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U.S. stocks saw mixed action on Friday, while the U.S. dollar slipped to multiyear lows amid the uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump’s trade war with China. Speaking with CNBC on Friday, Blackrock boss Larry Fink stated that the U.S. economy is at least very close to, “if not in, a recession right now.” Recession Risk […]

Key Takeaways: Binance lists ONDO, BIGTIME, and VIRTUAL after strong community support in the second Vote to List round. Trading begins April 11, 2025, at 14:00 UTC with no listing fees applied. All three tokens receive Seed Tags due to their innovative yet high-risk nature. Binance confirmed that ONDO, BIGTIME, and VIRTUAL will be listed…
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EXPERIMENT – Tracking 2025 Top Ten Cryptocurrencies – Month Three – Down -22% Find the full blog post with all the tables and graphs here. Welcome to your monthly no-shill data dump: Here's the Q1 report for the 2025 Top Ten Experiment featuring BTC, ETH, XRP, BNB, SOL, DOGE, USDC, ADA, Tron, and AVAX. SNAPSHOTS…
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This content is provided by a sponsor. PRESS RELEASE. The world of crypto never ceases to surprise its investors. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, has recently hit its lowest price point in two years, presenting both challenges and opportunities for crypto enthusiasts. At the same time, Lightchain AI (LCAI) is creating a buzz […]

Opinion by: Billy Campana, contract developer, Api3 Speculation is a cornerstone of price discovery for traditional finance institutions like hedge funds and major banks and plays an essential role in their day-to-day operations. It is the mechanism by which they can establish reliable valuations for everything, ranging from simple stocks and bonds to complex derivatives and structured products. While decentralized finance (DeFi) is often criticized for its speculative “casino” nature, this is, in reality, one of its strengths: making practices like arbitrage more accessible to everyone and empowering individuals to participate in opportunities once out of reachDeFi’s volatilityCritics have highlighted DeFi’s extreme volatility, a concern exemplified by Ether’s (ETH) recent 15% price drop that triggered over $100 million in long position liquidations. These dramatic market movements continually test market resilience and investor confidence in the ecosystem. The accusations that DeFi platforms function essentially as gambling venues persist throughout the industry. Such criticisms have gained further traction following several high-profile memecoin crashes that collectively erased over $46 billion in market value, revealing the systemic vulnerabilities that speculative activities can introduce to the broader ecosystem.Additionally, the recent Bybit hack spotlighted the major security concerns, exposing critical vulnerabilities within DeFi infrastructure and triggering intense scrutiny of the sector’s security protocols. These systemic risks have only escalated institutional skepticism, resulting in increasingly vocal calls for greater transparency and comprehensive regulatory oversight. Simultaneously, the media narrative surrounding DeFi remains overwhelmingly focused on its spectacular failures, growing institutional skepticism and persistent market instability. This one-sided portrayal continues challenging DeFi’s credibility as a serious financial ecosystem capable of responsible innovation.Evening the playing fieldCritics consistently miss that DeFi democratizes the same speculative mechanisms that traditional finance has always employed for price discovery. The fundamental difference is that Wall Street gatekeepers no longer control who benefits from these opportunities. While traditional finance has historically restricted arbitrage opportunities to institutional players with privileged access, DeFi effectively removes these gatekeepers, allowing anyone with an internet connection to participate in the price discovery process that hedge funds and banks have monopolized for decades.Smart contracts have revolutionized financial operations that once required privileged access and teams of highly paid professionals. Smart contracts effectively break down the artificial barriers that have systematically kept ordinary people out of sophisticated markets. Recent: Bitwise makes first institutional DeFi allocationLeading financial institutions increasingly recognize this paradigm shift, with established businesses progressively adopting DeFi mechanisms to automate transactions and enhance operational efficiency. Institutional adoption validates speculation as a legitimate financial practice rather than dismissing it as mere gambling.An arbitrage utopiaThis unprecedented democratization manifests concretely in decentralized lending platforms that enable automated market makers (AMMs), enabling anyone to provide liquidity and earn fees previously reserved exclusively for institutional market makers with significant capital reserves. With unprecedented data transparency across blockchain networks, even uncollateralized crypto loans can enable capital-efficient arbitrage opportunities spanning multiple blockchain ecosystems without requiring the millions in upfront collateral that traditional finance demands from participants. As institutional involvement continues to grow and regulatory frameworks gradually mature, these speculative mechanisms steadily evolve toward the same legitimacy traditional finance instruments enjoy. This evolution reveals that speculation itself was never the problem — the exclusionary access to its benefits was. The practical execution of this democratized speculation includes cross-exchange arbitrage through DeFi aggregators, crosschain bridges that naturally equalize asset prices across different blockchains and automated liquidation mechanisms that maintain system solvency. All these components serve the same fundamental purpose as traditional financial instruments but with radically expanded access for participants worldwide.As institutional investors and traditional financial markets return their gaze to the industry, with increased involvement from regulatory bodies and political figures in the US, DeFi must remember its core value proposition. The actual value of DeFi is not in recreating the current structures that allow the powerful to benefit from methods that regular people don’t have access to but in making these opaque systems transparent and open to everyone.Rather than apologizing for speculation, the industry should embrace and refine it as its revolutionary tool — one that brings financial opportunities to billions systematically excluded from traditional markets. Innovation in DeFi isn’t just technological; it is also social, creating a financial system where opportunity isn’t determined by privilege but by insight, creativity and willingness to participate. The future belongs not to those who can eliminate speculation but to those who can make it fair, transparent and accessible to all.Opinion by: Billy Campana, contract developer, Api3This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Key Takeaways: The SEC officially dropped its case against Helium Foundation and Nova Labs. The suit had accused the Helium token (HNT) of being an unregistered security. Dismissal is a confidence booster, with HNT price increasing over 6% on the news. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has voluntarily dropped its case against Helium…
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Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin outlined an extensive plan to enhance the privacy of the network he helped create.In an April 11 roadmap, Buterin argued for incorporating privacy tools into Ether (ETH) wallets and implementing privacy-enhancing norms and features in the Ethereum ecosystem and protocol. He explained that the roadmap in question is a short-term solution that requires limited changes to the base protocol along with supplemental long-term updates.Buterin recommends adopting privacy-enhancing systems such as Railgun or Privacy Pools by existing wallets, according to the plan. When funds are sent with those wallets, he argues that users should be greeted by an option to “send from shielded balance,” which anonymizes the transaction, and should be “ideally turned on by default.” He wrote:“Users should NOT have to download a separate ‘privacy wallet.’“Related: Privacy Pools launch on Ethereum, with Vitalik demoing the featureMajor changes recommended for DeFiButerin further recommended profound changes in how decentralized finance (DeFi) and broader decentralized applications (DApp) are implemented. He argued that those systems should be limited to “one address per application.”The Ethereum co-founder acknowledged that this would require “significant convenience sacrifices, ” but it “is the most practical way to remove public links between all of your activity across different applications.” He also highlights that the user experience would be “very similar” to depositing funds to one chain from another in crosschain interoperability systems.Buterin also highlighted that to enjoy the benefits of this change, developers would need to ensure that user withdrawal functions are privacy-preserving by default.Ethereum protocol changes neededOther changes included are the implementation of fork-choice enforced inclusion lists (FOCIL) and the Ethereum improvement proposal (EIP) 7701. The latter is an improvement to Ethereum account abstraction, and the former is a censorship-resistance improvement.FOCIL functionality diagram. Source: Ethereum ResearchEIP-7701 ensures that privacy protocols can operate without needing relays or public broadcasters. This, in turn, simplifies the development and maintenance of this kind of protocol. Relays, in this context, are intermediaries or nodes responsible for accepting and forwarding transactions. On the other hand, broadcasters are responsible for publishing transactions to the public blockchain.EIP-7701 divides Ethereum transactions into phases, natively allowing third parties to step in and pay the fees in the right phase. This means there is no need for a relay to accept users’ private transactions to be anonymously broadcast by a separate entity.FOCIL, on the other hand, prevents the censorship of transactions, including privacy-preserving ones. The relevance is presumably that anonymized transactions are at a significantly higher risk of falling victim to censorship attempts.Related: Financial privacy and regulation can co-exist with ZK proofs — Vitalik ButerinInfrastructure changes are requiredA short-term solution to address the privacy limitations of current remote procedure call (RPC) systems used to interact with the blockchain, as proposed by Buterin, is the implementation of a trusted execution environment (TEE).TEE is a secure area within a processor that ensures code and data loaded inside it are protected. Buterin explained that “this allows users to interact with RPC nodes while getting stronger assurances that their private data is not being collected.”As a long-term solution, TEEs should be replaced with a private information retrieval (PIR) system. PIR is a cryptographic protocol that allows users to retrieve a specific item from a database without revealing which item was retrieved.This would allow users to retrieve data concerning blockchain contents without the provider knowing which data is being shared. Buterin highlighted that it is superior because it provides “cryptographic guarantees.” The Ethereum co-founder also argued that wallets should be connected to multiple RPC servers. They should also use a separate RPC per DApp and potentially a mixnet — a privacy-enhancing technology designed to obscure metadata.Other recommendations include the development of proof-aggregation protocols for privacy-preserving protocols. This would result in significantly lower fees for using such systems.Magazine: Big Questions: What did Satoshi Nakamoto think about ZK-proofs?

Solana is now facing critical liquidity resistance as the broader crypto market attempts to stabilize following weeks of extreme volatility and uncertainty. After a brutal downtrend that saw SOL lose more than 47% of its value since early March, buyers are finally stepping in. This shift in momentum has sparked cautious optimism, but challenges remain ahead. Related Reading: Ethereum Long-Term Holders Show Signs Of Capitulation – Prime Accumulation Zone? SOL had been under immense selling pressure for nearly two months, dropping from its peak to levels not seen since late 2023. After briefly falling below $100, Solana has bounced back and is now testing a key trendline resistance — a level that could determine whether the recent rebound gains traction or fizzles out. Top analyst Ted Pillows shared a technical view on X highlighting that Solana is now 60% down from its peak, suggesting that capitulation has likely taken place. According to Pillows, the current setup looks like a retest of trendline resistance, which has historically acted as a major barrier for price recoveries. As Solana nears this critical level, traders are closely watching for signs of a breakout or rejection. The next few days could determine whether SOL reclaims lost ground or resumes its downward trend. Solana Eyes Breakout As Bulls Return After Brutal Correction Solana has finally shown signs of life after weeks of relentless selling pressure. Following a sharp correction that drove SOL to a low of $95, the asset bounced over 25% since Monday, signaling renewed buying interest. The recovery came in tandem with a broader market rebound triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for all countries except China, whose tariffs were raised from 125% to 145%. Pillows shared a chart suggesting that Solana is once again testing a key trendline resistance, and capitulation may have already occurred. According to Pillows, this could be the turning point for Solana — provided bulls can secure a decisive daily close above $130. Looking forward, multiple bullish catalysts are lining up for Solana. The highly anticipated Firedancer upgrade is expected to significantly boost scalability and performance. In addition, talks around the potential approval of Solana ETFs, as well as its inclusion in the Digital Asset Stockpile, add to investor optimism. On-chain activity is also rising, with stablecoin supply on Solana up 140% and DEX volume seeing a notable resurgence. If SOL can push past this trendline resistance and close above $130, a sustained rally could follow — one that finally shifts market sentiment back in favor of bulls. Related Reading: Solana Eyes $200 Target As It Gains Momentum – Recovery Could Mirror 3-Month Downtrend SOL Price Holds Key Support as Bulls Eye Recovery Solana (SOL) is currently trading at $117 as bulls attempt to reclaim momentum after weeks of selling pressure. The short-term goal remains clear: reclaim the $125 resistance zone, which has acted as a major barrier since the recent downtrend began. A decisive push above this level could open the door for a run toward $145, where the next liquidity zone sits and a full recovery rally may begin. However, maintaining support above $112 is absolutely critical. This level has become a key pivot area in the 4-hour chart, and bulls must defend it to avoid triggering a bearish reversal. If this support fails, the probability of SOL dropping back below the $100 mark increases significantly, potentially reigniting panic selling. Related Reading: XRP Network Activity Hits All-Time High Despite Market Volatility – Bullish Signal? Despite market-wide volatility, SOL has shown resilience, bouncing more than 25% from its recent lows around $95. This upward momentum, however, needs to be sustained with consistent volume and strength above resistance levels. Investors are closely watching for a breakout above $125 as a potential confirmation that the recent bounce is more than just a relief rally. Until then, Solana remains in a tight range, with $112 and $125 defining the immediate battle zone. Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView