Crypto Vesting

As markets reel from geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty, Bitcoin has shown relative resilience during events like Trump’s recent tariff bombshells, according to Blockstream CEO Adam Back.

While in the short term, Bitcoin (BTC) may move in tandem with stocks and other risk-on assets, Back sees the long-term trend telling a different story.

“Bitcoin is fully decoupled because it’s gone up five or six times since the bottom of the market three years ago,” he said during an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph at Paris Blockchain Week.

Back, who is one of the original cypherpunks and a key contributor to Bitcoin’s early development, predicts strong adoption tailwinds for BTC: regulatory clarity, institutional interest, and the legitimizing force of exchange-traded funds (ETFs). He notes that while most long-term holders are already “all in” and unable to buy dips, entities like BlackRock and sovereign wealth funds are stepping in, quietly absorbing

Read More at https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-decoupled-tariff-turmoil-adam-back-video?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

Opinion by: Sergej Kunz, co-founder of 1inch

Institutional players have been closely watching decentralized finance’s growth. Creating secure and compliant DeFi platforms is the only solution to build trust and attract more institutions.

Clear waters attract big ships

Over the past four years, institutional DeFi adoption has gone from 10% of hedge funds to 47%, and is projected to rise to 65% in 2025. Goldman Sachs is reaching their arms to DeFi for bond issuance and yield farming. 

Early adopters are already positioning themselves in onchain finance, including Visa, which has processed over $1 billion in crypto transactions since 2021 and is now testing cross-border payments. In the next two years, institutional adoption will speed up. A compliant regulatory framework that maintains DeFi’s core benefits is necessary for institutional adoption to engage confidently. 

DeFi’s institutional trilemma

It is no secret that

Read More at https://cointelegraph.com/news/de-fi-security-and-compliance?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

Bitcoin (BTC) price made a swift move to $78,300 at the April 9 Wall Street open as “herd-like” price action in equities markets continued to spook risk-asset traders.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Bitcoin gyrates as stocks make history

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD retargeting five-month lows under $75,000 before rebounding leading into the NY trading session.

A deepening US-China trade war kept stocks on their toes, having cost Bitcoin the $80,000 mark the day prior.

Highly unusual market behavior had accompanied US tariff announcements, and China’s response with reciprocal tariffs saw the S&P 500 smash records with its roundtrip from lows to highs and back.

“On a point basis, the S&P 500 just posted its largest intraday reversal in history, even larger than 2020, 2008 and 2001,” trading resource The Kobeissi

Read More at https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-price-at-risk-of-new-5-month-low-near-71-k-if-tariff-war-and-stock-market-tumult-continues?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

Binance is launching a new “reward-bearing margin asset” LDUSDt, which the company says is not a stablecoin.

According to an April 9 announcement, LDUSDt can be obtained by swapping Tether’s USDt deposited in the firm’s Simple Earn yield product. Binance stated that holders of LDUSDt will continue to earn yield rewards through Simple Earn, even while using the token for margin trading.

This marks the second time Binance has launched a reward-bearing margin asset. Binance launched its first reward-bearing margin asset, BFUSD, in 2024. At the time of the launch, Binance had stepped in to clarify that “it is not a stablecoin” in response to user concerns and comparisons to the failed TerraUSD (UST) token.

In its latest announcement, Binance preemptively reiterated that LDUSDt is not a stablecoin:

“LDUSDT is not a stablecoin but a crypto asset that can

Read More at https://cointelegraph.com/news/binance-launches-reward-bearing-margin-asset?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

The European Central Bank is intensifying its warnings over stablecoin adoption, with one of its top officials calling for a digital euro to curb the influence of US dollar-pegged stablecoins across the continent.

ECB executive board member Piero Cipollone has penned another article highlighting concerns over the growing popularity of US dollar stablecoins, arguing that launching a central bank digital currency (CBDC) could help preserve the eurozone’s monetary sovereignty.

A potential digital euro “would limit the potential for foreign currency stablecoins to become a common medium of exchange within the euro area,” Cipollone wrote in a statement published April 8 on the ECB’s official website.

The remarks follow a string of similar public statements from Cipollone, who has been a vocal advocate for a digital euro as a strategic response to the <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/trumps-executive-order-eu-concerns-usd-stablecoin-dominance" rel="" target="_self"

Read More at https://cointelegraph.com/news/digital-euro-limit-stablecoin-use-europe-ecb?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

Core, a proof-of-stake blockchain built on Bitcoin, has surpassed $260 million in dual-staked assets as institutional interest in Bitcoin-based decentralized finance (DeFi) continues to grow.

Core’s initial contributor, Rich Rines, told Cointelegraph that as of April 7, over 44 million Core tokens have been dual-staked with 3,140 Bitcoin (BTC). At the time of writing, the assets are worth about $260 million. 

Core’s dual-staking model lets Bitcoin holders earn higher yields with CORE tokens. While users can stake BTC at a lower rate, those who stake BTC with Core tokens get an enhanced yield. 

“Dual Staking can multiply base staking rewards over 15 times, depending on how many CORE tokens are staked,” Core said in a statement. 

Core’s new milestone highlights growing demand for Bitcoin staking

The latest milestone was driven in part by institutional investors integrating Core’s staking model into their platforms.

Core Foundation said that major custodians like BitGo, Copper

Read More at https://cointelegraph.com/news/core-blockchain-institutional-adoption-260-million-dual-staking?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

The global trade war may be a silver lining for Bitcoin’s growing recognition as a safe-haven asset next to gold, thanks to its liquidity and accessibility advantages compared to precious metals.

Financial markets have been rattled since US President Donald Trump’s April 2 reciprocal import tariffs announcement, leading to record-breaking sell-offs for traditional stock markets and a Bitcoin (BTC) correction below $75,000.

While gold remains the dominant refuge for investors during geopolitical stress, analysts say Bitcoin’s digital nature and 24/7 liquidity are helping it attract renewed interest.

“You want to store value in something other than U.S. assets. But you don’t want to own other nations’ currencies/debt/assets because they’re even weaker and you expect they’ll debase it,” said Hunter Horsley, CEO of crypto asset manager Bitwise, in an April 9 post on X.

“You look around, and you

Read More at https://cointelegraph.com/news/trade-war-uncertainty-bitcoin-adoption-nations?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

Blockchain may soon earn itself a role in New York State’s voting processes and procedures.

New York Assemblymember Clyde Vanel introduced Bill A07716 on April 8, directing the state Board of Elections to evaluate how blockchain could help protect voter records and election results. The legislation is currently under consideration by the Assembly Election Law Committee.

According to the bill’s summary, the goal is to “study and evaluate the use of blockchain technology to protect voter records and election results.“

The bill mandates that the Board of Elections produce a report within one year assessing the potential benefits of blockchain in securing election data. The study must include input from experts in blockchain, cybersecurity, voter fraud and election recordkeeping.

Bill text. Source: New York State Assembly

Related: Ripple announces money transmitter licenses in Texas and New York

Blockchain applications

Read More at https://cointelegraph.com/news/new-york-state-proposes-blockchain-bill-to-protect-voter-data-and-election-results?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

As more institutions explore blockchain-based finance, some industry leaders say tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) may surpass $30 trillion by the 2030s. Others are casting doubt on that projection.

In June 2024, Standard Chartered Bank and Synpulse predicted that RWAs may reach over $30 trillion by 2034. The narrative remained strong in the latter part of 2024, with some analysts expressing similar sentiments.

At Paris Blockchain Week 2025, a panel moderated by Cointelegraph’s managing editor, Gareth Jenkinson, brought together executives from across the tokenization ecosystem to discuss the future of RWAs. Participants included Charles Adkins of Hedera, Dotun Rominiyi from the London Stock Exchange, Shy Datika of INX, Steven Gaertner of Tiamonds and Securitize chief operating officer Michael Sonnenshein.

While the majority supported the $30 trillion estimate, Sonnenshein expressed skepticism.

The Truth Behind Tokenization and RWA panel. Source: Paris Blockchain Week

Securitize exec predicts a

Read More at https://cointelegraph.com/news/rwa-tokenization-panel-paris-blockchain-week-2025?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

Swiss cryptocurrency fintech Taurus has launched an interbank network that is purpose-built for regulated institutions involved in digital asset operations.

On April 9, Taurus said in an announcement shared with Cointelegraph that it had launched Taurus-Network (TN), an interbank network designed to simplify and improve digital asset transactions between regulated financial institutions worldwide.

The network aims to improve collateral mobility, optimize settlement speed and reduce counterparty risk while benefiting capital and liquidity management in digital assets.

Among the key benefits of the network is the ability for participants to retain full sovereignty over assets, direct interaction with counterparties and automated compliance without third-party intervention, Taurus SA’s head of product infrastructure, Vassili Lavrov, told Cointelegraph.

Multiple banks already involved

The Taurus-Network launches with participation from several banks worldwide, including Arab Bank Switzerland, Capital Union Bank, Flowdesk, ISP Group, Misyon Bank and Swissquote.

According to Lavrov, all of those banks have taken meaningful steps to integrate digital asset

Read More at https://cointelegraph.com/news/taurus-crypto-fintech-interbank-network-digital-asset?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound