Bitcoin adoption in EU limited by ‘fragmented’ regulations — Analysts
Institutional adoption of Bitcoin in the European Union remains sluggish, even as the United States moves forward with landmark cryptocurrency regulations that seek to establish BTC as a national reserve asset.More than three weeks after President Donald Trump’s March 7 executive order outlined plans to use cryptocurrency seized in criminal cases to create a federal Bitcoin (BTC) reserve, European companies have largely remained silent on the issue.The stagnation may stem from Europe’s complex regulatory regime, according to Elisenda Fabrega, general counsel at Brickken, a European real-world asset (RWA) tokenization platform.“European corporate adoption remains limited,” Fabrega told Cointelegraph, adding:“This hesitation reflects a deeper structural divide, rooted in regulation, institutional signaling and market maturity. Europe has yet to take a definitive stance on Bitcoin as a reserve asset.”Bitcoin’s economic model favors early adopters, which may pressure more investment firms to consider gaining exposure to BTC. The asset has outperformed most major global assets since Trump’s election despite a recent correction.Asset performance since Trump’s election victory. Source: Thomas FahrerDespite Trump’s executive order, only a small number of European companies have publicly disclosed Bitcoin holdings or crypto services. These include French banking giant BNP Paribas, Swiss firm 21Shares AG, VanEck Europe, Malta-based Jacobi Asset Management and Austrian fintech firm Bitpanda.A recent Bitpanda survey suggests that European financial institutions may be underestimating crypto investor demand by as much as 30%.Related: Friday’s US inflation report may catalyze a Bitcoin April rallyEurope’s “fragmented” regulatory landscape lacks clarityThe EU’s slower adoption appears tied to its patchwork of regulations and more conservative investment mandates, analysts at Bitfinex told Cointelegraph. “Europe’s institutional landscape is more fragmented, with regulatory hurdles and conservative investment mandates limiting Bitcoin allocations.”“Additionally, European pension funds and large asset managers have been slower to adopt Bitcoin exposure due to unclear guidelines and risk aversion,” they added.Related: Bitcoin ‘more likely’ to hit $110K before $76.5K — Arthur HayesBeyond the fragmented regulations, European retail investor appetite and retail participation are generally lower than in the US, according to Iliya Kalchev, dispatch analyst at digital asset investment platform Nexo.Europe is “generally more conservative in adopting new financial instruments,” the analyst told Cointelegraph, adding:“This stands in stark contrast to the deep, liquid, and relatively unified US capital market, where the spot Bitcoin ETF rollout was buoyed by strong retail demand and a clear regulatory green light.”iShares Bitcoin ETP listings. Source: BlackRockBlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, launched a Bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) in Europe on March 25, a development that may boost institutional confidence among European investors.Magazine: Bitcoiner sex trap extortion? BTS firm’s blockchain disaster: Asia Express
Sonic Labs ditch algorithmic USD stablecoin for UAE dirham alternative
Sonic Labs has canceled plans to launch a US dollar-pegged algorithmic stablecoin, opting instead to develop a United Arab Emirates dirham-denominated alternative.On March 22, Sonic Labs co-founder Andre Cronje said the company was working on a US dollar-pegged algorithmic stablecoin with an annual percentage rate (APR) of up to 23%, Cointelegraph reported.However, one week later, the firm reversed course.“We will no longer be releasing a USD based algorithmic stable coin,” Cronje said in a March 28 X post. “Completely unrelated, we will be releasing a mathematically bound numerical Dirham which is settled and denominated in USD, which is definitely not a USD based algorithmic stable coin.”The shift in strategy comes shortly after the UAE announced it would launch its digital dirham central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the fourth quarter of 2025.Source: Andre CronjeKhaled Mohamed Balama, governor of the Central Bank of the UAE, said the blockchain-based dirham could enhance financial stability and help combat financial crime. The digital currency will be accepted alongside its physical counterpart in all payment channels, according to a report from the Khaleej Times.Related: Paolo Ardoino: Competitors and politicians intend to ‘kill Tether’Sonic faced criticism over stablecoin plansThe reversal follows widespread criticism of Sonic’s original plan to launch an algorithmic stablecoin — a model that has raised concerns across the crypto industry since the collapse of the Terra ecosystem in 2022.Cronje himself previously 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), had been yielding an over 20% annual percentage yield (APY) on Anchor Protocol prior to its collapse.As UST lost its dollar peg, crashing to a low of around $0.30, Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon took to X (then Twitter) 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. LUNA was trading north of $120 in early April 2022.Related: Tether’s US treasury holdings surpass Canada, Taiwan, ranks 7th globallyThe collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin issuer created shockwaves among both crypto investors and lawmakers.To reduce systemic risk, the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) bill will prohibit algorithmic stablecoins to avoid another Terra-like failure.Meanwhile, stablecoins are increasingly being used for smaller, everyday payments rather than large transfers, according to CoinFund managing partner David Pakman.“We’ve seen a significant decrease in the size of each stablecoin transaction, which points to the fact that they are being used more as payments and less for large transfers,” Pakman said during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction live show on X on March 27.Magazine: Ripple says SEC lawsuit ‘over,’ Trump at DAS, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 16 – 22
$1T stablecoin supply could drive next crypto rally — CoinFund’s Pakman
The global stablecoin supply could surge to $1 trillion by the end of 2025, potentially becoming a key catalyst for broader cryptocurrency market growth, according to CoinFund managing partner David Pakman.“We’re in a stablecoin adoption upswell that’s likely to increase dramatically this year,” Pakman said during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction live show on X on March 27. “We could go from $225 billion stablecoins to $1 trillion just this calendar year.” He noted that such growth, while modest compared to global financial markets, would represent a “meaningfully significant” shift for blockchain-based finance.Pakman also suggested that the rise in capital flowing onchain, combined with growing interest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs), could further support decentralized finance (DeFi) activity:“If we have a moment this year where ETFs are permitted to provide staking rewards or yield to holders, that unlocks really meaningful uplift in DeFi activity, broadly defined.”https://t.co/v9lOnk00QY— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) March 27, 2025Related: BlackRock Bitcoin ETP ‘key’ for EU adoption despite low inflow expectationsThe aggregate stablecoin supply stood at an all-time high of above $208 billion across the five largest stablecoins on March 28, according to Glassnode data.Stablecoins, aggregate supplies. Source: Glassnode “This is the major catalyst that’s been missing for over a decade: a major movement of people’s wealth onchain that brings everyone else on,” added Pakman.The growing stablecoin supply recently surpassed $219 billion and continues to rise, suggesting that the market is “likely still mid-cycle” as opposed to the top of the bull run, according to IntoTheBlock analysts.Related: Most EU banks fail to meet rising crypto investor demand — SurveyStablecoin payment adoption on the riseStablecoins use for daily payments is on the rise, illustrating the efficacy of blockchain-based transactions.“We’re up over 22x in stablecoin volume since 2021,” Pakman said, adding:“We’ve seen a significant decrease in the size of each stablecoin transaction, which points to the fact that they are being used more as payments and less for large transfers.”BTC-to-stablecoin ratio. Source: Ki Young JuThat aligns with recent comments from CryptoQuant founder and CEO Ki Young Ju, who said stablecoins are increasingly being used for remittance payments and as a store of value. However, Ju said stablecoin supply won’t pump Bitcoin’s (BTC) price without additional catalysts.Magazine: Bitcoin $500K prediction, spot Ether ETF ‘staking issue’— Thomas Fahrer, X Hall of Flame
NAYG lawsuit against Galaxy was ‘lawfare, pure and simple' — Scaramucci
The New York State Attorney General’s (NAYG) recent legal action against Galaxy Digital over its promotional ties to the now-collapsed cryptocurrency Terra (LUNA) was unfair and an abuse of the legal system, says SkyBridge Capital and founder Anthony Scaramucci.“It’s LAWFARE, pure and simple due to an obscure but dangerously powerful New York law known as the Martin Act,” Scaramucci said in a March 28 X post.Martin Law can “open the door for abuse”“The law has no need to prove intent, creating a low standard of proof that can open the door for abuse like this. It shouldn’t exist,” he said.New York’s Martin Act is one of the US’s strictest anti-fraud and securities laws, allowing prosecutors the power to pursue financial fraud cases without needing to prove intent. The NAYG alleged that Galaxy Digital violated the Martin Act over its alleged promotion of Terra, with Galaxy Digital agreeing to a $200 million settlement.According to NAYG documents filed on March 24, Galaxy Digital acquired 18.5 million LUNA tokens at a 30% discount in October 2020, then promoted them before selling them without abiding by disclosure rules. Scaramucci reiterated that Galaxy CEO Michael Novogratz was under the impression everything he was saying about Luna was true, as he had been deceived by Terraform Labs and its former CEO, Do Kwon.Source: Amanda FischerMeanwhile, MoonPay president of enterprise, Keith Grossman, said he had never heard of the Martin Act and had to look it up using AI chatbot ChatGPT.“It is so broad and essentially is the essence of lawfare,” Grossman said. “Sorry you got caught in the crosshairs of it, Mike,” he added.Related: Sonic unveils high-yield algorithmic stablecoin, reigniting Terra-Luna ‘PTSD’The filing alleged that Galaxy helped a “little-known” token, referring to LUNA, increase its market price from $0.31 in October 2020 to $119.18 in April 2022 while “profiting in the hundreds of millions of dollars.”Asset manager and investor Anthony Pompliano said he isn’t familiar with the details of the lawsuit but vouched for Novogratz, calling him a “good man” who has devoted a lot of time and money to helping others.The Terra collapse is one of the crypto industry’s most infamous failures. In March 2024, SEC attorney Devon Staren said in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York that Terra was a “house of cards” that collapsed for investors in 2022.Magazine: Arbitrum co-founder skeptical of move to based and native rollups: Steven Goldfeder
Greedy L2s are the reason ETH is a 'completely dead' investment: VC
Ether’s (ETH) declining appeal as an investment comes from layer-2’s draining value from the main network and a lack of community pushback on excessive token creation, a crypto venture capitalist says.“The #1 cause of this is greedy Eth L2s siphoning value from the L1 and the social consensus that excess token creation was A-OK,” Castle Island Ventures partner Nic Carter said in a March 28 X post.Ether “died by its own hand”“ETH was buried in an avalanche of its own tokens. Died by its own hand,” Carter said. He said this in response to Lekker Capital founder Quinn Thompson’s claim that Ether is “completely dead” as an investment.Source: Quinn Thompson“A $225 billion market cap network that is seeing declines in transaction activity, user growth and fees/revenues. There is no investment case here. As a network with utility? Yes. As an investment? Absolutely not,” Thompson said in a March 28 X post. The ETH/BTC ratio — which shows Ether’s relative strength compared to Bitcoin (BTC) — is sitting at 0.02260, its lowest level in nearly five years, according to TradingView data. At the time of publication, Ether is trading at $1,894, down 5.34% over the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap data.Ether is down 17.94% over the past 30 days. Source: CoinMarketCapMeanwhile, Cointelegraph Magazine reported in September 2024 that fee revenue for Ethereum had “collapsed” by 99% over the previous six months as “extractive L2s” absorbed all the users, transactions and fee revenue while contributing nothing to the base layer. Around the same time, Cinneamhain Ventures partner Adam Cochran said Based Rollups could solve the issue of Ethereum’s layer-2 networks pulling liquidity and revenue from the blockchain’s base layer.Cochran said Based Rollups could “directly impact the monetization of Ethereum by making a pretty fundamental change to incentive structures.”Related: Ethereum futures premium hits 1+ year low — Is it time to buy the ETH bottom?Despite optimism toward the end of last year about Ether reaching $10,000 in 2025 — especially after reaching $4,000 in December, the same month Bitcoin touched $100,000 for the first time — it has since seen a sharp decline alongside the broader crypto market downturn.Standard Chartered added to the bearish outlook via a March 17 client letter, which revised down their end of 2025 ETH price estimate from $10,000 to $4,000, a 60% reduction. However, several crypto traders, including pseudonymous traders Doctor Profit and Merlijn The Trader, are “insanely bullish” and argue that Ether could be the “best opportunity in the market.”Source: Merlijn The TraderMagazine: Arbitrum co-founder skeptical of move to based and native rollups: Steven Goldfeder
Elon Musk’s sale of X to xAI just made fraud lawsuit a ‘lot spicer’
Billionaire investor Elon Musk has sold his social media platform X to his AI startup xAI in an all-stock deal, sparking controversy as it coincides with a US judge rejecting his bid to dismiss a lawsuit tied to the social media platform.The transfer of ownership of X to xAI on March 28 means that the class-action lawsuit against Musk — accusing him of defrauding former Twitter shareholders by delaying the disclosure of his initial investment in the social media platform — has become “a whole lot spicer,” Cinneamhain Ventures partner Adam Cochran said in a March 28 X post.Acquisition may open up xAI to more ‘exposure’On the same day that Musk said “xAI has acquired X in an all-stock transaction,” a US judge reportedly rejected Musk’s attempt to dismiss the lawsuit. Cochran said it has “opened up his AI entity to exposure here too, and it’s a much bigger pie.”Source: GrokMusk said the deal values xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion, factoring in $12 billion in debt from the $45 billion valuation. He originally bought X, formerly Twitter, for around $44 billion in April 2022.“xAI and X’s futures are intertwined. Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent,” Musk said.Source: Bryan Rosenblatt“This combination will unlock immense potential by blending xAI’s advanced AI capability and expertise with X’s massive reach,” he said, adding:“This will allow us to build a platform that doesn’t just reflect the world but actively accelerates human progress.”However, Cochran claimed that “Musk used his pumped up xAI stock to pay multiple times over value for X, but still take an $11B loss on the transaction.” He said that Musk is “screwing over xAI investors, and X investors” and was executed to sell user data to xAI.Related: Elon Musk’s ‘government efficiency’ team turns its sights to SEC — ReportxAI is best known for its AI chatbot “Grok” which is built into the X platform. When Musk released it in November 2023, he claimed it could outperform OpenAI’s first iteration of ChatGPT in several academic tests.Musk explained at the time that the motivation behind building Grok is to create AI tools equipped to assist humanity by empowering research and innovation.While Cochran said that Grok being valued at $80 billion is an “insanely dumb valuation,” crypto developer “Keef” disagrees. Keef said, “This is shady all around, but given the day, Grok is genuinely probably the top model for various tasks.”Magazine: Arbitrum co-founder skeptical of move to based and native rollups: Steven Goldfeder
Senators press regulators on Trump’s WLFI stablecoin
In a recent letter to the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, five Democratic senators have raised concerns about the potential conflicts of interest surrounding a stablecoin launched by World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a crypto firm backed by US President Donald Trump’s family.
The letter, signed by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and four other Democrats, highlights the need for regulatory agencies to carefully consider the risks posed by WLFI and its stablecoin, USD1. This comes as Congress is currently considering legislation to regulate stablecoins through the GENIUS Act, which would give the OCC and Federal Reserve oversight over stablecoin issuers like WLFI.
However, the senators also point out the potential conflict of interest arising from President Trump’s involvement in the venture. As the project’s website states, Trump and his family members control 60% of the company’s equity interests. This raises concerns about the president’s financial gain from the success of the stablecoin, especially as he has recently signed an executive order giving himself unprecedented control over federal agencies.
The launch of a stablecoin tied to a sitting president presents unprecedented risks to the financial system and the integrity of decisions made by the Fed and OCC. This is a concern that must be addressed and carefully considered by regulatory agencies.
Since its launch in 2024, WLFI has raised $550 million through two public token sales and recently confirmed the launch of its first stablecoin on the BNB Chain and Ethereum. The president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., has also been actively promoting the project, raising further questions about potential conflicts of interest and insider trading.
As the project continues to gain attention and funding, it is crucial for regulatory agencies to closely monitor and address any potential conflicts of interest. The integrity of the financial system and the trust of investors are at stake, and it is the responsibility of regulatory agencies to ensure fair and ethical practices in the crypto industry.
Zhao pledges BNB for Thailand, Myanmar disaster relief
Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao is donating 500 BNB (BNB) each to Thailand and Myanmar following a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that caused severe damage to buildings and widespread flooding.Zhao plans to distribute the funds through Binance and Binance Thailand if a third-party onchain donation platform cannot be found to distribute the disaster relief funds.“I hope everyone is safe in Thailand,” the Binance founder wrote in a March 28 X post before announcing the contributions to both countries affected by the earthquake.According to The Guardian, at least 144 people are confirmed to have died as a result of the catastrophic earthquake as first responders in both countries continue rescue efforts to free people trapped under rubble.Source: CZRelated: Thailand regulator approves USDT, USDC stablecoinsDisaster strikes Myanmar and ThailandThe earthquake struck on March 28 at approximately 1:20 PM local time. The epicenter of the earthquake was approximately 10 miles from Mandalay — the second-largest city in Myanmar.The death toll in both countries is expected to rise as relief efforts continue, with 732 individuals reportedly injured as a result of the earthquake.Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has called upon any country willing to help with the disaster relief efforts to provide any aid it can.Crypto donations amplify aid during times of crisis The cross-border efficiencies, low transaction costs, and near-instant settlement times of cryptocurrencies make digital assets an ideal medium for disaster relief funds.Following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that impacted Turkey and Syria in February 2023, philanthropist Haluk Levent began collecting crypto disaster relief donations.The Giving Block, a company that works with nonprofit organizations to facilitate crypto donations, also used crypto to raise funds for the victims of the Maui wildfires in 2023 and managed to give over $1 million to the relief effort.More recently, in January, The Giving Block started an emergency relief fundraiser for those impacted by the California wildfires in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas.At the time of this writing, the organization has raised over $1 million for the California wildfire relief fund.Magazine: Crypto is changing how humanitarian agencies deliver aid and services