Stablecoins are set to revolutionize global payments by enhancing speed and 
reducing costs.
The post Mohamed Afifi: Stablecoins are transforming payment systems, enhancing cross-border transactions, and driving innovation in finance | Empire appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Mohamed Afifi: Stablecoins are transforming payment systems, enhancing cross-border transactions, and driving innovation in finance | Empire

Crypto ETF flows diverged sharply as bitcoin products faced heavy redemptions, 
while ether, XRP, and solana managed to attract fresh capital. The split 
highlighted selective risk-taking as February’s early momentum cooled. Bitcoin 
Net Assets Slips Below $100 Billion While Ether and XRP Turn Green The second 
trading day of February delivered a clear shift in […]

XRP and Ether ETFs Lead Inflows as Bitcoin Sees $272 Million Exit

Ethereum has seen a sharp sell-off that sent the price straight into a major 
demand zone near $2,150, which is now acting as the market’s last line of 
defense. Whether buyers step in here or fail to hold the line could determine 
if this move becomes a temporary liquidity flush or the start of a deeper 
trend shift. ETH Loses Key Support As Short-Term Momentum Turns Bearish 
Michael Van De Poppe noted that Ethereum has slipped below a crucial support 
zone, signaling increased short-term pressure. On the lower timeframes, price 
action has turned clearly bearish. However, zooming out to the higher 
timeframes, the broader structure remains intact, with ETH still trading 
within a larger uptrend. Related Reading: Ethereum Price Recovery Runs Into A 
Wall, Decline Risk Returns He pointed out that Ethereum likely marked its 
cycle low back in April 2025, suggesting the current weakness may be 
corrective rather than the start of a sustained bearish phase. At this stage, 
ETH appears to be searching for a higher-timeframe support level that could 
act as a base for a renewed move to the upside. Van de Poppe highlighted the 
0.025–0.0265 BTC region as a key support zone on the ETH/BTC pair. 
Importantly, the recent correction has already retraced more than half of the 
move toward this level, increasing the likelihood that demand could step in 
around that range. On the upside, he added that a recovery above the 0.0325 
BTC level. While less likely in the near term, it would be a strong signal 
that bullish momentum has returned and a continuation of the broader uptrend. 
Despite ongoing volatility, Van de Poppe remains confident that Ethereum will 
significantly outperform Bitcoin over time. Thus, he will continue to 
accumulate ETH at these levels. Sharp Sell-Off Drives Ethereum Into Major 
Demand Near $2,150 In a more recent update, Dami-DeFi pointed out that 
Ethereum failed to hold the rising support line near the $2,800 level, which 
he had previously identified as critical. This breakdown was confirmed on the 
daily timeframe, triggering a sharp sell-off that pushed the price swiftly 
into the next major demand zone around $2,150. Related Reading: Analyst Says 
You’re Not Bullish Enough On Ethereum – What Does He Mean? If buyers manage to 
defend this level, the recent drop could be interpreted as a liquidity sweep 
followed by a market reset, rather than the start of a deeper downtrend. In 
that case, price action would likely shift into a choppy consolidation phase, 
with ETH rebuilding structure between $2,150 and $2,700. According to Dami- 
DeFi, a meaningful bullish shift only comes into play if Ethereum can reclaim 
$2,700 and then establish acceptance above $2,850. Until those levels are 
recovered and held, any upside attempts are likely to remain corrective, with 
the market still focused on whether demand can firmly step in at current 
levels. Featured image from Pxfuel, chart from Tradingview.com

Ethereum Flushes Into Major Demand: $2,150 Hold Could Change Everything

Pi Coin has remained on crypto investors’ radar due to its unconventional 
mining setup and gradual mainnet launch. Now that the project is hitting 
another important stage.

Pi Coin price prediction: Will PI break out or stay range-bound?

What to Know: CIRO has formalized interim custody terms for Canadian crypto 
platforms, mandating stricter capital requirements and defined custodial 
locations. The regulations aim to reduce counterparty risk and pave the way 
for greater institutional participation in the crypto market. LiquidChain 
introduces a Layer 3 infrastructure that unifies Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana 
liquidity into a single execution environment. The &#8216;Deploy-Once&#8217; architecture 
allows developers to build cross-chain applications without managing multiple 
codebases. The era of regulatory ambiguity in North American crypto markets is 
ending. Fast. The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) has 
officially formalized its interim terms and conditions for crypto asset 
trading platforms (CTPs), marking a hard pivot toward institutional-grade 
custody standards. It’s not just about restriction, it&#8217;s about maturation. The 
interim crypto custody framework strictly defines &#8216;acceptable securities 
locations,&#8217; forcing platforms to prove exactly where client assets sit. 
Implications for market participants are massive. The framework mandates 
rigorous capital requirements and limits where crypto assets can be held, 
effectively forcing CTPs to partner with custodians that meet distinct 
regulatory benchmarks. That matters. It directly targets the counterparty risk 
that decimated trust during the 2022 offshore exchange collapses (think FTX). 
By clarifying these rules, CIRO is laying the plumbing for traditional finance 
(TradFi) to enter the sector without looking over its shoulder. But there&#8217;s a 
catch. While regulators build safer silos for assets, the market faces a 
technical crisis: fragmentation. As compliant frameworks lock assets into 
specific ecosystems, moving liquidity between Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana 
gets harder. Capital becomes safe, sure, but stagnant. Policy won&#8217;t fix this; 
infrastructure will. That’s the gap LiquidChain ($LIQUID) targets, proposing a 
unified environment where chain borders essentially vanish. Layer 3 
Infrastructure Targeting Liquidity Fragmentation Right now, DeFi looks like a 
series of walled gardens. Bitcoin has the value, Ethereum has the contracts, 
and Solana has the speed. Moving capital between them usually means risky 
bridges or &#8216;wrapped&#8217; assets, mechanisms that have historically been the 
biggest vectors for hacks. LiquidChain enters as a Layer 3 (L3) protocol 
designed to fuse these ecosystems without that traditional friction. Think of 
LiquidChain as a universal translator for liquidity. Instead of forcing you to 
juggle three different wallets, gas tokens, and confirmation times, the 
protocol aggregates liquidity from the &#8216;Big 3&#8217; into one execution layer. It’s 
aiming to be single-step execution: a transaction starting with $BTC liquidity 
can interact with an $ETH-based DeFi protocol or a $SOL-based NFT marketplace. 
No distinct hops required. This approach cuts reliance on fragmented liquidity 
pools. By verifying settlement across chains through a unified Cross-Chain VM 
(Virtual Machine), LiquidChain attacks the capital inefficiency plaguing the 
market. As CIRO’s framework encourages institutions to custody assets safely, 
protocols like this provide the rails for that capital to actually flow. 
Compliance shouldn&#8217;t mean gridlock. BUY YOUR $LIQUID HERE Deploy-Once 
Architecture Simplifies Institutional Access Canada&#8217;s rules suggest the next 
wave of crypto adoption will be driven by developers building compliant, 
institutional-grade applications. But here&#8217;s the headache: a developer wanting 
broad reach currently has to code for EVM (Ethereum), Rust (Solana), and 
Bitcoin Script separately. That triples the workload and the surface area for 
bugs. LiquidChain aims to fix this with its &#8216;Deploy-Once&#8217; architecture. 
Developers write logic once that accesses assets across all supported chains 
simultaneously. For a new compliant exchange operating under CIRO’s 
guidelines, this could mean building a single interface sourcing deep 
liquidity from Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana without managing three backend 
nightmares. With the proposition on offer, it&#8217;s not surprising to see why 
$LIQUID made our list of the best crypto to buy. Plus, the protocol introduces 
a model for &#8216;Liquidity Staking&#8217; to incentivize the fuel needed for this 
interoperability. LiquidChain is essentially betting that the future is about 
how effectively different chains work together. As clarity, like the interim 
crypto custody framework in jurisdictions like Canada, lowers the barrier to 
entry, the demand for infrastructure that simplifies complexity is only going 
to grow. BUY YOUR $LIQUID FOR $0.0135 The content provided in this article is 
for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. 
Cryptocurrency investments carry significant risk, including the potential 
loss of principal. Always conduct your own research and consult with a 
qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions.

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