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SOUTH KOREA'S CENTRAL BANK TO 'ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE' IN STABLECOIN LEGISLATION

South Korea's central bank plans to participate in the development of stablecoin legislation, aiming to mitigate potential risks to the nation's monetary and financial stability. The government views them as inherently different from general digital assets, and thus require unique considerations. This move reflects the bank's commitment to ensuring a secure and regulated environment for digital assets.

CRYPTO EXCHANGE VOLUME FALLS TO 6-MONTH LOW AS TRADERS FLEE SPOT FOR FUTURES

Crypto exchange volumes have dropped to six-month lows, with both centralized and decentralized platforms seeing less activity and spot trading for BTC and ETH hitting their lowest ratios relative to futures since August and December 2024. This shift reflects a move toward more speculative, leveraged futures trading over direct spot demand, while Solana has seen a slight rebound in volume and outperformed Ethereum in recent app revenue.

CIRCLE TO LAUNCH NEW PAYMENTS AND REMITTANCE NETWORK

Circle is unveiling a new payments and cross-border remittance network for its $60 billion USDC stablecoin. It will target banks, PSPs, fintechs, and remittance partners. The network aims to rival traditional rails like Mastercard and Visa using stablecoins for global money transfers. Circle is going back to its payment roots following a postponed IPO amid choppy market conditions.

ZORA TOKEN AND TOKENOMICS INFO

The long-anticipated ZORA token will be released on April 23, following a strong increase in volume and activity due to the Base contentcoin narrative. There are two snapshots, one for the past five years and one for the past month. 10% of the token will be distributed in an airdrop. The coin will have no governance value or utility.

LIMITATIONS OF STABLECOINS

Stablecoins like USDC can be powerful for certain use cases, but for everyday remittances like sending money to a cousin in rural India, they're currently less practical than services like Wise, which offer instant, seamless fiat transfers with fewer hurdles. While stables shine for large business payments or users already familiar with crypto, their effectiveness is limited without efficient on/off-ramps and widespread local adoption.

THE NEXT CRYPTO AI META

Crypto AI has underperformed amid broader market risk-off trends, with the sector market cap down to around $6 billion from a high of $25 billion. The highest asymmetric returns are likely at the nexus of decentralized AI infrastructure (DeAI) and AI agent distribution networks, rather than standalone agent frameworks or yield strategies. Compelling opportunities include distribution hubs like Virtuals that capture trading fees and community-first infrastructure ecosystems like Bittensor. The investment thesis emphasizes backing teams that merge DeAI with GTM-savvy agent builders.

ARGUMENT FOR STABLECOIN USAGE

While Wise enables two-way payments in around 17 countries, stablecoins are increasingly being used in many others that Wise doesn't support, like Nigeria, Turkey, and Argentina. Companies like Acctual are making stablecoins usable for businesses where traditional rails fall short by building tools like accounts payable/accounts receivable automation and accounting around stablecoins.

RESPONSE TO VITALIK'S EVM TO RISC-V VM PROPOSAL

Relying on a RISC-V zk-VM still demands EVM precompiles for heavy opcodes, so any change in base-layer cryptography triggers new audited circuits and undercuts maintainability. Claimed prover speed gains overlook additional overhead required unless contracts are fully compiled with specialized data types. Designing a minimal, proof-friendly architecture allows native execution of compiled contracts and achieves better balance of maintenance simplicity and prover efficiency than retrofitting general-purpose RISC-V.

BYBIT CEO SAYS NEARLY 28% OF $1.4 BILLION HACKED CRYPTO 'GONE DARK,' MOVED TO P2P AND OTC

~28% of the $1.4B in crypto stolen from Bybit has become untraceable, with funds funneled through mixers, bridges, and eventually into peer-to-peer and OTC platforms.

CRYPTO CASINOS CONTINUE TO GENERATE CASH

Crypto casinos generated ~$81.4B in gross gaming revenue in 2024 (5x growth since 2022) by circumventing legal barriers through VPNs and offshore operations.

BITCOIN PRICE ACTION BEGINNING TO RESEMBLE GOLD

Unlike in past instances where Bitcoin and the Nasdaq moved together even on opposite-day performances, today Bitcoin's price action seems to diverge from the Nasdaq and more closely resembles gold's behavior.

SOLANA TRANSACTION REVENUE EXCEEDS OTHER L1S AND L2S

In Q1 2025, Solana generated more than $819M in revenue, more than all other L1 and L2 networks combined, despite its reputation for low transaction fees.

BITCOIN EYES $139K BY YEAR-END AMID ONCHAIN STRENGTH

Bitcoin's reaction to macro and industry shocks has shifted from panic selling to reinforcement of its narrative as a hedge against traditional assets. A 21Shares report forecasts that a year-end price of $138,555 is reasonable, given that the current cycle mirrors 2021's post-China-ban reset, with disillusionment in traditional finance and rising global liquidity. Onchain metrics, like long-term holder accumulation, combined with growing spot ETF inflows and clearer regulation suggest the market remains in a bullish consolidation phase.

CRYPTO LIQUID FUNDS ARE DOWN BAD — AND SHIFTING TO QUALITY TOKENS

Crypto liquid funds incurred losses up to 70% in Q1 2025, driven by macro turmoil and heavy altcoin exposure. Fund managers focusing on smaller, high-conviction positions based on fundamentals rather than momentum are narrowing portfolios to six to ten quality tokens and are exploring crypto-exposed equities. The shift coincides with anticipations of clearer US regulation, new liquid vehicles launching, and venture firms adopting flexible mandates to capitalize on token market mini-cycles.

ETHEREUM L1 PROPOSAL: REPLACE THE EVM WITH RISC-V

AUTO.FUN: ELIZAOS'S ONE-CLICK TOKEN LAUNCHPAD

ElizaOS, the team behind the Eliza AI agent framework, released auto.fun as a fair-launch token platform. It aims to create long-term incentives and community building through features like liquidity NFTs minted on graduation, AI-generated content, and the ability to launch an agent alongside a token. With the ElizaV2 framework launching soon, the platform will likely become the primary platform for new agent deployments.

HOW ETHEREUM CAN WIN

Ethereum is undergoing a strategic shift to correct years of misalignment between long-term principles and short-term execution, focusing now on scaling the Layer 1, improving UX, strengthening leadership, and building tighter L1-L2 integration. The Ethereum Foundation is taking a more active role in coordination and product direction. The broader community has been encouraged to update its messaging and mindset to reflect this new era of user-centered, execution-driven evolution.

FINANCIAL FREEDOM & NEOFEUDALISM

Crypto is regulatory arbitrage rather than an outright improvement over TradFi. DeFi simply replicates traditional services in permissionless code to sidestep compliance. There are inherent risks, including hacks, irreversible losses, and hyper-financialization, that are “features” of crypto's openness. There might be a shift toward “neofeudalism,” where crypto whales become decentralized lords over networked fiefdoms, displacing state monetary control. Building specialized skills, diversified hard-asset portfolios, and strong networks are critical to survive in this emerging landscape.

BUILDING ORDERLY ATTENTION MARKETS

Tokenized content is little more than chaotic, creator-dominated tokens that fail to deliver lasting utility or fair market dynamics. Orderly attention markets are a novel concept aimed at using external data or onchain metrics to create a market around social media engagement and mindshare. Platforms like Noise.xyz's perp markets driven by Kaito mindshare or Kizzy's bets on post interactions offer structured speculation but face challenges around data accuracy, oracle trust, and liquidity. The vision is to formalize attention into transparent, rule-based markets.

AGENTKIT Q1 RECAP

Coinbase Developer Platform's AgentKit had an extremely successful quarter, with millions of social impressions, over 20k deployed agents, and 2k+ developers building with AgentKit. Highlights include a Coinbase SF AI hackathon, launch day support for OpenAI's Agents SDK, and integrations with other CDP products like Smart Wallets and Onramp. The product is now in a strong position, with future secret updates aimed at allowing agents to pay for countless web2 services.

ZORA COIN METRICS

Token launches on Base continue to increase, with over 28k launched using Zora and 32k on pump.fun in a single day challenging the usual weekend slowdown in memecoin activity.

TVL ON ETHEREUM

The Ethereum (L1) ecosystem now holds ~$190B in total value locked (TVL), reflecting user deposits across stablecoins, lending, liquid staking, and DEX apps.

NATIVE USDC FUNDING ON SOLANA

Privy now supports native USDC funding on Solana, allowing users to add funds via Apple Pay, credit card, or exchange accounts.

CHARLES SCHWAB CRYPTO TRADING MAY LAUNCH THIS YEAR

According to broker Charles Schwab's CEO, crypto spot trading will ‘likely' launch within the next 12 months.

SWEEPING DOJ MEMO SIGNALS TURNING POINT

A new memo from the DOJ signals a shift away from prosecuting crypto intermediaries, narrowing enforcement to clear cases of fraud or national security risk and potentially leading to the closure or dismissal of ongoing investigations launched under the Biden administration. While industry advocates see this as a relief, critics warn it may weaken oversight and embolden misconduct, with civil agencies like the SEC and CFTC also adjusting their approach in response.

VANECK ONCHAIN ECONOMY ETF RECEIVES SEC NOD

VanEck has secured SEC approval to launch the Onchain Economy ETF (ticker NODE), with a planned debut on May 14. The actively managed fund will hold 30-60 assets tied to the blockchain economy, including exchanges, miners, data centers, and firms with crypto assets. This offering joins a surge of digital asset ETF filings timed around the new pro-crypto administration and SEC overhaul.

EIGENLAYER UNVEILS SLASHING

EigenLayer has activated slashing on mainnet, making the protocol feature-complete and enabling economic enforcement for Autonomous Verifiable Services (AVSs), where operators and stakers are rewarded for meeting commitments or penalized if they fall short. This milestone brings verifiable trust to decentralized services, with major partners like LayerZero and Infura integrating slashing to enforce service-level guarantees and increase reliability across blockchain infrastructure.

ELIZA LABS UNVEILS AUTO.FUN

Eliza Labs has launched auto.fun, a no-code platform that lets users deploy AI agents across Web3 services, supported by a token model that combines bonding curves and fair launch principles. The platform aims to democratize AI and Web3 access with transparent, open-source agents and sustainable tokenomics that align incentives between developers and users.

CONVERGE: TECH SPECIFICATION & ROADMAP

Converge is an institutional-grade EVM chain with support for permissioned RWAs and permissionless DeFi from Ethena and Securitize. Its recently unveiled technical roadmap details a high-performance EVM chain with 100ms block times and novel security features through the Converge Validator Network (CVN) secured by staked ENA tokens. Partnering with Arbitrum and Celestia, Converge aims to offer frictionless usability and institutional-grade infrastructure, including support for stablecoins like USDe and USDtb as gas tokens.

WHERE IS ONCHAIN VOLUME ROTATING?

DEX trading hit an all-time high of $380 billion in January 2025 before plunging 35% by February. The top ten DEXs accounted for 80% of volume, with Uniswap and PancakeSwap driving 40% and five of the top ten being Solana-native. Base's DEX share is 7%, Ethereum's is 26%, and Solana's is 21%. Centralized exchanges captured 80% of spot volume at the January peak and Hyperliquid held 60% of the perpetuals market share.

ARBITRUM INTRODUCES TIMEBOOST

Timeboost is a new optional transaction ordering system for Arbitrum chains that uses sealed-bid auctions to allocate short-term “express lane” privileges, allowing high-value transactions to bypass delays while preserving fast block times and privacy for all users. It helps chain owners capture some MEV revenue and reduces spam while protecting users from harmful MEV like front-running

VERIFIABLE AGENTS AND THE COMING WAVE OF UNSTOPPABLE AI

Verifiable AI agents tackle both AI's trust problem and crypto's app problem by combining blockchain verifiability with domain-specific intelligence. OpenLedger trains specialized language models on high-quality, sector-focused data and uses Proof of Attribution to trace how individual data points influence outputs and detect bias. By layering this model-level verification with onchain execution checks from EigenLayer, agents become fully auditable from reasoning to execution.

COINBASE IMPROVES SOLANA SUPPORT FOLLOWING USER COMPLAINTS

Coinbase has significantly improved its support for Solana, increasing transaction throughput fivefold and providing a smoother experience for Solana users on the platform.

STABLECOIN TURF WARS: BANK OF AMERICA, TETHER, AND CIRCLE BATTLE TO SHAPE US RULES

A battle is unfolding over U.S. stablecoin regulation, with Bank of America pushing to limit issuance to banks, while Circle promotes itself as a compliant U.S. alternative to offshore Tether.

SAFE'S INTERNAL RESTRUCTURING

Safe is undergoing a major internal restructuring and has parted ways with 14 team members as part of efforts to streamline operations and improve agility as the organization evolves.

SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDER VOWS TO PUSH CRYPTO

South Korean presidential candidate Hong Joon-pyo has pledged to aggressively reform crypto regulations to bolster the blockchain industry. As part of a broader “disruptive tech” initiative, he also plans to invest $35 billion over five years into AI, quantum computing, and other advanced technologies while integrating blockchain into public services.

COINBASE INSTITUTIONAL WARNS OF SIGNS THAT 'CRYPTO WINTER' IS COMING

Several converging indicators, including a 41% decline in altcoin market cap, a 50-60% drop in VC funding, and most tokens trading below their 200DMA, suggest a new crypto winter may be underway. While Bitcoin has been more resilient, broad market indicators like the COIN50 clearly demonstrate bearish trends amid ongoing macroeconomic headwinds and tariff pressures. Analysts indicate that a price floor might be established by mid-to-late Q2, with potential for improved market outlook in Q3.

OKX WILL OFFICIALLY EXPAND INTO THE US

OKX is expanding into the United States by launching its centralized crypto trading platform and wallet product and establishing a regional headquarters in San Jose. The expansion follows a $500 million DOJ settlement concerning allegations of operating without appropriate licenses. OKX is planning a phased nationwide rollout later in 2025, including migrating users of the affiliated US-based OKCoin exchange.

UNISWAP V4 INCENTIVES LAUNCH ON UNICHAIN

Uniswap v4 incentives are now live on Unichain, introducing major improvements like near-instant confirmations, MEV protection, and enhanced privacy for traders. With hooked pools, new interfaces, and expansion to more chains on the way, Uniswap is aiming to bring a DEX experience that matches centralized exchanges.

WHY CRYPTO DEVELOPER ACTIVITY IS DECLINING

Crypto developer activity is slowing down outside core areas like Bitcoin and stablecoins. Venture capital funding, especially in early stage rounds, have collapsed since its 2021-22 peak after heavy losses on speculative DeFi, NFT, and Metaverse bets, prompting most firms to treat crypto deals with skepticism. Despite this, VCs should continue backing crypto ventures, since long-term, slow-burn successes like Polymarket demonstrate the value of sustained capital support.

$OM SELL-OFF BREAKDOWN

A massive sell-off, triggered largely by aggressive shorting on Binance Perps and a mystery whale dumping millions on OKX, saw $OM (Mantra) lose 95% of its value in just hours. A deep-dive into the event revealed clues pointing to a long-time staker possibly linked to the chaos, suggesting the sell-off may have been more than just panic.

MOVEMENT NETWORK'S MARKET MAKER FRAUD AND CO-FOUNDER HIATUS

The Movement Network Foundation has initiated a third-party investigation into “market maker abnormalities” after Binance suspended a market maker involved in dumping approximately $38 million MOVE tokens with little buy-side activity. Amid these irregularities, co-founder Rushi Manche has reportedly taken a temporary leave of absence, with indications of disrupted communications and absence from key company events. The investigation, alongside a $38 million USDT buyback program, are efforts to compensate affected users, though general sentiment on the project remains low after multiple red flags.

WHAT HAPPENS TO A BLOCKCHAIN WHEN NOBODY USES IT?

A blockchain's long-term survival hinges on active user engagement, continuous development, and strong network incentives. Without these developments, even the most technically advanced chains can become ghost towns with minimal transactions and dwindling community support. Key health metrics include transaction volume, TVL, developer activity, and validator count.

EX-REVOLUT DUO'S BLEAP PARTNERS WITH MASTERCARD

Bleap, a fintech startup founded by former Revolut executives, has partnered with Mastercard to enable stablecoin payments like USDC across Mastercard's global network, bridging digital assets with traditional finance.

CHINA'S LOCAL GOVERNMENTS SELL SEIZED CRYPTO

Despite a national ban on crypto trading, Chinese local governments are selling seized crypto, including ~15K BTC valued at $1.4B, through private offshore firms to bolster public finances amid economic challenges.

AAVE MAY DEPLOY ON APTOS

Aave V3 may be coming to Aptos Mainnet, marking its first expansion beyond EVM-compatible chains.

SEC OFFICIALLY CLOSES ITS INVESTIGATION INTO CYBERKONGZ

The SEC has officially closed its investigation into CyberKongz, marking a major win for the project and a broader moment of clarity for the Web3 and NFT space.

SOUTH KOREA PUSHES APPLE TO REMOVE 14 UNREGISTERED CRYPTO APPS

South Korea's financial regulator has directed Apple to remove 14 unregistered cryptocurrency apps, including KuCoin and MEXC, from the App Store as part of its efforts to enforce compliance with local regulations. This move aims to protect investors and ensure that only properly registered platforms are accessible to users in the country.

CHINESE CHIP USED IN BITCOIN WALLETS IS PUTTING TRADERS AT RISK

A major vulnerability in the widely used ESP32 chip is putting bitcoin wallets at risk by allowing hackers to forge transaction signatures or steal private keys. Found in hardware like Blockstream Jade, the chip's flaws have already been exploited by researchers to access a real wallet with 10 BTC, raising serious concerns among the crypto and cybersecurity communities.