Key points:

Bitcoin price hangs near $97,000 as traders await today’s FOMC minutes.

Bitcoin holding $95,000 as support is key for bullish price expansion in the short term.

Select altcoins are holding their respective support levels, opening the gates for a short-term rally.

Bitcoin (BTC) bulls are trying to knock down the immediate resistance at $97,895 and challenge the all-important $100,000 level. Crypto analytics platform Santiment said in a post on X that Bitcoin wallets holding between 10 and 10,000 Bitcoin are positive about further gains as they have acquired 81,338 Bitcoin over the past six weeks.

Investors have also been piling into BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund for the past 16 days, which has boosted its new capital inflows to about $4.7 billion, according to ETF Store President Nate Geraci.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas also suggested that the spot Bitcoin ETF “will have triple gold’s ETF assets under management in 3 to 5 years.”

Crypto market data daily view. Source: Coin360

According to Bitfinex data, Bitcoin must hold above $95,000 to signal a “structural shift” into bullish territory, opening the doors for a rally to an all-time high. However, if the $95,000 level cracks, the analysts expect Bitcoin to witness a deeper correction.

Could Bitcoin challenge the $100,000 resistance? Are select altcoins showing signs of a short-term up move? Let’s analyze the charts of the top 10 cryptocurrencies to find out.

Bitcoin price prediction

Bitcoin rebounded off the 20-day exponential moving average ($93,091) on May 6, indicating that the sentiment remains positive and traders are buying on dips.

BTC/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

There is minor resistance at $97,895, but if the level is crossed, the BTC/USDT pair could challenge the psychological resistance at $100,000. Sellers are expected to vigorously defend the level because a break above it could propel the pair to $107,000.

Time is running out for the bears. If they want to make a comeback, they will have to sink and sustain the price below the 20-day EMA. If they succeed, the pair could tumble to the 50-day simple moving average ($87,441).

Ether price prediction

The bears are struggling to pull Ether (ETH) below the moving averages, indicating a lack of selling at lower levels.

ETH/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Buyers will try to take advantage of the situation and push the price above the immediate resistance at $1,873. If they do that, the ETH/USDT pair could pick up momentum and soar toward $2,111. There is minor resistance at $1,957, but it is likely to be scaled. 

Sellers are likely to have other plans. They will try to tug the price below the moving averages, opening the gates for a fall to $1,537. Buyers will try to defend the $1,537 level, but if they fail in their endeavor, the pair may collapse to the vital support at $1,368.

XRP price prediction

XRP (XRP) fell below the moving averages on May 4, but the bears could not sink the price to the $2 support.

XRP/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The flattish moving averages and the RSI just below the midpoint suggest that the XRP/USDT pair may remain stuck between the resistance line and the $2 support for some more time.

A break and close above the resistance line signals a potential trend change. The pair could then rally toward $3. Conversely, a break and close below $2 opens the gates for a collapse to the $1.72 to $1.61 support zone.

BNB price prediction

The failure of the bears to sustain BNB (BNB) below the moving averages indicates demand at lower levels.

BNB/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The bulls will have to try and overcome the barrier at $620 to clear the path for a rally to the strong overhead resistance at $644. Sellers will try to halt the recovery at $644, but if the bulls prevail, the next stop could be $680.

This positive view will be invalidated in the near term if the BNB/USDT pair turns down and breaks below the $576 support. That heightens the risk of a fall to $520. Buyers are expected to aggressively defend the $500 to $520 zone.

Solana price prediction

Solana (SOL) is finding support at the moving averages, signaling a positive sentiment where dips are being purchased.

SOL/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The bulls will try to strengthen their position by pushing the price above the $153 resistance. If they can pull it off, the SOL/USDT pair could climb to $180 and then to $200. That signals the pair may swing inside the large $110 to $260 range for a while.

Sellers will have to drag the price below the 20-day EMA to prevent the upside. The pair could then tumble to the 50-day SMA ($133). That indicates a consolidation between $110 and $153 for a few days.

Dogecoin price prediction

Dogecoin (DOGE) has been clinging to the moving averages, signaling a balance between supply and demand.

DOGE/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

If the price closes below the moving averages, the bears will try to pull the DOGE/USDT pair to the support of the range at $0.14. The bulls will attempt to keep the pair inside the range by buying near $0.14.

On the upside, buyers will have to drive and maintain the price above $0.21 to suggest a short-term trend change. The pair could rally to $0.25 and subsequently to the pattern target of $0.28.

Cardano price prediction

Cardano (ADA) is witnessing a tough battle between the buyers and sellers near the moving averages.

ADA/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The flattish moving averages and the RSI near the midpoint do not give a clear advantage either to the bulls or the bears. If the price moves up from the current level, it is expected to face selling at $0.75. A break and close above $0.75 could propel the pair to $0.83.

On the downside, there is solid support at $0.58. If the price rebounds off $0.58, the ADA/USDT pair could form a range. Sellers will seize control on a break below the $0.58 support. The pair may then descend to the $0.54 to $0.50 support zone.

Related: Can XRP price reach $4 in May? Analysts are watching these key levels

Sui price prediction

Sui (SUI) rebounded off the 20-day EMA ($3.14) on May 6, indicating that lower levels are attracting buyers.

SUI/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

There is minor resistance at $3.50, but if it is crossed, the SUI/USDT pair could ascend to $3.90. Sellers are expected to defend the $3.90 level with all their might because a break above it could propel the SUI/USDT pair to $4.25 and eventually to $5.

Instead, if the price turns down and breaks below the 20-day EMA, it suggests that the bulls are rushing to the exit. The pair risks dropping to the solid support at $2.86 and then to the 50-day SMA ($2.61).

Chainlink price prediction

Chainlink (LINK) is finding support at the 50-day SMA ($13.66), but the failure to start a strong rebound suggests the bears have kept up the pressure.

LINK/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

If the 50-day SMA gives way, the LINK/USDT pair could slump to $11.68. Buyers will try to defend the level, but the relief rally is likely to face selling at the moving averages. If the price turns down from the moving averages, the pair could fall to the support line of the descending channel.

Contrarily, if the price turns up from the current level and maintains above the 20-day EMA ($13.99), the pair could rally toward the resistance line. Buyers will have to pierce the resistance line to signal that the downtrend could be over.

Avalanche price prediction

Avalanche (AVAX) has slipped below the 50-day SMA ($19.90), indicating that the range-bound action could continue for a few more days.  

AVAX/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

If the price skids below $18.50, the AVAX/USDT pair could drop to the support of the range at $15.27. Buyers are expected to aggressively defend the $15.27 level, as a break below it may resume the downtrend.

Alternatively, a bounce off the current level suggests the bulls are trying to keep the pair inside the upper half of the range. Buyers will have to drive the price above $23.50 to start an up move to $28.78 and then to the pattern target of $31.73.

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.

The Bybit exchange has recovered its liquidity to pre-hack levels just 30 days following the February 2025 attack that drained nearly $1.5 billion in funds.

According to a report from crypto research and analytics firm Kaiko, Bitcoin’s (BTC) 1% market depth, a measure of liquidity, returned to pre-hack levels of around $13 million per day in March 2025.

Bitcoin liquidity on Bybit exchange rebounds to pre-hack levels. Source: Kaiko

Altcoin liquidity levels on the exchange have been slower to recover than Bitcoin but have rebounded to around 80% of the pre-hack levels. The authors of the Kaiko report added:

“This lag is largely due to the risk-off market environment, which has impacted altcoins more severely. While Bitcoin is still seen as a risky asset, it remains the crypto market’s safe haven.”

Overall, the exchange’s trading volumes remain in recovery; however, the report notes that this drop reflects the broader market trend in response to the ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty that has rattled risk asset markets and is not an effect of the biggest hack in crypto history.

Altcoin liquidity on the platform has been slower to recover than Bitcoin liquidity. Source: Kaiko

Related: Hacken CEO sees ‘no shift’ in crypto security as April hacks hit $357M

Bybit’s incident response

The Bybit exchange was hacked by cybercriminals on Feb. 21, resulting in $1.5 billion in stolen funds. A post-mortem update revealed a compromised device from a SafeWallet developer, the firm responsible for the multi-signature wallet custody solution used by the exchange, as the cause of the hack.

Bybit kept withdrawals open during the incident, allowing users to access and pull their funds with little delay during the crisis.

A condensed timeline of events of the February 2025 Bybit hack. Source: Kaiko

Ben Zhou, the CEO of Bybit, reassured investors that the exchange was solvent and said that the company’s reserves could cover the shortfall, whether or not the stolen funds were ever recovered.

Zhou’s response united the crypto industry behind Bybit, with many competitors providing bridge loans to the exchange, technical assistance, and freezing the stolen funds on their protocols.

Magazine: Deposit risk: What do crypto exchanges really do with your money?

Key points:

Bitcoin investors are making the most of the highest price levels in several months by cashing out profits.

These are averaging $1 billion per day, leading to concerns that the market comeback may stall or even reverse.

Institutional participation has not led to a change in mindset, CryptoQuant says.

Bitcoin (BTC) risks a “local top or sharp correction” if current levels of profit-taking continue, new research warns.

In a “Quicktake” blog post on May 8, onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant flagged elevated realized profits among BTC investors.

BTC profit-taking spikes to January highs

Bitcoin realized profits have spiked to multimonth highs this week as BTC/USD reached close to $98,000.

For CryptoQuant, the market is becoming comparable to late 2024, when the pair broke through old all-time highs and hit $100,000 for the first time.

“Even after positive price action after March-April drop in 2025, profit taking is still aggressive. Maybe not like November-December 2024 but still high,” contributor Kripto Mevsimi wrote.

“This is historically consistent with late-stage bull market behavior — where profit-taking dominates, even as price continues to rise.”Bitcoin net realized profit and loss. Source: CryptoQuant

CryptoQuant data puts the current 7-day moving average realized profit across the hodler spectrum at approximately $1 billion per day.

“If we look back at similar cycles (e.g. 2021), this phase often preceded a local top or sharp correction, especially when profit-taking stayed high and continuous,” it continued.

No hiding from Bitcoin “investor psychology”

As Cointelegraph reported, some market commentators have argued that the Bitcoin investment landscape has fundamentally changed thanks to increased institutional participation.

Related: Bitcoin pushes for $98K as 2025 Fed rate cut odds flip ‘pessimistic’

Chief among the new players are the US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the largest of which, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), has seen net inflows every day for more than two weeks.

Despite this, Kripto Mevsimi contends that underlying reactions to BTC price changes remain the same.

“Since spot ETFs launched in January 2024, market structure has changed — but investor psychology hasn’t,” he summarized.

Source: Farside Investors

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.

Opinion by: Anurag Arjun, co-founder of Avail 

On paper, SocialFi is a no-brainer. It promises to shift the balance of power in social media — giving people control over how their content and personal data are used and monetized. It even offers users a stake in the $200+ billion social media advertising market, a pie currently devoured almost entirely by giants like Meta.

And yet, SocialFi platforms today feel more like digital ghost towns than the bustling hubs of Web2. Friend.tech, hailed as a breakout star in 2023, peaked at just 80,000 daily active users before falling below 10,000. What’s holding SocialFi back? Why does it seem to be following Friend.tech’s fade into obscurity rather than rising to rival Facebook’s dominance?

The harsh reality is that decentralized social networks have largely failed to attract and retain mainstream users despite genuine enthusiasm from Web3 communities. The fundamental promise of user ownership, data portability, and monetization remains compelling — but deep structural issues bottleneck adoption.

The technical hurdles

Blockchain infrastructure was never designed for the high-throughput, low-latency demands of social networking. Social media users expect instant results when posting pictures, liking comments, or following new accounts — actions that generate hundreds of millions of transactions daily across platforms like Instagram, TikTok and X.

Consider this: Ethereum handles just 15-20 transactions per second (TPS). Even Solana — often touted as a high-performance chain — with ~5,000 TPS falls short. Compare that to TikTok’s 25 million daily video uploads or X’s 500 million daily posts. Adoption becomes impossible when users face 30-second confirmation delays to comment on a post or volatile gas fees ranging from 10 US cents to $50 during network congestion.

Web2’s hard-won lessons 

Meta spends $35 billion annually on research and development to refine its platforms’ addictive simplicity. TikTok’s algorithm, honed through 1 billion hours of daily user engagement, delivers content so frictionless that 47% of users open the app immediately upon waking. The result? Interfaces where the tech disappears behind the experience.

By contrast, most SocialFi platforms confront new users with wallet popups, crypto slang, and variable fees. For mainstream users, it’s confusing and intimidating. A 2023 DappRadar study found that 92% of SocialFi users abandon platforms within 30 days. Until SocialFi applications can match the frictionless experience of their Web2 counterparts while delivering unique advantages, adoption will remain limited to crypto natives.

The fragmentation problem

Web3’s multichain world has splintered SocialFi into silos. Lens Protocol’s social graph doesn’t integrate with Farcaster. Friend.tech’s monetization tools don’t port over to DeSo. The result? A fractured experience with no network effects.

Recent: Avara’s Lens secures $31M for SocialFi-focused L2 blockchain

Consider if Gmail users had to pay to email someone on Outlook — and couldn’t bring their contacts or messages with them. That’s today’s SocialFi reality.

To solve this, decentralized identity systems like ENS and emerging standards like EAS must power portable, composable social graphs. A user’s content, followers, and reputation should travel with them — benefiting the broader ecosystem, not just one app.

Purpose-built infrastructure

The solution to SocialFi’s adoption challenges isn’t incremental improvements to existing models but purpose-built infrastructure explicitly designed for social applications. Just as horizontal scaling revolutionized Web2 infrastructure, modular blockchain architecture that separates concerns like data availability, execution, and settlement creates the foundation for social applications that can scale to billions of users.

The shift is already underway. Farcaster moved from Ethereum mainnet to Optimism’s layer 2 stack, prioritizing low-cost social interactions. Lens Protocol is migrating to ZKsync, using zero-knowledge proofs to scale while preserving user privacy. CyberConnect launched Cyber, its own L1 chain optimized for social applications, which now supports faster, cheaper interactions with an embedded social graph.

These purpose-built stacks mirror how Web2 scaled — separating data, execution, and storage to handle exponential growth. Web3’s version is modular architecture: rollups for performance, decentralized storage for media, and identity layers like ENS or Lit Protocol.

User-centric social networking

When built on the proper foundation, SocialFi can finally deliver on its core promise: putting users back at the center of the social networking experience. This means true ownership of identity and content, portable social graphs that work across applications, and fair value distribution to the people who create and curate content.

The opportunity extends well beyond fixing what’s broken in Web2 social media. True ownership enables creators to retain control and port audiences across platforms. Programmable money allows TikTok-esque viral trends to include instant revenue splits — imagine a dance challenge where 10% of ad revenue auto-splits among creators.

Combining programmable money with social connections, new interaction models become possible — from seamless tipping for quality content to automated revenue sharing for collaborative creation.

SocialFi’s early iterations have failed to gain meaningful traction beyond crypto enthusiasts. If we finally address the fundamental technical and user experience barriers, Web3 Social can deliver a disproportionate advantage over established platforms only Web3 can offer.

Opinion by: Anurag Arjun, co-founder of Avail.

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.

Safeheron, a digital asset infrastructure provider based in Singapore, has introduced an open-source Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) framework. This solution could bolster security and privacy for Web3 in sectors like decentralized finance (DeFi), payment services, and decentralized autonomous organizations.

The TEE framework is the first built upon the native Intel SGX SDK and developed using modern C++, a general-purpose object-oriented programming language often used for operating systems, game development, and high-powered computing.

Safeheron decided to open-source the framework because the company had seen growing concerns across the industry about closed, opaque systems, especially as security incidents have become more widespread.

Related: Fully onchain AI agents can be the key to a more open AI future — Here’s why

“We’re not threatened by competitors,” Safeheron CEO Wade Wang told Cointelegraph. “What worries us is slow innovation due to closed systems.”

A critical technology for protecting code and data, Trusted Execution Environments create secure, isolated spaces within CPUs. These spaces are traditionally called “enclaves.” In these spaces, programs can run while protected from external attacks, including those coming from within the hardware.

Some sectors of Web3 that employ TEEs include privacy-focused blockchains, oracles, DeFi, payments services, and exchanges. Oasis Network, Secret Network, and Phala Network are known for using TEEs. Other companies, such as Chainlink, are suspected of using TEEs.

Safeheron’s new TEE framework allows clients to use cloud services to create enclaves. Any cloud service, including those that are public, that supports Intel SGX servers will do.

Safeheron has provided services over 100 clients, primarily payment providers, OTC desks, trading firms, and wallet service providers. Its clients include MetaMask, Doo Group, and Amber Group. According to the company, its cumulative transfer volume recently surpassed $100 billion.

In August 2022, Safeheron raised $7 million in pre-Series A funding. The capital was allocated to research, development, and expanding the company’s business team.

Related: Here’s how ‘confidential AI’ with blockchain and TEEs protects data privacy

Buterin proposes TEE for Ethereum privacy

In an April 11 roadmap, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin proposed adding a TEE to the Ethereum ecosystem to enhance user privacy. The TEE would be a short-term solution allowing “users to interact with RPC nodes while getting stronger assurances that their private data is not being collected.” 

He also called for the addition of privacy-protecting tools to Ether (ETH) wallets. TEEs could help here as well by protecting private wallet keys. Announced at the time of its fundraise, Safeheron secured MetaMask as a client in August 2022.

Another area in crypto where TEEs can help is Succinct Non-Interactive Arguments of Knowledge, or SNARKs. An August 2024 study by Imperial College London found that vulnerabilities in the circuit layer pose significant threats to these systems. TEEs could guard against any attacks coming from within the system.

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

Key takeaways:

XRP price is up 2% on May 7, buoyed by US-China trade talk optimism, with key support at $2.08 critical for sustained recovery.

Whale accumulation signals XRP price strength.

XRP price must hold above $1.83–$2.00 support to continue upside, analysts say.

XRP (XRP) price displayed strength on May 7, rising 2% over the last 24 hours after news of possible US-China trade talks flipped investor sentiment. 

XRP price remains above $2.00 at the time of writing, as several analysts highlight the key support levels the asset should hold for a sustainable recovery to new all-time highs.

Whale accumulation supports bullish XRP view

Certain indicators show that XRP’s ongoing price rise may not be just a short-term reaction to the positive macroeconomic news. 

For instance, Santiment’s Supply Distribution metric shows a steady rise in the supply held by entities with a 1 million –10 million token balance. These addresses now own 9.44% of the total XRP supply, a 1.2% increase since Jan. 1. 

Percentage of addresses holding between 1M and 100M XRP. Source: Santiment

This suggests that whales did not sell on the recent drop to $1.60 but accumulated XRP, suggesting most are positioning themselves for further gains.

By purchasing during downturns, these large entities can reduce selling pressure and create a floor for the price, encouraging smaller retail investors to follow suit. 

Meanwhile, XRP open interest (OI) has seen a modest 0.32% rise to $3.65 billion over the last day, signaling a slight increase in trader confidence and liquidity. However, the 17% drop in trading volume to $3.9 billion is a cause for concern, suggesting low conviction as traders wait for the XRP price to establish a clear directional bias.

XRP derivatives data. Source: CoinGlassXRP price to $4 all-time highs?

Traders believe XRP can revisit its seven-year highs above $3.40 and beyond, but its potential to continue its gains depends on holding above key support levels. 

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that XRP price bounced off the 200-day SMA at $2.08 on May 6, rising as much as 4.5% to today’s intraday high of $2.17, which is also the 50-day SMA.

Related: Why is XRP price down today?

The 200-day SMA coincides with the election volume-weighted average price (VWAP) and the monthly rVWAP, as shown in the chart below.

“This is an area that we want to see continue to get defended,” said trader and analyst Dom in a May 6 post on X, adding that failure to hold above this level could see XRP drop toward $1.90.

“To see an immediate trend reversal, we need to see the price regain $2.12.”XRP/USD daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Fellow analyst Egrag Crypto said XRP price “should not and cannot close below $1.83.”

Meanwhile, pseudonymous analyst XForceGlobal believes “XRP is still well within bullish territory” as long as it stays above the multimonth low at $1.60 reached on April 7.

“New all-time highs look imminent.”XRP/USD four-hour chart. Source: XForceGlobal

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.

In an industry filled with complexity, jargon and mistrust, women in Web3 say that the way to attract more women into the crypto space starts with clarity, education and community. 

At the Blockchain Baddies side event during Token2049 in Dubai, women shared personal experiences of entering the Web3 world and why they believe more female participation is essential for the future of crypto.

In interviews with Cointelegraph, community members said the path forward begins with simplifying technical concepts and fostering environments where women can learn and grow.

Women in Web3 share experiences in the crypto space. Source: CointelegraphFrom providing clarity to building skills 

From simplifying technical language to creating safe spaces for learning, women in Web3 said that demystifying crypto and making tools more intuitive can unlock more opportunities for women to enter the Web3 industry. 

Caroline York, the marketing director of Web3 firm Serotonin, said that making the space more welcoming to women starts with clarity. “In order to attract more women, we’ve got to make the information much more digestible and a lot clearer,” she said.

York told Cointelegraph that women also tend to feel safer in high-trust and intimate environments, with friends and peers as their information source. “Women learn from other women,” York added, pointing to community-driven educational initiatives like SheFi. York said these programs play a role in expanding female participation. 

Saima Tariq Khan, an engineer, educator and crypto community member, echoed York’s sentiments. Khan told Cointelegraph that demystifying crypto’s intimidating vocabulary is the way to go. “What is DeFi? What do I mean by cryptocurrency? What is blockchain? First, we need to build that first level of understanding,” she said. 

Khan also said that while many women graduate from computer science courses, they are underrepresented in the workforce. The community member said that Web3’s remote-friendly nature offers an opportunity to engage with an untapped talent pool. 

Blockchain Baddies side event during Token2049 in Dubai. Source: Cointelegraph

Related: Crypto spending will grow, but fiat isn’t going anywhere: Mercuryo CEO

Financial literacy should be the starting point

Paloma Soria Brown, an author and a SheFi scholar, also said education is the key. However, Brown said financial literacy should be the starting point. 

“People don’t necessarily know what Web3 means,” Brown told Cointelegraph. “When you know about crypto but you’re not an investor, you might only see the scams and rug pulls.”

Brown said that increasing financial education and building trust are essential to attracting women and more people into the space. She said if more people understood Web3’s concepts of ownership, freedom and community, they would be drawn to its potential. 

Meanwhile, Abigail Xavier, marketing manager at Web3 financial platform Fasset, told Cointelegraph that companies have a role to play in making crypto more accessible to women. Xavier said their team actively seeks input from women-focused communities to improve their products. 

“We’re partnering with a lot of women-inclusive communities to understand their experience and incorporate that feedback into our UI and UX,” Xavier said. “We want to make our platform and tools more intuitive for our female audience.”

Magazine: 12 minutes of nail-biting tension when Ethereum’s Pectra fork goes live

USD1, the US dollar stablecoin launched by the President Donald Trump-backed World Liberty Financial (WLFI), has become the seventh-largest stablecoin worldwide in just two months since its launch.

WLFI’s snapshot vote for a USD1 airdrop proposal is underway, and USD1’s market capitalization has continued to climb.

Launched in early March with a $3.5 million supply, USD1 has expanded into a market cap of $2.2 billion at the time of writing, leaving rival stablecoins First Digital USD (FDUSD), PayPal USD (PYUSD) and Tether Gold (XAUT) behind, according to data from CoinGecko.

Top 10 stablecoins by market capitalization. Source: CoinGecko

Although rising fast, the USD1 market cap is still far from the market value of major stablecoins like Tether’s USDt (USDT) and USDC (USDC), whose market caps are worth $149 billion and $61 billion, respectively.

BNB Chain drives USD1 issuance

Trump-backed USD1 is almost exclusively issued on Binance-backed BNB Chain. According to data from BscScan, as much as $2.1 billion of all USD1 supply is issued on BNB Chain, accounting for more than 99% of its total circulating supply, while an Ethereum-based version accounts for just $14.5 million, according to Etherscan.

BNB Chain-based (BEP-20) USD1 versus Ethereum-based (ERC-20) USD1. Source: BscScan, Etherscan

USD1’s latest market spike was sharp, jumping 1,540% from $128 million to $2.1 billion within two days in late April, according to CoinGecko.

USD1 (USD1) market cap chart since April 2025. Source: CoinGecko

The spike came days before Eric Trump announced that Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX would use the USD1 to invest $2 billion in Binance.

Justin Sun-backed HTX among the first CEXs to list USD1

As USD1’s market cap spiked, some centralized exchanges (CEXs) rushed to list the Trump-backed stablecoin.

HTX, a crypto exchange closely associated with Tron founder Justin Sun and formerly known as Huobi, announced the listing of USD1 with permanent zero-fee withdrawals on the BEP-20 network on May 6.

Source: HTX

According to websites like CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap, HTX was one of the first CEXs to list USD1, as the token is primarily available on decentralized exchanges, including PancakeSwap and Uniswap.

Most WLFI inflows come from outside the US

While the WLFI community has been voting on the USD1 airdrop, some reports suggested that WLFI investment is mainly coming from outside the United States.

According to a poll by V1PS founder Notaz.Sol, as much as 90% of WLFI investors are likely coming from non-US jurisdictions, including Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Source: Tran Hung

A May 7 Bloomberg report also indicated that over half of the top holders of Trump-branded memecoins reside abroad.

The USD1 stablecoin’s growth lines up with Trump’s pro-stablecoin agenda announced in his executive order on “Strengthening American leadership in digital financial technology” in January.

While WLFI has been closely associated with Binance, both Trump and Binance have repeatedly denied and criticized reports suggesting any links or deals between the parties.

Magazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight

Cryptocurrency miner Diversified Energy has quietly vacated a natural gas-powered crypto mining site in Elk County, Pennsylvania, reportedly leaving behind unplugged wells and regulatory violations.

The site, known as Longhorn Pad A, was revived in 2022 after sitting dormant for nearly a decade when Diversified began using it to fuel on-site generators powering cryptocurrency mining computers, according to a report by the Erie Times-News.

Per the report, the operation was launched without obtaining an air quality permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

Though the company was later granted the permit in December 2023, a March 2025 inspection revealed that Diversified had already removed the mining infrastructure.

Empty metallic sheds and missing production equipment led the DEP to issue a formal violation notice for well abandonment. Diversified reportedly denied that the site was abandoned, stating it may resume gas production.

However, the DEP and environmental advocates say the company has failed to meet its obligations. Under a 2021 agreement, Diversified had committed to plugging Longhorn A and 13 other wells at the end of their operational life, an obligation it has reportedly not fulfilled.

An image of the site. Source: The Erie Times-News

Cointelegraph has reached out to Diversified for comment.

Related: Bitcoin miners should pay costs in depreciating currency — Ledn exec

Diversified under scrutiny over business model

Environmentalists have long raised concerns about Diversified’s business model, which involves acquiring aging, low-producing wells and extracting remaining value without sufficient plans for decommissioning.

Plugging a single well can cost over $100,000, and Pennsylvania already has over 350,000 orphaned and abandoned wells, making the stakes particularly high.

A 2022 report labeled the company’s approach a “business model built to fail Appalachia,” warning that taxpayers could be left footing the bill for thousands of unplugged wells.

Diversified recently agreed to plug 3,000 wells by 2034 in a separate legal settlement but continues to face regulatory scrutiny, including a probe by the US House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Horton Township officials, where the Longhorn site is located, say they’ve received no updates from the company.

Local supervisor PJ Piccirillo told the Erie Times-News that generators and tanks were removed without notice. “All we know is that the property seems to have been abandoned,” he said.

Related: Bitcoin mining — Institutions boost investments amid favorable US climate

US cities confront crypto mining

On April 25, the planning commission of Vilonia, Arkansas, unanimously rejected a proposal to establish a cryptocurrency mining facility within the city limits, following strong opposition from residents.

In January, Arkansas lawmakers introduced a bill that would ban crypto mining operations within 30 miles of any US military facility in the state.

The opposition to crypto-mining centers in Arkansas follows a broader trend across various US municipalities where crypto-mining initiatives have faced increasing scrutiny.

In October 2024, a group of residents in Granbury, Texas, filed a lawsuit against Marathon Digital, alleging that its mining facility generated too much noise.

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Cryptocurrency miner Diversified Energy quietly vacated a natural gas-powered crypto mining site in Elk County, Pennsylvania, reportedly leaving behind unplugged wells and regulatory violations.

The site, known as Longhorn Pad A, was revived in 2022 after sitting dormant for nearly a decade when Diversified began using it to fuel on-site generators powering cryptocurrency mining computers, according to a report by the Erie Times-News.

Per the report, the operation was launched without obtaining an air quality permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

Though the company was later granted the permit in December 2023, a March 2025 inspection revealed that Diversified had already removed the mining infrastructure.

Empty metallic sheds and missing production equipment led the DEP to issue a formal violation notice for well abandonment. Diversified reportedly denied that the site was abandoned, saying that it may resume gas production.

However, the DEP and environmental advocates say the company has failed to meet its obligations. Under a 2021 agreement, Diversified had committed to plugging Longhorn A and 13 other wells at the end of their operational life, an obligation it has reportedly not fulfilled.

An image of the site. Source: The Erie Times-News

Cointelegraph has reached out to Diversified for comment.

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Diversified under scrutiny over business model

Environmentalists have long raised concerns about Diversified’s business model, which involves acquiring aging, low-producing wells and extracting remaining value without sufficient plans for decommissioning.

Plugging a single well can cost over $100,000, and Pennsylvania already has over 350,000 orphaned and abandoned wells, making the stakes particularly high.

A 2022 report labeled the company’s approach a “business model built to fail Appalachia,” warning that taxpayers could be left footing the bill for thousands of unplugged wells.

Diversified recently agreed to plug 3,000 wells by 2034 in a separate legal settlement but continues to face regulatory scrutiny, including a probe by the US House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Horton Township officials, where the Longhorn site is located, say they’ve received no updates from the company.

Local supervisor PJ Piccirillo told the Erie Times-News that generators and tanks were removed without notice. “All we know is that the property seems to have been abandoned,” he said.

Related: Bitcoin mining — Institutions boost investments amid favorable US climate

US cities confront crypto mining

On April 25, the planning commission of Vilonia, Arkansas, unanimously rejected a proposal to establish a cryptocurrency mining facility within the city limits, following opposition from residents.

In January, Arkansas lawmakers introduced a bill that would ban crypto mining operations within 30 miles of any US military facility in the state.

The opposition to crypto miners in Arkansas follows a broader trend across US municipalities where crypto-mining initiatives have faced increasing scrutiny.

In October 2024, a group of residents in Granbury, Texas, filed a lawsuit against Marathon Digital, alleging that its mining facility generated too much noise.

Magazine: 12 minutes of nail-biting tension when Ethereum’s Pectra fork goes live