Base network has achieved a significant milestone by reaching the Phase One of Ethereum Rollup decentralization, as reported by COINOTAG News on April 30th. This advancement introduces a robust dispute
Check out U.Today’s news digest to stay updated on the latest events in the crypto industry!
Stablecoins are at a crossroads: either fade into bank plumbing or outrun incumbents and own the distribution. Who's sprinting—and who risks being left behind?
On April 30th, renowned trader Eugene Ng Ah Sio shared insights on the evolving landscape of cryptocurrency and its resilience against recent geopolitical tensions. Despite a wave of negative news,
Dogecoin, often celebrated as the first meme coin, is on the cusp of making financial history with its anticipated debut on Wall Street. The push for a Dogecoin exchange-traded fund
Taurus and Figment announced a partnership to enable institutional staking for major global banks. Crypto staking may soon be coming to major TradFi banks. On Tuesday, April 29, crypto custody company Taurus and staking service Figment partnered to enable banks to easily stake Ethereum (ETH) , Solana (SOL) , among others. Notably, banks that hold Ethereum, Solana, or other proof-of-stake tokens on Taurus custody can now earn staking rewards on their assets. What’s more, they can do this within the Taurus PROTECT platform for crypto custody, while also retaining full ownership over their funds. You might also like: Balchunas: Canadian Solana ETFs to include staking, may face slow start “This collaboration leverages both companies’ experience working with leading regulated banks and large institutions, and we are proud to provide a seamless and robust asset custody solution that enables staking, which is tailored to meet the needs of this customer base,” Eva Lawrence, Figment’s Regional Managing Director in EMEA. Staking for banks becomes easier Figment’s staking services tap directly into Taurus PROTECT, enabling banks to stake their assets without performing complex blockchain operations. At the same time, Taurus claims that the staked assets remain within their secure platform. “This collaboration between Taurus and Figment brings together two firms that share a deep institutional DNA. It reflects our commitment to providing regulated financial institutions with secure, compliant, and scalable access to staking services,” said Victor Busson, Chief Marketing Officer at Taurus. For institutions that invest in altcoins like Solana and Ethereum, staking income is essential for making their investment worthwhile. This is especially true for Solana holders, whose high staking rewards make it attractive for staking. For instance, some 64.98% of Solana tokens are currently staked, and its staking market cap has recently overtaken that of Ethereum. What is more, some of the upcoming Solana ETFs are expected to include staking rewards as well. You might also like: SOL Strategies secures $500m in funding for Solana purchases and staking
VIRTUAL, the native token of Virtuals Protocol, a platform for creating AI agents, now ranks as a top 100 cryptocurrency after surging 147% over the past week. The token now boasts a market cap of nearly $938.3 million, ranking as the 94th-largest crypto asset. The milestone marks the first time VIRTUAL has ranked among the top 100 crypto assets by market cap in eight weeks. VIRTUAL suffered a violent sell-off after posting a record-high market cap of $4.61 billion on January 2, ranking 32nd among crypto assets at the time. However, the token tumbled 94% to post a local low of $285 million on April 7. Despite the brutal downtrend, VIRTUAL has since bounced back with a strong rally. The token’s price is up 234.5% from the local low, last changing hands for $1.46. VIRTUAL/USD price chart. Source: CoinGecko. The move coincides with an uptick in the revenue generated by Virtuals AI agents, which raked in $120,292 on April 28 — the highest daily revenue since February 6, according to Dune. The rally follows the project unveiling a new fee structure on March 29, with agent creators now receiving 70% of protocol trading fees. Binance.US also launched trading for the token on April 29. VIRTUAL leads sector-wide stir among AI agents Virtuals Protocol isn’t the only AI agent project mounting a comeback, with AI16Z also rallying 119% over the past week. ElizaOS (AI16Z) similarly topped out in early January with a $2.53 billion market cap and shed 95.6% before posting a local low of $110.4 million on April 7. The project’s AI agents currently manage more than $20 million worth of assets on behalf of investors. Goatseus Maximus (GOAT), a token inspired by the Truth Terminal AI agent, is also up 56.4% in seven days. GOAT made waves in November when it became the first token associated with an AI agent to break above the $1 billion market cap barrier. The token’s market cap is now $86.3 million, up 228% from $36.3 million on April 7. Fartcoin, another token inspired by Truth Terminal, has steadily gained ground since bottoming out on March 11. The token’s market cap currently sits at $1.09 billion, marking a nearly 400% gain in four weeks. Cryptopolitan Academy: Want to grow your money in 2025? Learn how to do it with DeFi in our upcoming webclass. Save Your Spot
The state of Arizona took a major step toward Bitcoin adoption, passing two bills that enable the investment of public funds in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. The move would mean that Arizona would become the first US state to adopt a Bitcoin reserve. Arizona could invest in Bitcoin or other types of digital assets, such as NFTs. Lawmakers in the House of Representatives passed two bills, including Senate Bill 1025 and Senate Bill 1373, which would allow Arizona to allocate 10% of its treasury and pension funds into Bitcoin and other digital assets. The Senate Bill 1025 focused on Bitcoin as an investment asset, while Senate Bill 1373 focused on other digital assets. Both bills concentrate on establishing a framework for investing public funds in cryptocurrencies. Arizona has been very busy about crypto legislation, pushing a bill in March to include Bitcoin ETFs in government pension portfolios and another bill to protect Bitcoin miners. Bill 1025 defines how the government allocates their funds, such as from pensions and treasuries. The bill further suggested that the crypto funds could be stored in a separate account under the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve. Bill 1024 amends Arizona law to allow the state to invest up to 10% of its public funds in digital assets. Bill 1373, however, focuses on what the state can do with seized cryptocurrencies that have been confiscated by law enforcement. The bill states that such funds do not expire after one year, which is the usual expiration date for seized assets, but they can still be seized. Instead, Bill 1373 allows the State Treasury to take possession of the funds through a new custody process. Arizona manages a substantial amount of public funds, amounting to around $30 billion, which means that a 10% allocation would allow the state government to allocate roughly $3 billion to cryptocurrencies. The bills state that digital assets must be managed with quality procedures that keep the assets secure. The management of a crypto portfolio would inherit all of the risk management procedures used with other public portfolios. Other states, meanwhile, have been developing crypto legislation. Utah passed Bitcoin legislation in March, but removed key sections that enabled a Bitcoin reserve in the final revisions. Texas also developed crypto legislation in March. Texas has received less resistance to its Bitcoin legislation, increasing the probability that it will pass crypto laws at the state level. However, Arizona remains the leader in the race with its latest developments.
New Framework for Crypto Exchanges and Dealers United Kingdom Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves introduced a set of draft rules to regulate the crypto market more tightly on April 29. The draft legislation targets cryptocurrency dealers, exchanges, and agents, bringing them into a regime designed to better protect customers and encourage innovation. Following the Treasury’s announcement , the step is aimed at addressing the increased number of residents in the UK engaged with cryptocurrency like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). The government officials emphasized concern over exposing people to unregulated and dangerous companies and a surge in scam cases and fraud related to the digital assets. The UK must remain receptive to innovation, but not at the cost of consumer protection,” the statement read. “Today’s announcement sends a clear message: Britain is open for business — but closed to fraud, abuse, and instability.”. Under the new regulations, crypto exchanges will have to implement stricter anti-fraud measures, improved disclosure requirements, and sufficient warnings to investors regarding risks. Regulators will also be granted enhanced powers to crack down on rogue firms in Britain. Working with the United States and Next Steps The UK government statement also referenced ongoing talks with US counterparts for cross-border regulatory cooperation. Specifically, it referenced cooperation with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce on a planned US-UK cross-border sandbox — an effort aimed at allowing firms to test crypto-related products and services in a regulated manner across both markets. This global coordination aims to harmonize global crypto markets and reduce the tendency towards regulatory arbitrage, when firms relocate activities to places with more lenient regulations. The Treasury has said that it will introduce final legislation “at the earliest opportunity” after additional consultation with industry stakeholders. Firms and regulatory experts are invited to provide comments on the proposed rules to guide the ultimate legal regime. The UK’s approach is one of a larger global trend of governments seeking to reconcile the promise of blockchain technology with the need to address consumer protection risks. With the growth in cryptocurrency use, lawmakers around the world are moving quickly to protect financial stability and market integrity. By tightening the rules now, British authorities hope to create a safe environment for innovation to flourish without allowing criminal forces to chip away at trust in the financial system.
Stablecoins and Crypto Crime: A Growing Concern In 2024, the movement of $649 billion in stablecoins to high-risk addresses has raised alarms within the cryptocurrency community. This significant increase from