in usage, which is something that can only be good for the world.

Disclaimer: These are the writer’s opinions and should not be considered investment advice. Readers should do their own research.

Everything To Know About Blockchain Innovations in the Energy Sector

This week in the crypto market, Bitcoin’s price surpassed $68,000, and the market capitalization returned to over $2.28 trillion.

BeInCrypto noted special investor interest in events such as Grayscale’s review of 35 altcoins for potential investment products and investors’ expectations of an altcoin season ahead of the US elections.

Additionally, Miles Deutscher has suggested several altcoins, claiming they might have a strong growth potential. The community is also paying attention to Craig Wright’s legal plans and Tesla’s Bitcoin movements.

Grayscale Unveils 35 Potential AltcoinsEarlier this week, Grayscale announced a list of 35 altcoins under consideration for future investment products. Following the announcement, many of these altcoins experienced significant price increases over the week. The top 10 altcoins on the list saw gains ranging from 13% to 49%.

Read more: 11 Cryptos To Add To Your Portfolio Before Altcoin Season

The Top 10 Best-Performing Altcoins of the Week are part of Grayscale’s Potential Candidates. Source: DropstabThirty of the 35 altcoins enjoyed a green week, with only Kaspa (KAS) and Helium (HNT) facing notable declines of -4% and -7.4%, respectively.

“Assets Under Consideration lists digital assets not currently included in a Grayscale investment product but identified by our team as possible candidates for inclusion in a future product,” Grayscale explained.

Additionally, Grayscale filed with the SEC to convert its Digital Large Cap Fund into an ETF, following the success of transforming Bitcoin Trust and Ethereum Trust into spot ETFs.

Miles Deutscher Highlights 4 Altcoins Investor Miles Deutscher introduced four altcoins that he believes could deliver 10x returns. These altcoins focus on GameFi, artificial intelligence (AI), Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN), and real-world assets (RWA) sectors, including:

SuperVerse (SUPER) Bittensor (TAO) Mantra (OM) Render (RNDR) Read more: 7 Hot Meme Coins and Altcoins that are Trending in 2024

Price Performance of Altcoins Suggested by Deutscher. Source: TradingViewSince his announcement, the prices of these altcoins have slightly declined, which occurred as Bitcoin Dominance reached a three-year high. Deutscher also commented on meme coins, suggesting they are at a crossroads and may face a short-term correction.

Craig Wright Plans to Sue Bitcoin CoreOn October 11, a tracker from the UK High Court revealed that Craig Wright is taking legal action against Bitcoin Core and Square.

Wright, representing himself in the case as a “direct claimant,” is seeking £911 billion ( ~$1.18 trillion) from Bitcoin Core and Square, alleging they misrepresented Bitcoin (BTC) as the true version of the digital asset created by Satoshi Nakamoto.

Additionally, Wright threatened to sue MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor for allegedly misrepresenting Bitcoin. The Australian computer scientist is also filing three other legal appeals in the UK, two against the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) and one targeting Peter McCormack.

Read more: Satoshi Nakamoto – Who is the Founder of Bitcoin?

Altcoin Season Ahead of US Presidential Election?Throughout the week, several crypto industry experts expressed optimism for altcoin’s price ahead of the US presidential election. Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant, suggested that a Trump victory could spur regulatory changes that would trigger an altcoin season.

“If Trump wins, expect regulatory changes, including fee switches enabling token burns for revenue-generating projects,” Ki Young Ju said.

Technical analysts Michaël van de Poppe and CRG also predicted that the altcoin season could begin next month. Echoing these views, Crypto Rover forecasted an impending altcoin season by monitoring Bitcoin Dominance’s movements. Bitcoin Dominance (BTC.D) represents Bitcoin’s share of total market capitalization. Its adjustments often signal an altcoin rally.

Read more: Bitcoin Dominance Chart: What Is It and Why Is It Important?

Bitcoin Dominance fluctuations. Source: Crypto Rover.Tesla Moves Bitcoin Worth Up to $760 MillionThis week, Elon Musk’s Tesla unexpectedly moved nearly all of the Bitcoin it had held for the past three years to new wallet addresses. Initially, investors feared Tesla might be preparing to sell the BTC through OTC, but those concerns quickly dissipated as Bitcoin’s price remained unaffected.

“No proof it’s an OTC deal yet. Even if it was, that means someone else bought it so it’s not entirely bearish. Who knows,” Sir Doge of the Coin said.

Read more: Who Owns the Most Bitcoin in 2024?

Many now believe the move was a simple reallocation. In 2021, Musk had stated that Bitcoin payments made to Tesla would be held as Bitcoin, not converted into fiat.

Casper Network is making a big bet on where blockchain goes next. And it’s not memecoins.

At the Digital Finance Forum in Bermuda, Casper Association President and CTO Michael Steuer unveiled the “Casper Manifest,” a multi-year roadmap focused on regulated real-world assets (RWAs), AI-powered payments, and infrastructure built for institutions and machines. The roadmap includes EVM compatibility, compliant private transactions, gasless UX, smart accounts, AI micropayments, and even post-quantum signing. That’s a lot. But the bigger story is what Casper is trying to become.

Casper Wants to Make Blockchain Feel Invisible Most blockchains still feel like crypto products. Wallet popups, gas fees, and complicated onboarding remain major friction points. Casper wants to change that.

The roadmap introduces gasless transactions, batch operations, and smart accounts that support biometric authentication. The idea is simple: blockchain apps should feel like normal apps. One tap and done. Casper is also adding full EVM compatibility. Developers will be able to use Solidity, MetaMask, and existing Ethereum tooling directly on Casper without rewriting applications. That matters because Ethereum still has the largest developer ecosystem in crypto.

Privacy and Compliance Together? Usually, blockchains pick one side. Either privacy or compliance. Casper says it wants both. The network plans to support compliant security tokens using the ERC-3643 standard, which already governs billions in tokenized assets. At the same time, it’s building confidential transaction infrastructure that still allows auditors and regulators to verify compliance when needed.

That could become important as institutions move deeper into tokenized assets and onchain finance.

The roadmap also targets AI and machine-to-machine payments through support for the X402 payment standard. This would allow AI agents to pay for APIs, data, or compute resources automatically using crypto.

Casper Is Thinking Beyond Today’s Crypto Cycle One of the more interesting pieces of the roadmap is post-quantum security.

Casper plans to introduce hybrid accounts that support both traditional cryptography and quantum-resistant keys. No major smart contract platform has fully shipped this yet. The first rollout is expected within weeks with X402 micropayments. EVM compatibility and compliant security tokens are planned later in 2026, while privacy and quantum-safe infrastructure will continue through 2027.

The real question is whether institutions and developers actually adopt it. But Casper is clearly positioning itself for a future where blockchains handle tokenized assets, AI payments, and machine economies not just speculation.

The information discussed by Altcoin Buzz is not financial advice. This is for educational, entertainment, and informational purposes only. Any information or strategies are thoughts and opinions relevant to the accepted levels of risk tolerance of the writer/reviewers and their risk tolerance may be different than yours. We are not responsible for any losses that you may incur as a result of any investments directly or indirectly related to the information provided. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are high-risk investments so please do your due diligence. This post is sponsored by Market Across.

Copyright Altcoin Buzz Pte Ltd.

Serum City, a city-building game that utilizes NFT assets from Yuga Labs’ Mutant Ape Yacht Club and other collections, is now available to play. However, you’ll need an access pass, and only certain NFT project holders can claim one for now.

Novel Labs and Faraway have launched the game, which was first revealed last April, with the first season of gameplay available to Serum City NFT pass holders.

People who own NFTs from the Mutant Hounds, Mutant Cartel Oath, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and Mutant Ape Yacht Club collections can now claim and mint an access pass. The mint is free, though users will have to pay normal Ethereum network gas fees, as usual.

The developers previously told Decrypt’s GG that they plan to open up access over time with each new season of in-game content, gradually adding more eligible players. The aforementioned projects span approximately 39,000 individual NFTs that are currently eligible to claim passes.

Serum City is built around Ethereum NFTs and uses ApeCoin as its in-game currency. The game spotlights Mutant Ape characters, but is not developed by Bored Ape and Mutant Ape creator Yuga Labs. Rather, it’s an independent project that utilizes the decentralized commercial rights offered to owners of Yuga’s Ape NFT projects.

However, while it’s not an official Yuga project, co-developer Faraway is now working closely with Yuga Labs on its own game projects.

That includes an upcoming free-to-play version of Yuga’s Dookey Dash game that was revealed last month, along with an Otherside-themed mobile game that was teased by Yuga this week with few details. Dookey Dash: Unclogged is set to launch this quarter, while the latter game will apparently roll out in the second half of the year.

Daily Debrief NewsletterStart every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.

Arbitrum Crypto Drama Explodes as Nvidia Snubs Crypto: What It Means for ARB Price

Global investment firm Guggenheim Treasury Securities has issued the first Digital Commercial Paper (DCP) on Ethereum, as the tokenization of financial instruments on blockchains gains traction among traditional finance giants. 

Commercial paper is a kind of short-term debt security that corporations sell to raise funds. It differs from other debt instruments such as bonds and loans because it is unsecured and not backed by collateral. 

Amp.Fi Digital, a blockchain platform designed to issue, trade and provide governance of digital assets, issued $20 million in tokenized commercial paper for Guggenheim on Ethereum, developer Zeconomy said Thursday.

The rollout of yet another tokenized real-world asset follows U.S. federal regulators’ approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs earlier this year, a watershed event that has fueled traditional finance titans’ appetites for blockchain-based digital assets, according to Zeconomy.

Moody’s Investor Service gave Guggenheim’s issuance a rating of P-1, its highest credit rating. 

“As clearly demonstrated by the ETFs approval and the growth of the tokenization space, there is a massive demand for these digital assets, and we want to enable our partners so they can be at the forefront of what could be a transformative moment in the financial industry,”  Zeconomy CEO Giacinto Cosenza said Thursday in a statement. 

The rolling out of DCP on Ethereum marks the latest example of real-world asset tokenization on blockchains—a growing trend. Tokenized government securities such as U.S. Treasury Bills have hit more than $2 billion in market capitalization as institutional interest in the digital asset class accelerates, data from RWA.xyz shows.

In recent months, tokenized Treasury funds’ market capitalization have ballooned. BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), launched in March, holds $513 million in assets—up more than 100% since its debut, data shows.

Meanwhile, Franklin Templeton’s OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund's market capitalization (FOBXX) has soared to more than $420 million since its launch in 2021, according to the investment management firm's data.

Daily Debrief NewsletterStart every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.

Cryptocurrency exchange Altsbit is shutting down this May. The exchange made the announcement after reporting an alleged security breach earlier this month.

In a statement, Altsbit says a hack late last week led to the theft of nearly all of the exchange’s Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC), VersusCoin (VRSC), Komodo (KMD) and Pirate Chain (ARRR) holdings.

“Unfortunately, we have to notify you with the fact that our exchange was hacked during the night, and almost all funds from BTC, ETH, ARRR, and VRSC were stolen. A small part of the funds are safe on cold wallets.”

Altsbit says the hackers took roughly 6.929 BTC, 2.321 ETH, 3,924,082 ARRR, 414,154 VRSC and 1,066 KMD. The total amount of ETH and BTC lost was less than $70,000 and reportedly dealt a lethal blow to the nascent exchange.

The cryptocurrency exchange says affected users should apply for partial refunds and that remaining funds will be used to refund users until May 8th.

Source: altsbit.com The company further advises users to be wary of anyone pretending to be Altsbit employees who are allegedly distributing refunds.

Just last year, hackers bagged approximately $282,617,000 in leading cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash, from a wide variety of crypto exchanges.

A recent MEXC Q3 report highlighted the strong performance of the crypto market during the last quarter, which saw active traders surge as the total crypto market capitalization climbed to the $4 trillion mark.

Spot Market Sees Strong Q3 Performance On Wednesday, crypto exchange MEXC published its Q3 2025 Ecosystem & Growth Report, highlighting sustained expansion, robust user activity, and security from the previous quarter.

According to the report, the exchange experienced strong activity and trading momentum during the market run between July and September, with over 680 new tokens added to the crypto exchange in Q3, representing a 17% increase from Q2.

Moreover, the number of active users trading new listings in the exchange increased 16%, while the trading volume for these tokens surged 97%. The report also noted that the spot market had a “particularly robust” performance last quarter, with the top 10 highest-volume tokens recording an average peak gain of 2,933%, a 158% jump from Q2.

Notably, memecoins, AI + Web3, Perpetual Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs), and stablecoin protocols were among the dominant narratives, with tokens like STBL, Chainbase (C), and DeAgentAI (AIA) showing remarkable 500% to 12,00% performances.

Meanwhile, the BSC ecosystem outperformed all other ecosystems, taking six of the top 10 tokens by growth in the crypto exchange. The report detailed that BSC projects produced an average return of over 9,000%, including TALE, BAS, and MEAL.

It’s worth noting that the BSC outperformed other networks in DEX activity earlier this month, with data showing that it recently ranked first across all chains, surpassing Ethereum and Solana on DEX daily trading and chain fees. Additionally, BSC reached a new all-time high (ATH) of 5.02 trillion gas used in a single day two weeks ago.

MEXC also highlighted that BSC’s strength was matched by the Ethereum and Base ecosystems, which recorded strong performance with GAIA, ERA, and Avantis (AVNT), “representing the growing cross-chain vitality of Layer-2 and DeFi derivative protocols.”

Crypto Losses Trend Slows Down The report revealed that the crypto exchange intercepted 48 fraud cases last quarter, freezing nearly $5 million in illicit funds. As part of its efforts to prevent fraud, it also restricted more than 19,000 suspicious accounts, including 17,000 collusive accounts and over 2,000 bot-trading accounts.

Notably, a concerning trend that has been developing this year, which could drive theft from digital asset services to a new milestone by the end of 2025.

According to Chainalysis, crypto theft this year has been “more devastating” than the entirety of 2024, with over $2.7 billion worth of funds stolen from crypto services in the first half of 2025.

As reported by NewsBTC, hacks significantly increase at the start of Q3, driving over $100 million in losses for exchanges. Q2 showed a diminishing trend in total crypto losses, with May and June recording 40% and 56% month-on-month (MoM) declines, respectively.

This trend briefly shifted in July as the total value of stolen funds surged 27.2% from the previous month. Nonetheless, recent reports show that total funds lost to crypto hacks and exploits dropped around 37% in Q3, despite the market rally and initial trend.

Total crypto market capitalization is at $3.6 trillion on the one-week chart. Source: TOTAL on TradingView Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

Tanzeel Akhtar

Journalist

Tanzeel Akhtar

Part of the Team Since

Feb 2018

About Author

Tanzeel Akhtar has been reporting on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology since 2015. Her work has appeared in leading publications including The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, CoinDesk, Bitcoin...

Has Also Written

Last updated: 

January 21, 2026

Ethereum’s co-founder Vitalik Buterin has renewed his push for decentralized social media arguing that competition — rather than engagement-maximising algorithms or speculative tokens — is essential to building healthier mass communication systems.

In 2026, I plan to be fully back to decentralized social.

If we want a better society, we need better mass communication tools. We need mass communication tools that surface the best information and arguments and help people find points of agreement. We need mass communication… https://t.co/ye249HsojJ

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 21, 2026 In a post on X, Buterin said he plans to be “fully back to decentralized social” in 2026, framing the shift as a response to deep structural problems in today’s dominant platforms.

“If we want a better society, we need better mass communication tools,” he wrote, calling for systems that surface high-quality information, help people find points of agreement, and serve users’ long-term interests instead of optimising for short-term engagement.

According to Buterin decentralization provides a starting point by allowing real competition. Shared data layers allow multiple clients to be built on top of the same social graph, reducing the power of any single interface or algorithm.

“Decentralization is the way to enable that,” he said, arguing that choice at the client level is critical to improving online discourse. Buterin notes that his return to decentralized social is already underway.

Since the start of the year, he said every post he has written or read has been accessed through Firefly, a multi-client interface that supports X, Lens, Farcaster and Bluesky.

The experience, he suggested, highlights how decentralized tools can coexist with — and gradually pull attention away from — centralized platforms.

Buterin was sharply critical of how many crypto-native social projects have evolved. Too often, he argued, teams mistake the addition of a speculative token for meaningful innovation.

While combining money and social interaction is not inherently flawed — he cited Substack as an example of a system that successfully supports high-quality content — problems arise when platforms create price bubbles around creators instead of rewarding the content itself.

Over the past decade, Buterin said, repeated attempts to financialise social influence have failed in predictable ways: rewarding pre-existing social capital rather than quality and ultimately collapsing as tokens trend toward zero.

He dismissed claims that creating new markets and assets is automatically beneficial, describing such thinking as “galaxy-brained” rhetoric that masks a lack of genuine interest in improving information flow. “That is not Hayekian info-utopia,” he wrote. “That is corposlop.”

For decentralized social to succeed, Buterin argued, it must be led by teams that care deeply about the social problem itself.

He praises the Aave team’s stewardship of Lens to date and said he is optimistic about the project’s next phase, pointing to the incoming team’s long-standing interest in encrypted social communication.

Buterin said he plans to post more actively on Lens this year and encouraged users to spend more time across Lens, Farcaster and the broader decentralized social ecosystem.

The goal is to move beyond “a single global info warzone” and reopen a frontier where new and healthier forms of online interaction can emerge.

In brief Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin is committing to decentralized social media in 2026, encouraging others to explore the space more intentionally. His words come amid major shakeups in the ecosystem as both Lens Protocol and Farcaster found new owners in the last two days. Buterin insists the future of decentralized social media should be run by people focused on "social," and not speculative financial instruments. Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin said he’s moving fully back to decentralized social media platforms in 2026, with his words coming right as the two biggest players in the space—Farcaster and Lens Protocol—have changed hands.

In an X post, the outspoken founder highlighted the need for better mass communication tools, calling for a move beyond “everyone constantly tweeting inside a single global info warzone.”

“We need mass communication tools that serve the user's long-term interest, not maximize short-term engagement,” said Buterin. “There is no simple trick that solves these problems. But there is one important place to start: more competition.” 

In 2026, I plan to be fully back to decentralized social.

If we want a better society, we need better mass communication tools. We need mass communication tools that surface the best information and arguments and help people find points of agreement. We need mass communication… https://t.co/ye249HsojJ

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 21, 2026

“Decentralization is the way to enable that: a shared data layer, with anyone being able to build their own client on top,” he added. 

Buterin’s remarks came after Lens Protocol, the social platform built by the development team behind Ethereum DeFi protocol Aave, announced on Tuesday that Mask Network would “steward the next chapter” for the decentralized protocol. 

On Wednesday, Farcaster made a similar announcement, detailing that its protocol smart contracts, code, the Farcaster app, and its acquired token launchpad, Clanker, will all be transferred to Neynar—a longstanding Farcaster client and infrastructure firm.

“This wasn’t an easy decision. Farcaster and the people building on it mean a lot to us," posted Farcaster co-founder Dan Romero on X. “We’re proud of what our team built, and what the community built alongside us. But after five years, it’s clear Farcaster needs a new approach and leadership to reach its full potential.” 

That new approach will come less than two years after the platform raised $150 million in a Series A which valued the company at $1 billion and sought to expand its active user base and developer primitives. Farcaster’s team recently said that it would pivot focus towards wallet development after the “social-first” approach failed to maintain momentum.

While neither platform currently has a native token of its own, Buterin claims that most crypto social projects have inserted something speculative and considered it innovative.

“Too often, we in crypto think that if you insert a speculative coin into something, that counts as ‘innovating,’ and moves the world forward,” he posted. The real focus though, he said, should be on solving for the actual social aspect of social media.

“Decentralized social should be run by people who deeply believe in the ‘social’ part, and are motivated first and foremost by solving the problems of social,” Buterin added.

For the new leaders of Lens, that means a focus on “consumer-grade execution, product design, and global distribution.” For Farcaster, it is a new “builder-focused vision” that is expected to be shared soon. In both instances, the original teams will step away from day-to-day operations.

Daily Debrief NewsletterStart every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.

Thu 22 Jan 2026 ▪ 4 min read ▪ by Luc Jose A.

Summarize this article with:

Faced with rising tensions around information control, Vitalik Buterin takes a stand. The Ethereum co-founder makes decentralized social networks his priority for 2026, calling for an open, interoperable model free from commercial logics. This choice marks a strategic and ideological turning point, supported by concrete actions and a frontal critique of dominant platforms. Buterin no longer just codes the Web’s infrastructure but now wants to rethink how we exchange, debate, and share online.

In brief Vitalik Buterin announces he will exclusively adopt decentralized social networks starting this year. He will use Firefly, an interface gathering several protocols such as Lens, Farcaster and Bluesky. This choice is part of a desire to break with centralized platforms and their algorithmic logics. Buterin advocates an open social Web, where users keep control of their data and identities. Vitalik migrates to an interoperable social Web Vitalik Buterin has officially announced a radical redirection of his social activity for the year 2026, after revealing a few days earlier the major reforms to come for Ethereum.

“In 2026, I will read and publish only via Firefly or other similar interfaces”, he announced, specifying that this decision is not a simple test but a definitive commitment.

Firefly, developed by Mask Network, aggregates various Web3 social protocols such as Lens, Farcaster, X (formerly Twitter), and Bluesky. Its goal is to offer a unique interface built on shared and decentralized data layers, guaranteeing the user control over their posts, identity, and social graph.

Through this initiative, the Ethereum co-founder seeks to challenge the dominant models of centralized social networks. He calls for a more modular, competitive social Web aligned with users’ interests. For him, future social platforms must rely on the following principles :

Client interoperability : enabling users to freely navigate between different networks via common interfaces ; Data ownership : each individual keeps their credentials, content, and relationships, independently of the service used ; The plurality of social experiences : different interfaces can offer specific views, algorithms, or filters while sharing the same data foundation ; Reducing dependence on advertising logics : breaking away from economic models based on maximizing screen time. This statement fits into a general vision carried by Buterin since Ethereum’s beginnings : extending decentralization to all critical internet infrastructures, including those that govern the circulation of ideas and opinions.

A critical reflection on SocialFi and new community dynamics Beyond his technical preferences, Vitalik Buterin also formulates a direct critique of so-called SocialFi platforms based on purely economic mechanisms. He believes these models, often based on speculative tokens, create incentives that degrade the quality of content and exchanges.

“The engagement economy measured in tokens does not favor nuanced reasoning”, he writes, pointing out projects that prioritize virality over depth. Conversely, he cites Substack as a more balanced example, where subscriptions support quality content without turning every post into a financial asset.

The limitations of existing models are not only ethical. Buterin also recalls the technical difficulties faced by social Web3 ecosystems in achieving mass adoption.

Farcaster, recently acquired by Neynar, now counts more than 2 million sign-ups, while Lens, now managed by Mask Network, records about 506,000 users according to Dune Analytics data. Despite encouraging figures, these platforms still have to overcome significant challenges: identity interoperability, smooth user experience, and sustainable economic balance.

By repositioning the debate on the social purposes of Web3, Vitalik Buterin reignites a strategic conversation about tomorrow’s digital architecture. His choice is not only personal or technological but refers to a political vision of communication infrastructure. The coming months will tell if other leaders in the sector follow this path.

Maximize your Cointribune experience with our "Read to Earn" program! For every article you read, earn points and access exclusive rewards. Sign up now and start earning benefits.

Join the program

A

A

Lien copié

Luc Jose A.

Diplômé de Sciences Po Toulouse et titulaire d'une certification consultant blockchain délivrée par Alyra, j'ai rejoint l'aventure Cointribune en 2019. Convaincu du potentiel de la blockchain pour transformer de nombreux secteurs de l'économie, j'ai pris l'engagement de sensibiliser et d'informer le grand public sur cet écosystème en constante évolution. Mon objectif est de permettre à chacun de mieux comprendre la blockchain et de saisir les opportunités qu'elle offre. Je m'efforce chaque jour de fournir une analyse objective de l'actualité, de décrypter les tendances du marché, de relayer les dernières innovations technologiques et de mettre en perspective les enjeux économiques et sociétaux de cette révolution en marche.

DISCLAIMER

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.

Crypto Traders Are Buying These 3 Low-Cap Perp DEX Tokens In Early October

Bracket Launches New Platform to Simplify Liquid Staking on Ethereum

Rocket Pool (RPL), a decentralized liquid staking protocol that allows users to earn rewards on their Ethereum (ETH) holdings, extends its rally by 40% on Tuesday after rallying 37% in the last two days. Coinglass data support this price rally as RPL’s open interest reaches record levels. Moreover, RPL announced that the first on-chain vote to revise the governance thresholds of its Protocol DAO was live.

Rocket Pool price extends double-dight gains Rocket Pool price broke above the descending trendline drawn by connecting multiple highs since early December and rallied 31.5% on Sunday. RPL retested, found support around the trendline, and continued its rally by 4.22% on Monday. At the time of writing on Tuesday, it trades higher by over 40%, breaking above its weekly resistance of $9.42.

If RPL closes above its weekly resistance of $9.42, it will extend the rally to retest its next daily resistance at $13.26.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) reads at 68, above its neutral level of 50 and points upwards, indicating strong bullish momentum. Moreover, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator showed a bullish crossover on Sunday, giving a buy signal and hinting at rally continuation.

RPL/USDT daily chart

Rocket Pool’s Open Interest (OI) further supports the bullish outlook. Coinglass’s data shows that the futures’ OI in RPL at exchanges rose from $2.30 million on Sunday to $15.92 million on Monday, reaching a new all-time high (ATH). An increasing OI represents new or additional money entering the market and new buying, which suggests a rally ahead in the Rocket Pool price.

RPL open interest chart. Source: Coinglass

Moreover, earlier in February, RPL announced that the first on-chain vote to revise the governance thresholds of its Protocol DAO (pDAO) was live. The voting aims to lower the quorum needed for proposals and vetoes, which are part of their ongoing governance process. This aims to adjust how decisions are made within the Rocket Pool ecosystem, making governance more agile or shifting the balance of power in decision-making.

Following the successful onchain initialisation of all node operators, a vote is now underway to revise two key onchain Protocol DAO quorums downwards:
⬇️ Proposal from 30% to 15%
⬇️ Veto from 51% to 20%

Node operators can review RPIP-64 & vote now: https://t.co/QD84XJ1FkN pic.twitter.com/Al4uNE6cuo

— Rocket Pool (@Rocket_Pool) February 10, 2025

AI Tokens and Meme Coins Rally as Sky and WIF Lead Daily Gainers

Rocket Pool RPL is surging, adding 30%. Strengthening Ethereum prices played a role, but the team is also shipping updates ahead of the Saturn upgrade. Rocket Pool TVL is up 43% in one month. Will RPL break $10?

Yesterday, without any apparent reason or fundamental trigger, UNI, the governance token of the major DEX Uniswap, surged above $7 before cooling off.

Meanwhile, top DeFi tokens like MKR, the governance token of the Sky Protocol (formerly Maker), also climbed, posting double-digit gains.

As these leading DeFi tokens rose, attention shifted to another key Ethereum player critical to decentralizing the first smart contracts platform: Rocket Pool.

DISCOVER: 9+ Best High-Risk, High-Reward Crypto to Buy in May 2025

RPL Crypto Surges 30% The native token powering Rocket Pool, RPL, soared nearly 30% in 24 hours, extending gains from early June and solidifying its position among the top 30 largest DeFi protocols by total value locked (TVL).

According to Coingecko data, RPL gained against the greenback, ETH, BTC, and some of the best cryptos to buy.

Technically, there is room for growth.

With RPL adding nearly 30% yesterday, buyers are eyeing resistance levels at $7 and $10. If this psychological barrier is broken and RPL reaches new Q2 2025 highs, there is a high probability that the token could double to $20 in late H1 2025 or early H2 2025.

DeFiLlama data shows that Rocket Pool is the 26th largest DeFi protocol, managing over $1.7 billion in assets on Ethereum. With rising prices, its TVL increased 1% in 24 hours.

(Source)

However, the surge in inflows over the past month stands out, with the Rocket Pool TVL rising by 45%, outpacing most protocols in the top 30.

Raydium, the DEX powering Solana token swaps, saw a 42% TVL increase in the last month, signaling that traders may be returning to trade some of the best Solana meme coins.

Meanwhile, Morpho, EigenLayer, and Pendle also drew massive inflows, pushing the total DeFi TVL to $113 billion.

Will ETH Help Sustain Momentum? Interest in Ethereum staking may explain this revival.

Notably, the spike in the Rocket Pool TVL coincided with a surge in ETH prices in May.

The second most valuable crypto broke above $2,000 before accelerating to nearly $2,800. Although prices have stabilized above $2,400, there are hints that buyers are accumulating, and a breakout above $3,000 is inevitable.

On June 3, institutions in the United States purchased over $109 million worth of spot Ethereum ETF shares, increasing their holdings to over $9.8 billion, representing roughly 3% of the Ethereum market cap.

(Source)

If Ethereum prices rise, Rocket Pool’s TVL will likely expand, boosting RPL demand. This momentum could be further fueled by positive ecosystem developments in recent weeks.

Over $14m worth of ETH was staked with Rocket Pool yesterday, fully clearing the validator minipool queue!

If you're thinking about becoming a node operator, now could be a good time to start – you just need 8 ETH, with $RPL optional to earn more commission pic.twitter.com/UUbOPe72q0

— Rocket Pool (@Rocket_Pool) May 25, 2025

DISCOVER: Top 20 Crypto to Buy in May 2025

What’s Driving Rocket Pool Demand? Analysts are closely monitoring progress on the upcoming Saturn Upgrade.

Ahead of this key update, the team has released smart contracts for Saturn devnet-3 and is working on the Smart Node stack. Additionally, developers are preparing devnet-4, which, though less complex, will play a pivotal foundational role in the release scheduled for late Q3 2025.

The team has also completed an internal code review for Saturn and is now engaging external blockchain security firms to audit the code thoroughly before the upgrade.

Security before deployment is critical because Saturn will introduce scaling features, including “Megapools,” which aim to improve validator throughput and dynamic fee splits to enhance protocol efficiency and RPL utility.

Beyond Saturn, Rocket Pool updated its Smartnode software in April and May to ensure compatibility with Ethereum’s Pectra hard fork. The team addressed concerns about client integration, relay processing, and validator reliability, enabling node operators to continue staking on Ethereum with minimal disruption.

The increasing interoperability with other DeFi protocols could also drive RPL prices. With expanded use cases for rETH, holders stand to benefit, encouraging more adoption of Rocket Pool.

rETH <> wETH liquidity pool is LIVE!

Provide liquidity, earn rewards ⚔️

• Get ETH staking yield on Ronin
• Earn boosted rewards in the Ronin Blitz
• Combine rETH with other DeFi primitives
Provide rETH liquidity on Katana now 👇

🔗 : https://t.co/jL11T0QpvG

Here’s what’s… pic.twitter.com/UkZe4XVjjK

— Ronin (@Ronin_Network) May 23, 2025

After joining the Balancer Alliance Program, which unlocks revenue sharing for rETH/ETH, Rocket Pool also integrated with the Ronin Network, adopting Chainlink’s CCIP.

DISCOVER: 15 Next Crypto to Explode in 2025: Expert Cryptocurrency Predictions & Analysis

Rocket Pool RPL Up 30%, Ethereum Steady: Are DeFi Tokens Back? RPL is up 30%; will the token push above $10?  Rocket Pool DeFi TVL up over 45% in one month  Developers shipping updates ahead of the Saturn upgrade  Ethereum staking boom and rising ETH demand driving DeFi tokens  #Altcoin News Today #Ethereum (ETH) News Today #DeFi

Why you can trust 99Bitcoins

10+ Years

Established in 2013, 99Bitcoin’s team members have been crypto experts since Bitcoin’s Early days.

90hr+

Weekly Research

100k+

Monthly readers

50+

Expert contributors

2000+

Crypto Projects Reviewed

Follow 99Bitcoins on your Google News Feed

Get the latest updates, trends, and insights delivered straight to your fingertips. Subscribe now!

Subscribe now

Dalmas Ngetich

Crypto Journalist

Dalmas is an experienced journalist with over a decade in crypto, technology, and blockchain. His work and that of his partners have been featured in top news outlets, including Forbes, investing.com, and Entrepreneur, among others. He is passionate about crypto... Read More

As Ethereum Rallies, Yields Follow: Where Is Smart Money Flowing?

The AxCNH, a Chinese Yuan-pegged stablecoin issued by AnchorX, was officially launched on September 17, 2025 in Hong Kong. BDACS also launched KRW1, a South Korean Won-pegged stablecoin, the following day.

Why do these moves matter? Because the crypto race is heating up.

While America’s new federal stablecoin framework (the GENIUS Act in 2025) sets strict issuance and transparency rules, countries like Hong Kong and South Korea are also accelerating regulatory frameworks to oversee stablecoin activity.

Retail users also stand to gain. Putting fiat on-chain enables near-instantaneous 24/7 cross-border settlement and brings smart contracts into the mix. This not only reduces correspondent-bank friction, but allows for programmable FX flows (like atomic swaps and other DeFi uses).

And with stablecoins redefining how money moves, lightweight crypto apps like Best Wallet provide an accessible gateway to onboard more people into the crypto world.

Powering the Best Wallet ecosystem, Best Wallet Token ($BEST) has already secured over $16M in its presale as a statement to this market shift.

Currently in phase 2 of its roadmap, this crypto project bridges the gap between crypto and CeFi with effortless onramping, multi-chain support, low-cost swaps, and more features like derivatives trading and a debit card in the pipeline.

Stablecoin Market Heats Up: What AxCNH and KRW1 Mean for Global Crypto Growth Unlike traditional financial systems, the blockchain never sleeps. With no business hours or potential correspondent delays to tie it down, both individuals and businesses trading on-chain benefit from a reliable, around-the-clock solution.

This also makes currency faster and more easily accessible, even for cross-border payments or transfers, giving people real reasons to use blockchain over legacy systems.

More importantly, being fiat-backed and overcollateralized, these stablecoins align with global regulatory expectations, raising institutions and retail users’ trust and confidence to embrace crypto.

Unlike traditional financial systems, stablecoins also rely on oracle networks like Chainlink, which enable real-time, tamper-resistant data and automated, trustless smart contracts for lending and DeFi trading.

Source: Chainlink’s post on X For newcomers still uncertain about entering the crypto landscape, stablecoins offer a familiar entry point, as they resemble fiat currencies and create a safe environment for traders to operate without concerns about volatility.

With that base, it becomes easier to explore other digital assets and DeFi applications. This is where Best Wallet and Best Wallet Token ($BEST) also come in as beginner-friendly crypto tools with building momentum behind them.

Best Wallet Makes Crypto Easy While Its Native $BEST Token Raises $16M+ in Presale Best Wallet is one of the leading hot wallets built to outperform legacy wallets like MetaMask.

It provides traders with a streamlined multi-chain hub that directly supports top networks like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, BSC, and Base (with 60+ more chains coming in the near future). Some of the other perks of Best wallet include:

Non-custodial key management backed by Multi-Party Computation. You don’t have to worry about protecting your secret key, since it’s virtually unbreakable. Effortless cross-chain moves, available in one dashboard – think Ethereum staking through Lido and Rocket Pool integrations or low-cost cross-swaps across dozens of DEXes. A built-in filter to hide suspicious tokens, which adds an extra security layer when exploring decentralized projects. Besides, the app’s WalletConnect compatibility allows you to connect to other external crypto platforms like derivatives exchanges and other dApps.

With this, you can leverage more advanced strategies and enable seamless yield farming across more ecosystems.

Best Wallet Token ($BEST) is the backbone of this ecosystem, engineered to reward loyal and early adopters.

By holding $BEST, you can benefit from reduced in-app transaction fees, early access to vetted new presales, and higher staking rewards in the app’s upcoming staking aggregator.

Best Wallet’s upcoming tokens feature is particularly attractive to degens hunting for new meme coin presales and other early-stage opportunities.

With all projects vetted and smart contract audits available, it’s easier than ever to find trusted projects and avoid honeypots or other scams.

$BEST also integrates trading incentives with governance, creating upside beyond speculation. By giving holders a direct role and voting rights on the app’s future direction, $BEST ensures its base stays loyal and active as the project’s roadmap progresses.

With rapid presale traction and ambitions to capture 40% wallet market share by 2026, $BEST offers plenty of room for growth.

Its fundraiser is still ongoing as the dev team is working behind the scenes to introduce more advanced features (like NFT support, a crypto debit card, and a staking aggregator coming in phase 3).

The $BEST token has already raised over $16M and continues to gain traction. The ICO has even attracted several whale buys of $70.2K, $50.9K, and $49.5K, further boosting confidence in the token.

$BEST is now trading at $0.025675, which means a $500 entry today might be worth around $685 by the end of 2025 if our expert $BEST token price prediction holds.

Zooming out, the potential upside looks even better under bullish conditions. By 2026, $BEST could hit $0.0510, pushing your $500 stack to about $995 (a 2x move), and $0.07 by 2030, growing your investment to ~$1,360 (7x higher).

On top of this, $BEST offers dynamic staking rewards (currently at roughly 83% APY). If the reward rate stays high in the upcoming months, you could be racking up around $915 on your $500 investment, without factoring in token price moves.

With momentum building, the next price increase drops in under 12 hours.

Visit the $BEST token presale to get ahead of the curve.

This is not financial advice. Please always do your own research before investing in cryptocurrencies. 

Authored by Aaron Walker, NewsBTC — https://www.newsbtc.com/news/china-launches-first-stablecoin-adoption-spikes-best-wallet-gains/

The crypto market is showing strong upward momentum, with Bitcoin hitting $80,000 and several altcoins such as Ethereum, XRP, Dogecoin, Zcash, and Terra Luna Classic (LUNC) posting notable gains today.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index improved to neutral sentiment on rising CLARITY Act odds, robust ETF inflows, and early bull market predictions by analysts have triggered a rally.

Bitcoin Hits 80,000 amid Short Liquidations in XRP, Dogecoin, Zcash, and LUNC Bitcoin surpassed the key $80,000 level to hit a high of $80,596, rising almost 3% over the past 24 hours. It is supported by a massive 114% rise in trading volume.

The total crypto market cap climbed almost 2% amid institutional demand and strong spot Bitcoin ETFs inflows of around $630 million on the last trading day to signal renewed investor confidence.

White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt signaled advances for a long-awaited CLARITY Act, with lawmakers eyeing a markup in May following a stablecoin yield compromise.

According to a Reuters report on May 4, President Trump said the US will help stranded ships leave the Strait of Hormuz. Easing geopolitical tensions has reduced selling pressure and encouraged short squeezes.

The crypto market recorded over $302 million in short liquidations today. Bitcoin, Dogecoin, XRP, Zcash, and Terra Luna Classic (LUNC) saw massive liquidations. According to CoinGlass data, nearly 110K traders were liquidated, with a total liquidation of $370 million in 24 hours.

Top Experts Predict Further Upside Bitcoin retraces to trade at $79,845 after profit booking in the last few hours. The 24-hour low and high are $78,281 and $80,596, respectively. However, experts signal further upside in Bitcoin and broader crypto market.

Cypherpunk and Blockstream CEO Adam Back put the spotlight on BTC 200-week moving average surpassing $60K. On the weekly chart, Bitcoin flashes bottom signals as it continues to hold above the 10-year ascending trendline, which historically suggested the bottom.

#bitcoin 200wma passes $60khttps://t.co/h6D8LTnC8B pic.twitter.com/bG1z8SDWpZ

— Adam Back (@adam3us) May 4, 2026

As CoinGape reported earlier, Grayscale Research signaled Bitcoin bottomed in the $65,000-$70,000 range. The Bitcoin Bull Index also turned neutral for the first time in six months, per CryptoQuant research head Julio Moreno.

BIT (formely Matrixport) said investors make more returns by investing when sentiment is negative. The firm added that sentiment is high but still has room to run. BIT predicts further upside as long as the Greed & Fear Index trend higher.

10x Research said “Bitcoin just triggered the first of our bull market signals, and the medium-term technical picture is improving faster than most realize.” Two consecutive months of positive returns, rising ETF inflows, and funding rates point to a market with significant room to run.

However, Bitcoin options are flashing a slight warning, while Ethereum options are telling a more cautious story. Moreover, a divided Fed, overbought equity markets, and the US-Iran peace talks risks could impact the bullish thesis.

Bitcoin Flashes First Bull Market Signal. Source: 10x Research Dogecoin jumped more than 4% to extend the weekly rally to over 15%. It benefits from broader crypto market strength and X cashtags for Dogecoin, XRP and other crypto assets.

XRP reclaims $1.41 amid positive ETF flows, CLARITY Act markup hopes, and huge whale accumulations. As CoinGape reported earlier, XRP poised for a rally as on-chain data indicated supply shock on Binance.

Zcash (ZEC) and LUNC are recording massive rallies in the last few days, with Terra Luna Classic skyrocketed 60% over the past week. Endorsements from Grayscale’s Barry Silbert and Arthur Hayes’ $400 prediction for Zcash triggered further rebound.

Terra Luna Classic (LUNC) rocketed more than 7% today, currently trading at $0.0000924. Binance’s LUNC token burn, Software upgrade v4.0.1, and community-driven volatility continue to fuel positive sentiment.

LUNC Breakout Above Multiple Moving Averages If you’re looking to buy the dip in the crypto market across both centralized and decentralized lending models, check out our Best Crypto Loan Platforms of 2026 recommendations list.

Steven Pu, co-founder of layer-1 blockchain Taraxa, released a report on Feb. 24 highlighting a significant gap between claimed and actual blockchain performance.

Analyzing 22 networks using data from Chainspect, the study found that theoretical transactions per second (TPS) are overstated by an average of 20 times compared to real-world results. According to the findings, this discrepancy stems from lab-based metrics that fail to hold up on live mainnets.

The report introduces a new metric: TPS per dollar spent on a validator node (TPS/$), aiming to measure cost-efficiency rather than just raw speed. Across the 22 chains, theoretical TPS averaged 20 times higher than observed mainnet performance, with only four networks achieving double-digit TPS/$ ratios.

Pu argues this shows many blockchains require costly hardware for modest transaction rates, challenging claims of scalability and decentralization. 

“We should all stick with transparent, verifiable, on-chain performance metrics,” per the study.

Source: Chainspect Blockchain scalability questioned Pu’s findings suggest the industry’s focus on high TPS misleads stakeholders. Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), for example, prioritize security over speed, while newer chains tout big numbers that rarely materialize. The TPS/$ metric could shift how developers assess networks for practical use cases like payments or supply chain tracking. The report states that,

Max observed mainnet TPS for included networks, across a 100-block window (tx/s)
It’s worth noting that Chainspect specifically excludes transactions that may unfairly inflate this Max TPS metric, such as voting transactions

Taraxa pushes for transparency Taraxa, a proof-of-stake layer-1 focused on audit logging, frames this as a wake-up call. Pu, a Stanford-educated entrepreneur, urges reliance on verifiable mainnet data over whitepaper hype.

This comes as the crypto space grapples with adoption hurdles. Inflated statistics could distort investment and development decisions, particularly in decentralized finance and supply chain use cases that demand reliable performance. Pu suggests that cost-efficiency metrics like TPS/$ could redefine how blockchain sustainability is evaluated, shifting focus toward networks that deliver practical value rather than just high theoretical speeds.