The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s clarification about the nonsecurity status of covered stablecoins allows businesses utilizing them to operate without the stringent regulations applied to securities. This is an opinion editorial written by Nathaniel Luz, the co-founder &amp; CEO of Flincap, a platform for OTC crypto exchanges in Africa. SEC Clarification: Big Win for […]

SEC’s Stablecoin Clarity Signals a New Era for Global Payments

Crypto investment products saw $795 million in outflows last week, pushing 
total withdrawals since February to $7.2 billion. Bitcoin led the exodus, but 
altcoins like XRP and Ondo managed modest gains. Digital Asset Outflows Hit 
$7.2 Billion Since February But XRP Defies the Trend Digital asset investment 
products recorded another tough week, with $795 million […]

Coinshares: Crypto Funds Bleed $795 Million As Tariff Fears Deepen Market Gloom

Escalating trade wars are rattling cryptocurrency markets &#8212; but they are also 
creating new use cases for blockchain networks, Truebit executives told 
Cointelegraph.
On April 2, President Donald Trump announced plans to charge sweeping tariffs 
on US imports, prompting other nations to threaten retaliatory measures. Trump 
later paused the tariff rollout for certain countries &#8212; but the possibility 
of a global trade war still looms, especially after Trump reiterated his 
commitment to taxing Chinese goods.
If high tariffs materialize, blockchain technology can play an important role 
in ensuring governments apply them fairly, according to the executives. 
Blockchain can &#8220;really help you prove provenance [&#8230;] proving the chain of 
custody,&#8221; Federico Kattan, Truebit&#8217;s chief technology officer, told 
Cointelegraph.
_Trump &#8216;s proposed tariffs would transform global trade. Source: __Statista_
For example, a company might &#8220;assemble or do some packaging in a low-tariff 
country and then import into the US at 10% instead of 58%&#8230; [but] blockchain 
can help establish where the product actually came from,&#8221; Kattan said.
Blockchain networks can enhance supply chain transparency by recording every 
transaction on an immutable public ledger, greatly limiting the scope for 
fraud across trillions of dollars worth of imported goods.
Trump&#8217;s proposed tariffs would impact $2.4 trillion worth of imports, 
according to a report by the Tax Foundation. Retaliatory measures by other 
countries could add to that figure.
Truebit is a blockchain network specializing in helping users add trustless 
verification to a wide variety of applications.
It is already in talks with software vendors servicing the US government and 
has been working on a European Union-funded project exploring Web3&#8217;s potential 
role in global supply chains, the executives said.
&#8220;We&#8217;re not yet talking directly to governments, but to the software vendors 
trying to interface with them &#8212; because that&#8217;s where we want to be,&#8221; Jason 
Teutsch, Truebit&#8217;s CEO, said.
_Truebit &#8216;s native token has struggled since launching in 2021. Source: 
__CoinGecko_
 _**Related: **__**Trade tensions to speed institutional crypto adoption &#8212; 
Execs**_
Truebit was launched in 2017 and launched its TRU token in 2021. The token has 
a fully diluted market capitalization of $20 million, according to CoinGecko.
## Trade war risks
However, several other crypto executives cautioned that tariffs pose serious 
risks to blockchain networks&#8217; integrity and accessibility to users.
Worsening trade wars threaten to disrupt networks&#8217; physical infrastructure, 
fragment regulatory regimes, and censor users, they said.
&#8220;Aggressive tariffs and retaliatory trade policies could create obstacles for 
node operators, validators, and other core participants in blockchain 
networks,&#8221; Nicholas Roberts-Huntley, CEO of Concrete &amp; Glow Finance, told 
Cointelegraph.
_**Magazine: **__**Financial nihilism in crypto is over &#8212; It&#8217;s time to dream 
big again**_

Trade wars could spur governments to embrace Web3 — Truebit

South Korea is expanding a ban on digital asset firms&#8217; applications servicing 
its citizens. On April 11, the country&#8217;s Financial Services Commission (FSC) 
announced that 14 crypto exchanges were blocked on the Apple store. Among the 
affected exchanges are KuCoin and MEXC.
The report, which was made public on April 14, says the banned exchanges were 
allegedly operating as unregistered overseas virtual asset operators. The 
report also states that the Financial Information Analysis Institution (FIU) 
will continue to promote the blocking of the apps and internet sites of such 
operators to prevent money laundering and user damage.
The request to block applications on the Apple Store comes after Google Play 
blocked access to several unregistered exchanges on March 26. KuCoin and MEXC 
were also targeted during the blocking of the Google Play apps. The FSC 
published a list of 22 unregistered platforms operating in the country, with 
17 of them already blocked on Google&#8217;s marketplace.
_The 17 crypto exchanges blocked on Google Play. Source: FSC_
According to the FSC report, users will not be able to download the apps on 
the Apple Store, while existing users will not be able to update the apps. The 
FSC notes that &#8220;unreported business activities are criminal punishment 
matters&#8221; with penalties of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to 50 
million won ($35,200).
## FIU considers sanctions against unregistered VASPs
On March 21, South Korean publication Hankyung reported that the FIU and the 
FSC were considering sanctions against crypto exchanges operating in the 
country without registration with local regulators. The sanctions included 
blocking access to the companies&#8217; apps.
In South Korea, operators of crypto sales, brokerage, management, and storage 
must report to the FIU. Failure to comply with registration and reports is 
subject to penalties and sanctions.
_**Related:**__**South Korea reports first crypto &#8216;pump and dump&#8217; case under 
new law**_
The latest sanctions come as crypto is reaching a &#8220;saturation point&#8221; in South 
Korea. As of March 31, crypto exchange users in the country passed 16 million 
&#8212; equivalent to over 30% of the population. Industry officials predict that 
the number could surpass 20 million by the end of 2025.
Over 20% of South Korean public officials hold cryptocurrencies, with the 
total amount reaching $9.8 million on March 27. The assets varied and included 
Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), XRP (XRP), and Dogecoin (DOGE).
_**Magazine:**__**Asia Express: Low users, sex predators kill Korean 
metaverses, 3AC sues Terra**_

South Korea blocks 14 crypto exchanges on Apple Store — Report

Solana is currently struggling to reclaim a key point of control within its 
trading range, leading to a weak rejection and signs of bearish compression. 
As the price remains below this critical volume zone, it opens up the 
possibility of…

Solana liquidity grab below $90 coming first or a reclaim of point of control resistance?

An analyst has explained how Cardano is retesting the support line of a 
technical analysis (TA) pattern, losing which could spell a bearish outcome 
for the coin. Cardano Is Currently Trading Inside A Descending Channel In a 
new post on X, analyst Ali Martinez has talked about a pattern forming in the 
3-day price of Cardano. The pattern in question is the Descending Channel from 
TA, which occurs when an asset observes consolidation toward a net downside 
between two parallel trendlines. The top line tracks successive lower highs in 
the price and the bottom one lower lows. When the cryptocurrency is inside the 
channel, it&#8217;s probable to encounter resistance at the former and support at 
the latter. Related Reading: Bitcoin Sharks &amp; Whales Show Highest Growth Since 
Feb: Confidence Returning? In the scenario that either of these levels don&#8217;t 
hold up during a retest, the asset can witness a breakout in that direction. 
This means that a surge above the channel can be a bullish sign, while a fall 
under it a bearish one. Now, here is the chart shared by the analyst that 
shows the Descending Channel that the 3-day price of Cardano has been trading 
inside for the last few months: As is visible in the above graph, Cardano 
found a rebound near the bottom of the channel earlier in the month, although 
it didn&#8217;t actually go low enough to make a proper retest of it. Since the 
recovery, the 3-day price of the cryptocurrency has returned to the midway 
line of the channel, situated at around $0.63. During the last few months, the 
coin has interacted several times with this line, with the latest instance 
being last month. Back then, the asset initially found support at the level, 
but before long, the downtrend resumed and it fell below. With ADA once again 
retesting this line, it will be interesting to see what trend follows this 
time. Related Reading: Bitcoin Dominance: BTC’s MVRV Outpaces ETH’s For Record 
812 Days If Cardano ends up losing the line and a decline takes place, then 
the asset&#8217;s next destination could be the $0.54 mark, according to Martinez. 
Such a drop would mean a decrease of almost 17% from the current spot price. 
Like the Descending Channel, there is also a pattern in TA known as the 
Ascending Channel. This one naturally occurs when the consolidation is toward 
the upside instead. As the analyst has pointed out in another X post, XRP has 
been trading inside such a channel in the short term. &#8220;XRP is trading within 
an ascending triangle, with key resistance at $2.22,&#8221; notes Martinez. &#8220;A 
breakout could spark a move toward $2.40.&#8221; ADA Price At the time of writing, 
Cardano is trading around $0.65, up around 20% in the last week. Featured 
image from Dall-E, Shutterstock.com, charts from TradingView.com