Author: Admin-aX9d7
In brief The U.S. economy contracted at an annualized rate of 0.3% in the first quarter. Traders grew more confident that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates this summer. The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) rose on Wednesday but has declined 8.3% year-to-date. Bitcoin fell on Wednesday after the U.S. economy shrank for the first time in three years, underscoring recession concerns. But an economic contraction might actually be bullish for the asset, according to one analyst.The growing prospect of a U.S. recession–typically defined as a decline in GDP for two straight quarters–is lifting rate cut hopes as the dollar appears…
Imagine your investments working around the clock, scanning global markets for the best opportunities — all without you having to lift a finger. Sound futuristic? It’s already a reality.In traditional finance (TradFi), algorithms handle nearly 70% of U.S. stock trades. Now, artificial intelligence (AI) agents are stepping up. These aren’t just basic bots but innovative systems that learn, adapt and make real-time decisions. VanEck predicts the number of AI agents will skyrocket from 10,000 to over a million by the end of 2025.What this means for youAI agents are already at work behind the scenes analyzing market trends, balancing portfolios…
Arizona has taken yet another huge step toward potentially adopting Bitcoin. The state legislature has officially passed two bills that would see Arizona hold Bitcoin as part of its treasury reserves. In a vote of 31-25, Senate Bill (SB) 1025, sponsored by Senator Wendy Rodgers, passed alongside SB 1373, sponsored by Senator Mark Finchem, in a vote of 37-19. Both bills seek to create a strategic reserve of Bitcoin for the state of Arizona. The resolution directs the state to study the potential impacts and logistics of adding BTC to its financial holdings, which would make Arizona the first state…
Mainstream conversations around digital assets largely focus on the dramatic price performance of bitcoin and ether. For years, retail and institutional investors have targeted beta exposure, or returns that mirror the broader crypto market. However, the introduction of products like bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded products (ETPs) have made achieving beta more accessible, with these products drawing over $100 billion in institutional capital.But as the asset class matures, the conversation is shifting. More institutions are now pursuing alpha, or returns that exceed the market, through actively managed strategies.The role of uncorrelated returns in diversificationLow correlation to traditional assets enhances…
Opinion by: Fraser Edwards, co-founder and CEO, CheqdBrutal honesty has its place, especially when confronting discomfort, so here’s one that can’t be sweetened with honey: 96% of imported honey in the UK is fake! Tests found that 24 of 25 jars were suspicious or didn’t meet regulatory standards. Self-sovereign identity (SSI) can fix this. The UK Food Standards Agency and the European Commission both urge reform to tackle this concern by creating a robust traceability database within supply chain networks to ensure consumer transparency and trust. Data, however, is not the problem. The issue is people tampering with it. This is not the…
This is a segment from the Supply Shock newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe. To be clear, Satoshi never actually coded a poker game into the Bitcoin client. Bitcoin’s creator did, however, include the graphic user interface for a poker lobby in the first version. Satoshi removed the code in the very next commit. Erik Voorhees made up for it and then some with SatoshiDice. The service launched around this time in 2012 as a provably fair Bitcoin betting game that mostly ran onchain. Players would directly send bitcoin to one of many “1dice” vanity addresses, each with their own…
What if there were a crypto protocol that specialized in arbitrating on-chain disputes?Imagine if, whenever prediction markets like Polymarket settled in a controversial manner, users had a formal way to appeal through a sort of neutral on-chain court system. Or if decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) could rely on an efficient, knowledgeable third party to help them make decisions. Or if insurance contracts could automatically execute payouts when specific real-world events occurred.That’s essentially what Albert Castellana Lluís and his team are building with GenLayer, a crypto project that markets itself as a decision-making system, or trust infrastructure.“We’re using a blockchain that…
Fraudulent tech workers with ties to North Korea are expanding their infiltration operations to blockchain firms outside the US after increased scrutiny from authorities, with some having worked their way into UK crypto projects, Google says.Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) adviser Jamie Collier said in an April 2 report that while the US is still a key target, increased awareness and right-to-work verification challenges have forced North Korean IT workers to find roles at non-US companies.“In response to heightened awareness of the threat within the United States, they’ve established a global ecosystem of fraudulent personas to enhance operational agility,” Collier…
Coinbase is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a case that could fundamentally reshape digital privacy laws in America.Though not a direct party to the case, Coinbase joined several states, Elon Musk’s X (formerly known as Twitter) and a handful of privacy advocacy groups in filing an amicus brief in Harper v. O’Donnell on Wednesday morning, calling on the Court to reconsider how the so-called third-party doctrine is applied in the digital age. The doctrine, dating back to the 1970s, holds that individuals lose their expectation of privacy when they voluntarily share information with third parties like banks,…
April 2025 witnessed crypto markets rocked by more tariffs at the direction of US President Donald Trump — controversial policies that could have influenced the outcome of Canada’s elections on April 28. On April 2, Trump levied “discounted reciprocal tariffs” on 185 countries and territories. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2,200 points on April 4, while the S&P 500 dropped nearly 6%, its largest decline since March 2020. Bitcoin (BTC) went along for the ride but broke from stocks as it recovered toward the end of the month. Blockchain adoption metrics for Ethereum are looking good, as the network now…