Update 1:17 pm UTC: This article has been updated with the corrected US dollar figure that the user paid at the time.

One presumably panicked Bitcoin user paid almost 0.75 BTC (worth around $60,000 at the time) in a replace-by-fee (RBF) transaction fee.

The transaction in question was sent about 30 minutes after midnight UTC on April 8. It was the second attempt at performing an RBF that changed the transaction’s target address, sending 0.48 Bitcoin ($37,770) with 0.2 BTC of change ($16,357).

Second Bitcoin RBF transaction. Source: Mempool.Space

Anmol Jain, vice president of investigations at crypto forensics firm AMLBot, told Cointelegraph that the original transaction featured a “default or conservative” fee. The first RBF raised the fee to nearly double the amount and changed the output address.

Both of those transactions are waiting for a confirmation that will never come. This is because the much higher fee RBF transaction took its place with the same output as the second RBF transaction — presumably, an attempt to bump the fee to ensure that the RBF is processed rather than the original transaction.

Related: How to fix a stuck Bitcoin transaction in 2025: A step-by-step guide

A presumed panic-induced error

The transaction has signs of a panic-induced error, with the user sending a subsequent transaction fast to prevent the original transaction from being included in a block and becoming final. Jain suggested some potential explanations:

“Maybe he meant to use 30.5692 sat but, due to haste or butter fingers, ended up using 305,692 sat.“

The second RBF transaction also added an additional input unspent transaction output (UTXO). This UTXO contained nearly 0.75 Bitcoin (BTC). The change was mistakenly included as part of the fee, likely because the user failed to update the change address or misjudged the transaction’s structure.

Another possibility raised by Jain is that the user got confused between a fee in absolute terms and one set in satoshi per virtual byte (transaction size) or that the automated script behind the transaction contained a bug. The wallet could allow setting a fee in satoshis, which could lead to a scenario where the fee is set way too low, a warning about the low fee and an overcorrection:

“System reads it as 30 sats total fee, which is way too low, so user types 305000 thinking it means 30.5 sat/vB, and the wallet actually applies 305,000 sats/vB, which is insane.“

Related: Bitcoin user pays $3.1M transaction fee for 139 BTC transfer

Replace-by-fee: a controversial feature

RBF is a widely misunderstood and controversial feature of Bitcoin. Bitcoin transactions are considered non-final until they are included in a block, with further confirmation by more blocks in the same chain.

Transactions in the mempool are at the mercy of miners — who are expected to be profit-driven. Bitcoin developers foresaw that with multiple conflicting Bitcoin transactions, the financial incentive would be to process the one paying the higher fee.

There is no easy way to prevent Bitcoin miners from simply including the transaction that was sent first, and it is also not straightforward to establish which transaction was submitted first due to the decentralized nature of the network. Consequently, this incentive was recognized in the RBF feature, allowing users to edit unconfirmed transactions by submitting an alternative transaction with a higher fee.

This led to some controversies in the past, with Bitcoin Cash (BCH) proponent Hayden Otto claiming that RBFs allowed for Bitcoin double-spends back in 2019. In contrast, Bitcoin Cash has removed the feature and claimed that unconfirmed transactions sent on that network are final and secure to accept.

Still, with the way blockchains function, RBF-like transactions were confirmed to occasionally occur on Bitcoin Cash either way. This is because RBF is just an implied property of a Bitcoin-like consensus mechanism that was formalized as a feature.

Magazine: I became an Ordinals RBF sniper to get rich… but I lost most of my Bitcoin

Update 1:17 pm UTC: This article has been updated with the corrected US dollar figure that the user paid at the time.

One presumably panicked Bitcoin user paid nearly 0.75 BTC (nearly $60,000 at the time) in a replace-by-fee (RBF) transaction fee.

The transaction in question was sent about 30 minutes after midnight UTC on April 8. It was the second attempt at performing an RBF that changed the transaction’s target address, sending 0.48 Bitcoin ($37,770) with 0.2 BTC of change ($16,357).

Second Bitcoin RBF transaction. Source: Mempool.Space

Anmol Jain, vice president of investigations at crypto forensics firm AMLBot, told Cointelegraph that the original transaction featured a “default or conservative” fee. The first RBF raised the fee to nearly double the amount and changed the output address.

Both of those transactions are waiting for a confirmation that will never come. This is because the much higher fee RBF transaction took its place with the same output as the second RBF transaction — presumably, an attempt to bump the fee to ensure that the RBF is processed rather than the original transaction.

Related: How to fix a stuck Bitcoin transaction in 2025: A step-by-step guide

A presumed panic-induced error

The transaction has signs of a panic-induced error, with the user sending a subsequent transaction fast to prevent the original transaction from being included in a block and becoming final. Jain suggested some potential explanations:

“Maybe he meant to use 30.5692 sat but, due to haste or butter fingers, ended up using 305,692 sat.“

The second RBF transaction also added an additional input unspent transaction output (UTXO). This UTXO contained nearly 0.75 Bitcoin (BTC). The change was mistakenly included as part of the fee, likely because the user failed to update the change address or misjudged the transaction’s structure.

Another possibility raised by Jain is that the user got confused between a fee in absolute terms and one set in satoshi per virtual byte (transaction size) or that the automated script behind the transaction contained a bug. The wallet could allow setting a fee in satoshis, which could lead to a scenario where the fee is set way too low, a warning about the low fee and an overcorrection:

“System reads it as 30 sats total fee, which is way too low, so user types 305000 thinking it means 30.5 sat/vB, and the wallet actually applies 305,000 sats/vB, which is insane.“

Related: Bitcoin user pays $3.1M transaction fee for 139 BTC transfer

Replace-by-fee: a controversial feature

RBF is a widely misunderstood and controversial feature of Bitcoin. Bitcoin transactions are considered non-final until they are included in a block, with further confirmation by more blocks in the same chain.

Transactions in the mempool are at the mercy of miners — who are expected to be profit-driven. Bitcoin developers foresaw that with multiple conflicting Bitcoin transactions, the financial incentive would be to process the one paying the higher fee.

There is no easy way to prevent Bitcoin miners from simply including the transaction that was sent first, and it is also not straightforward to establish which transaction was submitted first due to the decentralized nature of the network. Consequently, this incentive was recognized in the RBF feature, allowing users to edit unconfirmed transactions by submitting an alternative transaction with a higher fee.

This led to some controversies in the past, with Bitcoin Cash (BCH) proponent Hayden Otto claiming that RBFs allowed for Bitcoin double-spends back in 2019. In contrast, Bitcoin Cash has removed the feature and claimed that unconfirmed transactions sent on that network are final and secure to accept.

Still, with the way blockchains function, RBF-like transactions were confirmed to occasionally occur on Bitcoin Cash either way. This is because RBF is just an implied property of a Bitcoin-like consensus mechanism that was formalized as a feature.

Magazine: I became an Ordinals RBF sniper to get rich… but I lost most of my Bitcoin

Bitcoin could begin to take market share from gold over the next decade as a hedge against inflation and geopolitical uncertainty, according to Blockstream CEO Adam Back.

Speaking during a fireside chat with Cointelegraph managing editor Gareth Jenkinson at Paris Blockchain Week 2025, Back said rising inflation and monetary instability across global economies will drive broader Bitcoin (BTC) adoption.

He compared the cryptocurrency to gold, noting its scarcity and growing recognition as a store of value despite its 30% correction from its all-time high above $109,000.

“Bitcoin has the advantage of being like gold — it’s a scarce asset but also undergoing an adoption curve,” he said.

Inflation continues to plague global economies, with major currencies like the US dollar and the euro seeing their supplies rise by more than 50% over the past five years — a development that may drive Bitcoin’s adoption as a hedge against monetary destabilization, according to Back.

“Eventually, that money is used to buy all the goods. So eventually they will go up by that much, particularly hard assets like housing, anything physical long term,” Back said. “The inflation rate is probably 10% or 15% for the next decade, an investment return that is very hard to get with stocks or housing rentals.”

“So there’s a real prospect of Bitcoin competing with gold and then starting to take some of the gold use cases, like as a geopolitical hedge, take some of that money into Bitcoin.”

Adam Back during a fireside chat with Cointelegraph’s Gareth Jenkinson. Source: Cointelegraph

Related: Satoshi Nakamoto turns 50 as Bitcoin becomes US reserve asset

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland expects the 10-year inflation rate to average 2.18% annually, according to data published on March 12.

Inflation projections. Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland via FRED

However, alternative data points to a potential uptick in inflation over the next five years.

Consumer inflation expectations spiked to 5% for the next year and 4.1% over the next five years, a development amplifying economic concerns, according to a consumer survey from the University of Michigan published on March 28.

Consumers; expected change in inflation rates. Source: University of Michigan

Related: How $100K Bitcoin impacts the wealth gap in the digital age

Bitcoin adoption aided by ETFs and policy shift

Beyond growing monetary instability, US-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and a more crypto-friendly US administration under President Donald Trump may help boost Bitcoin’s adoption as a hedge against inflation.

“US regulators approved the ETFs, finally, and the current US administration under Trump is removing a lot of negative regulation that was intended to slow down crypto adoption — like Operation Chokepoint 2.0,” Back said.

Back argued that Bitcoin adoption among private investors should precede institutional or governmental accumulation:

“I prefer that those people buy Bitcoin ahead of governments because as soon as governments buy, it’s probably going to create a wave of other governments competing with them.”

Source: Margo Martin

On March 7, President Trump signed an executive order to create a Bitcoin reserve seeded with Bitcoin seized from criminal cases, a move that industry leaders have called a major step toward integrating Bitcoin into the traditional financial system.

Magazine: Bitcoin heading to $70K soon? Crypto baller funds SpaceX flight: Hodler’s Digest, March 30 – April 5

Bitcoin could begin to take market share from gold over the next decade as a hedge against inflation and geopolitical uncertainty, according to Blockstream CEO Adam Back.

Speaking during a fireside chat with Cointelegraph managing editor Gareth Jenkinson at Paris Blockchain Week 2025, Back said rising inflation and monetary instability across global economies will drive broader Bitcoin (BTC) adoption.

He compared the cryptocurrency to gold, noting its scarcity and growing recognition as a store of value despite its 30% correction from its all-time high above $109,000.

“Bitcoin has the advantage of being like gold — it’s a scarce asset but also undergoing an adoption curve,” he said.

Inflation continues to plague global economies, with major currencies like the US dollar and the euro seeing their supplies rise by more than 50% over the past five years — a development that may drive Bitcoin’s adoption as a hedge against monetary destabilization, according to Back.

“Eventually, that money is used to buy all the goods. So eventually they will go up by that much, particularly hard assets like housing, anything physical long term,” Back said. “The inflation rate is probably 10% or 15% for the next decade, an investment return that is very hard to get with stocks or housing rentals.”

“So there’s a real prospect of Bitcoin competing with gold and then starting to take some of the gold use cases, like as a geopolitical hedge, take some of that money into Bitcoin.”

Adam Back during a fireside chat with Cointelegraph’s Gareth Jenkinson. Source: Cointelegraph

Related: Satoshi Nakamoto turns 50 as Bitcoin becomes US reserve asset

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland expects the 10-year inflation rate to average 2.18% annually, according to data published on March 12.

Inflation projections. Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland via FRED

However, alternative data points to a potential uptick in inflation over the next five years.

Consumer inflation expectations spiked to 5% for the next year and 4.1% over the next five years, a development amplifying economic concerns, according to a consumer survey from the University of Michigan published on March 28.

Consumers; expected change in inflation rates. Source: University of Michigan

Related: How $100K Bitcoin impacts the wealth gap in the digital age

Bitcoin adoption aided by ETFs and policy shift

Beyond growing monetary instability, US-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and a more crypto-friendly US administration under President Donald Trump may help boost Bitcoin’s adoption as a hedge against inflation.

“US regulators approved the ETFs, finally, and the current US administration under Trump is removing a lot of negative regulation that was intended to slow down crypto adoption — like Operation Chokepoint 2.0,” Back said.

Back argued that Bitcoin adoption among private investors should precede institutional or governmental accumulation:

“I prefer that those people buy Bitcoin ahead of governments because as soon as governments buy, it’s probably going to create a wave of other governments competing with them.”

Source: Margo Martin

On March 7, President Trump signed an executive order to create a Bitcoin reserve seeded with Bitcoin seized from criminal cases, a move that industry leaders have called a major step toward integrating Bitcoin into the traditional financial system.

Magazine: Bitcoin heading to $70K soon? Crypto baller funds SpaceX flight: Hodler’s Digest, March 30 – April 5

Bitcoin could begin to take market share from gold over the next decade as a hedge against inflation and geopolitical uncertainty, according to Blockstream CEO Adam Back.

Speaking during a fireside chat with Cointelegraph managing editor Gareth Jenkinson at Paris Blockchain Week 2025, Back said rising inflation and monetary instability across global economies will drive broader Bitcoin (BTC) adoption.

He compared the cryptocurrency to gold, noting its scarcity and growing recognition as a store of value despite its 30% correction from its all-time high above $109,000.

“Bitcoin has the advantage of being like gold — it’s a scarce asset but also undergoing an adoption curve,” he said.

Inflation continues to plague global economies, with major currencies like the US dollar and the euro seeing their supplies rise by more than 50% over the past five years — a development that may drive Bitcoin’s adoption as a hedge against monetary destabilization, according to Back.

“Eventually, that money is used to buy all the goods. So eventually they will go up by that much, particularly hard assets like housing, anything physical long term,” Back said. “The inflation rate is probably 10% or 15% for the next decade, an investment return that is very hard to get with stocks or housing rentals.”

“So there’s a real prospect of Bitcoin competing with gold and then starting to take some of the gold use cases, like as a geopolitical hedge, take some of that money into Bitcoin.”

Adam Back during a fireside chat with Cointelegraph’s Gareth Jenkinson. Source: Cointelegraph

Related: Satoshi Nakamoto turns 50 as Bitcoin becomes US reserve asset

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland expects the 10-year inflation rate to average 2.18% annually, according to data published on March 12.

Inflation projections. Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland via FRED

However, alternative data points to a potential uptick in inflation over the next five years.

Consumer inflation expectations spiked to 5% for the next year and 4.1% over the next five years, a development amplifying economic concerns, according to a consumer survey from the University of Michigan published on March 28.

Consumers; expected change in inflation rates. Source: University of Michigan

Related: How $100K Bitcoin impacts the wealth gap in the digital age

Bitcoin adoption aided by ETFs and policy shift

Beyond growing monetary instability, US-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and a more crypto-friendly US administration under President Donald Trump may help boost Bitcoin’s adoption as a hedge against inflation.

“US regulators approved the ETFs, finally, and the current US administration under Trump is removing a lot of negative regulation that was intended to slow down crypto adoption — like Operation Chokepoint 2.0,” Back said.

Back argued that Bitcoin adoption among private investors should precede institutional or governmental accumulation:

“I prefer that those people buy Bitcoin ahead of governments because as soon as governments buy, it’s probably going to create a wave of other governments competing with them.”

Source: Margo Martin

On March 7, President Trump signed an executive order to create a Bitcoin reserve seeded with Bitcoin seized from criminal cases, a move that industry leaders have called a major step toward integrating Bitcoin into the traditional financial system.

Magazine: Bitcoin heading to $70K soon? Crypto baller funds SpaceX flight: Hodler’s Digest, March 30 – April 5

Cathie Wood’s investment firm ARK Invest is showing a mixed reaction to the United States’ latest trade tariffs, offloading shares of its spot Bitcoin ETF while increasing its position in Coinbase.

ARK has acquired $26.6 million of Coinbase (COIN) stock since US President Donald Trump announced new trade tariffs on April 2, according to trading data seen by Cointelegraph.

The purchase includes a $13.2 million COIN buy on April 7 and another $13.3 million purchase on April 4.

Despite this bullish move on Coinbase, ARK simultaneously sold $12 million of its ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) on April 7. ARKB was one of the spot Bitcoin ETFs that launched in the United States in January 2024.

ARKW still offers $142 million of indirect exposure to Bitcoin

ARK’s $12 million ARKB sale from its Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) fund is one of the largest daily ARKB sales by the firm.

The latest dump follows an $8 million ARKB sale on March 3, another $8.6 million sale in February, and two smaller sales from January, totaling $3.5 million.

Top three holdings in ARK’s Next Generation Internet ETF. Source: ARK

Following the sales, ARKW continues offering indirect exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) through its ARK Bitcoin ETF Holdco, its largest position by market value. As of April 8, it held $142 million in ARKB, accounting for 11% of the fund’s weight, according to ARK’s website.

Bitcoin ETFs expand bleeding on tariffs news

The new trades came amid a major market sell-off, with BTC briefly sliding 11% to as low as $74,700 following the tariffs announcement, according to CoinGecko data.

Following $207 million in outflows from global Bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETP) last week, Bitcoin ETFs continued bleeding, starting the week with fresh $109 million outflows on April 7, according to data from SoSoValue.

Related: Michael Saylor’s Strategy halts Bitcoin buys despite dip below $87K

In the past three trading days, Bitcoin ETFs shed $273 million combined, according to SoSoValue.

Spot Bitcoin ETF data in the period from April 1 to April 7. Source: SoSoValue

Despite recent selling pressure, ARK remains one of the few spot Bitcoin ETF issuers with net positive flows year to date. As of April 4, ARK had recorded $146 million in inflows for 2025, CoinShares data shows.

Other issuers with positive year-to-date inflows include BlackRock’s iShares, with $3.2 billion and ProShares, with $398 million.

Magazine: Bitcoin heading to $70K soon? Crypto baller funds SpaceX flight: Hodler’s Digest, March 30 – April 5

Cathie Wood’s investment firm ARK Invest is showing a mixed reaction to the United States’ latest trade tariffs, offloading shares of its spot Bitcoin ETF while increasing its position in Coinbase.

ARK has acquired $26.6 million of Coinbase (COIN) stock since US President Donald Trump announced new trade tariffs on April 2, according to trading data seen by Cointelegraph.

The purchase includes a $13.2 million COIN buy on April 7 and another $13.3 million purchase on April 4.

Despite this bullish move on Coinbase, ARK simultaneously sold $12 million of its ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) on April 7. ARKB was one of the spot Bitcoin ETFs that launched in the United States in January 2024.

ARKW still offers $142 billion of indirect exposure to Bitcoin

ARK’s $12 million ARKB sale from its Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) fund is one of the largest daily ARKB sales by the firm.

The latest dump follows an $8 million ARKB sale on March 3, another $8.6 million sale in February, and two smaller sales from January, totaling $3.5 million.

Top three holdings in ARK’s Next Generation Internet ETF. Source: ARK

Following the sales, ARKW continues offering indirect exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) through its ARK Bitcoin ETF Holdco, its largest position by market value. As of April 8, it held $142 million in ARKB, accounting for 11% of the fund’s weight, according to ARK’s website.

Bitcoin ETFs expand bleeding on tariffs news

The new trades came amid a major market sell-off, with BTC briefly sliding 11% to as low as $74,700 following the tariffs announcement, according to CoinGecko data.

Following $207 million in outflows from global Bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETP) last week, Bitcoin ETFs continued bleeding, starting the week with fresh $109 million outflows on April 7, according to data from SoSoValue.

Related: Michael Saylor’s Strategy halts Bitcoin buys despite dip below $87K

In the past three trading days, Bitcoin ETFs shed $273 million combined, according to SoSoValue.

Spot Bitcoin ETF data in the period from April 1 to April 7. Source: SoSoValue

Despite recent selling pressure, ARK remains one of the few spot Bitcoin ETF issuers with net positive flows year to date. As of April 4, ARK had recorded $146 million in inflows for 2025, CoinShares data shows.

Other issuers with positive year-to-date inflows include BlackRock’s iShares, with $3.2 billion and ProShares, with $398 million.

Magazine: Bitcoin heading to $70K soon? Crypto baller funds SpaceX flight: Hodler’s Digest, March 30 – April 5

Opinion by: William Campbell, advisory lead at USDKG

Stablecoins were heralded as a breakthrough in the cryptocurrency space as a way to marry the lightning-fast, borderless nature of digital assets with the stability of traditional currencies. They achieve this by pegging their value to reserves like fiat currencies or commodities. Stablecoins are engineered to maintain a fixed exchange rate, typically one-to-one, with the underlying asset.

What does “stability” mean? At its core, stability demands three pillars:

Reliable collateral: The tangible assets that back the token.

Transparency: The ability for anyone to independently verify reserves.

Consistent peg maintenance: Robust safeguards against depegging, where a stablecoin’s market value strays from its fixed ratio with the underlying asset.

Without these foundational elements, stablecoins are little more than speculative instruments masquerading as safe harbors. In 2022 alone, billions in value evaporated when supposedly “secure” stablecoins lost their pegs, meaning their market prices diverged significantly from their intended 1:1 ratio with an underlying asset — prompting an unsettling question: Can digital assets ever be genuinely stable without demonstrable and independently audited backing?

The need for reliable asset-backed models

Recent market events have exposed severe fundamental weaknesses in privately issued stablecoins. These tokens often rely on opaque mechanisms, inadequate audit practices or collateral that investors cannot independently verify.

These shortcomings repeatedly led to sudden “depegging” events, such as the collapse of Iron Finance’s TITAN token in 2021. The overleveraged algorithmic system collapsed to near zero, wiping out billions in liquidity.

TerraUSD’s meltdown in 2022 also highlighted a similar vulnerability, with the stablecoin’s value disintegrating quickly, intensifying doubts about algorithmic models lacking transparent reserves.

Meanwhile, partially collateralized and so-called “fully audited” stablecoins have faced scrutiny for inconsistent disclosure practices. Even well-known issuers must constantly prove their reserves are sufficient and legitimate.

Recent: The state-backed stablecoin coin to change Kyrgtzstan’s (and global) economy

These issues primarily stem from insufficient oversight and ambiguous collateral management practices by private issuers. Investors typically have limited means to independently verify reserves, fueling persistent doubts about whether the stated backing genuinely exists or whether tokens are properly collateralized.

Only models with tangible asset support and verifiably documented reserves can genuinely deliver the stability that digital assets promise. Through transparent frameworks, we can rebuild trust and usher in a new era of reliable digital finance. These events underscore a universal truth: True stability is forged through auditable oversight and verifiable reserves, not hollow branding.

Gold is a timeless anchor 

Gold has served as humanity’s ultimate store of value for millennia, preserving wealth through wars, economic collapses and pandemics. Its scarcity, intrinsic worth and universal acceptance have made it a refuge when institutions falter — evidenced by its 25% surge during the 2020 market crash as investors fled volatile assets.

Gold’s value transcends borders and ideologies, resting on tangible scarcity rather than hollow promises. For example, while the US dollar has lost 96.8% of its purchasing power since 1913, gold has consistently preserved and even grown its purchasing power. This track record positions it as an ideal anchor for digital assets seeking stability in a volatile crypto landscape.

Critics of gold might point to its storage and custodial costs, along with the logistical challenges of physically moving bullion. Modern vaulting solutions and robust insurance measures have, however, largely mitigated these concerns, particularly when combined with blockchain-based audit mechanisms.

Gold-backed stablecoins capitalize on this timeless reliability, pairing physical gold’s enduring value with blockchain’s efficiency. By linking digital tokens directly to physical gold, they sidestep the speculative risks of cryptocurrencies and the inflationary pitfalls of government-issued money. 

Blockchain-enabled gold tokenization

Blockchain technology removes the traditional obstacles to gold ownership by enabling fractional digital ownership and global trading without intermediaries. 

Physical gold stored in regulated vaults is digitized into tokens, each representing a precise fraction of the underlying asset. Every transaction is immutably recorded on a decentralized ledger, enabling investors to continuously check reserves in real time through automated smart contracts.

This system overcomes gold’s historic limitations, including illiquidity and high storage costs, while eliminating the opacity of traditional reserve management. Merging gold’s tangible security with blockchain’s immutable record-keeping, the system also engineers trust directly into the architecture.

This approach creates a stablecoin model unlike any other, where verifiable backing is the system’s backbone, not merely promised on paper.

Creating stablecoins that truly deliver stability

Gold-backed stablecoins merge blockchain’s inherent accountability with gold’s stability, establishing a new class of digital assets resistant to volatility. Anchoring digital tokens to gold’s intrinsic value, this model sidesteps the volatility of speculative cryptocurrencies and the inflationary risks of government-issued currencies. 

The result is a stablecoin engineered for trust, where stability isn’t promised by code or institutions — it’s bolstered by tangible scarcity and blockchain’s unyielding transparency.

Trust as a cornerstone

The primary challenge facing stablecoins is establishing user trust. This trust can’t be built solely on a company’s reputation. It must be earned through independently verifiable collateral, real-time audits and clear regulatory oversight.

Innovative hybrid models showcase this approach effectively. The government strictly regulates and audits the gold reserves in a hybrid model to maintain verifiable 1:1 backing. The private entities handle token issuance, trading and compliance processes, carefully separating state verification of collateral from private management of operational functions.

This public-private partnership ensures rigorous oversight without creating a central bank digital currency. As they divide responsibilities, the model establishes a system where the government guarantees authenticity and collateral integrity while private enterprises handle operational efficiency, ensuring a balanced and decentralized yet trustworthy environment.

Toward a more trustworthy digital financial ecosystem

Genuine stability in digital finance emerges not from marketing slogans but from transparent mechanisms and verifiable collateral.

The future of digital finance lies in combining blockchain’s revolutionary transparency with the historically proven stability of gold, especially under government auditing and privately managed structures. As more asset-backed solutions emerge, institutions, regulators and everyday users will adopt stablecoins that transparently deliver on their stability promises.

This evolution marks a pivotal shift. Investors will no longer accept vague assurances. Investors demand concrete stability. Gold-backed stablecoins, blending ancient reliability with blockchain innovation, will lead the next generation of digital financial instruments, ensuring stablecoins fulfill their original promise — stability without compromise.

Opinion by: William Campbell, advisory lead at USDKG.

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.

China’s response to America’s sweeping trade tariffs could result in capital flight to Bitcoin and crypto, according to BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes.

“If not the Fed [Federal Reserve], then the PBOC [People’s Bank of China] will give us the Yahtzee ingredients,” said Hayes on X on April 8 in reference to the catalyst needed to resume the crypto market bull run.

Hayes said that if the Chinese central bank devalued its currency, the yuan, the “narrative [is] that Chinese capital flight will flow into Bitcoin,” adding that “it worked in 2013, 2015, and can work in 2025.” 

Bybit co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou said that China will try to lower the yuan to counter the tariff, adding that historically, whenever the yuan drops, “a lot of Chinese capital flows into BTC,” which is bullish for Bitcoin (BTC).

The yuan has weakened against the greenback since 2022. Source. Google Finance

China devalued the yuan by nearly 2% against the US dollar, which saw the largest single-day drop in decades in August 2015. Bitcoin did see some increased interest during this period, though the direct causative relationship is debated.

When the yuan fell below the symbolic 7:1 ratio against the USD in August 2019, Bitcoin also saw price increases in the same timeframe. Some analysts suggested that Chinese investors were using Bitcoin as a hedge as the asset jumped 20% in the first week of that month. 

In 2019, crypto asset manager Grayscale noted the depreciation in the Chinese yuan at attributed it as a factor that spurred Bitcoin markets at the time. 

Currency control avoidance and wealth preservation

Wealthy Chinese citizens may have used crypto in the past to preserve their wealth, move it beyond government reach, and avoid capital controls and restrictions within the country, according to analysts. 

It is also believed that currency devaluations also damage trust in central banks and government financial management, pushing people toward decentralized alternatives like Bitcoin.

Related: $2T fake tariff news pump shows ‘market is ready to ape’

On April 7, the US president vowed to ratchet up additional tariffs against China, which responded by stating it “will fight to the end.”

“If the US implements escalated tariff measures, China will resolutely take countermeasures to defend its own interests,” the Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a statement.

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

A Nigerian court has reportedly delayed the country’s tax evasion case against Binance until April 30 to give time for Nigeria’s tax authority to respond to a request from the crypto exchange.

Reuters reported on April 7 that a lawyer for Binance, Chukwuka Ikwuazom, asked a court the same day to invalidate an order allowing for court documents to be served to the company via email.

Binance doesn’t have an office in Nigeria and Ikwuazom claimed the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) didn’t get court permission to serve court documents to Binance outside the country.

“On the whole the order for the substituted service as granted by the court on February 11, 2025 on Binance who is … registered under the laws of Cayman Islands and resident in Cayman Islands is improper and should be set aside,” he said.

FIRS sued Binance in February, claiming the exchange owed $2 billion in back taxes and should be made to pay $79.5 billion for damages to the local economy as its its operations allegedly destabilized the country’s currency, the naira, which Binance denies.

It also reportedly alleged that Binance is liable to pay corporate income tax in Nigeria, as it has a “significant economic presence” there, with FIRS requesting a court order for the exchange to pay income taxes for 2022 and 2023, plus a 10% annual penalty on unpaid amounts along with a nearly a 27% interest rate on the unpaid taxes.

Nigeria’s legal history with Binance

In February 2024, Nigeria arrested and detained Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla on tax fraud and money laundering charges. The country dropped the tax charges against both in June and the remaining charge against Gambaryan in October.

Tigran Gambaryan (right) was seen in a September video struggling to walk into a courtroom in the Nigerian capital of Abuja. Source: X

Anjarwalla managed to slip his guards and escape Nigerian custody to Kenya in March last year and is apparently still at large.

Related: Binance exec shares details about release from Nigerian detention 

Gambaryan, a US citizen, returned home in October after reports suggested his health had deteriorated during his detainment with reported cases of pneumonia, malaria and a herniated spinal disc that may need surgery.

Binance stopped its naira currency deposits and withdrawals in March 2024, effectively leaving the Nigerian market.

Magazine: Trash collectors in Africa earn crypto to support families with ReFi