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Ether (ETH) and dogecoin (DOGE) led majors gains on Wednesday with a 9% jump in the past 24 hours, extending a bullish streak that’s seen both tokens gain double digits over the past week.The broader crypto market showed modest gains with total capitalization up 1.7%, per CoinGecko, with bitcoin (BTC) hovering around $103,700 in Asian morning hours.Ethereum traded above $2,600, with dogecoin around 24 cents. XRP, BNB Chain’s BNB, Cardano’s ADA and Solana’s SOL gained between 3%-5%.Despite a burst of green across major altcoins, crypto traders are starting to feel the weight of macro markets and warn of profit-taking in the short term. A stronger dollar and renewed trade tensions temper momentum, even as bitcoin flirts with record territory.“The strengthening dollar on news of tariffs has been a natural drag on cryptos,” explained Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro, in an email to CoinDesk. “This is doubly true due to bitcoin's proximity to the highs, reinforcing the pull for short-term profit taking after rallying in just over a month.”As global markets shift from protectionism to cautious optimism, bitcoin remains in limbo. The asset is once again caught between competing narratives for some trader."BTC remains caught in a tug-of-war between its identity as “digital gold” and its function as a risk-on proxy," traders at Singapore-based QCP Capital said in a market broadcast. "This tension continues to obscure its directional conviction. As the macro narrative moves from protectionism toward renewed trade optimism, BTC could remain range-bound."Still, sentiment remains strong. The widely-tracked Fear & Greed Index has held steady above 70 for four consecutive days — a “greed” level typically associated with sustained bullish appetite in the near term.“Bitcoin showed its unpredictable nature on Monday,” Kuptsikevich added. “But with the positivity remaining, it’s worth paying attention to the price dynamics near $105. Will we see an acceleration or a new failure? The answer will guide the coming days.”Elsewhere, latest fund flow data from CoinShares shows $882 million in institutional inflows last week — the third straight week of strong buying.BTC led with $867 million, while ETH saw just over $1.8 million in flows despite a stellar price performance over the last week. Notably, Solana (SOL) posted $3.4 million in outflows, even as traders loaded up on $200 call options expiring in late June, as reported.... Read more

Quantum computing poses a real threat to crypto, and slow-moving governance processes risk leaving blockchains vulnerable, according to Colton Dillion, a co-founder of Quip Network, which provides quantum-proof vaults for storing digital assets.While the technology, which uses the quantum states of subatomic particles to perform calculations instead of transistors and binary code, is still in its infancy, companies including Google and Microsoft are pressing forward with research and development. The goal is a massive step-up in speed that makes tough calculations like cracking encryption, such as that used to protect blockchains, faster and simpler.And when quantum computing becomes available, any attacker is unlikely to announce their presence immediately. “The threat won’t start with Satoshi’s keys getting stolen," Dillion said in an interview. “The real quantum attack will look subtle, quiet, and gradual, like whales casually moving funds. By the time everyone realizes what’s happening, it’ll be too late."Dillion's doomsday scenario involves a quantum-computing-powered double-spend attack. In theory, quantum computing could reduce the mining power required for a traditional 51% attack down to about 26%, Dillion said. "So now you've compromised the 10,000 largest wallets. You rewind the chain, liquidate those 10,000 largest wallets, then double spend all the transactions, and now you've really got a nuclear bomb,” is how he imagines it.The industry, of course, is working to find a solution.Bitcoin developer Agustin Cruz, for instance, proposed QRAMP, a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) that mandates a hard-fork migration to quantum-secure addresses. Quantum startup BTQ has proposed replacing the proof-of-work consensus system that underpins the original blockchain entirely with quantum-native consensus.The problem is that the proposals must gain community approval. Blockchain governance, such as Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIPs) and their Ethereum equivalents, Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs), tends to be rife with politics, making it a long, inherently cautious process.For example, the Bitcoin community's recent resolution on the OP_RETURN function was years in the making, with months of developer debates about what's considered the "proper" use of the blockchain. Ethereum's upgrades, like the Merge, also faced lengthy debates and delays.Dillion argues that the governance process leaves crypto dangerously exposed because quantum computing threats will evolve much faster than the protocols can respond.“Everyone's trying to do this from the top down by starting with a BIP or an EIP and getting everyone's buy-in together. But we think that this is a very difficult, heavy lift,” he said.Quip Network’s quantum-proof vaults aim to circumvent the political inertia by allowing immediate user-level adoption without requiring protocol upgrades. The vaults leverage hybrid cryptography, blending classical cryptographic standards with quantum-resistant techniques to provide blockchain-agnostic security.Effectively, they allow the whales, holders of large amounts of a cryptocurrency, to secure their stashes while waiting for the machinations of blockchain governance to get it together. Crypto communities can't afford leisurely debates, he argues. “The BIP and EIP processes are great for governance, but terrible for rapid threat response,” said Dillion. "When quantum hits, attackers won’t wait for community consensus.”Colton Dillon is speaking at the IEEE Canada Blockchain Forum, part of Consensus 2025 in Toronto. The IEEE is a Knowledge Partner of Consensus.Read more: Quantum Computing Group Offers 1 BTC to Whoever Breaks Bitcoin's Cryptographic Key... Read more

Shares of stock and crypto trading platform eToro (ETOR) have debuted at $52 a share after the company hit the Nasdaq exchange on Tuesday evening.The company raised about $310 million from investors as it sold 6 million shares at a price of $52 a piece. The listing values the company at $4.2 billion.The price is significantly higher than the marketed range, as the company received a much higher demand than previously anticipated.EToro becomes the first company to go public after a rough couple of months in markets across the U.S., as President Donald Trump is in discussions to make several tariff deals with leaders around the world.Because of that, many companies, including eToro, had delayed going public, but Bloomberg reported last week that the trading platform was resuming plans.The company will trade under the ticker “ETOR”.... Read more

Cantor Equity Partners (CEP) disclosed a $458.7 million bitcoin BTC acquisition as part of a pending merger with Twenty One Capital, the BTC-focused investment vehicle backed by Tether, Bitfinex, and SoftBank, according to a regulatory filing on Tuesday.The transaction is structured through a complex business combination involving Tether Investments, the El Salvador affiliate of stablecoin issuer Tether, and iFinex, the parent company of Bitfinex, the filing shows. As part of the deal, Tether purchased some 4,812 BTC at an average price of $95,319, with the tokens held in escrow and later to be sold to the merged company.Blockchain data shows that the escrow wallet, disclosed in the filing, received the tokens from a Bitfinex hot wallet on May 9. The wallet's bitcoin holdings are worth $500 million at current prices, according to Arkham data.Twenty One Capital is being launched by Brandon Lutnick—the son of U.S. Commerce Secretary and Cantor Fitzgerald chairman Howard Lutnick—via a SPAC structure using Cantor Equity Partners. The company will be led by Strike CEO Jack Mallers and majority-owned by Tether and Bitfinex’s parent company, iFinex. SoftBank will take a significant minority stake, the companies saidThe company said it plans to have more than 42,000 BTC at launch.CEP shares are higher by 3.7% in after hours trading.Read more: Strike CEO Mallers to Lead Bitcoin Investment Company Backed by Tether, Softbank, Brandon Lutnick... Read more

Bitcoin BTC climbed back above $104,000 on Tuesday with welcome fresh inflation data, President Trump's bullish outlook on financial markets, and Coinbase's inclusion into the S&P 500 among catalysts for the advance.April’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) came in cooler than anticipated, which may allay pressure on the Federal Reserve anxious about inflation due to tariffs. Fed Chair Jerome Powell's scheduled speech on Thursday could provide further policy guidance.The upbeat mood was further lifted by Donald Trump, who told attendees at the Saudi–U.S. Investment Forum in Riyadh that markets "could go a lot higher,.".Bitcoin (BTC) nearly touched $105,000 before pulling back, at press time trading 2.4% higher over the past 24 hours at around $104,400. Most altcoins in the CoinDesk 20 Index outperformed. Ethereum's ether ETH continued its resurgence advancing over 9% to $2,700. Restaking protocol Eigenlayer's governance token EIGEN and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol EtherFi's native token ETHFI booked more than 20-30% daily gains.Stocks added to their recent gains, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 up 1.6% and 0.75%, respectively, at the session close. Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) surged 24% during the day as the stock is set to benefit from being included in the S&P 500 index. The change could unleash $16 billion in buying pressure for shares, Jefferies forecasted.Joel Kruger, market strategist at LMAX Group, said that the crypto market is still digesting last week's gains, but the rally has further momentum. “Currently, the market appears to be pausing for breath, yet the prevailing sentiment in recent headlines suggests this rally still has room to grow,” Kruger said.He pointed to a rebound in global risk appetite and a growing number of institutional tailwinds. “One notable factor is the increasing mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency, as evidenced by developments in U.S. financial markets. Coinbase’s inclusion in the S&P 500 marks a historic milestone, establishing it as the first crypto-native company to join this prestigious index,” Kruger said.He also cited improving sentiment around regulation. SEC Chair Paul Atkins has pledged to make the U.S. a hub for cryptocurrency innovation, which Kruger believes could unlock a new wave of institutional interest if followed by meaningful policy clarity.Paul Howard, senior director at trading firm Wincent, echoed that view, saying that while altcoins are tracking the broader rally, institutional capital is likely to become more selective. “This evolving landscape appears to be laying the groundwork for increased institutional participation,” he said in a Telegram message. “The more resilient altcoin projects could benefit, while weaker ones may gradually phase out.”New BTC record next month?While bitcoin is less than 5% from its January record prices, Bitfinex analysts noted that neutral funding rates and stable trading volumes show no signs of market froth.However, BTC is facing resistance at around the $104,000-$106,000 zone, making a short-term consolidation likely with key support level at around $98,000, they added."BTC has moved up sharply in the past few weeks and we expect a period of consolidation, meaning a new all-time high could be delayed to June as supply/demand stabilises above $100,000," Bitfinex analysts wrote.Zooming out for the next months, Bitfinex analysts said medium and long-term setups remain decisively bullish, setting a $150,000-$180,000 price target for 2025-2026."Bitcoin’s long-term outlook is the strongest it has ever been," they wrote. "With sovereign and institutional adoption advancing, ETF rails expanding globally, and the US framing crypto policy more positively, BTC is evolving into a global macro reserve asset."... Read more

DeFi savings protocol Sky posted a first-quarter loss of $5 million after interest payments to token holders more than doubled, according to a report created by Sky contributors from Steakhouse Financial.The loss is a stark turnaround from the previous quarter, when Sky, formerly known as MakerDAO, registered a $31 million profit. The reason for the 102% increase in interest payments is the decision to incentivize use of the protocol's newer Sky dollar stablecoin (USDS) over the existing DAI. "The Sky Savings Rate was kept very high at 12.5% relative to the rest of the market, driving massive inflows" Rune Christensen, co-founder of Sky, told CoinDesk over Telegram. When Sky began lowering interest rates to 4.5% in February, a lot of investors stuck around, he said.The situation is a double-edged sword for the protocol, which was among the first cohort of decentralized finance apps to spring up on Ethereum in 2017.Sky operates similar to a traditional bank. It needs to lend to others at a rate higher than it pays its savers.However, offering higher rates on USDS without a corresponding increase in demand for the stablecoin is hurting the protocol’s profitability, PaperImperium, governance liaison at blockchain research and development company GFX Labs, told CoinDesk over Telegram."USDS is a major drag on earnings," he said. "DAI makes money. USDS, not so much."The push toward USDS is part of Sky’s so-called Endgame plan, an initiative led by Christensen aimed at transforming the protocol into a more decentralized and resilient system.No new demand?When Sky rebranded from MakerDAO and launched USDS in August as part of Endgame, the plan was that the new stablecoin would appeal to a different set of users than DAI.USDS was designed to better comply with regulations and financial reporting requirements. It was targeted toward sophisticated investors like hedge funds, family offices and other institutions looking to dip their toes into decentralized finance.But it’s unclear if USDS has been able to attract a substantial number of new users.The returns investors can earn on USDS comapred to DAI is different: USDS pays out 4.5%, while DAI yields 2.75%. Many investors swapped their DAI for USDS, meaning Sky had pay out more to people who previously were happy to earn a lower yield or, in many cases, no yield at all, PaperImperium said.To be sure, the report said the combined supply of USDS and DAI has increased 57% since the start of the quarter. But a large part of this increase is from Ethena, the synthetic dollar protocol. It has piled over $450 million into staked USDS, and passes the yield on to those who stake its own stablecoin, USDe.Over the past week, Ethena has switched some of its reserves from USDS to USDtb — a stablecoin backed by BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund, or BUIDL.The move means there’s less USDS in circulation. But it may also benefit Sky by reducing the amount of interest the protocol must pay out.Read more: MakerDAO's Christensen Hopes for 'Firm Decision' as MKR Holders Vote on Sky Brand... Read more

EToro could set pricing on its initial public offering (IPO) at a much higher level than the marketed range, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.The company planned to offer 10 million shares for $46 to $50 each, based on a previous filing, but received significantly more demand than shares available, according to the story.The IPO is set to price after the U.S. market-close on Tuesday.As with some others, the Israel-based company had paused its plans to list on the Nasdaq exchange in April amid shaky markets resulting from U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policies. Last week, however, Bloomberg reported that it was proceeding with its IPO, becoming the first firm to resume going public plans. Among others delaying IPOs were stablecoin issuer Circle, payments app Klarna and ticket platform StubHub.EToro is looking to receive a valuation of $4.5 billion which is below the $10.4 billion valuation it sought in 2021 when it first attempted to go public. It would trade under the ticket “ETOR”.... Read more

The Gibraltar government said it plans to establish the world's first rules for the clearing and settlement of crypto derivatives, creating a regulatory framework to improve market integrity and reduce key risks.Working with the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) and crypto exchange Bullish (whose owner, Bullish Group, is also the parent of CoinDesk), the government has built a framework over the past six months that tailors traditional financial clearing regulations to the virtual asset market.The framework will enable virtual asset derivative contracts to be cleared and settled by a recognized clearing house, Bullish said on Tuesday.Clearing houses ensure that trades are finalized, with buyers and sellers meeting their commitments. Many virtual asset exchanges have been performing that function which, in the absence of regulatory oversight, can lead to failures in the process, Bullish said. The proposed regime will allow the establishment of separate clearing houses with "improved transparency and capitalization," it said.Read More: UK's First FCA-Regulated Crypto Derivatives Trading Venue GFO-X Debuts in LondonCORRECT (May 13, 15:34 UTC): Corrects that CoinDesk's parent company is Bullish Group, not the crypto exchange Bullish.... Read more

Andrew Peel has left his role as Morgan Stanley’s (MS) head of digital asset markets to launch a crypto investment and tech firm in Zug, Switzerland, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.The venture will focus on tokenized funds and trading tools bridging traditional finance and DeFi, according to Bloomberg.Peel, a former Credit Suisse trader who joined Morgan Stanley in 2018, stepped down in March and plans to start fundraising soon, according to the story.His exit comes as Morgan Stanley readies retail crypto trading on E*Trade next year, according to a report earlier this month, expanding beyond the bitcoin fund access it launched for institutions in 2021.Wall Street’s digital asset push is accelerating amid shifting U.S. policy and rising interest in tokenized funds from firms like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton.A Morgan Stanley spokesperson declined to comment to Bloomberg.Read more: Morgan Stanley Eyes Launching Crypto Trading Through E*Trade: BloombergDisclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.... Read more

Within a decade, bitcoin will replace U.S. dollar dominance and become the standard currency underpinning the international economy, according to billionaire venture capitalist Tim Draper.“10 years, something like that. It may be a little less,” Draper said in a wide-ranging Spotlight interview with CoinDesk. Draper reiterated his prediction that bitcoin will rise to $250,000 by the end of 2025, and that after a decade it will be “infinity against the dollar because there won’t be a dollar.”“Once I can buy my food, my clothing, my shelter, pay my taxes, all in Bitcoin and it's a better way to collect taxes. For sure, there won't be any reason to hold onto any [dollars] and bitcoin will be the primary source of owning wealth,” said Draper.“The good news here is that banks can now hold your bitcoin and your fiat currency… but you don't want to be in line at the banks trying to get your dollars out to put them into bitcoin when there is a transformation.”Draper warned there will be a run on fiat banks and a global shift to the Bitcoin standard as trust in governments wane and decentralized technology replaces the traditional banking system. This was especially evident when Silicon Valley Bank (“SVB”) collapsed in March 2023.“I got calls from 15 companies, portfolio companies, and they were all saying, I can't make payroll,” said Draper.“So every treasury of every company that I fund, I recommend that they have bitcoin along with fiat in banks, so that when there are bank failures, or if people stop taking fiat, then they'll be able to make payroll anyway.”SVB’s shuttering was followed by the collapse of Signature Bank and preceded by the liquidation of Silvergate Bank. All three financial institutions had ties to the digital assets industry and were impacted by “contagion effects” in the aftermath of failed crypto exchange FTX, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. But crypto companies have found evidence their demise was accelerated by a covert government debanking campaign, known as Operation Chokepoint 2.0, after a previous government effort to sever controversial but legal businesses from banking.Draper views bitcoin as a better technology and software that will replace banks and government-issued currency. At an early age, he learned there is precedent in the U.S. for currency crisis when his father gave him a million dollar confederate bill that was essentially worthless.“Confederates lost the war to the Union and so there was huge inflation in Confederate money and people were paying a million dollars for just $1 of Union money,” said Draper. “In effect, we're going through a similar time now.”Bitcoin vs. StablecoinsDraper is a bitcoin maximalist who believes stablecoins are a bridge to bitcoin that will onboard people to utilize digital currencies, but ultimately they are as flawed as the governments that sanction them.“Stablecoins are subject to inflation. They will inflate if the government prints too much money. They will be worth less and less and less over time, whereas bitcoin is not subject to that,” said Draper.Even though U.S. President Donald Trump’s global tariff policies go against Draper’s belief in free trade, they hasten his prediction that the U.S. dollar will weaken. The dollar index has dropped almost 8% year to date to 99.96, its lowest level since April 2022. The Trump administration is widely speculated to be analysing ways to devalue the dollar further to make U.S. exports more globally competitive. Nevertheless, Draper is hopeful the U.S. government will negotiate levies down so that trade partners buy more U.S. goods and resume an open market.Within the U.S., Draper is more confident about domestic tech innovation now that the Securities and Exchange Commission and other federal regulators are “more open to creativity” and have stepped away from the practice of regulation by enforcement.“Let's start communicating with animals”Other technologies he is invested in include genetics. His early investment in Colossal Biosciences made headlines when the genetics lab created a new species of dire wolf and gene-edited “woolly mice” into existence using a mix of mutations modelled on woolly mammoths. These efforts to “de-extinct” species aim to restore earth’s biological diversity, but Draper believes they will eventually help humans communicate with animals.“Dogs can smell 10,000 times as well as we can,” said Draper. “My theory is that it's usually when they're really happy and they like you, they sneeze on you. What they're doing is telling you a story, they sneeze on you and then, ‘[Here] are all the things that I've done. These are all the things I've smelled.’” Draper believes advances in genetics and artificial intelligence will eventually decode the language of birds that “must have 500 different words for wind” and a better understanding of the weather. Humans could also learn from talking to ants about their population management.“Let's start communicating with animals. I think it'll be great and we are getting there,” said Draper. “It's slow. That's 50 years out.”As for artificial intelligence, the most cynical programmers warn that AI’s will eventually dismiss humans as mere carbon bodies with limited use as energy sources, but Draper remains the perpetual optimist.“I think that humans are going to adapt,” he said.When artificial intelligence replaces human labor, Draper trusts people will resiliently find new jobs with their newfound productivity, make greater impact, and “gain in quality of life.” Draper believes humans will eventually merge with AI by programming embryos and linking human brains to wifi and other technologies.“I think it's going to be incredibly amazing for somebody today who's still alive 50 years from now, because they're gonna look back and say, ‘God, those poor people, they were all stuck on earth, just earth,” said Draper. “They had to actually ask their phone for knowledge instead of having their mind anticipate the need for knowledge.”... Read more

The Wyoming Stable Token Commission has partnered with analytics provider Inca Digital to help the Commission monitor and mitigate fraud risks and keep the Wyoming Stable Token (WYST) secure as it nears its launch date, it said in a statement on Monday.Inca will deliver advanced analytics, cross-market oversight and help the Commission detect any threats that the WYST could face, the company said in a press release.The WYST is set to be the first fully-reserved, fiat-backed stable token issued by a U.S. public entity. Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon said in March that the stable token's testing phase will continue until the second quarter of 2025 and potentially launch by July.Wyoming has made efforts in the past to be a crypto and blockchain hub by establishing friendly policies for the sector, setting the tone for the rest of the U.S. It has passed over 35 laws to regulate the crypto sector since 2018 and has attracted over 3,000 tech companies as a result.“Our partnership with Inca Digital marks a critical step in our commitment to transparency, security, and innovation,” said Anthony Apollo, executive director of the Wyoming Stable Token Commission.Like other stablecoins, the WYST is pegged to assets. Once launched, it will be a digital asset representative, redeemable for one U.S. dollar and fully backed by U.S. treasuries, cash and repurchase agreements.The stablecoins market has been growing rapidly and today stands at being worth $245 billion according to CoinGecko data. Stablecoin legislation could boost that number tenfold to reach $2 trillion within three years, according to a Standard Chartered forecast.Read more: Stablecoins to Go Mainstream in 2025 After U.S. Regulatory Progress: Deutsche Bank... Read more

Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) is soaring 16% early Tuesday after the Monday evening announcement of its inclusion into the S&P 500.COIN will be added to the S&P 500 index after the close on Friday, replacing Discover Financial Services (DFS) which is being acquired by Capital One (COF).Wall Street brokerage Bernstein estimates the move could lead to roughly $16 billion of buying pressure for Coinbase — around $9 billion from passive funds linked to the S&P 500 and $7 billion from active allocations.Coinbase is the "first and only crypto company to join the S&P 500," analysts led by Gautam Chhugani wrote.Chhugani has an outperform rating on Coinbase shares with a $310 price target, or about another 30% upside from the current $240.Investment bank KBW estimates that S&P 500 passive funds will need to buy 36 million Coinbase shares for index inclusion, which is about 4 days of average buying volume.KBW further noted that as of April 30, 9.9 million Coinbase shares were held short, which is 1.4 days to cover."Since 2017, financial 500 adds have outperformed by 5.2% on the day after announcement," KBW said, and Coinbase's addition could pave the way for other crypto firms to join the index.Read more: Coinbase Shares Jump 8% on S&P 500 Inclusion... Read more

This is a daily technical analysis by CoinDesk analyst and Chartered Market Technician Omkar Godbole.Imagine a basketball player executing a convincing fake jump shot and holding just before his feet leave the ground. The defender, anticipating a quick shot, jumps prematurely, only to create an opening for the offensive player to drive to the basket or take a wide-open shot.This analogy mirrors the price action in XRP, where the failure of a major bearish pattern has cleared the way for bulls to take control, opening up the potential for a strong upward move. XRP is used by Ripple to facilitate cross-border transactions.XRP carved out a large head-and-shoulders topping pattern from December to April, signaling an impending transition of the market leadership from the bulls to the bears. The breakdown happened in early April, with prices slipping below the H&S support at $2 and sliding quickly to $1.60.Several analysts called for an extended sell-off toward $1.20, but prices quickly reversed higher to retake the $2 handle, marking a failed breakdown.In other words, the bears were trapped like the defender in the basketball analogy. Since then, XRP's price has continued to rise, topping $2.50 to signal an end to the declining trend from the mid-January high of $3.40.So, the bulls now have a clear shot (like the basketball attacker) at the January high and perhaps even higher price levels.The bullish outlook looks even more convincing considering XRP is trading well above its 200-day simple moving average. Moreover, XRP held largely above the average throughout the early April crypto market sell-off when BTC fell as low as under $75,000.The bullish move is backed by a spike in trading volumes, in a sign of trader confidence in price prospects, according to CoinDesk's market insights bot."A key resistance level at $2.40 was decisively broken with high volume, triggering accelerated buying as the price formed an ascending channel pattern," the bot said. "While AI predictions suggest XRP could reach $2.85 by June 1, some analysts are projecting much higher targets, with price forecasts ranging from $3.33 to as high as $15.""Market sentiment remains strongly bullish following Ripple's court victories against the SEC and post-election optimism under the crypto-friendly Trump administration," the bot added.Read more: XRP, BTC Among Major Tokens Flashing Signs of Bulls Returning to Crypto... Read more

When real-world assets (RWAs) finally became the crypto industry's narrative du jour, Sunny Lu, the founder and CEO of VeChain, could only smile.“I mean, we were doing this back in 2017,” Lu told CoinDesk in an interview ahead of Consensus 2025 in Toronto. “Back then, no one cared about RWAs."Back then—eons in crypto years—some of the projects VeChain was involved with were a dairy traceability project in China, working with Walmart China on food safety, and tokenizing carbon credits in 2018 with BYD as it was transforming from a regional car brand to an up-and-coming global giant."We were ahead of our time,” Lu continued.VeChain defined a category that TradFi giants like BlackRock are now building into their brand.Now it's time for the protocol's next act.At Consensus Toronto, Lu will deliver a keynote titled “Real Decentralization for Mass Adoption,” outlining VeChain’s new approach to scaling RWAs and blockchain use beyond the crypto-native crowd.A roadmap that involves turning human behavior itself into a tokenizable asset and bridges crypto’s usability gap with AI agents and NFT-based staking.Tokenizing human behaviorVeChain wants to turn everyday actions like recycling or driving an EV into something measurable and valuable on-chain.By linking real-world behavior to blockchain rewards through tools like VeBetterDAO and Tesla integrations, it’s creating a new class of tokenized assets, making sustainability measurable and incentivized on-chain.“We’re not just tokenizing big assets,” Lu said. “We’re tokenizing the invisible ones that didn’t have market value before.”Lu calls this “tokenizing human behavior,” a concept VeChain first explored in 2019 as a prototype through its partnership with BYD, where it tracked EV mileage to generate carbon credits.AI Agents for the Web 2 CrowdBut real-world value doesn’t matter if people can’t access it. Crypto remains intimidating for most users, and Lu believes AI is the answer.VeChain is building an AI agent into its VeBetterDAO ecosystem, starting with a character named “BMO,” a virtual assistant that can guide users through staking, app interaction, and eventually optimize their token strategies across the VeChain network.“People don’t want to memorize seed phrases,” said Lu. “They want a Tesla login or a Google ID. They want to click a button and participate. Our AI agent will help them do exactly that.”VeChain’s upcoming integrations will allow users to log in with social credentials or even Tesla accounts. For example, EV charging data can flow automatically into smart contracts and generate carbon credit rewards without user intervention.“We’re removing friction from every part of the stack,” Lu said. “It’s like moving from Linux command line to macOS.”NFTs as InfrastructureTo enable broad protocol-level participation, VeChain is rethinking staking. Rather than requiring technical know-how or relying on centralized validators, users will soon be able to mint NFTs that represent their staked assets and delegate them directly to node operators.“You don’t have to give up custody,” Lu said. “Block rewards go directly from the protocol to you, no middleman. It’s more secure, more compliant, and easier for the average user.”This system, part of what Lu calls the VeChain Renaissance upgrade, aims to boost staking participation by lowering the technical barriers while preserving decentralization.“This is real decentralization,” Lu said. “Everyone else talks about it. We’re building it.”10-Year AnniversaryLu’s keynote at Consensus in Toronto will mark a personal milestone: ten years since he first presented VeChain in New York back in 2015. This time, he’s coming with receipts and plans to showcase real traction from VeChain’s AI and sustainability initiatives. Mugshot, a DeFi app that rewards users for reusing their coffee mugs and not buying disposable cups, is approaching one million users. Another project, EVEarn, which integrates Tesla’s API to automatically convert EV charging data into on-chain rewards, boasts a 98% retention rate.“In Web3, that’s insane,” Lu said. “Almost every user keeps coming back every week. That tells you the experience is working.”For Lu, the future of crypto won’t be won by hype cycles or flashy tokens. It will be earned through usability.“The goal is mass adoption,” he said. “Real decentralization is the foundation. But adoption, that’s the destination.”... Read more

It all started in 2019, when a relatively small software company called MicroStrategy (now known as Strategy) knocked on investment bank Jefferies' door after being turned away by Wall Street giants. At the time, Michael Saylor's firm had a market cap of nearly $2 billion and was looking to raise capital to buy bitcoin—something bulge bracket banks were reluctant to support. Jefferies took a chance on Saylor, marking a pivotal deal for the investment bank and the digital assets sector.Now, Saylor's firm is worth about $111 billion in market cap, other companies are buying bitcoin for their balance sheets, and large Wall Street firms are piling into the digital assets sector. And Jefferies? The firm is now a full-service investment bank for the crypto and blockchain space, and it's doing billions in deals without the crutch of a trillion-dollar balance sheet or FDIC-insured deposits.“We don’t change our stripes too often, but when we see opportunity, we move fast,” Alexander Yavorsky, head of FIG investment banking at Jefferies, told CoinDesk in an interview.The crypto commitmentThe game-changing MicroStrategy engagement in 2019 kickstarted a much deeper foray into the asset class for Jefferies. By 2020, Jefferies had become the first major full-service investment bank to dedicate a senior banker exclusively to crypto. Tim O’Shea, now co-head of digital assets coverage, spends 100% of his time on the asset class. But don't call them a crypto shop as Jefferies has been consistently doing deals across the board, putting the firm sixth globally in the last twelve months, according to data from Dealogic.Diving deeper into deals that Jefferies worked on, the firm revealed that it has advised on 120 transactions with over $150 billion of deal value across fintech, market structure, and exchanges since 2015.This track record, particularly handling deals that involve applied technology and complex regulatory footprints, uniquely equipped Jefferies to handle the hybrid world where crypto meets traditional finance.“We are a full-service investment banking firm, rather than a crypto shop,” Yavorsky said, "but we’ve built deep sector knowledge, and we know how to structure deals and move quickly."Over the past three years, Jefferies has steadily increased its involvement in crypto and crypto-adjacent dealmaking, building a track record across capital markets, M&A, and restructuring. One of the standout deals the firm advised was NinjaTrader on its $1.5 billion acquisition by Kraken, a notable example of consolidation between traditional trading platforms and digital asset exchanges. The Jefferies team brings the "incredible expertise and talent required to advise on transactions of this size, they are incredibly dialed into the crypto and capital markets universes," Martin Franchi, CEO of NinjaTrader, told CoinDesk in an email statement."Understanding the needs of folks in the space were native to how they think and in our case, helped bring together the worlds of TradFi and DeFi for a highly strategic deal that benefits not only both firms, but also our customers,” Franchi added.Navigating complex world of cryptoWhat really set Jefferies apart is that the investment bank didn't just stick to the usual deal-making advisory for the industry. With an industry as dynamic as crypto, the bank stayed nimble to take on a much more complex mandate. It played a key role in one of the industry's most high-profile collapses, serving as adviser to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the FTX bankruptcy, where it worked to help recover value for stakeholders.Meanwhile, the bank continued supporting traditional financial institutions that entered the crypto space. It advised J.C. Flowers on its investment in LMAX, and worked with Victory Park Capital on the SPAC merger with Bakkt. Beyond advisory roles, Jefferies has executed capital raises for major players like Galaxy Digital (GLXY) and DRW, and has been active in the crypto mining sector through multiple fundraising and advisory engagements. The firm has also provided strategic advice on a range of crypto exchange transactions, reflecting its broader involvement in infrastructure and market structure developments within digital assets.A growing influenceThough not a crypto-exclusive investment bank, Jefferies’ activity in the sector points to a growing comfort with the complexities of digital asset finance, and a willingness to engage where traditional firms have often hesitated.With the lines between centralized and decentralized finance continuing to blur, and infrastructure firms increasingly in M&A crosshairs, Jefferies looks poised to remain one of the most active and experienced investment banks in the digital asset space.Read more: Bitcoin Mining Profitability Down 7.4% in March as Prices, Transaction Fees Fell: JefferiesDisclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. 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