Why are refunds important in stablecoin payments?
Anyone who has used traditional payment systems will likely be familiar with refunds and chargebacks. If a purchase goes wrong, like receiving damaged items or not receiving the product at all, the payer can file a complaint with the seller to recover their funds. This process of refunds builds trust between payers and sellers, ensuring secure transactions for both sides.
However, stablecoin transactions differ significantly. Unlike credit cards or PayPal, stablecoin payments are generally irreversible. Once sent, the payment is final, with no standard way to dispute or reverse it if issues arise, which can make payers wary of using stablecoins for daily purchases.
This highlights the importance of refunds in the stablecoin ecosystem. Just as payers rely on protections with traditional payment methods, stablecoin transactions need comparable systems to inspire confidence.
Without options to dispute or reverse
Bitcoin hodler unrealized profits near 350% as $100K risks sell-off
Key points:
Bitcoin long-term holders are about to hit a level of unrealized profit, which has traditionally caused them to sell.
That level coincides with the return to a six-figure BTC price.
Order book data suggests that bulls may not succeed in keeping the upside going.
Bitcoin (BTC) risks a “notable increase” in selling from its older investors if price rises further, warns onchain analytics firm Glassnode.
In the latest edition of its regular newsletter, “The Week Onchain,” researchers calculated that long-term holders (LTHs) are sitting on almost 350% unrealized profits.
Bitcoin sell-side odds in line for crucial test
Bitcoin at multimonth highs will tempt an increasing number of hodlers to take profits — including so-called “diamond hands.”
Using a variety of metrics to track investor profitability, Glassnode shows that aggregate LTH unrealized profits are now nearing 350% — a key historical level.
“Having
Movement Labs suspends co-founder following MOVE market turmoil
Movement Labs confirmed the suspension of its co-founder, Rushi Manche, following controversies over a market maker deal that he brokered.
Movement announced the suspension of Manche in a May 2 X post, explaining that the “decision was made in light of ongoing events.” The decision follows Coinbase’s recent decision to suspend the Movement Network (MOVE) trading, citing the token’s failure to meet its listing standards.
Source: Movement
The suspension came after a recently announced third-party review requested by the Movement Network Foundation into an agreement orchestrated by Manche with Rentech — the latter helped broker an agreement with market maker Web3Port. Private intelligence firm Groom Lake is conducting the investigation.
This was followed by Web3Port reportedly selling the 66 million MOVE that it gained through the deal — about 5% of
From digital identity to outer space: Projects push crypto use cases
As the crypto space developed, blockchain use cases expanded from simple digital currencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to more complex areas such as digital identity verification and telecommunications.
Ahead of the Token2049 event in Dubai, Cointelegraph spoke with Spacecoin CEO Stuart Gardner, Spacecoin founder Tae Oh, and Humanity Protocol founder Terrence Kwok to explore how they use blockchain to improve certain industries.
From addressing challenges like verification in the artificial intelligence era to bringing internet connectivity to developing countries, projects are integrating blockchain to solve problems in different industries.
Digital identity verification to combat the AI threat
As artificial intelligence developed, the technology brought improvements that people could benefit from. However, the technology was also adopted by malicious actors who used the tech to perform AI-assisted hack research and deepfake scams.
Kwok told Cointelegraph that just two years ago, the idea of having to prove you’re human seemed “crazy.” However,
Stablecoins: Depegging, fraudsters and decentralization
Opinion by: Merav Ozair, PhD
Lately, stablecoins are everywhere — this time around, headed by “traditional” financial institutions. Bank of America and Standard Chartered are considering launching their own stablecoin, joining JPMorgan, which launched its stablecoin, JPM Coin — rebranded as Kinexys Digital Payments — to facilitate transactions with their institutional clients on their blockchain platform, Kinexys (formerly Onyx).
Mastercard plans to bring stablecoins to the mainstream, joining Bleap Finance, a crypto startup. The aim is to enable stablecoins to be spent directly onchain — without conversions or intermediaries — seamlessly integrating blockchain assets with Mastercard’s global payment rails.
In early April 2025, Visa joined the Global Dollar Network (USDG) stablecoin consortium. The company will become the first traditional finance player to join the consortium. In late March 2025, NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) announced that it is investigating applications for using USDC (USDC) stablecoin and US Yield
Artificial general intelligence (AGI): Can it really think like a human?
What is AGI?
When the lines blur between man and machine, you’re looking at artificial general intelligence (AGI). Unlike its counterpart, artificial narrow intelligence (ANI), which is the use of AI for solving individual problem statements, AGI represents artificial intelligence that can understand, learn and apply knowledge in a way that is indistinguishable from human cognition.
AGI is still theoretical, but the prospect of artificial intelligence being able to holistically replace human input and judgment has naturally attracted plenty of interest, with researchers, technologists and academics alike seeking to bring the concept of AGI to reality.
Yet another strand of prevailing research seeks to explore the feasibility and implications of AGI vs. ANI in a world increasingly shaped by AI capabilities.
Indeed, while ANI has already transformed various industries, AGI’s potential goes far beyond. Imagine a world where machines can not only assist humans in
Crypto in ‘gamble mindset’ as memecoin mentions hit YTD high: Santiment
Online discussions about memecoins have hit a year-to-date high, gaining considerable attention after sentiment cooled earlier in the year, according to onchain analytics platform Santiment.
Two weeks ago, discussions around Bitcoin (BTC) and layer-1 protocols peaked during the market volatility brought on by the Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs. However, that’s since shifted to high market cap memecoins, Santiment marketing director Brian Quinlivan said in a May 1 blog post.
“Online discussions about these high-risk tokens have proliferated as traders embrace a gamble mindset, rather than a calculated investment approach,” he said.
“This is a telltale sign that traders are increasingly investing based solely on speculation and short-term gains,” Quinlivan added.
Online discussions about memecoins have hit a 2025 high, surpassing discussions about Bitcoin. Source: Santiment
Quinlivan said the overall crypto market rose 10% in the
US Treasury wants to cut off Huione over ties to crypto crime
The US Treasury Department wants to block the Cambodia-based Huione Group from accessing the US banking system, accusing it of helping North Korea’s state-backed Lazarus Group to launder its crypto.
The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) proposed on May 1 to prohibit US financial institutions from opening or maintaining correspondent or payable-through accounts for or on behalf of the Huione Group.
Huione Group has established itself as the “marketplace of choice for malicious cyber actors” like the Lazarus Group, who have “stolen billions of dollars from everyday Americans,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a May 1 statement.
“Today’s proposed action will sever Huione Group’s access to correspondent banking, degrading these groups’ ability to launder their ill-gotten gains.”
Huione Group has set up a network of businesses, which includes payment service platform Huione Pay PLC, the crypto
SEC files to drop crypto promo case against YouTuber Ian Balina
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed to drop another of its crypto lawsuits, this time its unregistered securities sales case against crypto influencer and YouTuber Ian Balina.
The SEC said in a May 1 joint stipulation with Balina to an Austin federal court that it “believes the dismissal of this case is appropriate,” citing the work of the agency’s Crypto Task Force.
The agency didn’t give a reason for wanting to dismiss its case, but said its decision “does not necessarily reflect the Commission’s position on any other case.”
Balina told Cointelegraph in March that the SEC had informed him it would recommend the court dismiss the case and claimed the agency’s actions were based on a shift in the agency’s priorities.
“Obviously, the new administration is pro-crypto,” Balina said. The SEC has seen a change in leadership under US President Donald Trump, who appointed former crypto
Sky pitches ousting Maker token, enabling staking, to complete upgrade
Decentralized finance (DeFi) lending platform Sky has pitched a proposal to finalize its upgrade from Maker by replacing its governance token and enabling staking.
The proposal, posted on May 1 to Sky’s decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) forum, would see the Sky (SKY) token take over the Maker (MKR) token as the protocol’s governance token.
If the DAO accepts, the change would be slated to take place around May 15 to May 19 and downgrading from SKY to MKR would also be disabled.
Sky co-founder Rune Christensen said in response to the proposal that it was a “huge milestone,” which he “fully supports,” and laments that allowing users to downgrade from SKY back to MKR has been a “key limiting factor preventing exchanges from adopting SKY.”
“With this change, exchanges are likely to move faster in quickly adopting SKY without