Decentral Block Post

The Bank for International Settlements’ (BIS) push to isolate crypto markets and its controversial recommendations on DeFi and stablecoins is “dangerous” for the entire financial system, warns the head of a blockchain investment firm.

“Many of their recommendations and conclusions — perhaps due to a mix of fear, arrogance, or ignorance — are completely uninformed and, frankly, dangerous,” CoinFund president Christopher Perkins said in an April 19 X post, referring to the BIS’ April 15 report titled “Cryptocurrencies and Decentralized Finance: Functions and Financial Stability Implications.” 

BIS recommendations exposes TradFi to risks of “unimaginable scale”

“Crypto is not communism,” Perkins said, pushing back against the BIS’ call for a “containment” approach to isolate crypto from traditional finance and the broader economy.

“It’s the new internet that provides anyone with a connection access to financial services,” Perkins said. “You cannot control it anymore than you control the internet,” he added.

Perkins warned that a containment approach to crypto would expose the traditional financial system to massive liquidity risks “of unimaginable scale,” especially when the crypto market operates in real-time, 24/7, while traditional financial markets shuts down after trading hours.

Financial educator, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and investor Robert Kiyosaki recently forecasted a $1 million Bitcoin (BTC) price by 2035 as the US dollar continues to lose value to inflationary monetary policies.

"I strongly believe, by 2035, that one Bitcoin will be over $ 1 million, Gold will be $30,000, and silver $3,000 a coin," Kiyosaki wrote in an April 18 X post.

Kiyosaki, a self-described gold bug, has long argued that bearer assets like gold, silver, and more recently Bitcoin, are critical hedges against inflation and key to long-term generational wealth accumulation through economic cycles.

"In 2025, credit card debt is at all-time highs, US debt is at all-time highs, unemployment is rising, 401k’s are losing, and pensions are being stolen. The USA may be heading for a greater depression," Kiyosaki warned.

Kiyosaki, like many other sound money advocates, has continually warned of an impending financial crash brought on by expansionist monetary policies and fiscal irresponsibility. Bitcoin maximalists argue that loose monetary policy will drive the price of Bitcoin to seven-figures.

Charles Schwab Corp CEO Rick Wurster is reportedly eyeing an April 2026 launch window to provide spot Bitcoin (BTC) trading services to Schwab clients.

According to RIABiz, Wurster cited a 400% increase in traffic to Schwab's crypto website as evidence of investor interest in digital assets. The CEO predicted:

The Schwab CEO's comments reflect the growing trend of traditional financial (TradFi) institutions adopting crypto products and offering services that blur the line between the digital asset world and TradFi.

Related: Lyn Alden lowers Bitcoin forecast after ‘tariff kerfuffle,’ eyes liquidity

Schwab makes crypto moves under new CEO

Rick Wurster assumed the helm at Schwab in 2025, and in a November 2024 Yahoo Finance interview, said the company was happy to provide services to clients who want to trade digital assets.

Brandon Ferrick, general counsel at Douro Labs, said that the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) openness to public input on crypto policy and their roundtable discussions are positive signs that the crypto industry is not currently experiencing regulatory capture.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Ferrick identified signs of regulatory capture including, a public-to-private sector revolving door of employees, the same roster of attendees at regulatory events, and special treatment given to certain crypto projects. However, Ferrick added:

"[The SEC] has a public portal where you can just submit written commentary on your thoughts for the crypto regulatory environment, and you can schedule meetings with them," the attorney continued.

As the crypto industry becomes more integrated with the traditional financial system and engages state regulators more, some analysts and executives are worried that the industry is experiencing regulatory capture that will skew incentives and politicize the burgeoning crypto sector.

Related: SEC staff gives guidance on how securities laws could apply to crypto

Opinion by: Jin Kwon, co-founder and chief strategy officer at Saga

Crypto has come a long way in boosting transaction throughput. New layer 1s (L1s) and side networks offer faster, cheaper transactions than ever before. Yet, a core challenge has come into focus: liquidity fragmentation — the scattering of capital and users across an ever-growing maze of blockchains.

Vitalik Buterin, in a recent blog post, highlighted how scaling successes have led to unforeseen coordination challenges. With so many chains and so much value splintered among them, participants face a daily tangle of bridging, swapping and wallet-switching. 

While these issues affect Ethereum, they also affect nearly every ecosystem. No matter how advanced, new blockchains risk becoming liquidity “islands” that struggle to connect with one another.

The real costs of fragmentation

Liquidity fragmentation means there is no single “pool” of assets for traders, investors or decentralized finance (DeFi) applications to tap into. Instead, each blockchain or side network hosts its own siloed liquidity. For a user who wants to buy a token or access a specific lending platform, this siloing introduces multiple headaches. 

Whales and institutions are increasing their Bitcoin holdings ahead of Easter, as market analysts predict a weekend with less volatility after two weeks of heightened volatility driven by escalating global trade tensions.

A wallet linked to London-based investment firm Abraxas Capital acquired 2,949 Bitcoin (BTC) worth more than $250 million during the four days leading up to April 19.

In the latest transaction, the firm bought over $45 million worth of Bitcoin from Binance on April 18, according to crypto intelligence firm Lookonchain, citing Arkham Intelligence data.

The investment came days after Michael Saylor’s Strategy bought $285 million worth of Bitcoin at an average price of $82,618 per BTC, as the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holders signal continued confidence in Bitcoin, amid global tariff uncertainty.

Large Bitcoin investors, or whales, continue accumulating, absorbing over 300% of Bitcoin’s yearly issuance as exchanges continue losing coins at a historic pace, Cointelegraph reported on April 18.

XRP (XRP) has bounced nearly 30% after a four-month low of $1.61 amid rising tariff tensions. However, the rebound may be short-lived as technical patterns and on-chain signals now point to a deeper correction ahead.

XRP cup-and-handle pattern hints at 40% drop

XRP is forming a classic bearish reversal pattern that could see its price falling by at least 40% in the coming weeks.

Dubbed inverse-cup-and-handle (IC&H), the pattern forms when the price rounds off in a curved descent (cup) followed by a brief consolidation phase (handle) — all atop a common neckline support level.

The pattern is confirmed by a breakdown stage, where the price breaks decisively below support and falls by as much as the pattern’s maximum height.

As of April 19, XRP had entered the pattern’s handle-formation phase, eyeing a decisive close below the neckline support at around $2. In this case, the primary downside target will likely be around $1.24, almost 40% below current prices.

Bitcoin (BTC) faces “unprecedented” US dollar correlation as new BTC price research gives a $75,000 floor.

In one of his latest analyses on April 18, network economist Timothy Peterson calculated that BTC/USD may rise as high as $138,000 within the next three months.

BTC price probabilities give bulls the upper hand

Bitcoin is navigating highly unusual macroeconomic conditions as a result of the ongoing US trade war, but history still offers clues as to where BTC price action may head next.

For Peterson, the US High Yield Index Effective Yield, currently at over 8%, holds the key.

“This has happened 38 times since 2010 (monthly data),” he summarized. 

The growing adoption of cryptocurrencies may pose risks to the traditional financial system and exacerbate wealth inequality, according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

In an April 15 report, the BIS warned that the number of investors and amount of capital in crypto and decentralized finance (DeFi) have “reached a critical mass,” with investor protection becoming a “significant concern for regulators.”

The size of the crypto market signals that authorities should be worried about the “stability of crypto over and above the role it may have for TradFi and the real economy,” the report states, highlighting the role of stablecoins, which the BIS said have “become the means through which participants transfer value within crypto.”

The report calls for targeted stablecoin regulation on stability and reserve asset requirements that will guarantee the redemption of stablecoins for US dollars during “stressed market conditions.”

Related: Spar supermarket in Switzerland starts accepting Bitcoin payments

Web3 and blockchain-focused investment fund ABCDE is halting new investments, but the $400 million fund remains committed to supporting its existing projects.

In an April 19 X post, ABCDE co-founder and Huobi exchange founder Du Jun said the $400 million fund will no longer invest in new projects or raise capital for the second phase of the fund.

However, Jun said the fund will continue to “post-investment support and exit arrangements of existing projects” to ensure the firm’s commitment to entrepreneurs and liquidity providers (LPs).

“My personal work focus will also gradually shift from financial investment in the primary market to strategic investment-led and deep incubation-based, focusing more on industrial synergy and long-term value creation,” Jun added.

The announcement comes nearly three months after ABCDE’s last investment into an Ethereum layer-2 (L2) solution, Soon (Solana Optimistic Network), which raised $22 million through a non-fungible token sale to mark the launch of its mainnet, Cointelegraph reported on Jan. 22.

The creator of Ethereum layer 2 blockchain Base, Jesse Pollak, has apologized following backlash over posting digital artwork that controversially played on Base’s tagline, “Base is for everyone.”

Several social media users found the artwork offensive and inappropriate.

“It was a single phrase among many, but I’ll own this was a mistake and apologize,” Pollak said in an April 18 X post referring to his decision to reshare a GIF image that featured the phrase “Base is for...” followed by a rotating sequence of words, including both controversial terms like “pimping” and “squirting,” as well as more neutral ones like “art,” “minting,” and “ideas.”

Pollak says he appreciates “provocative art”

Pollak emphasized that the artwork was made by a creator, not him, and specifically apologized for the image featuring the phrase “Base is for pimping.”

Pollak said that while he wants to support artists building on Base and admits he appreciates “provocative art,” he recognizes the need to be mindful of his shared messages, especially when they appear to come directly from him.

Crypto entrepreneur Anthony Pompliano says that US President Donald Trump shouldn’t follow through on his recent threat to fire the head of the US Federal Reserve, saying it would set a dangerous precedent — especially considering the true motive behind it.

“I do not believe that the President of the United States should come in and unilaterally fire the Fed President,” Pompliano said in a video posted on X on April 18.

Firing over disagreement is a slippery slope, says Pompliano

Pompliano said, “Where you have a disagreement and then the firing, I think that’s not really the area that we want to go into.”

It comes after Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to accuse Fed chair Jerome Powell of being too slow to cut interest rates. “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!” Trump said on April 17.

Pompliano explained that while the Fed is meant to operate independently, he agrees with critics who argue it’s not truly independent. “The Fed, I think, is highly politicized, even though they pretend not to be,” he said.

Macroeconomist Lyn Alden expects Bitcoin to finish 2025 higher than its current price of around $85,000, though she says it would have been much higher if not for US President Donald Trump’s tariff announcement in February.

“Before all this tariff kerfuffle, I would have had a higher price target,” Alden told Natalie Brunell on the April 17 episode of Coin Stories. “My guess is that we end up higher at the end of the year than we are now, at least,” she added.

Bitcoin’s 24/7 trading bolsters volatility when TradFi “freaking out”

However, she said that a “massive liquidity unlock” could be the catalyst needed for Bitcoin (BTC) to reach more optimistic targets, similar to those before the tariffs were introduced.

For example, if the US bond market “broke” and the US Federal Reserve had to step in with measures like yield curve control or heavy quantitative easing (QE), Alden explained.

While Alden said that there is a “good chance” Bitcoin reclaims the $100,000 price level before the end of the year, she emphasized that broader financial market “down days” will remain a challenge for the asset, especially since Bitcoin trades 24/7, unlike traditional stock markets with trading hours.

US Senator Elizabeth Warren warned that if President Donald Trump eventually moves to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, it could undermine investor confidence in the integrity of US capital markets and trigger a financial crash.

During an appearance on CNBC, the Massachusetts Senator said the President does not have the legal authority to remove Powell from his position. Moreover, removing Powell would weaken the financial infrastructure of the US, Warren added:

"If interest rates in the United States are subject to a president who just wants to wave his magic wand, this doesn't distinguish us from any other two-bit dictatorship," Warren continued.

President Trump has repeatedly called for Powell's termination, citing the chairman's hesitancy to lower interest rates. Lower interest rates are usually considered a positive catalyst for risk-on asset prices, including cryptocurrencies, and could reverse the market downturn brought on by the trade war and current macroeconomic pressures.

Related: Fed's Powell reasserts support for stablecoin legislation

United States asset manager Canary Capital has filed to list an exchange-traded fund (ETF) holding the Tron blockchain network’s native token, TRX (TRX), regulatory filings show. 

The fund intends to hold spot TRX and stake a portion of the tokens for added yield, the filing said. 

According to CoinMarketCap, the TRX token has a total market capitalization of more than $22 billion. Staking TRX generates an annualized yield of approximately 4.5%, data from Stakingrewards.com shows.

The filing is the latest in an outpouring of submissions aimed at listing ETFs holding alternative cryptocurrencies, or “altcoins.” 

However, Canary’s proposed fund is relatively unique in requesting permission to stake its crypto holdings in its initial application. Other US ETFs, such as those holding the Ethereum network’s native token, Ether (ETH), have sought approval for staking only after successfully listing a fund holding the spot token. They are still waiting for a regulatory decision.

An Aptos community member submitted a proposal on April 18 to slash staking rewards for the network’s native token, Aptos (APT), by nearly 50%

The proposal, submitted by a community member called MoonSheisty, aims at reducing reward yields from 7% to 3.79% in a three-month period, aligning Aptos staking rewards with other layer-1 blockchains and encouraging capital efficiency.

The proposal has sparked curiosity on X, but early comments on GitHub show some initial resistance.

A community member going by ElagabalxNode noted that reducing the staking reward without “compensatory mechanisms like a robust delegation program” could push smaller validators out of the network, thus weakening the Aptos blockchain’s decentralization and long-term resistance.

Related: Aptos to accelerate innovation with new tech, investment in India

Ivan Soto-Wright, CEO of cryptocurrency payment firm MoonPay, is calling on US lawmakers to leave a path open to state-level regulators when passing legislation on stablecoins.

In an April 18 X post, Soto-Wright said he wanted Congress to “keep state-regulated issuers in the game” when it comes to stablecoin regulation, referencing efforts in the House of Representatives and Senate to create a federal regulatory framework. Lawmakers are considering whether to pass the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or GENIUS Act, in the Senate and the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy, or STABLE Act, in the House.

“While the cryptocurrency industry has called for federal legislation for years, it has been these state regulators who have provided and continue to provide regulatory clarity and supervision to ensure consumer protection and enable growth in the sector,” said Soto-Wright. “As federal legislation now approaches the finish line, it is essential to preserve viable state pathways for PSIs [permitted stablecoin issuers] that place the state regulators who meet the standards set out in GENIUS and STABLE on equal footing with federal regulators.”

The MoonPay CEO’s comment echoed those of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), which wrote to leadership on the House Financial Services Committee in an April 1 letter and recommended a similar state-level approach. Both the Senate Banking Committee and House Financial Services Committee voted to advance the bills in March and April, respectively, paving the way for a full floor vote.

Related: Lawmaker alleges Trump wants to replace US dollar with his stablecoin

Tokenized stocks are on track to exceed $1 trillion in market capitalization in the coming years as adoption accelerates, two industry executives said at the TokenizeThis conference in New York. 

The total addressable market for tokenized stocks — a type of tokenized real-world asset (RWA) —  is difficult to project but is “definitely a bigger trillion-dollar market,” Arnab Naskar, STOKR’s CEO, said during an April 16 panel at the event.

In 2025, demand for the instruments has “exploded” from institutions ranging from Web3 wallets to neobanks to traditional financial services firms, according to Anna Wroblewska, Dinari’s Chief Business Officer. 

“We've had an enormous influx of demand from a much broader scope of potential partners than you might even imagine [...] it's actually been really interesting,” Wroblewska said.

Related: Tokenization can transform US markets if Trump clears the way

The US Federal Reserve under Jerome Powell has developed a reputation for dragging its feet on implementing important policy changes. However, a top central banker has assured that the Fed is “absolutely” ready to do whatever it takes to avoid a financial crisis, whether triggered by the US-led trade war or other adverse developments.

Although the long-awaited “Fed pivot” could still be months away, policymakers appear poised to gradually ease financial conditions, beginning last month when they reduced the redemption cap on Treasurys by 80%. 

Fed policy exerts a gravitational pull on global markets through US dollar liquidity, which has a direct impact on Bitcoin (BTC) and the broader cryptocurrency markets. In fact, the Fed’s impact on crypto has only grown since the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, Bitcoin has been highly correlated with liquidity — a fact that was reinforced by a 2024 academic paper by Kingston University of London. 

This week’s Crypto Biz newsletter highlights remarks from a senior central bank official and covers major developments in the Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) market and the Bitcoin mining sector.

Fed’s Collins: Central bank will respond to liquidity constraints 

Boston Fed President Susan Collins said the central bank “would absolutely be prepared” to backstop markets if economic and financial conditions deteriorated rapidly.