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Moody's: Stablecoins Unlikely to Threaten Banks in Near Term

The banking sector’s exposure to stablecoins remains modest for now, but analysts say the landscape could tilt as the sector of stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) swells in market size. While adoption is still evolving, the on-chain payments and cross-border use cases are broadening, potentially reshaping how traditional banks compete with a new class of digital assets. According to Abhi Srivastava, associate vice president of Moody’s Investors Service Digital Economy Group, the stablecoin market capitalization exceeded $300 billion by the end of last year. Cointelegraph’s coverage highlights that figure as a marker of rapid growth, even as everyday usage lags behind headline numbers. (Source: Cointelegraph) Srivastava noted that the role of stablecoins in payments, cross-border commerce, and on-chain finance is expanding, even as today’s U.S. payment rails remain fast, low-cost, and trusted. He argues that near-term disruption risk to banks appears limited, particularl...
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Bitcoin's 2024 halving cycle lags earlier cycles, analysts say

Bitcoin’s current market cycle is broadly viewed as weaker than its three prior halving-driven runs, according to Galaxy’s head of firmwide research, Alex Thorn. By weighing price action since the April 2024 halving against the patterns seen in 2012, 2016 and 2020, Thorn argues that volatility has cooled and upside potential appears more constrained this time around. Notably, the all-time high above $125,000, reached on Oct. 5, 2025, was only about 97% above the 2024 halving price near $63,000, illustrating a markedly tamer peak for the cycle so far. Thorn’s comparisons hinge on a stark difference in how cycles unfold. The 2012 halving cycle saw a roughly 9,294% price surge to around $1,163; 2016 delivered about a 2,950% surge to near $19,891; and the 2020 halving generated a roughly 761% gain. In Thorn’s view, “Cycle four is dramatically underperforming prior cycles,” a conclusion he shared in an X post that raises a bigger question: is this the new normal, or will the cycle evolve in...
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Bitcoin Slides to $75K as Hormuz Strait Closure Elevates Oil Markets

Bitcoin paused its recent ascent as geopolitical tensions resurfaced over the weekend, keeping markets wary of a broader conflict between the United States and Iran. With renewed talk of the Strait of Hormuz facing disruption, traders weighed the potential for an oil-price shock against the appetite for risk assets, including cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin traded near the mid-$70,000s, attempting to defend key levels ahead of Sunday’s weekly close after briefly brushing higher late in the week. Data and market chatter pointed to a fresh sense of tension. Bitcoin climbed to around $78,400 on Friday, a ten-week high, before retreating as headlines shifted and risk appetite tempered. By Sunday, the price was hovering near $75,000, signaling a pullback after the prior surge. The backdrop remained fluid as market participants gauged whether a ceasefire or renewed hostilities would take hold, and how such developments would interact with oil and broader macro moves. Key takeaways Bitcoin faced ...
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Alcoa to sell dormant smelter to NYDIG, signaling Bitcoin mining

Alcoa is reportedly closing in on a deal to sell its Massena East smelter site in upstate New York to New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG), a strategy move that would repurpose idle industrial capacity for Bitcoin mining and other digital infrastructure. Bloomberg reported on Friday that the two parties are in advanced discussions, with an expected close in the middle of this year. Massena East, along the St. Lawrence River, has been dormant since 2014 after Alcoa shut it down amid rising energy costs and competitive pressures. The site’s built-in heavy-industry footprint—substations, transmission lines and high-capacity grid connections—positions it as a prime target for Bitcoin miners and data-center operators who often spend years securing such infrastructure from scratch. In addition, the Massena East location benefits from hydropower supplied by the New York Power Authority (NYPA), a factor that has drawn energy-intensive compute operations seeking scale with relatively low-c...
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Warren: SEC's Atkins Likely Misled Congress on Enforcement Data

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, the leading Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, is escalating a dispute over the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement posture. In a letter dated April 15, Warren accuses SEC Chair Paul Atkins of possibly misleading Congress about the agency’s enforcement numbers after the agency released its enforcement data for fiscal year 2025. The data, released on April 7, show a marked drop in enforcement actions, prompting Warren to publicly challenge Atkins about his February 12 testimony at a congressional hearing. In her letter, she notes that she had asked him to comment on data showing a decline in enforcement activity; she says Atkins “demurred,” replying that he was “not sure what data” she was referring to. Warren contends that the latest figures vindicate her point that SEC enforcement actions have fallen significantly under Atkins’s watch. Key takeaways The Senate Banking Committee's top Democrat questions SEC Chair Paul Atkin...
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RaveDAO Denies Manipulation as Binance, Bitget Probe RAVE Trading

RaveDAO has denied any role in the dramatic surge and subsequent collapse of its RAVE token, even as major crypto exchanges have opened inquiries into trading activity amid allegations of market manipulation. The project pushed back on social media, saying it was “not engaged in, nor responsible for, recent price action” after RAVE spiked from about $0.25 to nearly $28 in a matter of days before sliding more than 80%. On-chain sleuth ZachXBT publicly accused RaveDAO of orchestrating a pump-and-dump scheme, pointing to concentrated token holdings and suspicious exchange flows. He suggested that more than 90% of the token supply could be controlled by insiders and urged exchanges to take action. Key takeaways RaveDAO rejects being involved in the sudden RAVE price action, even as critics point to potential pump-and-dump dynamics and concentrated insider holdings. ZachXBT alleged a coordinated scheme and called for exchange-focused scrutiny of flows and ownership distribution. Major...
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Schwab and Citadel Eye Entry into Crypto Prediction Markets

Traditional finance giants are signaling a renewed interest in prediction markets, a sector that has surged in public attention as retail and institutional players explore hedging tools tied to real-world events. Charles Schwab and Citadel Securities each indicated they are weighing how to participate, signaling a potential shift from curiosity to concrete product ideas in the near term. During an investor call, Schwab CEO Rick Wurster said the firm “likely will have prediction markets” at some point, though they are not currently of primary interest among Schwab clients. He added that if the firm does pursue such offerings, it would be “quite straightforward” to roll them out as part of a broader wealth-building platform. Wurster also stressed one caveat: Schwab’s approach would intentionally sidestep markets tied to sports, politics or pop culture, aiming instead to align with long-term financial planning for clients. He noted that, in his view, the typical gambler’s edge in predicti...
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