Crypto News
Trump tricked into pushing XRP for crypto reserve: Report
US President Donald Trump was reportedly manipulated by a lobbyist tied to Ripple Labs into announcing the XRP token would be part of his plans for a national cryptocurrency reserve.According to a May 8 Politico report, an employee of pro-Trump lobbyist Brian Ballard gave the president the text to a social media post she recommended he write announcing a US strategic crypto reserve that would include XRP, Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA). After he posted the message to his social media platform on March 2, Trump learned Ripple was one of Ballard’s clients, infuriating the president, who felt like he’d been used, Politico reported, citing two people familiar with the incident.“He is not welcome in anything anymore,” said Trump, referencing Ballard, according to the report.March 2 Truth Social post announcing US crypto reserve. Source: Donald TrumpTrump had connections to Ripple long before the announcement of XRP in the proposed crypto reserve. The blockchain firm’s chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, donated more than $300,000 to fundraising and political action committees supporting Trump in the 2024 election, and both he and CEO Brad Garlinghouse met with the then-president-elect in January and attended inauguration events.Related: Democrats aim at Trump’s crypto profits with a 3-prong pincer moveRipple also donated $5 million worth of XRP to Trump’s presidential inaugural fund and has been one of the largest contributors to Fairshake, a political action committee (PAC) that supports those it considers “pro-crypto” candidates through media buys. A spokesperson for the PAC said in January that it would continue its efforts in the 2026 midterm elections.Trump moved forward on crypto reserve days laterThe president often uses his social media platform to suggest policies before any official announcement through the White House. Trump signed an executive order to create a “Digital Asset Stockpile” on March 6 — roughly four days after the post, which was still live at the time of publication. The price of XRP did not appear to significantly react to the May 8 report. At the time of publication, it was $2.23, having risen roughly 5% in the previous 24 hours. Cointelegraph reached out to a Ripple spokesperson for comment, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions
Published Date: 2025-05-08 18:32:08Creator: Cointelegraph by Turner Wright
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SEC considers new rules easing security token issuance
Updated to correct that the SEC sent a Wells notice to Uniswap but did not bring charges.The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is considering rule changes to let companies more freely issue tokenized securities, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce said in a speech published on May 8.The regulator is “considering a potential exemptive order” for firms using blockchain technology to “issue, trade, and settle securities” that would release them from certain registration requirements, Peirce said in the speech.For example, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) may no longer need to register “as a broker-dealer, clearing agency, or an exchange,” Peirce said. The SEC has previously sent numerous Wells notices to DEXs such as Uniswap for allegedly failing to register as securities exchanges. Firms should “not have to comply with inapt regulations, which, in many cases, were developed well before the technologies being tested existed and may be obviated by attributes of that technology,” Peirce said. Commissioner Peirce described the planned changes in a May 8 speech. Source: SECUnder such an exemption, companies would still be expected to comply with rules designed to prevent fraud and market manipulation, the commissioner said. They may also need to meet certain disclosure and recordkeeping requirements.Related: Nasdaq urges SEC to treat certain digital assets as 'stocks by any other name'Sharp policy pivotThe SEC has dramatically pivoted its stance on cryptocurrency oversight since US President Donald Trump took office in January. Under the leadership of former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, the agency brought upward of 100 lawsuits against crypto firms for alleged securities law violations.However, under Trump nominee Paul Atkins, who was sworn in as chair on April 21, the agency has claimed jurisdiction over a narrower segment of cryptocurrencies.In February, the SEC issued guidance stating that memecoins — if clearly identified as purely speculative assets with no intrinsic value — do not qualify as investment contracts under US law. In April, the regulator said that stablecoins — digital tokens pegged to the US dollar — similarly do not qualify as securities if they are marketed solely as a means of making payments.Magazine: Ethereum is destroying the competition in the $16.1T TradFi tokenization race
Published Date: 2025-05-08 17:59:38Creator: Cointelegraph by Alex O’Donnell
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Are layer 2s good for Ethereum, or are they ‘extractive?’
Layer 2s have been a great blockchain success story. They’ve reduced congestion on the Ethereum mainnet, driving down gas fees while preserving security.But maybe they’ve become too successful, drawing chain activity and fee income from the parent that spawned them? At least that’s what some are suggesting lately, most recently at Cornell Tech’s blockchain conference in late April.Indeed, some think Ethereum should be a little greedier, or at least fight harder for a bigger part of the revenue pie, particularly sequencing fees. “People in the Ethereum Foundation [the nonprofit that supports the Ethereum ecosystem] will tell you that, ‘Yes, we effed up by being too ivory tower.’ I have heard that multiple times,” said David Hoffman, an owner at Bankless, during a panel discussion at the Cornell Tech event in New York City on April 25. Hoffman, left, at Cornell Tech’s blockchain conference. Source: Andrew SingerElsewhere, Hoffman has urged Ethereum to make a “strategic pivot,” noting that the crypto environment has changed in the last few years. Ethereum no longer has the “luxury of being a peace-time research project…. exploited by its competition.”L2s are reaping millions of dollars in transaction order fees (sometimes called sequencing fees), but none of these revenues are being passed on to Ethereum, according to James Beck, head of growth at ENS Labs and another speaker at the New York City conference. Beck told Cointelegraph:So, this cultural layer of podcasters and researchers are saying, ‘Well, the price of ETH has been dropping compared to these other tokens. What do we do to make Ethereum more powerful?’In short, Ethereum is a neutral verification layer, but the Ethereum mainnet is not being fairly compensated for the work that it is doing. Centralized for-profit L2s like Base, Optimism and Arbitrum are gathering the lucrative sequencing fees while enjoying the security and liveness guarantees of the Ethereum mainnet at relatively little economic cost.L2s soared after Dencun upgradeL2 rollups are a recent innovation; they only emerged in 2023. The idea was to reduce chain congestion and gas fees by moving transaction processing from the main blockchain (layer 1) to separate chains that sit atop the mainnet (L2s). But transaction processing is arguably the most profitable part of the revenue game, especially when users opt to pay priority fees to get their orders processed faster.Fee-sharing was rarely much of an issue before Ethereum’s March 2024 Dencun upgrade, which introduced blob transactions to help scale layer 2s. Blobs significantly reduced the cost for L2s to post data to Ethereum, allowing them to operate more profitably, CoinMetrics researcher analyst Tanay Ved told Cointelegraph this week. Since then, L2 user demand has soared, especially on Base, the L2 launched by Coinbase in August 2023 on the Ethereum mainnet. As Ved noted in an April 8 blog, Base has earned a total of ~$98 million in revenues from user-transaction fees (including base and priority fees), “while paying only ~$4.9M to the Ethereum base layer, resulting in a total estimated profit of $94M since the Dencun upgrade.” Ved added:This dynamic has led to many questioning whether Layer-2s are net positive for Ethereum, or whether they are ‘extractive.Base’s responseAsked about fees, a Base spokesperson told Cointelegraph, “Today, Base already pays Ethereum fees for every transaction on Base. All transactions are settled on Ethereum, and so far, Base has paid Ethereum more than $20 million in settlement fees since Base’s inception.” One can see these fees on Token Terminal under “cost of revenue,” the spokesperson added. “Overall, Base makes getting onchain more accessible with fast and cheap transactions and helps grow the Ethereum ecosystem by onboarding more users, builders, apps and assets, all of whom are transacting in ETH and driving demand,” said the spokesperson.Related: Institutions break up with Ethereum but keep ETH on the hookHowever, in many, if not most months, Base’s overall fees are roughly 10 times the amount paid to Ethereum for settling trades, according to examination of the referenced Base financial statement. In April, for instance, the most recent full month, Base reaped $3.7 million in fees, but only $305,000 was delivered to Ethereum as settlement fees — about 8% of total fees.Still, maybe things aren’t quite so dire. Even if fees are out of kilter now, the imbalance may not last, others caution. Ethereum hard forks like Pectra, which went live yesterday (May 7), and Fusaka, scheduled for late 2025, will increase blob throughput. “This means L2s will be able to post more blobs, potentially driving higher total blob fees to mainnet,” Ved told Cointelegraph. Ethereum is already consistently hitting the current blob target of three per block, as the chart below shows. “Pectra will raise this to six blobs per block — with a max of nine — creating room for increased fee capture as L2 activity scales,” added Ved.Average blobs per block and their total blob fees (USD) on Ethereum. Source: CoinMetricsAre “based rollups” the answer?Some Ethereum researchers, podcasters — and even L2s — have been leaning into “based rollups” as a more permanent way to fix the fee problem and provide better security in the bargain. Here, transaction ordering (i.e., sequencing) would be done on the mainnet, not on L2s.The sequencers used by Optimism, Arbitrum One, Base and others are more prone to attack or failure, given that they are centralized, with a single point of failure, some researchers say. Polygon’s Jarrod Ward writes:If a centralized sequencer goes down, the rollup effectively stops doing its job entirely. It stops handling transactions from users on the L2 and also stops sending batch data back to Ethereum.“Layer-2 sequencers have become dangerously centralized,” added Tom Ngo, executive lead at Metis — an Ethereum layer-2 blockchain. Last June’s $2.6-million hack of Ethereum layer-2 blockchain Linea drove home to Ngo and others the importance of decentralization and the perils of centralized sequencers. Related: ‘Vitalik: An Ethereum Story’ is less about crypto and more about being humanSeveral based-rollup L2s have launched this past year. Taiko Alethia, the first and largest, went live in May 2024. A year later, it had $148.3 million in total value secured — ranking 14th on L2Beat’s list of L2s, though far behind leader Base’s $12.06 billion. Top Ethereum layer 2s ranked by total value secured. Source: L2BeatSpeedwise, Taiko was averaging a respectable 20.3 user operations per second (UOPS) on May 7, a far cry from Base’s 86.3 UOPS, but on par with Arbitrum One’s (21.6 UOPS) and significantly better than Optimism’s (10.3 UOPS).A tax on L2s?Another idea floated in the Ethereum community is imposing a sort of tax on L2s. But doing this could have some unintended consequences, according to Ved. It could make L2s less competitive. It also risks “leakage of activity to competing layer 1s outside the Ethereum ecosystem.” Activity that flows to Base today could flow instead to Solana or other L1s, Ved said.There could be philosophical issues, too, were Ethereum to lay a surcharge on its L2s. Ved noted:A tax could be seen as contrary to Ethereum’s ethos of decentralization, which would opt for market-driven forces rather than enforcing a tax. Generally speaking, the Ethereum Foundation seems to be prioritizing long-term growth over short-term revenue, Ved explained. Proposals like EIP-7762, though, which raises the minimum blob base fee to speed up price discovery during demand surges, could drive more fee income to Ethereum mainnet, having an effect like a tax. Social pressure?According to ENS Labs’ Beck, it may take some social pressure to get the leading centralized L2s to voluntarily give up their sequencing fees. Other L2s like Linea may need to step in and say to centralized L2s something along the lines of: “Look, you guys have these risks inherent in a more centralized design, and here’s the chance to bake [the order processing] into Ethereum, which is more decentralized.”Along these lines, ENS took part in a three-day workshop in the UK in January with leading researchers and developers from entities like Linea, Status, OpenZeppelin, Titan, Spire Labs and the Ethereum Foundation. The immediate task was how to create scalable, decentralized infrastructure for ENS Labs’ Namechain, but also to bring together various Ethereum ecosystem teams to collaboratively solve L2 interoperability challenges with based rollups. It’s not always easy to get things done in a flat (non-hierarchical), multi-voice entity like Ethereum, Beck acknowledges. “Ethereum is a decentralized ecosystem. You can’t get everyone on the same page all at once.” But a collaboration like the recent one that took place in the UK is a start. Cornell Tech conference panelist Hoffman expressed some confidence that Ethereum could pivot and “turn the layer 1 into a rollup” with processing speeds comparable to today’s L2s. As noted, Hoffman has criticized the Ethereum Foundation for being too insular and academic, but he sees signs that things may be changing now, writing recently:The appointment of co-executive directors Tomasz Stańczak and Hsiao-Wei Wang marks a new era of accountability, direction, and internal cohesion.“I’m feeling optimistic,” added Beck. “Ethereum still has the most assets locked for DeFi; the most stablecoins are on Ethereum. BlackRock has a fund that’s settling on Ethereum.” Put another way, Ethereum is still well-positioned to provide the infrastructure for the “network of networks” — i.e., the smoothly interacting network of multitudinous private and public blockchains that many hope will be the technology’s future.Magazine: 12 minutes of nail-biting tension when Ethereum’s Pectra fork goes live
Published Date: 2025-05-08 17:00:00Creator: Cointelegraph by Andrew Singer
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Missouri bill ending capital gains tax heads to governor for signature
Missouri House Bill 594, a bill that would eliminate capital gains tax in the US state, has passed a vote in the state House of Representatives and now heads to Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe's desk for signature.According to attorney Aaron Brogan, the bill stipulates a 100% income tax deduction for any capital gains income because the Missouri tax code does not explicitly distinguish between capital gains and income tax.Missouri House Bill 594 proposes exempting capital gains from income taxes. Source: Missouri House of RepresentativesBrogan told Cointelegraph that the specific mechanism to exempt capital gains taxes outlined in HB 594 is unique and compared it to a similar income tax deduction in the federal tax code. The attorney explained:"The most natural comparison is the state and local tax (SALT) deduction that the federal government offers — where the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) permits individuals to deduct a certain amount of tax paid in state and local taxes. This is the inverse, which I have never seen before."The bill's timing is significant in that it follows proposals from US President Donald Trump to overhaul the country’s income tax system through comprehensive reform.Related: US lawmaker targets crypto investors using Puerto Rico as a tax havenTrump proposes eliminating federal income tax in the United StatesTrump has proposed offsetting federal income taxes or eliminating the income tax and replacing the federal tax revenue with money raised through import tariffs."When Tariffs cut in, many people’s income taxes will be substantially reduced, maybe even completely eliminated. The focus will be on people making less than $200,000 a year," the president wrote in an April 27 Truth Social post.Trump added the plan will create more jobs in the United States as factories return to avoid import duties on their finished products.Despite this, the market reaction to the tariffs has been overwhelmingly negative, with the stock market recording trillions of dollars in losses in response to tariff headlines and crypto markets shedding hundreds of billions in value.Additionally, bond yields spiked following the tariff announcements — a sign that investors were rejecting US bonds, which are traditionally seen as a flight to safety.Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again
Published Date: 2025-05-08 16:55:03Creator: Cointelegraph by Vince Quill
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Bitcoin price reclaims $100K for first time since January
Bitcoin has reclaimed the $100,000 price level for the first time since January, reflecting renewed bullish sentiment among investors.Bitcoin (BTC) reclaimed the $100,000 mark on May 8 at 3:22 pm UTC, surging 4.2% from the intraday low of $95,967, according to data from CoinGecko.It marked the third time that BTC has broken through the six-figure level since first achieving it on Dec. 5, 2024. A second all-time high followed on Jan. 20 ahead of US President Donald Trump’s inauguration.Bitcoin price chart in the past year. Source: CoinGeckoUnlike the previous $100,000 hits, the new price spike came as Bitcoin market dominance surged above 60%, reflecting potential bearish sentiment for altcoins.Bitcoin dominance below 60% in past $100,000 breakthroughsBitcoin dominance — the asset’s share of the total cryptocurrency market — has been steadily rising over the past year. During its first run to $100,000 in December 2024, BTC dominance stood at 52%. By January 2025, that figure had increased to 54%.Bitcoin all-time dominance chart. Source: CoinGeckoThe latest spike in Bitcoin dominance matches historic levels last seen in early 2021, when Bitcoin was trading at around $36,000 and heading toward its previous all-time highs above $60,000.“Bitcoin has been showing strength for weeks now, outstripping other digital tokens, and scarcely flinching against the sort of geo-political events in Asia and the Middle East that may have impacted it in the past,” Mercuryo CEO Petr Kozyakov told Cointelegraph.“With gold also running good all year, there’s now a case for saying that Bitcoin may have proven itself as an economic hedge and a long-term store of value,” he added.Why is the Bitcoin price rising now?Bitcoin’s latest $100,000 breakthrough came amid a combination of political, institutional and macroeconomic factors.Some in the community linked Bitcoin’s latest bullish action to a potential trade deal between the US and the United Kingdom, which Trump hinted at in a Truth Social post on May 7.“Bitcoin is hovering near $100,000, a key psychological level for traders, after Trump hinted at a major trade deal, likely with the UK,” Kronos Research chief investment officer Vincent Liu told Cointelegraph.Related: BlackRock Bitcoin ETF clocks 16 days of inflow as BTC reclaims $97KLiu said the rally is also supported by falling bond yields, a weakening dollar and renewed institutional inflows in spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, which saw $1.8 billion of inflows in the past trading week.Crypto Fear & Greed Index. Source: Alternative.meDespite bullish momentum and the Crypto Fear & Greed Index consolidating in the “Green” area at its current score of 65, some key US economic data is anticipated to forecast Bitcoin’s moves shortly, according to Liu:“While momentum is strong, upcoming US budget data on May 12 and CPI [Consumer Price Index] on May 13 will be key in determining if BTC can break and hold above this level. For the rally to sustain, the trade deal narrative will need to evolve into concrete progress.”According to Ben Caselin, chief marketing officer at VALR, there is a “good chance” that Bitcoin will chart new highs, north of $110,000, sooner rather than later, as the asset seeks to consolidate its value above $100,000.“Retail is only set to come in toward what is traditionally the latter part of the Bitcoin four-year cycle, which might see a macro top reached in Q4 of this year,” Caselin told Cointelegraph.At the same time, given continued progress in global crypto regulation and multiple strategic Bitcoin reserve initiatives, Caselin also sees a chance of “prolonged and accelerated growth beyond 2025.”Additional reporting by Amin Haqshanas.Magazine: Bitcoin to $1M ‘by 2029,’ CIA tips its hat to Bitcoin: Hodler’s Digest, April 27 – May 3
Published Date: 2025-05-08 15:22:53Creator: Cointelegraph by Helen Partz
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Ex-Celsius CEO asks to travel for a wedding after sentencing
Former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky will probably be allowed to travel for his daughter’s wedding regardless of the outcome of his May 8 sentencing hearing.In a May 8 filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge John Koeltl approved an application for Mashinsky to travel from New York to Memphis, Tennessee, between May 26 and May 29 for his daughter’s wedding. The approval was available on the public docket as of May 8, but appeared to have been removed at the time of publication.Alex Mashinsky’s request to travel for his daughter’s wedding. Source: PACERJudge Koeltl will determine in a May 8 hearing whether Mashinsky serves prison time following a plea deal with prosecutors.The former Celsius CEO appeared ready to go to trial in 2024 until his lawyers lost a motion to have his charges dismissed. In December, He pleaded guilty to commodities fraud and a fraudulent scheme to manipulate the price of the platform’s native token, CEL.Related: Celsius’ Mashinsky lashes out at ‘death-in-prison sentence’Mashinsky has been free on a $40-million bond since July 2023, with travel outside certain areas requiring court approval, such as the roughly 900-mile (1,500-kilometer) distance between New York and Memphis. At the time of publication, it was unclear if he will be expected to surrender to authorities.Potentially facing decades in prisonProsecutors have asked the judge to impose a 20-year sentence on the former Celsius CEO, while Mashinsky’s lawyers requested that he serve one year and one day in prison. The hearing could be a bellwether for how criminal cases involving cryptocurrency could change under the Trump administration, which appointed the interim US Attorney for the court district.On April 17, Mashinsky’s lawyers submitted a letter from his oldest daughter in support of her father ahead of sentencing. The letter claims that Mashinsky does not deserve a “severe punishment,” writing that he “never set out to steal from anyone.” Other members of his family penned similar letters.The same court district oversaw the sentencing of former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, who is currently serving 25 years in prison.Magazine: ‘Less flashy’ Mashinsky set for less jail time than SBF: Inner City Press, X Hall of Flame
Published Date: 2025-05-08 15:17:52Creator: Cointelegraph by Turner Wright
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User experience could be crypto’s superpower — or its kryptonite
Opinion by Jonathan Farnell, CEO of FreedxIt’s 2025, and over 560 million people worldwide are already using cryptocurrency — roughly 17 times the population of Tokyo. That’s a vibrant community, yet for every user who’s embraced it, billions more stand on the sidelines, put off by the complicated interactions and clunky interfaces of protocols, platforms, decentralized apps (DApps), and mobile applications. Why? Blockchain technology offers game-changing potential — decentralized ownership, secure trades — but let’s face it: Most people still find it intimidating, risky, and confusing. User experience (UX) might just be the deciding factor in whether cryptocurrency achieves mass adoption or remains a niche segment.Take complexity. A 2024 Chainalysis report pointed out that 43% of would-be crypto users shy away from the technical tangle of private keys and gas fees. Have you ever lost a seed phrase? You’re not alone. More than $200 billion in crypto has been lost forever because of it. That’s not just a statistic — it’s a gut punch for someone who thought they’d unlocked the future of finance. Streamlining this chaos could fling open the doors to 5 billion internet users, pushing crypto’s $2.91 trillion market cap, as reported by Cointelegraph, into the stratosphere — potentially reaching $4 trillion in the second quarter of 2025.From headaches to high fivesMany decentralized finance (DeFi) apps currently feel like a hacker’s playground — all data and API integrations, but nothing intuitive that speaks to an ordinary person. Simply swapping cryptic jargon for plain English would be a solid start. Consider swapping “gas fees” to “transaction costs.” Those 12-word seed phrases send users into panic mode, but a familiar gear icon for settings could put users’ minds at ease. Suddenly, managing a wallet isn’t a high-stakes game anymore. It’s just another tool.This isn’t about dazzling users with blockchain’s inner workings. Most people don’t care about the tech under the hood, just like they don’t ask whether their favorite app runs on AWS or Google Cloud. Blockchain isn’t a shiny new internet. It’s infrastructure — powerful, but invisible, when done right. Users want solutions — quick payments, secure savings, and easy access. Streamlined experiences could draw in everyday folks — retirees sending cash to grandkids, small business owners managing cash flow — expanding cryptocurrency’s reach. It’s about turning a daunting process into something approachable, paving the way for broader economic effect. Build confidence through clarityTrust is another sticking point. Transactions can feel uncertain, with phishing scams and tales of lost savings heightening unease. Vague error messages like “transaction failed” frustrate users, but specific feedback — “insufficient funds, please top up your balance” — offers reassurance. Guides on staying secure and pre-set options to avoid errors can make the system feel reliable, not reckless. When technology fades into the background, confidence takes center stage.Design quality shapes perceptions, too. Unpolished interfaces raise doubts about credibility, especially for those accustomed to refined digital tools. Clean, professional layouts signal trustworthiness, while clear benefits — faster payments and control over data — make the case compelling. This shift could reposition cryptocurrency as a practical alternative, not a gamble. It’s not about buzzwords like “trustlessness” or “censorship resistance.” Most users don’t lose sleep over those ideals. They care about quality, ease, and value, not the blockchain badge.Adoption depends on usabilityCryptocurrency could reshape how people trade, save, and connect — growing from 617 million users to billions. Success hinges on accessibility. Platforms that prioritize straightforward design already see more engagement and trust, driving market potential into the trillions, rivaling traditional finance. Poor usability, though, risks leaving this vision unrealized. The promise of self-custody or transparency won’t lure the masses if the experience feels like a chore.Recent: Stop making crypto complexChallenges like regulation and old habits persist, but confusing experiences remain the most significant barrier, keeping everyday users at arm’s length. Blockchain’s promise is real, yet its breakthrough relies on design that feels human and dependable. People don’t adopt tools because they’re built on cutting-edge tech. They adopt tools because they solve real problems — cheaply, simply, and reliably. Cryptocurrency stands ready to expand — it needs to meet people where they are, not where the tech wants them to be.Focus on benefits, not features, and the market could soar. Consider a freelancer who is paid instantly across borders or a parent gifting digital cash without a hitch. That’s what hooks users — not the mechanics of account abstraction or zero-knowledge proofs. Platforms that nail this could turn crypto into a daily staple, boosting adoption and market value. Exchanges leading the charge with intuitive design already prove it: Usability drives growth. Cryptocurrency’s future isn’t about preaching blockchain’s brilliance — it’s about making it so seamless no one even notices it’s there.Opinion by Jonathan Farnell, CEO of Freedx. This 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.
Published Date: 2025-05-08 15:00:00Creator: Cointelegraph by Jonathan Farnell
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Bitcoin miner Hut 8 grows hashrate 79% despite $134M quarterly loss
Cryptocurrency mining firm Hut 8 increased its hashrate by 79% during the first quarter of the year.According to Hut8’s latest quarterly report released on May 8, the firm saw a net loss of $134.3 million despite revenue of $21.8 million. The firm’s CEO, Asher Genoot, explained that this was a result of large-scale investments. “As reflected in our results, the first quarter was a deliberate and necessary phase of investment,” Genoot said. “We believe the returns on this work will become increasingly visible in the quarters ahead.”Hut 8 operations reached a total energy capacity of 1,020 megawatts as of March 31, enough to power well over 800,000 average homes in the United States. The company also has the right to scale up its operation by another 2,600 MW.Related: Bitcoin mining — Institutions boost investments amid favorable US climateHut 8 is scaling up operationsGenoot said the financial results follow large-scale investments by Hut 8, including upgrading the firm’s application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) fleet and launching the majority-owned subsidiary of Hut 8, American Bitcoin.American Bitcoin was announced at the end of March, with several members of the US President Donald Trump’s family as partners. According to the announcement, the new venture “aims to become the world’s largest, most efficient pure-play Bitcoin miner while building a robust strategic Bitcoin reserve.”Early April reports also revealed that American Bitcoin has plans to raise additional capital, including through an initial public offering. In today’s quarterly earnings announcement, Genoot stated:“The streamlined capital allocation framework made possible by the American Bitcoin launch reinforces our ability to scale lower-cost-of-capital businesses such as high-performance computing.“Related: Browser-based crypto mining in 2025: Still viable or virtually dead?Future expansion plansTalking about future plans, Hut 8’s CEO noted that the company is pushing ahead with its plans for 2025. Those include the energization of the Vega data center, the initial sitework at the River Bend data center and the development of the firm’s utility-scale power portfolio. Genoot added:“We believe these initiatives will further accelerate our ability to generate resilient near-term cash flows while building toward enduring leadership across next-generation digital infrastructure markets.”Hut 8 stock is trading at $12.66 after seeing a 2.2% increase on the trading day on the Nasdaq. However, it is down by over 38% from $20.49 at the start of the year.Hut8 year-to-date price chart. Source: Google FinanceThe announcement follows Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin (BTC) mining firm Core Scientific posting a net profit of $580 million in its first quarter results, missing analyst revenue estimates after a drop in its mining profits.Magazine: AI may already use more power than Bitcoin — and it threatens Bitcoin mining
Published Date: 2025-05-08 13:51:08Creator: Cointelegraph by Adrian Zmudzinski
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Beyond digital gold, Bitcoin’s next chapter is about to be unlocked — Dan Held
Bitcoin (BTC) has long been branded as “digital gold,” a store of value for believers in scarcity, decentralization and self-sovereignty. As institutional interest grows, geopolitics shift, and new layers emerge on Bitcoin’s stack, is it time for the narrative to evolve? In this episode of The Clear Crypto Podcast, hosts Nathan Jeffay and Gareth Jenkinson speak with longtime Bitcoiner and entrepreneur Dan Held, who argues that Bitcoin’s next chapter may unlock broader functionality, from programmable use cases to more nuanced messaging that reaches far beyond crypto-native circles.Political shiftsWith US President Donald Trump openly backing Bitcoin — and reportedly owning it himself — Held said he sees a regulatory and reputational change. “We have the most open administration toward Bitcoin in the United States,” he said. “It kind of feels weird... Normally in the press, Bitcoin mining is destroying the environment. It’s being used by money launderers… And instead, you've got the president encouraging Bitcoin.”Held traced Bitcoin’s unlikely rise through moments of adversity, from China’s mining crackdowns to the Biden administration’s strict approach to crypto banking. Yet despite those challenges, roughly 25% of Americans now own Bitcoin, he said.DeFi on BitcoinWhat comes next may push the asset into a new phase. Held and Jenkinson are proponents of building decentralized finance (DeFi) tools on top of Bitcoin, functionalities traditionally associated with blockchains like Ethereum or Solana.“If we could bring [DeFi] back to Bitcoin, then Bitcoin could utilize not just spot speculation... but these other speculative games then would allow bitcoin to grow even faster.” That includes borrowing, lending, and staking, all mechanisms that allow users to interact with Bitcoin beyond simple holding or trading.Related: How crypto payments can become the new ‘tap-and-go’ — Pulsar co-founderJenkinson echoed the potential, highlighting a shift in attitude: “If you can use [Bitcoin] and bring DeFi to it, you’re basically allowing people to use digital gold as the underlying asset... It’s a very hard thing to do, because most hardcore Bitcoin maximalists don’t want people to give up their Bitcoin for something else.”That tension between so-called “Bitcoin puritans” and more moderate voices is not new, Held noted. He recounted the 2017 Bitcoin Cash fork, describing it as “a civil war... brother against brother.” But unlike that contentious split, today’s evolution is happening without rewriting Bitcoin’s base rules. “No one’s proposing to change the rules of Bitcoin,” Held said. “This is innovation built on top.”To hear the full conversation on The Clear Crypto Podcast, listen to the full episode on Cointelegraph’s Podcasts page, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And don’t forget to check out Cointelegraph’s full lineup of other shows! Magazine: ZK-proofs are bringing smart contracts to Bitcoin — BitcoinOS and Starknet
Published Date: 2025-05-08 13:30:00Creator: Cointelegraph by Savannah Fortis
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Coinbase to acquire options trading platform Deribit for $2.9B
Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US by trading volume, has agreed to acquire Deribit, one of the world’s biggest crypto derivatives trading platforms.Coinbase Global will acquire Deribit for about $2.9 billion, the exchange announced on May 8.The acquisition will allow Coinbase to expand into the profitable crypto derivatives market and continue scaling the platform’s global growth, Greg Tusar, Coinbase’s vice president of institutional product, said in the announcement.“With Deribit’s strong presence and professional client base, Coinbase is making its most substantial move yet to accelerate our international growth strategy,” he said.Source: CoinbaseDeribit founders to step awayFollowing the deal’s success, expected later in 2025, Deribit founders John and Marius Jansen will step away from the firm. Their exit would mark the end of the joint venture that began in 2014, Deribit said in a statement on Thursday.Until the deal is closed later this year, pending regulatory approvals, Deribit will continue its business as usual. “Same platform, same team, same commitment to excellence,” the announcement noted.Source: Deribit“We’re excited to join forces with Coinbase to power a new era in global crypto derivatives,” Deribit CEO Luuk Strijers said, adding:“As the leading crypto options platform, we’ve built a strong, profitable business, and this acquisition will accelerate the foundation we laid while providing traders with even more opportunities across spot, futures, perpetuals, and options — all under one trusted brand.”The announcement also mentioned that integrating Deribit’s technology with Coinbase’s products will enable “more efficient onboarding, enhanced fiat rails, and capital efficiency across the entire trading lifecycle.”Deal follows reports of Dubai regulatory stepsThe $2.9 billion deal includes $700 million in cash and 11 million shares of Coinbase Class A common stock, subject to customary purchase price adjustments.“This transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close by year-end,” the announcement said.Previous reports in March suggested that Coinbase and Deribit had alerted regulators in Dubai about the potential deal, as Deribit holds a license in Dubai, which would need to be transferred to Coinbase if the deal is successful.Related: Ripple $4B–$5B bid to purchase Circle rejected — ReportThe reports also previously suggested that a deal with Coinbase could value Deribit at between $4 billion and $5 billion.Coinbase’s Deribit acquisition marks a growing trend of large acquisitions in the cryptocurrency market. On May 1, rival exchange Kraken officially announced it was finalizing the acquisition of the derivatives trading platform NinjaTrader to offer futures trading.Kraken previously said it entered into an agreement to acquire NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion, subject to certain purchase price adjustments.Magazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight
Published Date: 2025-05-08 13:19:31Creator: Cointelegraph by Helen Partz
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