Из жизни альткоинов

Ripple’s decision to launch RLUSD was not a sudden expansion beyond XRP so much as a move to internalize a business it was already helping power at scale. Speaking at FII Priority Miami 2026, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the company’s role in stablecoin flows had grown large enough that building its own product became the logical next step.

Why Ripple Entered the Stablecoin Market

Garlinghouse said the turning point came well before RLUSD’s launch 13 months ago. “Two years ago, we were minting 20% of all USDC,” he said, tying that activity directly to Ripple’s payments business. With more than $100 billion in payment flows already processed, Ripple concluded that if it was already a major engine behind stablecoin usage, it made sense to bring that function in-house.

He also linked the decision to a moment of stress in the stablecoin market. Garlinghouse pointed to USDC’s temporary depeg during the Silicon Valley Bank collapse as a reminder that institutional users care about balance-sheet strength as much as blockchain rails.

“Circle came out and said, hey, we’ll stand in the gap. We’ll guarantee the peg. And it didn’t move because at that point, Circle didn’t have a balance sheet,” he said. “Ripple has on our balance sheet, you know, 60, 70 billion dollars of crypto. We have about four billion dollars of US dollars. And so I think we’re in a position to really have a very compliant, very institutional focused stablecoin.”

According to Garlinghouse, stablecoins are increasingly adopted not because companies want exposure to crypto branding, but because they want a better way to solve treasury, settlement and cross-border transfer problems. That broader shift, he argued, is already reshaping how the sector is perceived.

Garlinghouse compared the current state of crypto to the internet industry in the late 1990s, when companies led with the technology rather than the use case. “We don’t talk about anything as an internet company now because it’s just prevalent in the background,” he said. “And I think that’s where some of the blockchain and crypto based solutions are heading”. Companies, he added, “just want to solve a payments problem. They want to solve a custody problem.”

On market structure, Garlinghouse expects the stablecoin field to get more crowded before it gets smaller. He said the biggest banks are already evaluating whether they should issue their own stablecoins, but questioned whether the market benefits from too many dollar-backed instruments that ultimately serve the same economic function. “We don’t need, you know, 50 US dollar stablecoins. Like, why? Like, they’re all, it’s still, at the end of the day, a U.S. dollar,” he said.

That does not mean he sees no room for differentiation. Instead, he argued that trust, licensing and reserve transparency will become the real competitive variables as the market matures. Ripple, he said, has deliberately taken a compliance-first route, pursuing not just a New York Department of Financial Services license but also an OCC license.

He added that the sector as a whole needs more regulatory verification and disclosure, pointing even to Tether’s renewed push for an audit as evidence that transparency is becoming harder to avoid.

Garlinghouse was similarly upbeat on the US policy backdrop. He described passage of the Genius Act as a major unlock for demand and said corporate executives are now actively asking whether stablecoins should be part of their operations. While he said follow-on legislation around asset classification has been slower, he argued the tone in Washington has already shifted sharply, citing recent coordination between the SEC and CFTC and predicting further progress by the end of May.

“So I think we already have made huge progress in this administration to provide some of that structure and Clarity [Act]. I think clarity will still pass. I was in Washington two days ago, and I think we’ll still get something. […] I’ll predict by the end of May we’ll get something across,” Garlinghouse said.

At press time, XRP traded at $1.36.

Федеральный суд Австралии наложил административный штраф 10 млн австралийских долларов (около $6,9 млн) на платформу Binance Australia Derivatives. Платформа предлагает криптовалютные деривативы. Ей вменяются нарушения, которые привели к многомиллионным убыткам клиентов и завышенным комиссиям.

Vietnam’s police has dismantled an “exceptionally large” multi-billion dollar crypto scam centered on selling fake digital currencies.

Inside The Multi-Billion Dollar Crypto Scam

The Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security (national police) announced on Thursday the arrest of at least seven people in relation with ONUS, a Vietnamese-based crypto investment app and exchange that was used by millions of Vietnamese investors, AFP reports through Nampa.

140 people were summoned for questioning before the arrest of fintech and blockchain entrepreneur Vuong Le Vinh Nhan (aka Eric Vuong) and six accomplices, on charges of property appropriation and money laundering. The platform suddenly became inaccessible around March 20, leaving retail users locked out and scrambling for answers.

The police claims Vuong’s group has been operating since 2018, allegedly creating fake coins, issuing and selling them through ONUS, while manipulating supply, demand, and prices to manufacture paper gains and lure in more victims. The scam leaves millions of users affected, and at least one investor saying they were “devastated” after losing over $15,000.

A Country Of Booming Crypto Scams

Vietnam has become one of the world’s hottest retail‑crypto markets, with around 17 million digital asset holders. Hanoi bans crypto as a means of payment but allows speculation in a legal grey zone, which scammers exploit: this is not Vietnam’s first case of high-profile crypto fraud.

The country has already seen multiple digital assets frauds and Ponzi‑style schemes. Back in 2018, around 32,000 people may fell victim to a $658 million Initial Coin Offering (ICO) scam for two different cryptocurrencies, both of which were launched by Ho Chi Minh City-based company Modern Tech JSC. In 2024, Vietnamese authorities dismantled another large-scale cryptocurrency scam orchestrated by a company called ‘Million Smiles,’ protecting nearly 300 potential victims from financial exploitation, after it had already swindled around $1.17 million.

Takeaways For Traders

Emerging‑market retail booms combined with regulatory grey areas are turning Southeast Asia into a hotspot for “short‑cycle” high‑yield scams, even as regulators worldwide step up enforcement. It would not come as a surprise if we see Vietnam’s policy change its trajectory into an strategy of more pressure for clear rules on token issuance, exchanges, and marketing, and less tolerance for “experimental” platforms operating at scale.

For traders, the ONUS saga is a reminder that jurisdictional risk matters just as much as chart patterns. Enforcement in regulatory grey zones can flip from hands‑off to aggressive overnight, and when that happens, liquidity on localized platforms tends to disappear far faster than most risk models assume. “Too‑good‑to‑be‑regulated” is no longer a clever marketing line; it is a working definition of counterparty risk.

Cover image from Perplexity, BTCUSD chart from Tradingview

Полиция Вьетнама сообщила о мошеннической схеме с «поддельной криптовалютой» на «многие миллиарды долларов». Схему применяли создатели вьетнамской платформы ONUS, говорят правоохранители.

Over the last few months, there have been heavy selling that has contributed to push the Bitcoin price downward. A good chunk of this selling had come from major holders as they moved to secure profits on their holdings. However, amid the sell-offs, one interesting name continues to pop up, with selling ramping up to over 8,000 BTC. The name is Bhutan, a small country of less than one million people, which held almost $1.5 billion in BTC at one point.

Bhutan’s Bitcoin Sell-Offs Cross 8,000 BTC

For years now, Bhutan has been mining and stacking Bitcoin through a government-sponsored mining operation. Over time, this stack grew to thousands of coins, reaching 13,000 BTC back in 2024. According to data from Arkham Intelligence, the country’s stack was worth almost $1.5 billion at its peak in 2025.

With the price rising over $100,000, though, Bhutan had begun to reduce its BTC holdings gradually, selling off millions of dollars’ worth of coins at a time. At first, the country moved slowly, initially starting out by sending USDT balances to the Binance crypto exchange. But then, things began to change as it started to trim its Bitcoin holdings.

This sell-off trend continued into the year 2025, with the government selling off BTC in stacks worth between $1 million and $5 million at the start of the year. However, there has been a major shift in the sell-off volumes in the month of March, as Bhutan moved hundreds of BTC in single transactions.

Some of the notable transactions include 175 BTC worth $11.86 million that was moved on March 9. Then a 205.52 BTC move worth $15.14 million was moved out on March 17. As time went on, the amounts only got higher, crossing 500 BTC in single transactions.

On March 18, 595.84 BTC worth $44.44 million was moved out of the government’s wallet, and then 519.7 BTC worth $36.75 million was moved out on March 25. This latest move brought Bhutan’s Bitcoin holdings down to 4,453 BTC, meaning the country has sold around 8,547 BTC since its holdings peaked at 13,000 in 2025.

So far, the country seems to have made the most transfers to Binance, reaching over $100 million sent to the crypto exchange. However, one interesting name has popped up this year, and that is QCP Capital. QCP Capital is a digital asset trading firm based in Singapore, and according to its public profile, it facilitates trading services between traditional finance and the crypto world.

Taking this into account, the transfers from Bhutan to QCP Capital suggest that it is facilitating the BTC sell-offs for the country. So far, it has handled around $16 million in BTC for Bhutan, and this figure could continue to grow if the country continues to dump its Bitcoin holdings.

Аналитики платформы Ecoinometrics оценили срок восстановления биткоина до уровня $126 000 примерно в 300 дней при текущем снижении на 45% от исторического максимума.

Члены Конгресса США Стивен Линч (Stephen Lynch) и Брайан Стейл (Bryan Steil) призвали Комиссию по ценным бумагам и биржам (SEC) усилить надзор за криптоиндустрией, указав на риски для инвесторов.

Автор книги о финансовой грамотности «Богатый папа, бедный папа» Роберт Кийосаки (Robert Kiyosaki) рассказал, что приобрел свои первые шесть биткоинов за $600 — на тот момент это были все его средства.

Gemini’s stock, GEMI, has plunged 90% from its September 2025 high, raising fresh concerns about the crypto exchange founded by twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss. 

As a result, market expert Dom Kwok, co-founder of blockchain firm EasyA Labs, warned on social media platform X (previously Twitter) that Gemini could face bankruptcy before the end of the year. 

Kwok’s forecast ties together several pressure points: multiple class-action suits, an exodus of senior executives, slowing revenue growth, accelerating losses, and what he described as a “doom loop” that could further destabilize the company.

Expert Warns Gemini Could Need Dilutive Bailout 

According to Kwok, Gemini — founded more than a decade ago — continues to post annual losses in the hundreds of millions and is burning through initial public offering (IPO) proceeds at a rapid pace. 

Once those cash reserves are depleted, he said, the firm will likely need highly dilutive financing that would further erode shareholder value and prompt more investors to sell.

Earlier this month, a string of class actions was filed alleging that Gemini misled investors about its growth prospects and concealed internal executive turmoil ahead of the September 2025 initial public offering. 

Plaintiffs contend the company overstated the long-term strength and stability of its core exchange business, exaggerated plans for international expansion and user growth, hid the risks tied to a major strategic pivot and restructuring, and failed to disclose widening losses and departures from the C‑suite.

That pivot became public in February of this year when the exchange unveiled “Gemini 2.0.” The plan calls for a refocus on prediction markets, withdrawals from the UK, the European Union (EU), and Australia, and workforce reductions of about 25–30%. 

The announcement followed a series of senior departures: within weeks, the company’s chief operating officer, chief financial officer, and chief legal officer all left their roles effective immediately, stoking concerns about leadership stability.

Multi-Front Crisis

Kwok highlighted slowing revenue as another major concern. Gemini’s growth has reportedly dropped to 26% in 2025 from 45% the year before. He noted that companies that just go public typically speed up growth, not slow down. 

Operational complaints from users have compounded the firm’s problems. Multiple customers reported account suspensions, difficulties withdrawing funds, unpaid referral bonuses, and poor customer service.

Taken together, the lawsuits, executive turnover, strategic retreat, slowing revenue growth, and user complaints paint a bleak picture for the crypto exchange Gemini and its stock’s near‑term prospects. 

Kwok’s scenario of running through initial public offering cash and then facing dilutive financing rounds sketches a path that could accelerate capital flight and further depress the stock. 

At the time of writing, GEMI had already closed Thursday’s trading session at around $4.59 per share, having recorded additional intraday losses of 7%. No catalyst that could help the stock’s performance has been disclosed yet. 

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com 

Член Палаты представителей Конгресса США Максин Уотерс (Maxine Waters), состоящая в Демократической партии, потребовала от Федерального резервного банка Канзас-Сити разъяснить основания предоставления криптобирже Kraken доступа к платежным услугам Федеральной резервной системы (ФРС).

Неизвестный приобрел около 40 млн токенов управления MFAM кредитного протокола Moonwell, потратив примерно $1800. Это позволило ему собрать кворум и вынести на голосование предложение по управлению протоколом, сообщает издание The Block.

Текущая волатильность биткоина почти вдвое ниже, чем пять лет назад. В 2025 году показатель исторической волатильности (HV) составил около 42% против 80% в 2021 году, сообщили аналитики компании Charles Schwab.

Data shows the Unrealized Loss on the Bitcoin network has been elevated recently, but investor pain remains below previous capitulation events.

Bitcoin Has Seen A Notable Value On The Relative Unrealized Loss Recently

In its latest weekly report, on-chain analytics firm Glassnode has discussed the latest trend in the Bitcoin Relative Unrealized Loss, an indicator that measures how the total unrealized loss on the network compares with the asset’s market cap.

The metric works by going through the transaction history of each token in circulation to determine what price it was last moved at. If this last transfer price was more than the current spot price for any token, then that particular coin is assumed to be underwater today. The exact amount of loss held by the token is equal to the difference between the two prices.

The Relative Unrealized Loss totals this difference for all coins of this type and calculates how the sum stacks up against the market cap. Another indicator called the Relative Unrealized Profit tracks the same for the tokens with a cost basis lower than the latest BTC value.

Now, here is the chart shared by Glassnode that shows the trend in the 7-day moving average (MA) of the Bitcoin Relative Unrealized Loss over the last several years:

As is visible in the above graph, the 7-day MA of the Bitcoin Relative Unrealized Loss approached a value of zero in 2025 as BTC set its all-time high (ATH). With the bearish shift that arrived in the last quarter of that year, however, the metric saw a rapid increase.

The continuation of bearish momentum earlier this year caused a further degree of expansion in the indicator and as BTC has been stuck in consolidation since then, the high amount of unrealized losses have maintained on the network.

“Over the past two months, this metric has stabilized above 15% of market cap, a structure closely resembling conditions seen during Q2 2022,” noted the analytics firm. Though, it’s visible from the chart that the latest levels have still been much lower than some capitulation events from the 2022 bear market, including the FTX collapse which marked that cycle’s bottom.

So, given the current market conditions, how long will it take for things to turn around for Bitcoin? The report explained that resolving such a degree of unrealized loss has historically required time, further price depression, or some combination of both. It added:

A sharp V-shaped recovery remains a theoretical possibility, but given the current magnitude of unrealized losses, it would demand an extraordinary and sustained influx of fresh capital within a compressed timeframe.

BTC Price

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $68,600, down 3.5% over the past week.

Около 80% владельцев бессрочных привилегированных акций Stretch составляют частные инвесторы, тогда как среди держателей обыкновенных акций (MSTR) их доля составляет около 40%. Об этом заявил генеральный директор компании Strategy Фонг Ле (Phong Le).

Комитет Госдумы РФ по энергетике предложил ввести административные штрафы за майнинг в центрах обработки данных (ЦОД), которые включены в специальный реестр Минцифры.

Stand With Crypto, an advocacy group backed by crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN), has unveiled its first endorsements for the upcoming midterm elections in the United States and unveiled a new online voter hub aimed at mobilizing pro-crypto voters. 

Stand With Crypto Builds Voter Tools 

In a Thursday press release, the organization said it will back six incumbent lawmakers from both major parties and focus resources on a set of competitive House contests where it believes crypto issues could be decisive.

The voter hub, the group said, will compile up-to-date information on congressional candidates’ positions on digital assets, including scorecards that rate candidates’ favorability based on public statements, legislative records, and responses to a Stand With Crypto questionnaire. 

The group described the hub as a tool to equip its network — more than 2.7 million advocates nationwide — with the information needed to cast informed ballots in November.

Mason Lynaugh, executive director of the Coinbase-backed group, framed the initiative as an effort to convert crypto supporters into an influential voting bloc, stating: 

This year, crypto voters are poised to play a powerful and decisive role at the ballot box — our goal is to equip our more than 2.7 million advocates across the country with the tools they need to make informed choices this November. 

Lynaugh added that the organization’s priority races are intended to help ensure that the 120th Congress is “the most pro-crypto session in America’s history,” and that the initial slate of endorsed candidates already has a record of supporting clear, pragmatic policies that foster innovation.

Stand With Crypto named six members of Congress in its first endorsement round: Representative Zach Nunn (R-Iowa), Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nevada), Rep. Mike Lawler (R-New York), Rep. Don Davis (D-North Carolina), Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio), and Rep. Rob Borsellino Bresnahan (R-Pennsylvania). 

Majority Of Crypto Owners Want Clearer Rules 

The group also reported that among 1,000 crypto owners and advocates polled, 59% of crypto owners and 77% of Stand With Crypto advocates are heterogeneous voters who do not reliably vote for a single party. 

The group noted that nearly a third of these voters are persuadable in their respective US Senate contests, suggesting that candidates’ positions on cryptocurrencies could sway outcomes.

Survey results also suggest crypto owners are highly motivated to vote: nearly 80% described themselves as “almost certain” to vote in 2026, and more than 75% said they were enthusiastic about participating in the general election — figures Stand With Crypto said outpace the broader adult population. 

A majority (64%) of crypto owners said they would be enthusiastic about supporting candidates who back the cryptocurrency industry, and about 47% said they could back a candidate who agreed with them on crypto even if they disagreed on other policy areas. 

Importantly for ongoing congressional negotiations on the anticipated CLARITY Act, 74% of crypto owners said they would be more likely to support candidates who favor clearer regulatory frameworks for the sector, with 31% saying they would be much more likely to do so.

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com 

Криптовалютный аналитик Бенджамин Коуэн (Benjamin Cowen) заявил, что текущая ситуация на рынке напоминает динамику 2022 года. Он допускает дальнейшее снижение курса биткоина.

6–7 июня на площадке «Геленджик Арена» пройдет форум, посвященный блокчейну, Web3 и DeFi. В нем примут участие представители криптоиндустрии, включая руководителей компаний и профильных экспертов.

The Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed rule to allow crypto investment options for 401(k) retirement plans has cleared the White House’s regulatory review, bringing digital assets closer to the US’s $10 trillion market.

White House Clears DOL’s Proposed 401(k) Rule

The White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has concluded its review of a proposed rule submitted by the Department of Labor that could pave the way for crypto exposure in 401(k) retirement plans.

Notably, the Labor Department rescinded a 2022 guidance that discouraged fiduciaries from including crypto investments in 401(k) plans. The guidance followed a Biden-era executive order (EO) that required the government to assess the risks and benefits of digital assets.

As reported by Bitcoinist, it directed plan fiduciaries under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to exercise extreme caution before incorporating crypto assets into their investment menus, asserting that the digital asset industry’s early stage could pose significant risks.

The DOL’s proposal, named “Fiduciary Duties in Selecting Designated Investment Alternatives,” could amend the fiduciary guidance for plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

This could potentially allow plan sponsors to include cryptocurrencies and private equity as designated investment alternatives. The federal agency marked the action as “consistent with change” and designed the proposal as an “economically significant” rule in its review, which concluded on March 24.

According to the OIRA website, the proposed rule carries no legal deadline for finalization. However, the DOL is expected to formally release the proposal in the coming weeks, allowing for a standard 60-day public comment period. Following this, revisions will be made, and a final rule will be issued.

US Push To Allow Crypto In Retirement Plants

The proposal follows an executive order signed by President Donald Trump last August seeking to allow more private equity, real estate, cryptocurrency, and other alternative assets in 401(k) retirement accounts.

The order directed the DOL, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Treasury Secretary, and other federal agencies to reduce regulatory barriers that prohibited investments in alternative assets in their defined contribution retirement plans and explore ways to facilitate access to these assets.

In January, Bitwise’s CIO, Matt Hougan, discussed the possibility of 2026 being the year investors can own Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in 401(k) retirement plans, citing that the inclusion of digital assets is becoming more common in individual retirement accounts (IRAs).

The executive argued that providers are slow to adapt, but acknowledged that the Trump administration’s pro-crypto stance, which effectively removed the ban on crypto from 401(k)s, has opened the door to the multi-trillion-dollar market.

Recently, some US states have pushed to embed crypto into their public financial systems. In February, Indiana lawmakers advanced House Bill 1042 (HB 1042), also known as the Bitcoin Rights Bill, which requires several state-administered programs, including retirement plans for teachers, public employees, and legislators, to offer self-directed brokerage accounts with at least one digital asset investment option.

Multiple US lawmakers have backed the Trump Administration’s initiatives. In September, nine House members requested that the SEC Chairman, Paul Atkins, provide prompt assistance in implementing the president’s executive order and collaborate with the DOL to safeguard workers.

In addition, House of Representatives member Troy Downing introduced a bill to codify Trump’s directive and grant it the “force and effect of law.” This move aimed to facilitate investors’ access to Bitcoin and other alternative assets within their 401(k) retirement plans.

Data shows Strategy is currently the main driver of corporate Bitcoin demand, as other companies have seen their purchase share shrink to just 2%.

Strategy Behind Most Of The Bitcoin Treasury Buying From The Past Month

In a new post on X, on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant has highlighted how Bitcoin treasury demand is now being driven entirely by Strategy. Treasury companies refer to corporates that keep BTC on their balance sheet as a way of providing their investors with indirect exposure to the cryptocurrency. This model was popularized by Strategy, which, under the leadership of Michael Saylor, has aggressively accumulated BTC.

While the cryptocurrency sector has gone through a bearish shift recently, the firm hasn’t lost its conviction, with regular purchases only continuing. As a result of this steady accumulation, Strategy today controls over 3.8% of the entire Bitcoin supply in circulation, making it by far the largest digital asset treasury company in the world.

It would appear, though, that while the company hasn’t faltered by the change of winds in the market, the same hasn’t been true for the other corporate investors.

As is visible in the data shared by CryptoQuant, the middle portion of 2025 saw a rapid expansion of Bitcoin purchases from companies other than Strategy. These buys meant that total corporate demand far outweighed the accumulation from Saylor’s firm alone.

As the market has gone downhill, however, buying from other companies has dried up. In the past month, Strategy bought about 45,000 BTC, but purchases from other companies totaled just 1,000 BTC. This reflects a collapse of a whopping 99% for the latter.

In percentage terms, Strategy’s buying made up for 98% of the corporate demand from the last 30 days, once again capturing the current asymmetry in the sector. “With ~76% of holdings, the industry is highly concentrated; there is no broad corporate demand right now,” noted the analytics firm.

That said, while Bitcoin treasury companies other than Strategy may have paused accumulation, it doesn’t mean that the firm is the sole treasury buyer in the entire digital asset sector. Bitmine, the largest public holder of Ethereum, has also continued to make regular purchases recently.

Another source of institutional demand in the market today is the US spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs), exchange vehicles that allow traders to invest in BTC without directly having to interact with blockchain infrastructure.

Earlier, these funds were facing net outflows, but recently, the weekly netflow has managed to get a green streak going, according to data from SoSoValue. These recent small but steady inflows could be an early sign that some institutional interest may be pouring back into Bitcoin.

BTC Price

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is floating around $69,300, down 3% over the last 24 hours.