Author: John Smith

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan says Circle’s 22% post-CLARITY Act selloff is “excessive,” arguing USDC’s payments moat and a $1.9t stablecoin market by 2030 justify a $75b valuation target. Summary Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan called Circle’s post-regulatory selloff “excessive,” projecting the stablecoin issuer could be worth $75 billion by 2030. Hougan cited Citigroup’s revised forecast that the global stablecoin market could reach $1.9 trillion by 2030, arguing the fundamental growth thesis remains intact. William Blair analysts added that Circle’s cross-border B2B payments utility is undiminished, even as regulatory uncertainty persists around profit-sharing rules. Bitwise Asset Management pushed back Wednesday against the…

The CFTC’s first no-action letter for a self-custodial wallet and a joint SEC-CFTC move classifying XRP as a digital commodity give non-custodial XRP infrastructure a clearer path into regulated derivatives. Summary The CFTC issued its first-ever no-action letter for a self-custodial crypto wallet provider on March 17, granting Phantom Technologies regulatory relief without requiring broker registration. XRP treasury firm Evernorth flagged the move as a pivotal moment for XRP, noting the ruling’s core principle — that non-custodial platforms are not financial intermediaries — aligns directly with XRP’s design architecture. XRP was simultaneously classified as a “digital commodity” in a joint…

Franklin Templeton and Ondo are launching tokenized ETFs that trade 24/7 directly in crypto wallets, giving non-U.S. investors round-the-clock access to U.S. stocks, bonds and gold. Summary Franklin Templeton and Ondo Finance announced tokenized ETFs on March 25 that can be traded directly inside crypto wallets around the clock, bypassing traditional brokerage accounts. The product suite spans U.S. equities, fixed income, and gold, with an initial rollout across Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Latin America. A U.S. launch remains contingent on regulatory clarity around on-chain distribution of registered funds. Franklin Templeton is partnering with Ondo Finance to offer tokenized versions of…

Interactive Brokers now lets clients transfer supported crypto from external wallets into IBKR accounts without selling first, extending its low-fee, multi-asset platform push. Summary Interactive Brokers (NASDAQ: IBKR) announced on March 25 that clients can transfer supported cryptocurrencies from external wallets directly into their IBKR-linked crypto accounts without first liquidating their positions. The feature covers Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and other supported assets, with custody handled through Paxos or zerohash, and commissions ranging from 0.12% to 0.18% of trade value — significantly below the industry norm of up to 2.00%. The move follows IBKR’s January launch of 24/7 stablecoin account funding…

Virtuals Protocol is integrating its Agent Commerce Protocol with Arbitrum, aiming to make AI agents native DeFi users on a high-liquidity L2 just as its VIRTUAL token battles an 86% drawdown. Summary Virtuals Protocol (@virtuals_io) announced on March 24 that it is building “the commerce layer for agents to transact natively on Arbitrum.” The original Virtuals Protocol post drew 41,400 views. Virtuals Protocol’s native token VIRTUAL is currently trading at approximately $0.724 with a market capitalization of roughly $475 million — down 86% from its all-time high. Virtuals Protocol and Arbitrum announced a significant integration on March 24 that positions the AI agent platform…

Solana price rises back above $90 with multi-billion-dollar volume as traders bet on congestion fixes, the Alpenglow upgrade, and SOL’s role as a leading high-throughput layer-1. Summary Solana price is trading around $92–$93 today, with a market cap near $52.9 billion and 24-hour volume of roughly $4.2–$4.4 billion. The layer-1 token has gained about 3.3% over the past 24 hours and roughly 2.8% in the last seven days, outpacing the broader market’s 1.3% daily rise. Ongoing work to address network congestion and upcoming protocol upgrades are helping shape Solana’s position as a high-throughput Ethereum rival despite its history of outages.…

Aave Labs plans to use idle liquidity in its lending system to generate extra yield as it moves closer to its V4 upgrade.  Summary Aave V4 will redeploy idle liquidity into approved strategies while keeping depositor access unchanged throughout. Roughly $6 billion in stablecoin deposits sits unused and may now generate extra yield onchain. The Aave DAO moved V4 closer to launch as governance tensions and contributor exits continued. According to a blog post, the firm said the new Reinvestment Module will deploy unused funds into low-risk strategies while keeping assets available for withdrawals and borrowing. The update comes as…

Pump.fun has tightened its creator fee rules as it tries to reduce concerns around post-launch fee changes.  Summary Pump.fun now allows token creators just one post-launch change to creator fee recipient wallet settings. The update follows earlier efforts to shift platform rewards away from deployers and toward traders. Platform fees and trading volume remained far below 2025 levels despite the latest policy change. The update limits token deployers to one change in fee recipient settings after launch, after which the configuration becomes permanent. Pump.fun introduced a new rule that allows token creators to change fee recipient settings only once after…

Ripple is moving ahead with new payment plans tied to its RLUSD stablecoin as it targets faster cross-border trade settlement.  Summary Ripple and Unloq are testing RLUSD in Singapore to automate trade payments on XRP Ledger. BLOOM gives Ripple a regulated sandbox to test settlement tied to shipment verification and financing. The pilot adds to Ripple’s broader payments expansion in Asia and planned Australian licensing push. According to the announcement, the company is working with supply chain finance firm Unloq to test a trade finance model on the XRP Ledger through BLOOM, a sandbox run by the Monetary Authority of…

Ethereum price has formed a strong support at $2,100 as whales continue accumulating the asset. Now, a bullish pattern on charts hints at more potential upside over the coming sessions. Summary Ethereum held firm above the $2,100 support as whales accumulated over 750,000 ETH in the past 48 hours, signaling sustained buying interest. The asset rebounded more than 3% as improved risk sentiment followed U.S.-led ceasefire efforts, with crude oil prices slipping below $90. A cup and handle pattern has formed on the daily chart, with a breakout above $2,384 potentially opening the path toward the $3,000 level. According to…