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An Aptos community member submitted a proposal on April 18 to slash staking rewards for the network’s native token, Aptos (APT), by nearly 50%The proposal, submitted by a community member called MoonSheisty, aims at reducing reward yields from 7% to 3.79% in a three-month period, aligning Aptos staking rewards with other layer-1 blockchains and encouraging capital efficiency.The proposal has sparked curiosity on X, but early comments on GitHub show some initial resistance.A community member going by ElagabalxNode noted that reducing the staking reward without “compensatory mechanisms like a robust delegation program” could push smaller validators out of the network, thus weakening the Aptos blockchain’s decentralization and long-term resistance.Related: Aptos to accelerate innovation with new tech, investment in IndiaThe proposal addresses the validators’ role in the network, stating that Aptos should consider a community validator program to give grants and stake to small validators contributing to the ecosystem.”Aptos was founded in 2021 by a group of former Meta engineers. According to DefiLlama, the Aptos blockchain has a total value locked of $974 million as of April 18, with nearly a $320 million coming from lending protocol Aries Markets.Aptos TVL and other metrics. Source: DefiLlamaWhile high staking rewards can incentivize users to lock up tokens on Aptos, MoonSheisty argues that they may also discourage participation in higher-risk, higher-reward opportunities within the ecosystem, such as restaking, DePIN infrastructure, MEV, and decentralized finance.Staking ‘real reward rates’ vary considerablyStaking rewards can vary significantly across blockchains. According to CoinLedger, real returns on the BNB Smart Chain are among the highest at 7.43%, while Cardano offers one of the lowest at just 0.55%.Staking offers multiple benefits: It incentivizes users to lock their tokens on-chain, supports validators and helps secure the network. Rewards work similarly to interest earned on a savings account — but instead of cash, stakers earn crypto, which can fluctuate in fiat value.Related: Coinbase’s Ethereum staking dominance risks overcentralization: ExecsFrom time to time, proposals emerge aiming to modify staking procedures. In June 2024, Polkadot introduced a proposal to reduce the time needed to unstake to just two days. In September, the Starknet community voted to pass a new staking mechanism, while Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin proposed solutions to staking issues a few weeks later.While staking gives the community a true “stake” in the network, there are risks associated with it, including the consolidation of smaller pools into larger ones. This trend can undermine decentralization and weaken the blockchain’s overall resilience. Magazine: Ethereum restaking — Blockchain innovation or dangerous house of cards?

An Aptos community member submitted a proposal on April 18 to slash staking rewards for the network’s native token, Aptos (APT), by nearly 50%The proposal, submitted by a community member called MoonSheisty, aims at reducing reward yields from 7% to 3.79% in a three-month period, aligning Aptos staking rewards with other layer-1 blockchains and encouraging capital efficiency.The proposal has sparked curiosity on X, but early comments on GitHub show some initial resistance.A community member going by ElagabalxNode noted that reducing the staking reward without “compensatory mechanisms like a robust delegation program” could push smaller validators out of the network, thus weakening the Aptos blockchain’s decentralization and long-term resistance.Related: Aptos to accelerate innovation with new tech, investment in IndiaThe proposal addresses the validators’ role in the network, stating that Aptos should consider a community validator program to give grants and stake to small validators contributing to the ecosystem.”Aptos was founded in 2021 by a group of former Meta engineers. According to DefiLlama, the Aptos blockchain has a total value locked of $974 million as of April 18, with nearly a $320 million coming from lending protocol Aries Markets.Aptos TVL and other metrics. Source: DefiLlamaWhile high staking rewards can incentivize users to lock up tokens on Aptos, MoonSheisty argues that they may also discourage participation in higher-risk, higher-reward opportunities within the ecosystem, such as restaking, DePIN infrastructure, MEV, and decentralized finance.Staking ‘real reward rates’ vary considerablyStaking rewards can vary significantly across blockchains. According to CoinLedger, real returns on the BNB Smart Chain are among the highest at 7.43%, while Cardano offers one of the lowest at just 0.55%.Staking offers multiple benefits: It incentivizes users to lock their tokens on-chain, supports validators and helps secure the network. Rewards work similarly to interest earned on a savings account — but instead of cash, stakers earn crypto, which can fluctuate in fiat value.Related: Coinbase’s Ethereum staking dominance risks overcentralization: ExecsFrom time to time, proposals emerge aiming to modify staking procedures. In June 2024, Polkadot introduced a proposal to reduce the time needed to unstake to just two days. In September, the Starknet community voted to pass a new staking mechanism, while Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin proposed solutions to staking issues a few weeks later.While staking gives the community a true “stake” in the network, there are risks associated with it, including the consolidation of smaller pools into larger ones. This trend can undermine decentralization and weaken the blockchain’s overall resilience. Magazine: Ethereum restaking — Blockchain innovation or dangerous house of cards?

Today commemorates the 13th anniversary of the first altcoin, the crypto asset Namecoin (NMC), whose network debuted on April 18, 2011. Although the token has dimmed over time, the network remains under active development and its proof-of-work (PoW) hashrate ranks among the highest in the crypto ecosystem. While Often Forgotten, the First Altcoin Turns 13 […]

Ivan Soto-Wright, CEO of cryptocurrency payment firm MoonPay, is calling on US lawmakers to leave a path open to state-level regulators when passing legislation on stablecoins.In an April 18 X post, Soto-Wright said he wanted Congress to “keep state-regulated issuers in the game” when it comes to stablecoin regulation, referencing efforts in the House of Representatives and Senate to create a federal regulatory framework. Lawmakers are considering whether to pass the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or GENIUS Act, in the Senate and the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy, or STABLE Act, in the House.“While the cryptocurrency industry has called for federal legislation for years, it has been these state regulators who have provided and continue to provide regulatory clarity and supervision to ensure consumer protection and enable growth in the sector,” said Soto-Wright. “As federal legislation now approaches the finish line, it is essential to preserve viable state pathways for PSIs [permitted stablecoin issuers] that place the state regulators who meet the standards set out in GENIUS and STABLE on equal footing with federal regulators.”April 17 letter from MoonPay CEO to congressional leadership. Source: Ivan Soto-WrightThe MoonPay CEO’s comment echoed those of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), which wrote to leadership on the House Financial Services Committee in an April 1 letter and recommended a similar state-level approach. Both the Senate Banking Committee and House Financial Services Committee voted to advance the bills in March and April, respectively, paving the way for a full floor vote.Related: Lawmaker alleges Trump wants to replace US dollar with his stablecoinThe STABLE Act, a companion bill modeled after the GENIUS Act, proposed regulating payment stablecoins by limiting them to “permitted payment stablecoin issuers,” allowing for “state qualified” ones. Soto-Wright said the GENIUS bill “stacks the deck” for permitted stablecoin issuers through federal regulators over state-level ones and the Federal Reserve to be the “sole federal regulator for all state PSIs.”Trump family-backed venture launched its own stablecoinIt’s unclear whether the bills have the necessary votes to pass both chambers before being signed into law by US President Donald Trump. The president and his family members have also backed the launch of their own stablecoin through World Liberty Financial, despite allegations of conflicts of interest and potential complications getting the bills through the House and Senate.  World Liberty Financial, which launched in September 2024, has already received roughly $600 million — largely through token sales — from investors including Tron founder Justin Sun, market maker DWF Labs, venture capital firm Oddiyana Ventures, and investment platform Web3Port. According to the project, its USD1 stablecoin was not tradable as of March 24.Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

Ivan Soto-Wright, CEO of cryptocurrency payment firm MoonPay, is calling on US lawmakers to leave a path open to state-level regulators when passing legislation on stablecoins.In an April 18 X post, Soto-Wright said he wanted Congress to “keep state-regulated issuers in the game” when it comes to stablecoin regulation, referencing efforts in the House of Representatives and Senate to create a federal regulatory framework. Lawmakers are considering whether to pass the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or GENIUS Act, in the Senate and the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy, or STABLE Act, in the House.“While the cryptocurrency industry has called for federal legislation for years, it has been these state regulators who have provided and continue to provide regulatory clarity and supervision to ensure consumer protection and enable growth in the sector,” said Soto-Wright. “As federal legislation now approaches the finish line, it is essential to preserve viable state pathways for PSIs [permitted stablecoin issuers] that place the state regulators who meet the standards set out in GENIUS and STABLE on equal footing with federal regulators.”April 17 letter from MoonPay CEO to congressional leadership. Source: Ivan Soto-WrightThe MoonPay CEO’s comment echoed those of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), which wrote to leadership on the House Financial Services Committee in an April 1 letter and recommended a similar state-level approach. Both the Senate Banking Committee and House Financial Services Committee voted to advance the bills in March and April, respectively, paving the way for a full floor vote.Related: Lawmaker alleges Trump wants to replace US dollar with his stablecoinThe STABLE Act, a companion bill modeled after the GENIUS Act, proposed regulating payment stablecoins by limiting them to “permitted payment stablecoin issuers,” allowing for “state qualified” ones. Soto-Wright said the GENIUS bill “stacks the deck” for permitted stablecoin issuers through federal regulators over state-level ones and the Federal Reserve to be the “sole federal regulator for all state PSIs.”Trump family-backed venture launched its own stablecoinIt’s unclear whether the bills have the necessary votes to pass both chambers before being signed into law by US President Donald Trump. The president and his family members have also backed the launch of their own stablecoin through World Liberty Financial, despite allegations of conflicts of interest and potential complications getting the bills through the House and Senate.  World Liberty Financial, which launched in September 2024, has already received roughly $600 million — largely through token sales — from investors including Tron founder Justin Sun, market maker DWF Labs, venture capital firm Oddiyana Ventures, and investment platform Web3Port. According to the project, its USD1 stablecoin was not tradable as of March 24.Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

Tokenized stocks are on track to exceed $1 trillion in market capitalization in the coming years as adoption accelerates, two industry executives said at the TokenizeThis conference in New York. The total addressable market for tokenized stocks — a type of tokenized real-world asset (RWA) —  is difficult to project but is “definitely a bigger trillion-dollar market,” Arnab Naskar, STOKR’s CEO, said during an April 16 panel at the event.In 2025, demand for the instruments has “exploded” from institutions ranging from Web3 wallets to neobanks to traditional financial services firms, according to Anna Wroblewska, Dinari’s Chief Business Officer. “We’ve had an enormous influx of demand from a much broader scope of potential partners than you might even imagine […] it’s actually been really interesting,” Wroblewska said.Tokenized stocks are still a small portion of the total RWA market. Source: RWA.xyzRelated: Tokenization can transform US markets if Trump clears the waySmall but growing market shareAs of April 18, tokenized stocks comprise around $350 million in cumulative market capitalization, according to data from RWA.xyz. This represents only a sliver of the total RWA market, which is worth upward of $18 billion, the data shows. But this could change as tokenized stocks capture a growing share of the US equities market, Wroblewska said. The US stock market has an aggregate value of more than $50 trillion, according to Siblis Research. There is a “huge appetite for US public equities… even individual investors globally want exposure to US capital markets. Tokenization makes it fast and cheap,” Wroblewska said. She added that tokenized US Treasury Bills are already in high demand for similar reasons. They currently comprise nearly $6 billion in total market cap, RWA.xyz data shows. Meanwhile, Coinbase is considering making tokenized shares of its stock available on Base, its Ethereum layer-2 network.Collectively, tokenized RWAs represent a $30 trillion market opportunity globally, Colin Butler, Movement Labs’ global head of institutional capital, told Cointelegraph in an August interview.“Tokenization will become a mirror of the market. If the user experience is better, faster, and cheaper, people will default to tokenized assets,” Wroblewska said.Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

Tokenized stocks are on track to exceed $1 trillion in market capitalization in the coming years as adoption accelerates, two industry executives said at the TokenizeThis conference in New York. The total addressable market for tokenized stocks — a type of tokenized real-world asset (RWA) —  is difficult to project but is “definitely a bigger trillion-dollar market,” Arnab Naskar, STOKR’s CEO, said during an April 16 panel at the event.In 2025, demand for the instruments has “exploded” from institutions ranging from Web3 wallets to neobanks to traditional financial services firms, according to Anna Wroblewska, Dinari’s Chief Business Officer. “We’ve had an enormous influx of demand from a much broader scope of potential partners than you might even imagine […] it’s actually been really interesting,” Wroblewska said.Tokenized stocks are still a small portion of the total RWA market. Source: RWA.xyzRelated: Tokenization can transform US markets if Trump clears the waySmall but growing market shareAs of April 18, tokenized stocks comprise around $350 million in cumulative market capitalization, according to data from RWA.xyz. This represents only a sliver of the total RWA market, which is worth upward of $18 billion, the data shows. But this could change as tokenized stocks capture a growing share of the US equities market, Wroblewska said. The US stock market has an aggregate value of more than $50 trillion, according to Siblis Research. There is a “huge appetite for US public equities… even individual investors globally want exposure to US capital markets. Tokenization makes it fast and cheap,” Wroblewska said. She added that tokenized US Treasury Bills are already in high demand for similar reasons. They currently comprise nearly $6 billion in total market cap, RWA.xyz data shows. Meanwhile, Coinbase is considering making tokenized shares of its stock available on Base, its Ethereum layer-2 network.Collectively, tokenized RWAs represent a $30 trillion market opportunity globally, Colin Butler, Movement Labs’ global head of institutional capital, told Cointelegraph in an August interview.“Tokenization will become a mirror of the market. If the user experience is better, faster, and cheaper, people will default to tokenized assets,” Wroblewska said.Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

Strategy chairman Michael Saylor, a vocal promoter of Bitcoin, stoked renewed chatter among crypto circles with his recent enigmatic tweet. Thursday’s message stating merely “Bitcoin is Calling” left many asking if a forthcoming significant purchase looms. Related Reading: Is Shiba Inu On Track To Dethrone Dogecoin? Here’s What The Experts Say Strategy’s Shopping Spree On Bitcoin Goes Unabated In The Face Of Market Uncertainty The company recently acquired 3,450 Bitcoin at a price of $285 million. This was done after a short one-week break from their consistent acquisition pattern. Strategy has been steadfast in its aggressive acquisition strategy despite the fact that nearly all of its crypto acquisitions since November 18 have been made at higher-than-current market prices, according to reports. Image: Open Access Government Saylor’s post might be a tease regarding another future purchase, given his history of sending such sarcastic remarks ahead of new acquisitions. The post also appeared to urge his 4.2 million followers to purchase BTC, which he has frequently called “the future of money.” Bitcoin is Calling. pic.twitter.com/0jo19Qbr5q — Michael Saylor (@saylor) April 17, 2025 Bitcoin Bet Pays Off With Massive Stock Gains Strategy’s shares have trounced the performance of America’s largest technology stocks, Saylor’s Wednesday filing showed. The crypto-focused firm has posted an astonishing 130% gain over the last year. These returns more than dwarf the returns of Tesla (57%), NVIDIA (30%), Apple (17%), Meta (4%), and Alphabet (2%). There is a @Strategy to beat the Magnificent 7. pic.twitter.com/TlD57hW0w0 — Michael Saylor (@saylor) April 15, 2025 Some top tech firms actually lost value during the same period. Amazon and Microsoft saw drops of 2% and 7% respectively. These comparisons highlight the significant rewards Strategy has reaped from its heavy crypto investment strategy. Saylor Continues Bold Bitcoin Claims The chairman of Strategy has issued some provocative comments on BTC in recent weeks. Only two weeks ago, he asserted that the price volatility of the top crypto asset actually proves its utility instead of constituting a disadvantage. When someone brought up Bitcoin’s link with risky assets, Saylor contended this is so because Bitcoin is “the most liquid, salable, and accessible asset on the planet.” A day earlier than that remark, he underscored Bitcoin’s singular status among commodities by noting that there are no tariffs on it. His remark highlighted its digital nature and liquidity as central to what makes it functionally decentralized. Saylor has established himself as one of Bitcoin’s most vocal proponents. His tweets tend to center on the fact that there are only 21 million coins in existence, which he recently referred to as “the most important number in finance.” He has also likened Bitcoin to chess, although the meaning behind this comparison wasn’t elaborated in coverage.   Image: Blockzeit Related Reading: Could 1,000 XRP Buy You Happiness? This Analyst Thinks So The chairman’s most recent statement comes as Strategy maintains its focus of continuing to buy Bitcoin for the long term, no matter what happens in the short term. With the company’s shares outperforming technology giants and Saylor’s ongoing public support, most crypto observers are now looking to see if another significant purchase of crypto comes after his cryptic “calling” tweet. Featured image from Getty Images/Joe Raedle, chart from TradingView

Bitcoin ETFs snapped back with a $108 million inflow on Thursday, April 17, recovering nearly two-thirds of the prior day’s outflow thanks to strong entries into Blackrock and Fidelity products. Ether ETFs, meanwhile, were frozen in place with no net flows. Blackrock and Fidelity Lead Bitcoin ETFs Rebound A day after hemorrhaging $170 million, bitcoin […]

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