Coinbase has partnered with Canadian stablecoin issuer Stablecorp in a bid to expand access to tokenized Canadian dollars, a company executive told Cointelegraph during the Blockchain Futurist Conference in Toronto.

According to Coinbase Canada’s CEO, Lucas Matheson, the exchange is investing an undisclosed amount in Stablecorp and will help market its fiat-collateralized stablecoin, QCAD.

“It’s really important that we have a stablecoin for Canadians,” Matheson told Cointelegraph in an exclusive interview on May 13, adding that stablecoins are especially urgent because the country has “no peer-to-peer [payment] rail” and “wire transfers cost $45 and take 45 minutes of paperwork.”

“With stablecoins, 24/7, instant, borderless payments become possible — this is already feasible with existing tech,” he said. 

Lucas Matheson (left) and Cointelegraph’s Sam Bourgi (right) on the sidelines of the Futurist Conference in Toronto. Source: Cointelegraph

Related: What Canada’s new Liberal PM Mark Carney means for crypto

Barriers to adoption

As of May 13, stablecoins have an aggregate market capitalization of around $245 billion, primarily comprising US dollar-backed stablecoins Tether (USDT) and USDC (USDC), according to data from CoinGecko.

Stablecorp’s most recent report on QCAD’s fiat reserve backing dates to July 2024, at which time only around $175,000 worth of QCAD were in circulation, according to its website.

Stablecorp’s flagship product is QCAD, a fiat-backed stablecoin. Source: Stablecorp

However, “Canada lacks a clear path for stablecoin adoption” in part because its government has yet to “remove securities regulation barriers for fiat-backed stablecoins,” Coinbase said in a March 26 blog post. It needs to begin “treating them as payment instruments rather than securities,” the exchange added.

In April, the US SEC said that stablecoins do not qualify as securities in the country if they are marketed solely as a means of making payments.

“We’re asking the federal government to develop a national strategy for digital assets. Crypto is strategic, and we hope this new administration sees that,” Matheson said. 

Canada elected Prime Minister Mark Carney during its federal elections in April. Carney has historically been critical of cryptocurrency. 

Magazine: Ethereum is destroying the competition in the $16.1T TradFi tokenization race

Coinbase has partnered with Canadian stablecoin issuer Stablecorp in a bid to expand access to tokenized Canadian dollars, a company executive told Cointelegraph during the Blockchain Futurist Conference in Toronto.

According to Coinbase Canada’s CEO, Lucas Matheson, the exchange is investing an undisclosed amount in Stablecorp and will help market its fiat-collateralized stablecoin, QCAD.

“It’s really important that we have a stablecoin for Canadians,” Matheson told Cointelegraph in an exclusive interview on May 13, adding that stablecoins are especially urgent because the country has “no peer-to-peer [payment] rail” and “wire transfers cost $45 and take 45 minutes of paperwork.”

“With stablecoins, 24/7, instant, borderless payments become possible — this is already feasible with existing tech,” he said. 

Lucas Matheson (left) and Sam Bourgi (right) on the sidelines of the Futurist Conference in Toronto. Source: Cointelegraph

Related: What Canada’s new Liberal PM Mark Carney means for crypto

Barriers to adoption

As of May 13, stablecoins have an aggregate market capitalization of around $245 billion, primarily comprising US dollar-backed stablecoins Tether (USDT) and USDC (USDC), according to data from CoinGecko.

Stablecorp’s most recent report on QCAD’s fiat reserve backing dates to July 2024, at which time only around $175,000 worth of QCAD were in circulation, according to its website.

Stablecorp’s flagship product is QCAD, a fiat-backed stablecoin. Source: Stablecorp

However, “Canada lacks a clear path for stablecoin adoption” in part because its government has yet to “remove securities regulation barriers for fiat-backed stablecoins,” Coinbase said in a March 26 blog post. It needs to begin “treating them as payment instruments rather than securities,” the exchange added.

In April, the US SEC said that stablecoins do not qualify as securities in the country if they are marketed solely as a means of making payments.

“We’re asking the federal government to develop a national strategy for digital assets. Crypto is strategic, and we hope this new administration sees that,” Matheson said. 

Canada elected Prime Minister Mark Carney during its federal elections in April. Carney has historically been critical of cryptocurrency. 

Magazine: Ethereum is destroying the competition in the $16.1T TradFi tokenization race

Coinbase has partnered with Canadian stablecoin issuer Stablecorp in a bid to expand access to tokenized Canadian dollars, a company executive told Cointelegraph during the Blockchain Futurist Conference in Toronto.

According to Coinbase Canada’s CEO, Lucas Matheson, the exchange is investing an undisclosed amount in Stablecorp and will help market its fiat-collateralized stablecoin, QCAD.

“It’s really important that we have a stablecoin for Canadians,” Matheson told Cointelegraph in an exclusive interview on May 13, adding that stablecoins are especially urgent because the country has “no peer-to-peer [payment] rail” and “wire transfers cost $45 and take 45 minutes of paperwork.”

“With stablecoins, 24/7, instant, borderless payments become possible — this is already feasible with existing tech,” he said. 

Lucas Matheson (left) and Sam Bourgi (right) on the sidelines of the Futurist Conference in Toronto. Source: Cointelegraph

Related: What Canada’s new Liberal PM Mark Carney means for crypto

Barriers to adoption

As of May 13, stablecoins have an aggregate market capitalization of around $245 billion, primarily comprising US dollar-backed stablecoins Tether (USDT) and USDC (USDC), according to data from CoinGecko.

Stablecorp’s most recent report on QCAD’s fiat reserve backing dates to July 2024, at which time only around $175,000 worth of QCAD were in circulation, according to its website.

Stablecorp’s flagship product is QCAD, a fiat-backed stablecoin. Source: Stablecorp

However, “Canada lacks a clear path for stablecoin adoption” in part because its government has yet to “remove securities regulation barriers for fiat-backed stablecoins,” Coinbase said in a March 26 blog post. It needs to begin “treating them as payment instruments rather than securities,” the exchange added.

In April, the US SEC said that stablecoins do not qualify as securities in the country if they are marketed solely as a means of making payments.

“We’re asking the federal government to develop a national strategy for digital assets. Crypto is strategic, and we hope this new administration sees that,” Matheson said. 

Canada elected Prime Minister Mark Carney during its federal elections in April. Carney has historically been critical of cryptocurrency. 

Magazine: Ethereum is destroying the competition in the $16.1T TradFi tokenization race

Key takeaways:

Solana’s $10.9 billion TVL surpassed the entire Ethereum layer-2 ecosystem.

Solana’s 30-day fee revenue ($43.4 million) rose 109% compared to the previous month.

SOL’s 8% funding rate shows healthy leverage demand from bulls.

Solana’s native token SOL (SOL) surged 24.8% between May 6 and May 10, following the broader altcoin market rally after Bitcoin broke above $100,000. Since then, SOL has struggled to stay above $180, but derivatives and onchain data still suggest further gains are in store.

SOL/USD (blue) vs. altcoin market cap. Source: TradingView / Cointelegraph

While Solana ranks the fifth largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Solana Network is the vice-leader in key onchain metrics including the total value locked (TVL).

Blockchain ranked by TVL, USD. Source: DefiLlama

Solana’s $10.9 billion total value locked (TVL) surpasses the entire Ethereum layer-2 ecosystem, which includes Base, Arbitrum, and Optimism.

Even BNB Chain, which integrates seamlessly with Binance and Trust Wallet, cannot match Solana’s numbers. Notable 30-day TVL increases for Solana include Raydium DEX, up 78%, Jito liquid staking solution, up 41%, and Marinade, which gained 56%.

Rising fee revenue boosts SOL demand and momentum

Gaining traction in decentralized finance (DeFi) does not always translate into demand for the native token, since some networks have extremely low fees. For example, over a recent 30-day period, the Ethereum network generated just $24.9 million in base layer fees, while Tron captured $51.9 million and Solana totaled $43.3 million, according to DefiLlama.

Solana network DApps revenue (left) vs. chain fees (right). Source: DefiLlama

Solana’s DApps revenues and chain fees have shown consistent growth over the past four weeks. The latest figures are approaching their highest levels in three months, which is highly positive for SOL, as it drives demand. With 65% of the SOL supply involved in staking, this dynamic also supports upward price momentum.

Related: Solana co-founder proposes meta chain to fix blockchain fragmentation

To gauge whether traders are becoming more optimistic about SOL’s price outlook, it is helpful to look at leverage demand. A positive funding rate means that long positions (buyers) are paying to keep their trades open.

SOL perpetual futures annualized funding rate. Source: Laevitas.ch

Currently, the SOL perpetual futures funding rate is at 8%, which falls within the neutral range of 5% to 10% based on the cost of capital. However, with SOL still trading 40% below its all-time high of $295 from Jan. 19, there is little reason for excessive optimism just yet. Still, the increasing activity on the Solana network suggests that SOL could reach $200 soon, potentially outperforming its competitors.

The exact catalyst that could propel SOL’s price higher remains uncertain, but possibilities include the potential approval of a spot Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the US, as well as Solana’s eventual inclusion in a state-level digital asset strategic reserve. Additionally, some analysts are optimistic about traditional asset tokenization on Solana, which could unlock further value for SOL.

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.

Proponents of a bill to regulate stablecoins in the US Congress will likely take up another vote on the legislation in a matter of days without responding to concerns about President Donald Trump’s financial ties to the cryptocurrency industry.

The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or GENIUS Act, failed to get enough votes to pass in the US Senate on May 8 amid calls from some Democratic lawmakers to halt any legislation related to digital assets until Republicans could address Trump’s potential conflicts of interest.

Immediately following the vote, some lawmakers from both parties suggested they could reconsider the bill as early as this week, but without agreeing on a bipartisan path forward.

After the GENIUS Act failed to proceed in a 48 to 49 vote in the Senate, Majority Leader John Thune made a motion to reconsider, setting up a possible vote on the matter within days. A source familiar with the matter told Cointelegraph Republicans who backed the bill were unlikely to modify it to block Trump or any member of his administration from investing in digital assets, claiming it was beyond Congress’s authority under the Constitution.

“[…] this delay is not inherently detrimental,“ said Liat Shetret, vice president of global policy and regulation at blockchain analytics firm Elliptic. “We can expect the bill to return to the floor, with this pause giving both parties time to clarify provisions and address lawmakers’ concerns.”

The Cedar Innovation Foundation, an organization tied to the political action committee (PAC) Fairshake, issued a warning to Senate leadership to “avoid political games” and pass a stablecoin bill “in the coming days.”

Fairshake spent more than $131 million to support candidates in the 2024 US elections, some of whom are currently serving in the House and Senate. There are still more than 500 days until the 2026 midterms, when many members of Congress are up for reelection.

On May 12, the Senate resumed consideration of the motion to proceed to consideration of the GENIUS Act, suggesting another vote soon.

Related: US Treasury Secretary expresses support for crypto bills at hearing

Changes to stablecoin or market structure bills?

Should Republicans in the Senate reintroduce the bill without any changes, it’s unclear whether they would have enough support to clear a 60-vote majority to avoid a Democratic filibuster — a process to delay or sometimes block a vote on a bill.

The Trump family’s ties to the crypto platform World Liberty Financial and its stablecoin, USD1, have raised potential corruption concerns, as has offering the top holders of his TRUMP memecoin the chance to pay for access to the president through an exclusive dinner and reception. 

“[…] the Republicans’ bill did nothing to address Trump’s conflict, and instead voted to hand Trump the authority to write the rules over his and his competitors’ stablecoins,” said Democratic Representative Maxine Waters in a May 6 statement. She blocked a hearing to discuss a possible digital asset market structure bill, citing concerns about Trump’s “ownership of crypto.”

Democratic lawmakers have already introduced possible solutions to what they called the “biggest corruption scandal in the history of the White House” — with legislation in the House and Senate to bar members of Congress, the president, the vice president, and their families from profiting off memecoins.

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Van Hollen also reportedly called on the president to fully divest from USD1 before making any possible deals with foreign governments.

The nonpartisan organization State Democracy Defenders Action reported in April that Trump’s crypto holdings were worth roughly $2.9 billion, which accounted for 40% of his wealth.

This report came before the launch of World Liberty Financial’s stablecoin, which an Abu Dhabi-based investment firm said it would use to settle a $2 billion investment in Binance. Trump’s sons, Eric, Donald Trump Jr., and Barron, were all listed as “Web3 ambassadors” for the platform.

Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

Proponents of a bill to regulate stablecoins in the US Congress will likely take up another vote on the legislation in a matter of days without responding to concerns about President Donald Trump’s financial ties to the cryptocurrency industry.

The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or GENIUS Act, failed to get enough votes to pass in the US Senate on May 8 amid calls from some Democratic lawmakers to halt any legislation related to digital assets until Republicans could address Trump’s potential conflicts of interest.

Immediately following the vote, some lawmakers from both parties suggested they could reconsider the bill as early as this week, but without agreeing on a bipartisan path forward.

After the GENIUS Act failed to proceed in a 48 to 49 vote in the Senate, Majority Leader John Thune made a motion to reconsider, setting up a possible vote on the matter within days. A source familiar with the matter told Cointelegraph Republicans who backed the bill were unlikely to modify it to block Trump or any member of his administration from investing in digital assets, claiming it was beyond Congress’s authority under the Constitution.

“[…] this delay is not inherently detrimental,“ said Liat Shetret, vice president of global policy and regulation at blockchain analytics firm Elliptic. “We can expect the bill to return to the floor, with this pause giving both parties time to clarify provisions and address lawmakers’ concerns.”

The Cedar Innovation Foundation, an organization tied to the political action committee (PAC) Fairshake, issued a warning to Senate leadership to “avoid political games” and pass a stablecoin bill “in the coming days.” Fairshake spent more than $131 million to support candidates in the 2024 US elections, some of whom are currently serving in the House and Senate. There are still more than 500 days until the 2026 midterms, when many members of Congress are up for reelection.

On May 12, the Senate resumed consideration of the motion to proceed to consideration of the GENIUS Act, suggesting another vote soon.

Related: US Treasury Secretary expresses support for crypto bills at hearing

Changes to stablecoin or market structure bills?

Should Republicans in the Senate reintroduce the bill without any changes, it’s unclear whether they would have enough support to clear a 60-vote majority to avoid a Democratic filibuster — a process to delay or sometimes block a vote on a bill.

The Trump family’s ties to the crypto platform World Liberty Financial and its stablecoin, USD1, have raised potential corruption concerns, as has offering the top holders of his TRUMP memecoin the chance to pay for access to the president through an exclusive dinner and reception. 

“[…] the Republicans’ bill did nothing to address Trump’s conflict, and instead voted to hand Trump the authority to write the rules over his and his competitors’ stablecoins,” said Democratic Representative Maxine Waters in a May 6 statement. She blocked a hearing to discuss a possible digital asset market structure bill, citing concerns about Trump’s “ownership of crypto.”

Democratic lawmakers have already introduced possible solutions to what they called the “biggest corruption scandal in the history of the White House” — with legislation in the House and Senate to bar members of Congress, the president, the vice president, and their families from profiting off memecoins. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Van Hollen also reportedly called on the president to fully divest from USD1 before making any possible deals with foreign governments.

The nonpartisan organization State Democracy Defenders Action reported in April that Trump’s crypto holdings were worth roughly $2.9 billion, which accounted for 40% of his wealth. This report came before the launch of World Liberty Financial’s stablecoin, which an Abu Dhabi-based investment firm said it would use to settle a $2 billion investment in Binance. Trump’s sons, Eric, Donald Trump Jr., and Barron, were all listed as “Web3 ambassadors” for the platform.

Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin price maintains its bullish momentum, but a sentiment indicator suggests the market could be overheating. 

Data highlights Bitcoin traders taking profits and a lopsided market angled toward longs.

Analysts warn of a potential short-term correction, especially if gold weakens or seasonal trends play out.

Optimism has returned to the crypto markets, and many traders believe Bitcoin (BTC) price is on the path to new all-time highs. In just one month, Bitcoin surged 39%, briefly crossing the $105,000 mark. According to Glassnode analysts, “there are signs of renewed market strength, and the market is trading within a profit-dominated regime.”

Still, not everyone is convinced the rally will continue unchecked. Some investors are already taking profits, pushing Bitcoin’s realized cap to an all-time high of $889 billion. Even more profit-taking is expected at the $106,000 level.

Historically, euphoric market sentiment has often led to periods of consolidation—or even sharp corrections. That risk may be growing, particularly as gold, whose price action Bitcoin has closely mirrored in recent months, is showing signs of fatigue and could be heading for a correction itself.

Most investors are back in profit

The recent Bitcoin rally has returned over 3 million BTC to a profitable state, according to Glassnode. This shift has reignited capital inflows, which exceeded $1 billion per day, suggesting strong demand-side interest and a market willing to absorb selling pressure. Even most short-term holders who were underwater since the December 2024 peak have seen their portfolios turn green.

BTC short-term holders’ relative unrealized loss. Source: Glassnode

This relief, both financial and psychological, is already translating into spending behavior. The net difference between short-term holders’ transfer volume in profit versus at a loss has swung sharply to +20% — a notable reversal from the -20% seen during the capitulation phase at the end of April.

Institutional investor confidence is also rebounding. Over the past three weeks, more than $5.7 billion has flowed into Bitcoin ETFs, according to CoinGlass. The total assets under management held within the US spot ETFs have now climbed to over 1.26 million BTC, a new all-time high.

Are crypto traders too euphoric right now?

With so much momentum, it’s easy to imagine a moonshot. But that same momentum may be cause for caution. BTC’s open interest has climbed to $68 billion, near all-time highs, indicating a heavily positioned market. In such conditions, even a small catalyst could spark an outsized move—up or down.

André Dragosch, head of research at Bitwise Asset Management, warned that Bitcoin might be getting a bit ahead of itself. He posted Bitwise’s in-house Cryptoasset Sentiment Index, which has reached its highest level since November 2024.

The index, which includes 15 sub-indicators spanning sentiment, flows, onchain data, and derivatives (such as the perpetual funding rate and put-call volume ratio), now shows an overheated market.

Bitcoin price vs Cryptoasset sentiment index. Source: Bitwise

In comments to Cointelegraph, Dragosch said:

“The latest readings imply that market sentiment has become overheated and that positioning appears to be one-sided on the long side. It tends to signal an increased risk for a temporary pull-back in the price of Bitcoin, and that the current rally could take a break.”

Yet, Dragosch remains “structurally constructive” until the end of 2025, citing the continued BTC accumulation by corporations and ETPs, which continues to deplete Bitcoin on-exchange balances.

Related: Arizona governor kills two crypto bills, cracks down on Bitcoin ATMs

Potential crypto market headwinds

Several risks could challenge Bitcoin in the short term.

For Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan, renewed regulatory uncertainty is a top concern, particularly after the Senate stalled stablecoin legislation last week.

Broader shifts in market behavior may also be at play. Since March 2025, Bitcoin has shown a stronger correlation with gold than with equities. That shift followed dramatic changes in US policy, which appeared to steer capital toward politically neutral assets: both Bitcoin and gold rose 22% (the latter since corrected to a 13% gain). At the same time, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 merely clawed back earlier losses.

BTC/USD vs gold, SPX, and NDX 1-day. Source: Marie Poteriaieva, TradingView

This divergence continues on shorter time frames. Since May 12, major US indexes gained 3% to 4% on positive developments in US-China trade relations, but Bitcoin barely budged. Meanwhile, gold has started printing lower highs — a potential early signal of a downtrend, as noted by analyst Michael Van de Poppe. If gold enters a corrective phase, Bitcoin might follow suit.

Seasonality may also play a role. The adage “sell in May and go away” has some historical backing. As analyst Daan Crypto Trades noted, May has typically been a green month for Bitcoin (averaging over 8%), while June and September are often the worst-performing months. As he put it,

“Seasonality is never something to solely base your decisions on, but it can work out well. Many investors are watching the same thing after all.”

Whether this rally has more room to run — or is due for a breather — may soon be put to the test.

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.

Investment firm VanEck is launching a tokenized real-world asset (RWA) fund that offers exposure to US Treasury bills, developed in partnership with tokenization platform Securitize. The initiative places VanEck among a growing number of traditional finance firms entering the RWA tokenization space.

The fund, called VBILL, will be initially available on Avalanche, BNB Chain, Ethereum and Solana blockchains, VanEck said in a May 13 statement. The fund’s minimum subscriptions start at $100,000 for investments running on Avalanche, BNB Chain, and Solana, while the minimum subscription on Ethereum is $1 million.

VanEck joins a burgeoning field of traditional financial firms that have launched RWA tokenized funds, with competitors including BlackRock and Franklin Templeton. In January, Apollo, an investment firm with $751 billion in assets under management, also launched a private credit tokenized fund.

With a market capitalization of $6.9 billion, US Treasurys are among the largest asset classes in tokenized funds, second only to private credit, according to data from RWA.xyz.

VanEck’s partner, Securitize, has tokenized over $3.9 billion in assets. In May 2024, it raised $47 million in a strategic funding round led by BlackRock.

US Treasury tokenized market over time. Source: RWA.xyz

Tokenization of real-world assets has many benefits that outpace traditional finance systems, including faster settlement times and liquidity to previously illiquid assets, advocates say.

Related: ‘Everything is lining up’ — Tokenization is having its breakout moment

SEC Chair Atkins on RWA tokenization

At the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) roundtable on May 12, Chair Paul Atkins compared the moving of securities onchain to the transition of songs from analog to digital. 

“Just as the shift to digital audio revolutionized the music industry, the migration to onchain securities has the potential to remodel aspects of the securities market by enabling entirely new methods of issuing, trading, owning, and using securities,” Atkins said.

“Blockchain technology holds the promise to allow for a broad swath of novel use cases for securities, fostering new kinds of market activities that many of the Commission’s legacy rules and regulations do not contemplate today,” he added.

Magazine: Ethereum is destroying the competition in the $16.1T TradFi tokenization race

Key points:

Bitcoin fails to capitalize on lower-than-expected US CPI data, seeing a Wall Street sell-off for a second day.

Traders see BTC/USD buying time before its next move, and a trip below $100,000 is on the cards.

Bitcoin is showing “undeniable” momentum against gold and stocks, Binance’s Richard Teng says.

Bitcoin (BTC) saw a repeat sell-off at the May 13 Wall Street open as bears ignored positive US inflation data.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewBTC price stagnates after CPI inflation cools

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD again heading lower after failing to reclaim $104,000 as support.

The downside came despite the April print of the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) coming in below expectations in what should be good news for risk assets.

“The all items index rose 2.3 percent for the 12 months ending April, after rising 2.4 percent over the 12 months ending March,” an official release from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) confirmed. 

“The April change was the smallest 12-month increase in the all items index since February 2021.”US CPI 12-month % change. Source: BLS

US stocks opened higher, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index up 0.7% and 1.4%, respectively, at the time of writing.

Reacting, trading resource The Kobeissi Letter noted that the S&P 500 had now delivered net upside year-to-date.

“The S&P 500 has technically entered a new bull market, up 20% since April. We are seeing historic moves to both directions in both stocks and commodities,” it wrote in part of a thread on X.

S&P 500 1-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

BTC/USD meanwhile surfed nearby order book liquidity around spot price. For popular trader Daan Crypto Trades, the stage was now being set for fresh volatility.

“That’s all the big clusters above and below taken out now. Good liquidity grab on both sides,” he summarized alongside data from monitoring resource CoinGlass. 

“From here on out we’ll just have to wait and see as the market ranges a bit and figures out what it wants to do. No massive liquidity levels nearby so spot will have to be leading.”BTC liquidation heatmap (screenshot). Source: CoinGlass

The day prior, Daan Crypto Trades had forecast a retest of $102,000 based on liquidity clusters, a move which subsequently played out.

“Bitcoin is stalling here for a little bit, which is completely fine,” crypto analyst and entrepreneur Michaël van de Poppe continued. 

“Even if it goes back to $97.5-98K, we’ll still be in an uptrend and building up for new ATHs.”BTC/USDT 6-hour chart with RSI data. Source: Michaël van de Poppe/XTeng: Bitcoin momentum “undeniable”

Assessing the ongoing macro implications for BTC price action, trading firm QCP Capital considered the chances of the market trending sideways in the short term.

Related: Bitcoin illiquid supply hits 14M BTC as hodlers set bull market record

“BTC remains caught in a tug-of-war between its identity as ‘digital gold’ and its function as a risk-on proxy. This tension continues to obscure its directional conviction,” it wrote in its latest bulletin to Telegram channel subscribers on the day. 

“As the macro narrative moves from protectionism toward renewed trade optimism, BTC could remain range-bound.”

Others remained strong in their conviction over the general market trajectory, including Richard Teng, CEO of crypto exchange Binance.

“While traditional markets recover, Bitcoin’s already leading the pack,” he told X followers while comparing returns since the April 2 “Liberation Day” enacted by US President Donald Trump as he unveiled reciprocal trade tariffs. 

“With double-digit gains following key global events, BTC is reinforcing its position as a resilient alternative asset—outperforming gold, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq year-to-date. The momentum is undeniable.”Macro asset comparison. Source: Richard Teng/X

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.

Infinite Node Foundation (NODE), a nonprofit focused on digital art, has acquired the intellectual property of the CryptoPunks non-fungible token (NFT) collection from Yuga Labs, NODE said in a May 13 announcement. 

The acquisition of CryptoPunks, plus its additional $25 million endowment, establishes NODE as “the most well-capitalized nonprofit dedicated solely to digital art in the United States,” the foundation said in an X post. 

The terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

The nonprofit said it has assembled an advisory board to oversee the CryptoPunks collection. It comprises Matt Hall and John Watkinson — the artists behind the NFT collection — and a representative of Yuga Labs, among others. 

“Our role is to build a networked architecture that allows digital art like CryptoPunks to thrive within both digital and art-historical canons,” NODE said. 

The highest-grossing CryptoPunks NFTs. Source: CryptoPunks

Related: Doodles NFT token stalls after airdrop

Most valuable NFT collection

CryptoPunks are “algorithmically generated pixel art characters” that “changed the art world by existing outside of it and sparked a cultural shift that continues to reshape our digital world,” according to NODE.

It is the most valuable NFT collection, with a total market capitalization of nearly $1.2 billion across its 10,000 NFTs as of May 13, according to data from CoinGecko.

The CryptoPunks collection was launched in 2017 by Larva Labs, an NFT designer co-founded by Hall and Watkinson. 

Since then, the NFTs have clocked upward of $3 billion in sales, according to NODE. Each NFT sale creates royalties for the holders of the NFTs’ IP. 

In 2022, the highest-grossing CryptoPunk NFT sold for nearly $24 million, according to CryptoPunks’ website. The collection was purchased in 2022 by Yuga Labs, best known for designing the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection — the third-largest NFT collection by market capitalization, according to CoinGecko. 

Yuga simultaneously purchased Meebits, another Larva NFT collection, before selling it in February.

In March, Yuga Labs said the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) closed an investigation into the company in what it described as “a huge win for NFTs.”

Magazine: Meebits and CryptoPunks are like Hot Wheels for adults: New MeebCo owner Sergito