Bitcoin 'in position' for first key RSI breakout in 6 months at $85K
Bitcoin (BTC) circled $85,000 into the March 23 weekly close as excitement over a key trend change brewed.BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewBitcoin price meets decisive RSI setupData from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD finding strength during weekend trading.Up 1.5% on the day, Bitcoin edged higher as part of a broad crypto market uptick, which also lifted various major altcoins.“I think this next week will be telling where the market wants to head for the next higher timeframe move,” popular trader Daan Crypto Trades wrote in part of his latest X analysis, noting the closing position of CME Group’s Bitcoin futures.BTC/USD 15-minute chart. Source: Daan Crypto Trades/XThe post echoed the broader market sentiment as traders eyed the potential for a fresh push higher into the monthly close.Popular trader and analyst Rekt Capital reiterated encouraging breakout signs on daily timeframes for Bitcoin’s relative strength index (RSI).“The Daily RSI is showcasing early signs of retesting the Downtrend dating back to November 2024 as new support,” he reported.BTC/USD 1-day chart with RSI data. Source: Rekt Capital/XFor fellow analyst Matthew Hyland, however, current price levels held deeper significance.For the first time in six months, he revealed on the day that BTC/USD was about to seal a key bullish RSI divergence on weekly timeframes.“BTC can make weekly bullish divergence for the first time since September tonight,” he confirmed on X.“Currently in position.”BTC/USD 1-week chart with RSI data. Source: Matthew Hyland/XBull market to return in “a couple of weeks?”Elsewhere, trading team Stockmoney Lizards shrugged off the idea that Bitcoin risked entering a long-term bear market.Related: Here’s why Bitcoin price can’t go higher than $87.5KThe local bottom, it told X followers in its latest market analysis, lay at $76,000 — a level already revisited earlier this month.“While many are panicking and declaring a bear market, the long-term trend channel (green lines) remains firmly intact,” it summarized alongside a chart showing BTC price fluctuations around an average trend line during bull markets. “This correction doesn’t invalidate the uptrend – it confirms it.”BTC/USD 1-week chart. Source: Stockmoney Lizards/XStockmoney Lizards acknowledged that upside continuation may take some time.“This test doesn’t guarantee an immediate pump, but history indicates we’re approaching a bottoming zone,” it concluded.“How long does this take? Well, nobody knows. These days, news, macroeconomic signals etc. can determine the duration of our correction. Educated guess: a couple of weeks.”This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
Sonic unveils high-yield algorithmic stablecoin, reigniting Terra-Luna ‘PTSD’
The Sonic blockchain is working on the implementation of its yield-generating, algorithmic stablecoin despite fears over a potential collapse similar to the Terra-Luna meltdown that led to the industry’s longest crypto winter.Algorithmic stablecoins employ code-based mechanisms to ensure their price stability, as opposed to fiat stablecoins pegged directly to the value of the underlying currency.The Sonic blockchain is working on the implementation of an algorithmic stablecoin with up to 23% annual percentage rate (APR), according to Andre Cronje, co-founder of Sonic Labs and founder of Yearn.finance.Cronje wrote in a March 22 X post:“POC looks good. Yielding > 200% APR @ 10m tvl, around 23.5% APR @ 100m, steady at around 4.9% at 1bn+. Will scale up and get team for a full release.”Source: Andre CronjeThe announcement came a day after Cronje admitted to experiencing Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to algorithmic stablecoin due to previous cycles:“Pretty sure our team cracked algo stable coins today, but previous cycle gave me so much PTSD not sure if we should implement.”In May 2022, the $40 billion Terra ecosystem collapsed, erasing tens of billions of dollars of value in a matter of days. Terra’s algorithmic stablecoin, TerraUSD (UST), was yielding an over 20% annual percentage yield (APY) on Anchor Protocol. As UST lost its dollar peg, crashing to a low of around $0.30, Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon took to X to share his rescue plan. At the same time, the value of sister token LUNA, once a top-10 crypto project by market capitalization, plunged over 98% to $0.84. For reference: LUNA was trading north of $120 in early April.Related: Sonic TVL rises 66% to $253M since rebranding from FantomSonic claims to be the world’s fastest Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) chain, with a “true” 720 milliseconds (ms) finality — the assurance that a transaction is irreversible, which happens after it is added to a block on the blockchain ledger.Sonic has garnered attention in the crypto industry since its testnet achieved a 720 ms finality on Sept. 8, 2024.Related: FTX liquidated $1.5B in 3AC assets 2 weeks before hedge fund’s collapseInvestors are still buying collapsed LUNA token years after Terra crashThe Terra (LUNA) token is down over 98% from its all-time high of 19.54 recorded on May 28, 2022, nearly three years ago, CoinMarketCap data shows.LUNA/USD, all-time chart. Source: CoinMarketCapDespite the collapse, the token saw over $21 million worth of trading volume over the past 24 hours, which shows that “people are still buying it even though it’s dead,” noted popular technical analyst Optimus KevTron.The collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin issuer created shockwaves among both crypto investors and lawmakers.To create more stability, the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) bill will prohibit the issuance of algorithmic stablecoins to avoid another collapse similar to the Terra ecosystem’s.Magazine: ‘Hong Kong’s FTX’ victims win lawsuit, bankers bash stablecoins: Asia Express
The current BTC 'bear market' will only last 90 days — Analyst
The current Bitcoin (BTC) bear market, defined as a 20% or more drop from the all-time high, is relatively weak in terms of magnitude and should only last for 90 days, according to market analyst and the author of Metcalfe’s Law as a Model for Bitcoin’s Value, Timothy Peterson.Peterson compared the current downturn to the 10 previous bear markets, which occur roughly once per year, and said that only four bear markets have been worse than the price decline in terms of duration, including 2018, 2021, 2022, and 2024.The analyst predicted that BTC will not sink deeply below the $50,000 price level due to the underlying adoption trends. However, Peterson also argued that based on momentum, it is unlikely that BTC will break below $80,000. The analyst added:”There may be a slide in the next 30 days followed by a 20-40% rally sometime after April 15. You can see that in the charts around day 120. This would probably be enough of a headline to bring weak hands back into the market and propel Bitcoin even higher.”Crypto markets experienced a sharp downturn following United States President Trump’s tariffs on several US trading partners, which sparked counter-tariffs on US exports, leading to fears of a prolonged trade war.Comparison of every bear market since 2025. Source: Timothy PetersonRelated: Is Bitcoin going to $65K? Traders explain why they’re still bearishInvestors flee risk-on assets over trade war fears Investor appetite for speculative assets is declining due to the ongoing trade war and macroeconomic uncertainty.The Glassnode Hot Supply metric, a measure of BTC owned for one week or less, declined from 5.9% amid the historic bull rally in November 2024 to only 2.3% as of March 20.According to Nansen research analyst Nicolai Sondergaard, crypto markets will face trade war pressures until April 2025, when international negotiations could potentially lower or diffuse the trade tariffs altogether.A recent analysis from CryptoQuant also shows that a majority of retail traders are already invested in BTC, dashing long-held hopes that a massive rush of retail traders would inject fresh capital into the markets and push prices higher in the near term.The trade war also placed Bitcoin’s safe haven narrative in doubt as the price of the decentralized asset collapsed over tariff headlines alongside other risk and speculative assets.Magazine: Bitcoiners are ‘all in’ on Trump since Bitcoin ’24, but it’s getting riskyThis article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
Crypto debanking is not over until Jan 2026: Caitlin Long
Update March 22, 2025, 10:08 a.m. UTC: This article has been updated to include an embed of the Chainreaction episode.The cryptocurrency industry may still be facing debanking-related issues in the United States, despite the recent wave of positive legislation, according to crypto regulatory experts and industry leaders.The collapse of crypto-friendly banks in early 2023 sparked the first allegations of Operation Chokepoint 2.0. Critics, including venture capitalist Nic Carter, described it as a government effort to pressure banks into cutting ties with cryptocurrency firms.Despite numerous crypto-positive decisions from US President Donald Trump, including the March 7 order to use Bitcoin (BTC) seized in government criminal cases to establish a national reserve, the industry may still be facing banking issues.“It’s premature to say that debanking is over,” according to Caitlin Long, founder and CEO of Custodia Bank. Long said during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction daily X show on March 21:“There are two crypto-friendly banks under examination by the Fed right now and an army of examiners was sent into these banks, including the examiners from Washington, a literal army just smothering the banks.”The Crypto Debanking Crisis: #CHAINREACTION https://t.co/nD4qkkzKnB— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) March 21, 2025“The Fed is the outlier and the Fed is still controlled by democrats,” explained Long, adding:“Trump won’t have the ability to appoint a new Fed governor until January. So therefore you can see the breadcrumbs leading up to a potentially big fight. Because if the OCC and FDIC overturn their anti-crypto guidance but the Fed does not, where does that leave us?”Long’s Custodia Bank was repeatedly targeted by the US debanking efforts, which cost the firm months of work and “a couple of million dollars,” she explained.Industry outrage over alleged debanking reached a crescendo when a June 2024 lawsuit spearheaded by Coinbase resulted in the release of letters showing US banking regulators asked certain financial institutions to “pause” crypto banking activities.Related: FDIC chair, ‘architect of Operation Chokepoint 2.0’ Martin Gruenberg to resign Jan. 19Crypto debanking is the biggest operational problem in EU: blockchain regulations adviserCryptocurrency debanking is also among the biggest challenges for European cryptocurrency firms, according to Anastasija Plotnikova, co-founder and CEO of blockchain regulatory firm Fideum.“We’re living in 2025 and debanking is still one of the main operational issues for both small and large crypto firms,” said Plotnikova, adding:“Crypto debanking is also a problem here in the EU. I had my accounts closed in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022, but 2024 was a good year. Operationally these problems exist for both users and crypto firms operating.”Related: Paolo Ardoino: Competitors and politicians intend to ‘kill Tether’The comments come two weeks after the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) eased its stance on how banks can engage with crypto just hours after US President Donald Trump vowed to end the prolonged crackdown restricting crypto firms’ access to banking services.Trump’s remarks were made during the White House Crypto Summit, where he told industry leaders he was “ending Operation Chokepoint 2.0.”Source: Elon MuskAt least 30 tech and crypto founders were “secretly debanked” in the US during Operation Chokepoint 2.0, Cointelegraph reported in November 2024.Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered
Crypto VC giant targets $1B for new funds, expects oversubscription — Report
Venture capital firm Haun Ventures is reportedly looking to raise $1 billion for two new crypto-related investment funds within the next three months.If successful, $500 million will be allocated to early-stage crypto investments, while the remaining $500 million will go toward late-stage crypto investments, people familiar with the matter told Fortune Crypto on March 21.Different market conditions to 2022 led to lowered expectationsThe VC firm, founded by former Coinbase board member and federal prosecutor Katie Haun in 2022, reportedly did not aim for the $1.5 billion it raised in its highly praised funding round in 2022. It cited different market conditions as the reason for the lower target.However, Haun reportedly expects the two new funds will be “oversubscribed.” In March 2022, Haun secured $1.5 billion in the company’s first funding round, shortly after its launch. Haun had also recruited former executives from Airbnb, Coinbase and Google tech incubator Jigsaw.The firm’s latest fundraising round is set to close in June and is expected to be one of the largest in crypto funding in the past two years. Venture capital firm Paradigm and digital asset investment manager Pantera Capital both sought similar amounts in 2024.137 crypto companies raised a combined $1.11 billion in funding in February 2025. Source: The TIEIn June 2024, Paradigm closed an $850 million investment fund, while in April, digital asset investment manager Pantera Capital sought to raise over $1 billion for a new blockchain-focused fund.VCs predict that stablecoins will continue to be a focus in 2025More recently, Haun Ventures participated in crypto asset management firm Bitwise’s $70 million funding round alongside investors such as Electric Capital, MassMutual, MIT Investment Management Company, and Highland Capital.While the specific focus of Haun’s upcoming crypto funds is not publicly known yet, other venture capitalists have recently predicted that stablecoin interest will continue into 2025.Related: Venture capital firms invest $400M in TON blockchainDeng Chao, CEO of institutional asset manager HashKey Capital, recently told Cointelegraph that stablecoins were the strongest proven use case for crypto in 2024. Meanwhile, market analyst Infinity Hedge predicted that crypto VC investment in 2025 would surpass last year’s levels but wouldn’t approach the peak recorded during the 2021 bull market.Cointelegraph reached out to Haun Ventures but did not receive a response by time of publication.Magazine: Dummies guide to native rollups: L2s as secure as Ethereum itself
Nigeria still open to crypto business despite rocky past: Report
The government of Nigeria is still open to crypto businesses operating in the country despite the ongoing lawsuit against crypto exchange Binance and the high-profile detention of Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan.Nigerian Information Minister Mohammed Idris told Semafor that many crypto businesses operate inside the country that are not facing litigation or criminal prosecution.“This is part of the effort to strengthen our laws, not to cripple anybody. We are ensuring that no one comes and operates without regulation,” Idris told the outlet.Nigeria filed an $81.5 billion lawsuit against Binance in February, claiming the exchange crashed Nigeria’s local currency, the naira, and said that Binance owed $2 billion in back taxes as the Nigerian government continues to grapple with sensible crypto policy.The naira M2 money supply has been rapidly increasing since March 2024. Source: Trading EconomicsRelated: Nigeria’s crypto future: Striking a balance between innovation and regulationNigerian regulations don’t give crypto investors hopeThe Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission overhauled its crypto regulations in December 2024, tightening laws around crypto marketing and advertising.More specifically, the updated law requires digital asset providers operating in the country to obtain permission before third-party marketing firms can run advertisements on behalf of the firms.In February, Nigerian regulators also announced a plan to tax crypto transactions for revenue generation.According to Chainalysis “2024 Global Adoption Index” report, Nigeria ranks second globally for crypto adoption, while India claimed the top spot.Nigeria ranks second globally for crypto adoption. Source: ChainalysisChainalysis also found that the African country received $59 billion in cryptocurrencies between July 2023 and June 2024.Despite these impressive figures, taxing crypto transactions may not bring in the revenue desired by the Nigerian government.Nigeria leads African countries in terms of cryptocurrency value received. Source: Chainalysis Coin Bureau founder and market analyst Nic Puckrin said Nigeria has a robust over-the-counter market for retail crypto trading, which evades centralized exchanges and is difficult to track or tax.Puckrin added that importers use crypto to circumvent the high volatility of the Nigerian naira and escape foreign exchange risk.The rapidly depreciating value of the fiat currency makes it unlikely that the importers will stop using crypto, and these importers will be hard-pressed to report their crypto transactions, which can be conducted peer-to-peer, to the Nigerian government.Magazine: How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025
Who’s running in Trump’s race to make US a ‘Bitcoin superpower?'
US President Donald Trump wants to make his country a “Bitcoin superpower,” but the question remains as to who he is competing against. Speaking at Blockwork’s Digital Asset Summit on March 20 to a crowd of crypto industry executives and observers, he said, “Together we will make America the undisputed Bitcoin superpower and the crypto capital of the world.”The US crypto industry has benefited greatly from preferential executive orders from Trump’s White House, including the establishment of a “strategic Bitcoin reserve” — a move advocates regard as a key metric for Bitcoin adoption. However, many other countries, including major US trade partners, are just not ready to take on Bitcoin as a reserve asset, begging the question of who the US is competing against to become a “Bitcoin superpower.”US allies, trade partners and rivals aren’t competing on BitcoinCompared to major trade partners and geopolitical rivals, the US is certainly far ahead of the game in terms of Bitcoin adoption. Neither the European Union, China, Mexico or Canada have taken such drastic steps toward institutionalizing the asset.China, the US’ largest trade partner by far and also its most prominent geopolitical opponent, has taken a strong stance against the asset, initially banning it outright before softening its approach slightly. China now allows mining operations but strictly prohibits the use of Bitcoin.Overall, the government has preferred to concentrate its efforts on developing a retail central bank digital currency in the form of the digital yuan. The European Union, another major US trade partner, passed its Markets in Crypto-Assets regulatory framework in May 2023, which came into full implementation by member states at the end of 2024. While the EU is ahead of the US in terms of passing concrete legislation, it offers far less preferential terms to the industry than those expected in the US’ parallel legislation currently circulating in Congress.Crypto user penetration in the EU is expected to remain essentially stagnant this year, and cryptocurrency’s popularity is low overall among the union’s richest economies. No member state has a Bitcoin reserve.Even in crypto-friendly Switzerland, which saw $52.4 billion in US service exports in 2024, there are limits to crypto endorsement and adoption. On March 1, Swiss National Bank President Martin Schlegel said Bitcoin wasn’t suitable as a reserve asset, citing stability, liquidity concerns and security risks.Germany’s central bank chief Joachim Nagel has also dismissed the idea of a Bitcoin reserve, while Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has previously criticized Bitcoin as being a poor form of money. Related: What Canada’s new Liberal PM Mark Carney means for cryptoSouth Korea doesn’t feel ready to hold Bitcoin as a reserve asset, with the Bank of Korea stating that BTC is volatile and does not meet International Monetary Fund standards. Russia, for its part, has allowed crypto to be used in international settlements to circumvent sanctions. The central bank is also preparing a three-year experiment to allow select investors to trade crypto. Some legal scholars in the country have suggested establishing a crypto fund consisting of assets seized in criminal proceedings, although the Duma has yet to form one.Critics and proponents lambast “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” Critics have questioned the strategic value of the US Bitcoin reserve and who it benefits in the long run. Cornell economic professor Eswar Prasad said, “This is neither a strategic nor sensible idea but instead benefits bitcoin holders while sticking US taxpayers with the bill and exposing the government to financial risks. The US government would become a key driver of bitcoin’s price on the way up and down.”As noted by TLDR News, the point of most strategic reserves is to stock commodities that are deemed critically important to the function of a country’s economy. Governments can also create them to stabilize the price of goods that are in high demand. The US has strategic reserves of oil and grain, while China even has a strategic pork stockpile. The Bitcoin strategic reserve does neither of these, as there is no great demand among Americans for Bitcoin, and Bitcoiners certainly don’t want the price to remain stable. George Selgin, a senior fellow and director emeritus at the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, said that the reserve’s stated goal of helping pay off US national debt was unrealistic. “The plan’s million-coin stash would have to more than double in value during its 20-year holding period just to compensate for the plan’s implicit interest cost. Second, the stockpile must eventually be sold to realize the gains, and you can bet that the same bitcoin holders who have managed to get the government to keep the bitcoin it already has will cry foul if it ever tries to sell any new coins it acquires,” he stated.Claims of it serving as a digital Fort Knox are “just as dubious” he said, as the gold contained therein hasn’t propped up the value of the dollar since Richard Nixon was president, taking the dollar off of the gold standard. Even Bitcoiners have taken a crack at the reserve. Charles Edwards, founder of Bitcoin and digital asset hedge fund Capriole Investments, criticized the “hold only” policy of the reserve, calling it “disappointing” and a “pig in lipstick.”Source: Charles EdwardsThe reserve even proved to be something of a non-starter for Bitcoin price, with price action remaining relatively stable after Trump signed the executive order on March 6. As it stands, the US is leading a race that no one else is running. But things could change quickly. Right-wing parties sympathetic to the creation of Bitcoin reserves have been on the rise in European elections. Brazil, a major economy in the Western hemisphere, has also been weighing the possibility of a Bitcoin reserve. Furthermore, the US Bitcoin reserve allows the Treasury to purchase Bitcoin so long as it can do so in a budget-neutral manner that doesn’t come at a cost to taxpayers. The full effect of the reserve, and its influence on Bitcoin adoption, may yet be felt. Magazine: Memecoins are ded — But Solana ‘100x better’ despite revenue plunge
SMS scammers posing as Binance have an even trickier way to fool victims
Australian federal police have alerted over 130 people of a new text message scam aimed at crypto users that copies the same “sender ID” as legitimate crypto exchanges such as Binance. The impersonation scam involves the fraudsters sending out messages through text and encrypted messaging platforms by impersonating a Binance representative, telling users of a crypto account breach and instructing them to set up a new wallet, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said in a March 21 statement.The text messages look real at first glance because they appear in the same legitimate text message thread as Binance communications.Australia’s federal police say they have found at least 130 people who have been targeted by this scam so far. Source: Australian federal police“The messages allegedly contained fake verification codes and were often ‘spoofed,’ meaning they appeared in a legitimate existing message thread from the well-known cryptocurrency exchange,” the AFP said.“A support phone number was also sent, but when the targets called it, they were instructed to protect their accounts by transferring their cryptocurrency to a ‘trust wallet,’ which was controlled by the scammer and allowed the assets to be stolen.”Online text messaging services allow messages to be sent from a Sender ID, such as a company name, rather than a phone number and can be exploited to spoof text messages, according to a March 1, 2019 report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Once a phone receives the sham communication, it’s reportedly grouped based on the Sender ID, appearing in the same thread as other messages with the same ID. The AFP says it conducted an email and text blitz to warn the 130 people they identified who might have been exposed to this scam. AFP Commander Cybercrime Operations Graeme Marshall said once the funds are transferred to the thief’s wallet, they are quickly transferred through a network of wallets, making seizure or recovery difficult.The attack mimics another string of scam messages reported by X users on March 14, where fraudulent emails spoofing Coinbase and Gemini attempted to trick users into setting up a new wallet using pre-generated recovery phrases controlled by scammers.Related: Australia’s ‘Barefoot Investor’ takes on crypto scammers stealing his likenessThe police said red flags for this type of scam include unsolicited contact from someone claiming to be from Binance about an account breach, pressure to act quickly and prompts for a seed phrase.Binance Chief Security Officer Jimmy Su said in the AFP statement scammers often impersonate trusted platforms, exploiting certain telecom loopholes to manipulate sender names and phone numbers. Su says Binance has a tool to confirm official Binance channels, and if in doubt, “stop and verify through official sources,” such as the contact information on the official website.Source: Binance AustraliaIn December last year, the Australian government announced plans for an SMS Sender ID Register and an enforceable industry standard to crack down on similar scams, which have impacted Australian airline Qantas and tech giant Apple in the past. Under the standard, telecom companies must determine whether messages sent under a brand name correspond with the legitimate registered sender and submit and provide their legitimate Sender IDs for the register. The register is set to launch in late 2025, with a pilot SMS Sender ID Register operating as a stopgap in the meantime, according to Australia’s minister for communications, Michelle Rowland. In August last year, the AFP revealed that a total of 382 million Australian dollars ($269 million) had been lost by Australians to investment scams during the previous 12 months, with around 47% of them being crypto-related. Magazine: Lazarus Group’s favorite exploit revealed — Crypto hacks analysis
The fallacy of scalability — why layer 2s won’t save crypto
Opinion by: Dan Hughes, founder of Radix Crypto has spent years betting on layer-2 (L2) solutions as its magic bullet for fixing issues with scalability. What if they’re the very thing putting us at risk?Instead of paving the way for mass adoption, this fixation has created a tangled web of rollups, bridges and fragmented liquidity, threatening blockchain’s core principles of decentralization and security. The dream of a seamless, decentralized network is fading, overshadowed by a complex system that echoes the inefficiencies and centralization of the traditional financial world. Are we scaling innovation or just recreating the past?The blockchain trilemmaL2s were supposed to mitigate the blockchain trilemma. Yet, while they may fill the gaps at the individual level, as a movement, L2 solutions have put crypto at risk of losing all three.The growing mass of L2s has led to a highly fractured ecosystem that’s difficult to navigate and relies on complex rollups and bridging solutions. This has led to parts of the ecosystem centralizing, drawing assets into fragmented liquidity silos, hindering security and stifling competition for smaller projects. These “solutions” have introduced large-scale friction and have also brought unnecessary security risks. While bridge-related hacks have become much less common in the last two years, hackers will always find new ways to balance the books — exploiting rollups, channels and sidechains. Many L2s’ reliance on sequencers or trusted validators creates additional cracks in the armor, single points of failure, while siloed liquidity reduces validator availability for smaller L2s, threatening network resilience.These solutions also leave an immense technical challenge for developers building applications hoping to integrate with L2s, requiring in-depth and specific knowledge of the mechanics of each L2 the application may need to touch.L2 proponents argue that these trade-offs are necessary and easily overcome, but there are even more fundamental issues here than sacrificing security, scalability or liquidity. Recent: AI has had its Cambrian moment — Blockchain’s is yet to comeCrypto’s endgame is a universal network where any asset or decentralized application can instantly interact with any other in a trustless, secure way. The friction that L2s introduce, however, sabotages this instant interoperability, while the centralization of sequencers and validators undermines the fundamentals of a trustless system. It is not just that this stymies scalability in decentralized finance (DeFi), but rather that it leads toward scaling something completely different, recreating the inefficiencies of the existing siloed, fragmented and middle-man-infested TradFi system.If the goal of DeFi is to move all financial activity onchain, it is imperative to do better than what we already have. Building the foundationsCrypto needs to build from the foundations up. Instead of outsourcing scalability and security, blockchain networks must prioritize them at layer 1.Sharding offers a clear path forward, but the industry must set higher goals and build a long-term solution rather than just a quick fix to “band-aid” the immediate scalability problem of the day. It is not just about increasing the shard count; it is how we shard. The Beacon Chain just adds a bottleneck, and dynamic sharding is complicated, limiting scalability with massive overheads. Even intra-validator sharding seems to solve all of these problems until you reach resource saturation on the network-facing node, which has to ingest all transactions, simply kicking the can down the road in search of more validators and diminishing returns.The obvious solution for scaling DeFi to the same capabilities as TradFi is state sharding, which is the state of the blockchain distributed across many different shards. Transactions that involve states from different shards create a temporary consensus process. The validators responsible for the transaction state communicate, agree (or not), and update the state atomically in all relevant shards. This allows transactions to be processed in parallel across multiple shards and even within shards themselves, leaving a shard’s only concern that the transactions modifying the state for which they are responsible do not have intersecting dependencies, significantly increasing throughput without compromising decentralization or accessibility. When these shards are integrated with atomic commitment, if any part of the transaction fails, everything aborts cleanly, and there’s no work needed to untangle hanging state changes.This is just one solution. DeFi will scale to onboard the planet. It is just a question of how soon and by what means. That said, solutions that focus on the fundamentals of L1 development rather than relying on a patchwork of L2s will eliminate fragmentation, reduce complexity, and ensure scalability and accessibility are again at the heart of blockchain networks. It comes down to the future that developers want to prioritize — tokenomics or the founding promises of Web3 — decentralization, efficiency and security. Scaling for the futureL1 solutions are solutions for everybody. They secure the very foundation of the ecosystem for developers, traders, general users and even several billion prospective users. Without resilient and scalable architecture in the foundations, one strong push is all it will take to cause this house of cards to collapse. Of course, specific use cases might be better with L2 solutions. A high-frequency trade settlement is a perfect example, but exceptions never prove the rule. From a whole-ecosystem perspective, developers must focus on integrated, native scalability solutions instead of just adding complexity and balancing more precarious “solutions” on top. Without adequately attending to the L1, nothing but problems await.Opinion by: Dan Hughes, founder of Radix.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.
Spot crypto scams early: California’s new tracker tool, explained
What is California’s crypto scam tracker tool? On Feb. 16, 2023, the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) in California launched the crypto scam tracker tool to help residents spot and avoid crypto scams. The tracker details crypto scams identified through a review of complaints submitted by the public.California’s DFPI crypto scam tracker is a searchable database that compiles complaints about fraudulent schemes. Investors can use the database to identify and avoid crypto scams. You can search the database using company name, scam type or keywords.The tracker includes a glossary to explain commonly used crypto terms and is regularly updated with new scam reports. The glossary may not provide extensive information on prevalent crypto scams, but it equips you with the knowledge required to identify scams and protect yourself.The scam tracker tool has compiled the information from public complaints and has not independently verified reported losses. As the DFPI receives complaints about new crypto scams, it updates the information on the tracker to keep the investors informed.Anyone who has fallen victim to a crypto scam or fraud or becomes aware of a scam not yet listed on the scam tracker can inform the DFPI. You can submit a complaint online at dfpi.ca.gov/file-a-complaint or contact the department via toll-free phone at (866) 275-2677. Companies that have been mistakenly included in the tracker can contact the DFPI at [email protected] for assistance.Did you know? In 2024, the DFPI received more than 2,668 complaints from investors in California and across the US. Based on these complaints, in partnership with the California Department of Justice, it shut down more than 26 different crypto scam websites and unraveled $4.6 million in consumer losses. How to use California’s crypto scam tracker tool California’s scam tracker tool is invaluable for identifying patterns in scammer behavior and helping investors avoid similar scams. Additionally, it encourages investors to report scams, contributing to the safety of the community.The tracker can be broadly used in three ways:For due diligence: You can search for specific companies or websites using the tool to uncover existing complaints. This feature helps you gain insights into others’ experiences with similar offers, allowing for a preliminary risk assessment. However, it’s important to note that the absence of complaints doesn’t guarantee legitimacy, as scam sites often rebrand or operate under different names.For analysis of messaging: The scam tracker enables you to analyze suspicious messaging by searching relevant keywords. You could use terms like “lending” or “insurance” to discover patterns and similarities between the offers you have received and past complaints. This comparative approach helps you identify potential red flags and recognize the tactics of the scamsters.For education and prevention: The tracker’s glossary serves as an educational resource, outlining various terms used in crypto scams. By familiarizing yourself with these tactics, you can significantly enhance your awareness and protect yourself from falling victim to fraudulent schemes. This proactive approach to education is essential in navigating the complex and often risky cryptocurrency market.Did you know? The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) 2023 Cryptocurrency Fraud Report shows California faced the highest crypto-related losses in the US, reaching $1.15 billion. Within the FBI San Francisco Field Office’s jurisdiction, losses totaled $260,313,902, affecting 1,226 victims across 15 counties, including Alameda, San Francisco and Santa Clara. How does California’s scam crypto tracker tool work? The tracker compiles scams reported directly by consumers. The entries detail descriptions of losses to the complainants. To view the information shared with the DFPI, you may use the search function to explore complaints by company, scam type or keywords.For instance, if you search using the keyword “trading platforms,” the tracker lists scams associated with the keyword. The tracker is segregated into five columns, comprising primary subject, complaint narrative, scam type, website and screenshot.To change the order of the list, you can click the arrow beside the column header. You can also determine the number of entries you want to see at the time. To select the number of entries on a page, click the dropdown box at the bottom of the list and select your chosen number.To toggle between the pages displaying the entries, you can use the buttons “Previous” and “Next.” Fraudulent schemes listed by California’s crypto scam tracker tool The crypto scam tracker exposes many fraudulent schemes plaguing the crypto space. From fake job offers to pig butchering scams, the tracker sheds light on the tactics used to deceive investors. Here are some examples of scams listed in the glossary section of the tracker tool. Pig butchering scam: A pig butchering scam involves fraudsters building trust with you through social, romantic or business interactions before luring you into a fake investment scheme and persuading you to transfer funds to a fraudulent platform. These platforms might even display fake profits to encourage further deposits. Victims are denied withdrawal of funds on various pretexts, and scammers eventually disappear with the money. Rug pull scams: These schemes involve developers who intentionally attract investors with false promises of high returns only to disappear with the money later. They often create a buzz on social media by roping in celebrities, which shoots up the cost of the tokens. Then the developers sell off their tokens to make big profits and crash the price, leaving investors with worthless tokens.Did you know? A single X post by Argentine President Javier Milei, promoting the LIBRA token, caused its market capitalization to surge to $4 billion. However, the subsequent deletion of the post within hours led to a rapid crash, resulting in substantial losses for investors.Crypto job scams: Fraudsters pose as recruiters, luring victims with fabricated job offers to steal cryptocurrency and sensitive data. These positions usually offer easy money in return for “jobs” that don’t require any specific expertise. For instance, the fraudster may be offering 100 US dollars for watching an hour of advertisements. These scams are designed to trick individuals into depositing crypto with fraudsters and getting access to critical information such as passwords to their wallets.Wallet drainer scams: Crypto drainers are designed to steal your digital assets by transferring them to a scammer’s wallet. These schemes tend to use social engineering, where fraudsters build trust with you through deceptive emails, calls and fabricated documents. They create fake crypto websites, enticing you with promises of airdrops or non-fungible token (NFT) minting. You end up approving transactions, believing you are signing legitimate contracts or claiming rewards, only to have your wallet emptied.Fraudulent trading platform: The scammer creates a deceptive website or application, persuading victims to deposit funds by presenting it as an exclusive investment opportunity. These fraudulent platforms are designed to look authentic, often mimicking actual price movements and generating fake profits to appear legitimate.Imposter scams: Imposter scams involve fraudsters posing as trusted figures, such as company executives, support staff or government officials, to deceive victims into sending funds or sharing sensitive information. These scammers often use fake websites, social media accounts or phishing emails to appear credible. Bitcoin mining scams: Bitcoin mining scams lure investors with fake opportunities to fund mining operations. Scammers claim invested capital will build the necessary infrastructure, like GPUs and servers, promising a share of the mined Bitcoin (BTC) as returns. But these investments are fraudulent, and the promised infrastructure rarely, if ever, exists. Steps taken by other US agencies and states to raise crypto scam awareness Protecting crypto investors from these fraudulent practices requires a robust and multifaceted approach. US federal and state regulators are collaborating to educate investors about emerging scam patterns and compile a comprehensive defense against fraudsters.The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) protects consumers from scams. Users can report fraudulent activities on the FTC website and also find information on different types of scams. The FTC also manages the National Do Not Call Registry, which helps consumers block unwanted calls. Another key agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), plays an active role in regulating crypto assets. It issues fraud warnings, investigates companies, and reviews consumer complaints. Several US states have also taken initiatives to combat scams:New York: The New York Attorney General’s Office runs the Consumer Frauds and Protection Bureau, which investigates scams and offers tips to help consumers stay safe.Massachusetts: The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office uses advanced tools like the TRM Labs blockchain intelligence platform to trace stolen funds and fight crypto-related scams.Texas: The Texas Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division assists scam victims and guides them to avoid fraud.Florida: The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services maintains a Consumer Protection webpage with scam prevention tips and a complaint submission option.The US follows a multi-layered approach to crypto scam prevention and consumer protection. Federal agencies like the FTC and CFPB provide nationwide oversight and resources regarding the crypto space, while state-level initiatives offer localized support and specialized tools. This collaborative effort, combining education with enforcement, underscores the importance of vigilance and proactive measures in dealing with the complex landscape of scams.However, due to the fragmented crypto crime reporting system in the US, industry leaders advocate for a unified platform that consolidates data and allows victims to track complaints. While still in development, understanding this need helps set realistic expectations and supports ongoing reform efforts.As more stakeholders push for standardized measures, such a platform could significantly improve transparency, support victims, and foster stronger accountability within the crypto space.