¿Cómo están cambiando las Cripto el panorama Finanzas? ¿Qué les depara el futuro a las monedas estables, la tokenización y el marketing en la Web 3? ¿Cómo se regularán los activos digitales en el futuro?

Éstas son sólo algunas de las preguntas que se debatirán.Consenso 2025Comienza en Toronto este miércoles. Este año, el evento más antiguo de criptomonedas, organizado en el Centro de Convenciones Metropolitano de Toronto, se celebra en un momento crucial para la industria.

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Las Cripto ocupan un lugar central en la conversación nacional y el evento de este año contará con muchos nombres que harán noticia y generarán WAVES.

Eric Trump, cuya startup minera, American Bitcoin, esta mañana anunció que planea salir a bolsa, será el orador principal del jueves.

Escucharemos deBo Hines, jefe del Consejo Presidencial de Asesores sobre Activos Digitales, sobre la estrategia de la Casa Blanca para aprobar legislación sobre Cripto este año.

Dave Portnoy, fundador de Barstool Sports, se sentará para una charla informal para hablar sobre la cultura de las Cripto , monedas memey el futuro de la inversión.

Hay unCumbre de dinero abiertocon los nombres más importantes en DeFi, unaCumbre de marcas y creadorespara las empresas que se están posicionando para la siguiente fase de Internet, y unaCumbre de IAcon una agenda repleta de ponentes en la intersección de la IA y la cadena de bloques.

Otros oradores principales incluyen a Chris Pavlovski (Rumble), Charles Hoskinson (Cardano), Kevin O'Leary (Shark Tank), Adrienne Harris (NYDFS), Justin MON, David Goyer y docenas Más sobre: de la industria de Cripto y blockchain.

Nuestra etapa de Exploraciones tendrá debates en profundidad sobre temas de HOT como DePIN, Regulación de Cripto , staking, trading avanzado y el futuro de la Web3 de Canadá.

También tendremos unaHackatón(organizado con EasyA),Festival de lanzamiento, a Simposio de investigación(con IEEE), y docenas deEventos paralelos y fiestas a los que asistir en Toronto, y una proyección de la película "Vitalik: An Ethereum Story" con el director e invitados especiales.

Para la cobertura del Consenso 2025, incluidas las entrevistas con los oradores, consulteaquíLa agenda completa se puede encontrar aquíaquí.

Visita CoinDeskpara una transmisión en vivo y una cobertura continua de todas las noticias, rumores y chismes de la reunión anual de criptomonedas.

Qué esperar del Consensus 2025

A widely followed analyst believes that crypto is poised to replicate a bubble witnessed in the late 1990s, triggered by a surge in internet adoption.

Trader Michaël van de Poppe tells his 785,900 followers on the social media platform X that he’s extremely bullish on the crypto market as mainstream institutional players begin to embrace the asset class.

According to Van de Poppe, conditions in the crypto market are reminiscent of the Dot-com era, when tech and web-based firms saw their valuation skyrocket as investors piled in and became overexuberant on the emerging sector.

“All I know:

This is the cycle where everything is going to go ballistic.

Higher than ever.

The Dot-com bubble type of cycle for crypto, where there’s a lot of liquidity flowing into this asset class and a lot of adoption.

It’s basically the only asset class to be significantly outperforming everything.”

The Dot-com bubble exploded in 2000, destroying $5 trillion in wealth and driving thousands of companies into bankruptcy.

One altcoin on the trader’s radar for a potential repeat of the Dot-com bubble is payments altcoin XRP. Van de Poppe predicts that the coin will come close to its all-time high (ATH) of $3.40.

“When things go absolutely vertical, that’s the moment where you want to zoom out and get higher time frame entry points.

The same applied for XRP.

Marked the level around $1.75 as an important one for entries and it’s up 50% since.

I assume we’ll attack the ATHs soon.”

At time of writing, XRP is worth $2.52.

The trader is also bullish on the Solana (SOL) rival Sei (SEI). Van de Poppe predicts that SEI will rally by as much as 169% from current levels.

“Indeed, break and flip and the next target is $0.30.

I think that SEI will be trending up significantly more.

First stop is $0.30, after that a slight correction for people to jump into the asset and then we’ll continue towards the $0.50-0.70 range.”

At time of writing, SEI is worth $0.26.

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Analyst Sees Crypto Repeating Dot-Com Bubble, Predicts Rallies for XRP and One Solana Challenger

It all started in 2019, when a relatively small software company called MicroStrategy (now known as Strategy) knocked on investment bank Jefferies' door after being turned away by Wall Street giants.

At the time, Michael Saylor's firm had a market cap of nearly $2 billion and was looking to raise capital to buy bitcoin—something bulge bracket banks were reluctant to support.

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Jefferies took a chance on Saylor, marking a pivotal deal for the investment bank and the digital assets sector.

Now, Saylor's firm is worth about $111 billion in market cap, other companies are buying bitcoin for their balance sheets, and large Wall Street firms are piling into the digital assets sector.

And Jefferies? The firm is now a full-service investment bank for the crypto and blockchain space, and it's doing billions in deals without the crutch of a trillion-dollar balance sheet or FDIC-insured deposits.

“We don’t change our stripes too often, but when we see opportunity, we move fast,” Alexander Yavorsky, head of FIG investment banking at Jefferies, told CoinDesk in an interview.

The crypto commitment

The game-changing MicroStrategy engagement in 2019 kickstarted a much deeper foray into the asset class for Jefferies.

By 2020, Jefferies had become the first major full-service investment bank to dedicate a senior banker exclusively to crypto. Tim Shea, now co-head of digital assets coverage, spends 100% of his time on the asset class.

But don't call them a crypto shop as Jefferies has been consistently doing deals across the board, putting the firm sixth globally in the last twelve months, according to data from Dealogic.

Diving deeper into deals that Jefferies worked on, the firm revealed that it has advised on 120 transactions with over $150 billion of deal value across fintech, market structure, and exchanges since 2015.

This track record, particularly handling deals that involve applied technology and complex regulatory footprints, uniquely equipped Jefferies to handle the hybrid world where crypto meets traditional finance.

“We are a full-service investment banking firm, rather than a crypto shop,” Yavorsky said, "but we’ve built deep sector knowledge, and we know how to structure deals and move quickly."

Over the past three years, Jefferies has steadily increased its involvement in crypto and crypto-adjacent dealmaking, building a track record across capital markets, M&A, and restructuring.

One of the standout deals the firm advised was NinjaTrader on its $1.5 billion acquisition by Kraken, a notable example of consolidation between traditional trading platforms and digital asset exchanges.

The Jefferies team brings the "incredible expertise and talent required to advise on transactions of this size, they are incredibly dialed into the crypto and capital markets universes," Martin Franchi, CEO of NinjaTrader, told CoinDesk in an email statement.

"Understanding the needs of folks in the space were native to how they think and in our case, helped bring together the worlds of TradFi and DeFi for a highly strategic deal that benefits not only both firms, but also our customers,” Franchi added.

Navigating complex world of crypto

What really set Jefferies apart is that the investment bank didn't just stick to the usual deal-making advisory for the industry. With an industry as dynamic as crypto, the bank stayed nimble to take on a much more complex mandate.

It played a key role in one of the industry's most high-profile collapses, serving as adviser to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the FTX bankruptcy, where it worked to help recover value for stakeholders.

Meanwhile, the bank continued supporting traditional financial institutions that entered the crypto space.

It advised J.C. Flowers on its investment in LMAX, and worked with Victory Park Capital on the SPAC merger with Bakkt.

Beyond advisory roles, Jefferies has executed capital raises for major players like Galaxy Digital (GLXY) and DRW, and has been active in the crypto mining sector through multiple fundraising and advisory engagements.

The firm has also provided strategic advice on a range of crypto exchange transactions, reflecting its broader involvement in infrastructure and market structure developments within digital assets.

A growing influence

Though not a crypto-exclusive investment bank, Jefferies’ activity in the sector points to a growing comfort with the complexities of digital asset finance, and a willingness to engage where traditional firms have often hesitated.

With the lines between centralized and decentralized finance continuing to blur, and infrastructure firms increasingly in M&A crosshairs, Jefferies looks poised to remain one of the most active and experienced investment banks in the digital asset space.

Read more: Bitcoin Mining Profitability Down 7.4% in March as Prices, Transaction Fees Fell: Jefferies

Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.

Jefferies (JEF) Quietly Becomes Crypto Deal Making Powerhouse After Betting Early on Michael Saylor

There’s no question that the past few months have been incredibly volatile for both traditional equity and crypto markets. At the very end of Q2, Bitcoin saw record breaking volatility, experiencing new all-time highs while simultaneously experiencing 30% drawdowns. At the same time, the S&P surged to record highs and pushed nearly 1,000 points below where it started in the beginning of 2025.

Changing risk appetite and investor sentiment over the past several months have highlighted the need for alternative investments. While traditional investors look for more consistent yield among volatility and companies look to expand their business ventures with more efficient financing operations, Real World Asset (RWA) tokenization has established itself as the new opportunity to grow.

With a history of cross-industry digital transformation, Ant Digital Technologies, the tech arm of Ant Group, has positioned itself at the intersection of emerging technology. With a growing presence in key blockchain and AI innovation hubs like Hong Kong and Dubai, Ant Digital Technologies is innovating on green investments and trade finance through RWAs, creating new yield opportunities for investors looking to transition from today’s volatile markets.

Bringing RWAs global through Hong Kong and Dubai

Ant Digital Technologies’ mission is to provide innovative technology that pushes the world to be more inclusive, green and sustainable. In an effort to establish the credibility and inclusivity of decentralized innovations, Ant Digital Technologies has strengthened its efforts in key financial and technological hubs, including Hong Kong and Dubai.

To align with this commitment, Ant Digital Technologies recently established an international headquarters in Hong Kong, setting up new opportunities in one of the fastest growing tech hubs in the world. With the new headquarters, Ant Digital Technologies not only looks to expand its global network of over 300 partners and 10,000 enterprise customers, but also to create joint laboratories with local universities and research institutes alongside Hong Kong’s Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) to further drive innovation in both Web3 and AI.

Creating an international headquarters in Hong Kong is an extension of Ant Digital Technologies’ ongoing expansion within the Web3 hub. Last year the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) established the Ensemble Architecture Community, which aims to develop a set of industry standards to support interoperability among wholesale CBDC (wCBDC), tokenized money and assets. Selected as one of seven private sector members of the Ensemble, Ant Digital Technologies has worked directly with financial regulators and industry activists to build a Tokenized Asset Platform based on green and sustainable finance and trade and supply chain finance.

Learn More: Ant Digital Technologies Joins HKMA's Project Ensemble Sandbox and Unveils Its Use Cases in the Sandbox

Ant Digital Technologies’ dedication to going global does not just end with Hong Kong, but instead demonstrates their ongoing development in their commitment toward the international market. Ant Digital Technologies is growing its presence within several different markets that are pushing for both RWA adoption and blockchain innovation. One such area is Dubai, which has pioneered a breakthrough regulatory framework – covering tokenized securities – that has positioned the UAE as a leading blockchain innovation center in the Middle East.

In their most recent step toward the Middle Eastern market, the team hosted its inaugural Web3 event in Dubai: RWA REAL UP Dubai Summit 2025. Ant Digital Technologies’ president of blockchain business Zhuoqun Bian, chief scientist Dr. Ying Yan and head of Jovay (Layer 2) Product Cobe Zhang took to the main stages to exchange insights with over 500 industry leaders, financial institutions, blockchain innovators and regulators.

The Summit focused on the convergence between the digital and physical, and how a global RWA tokenization roadmap demonstrates the next generation of digital finance. Emphasizing the growth and adoption of RWAs from Middle Eastern financial institutions to ambitious Web3 projects, it brought together industry leaders from Solana Foundation, Fosun Wealth and Chainlink, among others.

One of the biggest highlights of the Summit was the unveiling of Ant Digital Technologies’ Jovay: a Layer 2 blockchain solution tailored for RWA fund transactions, seamlessly interoperable with other Layer 1 blockchains. Reaching exceptional performance benchmarks of 100,000 TPS and 100-millisecond on-chain response time, Jovay is set to provide a cutting-edge platform for the next trillion dollars of real, tangible assets on-chain through RWA tokenization.

Fueling Blockchain for good

Ant Digital Technologies envisions blockchain as more than just a tool for financial gain; rather, it sees it as a transformative technology empowering diverse industries. The tokenization of RWAs amplifies blockchain's transformative capabilities, enabling the democratization of unique yield opportunities that were once inaccessible or overlooked. This innovation opens doors for individuals to participate in and benefit from real-world advancements, fostering a more inclusive and dynamic economic landscape.

In a way that perfectly highlights the opportunity of RWAs and the innovative opportunities it provides wide industries, Ant Digital Technologies is transforming a massively growing industry in Dubai and Hong Kong: sustainable innovation.

Commitment to sustainable innovation

By providing cutting-edge RWA infrastructure, Ant Digital Technologies is creating new opportunities for liquidity, yield and ownership models within the green and renewable energy space. This is made possible by bringing renewable energy assets, like energy storage equipment, on-chain. In doing so, Ant Digital Technologies has created new financing channels for renewable energy enterprises, reduced the financing threshold to enter the field and attracted additional social capital.

This is not just theoretical: Ant Digital Technologies has already onboarded 14 million green energy devices on-chain, making it the world’s largest tokenized renewable energy platform. Take Ant Digital Technologies’ work with Eagoal, a Chinese-based, HKSE company specializing in lithium battery recycling and regeneration for EV vehicles. Leveraging Ant Digital Technologies’ RWA infrastructure, Eagoal successfully completed a RWA financing initiative – through its product developed with the Ensemble – generating tens of millions of HKD in fresh liquid capital for battery-swapping physical assets.

Ant Digital Technologies’ entrance into Dubai is another example of how it looks to continue to expand upon its green RWA ecosystem. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), renewables contributed over 90% of the global power expansion in 2024, with a capacity addition of 585 GW. Dubai, alongside other key economies within the UAE and Middle East, is uniquely within the “solar belt,” positioning it to uniquely benefit from the accelerated development of renewable energy projects.

Beyond availability, the growing overlap of green innovation between Dubai and Ant Digital Technologies makes close collaboration between the two inevitable. As Ant Digital Technologies continues to redefine what it means to build in the RWA space, Dubai has agreed to transition away from fossil fuels by 2030 and highlighted its commitment by building the largest single-site solar park in the world ahead of hosting the COP28 conference.

Accelerating Web3 advancements with AI

Not only is Ant Digital Technologies unlocking new investment avenues with blockchain, but it is also leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs) and specialized AI agents to automate the smart contract lifecycle and accelerate blockchain development with the newly announced DeTerministic Virtual Machine (DTVM) Stack.

DTVM is an AI-powered, open-source VM platform leveraging newly developed technology from Ant Digital Technologies that aims to redefine what smart contract execution looks like in the era of AI. In the DTVM whitepaper, researchers highlight how the WASM-based VM significantly improves on blockchain performance and deterministic execution, while simultaneously maintaining development interoperability through EVM-compatibility and a library of multi-language SDKs.

All together, Ant Digital Technologies’ latest efforts within AI and Web3 have created an automated smart contract environment that’s more efficient and better equipped for solving complex problems on the cutting edge of these two accelerating fields. At the same time, the project makes the DTVM stack available for RWA projects in places where all of their key initiatives converge.

The future of RWA tokenization

The continued volatility in crypto and traditional markets over the past several months has highlighted the need for alternative investments and the massive impact RWA tokenization could have on the entire world.

With a growing presence in key innovation hubs like Hong Kong and Dubai, Ant Digital Technologies is advancing on blockchain and sustainable investing through RWAs, creating new yield opportunities for investors looking to transition from today’s volatile markets. At the same time, the team continues to push forward its commitment to a more interconnected and resilient future – through the transformative power of technology.

WATCH: RWA REAL UP Dubai Summit 2025

Ant Digital Technologies - The Intersection of Global Innovation For Blockchain, AI and Sustainable Investing

Bitcoin BTC $ 104,528.70 climbed back above $104,000 on Tuesday with welcome fresh inflation data, President Trump's bullish outlook on financial markets, and Coinbase's inclusion into the S&P 500 among catalysts for the advance.

April’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) came in cooler than anticipated, which may allay pressure on the Federal Reserve anxious about inflation due to tariffs. Fed Chair Jerome Powell's scheduled speech on Thursday could provide further policy guidance.

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The upbeat mood was further lifted by Donald Trump, who told attendees at the Saudi–U.S. Investment Forum in Riyadh that markets "could go a lot higher,.".

Bitcoin (BTC) nearly touched $105,000 before pulling back, at press time trading 2.4% higher over the past 24 hours at around $104,400. Most altcoins in the CoinDesk 20 Index outperformed. Ethereum's ether ETH $ 2,662.32 continued its resurgence advancing over 9% to $2,700. Restaking protocol Eigenlayer's governance token and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol EtherFi's native token ETHFI $ 1.30 booked more than 20-30% daily gains.

CoinDesk 20 Index (CoinDesk Indices)

Stocks added to their recent gains, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 up 1.6% and 0.75%, respectively, at the session close. Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) surged 24% during the day as the stock is set to benefit from being included in the S&P 500 index. The change could unleash $16 billion in buying pressure for shares, Jefferies forecasted.

Joel Kruger, market strategist at LMAX Group, said that the crypto market is still digesting last week's gains, but the rally has further momentum. “Currently, the market appears to be pausing for breath, yet the prevailing sentiment in recent headlines suggests this rally still has room to grow,” Kruger said.

He pointed to a rebound in global risk appetite and a growing number of institutional tailwinds. “One notable factor is the increasing mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency, as evidenced by developments in U.S. financial markets. Coinbase’s inclusion in the S&P 500 marks a historic milestone, establishing it as the first crypto-native company to join this prestigious index,” Kruger said.

He also cited improving sentiment around regulation. SEC Chair Paul Atkins has pledged to make the U.S. a hub for cryptocurrency innovation, which Kruger believes could unlock a new wave of institutional interest if followed by meaningful policy clarity.

Paul Howard, senior director at trading firm Wincent, echoed that view, saying that while altcoins are tracking the broader rally, institutional capital is likely to become more selective. “This evolving landscape appears to be laying the groundwork for increased institutional participation,” he said in a Telegram message. “The more resilient altcoin projects could benefit, while weaker ones may gradually phase out.”

New BTC record next month?

While bitcoin is less than 5% from its January record prices, Bitfinex analysts noted that neutral funding rates and stable trading volumes show no signs of market froth.However, BTC is facing resistance at around the $104,000-$106,000 zone, making a short-term consolidation likely with key support level at around $98,000, they added."BTC has moved up sharply in the past few weeks and we expect a period of consolidation, meaning a new all-time high could be delayed to June as supply/demand stabilises above $100,000," Bitfinex analysts wrote.

Zooming out for the next months, Bitfinex analysts said medium and long-term setups remain decisively bullish, setting a $150,000-$180,000 price target for 2025-2026.

"Bitcoin’s long-term outlook is the strongest it has ever been," they wrote. "With sovereign and institutional adoption advancing, ETF rails expanding globally, and the US framing crypto policy more positively, BTC is evolving into a global macro reserve asset."





Why Is Bitcoin Up Today? BTC Price Nears $105K as Analysts Say Rally Has 'Room to Run'

The CEO of fixed-income giant Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO) is expressing optimism on the future of the US and the dollar in the global financial system.

PIMCO CEO Emmanuel Roman says in a new Bloomberg interview that he believes America will maintain its position as the world’s safe haven despite concerns about its eroding balance sheet and Trump’s trade war.

According to Roman, the US owns the world’s reserve currency, and there’s no viable currency that could usurp the dollar.

“And [the US] will remain as the place of safe haven…

Well, think about it. The US dollar is the reserve currency, but it’s also the most liquid Treasury market in the world by an enormous factor.

And yes, you can make a reasonable argument that the dollar is slightly expensive and you may want to diversify from the dollar to other currencies, but it doesn’t mean that the dollar loses its status. And I think it’s very important to keep that in mind. There’s no other reserve currency. There’s no other place to move trillions and trillions of dollars away from the dollar. And it is what it is.”

The PIMCO CEO further says that “American Exceptionalism” also contributes to the popularity of the dollar and US Treasuries among global investors. American Exceptionalism refers to the idea that the US is superior to other nations in terms of values, political system and historical development.

“The fact that the financial systems are very liquid and very well run. And that if you, for example, a Japanese investor, where there’s about $1 trillion of US debt held by Japanese institutions, it’s a good place to be. Even a hedge against the yen. And I think that’s really an important fact to remember in terms of the flow of funds and who needs to put money where.”

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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US Will Remain a Safe Haven As Dollar Touts Most Liquid Treasury Market in the World by an ‘Enormous Factor,’ Says Bond Behemoth PIMCO

The retail trading giant Robinhood is taking over a crypto firm touted by Shark Tank’s Mr. Wonderful, Kevin O’Leary.

According to press releases from both firms, Robinhood is acquiring WonderFi, a Canadian crypto leader.

The deal is expected to be closed by halfway through this year. WonderFi plans to continue operations on its products after the arrangement closes.

Says WonderFi President and CEO Dean Skurka of the acquisition,

“WonderFi and Robinhood are united in our visions of making crypto accessible and bringing more people into the crypto space. We’re delighted to be joining the Robinhood team and to super-charge our product offerings for customers.”

According to the Robinhood announcement, the “all-cash purchase price” comes out to about C$250 million, or about $179 million.

Said Johann Kerbrat, SVP and GM of Robinhood Crypto, of the deal,

“WonderFi has built a formidable family of brands serving beginner and advanced crypto users alike, making them an ideal partner to accelerate Robinhood’s mission in Canada.

We look forward to partnering with the WonderFi team to deliver innovative, user-centric crypto products to Canadian customers.”

Earlier this year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropped its investigations into Robinhood for allegedly violating federal securities laws without pursuing further enforcement actions.

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Robinhood Acquires Kevin O’Leary-Backed Crypto Firm WonderFi for $179,000,000

Fundstrat’s Tom Lee says that the economists predicting an imminent recession are getting it all wrong.

In an interview on the Global Money Talk YouTube channel, Lee says that the market is likely heading higher despite many economists warning of an economic slowdown.

“People can’t say they know anything with certainty. But in 2022, we had a series of rolling recessions that have continued, so for three years now. In 2022 the S&P was down 27%, and earnings didn’t recover until the second half of 2023. Investors at that time claimed the market was going to have more downside, because they thought the rolling recessions and the Fed tightening was going to lead to a bigger economic decline. We had argued strongly against that. We said that credit, the debt levels of consumers, was too low to [for] a larger recession.

Today, the same conditions are true. Businesses and consumers aren’t highly levered. So there is risk of job loss coming, and that’s why we could have a recession, but for someone to be so confident that we’re going to have a recession, I think they’re dead wrong. And by the way, that’s what you’re hearing. I think a lot of economists are declaring a recession. In my 30 years, I’ve never seen an economist get the recession right. So the fact that many are claiming there’s a recession probably tells me the odds are very low of a recession.”

He also says that many economists often fail to predict accurately when recessions are actually happening.

“We usually go into recession and economists deny it and we are already in a recession. That’s what happened in 2008.”

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Investor Tom Lee Says Economists Calling for Imminent Recession Are ‘Dead Wrong’ – Here’s Why

Analysts at the financial giant Goldman Sachs reportedly think the onshore Chinese yuan (CNY) will rise against the dollar over the next 12 months.

One US dollar is currently worth 7.2 CNY (USD/CNY), but Goldman forecasts that number will fall to 7.0 yuan per dollar over the next year, Bloomberg reports.

A falling USD/CNY chart indicates that the yuan is appreciating against the dollar.

Explain the investment bank’s analysts,

“The undervalued levels of the currency, both on a real trade-weighted basis but especially versus the dollar, all point to the possibility for a stronger onshore yuan as a potential offset to tariff reductions.”

The analysts had previously predicted the yuan would be at the 7.35 level over 12 months.

The CNY is up 1.24% against the USD in the past month and 0.31% in the past five days.

Analysts at BNP Paribas Asset Management echo Goldman and also predict the CNY will surge in value against the USD, according to Bloomberg.

Rick Cheung, a fixed income portfolio manager at BNP, tells the news outlet that the yuan will have additional upside if the dollar continues to depreciate.

“If China’s growth in the end surprises the market to reach let’s say more than 5% and even 5.5%, it’ll also provide a very good uptake potential.”

China utilizes an onshore yuan (CNY) for domestic commerce and an offshore yuan (CNH) outside the mainland.

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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US Dollar To Fall Significantly Against Chinese Yuan Amid Trade Negotiations, According to Goldman Sachs: Report

Shares of Coinbase (COIN) are up big following news that the company will be joining the S&P 500 index later this month.

In an announcement, Coinbase’s chief financial officer Alesia Haas says that COIN being added to the index is a signal of how far the crypto industry as come.

“It’s been a monumental few months for crypto, with the election of a pro-crypto federal government, BTC and USDC reaching new all time highs, and now the inclusion of COIN as the first and only crypto company in the S&P 500, a well-respected benchmark for the US economy. We are honored to be included and grateful for this recognition.

This is a major milestone, not just for Coinbase, but also for the entire crypto industry. Joining this prestigious index reflects how far Coinbase and the industry have come and is a signal of where the world is heading.”

Owen Lau, an analyst at wealth management giant Oppenheimer, told Reuters that the firm’s price target for COIN had been raised to $293.

Says Lau,

“It is a watershed moment for Coinbase and the industry. It sets an example for other crypto companies to go public and earn a seat in the S&P 500…

We believe S&P 500 inclusion will benefit Coinbase for a while as institutional investors take time to prepare to get into the stock.”

Meanwhile, analysts at Bernstein have reportedly raised their COIN price target to $310.

At time of writing, COIN is trading at $253, up 23% from yesterday’s low, and has almost recovered its year-to-date losses.

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Coinbase Stock (COIN) Explodes 20% As US Crypto Giant Gets Ready to Join S&P 500

A fake CAPTCHA prompt is reportedly responsible for tricking millions of college students and instructors into installing malware on their devices.

The ClickFix scam targeted the popular student engagement platform website iClicker, which allows instructors to take attendance, ask live questions or surveys and track student engagement, reports the tech news site Bleeping Computer.

A ClickFix is a social engineering scam that appears as an authentic message to manipulate users into executing malicious scripts.

The platform iClicker is used by 5,000 instructors and 7 million students at multiple colleges, including the University of Michigan, the University of Florida and several of California’s universities.

According to the University of Michigan’s Safe Computing team, the iClicker scam displayed a fake CAPTCHA that instructed users to press “I’m not a robot” to verify themselves. If the fake CAPTCHA was pressed and the subsequent instructions were followed, the device became infected with the malware.

In response to the incident, iClicker says,

“We recently resolved an incident affecting the iClicker landing page (iClicker.com). Importantly, no iClicker data, apps, or operations were impacted and the identified vulnerability on the iClicker landing page has been resolved.

What happened: an unrelated third party placed a false CAPTCHA on our iClicker landing page before users logged into iClicker on our website. This third party was hoping to get users to click on the false CAPTCHA similar to what we unfortunately experience quite often in phishing emails these days.

Out of an abundance of caution, we recommend that any faculty or student who encountered and clicked on the false CAPTCHA from April 12th to April 16th on our website run security software to ensure their devices remain protected.”

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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Fake CAPTCHA Scam Targets Millions of University Students With Unknown Malware: Report

An OP_RETURN debate flared up in the Bitcoin industry in recent weeks and has by now invaded most conversation spaces within the industry. The topic is rich and complex, and many people have strong opinions on the matter.



OP_RETURN is an opcode in Bitcoin’s scripting language used to store meta data or arbitrary data that is not relevant for bitcoin transaction validation, as such can be pruned by node runners without much issue, enabling more efficient management of spam while also giving developers a controlled environment to anchor data on chain.

Taking a harm reduction approach to the problem of spam, the OP_RETURN controversy was recently triggered by a pull request submitted by Peter Todd to the Bitcoin Core repository. Proponents of the update seek to uncap the amount of arbitrary data that can be placed in the OP_RETURN by removing the mempool policy rule that restricts it to 80 bytes. By consequence, this moves the limit up to the consensus block size cap of 1MB of non-SegWit data. They argue that this limit is no longer effective at stopping spam and, on the contrary, is leading to more harmful behaviors such as stuffing data in UTXOs, which harm node runners.

Furthermore, the proposal removed the datacarrier flag, a configuration option that allowed node runners to choose which transactions to filter from their local mempool based on how much arbitrary data the OP_RETURN carried.

The opposition, led by Luke Dashjr, not only wants to keep the OP_RETURN limit in place and retain the datacarrier size but proposes further mempool policy restrictions on arbitrary data and “non-monetary” transactions on Bitcoin.

Both camps generally agree that arbitrary data on Bitcoin is a bad thing for the network. They also agree that filters cannot possibly filter all kinds of spam. What they disagree on is how effective these kinds of filters are in mitigating spam. They also disagree on the consequences of imposing or removing these filters from the network, their impact on the costs of running a node, and their impact on mining centralization.

Author’s note: Of course, not all proponents of the OP_RETURN changes agree with all of the arguments in favor of the pull request, and not all opponents agree with all of the arguments against it. This is just a general (and probably incomplete) overview of the various arguments out there.

In Support Of Removing the OP_RETURN Size Limit

Spearheaded by Peter Todd, though supported by many Bitcoin Core contributors, the removal of the OP_RETURN limit represents a harm reduction approach to the problem of spam and arbitrary data on Bitcoin.

Todd argues that the current OP_RETURN limit, initially placed over a decade ago to give spammers a safe and controlled space for arbitrary data, no longer serves its purpose as companies and enthusiasts have developed direct-to-miner private mempools, such as MARA’s Slipstream, that bypass mempool policy.

The OP_RETURN limit was put in place after Satoshi Nakamoto left, to protect the network from similar spam but during a very different era, when blocks were rarely full, much less boasting a high-fee environment. There were also few to no tools for pruning, and the software was very inefficient. Many optimizations have been implemented over the last decade, and their cumulative effects influence this debate.

The OP_RETURN limit was thus more effective when it was first created and more difficult to bypass. Today, NFT and arbitrary data enthusiasts with ambitious projects, pressured out of the OP_RETURN space by the current mempool limit, have resorted to stuffing arbitrary data into the UTXO set instead. Unlike OP_RETURN or SegWit spaces, which can be reasonably pruned off nodes, the UTXO set is generally held in RAM, the most expensive form of memory. The UTXO set needs to be processed by nodes, to verify the supply of coins and be able to validate the integrity of new transactions, a fundamental piece of running a node, without which home nodes lose much of their value proposition. UTXO data stuffing as a result imposes significant costs on node runners by increasing initial block download, overall sync time, and hardware requirements that ultimately harm the decentralization of the Bitcoin network.

Finally, supporters argue that miners are “rational economic actors,” an economics term meaning that to stay alive in a very competitive market, miners need to optimize for profits wherever possible. Thus, if mining consensus-valid non-standard transactions gives them an edge, they will take it.

Back in 2023, Luke Dashjr proposed a change that sought to apply datacarrier mempool policy to SegWit and Taproot arbitrary data, such as Inscriptions, further restricting the options for spammers. Peter Todd opposed the PR, explaining that “The transactions targeted by this pull request are a very significant source of fee revenue for miners. It is very unlikely that miners will give up that source of revenue. Censoring those transactions would simply encourage the development of private mempools – harmful to small miners – while making fee estimation less reliable.”

In Support of Removing the datacarrier Flag

Todd’s pull request did one more thing aside from removing the OP_RETURN limit: it also removed the datacarrier flag from the configuration options of node operators. Users of Bitcoin Core node software can control what transactions they relay through their node based on a configuration option called the datacarrier flag, which looks specifically at the amount of data inside the OP_RETURN, the default today being 80 bytes of arbitrary data.

Supporters argue that the flag is obsolete now and that the prevalence of tools like the mining pool MARA’s Slipstream program or Todd’s Libre Relay streamline the inclusion of consensus-valid transactions, even if they are “non-standard” by mempool policy.

Consensus-valid non-standard transactions are in conflict with mempool policy rules like the OP_RETURN limit but do not break any consensus rules and thus can be included in Bitcoin by a miner directly if the miner can simply be made aware of the transaction. Such systems already obsolete controversial filters, supporters argue, making the datacarrier flag irrelevant, particularly if the default OP_RETURN size limit is lifted.

Supporters argue that the flag only gives users the illusion of control and is a “footgun” – a tool that is dangerously easy to misuse – and in this case has no utility to the user.

Finally, removing the datacarrier flag alongside the OP_RETURN limit can remove a recurring point of conflict and controversy for Bitcoin Core, as filter-supporting Bitcoin maximalists are not the only ones with an opinion on the matter or capable of rallying the internet to oppose a pull request.

In 2023, a pull request was made to Bitcoin Core that sought to change the default mempool policy around routing bare multisig transactions. This is an old standard that is used today by NFT protocols such as Stamps, among others, to ensure their arbitrary data easily makes it to the chain and, better yet, cannot be easily pruned. The pull request quickly devolved into an internet flame war between “spammers” and supporters of the change, pausing its integration into Bitcoin Core in a similar way as Todd’s pull request did last week.

By removing the datacarrier flag, which supporters argue is irrelevant anyway, drama of this sort can be put to bed, and Bitcoin Core contributors can move on to other, more pressing issues, they argue.

In Opposition to Removing the OP_RETURN Size Limit

The opposition – colloquially known as the Filterors – and led by long-time Bitcoin Core contributor Luke Dashjr, argue that removing the OP_RETURN size limit is a surrender to the spammers, that perfect filters are not what is needed, rather that the mere act of filtering sends a message to companies or projects looking to build arbitrary data-reliant systems on top of Bitcoin. The message is: go build that somewhere else or find a better way to do it.

They argue that Bitcoin is a network for monetary transactions only, that anything outside of that definition is spam. Monetary transactions are, in their view, Bitcoin transactions that seek only to transfer bitcoin-denominated value between two users, with goods and services transferred off-chain in return.

According to Chris Guida, a Lightning developer and Bitcoin Knots supporter, there are roughly two formal definitions for monetary transactions on Bitcoin.

“I think there are effectively two different definitions: one has to do with whether the transaction is actually using Bitcoin as a payment rail, and not a database for scammy ‘products’,” referring to NFTs, adding “and the other definition is, effectively, ‘does it fit within 40/80 bytes’ in OP_RETURN. If neither of these standards apply, they consider it spam.”

NFT trades or arbitrary data used to anchor Layer 2 protocols on top of Bitcoin do not count as monetary transactions in this sense and thus are considered spam, even if these Layer 2s might be conducting financial transactions of various kinds.

Furthermore, Filterors argue that Bitcoin Core should be actively looking for ways to discourage this kind of behavior. They argue that spammers moving to UTXO stuffing is evidence that the filters work, in that the pressure effectively leads them to find other ways to spam the network. In other words, if the filters did not work, then spammers would not be looking for more expensive terrain on which to build their spam systems, such as the UTXO set.

Thus, not only should the OP_RETURN limit be kept, but it should probably be shrunk further, perhaps back to the historical 40 bytes. Furthermore, the datacarrier flag should be expanded to govern Segregated Witness and Taproot transactions, which are uncapped for arbitrary data up to the block size limit and are being exploited by spammers, the most prominent of which are Inscriptions.

Finally, the Filterors affirm that systems like Todd’s Libre Relay or MARA’s Slipstream can be fought in various ways, and they do not intend to simply fold if Bitcoin Core continues with its current development path. The result has been growing interest in Bitcoin Knots, the alternative implementation of Bitcoin maintained by Luke Dashjr, among others, to empower Bitcoin users to run their own filters as they see fit and fight the spam. As of the time of writing and according to Luke’s network analysis, over 5% of the Bitcoin nodes are running Bitcoin Knots.

In Opposition to Removing the datacarrier Flag

Filterors and Bitcoin Knots enthusiasts also defend the datacarrier flag on principle. They argue that with sufficient numbers, coordinated node runners have a path to successfully filter a certain set of spam, going as far as to argue for the expansion of what the datacarrier flag governs, as seen in that pull request from 2023 by Luke Dashjr. In it, SegWit and Taproot arbitrary data storage capabilities would also be limited by the node runner-controlled datacarrier flag; they currently are not.

This point, in particular, has resonated with many people, as seen by the growing numbers of Bitcoiners running the Bitcoin Knots implementation of Bitcoin, which includes mempool policy changes of this sort while keeping all other Bitcoin Core code intact.

Some Bitcoin Knots supporters, like Chris Guida, are starting to talk about user-controlled relay policies or “modular filters” which can be created from refactoring mempool policy code and updated to follow certain actively managed templates – a kind of automated spam filter algorithm that users could choose from a provider.

On X he argued “It is often claimed that filtering spam is a “cat-and-mouse game” where somehow the filterers are at a disadvantage.

I think that’s absurd. We can create filters as fast as new fungible token metaprotocols can create their new tx formats, before they even hit mainnet.”

While even Filterors recognize that there are limits to spam control, they maintain that a hostile environment to spam-related software systems and business models is a good thing and one that needs to be maintained to deter bad behavior, even if the more price-insensitive versions will nevertheless go direct to miners and pay to make it into a block.

OP_RETURN Limits: Bitcoin’s Battle Over Arbitrary Data

Popular crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen thinks the top two digital assets could plunge in value over the next few months.

In a new YouTube video, Cowen tells his 896,000 subscribers that Bitcoin (BTC) could swing below the bull market support band in August, potentially dropping to the $64,000 range.

The bull market support band is formed by the 20-week simple moving average (SMA) and the 21-week exponential moving average (EMA).

Cowen notes that BTC dropped below the band in August and September of 2023 and July, as well as in August and September of 2024.

The analyst predicts that if Bitcoin drops to that level, Ethereum (ETH) could fall close to $1,000.

“I would contend that Ethereum might not go lower than $1,100, because that is where the lower logarithmic regression trendline is, and the final low before a really big rally happened last cycle was around $116-$120 – 10x that, $1,100 to $1,200.”

Cowen says the logarithmic regression band is designed to track the fair value of an asset using “non-bubble data.” The analyst also sees the possibility of the crypto market igniting a real rally in Q4 of this year.

ETH is trading at $2,480 at time of writing. The second-ranked crypto asset by market cap is down more than 1% in the past 24 hours.

BTC is trading at $102,536 at time of writing and is down more than 1.5% in the past day.

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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Qué esperar del Consensus 2025

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