New York Attorney General Letitia James has sent a letter to US congressional leaders urging “common sense” federal crypto regulations and to keep digital assets out of US pensions.

“I am urging Congress to pass legislation that would strengthen federal regulations on the cryptocurrency industry to protect investors, strengthen financial markets, and stop fraud,” James said in a 14-page letter shared on April 10, outlining six major risks if the sector remains unregulated.

She said that without appropriate safeguards, the “unchecked proliferation of digital assets” undermines US dollar dominance, weakens national security due to criminal activity, and “undermines the stability of financial markets.” 

Unregulated crypto also subjects investors to “price manipulation and rigged markets,” facilitates fraud that “drains billions of dollars from hardworking Americans, and extracts assets and investments from the American economy,” she said. 

An excerpt of James’ letter to Congress. Source: Office of the New York State Attorney General

James made a number of recommendations and pushed Congress for legislation that would require stablecoin issuers to have a US presence and regulatory oversight and mandate backing stablecoins with US dollars or treasuries. 

She also wants regulations that require platforms to work only with anti-money laundering-compliant entities, establish registration requirements for issuers and intermediaries, protect against conflicts of interest and promote price transparency and require fraud prevention measures.

No crypto assets in pension funds 

The New York’s top lawyer also aired her concerns about including crypto in pension funds. 

“Digital assets are uniquely unsuitable for retirement savings due to their high volatility,” she said, claiming that they have no value.

“The underlying value of cryptocurrency is unpredictable and not determined by true price discovery because they have no intrinsic value on which their prices are based.”

James also urged against retirement funds investing in crypto-tracking exchange-traded funds, stating that “unlike traditional exchange-traded funds backed by stocks and bonds, cryptocurrency held to back cryptocurrency ETFs are at risk of permanent theft.” 

Related: US lawmaker will reintroduce crypto retirement bill to help Trump agenda

“As Congress takes the mantle to propose legislation governing the cryptocurrency industry, we hope it also takes action to mitigate the risks posed by the industry to America’s national security, financial stability, and citizens,” James said. 

The call for regulation follows the US Department of Justice’s reported dismantling of its federal criminal cryptocurrency fraud enforcement division.

Magazine: 3 reasons Ethereum could turn a corner: Kain Warwick, X Hall of Flame

Bitcoin could hover in the low $80,000s in the near term if it fails to break through its next resistance level, CryptoQuant says, while other analysts predict the cryptocurrency will hit a fresh all-time high within the next two months.

CryptoQuant analysts said in an April 10 markets report that if Bitcoin (BTC) “continues to rally,” it could hit resistance around the $84,000 price level, but if it breaks through, it could soar before its next resistance level of $96,000.

Bitcoin’s previous support levels are now resistance

“These price levels have acted as price support during this bull cycle but can now act as price resistance if bullish conditions don’t continue to improve,” CryptoQuant said in its report. “This has been the case in past bearish cycles.”

Bitcoin was trading at $79,474 at the time of publication, down 3.5% over the past day, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Bitcoin is down 2.24% over the past 30 days. Source: CoinMarketCap

April has been a volatile month for Bitcoin. US President Donald Trump ramped up global tariffs on April 2, which triggered fear in financial markets, before later abruptly pausing them for 90 days and softening the bearish momentum. 

Bitcoin briefly rose above $85,000 on April 1, but it pulled back to around $76,000 by April 8 due to uncertainty surrounding Trump’s tariff plans.

CryptoQuant said prices recovered “most of the lost ground” on April 9, after Trump announced the 90-day pause on tariffs to all countries except China, which have now been ramped up to 145%.

Bitcoin may first find resistance at $84,000 and then at the $96,000 area. Source: CryptoQuant

After Trump’s tariff pause announcement on April 9, both the crypto and broader financial markets saw a wider surge.

Bitcoin surged by approximately 9%, reversing most of the losses it incurred earlier in the week, to retest $83,000. Meanwhile, the S&P 500, which tracks the 500 largest public US companies, closed 9.52% higher, its third-largest single-day gain since World War II. The Nasdaq 100 posted a 12.02% gain over the trading day.

Abra Global CEO Bill Barhydt said in an April 10 X post that it may only be a matter of months before Bitcoin sees its price go almost 29% above its $109,000 all-time high set in January.

“Bitcoin is a levered bet on tech stocks, and all of it is going up and to the right,” Barhydt said, adding that Bitcoin may go as high as $130,000 to $140,000 by late June.

Related: Bitcoin ‘significantly de-risked here’ as nearly 80% of cyclical price correction is done — Analyst

He pointed to the “very significant increase in global money supply” as the reasoning behind his claim that Bitcoin could reach significantly higher levels by “midsummer at the latest.” 

It echoes a similar sentiment to Real Vision chief crypto analyst Jamie Coutts, who told Cointelegraph last month that “the market may be underestimating how quickly Bitcoin could surge — potentially hitting new all-time highs before Q2 is out.”

However, according to CryptoQuant’s Bull Score Index, Bitcoin has been in one of its least bullish phases since November 2022.

CryptoQuant said that of the 10 bull signals it tracks in its Bull Score Index, only one is still active, with Bitcoin trading above its 365-day moving average.

It said the market needs to wait and see if the bull signals “switch back on” in the coming weeks following Trump’s recent decision to pause his tariffs.

Magazine: Memecoin degeneracy is funding groundbreaking anti-aging research

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.

Solana-based memecoin Fartcoin (FARTCOIN) has outperformed the broader crypto market so far in April, rising over 104% versus SOL being down 2% for the week. As of April 10, it was trading for as high as $0.87.

FARTCOIN/USD vs. TOTAL crypto market cap 30-day performance. Source: TradingView

The cryptocurrency’s outperformance appears despite US President Donald Trump’s seesaw tariff announcements that have wiped nearly $160 billion from the crypto market capitalization in April.

FARTCOIN has outperformed even other memecoins inside the Solana ecosystem, the primary being Official Trump (TRUMP), which has dropped by approximately 25% in April.

As it seems, the third-largest Solana memecoin could rise another 30% in April due to a classic bullish continuation setup.

FARTCOIN bull flag hints a new highs

FARTCOIN’s bullish technical outlook arises from its prevailing bull flag setup.

On April 10, FARTCOIN was breaking out of the channel range to the upside.

FARTCOIN/USDT four-hour price chart. Source: TradingView

This trend projects a potential move toward $0.95—just under the psychologically significant $1 mark—by April.

The relative strength index (RSI) is hovering in bullish territory above 66, suggesting there’s still room for further gains before entering overbought conditions above the 70 mark.

Additionally, FARTCOIN’s price is gaining support from its 50-4H (red) and 200-4H (blue) exponential moving averages (EMA). As long as Fartcoin stays above them, the bull flag breakout may play out in full, potentially resulting in a rally to $0.95.

FARTCOIN mimicks Pepe’s path to a $3 billion market cap

Fartcoin is showing the same signs that preceded Pepe’s (PEPE) explosive run from around $300 million to over $3 billion in market cap in the 2023-2024 period, according to market analyst @theunipcs.

“I’m talking $300m to $500m in daily [spot] volume,” the analyst wrote about Fartcoin while mentioning its absence at Binance, Coinbase, Bybit, Upbit, and OKX exchanges.

In the past 24 hours, FARTCOIN’s volume has been over $446.84 million versus Bonk’s (BONK) $129.85 million and Shiba Inu’s (SHIB) $319.43 million, according to data resource CoinMarketCap.

Top memecoins and their price and volume performances. Source: CoinMarketCap

Meanwhile, Fartcoin is going head-to-head with TRUMP, which posted approximately $661.78 million in trading volume over the past 24 hours.

However, onchain data reveals that Fartcoin is processing nearly double the value in actual transfers, suggesting deeper engagement and utility despite TRUMP’s headline volume figures.

FARTCOIN vs. TRUMP daily transfer value chart. Source: SOLSCAN

As a result, FARTCOIN appears to be in the middle of a powerful hype-driven rally, which improves its interim bullish outlook.

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.

New Hampshire’s House and Florida’s House Insurance and Banking Committee have respectively advanced bills allowing their states to create Bitcoin reserves.

New Hampshire’s House passed its Bitcoin reserve bill, HB302, in a 192-179 vote on April 10 which will now head to the Senate. The state is now the fourth to pass a Bitcoin (BTC) reserve bill through one chamber, joining Arizona, Texas and Oklahoma.

If HB302 clears New Hampshire’s Senate and Governor Kelly Ayotte signs it into law it would allow the state’s treasurer to use 10% of the state’s general fund and other authorized funds to invest in precious metals and certain digital assets. The bill also sets out how they should be custodied.

The bill specifies that only cryptocurrencies with a market capitalization of over $500 billion would be eligible for investment, a criteria that only Bitcoin currently meets.

New Hampshire’s House votes to pass HB302, the state’s Bitcoin reserve bill. Source: New Hampshire House of Representatives

In a debate prior to the vote, Democrat Representative Terry Spahr argued that the bill is unnecessary and could undermine the future security of the state’s digital assets stockpile. 

“Unbeknownst to the committee and to the sponsor […] the treasurer testified that they already have that authority,” Spahr said. He added that cryptocurrency is “constantly shifting and changing, and it’s sort of dangerous to be kind of locked into certain types of security measures, and I think that bill does this.”

Republican Representative Jordan Ulery countered that the bill was necessary as it could create the “potential for a large amount of money being earned by the state in these investments.”

New Hampshire has two other blockchain-related bills working their way through the legislature — HB310, which covers stablecoins and real-world asset tokenization (RWA) and HB 639, which deals with blockchain regulation and dispute resolution.

Florida House Committee passes Bitcoin reserve bill 

Meanwhile, on April 10, Florida’s House Insurance and Banking Committee passed the state’s Bitcoin reserve bill, HB487, with a unanimous vote.

The bill has three committees to clear before it progresses to Florida’s House.

Similar to New Hampshire’s bill, HB487 would allow Florida’s chief financial officer and the State Board of Administration to invest up to 10% of certain state funds — including the General Revenue Fund and the Budget Stabilization Fund — into Bitcoin.

The bill’s sponsor, Republican Representative Webster Barnaby, pleaded with the Committee before the vote “to vote up on this very important bill,” which he claimed would “put Florida in the leading edge of this very new technology.”

Related: US federal agencies to report crypto holdings to Treasury by April 7

Florida’s bill gives the state’s financial chief the ability to invest in digital assets directly, through certain qualified custodians, or through exchange-traded products and details security and custody requirements.

According to Bitcoin Laws, which tracks the progress of digital assets legislation, Arizona is currently leading the race to become the first US state to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve. 

Source: Bitcoin Laws

On March 24, two digital assets reserve bills, SB1373 and SB1025, cleared Arizona’s House Rules Committee and are now headed to the state’s House for a full floor vote. 

If passed by the House, the bills would then need the signature of Arizona’s Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs, to become law.

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

US Securities and Exchange Commission staff have given guidance on how federal securities laws could apply to crypto, saying companies issuing or dealing with tokens that could be securities should give better details about their business.

The SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance said in a staff statement on April 10 that it was giving its views “to provide greater clarity on the application of the federal securities laws to crypto assets.” 

The Division said its statement was made of observations of disclosures given in existing disclosure requirements and “addresses our views about certain specific disclosure questions that market participants have presented to the staff.”

The guidance, which the Division noted had “no legal force or effect,” said crypto companies who are giving disclosures about their business have typically shared a host of information about their operations, such as what the company specifically does, how any issued tokens work and how the business generates — or intends to generate — revenue.

Companies have also disclosed whether they plan to remain engaged in a crypto network or app after they launch it and, if not, whether any other entities will take over.

Crypto firms should also explain their technology, such as if their product is a proof-of-work or proof-of-stake blockchain, its block size, transaction speed, reward mechanisms, the measures to ensure network security and whether the protocol is open-source or not.

The SEC staff also noted that registration or qualification is not required in connection with crypto offerings that aren’t securities and aren’t part of an investment contract. However, the statement didn’t provide clarity on what digital assets could be securities.

Commercial litigator Joe Carlasare told Cointelegraph the statement was “a welcome and refreshing step toward clearer regulatory guidance.”

“Adhering to the guidelines will help entities not only position themselves more favorably with regulators but also demonstrate a commitment to transparency and credibility,” he said.

Crypto firms should share all risks

The SEC staff statement said that issuers usually clearly disclose risks related to price volatility, network and cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and custody risks, in addition to standard business, operational, legal and regulatory risks.

A “materially complete description” of a security is also typically required from an issuer, which includes the mechanism behind paying dividends, distributions, profit-sharing and voting rights, including how those rights are enforced.

Related: No crypto project has registered with the SEC and ‘lived to tell the tale’ — House committee hearing

It added a company should share if a protocol’s code can be modified, and if so, who can make such changes and whether the smart contracts involved have been subjected to a third-party security audit.

Other disclosures the statement mentioned are whether the token’s supply is fixed and how it was or will be issued along with identifying executives and “significant employees.”

The Division said its guidance intended to build on the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, which is planning to host a series of roundtables with the crypto industry to discuss how it should police crypto trading, custody, tokenization and decentralized finance.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

Update April 11, 1:46 am: This article has been updated to include more information and background on the resolution.

US President Donald Trump has signed a joint congressional resolution overturning a Biden administration-era rule that would have required decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols to report transactions to the Internal Revenue Service.

Set to take effect in 2027, the so-called IRS DeFi broker rule would have expanded the tax authority’s existing reporting requirements to include DeFi platforms, requiring them to disclose gross proceeds from crypto sales, including information regarding taxpayers involved in the transactions.

Trump formally killed the measure by signing off the resolution on April 10, marking the first time a crypto bill has ever been signed into law, Representative Mike Carey, who backed the bill, said in a statement.

“The DeFi Broker Rule needlessly hindered American innovation, infringed on the privacy of everyday Americans, and was set to overwhelm the IRS with an overflow of new filings that it doesn’t have the infrastructure to handle during tax season,” he said.

Source: Mike Carey

Critics of the rule claimed it would lump decentralized platforms with too onerous rules, hampering innovation in crypto and DeFi.

Supporters, such as Democratic Representative Lloyd Doggett, said in March that killing the IRS rule would create a loophole that wealthy tax cheats would exploit.

The resolution to kill the rule quickly made its way through Congress and passed out of the House Ways and Means Committee on Feb. 25, with the House passing it on March 11.

The Senate passed the resolution on March 26. It had previously passed its own version of the resolution in early March, but the House made its own due to Constitutional rules about where budget measures should originate.

Trump was widely expected to sign the bill, as White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks said in March that the president supported killing the measure

Industry “can breathe again” with IRS rule repealed

Crypto advocacy group Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith said in an April 10 statement the “industry’s innovators, builders, and developers can breathe again,” now the resolution has passed. 

“This rule promised an end to the United States crypto industry; it was a sledgehammer to the engine of American innovation,” she added.

Kristin Smith claimed the IRS rule would have destroyed the US crypto industry. Source: Blockchain Association

Related: OpenSea urges SEC to exclude NFT marketplaces from regulator’s remit

The lobby group filed a lawsuit in December against the IRS, the Treasury and then-Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to repeal the IRS rule, claiming it was unlawful and an “unconstitutional overreach.

The Trump administration has taken a friendly attitude toward crypto and has worked to heel the Securities and Exchange Commission, which has wound back its hardline stance toward crypto forged under former Chair Gary Gensler.

The regulator has dismissed a number of enforcement actions and probes against crypto firms that it launched under the Biden administration and has begun a series of industry consultations on how it should regulate crypto.

Magazine: Memecoin degeneracy is funding groundbreaking anti-aging research

US President Donald Trump on April 10 signed a joint Congressional resolution overturning a Biden-era rule that requires decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols to report to the country’s tax authority, the Internal Revenue Service.

The rule would have required DeFi platforms, such as decentralized exchanges, to file their gross proceeds from crypto sales and include information on those involved in the transactions.

Trump was widely expected to sign the bill, as White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks said in March that the president would support killing the measure.

This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dismissed a lawsuit against Nova Labs, developer of decentralized wireless network Helium, for allegedly issuing unregistered securities, Helium stated in an April 10 blog post. 

Filed in January 2025, the lawsuit was among the SEC’s final enforcement actions against a cryptocurrency developer under former Chair Gary Gensler, who stepped down from his post on Jan. 20 after US President Donald Trump took office. 

The dismissal with prejudice means the blockchain developer cannot be charged with similar violations again for issuing in 2019 its native token Helium (HNT), the company said. 

“[W]e can now definitively say that all compatible Helium Hotspots and the distribution of HNT, IOT, and MOBILE tokens through the Helium Network are not securities,” Helium said. 

“[T]he outcome establishes that selling hardware and distributing tokens for network growth does not automatically make them securities in the eyes of the SEC [and] that the SEC cannot bring these charges against Helium again,” it added.

Source: Helium

The SEC’s Helium reversal came the same day Trump-nominee Paul Atkins formally replaced Gensler as SEC Chair after a lengthy confirmation process in the Senate. 

Helium is a blockchain network designed to let “anyone build and own massive wireless networks,” according to its website. The protocol reports having roughly 375,000 active hotspots. 

According to CoinGecko, HNT has a market capitalization of approximately $480 million as of April 10 — down from highs of more than $5 billion in November 2021. 

HNT’s price since 2019. Source: CoinGecko

Related: SEC will drop its appeal against Ripple, CEO Garlinghouse says

Changing policy stance

Under Gensler, the SEC brought upward of 100 charges against Web3 developers for various alleged securities violations. 

Since Trump took office, the SEC has sharply reversed course, dropping numerous charges against crypto firms, including Coinbase, Kraken, Ripple and Uniswap. 

Trump has positioned himself as a pro-crypto President, promising to make America the “world’s crypto capital,” appointing industry-friendly leaders to key regulatory posts, and ordering the federal government to create a national Bitcoin (BTC) reserve.

For some crypto executives, Trump’s policies — such as announcing sweeping tariffs on US imports in April — threaten to stymie crypto’s progress.

Magazine: 3 reasons Ethereum could turn a corner: Kain Warwick, X Hall of Flame

Cryptocurrency exchange HashKey has received approval from Hong Kong regulators to offer staking services, potentially broadening the institutional appeal of proof-of-stake investments such as the spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

HashKey was granted approval on April 10 after the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) provided regulatory guidance on staking services to Licensed Virtual Asset Trading Platforms (VATPs) and authorized funds, the company disclosed on social media. 

HashKey said it had become “one of the first” regulated Hong Kong exchanges to offer staking services.

Source: HashKey Group

The approval was granted after the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) recognized the potential benefits of crypto staking services, the SFC said.

CSRC “is aware of the potential benefits of staking in enhancing the security of blockchain networks and allowing investors to earn returns from virtual assets in a regulated market environment,” the SFC said, according to a translated version of the announcement that appeared on Asian media outlet PANews. 

Related: Crypto VCs are ‘especially bullish’ on DePIN, RWAs — HashKey Capital

Taking the lead on ETH staking

The SFC approval means HashKey can take the lead in offering staking services for spot Ether (ETH) ETFs, according to the exchange’s managing director, Terence Pu.

“In the near future, investors will not only be able to hold Ether ETFs to obtain staking income but also directly hold ETH and obtain additional income through our staking services,” Hu said in a translated version of his statement. 

Hong Kong approved its first Ether and Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs in April of last year, giving institutional investors access to an in-kind subscription model for digital assets.

Hong Kong is ahead of the curve in allowing ETF investors to earn a passive yield on their digital assets. In the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) green-lighted spot Ether ETFs last year but did not allow staking strategies to be included.

For many US investors, staking is the missing link that could make US-based Ether ETFs more attractive to institutional investors. 

With the election of US President Donald Trump and the installation of a pro-crypto SEC Chair, investors are growing confident that staking services are coming to the US Ether ETFs in the near future.

Source: James Seyyfart

Based on Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart’s potential timeline, approvals could be granted as early as May.

Magazine: ‘Hong Kong’s FTX’ victims win lawsuit, bankers bash stablecoins: Asia Express

North Carolina (NC) representative Neal Jackson introduced the North Carolina Digital Asset Freedom Act on April 10. The bill proposes that qualifying “digital assets” be accepted as a legally recognized form of payment and for taxes.

Although the language of the bill does not specifically mention Bitcoin (BTC), there are several provisions laid out that make BTC uniquely qualified under the bill’s definition of a “digital asset.”

These stipulations include a minimum market capitalization of $750 billion and a daily trading volume of over $10 billion, a market history of 10 years or more, proven censorship resistance, proof-of-work consensus, lack of a central authority, 99.98% or more network uptime, and a maximum supply cap. The bill read:

“The General Assembly further finds that decentralized digital assets, which are not governed by any central entity or foundation, align with the economic principles of limited, noninflationary money and are capable of ensuring the security and integrity of transactions.”

Jackson’s bill is merely the latest in state-led Bitcoin strategic reserve legislation in the United States amid inflation concerns, high US federal debt and a depreciating currency.

NC Digital Asset Freedom Act. Source: North Carolina Legislature

Related: North Carolina bills would add crypto to state’s retirement system

North Carolina takes a firm stance against CBDCs

Former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper vetoed a bill banning a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in July 2024. At the time, Cooper characterized the bill as “premature, vague, and reactionary” to threats that have not yet materialized.

In August 2024, the North Carolina House of Representatives overrode Cooper’s veto in a definitive and bipartisan 73-41 vote.

The North Carolina Senate followed suit by overriding Cooper’s veto in a 27-17 vote and passed the anti-CBDC legislation into law in September 2024.

North Carolina’s anti-CBDC legislation. Source: North Carolina Legislature

Dan Spuller, the head of industry affairs at crypto advocacy organization the Blockchain Association, applauded the action taken by NC lawmakers to push back against the tide of CBDCs.

“This bill should have never been vetoed, and Governor Cooper blew an opportunity to send a strong message to the Federal Reserve that NC stands united against CBDCs,” Spuller wrote in a Sept. 9 X post.

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