Belarus and Russia are coordinating plans for digital currency integration as Minsk targets a full digital ruble rollout by late 2026. Belarus is getting ready to launch its central bank digital currency into full circulation by the second half of…

Belarus to fully launch CBDC in late 2026, central bank head says

Slovenia has proposed a 25% tax on crypto profits and derivatives, signaling a 
seismic shift toward uniform digital asset regulation. Slovenia Targets Crypto 
Profits With Brutal 25% Tax Slovenia’s Ministry of Finance released a draft 
bill Thursday in Ljubljana proposing a 25% tax on profits from crypto asset 
disposals, opening the measure to public discussion […]

Slovenia Proposes 25% Crypto Tax That Could Redefine EU Markets

Crypto entrepreneur Anthony Pompliano says that US President Donald Trump 
shouldn&#8217;t follow through on his recent threat to fire the head of the US 
Federal Reserve, saying it would set a dangerous precedent &#8212; especially 
considering the true motive behind it.
&#8220;I do not believe that the President of the United States should come in and 
unilaterally fire the Fed President,&#8221; Pompliano said in a video posted on X on 
April 18.
## Firing over disagreement is a slippery slope, says Pompliano
Pompliano said, &#8220;Where you have a disagreement and then the firing, I think 
that&#8217;s not really the area that we want to go into.&#8221;
&gt; &#8220;The idea of firing the Fed chairman is a very bad precedent to set this 
&gt; way.&#8221;
It comes after Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to accuse 
Fed chair Jerome Powell of being too slow to cut interest rates. &#8220;Powell&#8217;s 
termination cannot come fast enough!&#8221; Trump said on April 17.
_Anthony Pompliano made the remarks on his online show &#8220;From The Desk of 
Anthony Pompliano.&#8221; Source: __Anthony Pompliano_
Pompliano explained that while the Fed is meant to operate independently, he 
agrees with critics who argue it&#8217;s not truly independent. &#8220;The Fed, I think, 
is highly politicized, even though they pretend not to be,&#8221; he said.
Pompliano acknowledged his own criticism of the Fed, saying he&#8217;s not exactly a 
fan, but emphasized that even if the Fed has made mistakes, responding in kind 
isn&#8217;t the right approach.
&#8220;I still think that just because somebody else is doing something wrong 
doesn&#8217;t mean that you should do something wrong,&#8221; Pompliano said.
US Senator Elizabeth Warren recently warned that if Trump eventually moves to 
fire Powell, it could undermine investor confidence in the integrity of US 
capital markets and trigger a financial crash.
&#8220;A big part of our economy strong, and a big part of the world economy strong, 
is the idea that the big pieces move independently of politics,&#8221; Warren said 
during an appearance on CNBC.
_**Related:**__**Fed &#8216;s Powell reasserts support for stablecoin legislation**_
Lower interest rates often lead to increased liquidity, which has historically 
led to higher prices of perceived riskier assets like Bitcoin and other 
cryptocurrencies.
It comes not long after Powell said establishing a stablecoins legal framework 
was a &#8220;good idea.&#8221;
In an April 16 panel at the Economic Club of Chicago, Powell said, &#8220;The 
climate is changing, and you&#8217;re moving into more mainstreaming of that whole 
sector, so Congress is again looking [&#8230;] at a legal framework for 
stablecoins.&#8221;
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loved ones**_

Trump firing Powell would be a ‘very bad precedent to set’ — Pompliano

XRP has been trading under pressure in recent weeks, losing much of the 
momentum it built during its late 2024 to early 2025 rally. After reaching 
highs above $3.40, the asset has experienced an 18.3% decline over the past 
month, reflecting broader market softness. At the time of writing, XRP trades 
significantly below its peak at a price of $2.06, with subdued investor 
activity and falling market participation across both spot and derivatives 
markets. Related Reading: XRP Breakout Still Likely This April, Analyst Says 
$12+ In Play XRP On-Chain Activity Slows, But Price Remains Relatively Stable 
Amid XRP&#8217;s decline, a CryptoQuant analyst known as EgyHash has recently shared 
his analysis on the altcoin in a post titled, &#8220;XRP’s Market Paradox: With 
Ledger Activity Dipping 80%, Is a Rebound on the Horizon?&#8221; According to 
EgyHash, XRP’s on-chain and futures market data presents a mixed 
picture—declining activity but resilience in price. EgyHash noted that XRP 
Ledger activity has fallen sharply since December, with the percentage of 
active addresses down by 80%. Similar declines have been observed in the 
futures market, where open interest has dropped roughly 70% from its highs, 
and funding rates have occasionally turned negative. He added that the 
Estimated Leverage Ratio, which gauges average user leverage by comparing open 
interest to coin reserves, has also dropped significantly. Despite these 
indicators pointing to weakening momentum, the altcoin&#8217;s price has only 
declined about 35% from its peak. This is a milder correction compared to 
other assets such as Ethereum, which has fallen roughly 60% over the same 
period. Additionally, the altcoin&#8217;s Exchange Reserve has continued to decline, 
reaching levels last observed in July 2023. Lower reserves typically suggest 
that fewer tokens are available for immediate sale, a factor that can help 
support prices during market downturns. According to EgyHash, this trend, 
along with relatively stable pricing, could indicate growing long-term 
confidence in the asset. Institutional Developments Could Strengthen Market 
Sentiment While on-chain metrics remain a focus, institutional developments 
may also play a role in shaping XRP’s future trajectory. Hong Kong-based 
investment firm HashKey Capital recently announced the launch of the HashKey 
XRP Tracker Fund—the first XRP-focused investment vehicle in Asia. Backed by 
Ripple as the anchor investor, the fund is expected to transition into an 
exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the future. The initiative is designed to 
attract more institutional capital into the XRP ecosystem. HashKey Capital is 
launching Asia’s first XRP Tracker Fund—with @Ripple as an early investor. 
This marks a major step in expanding institutional access to XRP, the third- 
largest token by market cap. 🧵👇 — HashKey Capital (@HashKey_Capital) April 18, 
2025 HashKey Capital has also indicated that this collaboration with Ripple 
could lead to further projects, including tokenized investment products and 
decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions. Related Reading: XRP To $50? Technical 
Analyst Lays Out The Roadmap Vivien Wong, a partner at HashKey, emphasized the 
strategic value of integrating Ripple’s network with regulated investment 
infrastructure across Asia. Although the altcoin faces near-term pressure, 
long-term developments, including decreasing exchange reserves and rising 
institutional interest, may support its recovery as the broader market 
stabilizes. Featured image created with DALL-E, Chart from TradingView

Despite an 18% Drop, XRP’s Exchange Supply Hits Lows—Bullish Setup Ahead?

Chinese purchases of U.S. Treasuries rose in February, when the Trump 
Administration enacted a 10% tariff on any imports coming from the Asian 
country. According to the Treasury International Capital (TIC) reporting 
system, China increased its U.S. debt holdings to $784.3 billion, up from 
$760.8 billion. Japan, another country heavily affected by these tariff 
measures, […]

China Increased US Treasury Investments as Trade War Escalated

Macroeconomist Lyn Alden expects Bitcoin to finish 2025 higher than its 
current price of around $85,000, though she says it would have been much 
higher if not for US President Donald Trump&#8217;s tariff announcement in February.
&#8220;Before all this tariff kerfuffle, I would have had a higher price target,&#8221; 
Alden told Natalie Brunell on the April 17 episode of Coin Stories. &#8220;My guess 
is that we end up higher at the end of the year than we are now, at least,&#8221; 
she added.
## Bitcoin&#8217;s 24/7 trading bolsters volatility when TradFi &#8220;freaking out&#8221;
However, she said that a &#8220;massive liquidity unlock&#8221; could be the catalyst 
needed for Bitcoin (BTC) to reach more optimistic targets, similar to those 
before the tariffs were introduced.
For example, if the US bond market &#8220;broke&#8221; and the US Federal Reserve had to 
step in with measures like yield curve control or quantitative easing (QE), 
Alden explained.
While Alden said that there is a &#8220;good chance&#8221; Bitcoin reclaims the $100,000 
price level before the end of the year, she emphasized that market &#8220;down days&#8221; 
will remain a challenge for the asset, especially since Bitcoin trades 24/7, 
unlike traditional stock markets with trading hours.
&#8220;Because it trades 24/7, if people are worried about how things are going to 
open on Monday, some pools of capital can sell their Bitcoin on a Sunday and 
prepare,&#8221; she said.
Alden explained that crypto&#8217;s round-the-clock trading contributes to its 
&#8220;volatile pricing,&#8221; particularly when traditional financial markets are 
&#8220;freaking out.&#8221;
At the time of publication, Bitcoin is trading at $84,868, according to 
CoinMarketCap data.
However, Alden said Bitcoin can &#8220;disconnect&#8221; from the Nasdaq 100. &#8220;Anything 
that hurts Nasdaq margins but doesn&#8217;t affect global liquidity,&#8221; she said. 
Alden said that a repeat of the five years leading up to the 2008 Global 
Financial Crisis, could potentially be favorable for Bitcoin.
_**Related:**__**Bitcoin whales absorb 300% of newly mined BTC supply &#8212; Is 
$100K next?**_
She pointed to the 2003-2007 period, where there was a weaker US dollar cycle, 
and while there wasn&#8217;t a mass exodus of capital, it did flow into &#8220;emerging 
markets,&#8221; commodities, gold, and other assets &#8212; with US stocks not &#8220;really 
being the place to be.&#8221;
&gt; &#8220;If we encounter a five-year period like that again, that could be a period 
&gt; where Bitcoin does pretty well, even as the US stock market doesn&#8217;t do 
&gt; particularly well.&#8221;
Alden wrote in a September research report that Bitcoin moves in the direction 
of global M2 83% of the time in a given 12-month period.
The research termed &#8220;Bitcoin a Global Liquidity Barometer&#8221; compared Bitcoin to 
other major asset classes such as SPX, gold and VT, and BTC topped the 
correlation index concerning global liquidity.
_**Magazine:**__**Uni students crypto &#8216;grooming&#8217; scandal, 67K scammed by fake 
women: Asia Express**_