OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s digital identity project, World, formerly known as Worldcoin, faces challenges in Indonesia after local regulators temporarily suspended its registration certificates.

The Indonesian Ministry of Communications and Digital (Komdigi) has halted the Electronic System Operator Certificate Registration (TDPSE) for World and World ID over suspicious activity and alleged registration violations, the ministry announced on May 4.

After the suspension, Komdigi plans to summon World’s local subsidiaries, PT Terang Bulan Abadi and PT Sandina Abadi Nusantara, to provide clarification on the alleged violations, it stated.

According to a preliminary investigation, World’s PT Terang Bulan Abadi was allegedly operating without TDPSE, while PT Sandina Abadi Nusantara — the subsidiary World was using for providing its services — is allegedly involved in legal misrepresentation.

Indonesian law requires registration by all digital service providers

In the statement, Komdigi emphasized that all digital service providers in Indonesia must receive electronic registration in accordance with local laws.

Additionally, using another entity’s registration is considered a major breach of Indonesian digital operations law, the authority noted.

“Worldcoin services are recorded using TDPSE in the name of another legal entity, namely PT Sandina Abadi Nusantara,” Alexander Sabar, the Komdigi’s director general for digital supervision, said in the announcement, adding:

“Noncompliance with registration obligations and the use of the identity of another legal entity to carry out digital services is a serious violation.”Community action required

According to Sabar, World’s temporary suspension in Indonesia is a measure taken to prevent potential risks to the community.

He mentioned that the digital ministry is committed to overseeing the digital ecosystem fairly and strictly to ensure the security of the national digital space.

Alexander Sabar is the head of Indonesia’s newly established Digital Space Monitoring Directorate General. Source: Komdigi

Sabar said proper supervision would require active participation from the community. “We invite the public to help maintain a safe and trusted digital space for all citizens,” he said. “Komdigi also appeals to the public to remain vigilant against unauthorized digital services, and to immediately report suspected violations through the official public complaint channel.”

The community response has been divided over the action by Komdigi.

“Good job Indonesia — at least somebody is standing up to that scam,” one Reddit user wrote.

Related: From digital identity to outer space: Projects push crypto use cases

Others fired back, hinting at potential benefits stemming from World’s offering in Indonesia for the general public.

“If giving up your iris biometrics means you can feed your loved ones for a few weeks, that might be a trade worth making. In the end, it all depends on what matters most to you,” another Redditor said.

World’s latest news from Indonesia follows World’s debut in the United States in May 2025, with the platform rolling out its digital identity tech in six cities initially.

A number of global regulators were pushing back on World’s operations since its launch in July 2023, with governments like Germany, Kenya and Brazil expressing concerns over potential risks to the security of biometric data passed by users.

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

Notcoin, one of the most prominent Web3 gaming projects of 2024, said the tap-to-earn genre is “probably dead” as Web3 gaming shifts to more fun and engaging projects.

During Token2049 in Dubai, Notcoin co-founders Sasha and Vladimir Plotvinov, along with Uliana Salo, the head of design and product lead for NotGames, spoke with Cointelegraph about the state of Telegram-based Web3 gaming. 

Vladimir told Cointelegraph that game builders are shifting to different genres as tap-to-earn has failed to sustain players’ interests. 

“We’re going to see different types of games, as tap-to-earn games are probably dead because they’re not sustainable,” he said. 

Notcoin’s Sasha Plotvinov (left), Uliana Salo (middle) and Vladimir Plotvinov (right) at the Token2049 event in Dubai. Source: CointelegraphGamers want a “fun time” with friends 

In 2024, Notcoin was one of Telegram’s most popular tap-to-earn games, onboarding more than 30 million users within three months of its release. In a previous interview, Sasha attributed the game’s growth to its ability to “solve the issue” of onboarding Telegram users into crypto. 

While Telegram gaming exploded in 2024, gamers soon went game-hopping, moving to other games as soon as they “farmed” what they could in one project. Sasha told Cointelegraph: 

“Users who come to farm — their motivation is just to earn something. And with games, it’s more like I have fun, I want to play with my friends, and I want to play within a group.”

He added that while Telegram’s first wave of games didn’t provide that social element, Web3 can still play a vital role in the platform’s gaming ecosystem.

He told Cointelegraph that Telegram games started to shift to models that move away from simply “farming” tokens. In these new experiences, the Web3 economy part becomes an “add-on” instead of the main value proposition. 

However, development may take some time. Sasha told Cointelegraph that Telegram has no “real games” yet, but is optimistic for the future.

How artificial intelligence improves Web3 gaming development

Vladimir told Cointelegraph that artificial intelligence and Telegram have made creating games easier for Web3 developers. 

The Notcoin co-founder said that the advent of AI technology allowed developers to be faster and more efficient when writing game code:

“It saves time. My speed of delivery becomes faster. I write code faster than usual because I save a lot of time on other easy tasks.”

However, he urged developers to pay attention when using AI when creating their projects. 

“You have to pay a lot of attention, have the expertise and experience because you have to see like how the API will work, how it will be connected to each other, how it will work on high load with a lot of users,” Vladimir said. 

Related: Web3 games with one wallet still the vision for players — The Sandbox

Telegram Web3 gaming to grow exponentially

When asked if Telegram’s Web3 gaming industry will still grow despite the perceived death of tap-to-earn, Salo told Cointelegraph that Telegram has a market similar to Facebook and WeChat, which are platforms with their own gaming ecosystems. 

“We believe in our chances because we already have a similar platform like WeChat and Facebook, which already have their game ecosystems, and it’s a huge market. The number of users is practically the same,” she said. 

Salo noted that Telegram’s gaming scene currently lacks major publishers and investor funding, but she expects exponential growth.

Salo added that they’re trying to get to a point where gamers play not just to get tokens but because it’s fun. “We’re trying to get this extra part, like this ‘fun’ with something that people are doing not only for money, just for themselves,” Salo said. 

Magazine: TV hit Peaky Blinders to launch crypto game, FIFA Rivals on Polkadot: Web3 Gamer

Increasing institutional interest and moves toward legal frameworks for stablecoins have seen the space grow, with five major projects slated to expand the market in the near future.

In the EU, the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory package is in full force and has given stablecoin issuers clear guidelines by which they can enter European markets. In the US, the STABLE Act and the GENIUS Act, which would provide rules for stablecoins, are making their way through Congress. 

As a result, major payments firms like Mastercard and Visa are stepping up support for stablecoin systems, and new coins have appeared, boosting the overall market capitalization of the stablecoin market. 

Here are five major stablecoin initiatives projected to grow crypto adoption.

Tether to relaunch in the US

Stablecoin giant Tether is eyeing a relaunch in the US with a dollar-based stablecoin. 

Tether’s USDt (USDT) is already known worldwide as the largest stablecoin on the market, providing liquidity to crypto trading pairs on numerous exchanges. 

However, Tether has found itself in hot water with regulators over proof of its reserves, other financial transparency and Anti-Money Laundering concerns. 

In an April 30 interview with CNBC, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino announced that the firm wants to launch a rebranded coin in the US, separate from its ubiquitous international stablecoin. “A domestic stablecoin would be different from the international stablecoin,” he said.

Tether holds the lion’s share of the stablecoin market. Source: Nansen

The move would give Tether access to US financial markets as the latter’s exposure to crypto widens under the pro-crypto administration of US President Donald Trump.

Trump dabbles in the dollar with USD1

At the beginning of March, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the cryptocurrency project tied to the Trump family, launched its dollar-backed stablecoin, USD1, on the BNB Chain and Ethereum.According to CoinMarketCap, the coin has over $2 billion in market capitalization at publishing time. The stablecoins follow other high-profile crypto projects that use the president’s personal brand as a marketing tool, namely the TRUMP and WLFI memecoins that launched ahead of Trump’s inauguration. 

Related: Are Donald Trump’s tariffs a legal house of cards?

Trump’s ability to influence stablecoin policy has led a group of US senators to call for an inquiry into his personal interests in the project, calling it a clear conflict of interest.

The letter calling for an inquiry. Source: Senator Schiff Custodia and Vantage Bank launch bank-issued coin on Ethereum 

Two US banks, the crypto-friendly Custodia Bank and the Texas-based Vantage Bank, have entered a partnership to issue the supposed first bank-issued stablecoin in the US, UK and Europe.

On March 25, Custodia stated that it tokenized US dollar demand deposits on the Ethereum blockchain as an ERC-20 standard token called Avit. 

Custodia CEO and crypto advocate Caitlin Long said that Avit is a “real dollar” in that it tokenizes funds that customers can withdraw on demand, like checking account deposits. 

Stripe is testing a stablecoin product 

On April 28, Stripe CEO Patrick Collison announced that his global payments platform was working on a US-dollar-based stablecoin product for use outside the US.

Source: Patrick Collison

The move comes after it received approval to acquire stablecoin payments network Bridge in a $1-billion deal in October 2024, a deal which it completed in February 2025.

Bridge was founded by two former Coinbase executives, Zach Abrams and Sean Yu, in 2022 and competes with firms using the ubiquitous SWIFT global payments system. 

The stablecoin initiative is the latest development in the firm’s expanding crypto plans. After a false start on Bitcoin support in 2014, the firm began rebuilding its crypto team in earnest in 2021. On Oct. 9, 2024, the firm opened USDC support for users in 70 countries. 

UAE’s largest bank to issue stablecoin

Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company, Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) partnered to launch a dirham-backed stablecoin on April 28.

According to The National, FAB — the largest bank in the UAE — will issue the stablecoin on the ADI network pending approval from the central bank. 

The ADI network is a project of the ADI Foundation in Abu Dhabi, which itself is a nonprofit organization founded by Sirius International Holding, a local holding firm with a $243 billion market capitalization. 

The firms claim that the stablecoin will “have a significant impact on various industries, including finance, commerce, and trade.”

Related: Stablecoin adoption grows with new US bills, Japan’s open approach

Visa, SBI and Mastercard add more stablecoin support 

New stablecoin issuances are picking up the pace, and payments firms, banks and financial institutions are adding support for them as well.

On April 28, international payments giant Mastercard partnered with OKX to expand its stablecoin card options, which allow cardholders to spend stablecoins through their Mastercard linked with prominent crypto firms. 

Two days later, Visa announced that it partnered with Stripe and Bridge on April 30 to offer stablecoin payments on its network in Latin America, starting with Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Chile.SBI VC Trade, the cryptocurrency subsidiary of the Japanese financial conglomerate SBI, said it was preparing to add support for USDC after local regulators softened their approach to foreign stablecoins. Pending formal approval, the trading platform will be one of the first in Japan to offer cryptocurrency trading in USDC (USDC).

SBI VC Trade CEO Tomohiko Kondo shows the firm getting the go-ahead from Japanese regulators. Source: Tomohiko Kondo

Regulators and payments providers worldwide are warming up to stablecoins. US lawmakers have yet to vote on the aforementioned crypto bills, but if the stablecoin frameworks pass, adoption is set to take off as firms gain access to a large financial market with clear guidelines.

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

Early Bitcoin entrepreneur Charlie Shrem says he’s working on bringing back the Bitcoin faucet — a website that hands out Bitcoin to whoever solves CAPTCHA tasks, normally used to distinguish humans from machines.

Shrem shared his new Bitcoin (BTC) faucet website — 21million.com — in a May 4 X post, which mimics the first-ever Bitcoin CAPTCHA page created by early Bitcoin innovator Gavin Andresen back in 2010.

The 21million.com website currently displays a screenshot of a CAPTCHA task and a box to enter a receiving Bitcoin address, which was not functional at the time of writing. 

Shrem’s Bitcoin faucet website also shows that there are 0 Bitcoin available to claim.

Like Andresen’s old website, Shrem’s page explains what Bitcoin is and how to receive Bitcoin.

Charlie Shrem’s Bitcoin faucet website. Source: 21million.com

“What’s the catch?” According to Shrem, there is no catch. “I want Bitcoin to be successful, so I created this little service to give you a few coins to start with.”

When asked whether Shrem is “vibe coding” the project or receiving external assistance, he responded: “Vibe coded! It’s a lot of fun.” Vibe coding relies on artificial intelligence and prompting to write code.

Source: Charlie ShremBitcoin faucets assisted Bitcoin adoption in the early days

Bitcoin faucets were key in spreading awareness about the cryptocurrency and facilitating its adoption in the early 2010s.

Andresen’s Bitcoin Faucet page handed out 19,700 Bitcoin — now worth $1.86 billion — for solving CAPTCHAs.

Users could earn up to 5 Bitcoin per day from Andresen’s page. The Bitcoin faucets encouraged wallet creation and transactions, which assisted with the expansion of Bitcoin’s user base and network activity.

Other websites such as FreeBitco.in started offering similar services between 2011 and 2013. But as Bitcoin’s price increased and transaction fees rose, rewards shrank, and the model eventually became unsustainable.

Shrem’s crypto journey has been a rollercoaster

Shrem co-founded one of the first Bitcoin exchanges, BitInstant, with Gareth Nelson in 2011. At its peak, the exchange facilitated around 30% of all Bitcoin transactions, according to Shrem’s personal page.

In order to offer the instant Bitcoin purchases that Bitcoin’s first dominant exchange, Mt. Gox, lacked, BitInstant purchased Bitcoin from Mt. Gox in large batches before reselling it to customers nearly instantly.

However, BitInstant’s business model faced scaling issues as its transaction volume grew. 

To support its expansion, the company received $100,000 from early Bitcoin investor Roger Ver, with additional backing later coming from Erik Voorhees and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.

BitInstant co-founders Gareth Nelson (left) and Charlie Shrem (right) pictured together at an industry event. Source: Charlieshrem.com

Shrem also co-founded the Bitcoin Foundation in 2012, serving as vice chairman to encourage the adoption of Bitcoin as an alternative to traditional banking.

However, on Jan. 26, 2014, Shrem was arrested while attempting to disembark from a plane in New York and later charged with money laundering related to his role with BitInstant.

Authorities claimed that some BitInstant customers used the Bitcoin purchased from BitInstant for illicit purposes, including criminal transactions on the Silk Road dark web marketplace.

Shrem pleaded guilty to a reduced charge and served one year before being released in 2016. 

Related: Bitcoin eyes $95K retest as traders brace for Fed rate cut volatility

After prison, Shrem returned to the crypto space, founding crypto advisory firm CryptoIQ and Druid Ventures, a $13 million crypto-focused venture capital fund. 

He also launched The Charlie Shrem Show, a podcast with over 400 episodes featuring some of the industry’s most notable crypto figures.

Shrem was then sued by the Winklevoss twins in 2018, claiming Shrem stole 5,000 Bitcoin from them in 2012. A court overturned an asset freeze against Shrem and ordered the brothers to cover Shrem’s legal fees in November 2018. The case was settled confidentially in 2019.

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

Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States bought up nearly six times as many Bitcoin as were produced by miners over the last week.

The US-based Bitcoin (BTC) funds bought a whopping 18,644 Bitcoin over the past week when only 3,150 BTC were mined for the period, reported asset allocator HODL15Capital on May 4.

This accumulation by institutions and ETF issuers represents almost six times the amount of the asset being produced since miners only generate 450 coins per day.  

The total inflow for the past five trading days was around $1.8 billion, with a net outflow on April 30, according to Farside Investors. There has only been one outflow day since April 16, as the inflows have mirrored market recovery. 

Last week’s accumulation followed an increase in BTC spot prices in early May when the asset gained 4% to reach a six-week high of $97,700 on May 2. However, the asset has since retreated to the $94,000 level, which is the same price it traded at this time seven days ago. 

Spot Bitcoin ETF flows. Source: Coinglass

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) is the industry leader, having seen almost $2.5 billion in inflows over the past five trading days and a streak of 17 days without an outflow. 

Related: BlackRock Bitcoin ETF buys $970M in BTC as inflows surge, boost market

“Spot Bitcoin ETFs have surged into a nearly $110 billion category, despite facing significant distribution hurdles,” said ETF Store president Nate Geraci in a blog post on May 3. 

He added that many wealth management platforms still restrict or prohibit financial advisers and brokers from recommending or providing access to Bitcoin ETPs. 

“That’s why I’ve said spot bitcoin ETFs are operating with one hand tied behind their backs. Imagine what might happen as these restrictions are lifted.” Litecoin ETF decision due 

Meanwhile, the Canary Capital spot Litecoin (LTC) ETF filing is due for a second deadline decision from the US Securities and Exchange Commission by May 5. The issuer filed for a spot Litecoin ETF alongside a spot XRP ETF in October. 

“If any asset has a chance of early approval, it’s Litecoin IMO,” said Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart on May 5. “Personally think a delay is more likely,” he added. Fellow analyst Eric Balchunas echoed the sentiment earlier this year.

More than 70 US crypto ETFs are awaiting an SEC decision this year, Bloomberg reported in April. 

Magazine: Bitcoin to $1M ‘by 2029,’ CIA tips its hat to Bitcoin: Hodler’s Digest

Malicious actors appear to have infiltrated the New York Post’s X account in an attempt to scam crypto users on the microblogging platform. 

Some X users from the crypto community have recently reported having received a private message from the New York Post’s X account inviting them to feature in a podcast and to contact them via Telegram. 

The spurious messages were first discovered on May 3 by Kerberus founder and CEO Alex Katz, who shared a screenshot of a message made out to be from author and journalist Paul Sperry via the official nypost account. 

“What’s interesting about this case is that the scammer gained unauthorized access but didn’t post a Pump.fun address or wallet drainer. Instead, they’re messaging users and then directing them to Telegram,” observed cybersecurity engineer and NFT collector “Drew”.

Related: ‘I’m sick’ — Scammers use AI, fake ID of crypto influencer to steal $4M

After sending the message, the scammer blocks users from replying to prevent the actual New York Post team from being alerted to the compromise, he added.  

Donny Clutterbuck from NFT Bitcoin’s ordinals platform Fomojis also reported having been contacted by the hacker, suggesting that it could be a potential Zoom exploit from enabling audio. 

When you click to enable audio, a pop-up gives the option to either cancel or enable WiFi, he said before adding, “I guess WiFi gives network access to the scammer.” 

Blockchain sleuth ZachXBT said this compromise was similar to one from a few weeks ago when direct messages were sent from The Defiant’s X account.

Private message from New York Post’s X account. Source: Alex Katz

Cointelegraph contacted the New York Post for more information but did not receive an immediate response. There was nothing regarding the social media compromise on the NYP or Sperry’s X feeds. 

Scammers seeking victims on Zoom 

Scammers have increasingly shifted their social engineering techniques to messaging users directly after having established trust from previous conversations, and video conference platform Zoom has become a hotbed of crypto scams recently. 

In April, Emblem Vault CEO Jake Gallen warned users to be wary of malicious actors using Zoom after losing $100,000 in crypto assets. Gallen was also contacted via X to arrange a Zoom interview during which the scammer installed malware that drained his wallets. 

It is not the first time the New York Post’s verified Twitter account has been hijacked. In 2022, an employee hacked the account to post a series of obscene messages designed to look like real headlines. 

Magazine: Bitcoin to $1M ‘by 2029,’ CIA tips its hat to Bitcoin: Hodler’s Digest

The Solana Foundation has confirmed that a zero-day vulnerability that allowed an attacker to potentially mint certain tokens and even withdraw those tokens from user accounts has been fixed. 

A May 3 post-mortem from the Solana Foundation said that the security vulnerability, first discovered on April 16, could have allowed an attacker to forge an invalid proof affecting Solana’s privacy-enabling “Token-22 confidential tokens.”

There is no known exploit of the vulnerability, and Solana validators have since adopted the patched version, the foundation said.

Solana zero-day security bug affected Token-22 confidential tokens

The Solana Foundation said the security vulnerability concerned two programs: Token-2022 and ZK ElGamal Proof.

Token-2022 handles the main application logic for token mints and accounts, while ZK ElGamal Proof verifies the correctness of zero-knowledge proofs to show accurate account balances.

The foundation said certain algebraic components were omitted from the hash in the Fiat-Shamir Transformation’s transcript generation, which specifies how provers create public randomness using a cryptographic hash function. 

The flaw could have enabled an attacker to exploit the unhashed components by crafting a forged proof that passes verification to mint and steal Token-22 confidential tokens.Token-22 confidential tokens, or “Extension Tokens,” leverage zero-knowledge proofs for private transfers and aim to enable advanced token functionality. 

The vulnerability was first identified on April 16, and two patches were deployed to resolve the issues. A super majority of Solana validators adopted the patches around two days later.

Solana development firms Anza, Firedancer and Jito were the main parties behind the security patch, while Asymmetric Research, Neodyme and OtterSec also assisted.

The foundation confirmed that all funds remain safe.

Related: Bloomberg Intelligence boosts Solana ETF approval odds to 90%

Despite the fix, the Solana Foundation’s private handling of the issue with Solana validators raised centralization concerns from some in the crypto community. 

This included a Curve Finance contributor who raised concerns about the foundation’s close relationship with Solana validators.

“Why does someone have a list of all validators and their contact details? What else are they talking about in those comms channels?” they asked, fearing that they could collude to potentially censor transactions or roll back the chain.

Solana Labs CEO Anatoly Yakovenko didn’t directly deny the claims but said members of the Ethereum community could also coordinate to resolve a similar security bug.

Source: Clouted

More than 70% of Ethereum network validators are also controlled by crypto exchanges or staking operators such as Lido, Yakovenko said in arguing his point.

“It’s the same people to get to 70% on ethereum. All the lido validators (chorus one, p2p, etc..) binance, coinbase, and kraken. If geth needs to push a patch, I’ll be happy to coordinate for them.”

In August, the Solana Foundation and network validators resolved another critical vulnerability behind the scenes. At the time, the foundation’s executive director, Dan Albert, said the ability to coordinate a patch doesn’t mean that Solana is centralized.

Ethereum wouldn’t fall for the same issue, community member says

Ethereum community member Ryan Berckmans slammed claims that Ethereum is subject to the same centralization issues as Solana, pointing out that Ethereum has sufficient client diversity. 

The most popular Ethereum client, geth, has at most 41% market share on Ethereum, Berckmans said, while noting that Solana has just one production-ready client, Agave.

“This means zero day bugs in the single Sol client are de facto protocol bugs. Change the single client program, change the protocol itself. The client is the protocol.”

Meanwhile, Solana is looking to roll out a new client, Firedancer, in the next few months, which is expected to improve the network’s resilience and uptime. 

However, Berckmans said that Solana would need three clients to be sufficiently decentralized at the client level.

Source: Ryan Berckmans

Magazine: Memecoins are ded — But Solana ‘100x better’ despite revenue plunge

Toymaking giant Mattel is putting the brakes on its Hot Wheels Virtual Garage non-fungible tokens, pending a decision on the collection’s future.

There will be no future releases of any new NFT series or feature drops for the “foreseeable future,” Mattel said in an update on its website. The company said it will decide on the “long-term future” of Mattel digital collectibles.

“Your unwavering support and enthusiasm for the Hot Wheels Virtual Garage has been legendary, and we’re incredibly grateful to have been on this journey with you,” the company said.

“As we evaluate the changing world of virtual collectibles, we’ve determined the time has come to end our Series and Feature Drops in 2025 and onward.”

There are no plans for any new NFT series or feature drops for Mattel’s Hot Wheels Virtual Garage. Source: Mattel Creations

In the meantime, users’ hot wheel NFT collections, the Mattel Digital Collectibles Marketplace, the community Discord and other channels will continue to operate as normal through at least 2025, according to Mattel.

Holders can still buy, sell and trade their Hot Wheels NFTS on the Mattel Digital Collectibles Marketplace, while existing and outstanding redemptions will be “fulfilled as promised.”

However, there is no option to transfer the NFTs to other wallets or marketplaces at the moment. Mattel says it’s exploring possible options around this feature.

“We are developing a long-term plan for Virtual Collectibles and will share updates with the community in the future,” the company said.

The Hot Wheels NFT Garage Series 7 and the Mattel Creations Virtual Market Place opens on 12.7.2023. #HotWheels pic.twitter.com/CidwT3qqC3

— Hot Wheels (@Hot_Wheels) November 30, 2023

Mattel launched series one for its Hot Wheels NFT Garage in November 2021 in partnership with the Worldwide Asset eXchange. The latest release, series 10, went live in December last year.

Nike sunsets its NFTs, while FIFA doubles down 

Mattel isn’t the only company winding down its NFT services — sporting footwear and apparel giant Nike sunset its NFT marketplace RTFKT in January. Holders have since launched a lawsuit, alleging Nike has caused them financial harm by shuttering the marketplace.

Related: NFT project plans crowdfund purchase of Cold War nuclear bunker

However, other companies continue to support NFT holders. FIFA, which launched its NFT collection ahead of the 2023 Club World Cup, announced on April 30 that it was creating a new Ethereum-compatible blockchain for its digital collectibles.

The overall NFT market dropped sharply in the first quarter of 2025, with sales plunging 63% year-over-year, to $1.5 billion in total sales from January to March 2025, down from $4.1 billion during the same period in 2024.

Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again

Key points:

Bitcoin’s positive sentiment should remain intact if BTC price stays above the 20-day EMA near $92,000.

Several altcoins show bullish chart patterns in the 4-hour and 1-day timeframes.

Bitcoin (BTC) has given back some of the gains over the weekend, and the price has pulled back to the breakout level of $95,000. Buyers will have to successfully hold the $95,000 level to keep the bullish momentum intact.

Bitcoin network economist Timothy Peterson said in a post on X that Bitcoin could surge to a new all-time high and reach a target of $135,000 in the next 100 days if certain conditions are met. Peterson believes a drop in the CBOE Volatility Index below 18 could trigger a “risk-on environment” favoring Bitcoin. The other crucial points needed for the Bitcoin rally are a fall in interest rates and a solid performance in the above-average performing months of June and July. 

Crypto market data daily view. Source: Coin360

The cryptocurrency markets may remain volatile in the near term as traders await the Federal Reserve’s upcoming interest rate decision next week. Although the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool projects a low probability of a rate cut on May 7, markets may make a decisive move after the event.

Could Bitcoin hold the retest of the $95,000 level? If it does, let’s study the charts of the cryptocurrencies that may move higher in the near term.

Bitcoin price prediction

Bitcoin broke above the $95,000 resistance on May 1, but the bulls failed to sustain the momentum. The price turned down from $97,895 on May 2 and has reached the breakout level of $95,000. 

BTC/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The upsloping 20-day exponential moving average ($92,106) and the relative strength index (RSI) in the positive territory indicate that buyers have the edge. If the price rebounds off the zone between $95,000 and the 20-day EMA, the bulls will make one more attempt to push the BTC/USDT pair to $100,000. 

Contrarily, a break and close below the 20-day EMA suggests that the rally above $95,000 may have been a bull trap. That heightens the risk of a drop to the 50-day simple moving average ($86,682).

BTC/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The moving averages have flattened out, and the RSI has dropped near the midpoint on the 4-hour chart, suggesting a weakening momentum. If the price drops below $95,000, the pair could descend to $92,800 and then to $91,660. A break below $91,660 clears the path for a fall to $86,000.

Buyers will have to drive and sustain the price above $97,895 to regain control. The pair could climb to $100,000 and later to $107,000.

Hyperliquid price prediction

Hyperliquid (HYPE) is facing resistance at $21.50, but a positive sign is that the bulls have not ceded much ground to the bears.

HYPE/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The upsloping 20-day EMA ($18.48) and the RSI near the overbought zone suggest the path of least resistance is to the upside. A close above $21.50 could start the next leg of the up move to $25 and then to $27.50.

The first sign of weakness will be a break and close below the 20-day EMA, suggesting profit booking by the short-term bulls. The HYPE/USDT pair could then fall to $17.35, which is likely to act as solid support.

HYPE/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The bears are defending the $21.50 level, but the bulls have not allowed the price to slip below the 20-EMA on the 4-hour chart. A solid bounce off the 20-EMA could challenge the overhead hurdle. If the $21.50 level is scaled, the pair could soar toward $25.

Instead, if the price breaks the 20-EMA, select short-term buyers may be tempted to book profits. That could sink the pair to the 50-SMA, which is a critical support to keep an eye on. If the level cracks, the pair may descend to $17.35.

AAVE price prediction

Aave (AAVE) turned up from the moving averages on April 30, indicating that the sentiment has turned positive and traders are buying on dips.

AAVE/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The bulls will try to push the price to the $196 level, where the bears are expected to sell aggressively. If the price turns down from $196 but finds support at the 20-day EMA, the likelihood of a break above the overhead resistance increases. The AAVE/USDT pair could then travel to $220 and later to $240.

If bears want to prevent the upside, they will have to swiftly pull the price below the moving averages. If they can pull it off, the pair may collapse to $130.

AAVE/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The pair is facing selling near $180, but a positive sign is that the bulls have maintained the price above the moving averages. If the price turns up from the moving averages and breaks above $180, the pair could accelerate toward $196. There is minor resistance at $190, but it is likely to be crossed. 

Contrary to this assumption, if the price turns down and breaks below the 50-SMA, it suggests that the bulls are booking profits. That may pull the price down to $155 and subsequently to $150.

Related: Ethereum nears key Bitcoin price level that last time sparked 450% gains

Render price prediction

Buyers tried to push Render (RNDR) above the $4.87 resistance on May 2, but the bears held their ground.

RNDR/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The price has reached the 20-day EMA ($4.31), where the bulls are likely to mount a strong defense. If the price bounces off the 20-day EMA, it increases the possibility of a break above $4.87. If that happens, the RNDR/USDT pair could pick up momentum and climb to $6.20.

This positive view will be negated in the near term if the price continues to slide and breaks below the $4.22 support. That opens the doors for a fall to the 50-day SMA ($3.80) and, after that, to $3.55.

RNDR/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Sellers have pulled the price to the $4.22 support, which is an important support to watch out for. If the price rebounds off $4.22 with strength, it signals a possible range formation in the near term. The pair may swing between $4.22 and $4.87 for some time. A break and close above $4.87 indicates the resumption of the up move toward $5.52.

On the contrary, if the price continues lower and breaks below $4.22, it suggests that the bears are attempting a comeback. The pair may decline to $3.88.

Fetch.ai price prediction

Fetch.ai (FET) turned down from the $0.84 overhead resistance and has reached the 20-day EMA ($0.65).

FET/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The bulls will try to arrest the pullback at the 20-day EMA. If the price rebounds off the 20-day EMA with force, the FET/USDT pair could reach the $0.84 level. A break and close above $0.84 opens the doors for a possible rise to $1.09.

Sellers are likely to have other plans. They will try to pull the price below the 20-day EMA. If they manage to do that, the pair could fall to the 50-day SMA ($0.54), where the buyers are expected to step in.

FET/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The pair has reached the crucial support at $0.67. If the price rebounds off $0.67, the bears will try to halt the relief rally at the moving averages. If the price turns down from the moving averages and breaks below $0.67, it suggests that the bulls have given up. That could drag the pair down to $0.60.

Alternatively, a break above the moving averages signals demand at lower levels. That suggests a possible range formation between $0.67 and $0.80. The uptrend could resume on a close above $0.80.

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 father of an unnamed crypto entrepreneur was freed by police in Paris, France, during a law enforcement raid of the property where the man was held captive for ransom over several days.

According to a report by Le Monde, the May 3 raid resulted in five arrests. Local outlet Le Parisien also said the kidnappers demanded between 5 million and 7 million euros, or up to $7.9 million, to release the captive man.

Although the details on the identity of the victims remain scant, likely for security reasons, the crypto entrepreneur and his father co-owned a crypto marketing firm based in Malta, French media reports.

This incident features similarities to the kidnapping of Ledger co-founder David Balland in France in January 2025. Balland was also held for a crypto ransom until he was freed by law enforcement officers in a rescue operation.

Unfortunately, this latest incident also follows a string of similar ransom attempts around the world targeting crypto users and their loved ones in an attempt to extort funds from individuals perceived to hold a sizable amount of wealth.

Related: $330M Bitcoin social engineering theft victim is elderly US citizen

Crypto kidnapping attempts sadly become all too common

In November 2024, WonderFi CEO Dean Skurka was kidnapped and forced to pay a $1 million cryptocurrency ransom to the assailants, who abducted him using a vehicle in downtown Toronto, Canada.

Six individuals in Chicago, Illinois, were charged in February 2025 with the kidnapping of a family and their nanny in exchange for a crypto ransom.

According to an FBI report, the kidnappers forced their way inside the Chicago home by pretending they had accidentally damaged the family’s mechanical garage door.

Once inside, the suspects forced the family into a van and abducted them for five days before forcing them to surrender $15 million worth of cryptocurrencies to secure their release.

Online streamer Amouranth was the victim of a home invasion in March 2025 when several armed suspects held her at gunpoint and demanded the keys to her cryptocurrency.

Four suspects were charged in connection with the incident and arrested by law enforcement officials in the US state of Texas.

Magazine: Bitcoiner sex trap extortion? BTS firm’s blockchain disaster: Asia Express