SPAR supermarket chain is rolling out BTC payments across Switzerland after a successful pilot in Zug and Kreuzlingen. According to a recent update from crypto services firm DFX Swiss, SPAR grocery stores will soon expand their acceptance of Bitcoin (BTC)…

SPAR grocer to launch Bitcoin payments across Switzerland after successful pilot in two locations

Bitcoin ETFs recorded a historic $3.06 billion in net inflows last week, their 
second-highest weekly haul since inception, while ether ETFs staged a comeback 
with $157.09 million in fresh capital. Bitcoin ETFs Ride Momentum With Massive 
Weekly Inflow As Ether ETFs Join the Party Crypto ETF inflows returned to 
previous highs last week, as investor […]

ETF Weekly Recap: Bitcoin ETFs Soar to Record-Setting Week With $3 Billion Inflow

The IOTA price sustained its robust rally on Monday as the Rebased upgrade 
date approached. It has jumped for ten consecutive days, marking its longest 
streak since March 3. IOTA (IOTA) jumped to a high of $0.2415, its highest 
level…

IOTA price poised for a 95% surge as Rebased countdown continues

Stablecoin giant Tether has amassed a total of over 7.7 tons of physical gold 
to back its tokenized asset, Tether Gold. Tether revealed this via an 
attestation report, the first the company has issued for its digital asset 
Tether Gold…

Tether holds more than 7.7 tons of gold backing its XAUT token

UniChartz recently pointed out on X that PEPE is respecting a rising trendline 
with remarkable consistency, highlighting strong underlying bullish strength. 
Multiple clean touches along the trendline show that buyers are firmly in 
control, stepping in at key moments to defend support levels. This pattern of 
repeated validation is a powerful technical signal, often seen in sustainable 
uptrends. The firm hold above the trendline suggests that market sentiment 
remains positive, with bulls maintaining momentum even during minor pullbacks. 
UniChartz emphasized that as long as PEPE continues to honor this rising 
support, the potential for further upside rises. A solid foundation like this 
often acts as a springboard for the next major rally. Key Support Holds 
Strong: Why This Trendline Matters According to UniChartz, PEPE&#8217;s price 
recently staged another strong rebound off its rising trendline, once again 
confirming it as a critical area of support. This bounce occurred just above a 
major horizontal support zone, reinforcing the idea that buyers are stepping 
in aggressively at key levels to defend the uptrend. Related Reading: PEPE 
Price To Bounce 796% To New All-Time Highs In 2025? Here’s What The Chart Says 
Adding to the bullish setup, UniChartz noted that the MACD indicator is 
beginning to turn positive, signaling growing bullish momentum. The 
strengthening MACD crossover typically precedes larger upward moves, hinting 
that PEPE could be gearing up for another leg-up. At the moment, PEPE is 
closing in on a crucial test of the 100 EMA resistance. A clean and decisive 
breakout above the 100 EMA could serve as a major catalyst to the next key 
resistance area overhead. If momentum continues to build, PEPE might soon find 
itself charging into higher territory. Where PEPE Could Rally Next PEPE’s 
current price action is setting the stage for a potential rally as it 
continues to respect key support levels, particularly its rising trendline. 
The immediate focus is on overcoming the 100 EMA, which has proven to be a 
major resistance in previous attempts. A successful breakout above this level 
could trigger a sharp upward move, pushing PEPE toward the $0.00001152 zone, a 
critical price point that has historically held as a major hurdle. Related 
Reading: PEPE Bulls Regain Control As Price Stays Above Moving Average If the 
bulls maintain their momentum and clear this initial resistance, the next key 
targets are the $0.00001313 and $0.00001731 levels. These zones, derived from 
past price action and Fibonacci retracements, represent significant obstacles 
that PEPE must overcome. Given the strengthening bullish indicators, such as 
the MACD and ongoing support from the rising trendline, PEPE appears well- 
positioned for a breakout. Surpassing these resistance levels would mark a 
significant shift, paving the way for more gains in the near term and 
confirming the continuation of the bullish trend. Featured image from Adobe 
Stock, chart from Tradingview.com

PEPE Rising Trendline Holds Firm: A Reliable Launchpad For Price Rally

_**Opinion by: Steven Smith, head of protocol and applied research, Tools for 
Humanity**_
Blockchains were designed as systems of trust that are transparent, 
decentralized and accessible. The age of AI has, however, introduced 
significant new challenges. Nearly half of all internet traffic is generated 
by bots, with up to 80% of blockchain transactions now automated and AI agents 
accounting for most onchain activity.
While some bots serve legitimate and helpful purposes, others &#8212; like those 
used for airdrop farming and fake account creation &#8212; clog networks, drive up 
fees, and monopolize space and resources.
It&#8217;s up to humans to protect the blockchains we know and love, ensuring that 
people aren&#8217;t unfairly disadvantaged by automated systems, insulated from the 
effect of maximal extractable value attacks and exploits, and free from the 
need to pay significant gas fees to be included in a block.
## The bot takeover is already here
AI bots are becoming more integral to networks and capable of more 
sophisticated exploits, dominating trading volumes, driving up gas fees, and 
manipulating decentralized finance (DeFi) markets.
In some cases, networks have seen failure rates surge past 75% due to bot- 
induced congestion. Even Ethereum&#8217;s mempool is increasingly flooded with 
automated transactions, forcing human users to compete for scarce block space.
The problem extends beyond blockchain networks &#8212; it&#8217;s affecting the entire 
economy. AI-powered bots are set to disrupt traditional banking and financial 
services, threatening the very foundations of how money is managed and 
transactions are conducted.
It&#8217;s only a matter of time before bad actors begin deploying new AI-driven 
fraud tools at scale, creating an unprecedented security nightmare for 
financial institutions, businesses and users alike.
This has already begun. AI-driven botnets fueled a 55% surge in distributed 
denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against the banking and financial services 
industry during 2024.
If action isn&#8217;t taken, humans risk ceding control of both decentralized and 
traditional financial systems to automated systems optimized for speed and 
scale &#8212; not fairness or accessibility.
## Scalability alone won&#8217;t solve this problem
So far, the response to these issues has focused on scalability. Layer-2 
solutions, rollups and high-performance execution clients make transactions 
faster and cheaper.
Scaling without a focus on human users, however, leads to unintended 
consequences. Lower fees mean attackers can cause much grief for little cost, 
and bots can flood networks more easily. Meanwhile, faster transactions mean 
AI traders can outcompete human investors even faster.
_**Recent:**__**Don&#8217;t be afraid of quantum computers**_
This has played out repeatedly already. A spam attack on Zcash severely 
disrupted its blockchain. During its token launch, Manta Network suffered a 
DDoS attack, slowing withdrawals and frustrating users. On Ethereum, bots have 
been used to manipulate gas prices during high-traffic periods, resulting in 
delayed transactions and higher transaction fees for real humans.
While scalability is critical, it&#8217;s equally important to prioritize another 
fundamental element of blockchain design: proof-of-human.
## Proof-of-human infrastructure
Proof-of-human infrastructure is a mechanism that digitally verifies a 
person&#8217;s humanness and uniqueness. This is key to keeping control of 
blockchain systems in human hands, giving real people the power to ensure 
blockchains don&#8217;t become automated playgrounds for bots &#8212; especially as AI 
agents continue to scale.
Proof-of-human systems ensure blockchain architecture evolves with a human- 
first approach. Networks should allocate guaranteed block space for verified 
human users, ensuring that automated trading bots don&#8217;t push out essential 
transactions.
Introducing gas subsidies for human users can also prevent them from being 
priced out during periods of extreme network congestion. Optimized execution 
clients can enhance efficiency while implementing safeguards against bot- 
driven spam.
Blockchain architecture has made remarkable strides in scalability, 
interoperability and security. We also still need to ensure positive 
experiences for humans. As an industry, it&#8217;s fundamental to provide the 
ability to distinguish between real people and bots online to ensure the 
sector can continue to grow in the long run.
The choice is ours. We can allow unproductive bots to take over our networks, 
pushing out human users and undermining the core promise of decentralization. 
Or, we can implement the necessary parameters to keep blockchains human- 
centric and ensure greater control over productive bots, ensuring fairer 
access, security and sustainability.
Now is the time to act. The future of blockchain and bringing more humans 
onchain depend on it.
_**Opinion by: Steven Smith, head of protocol and applied research, Tools for 
Humanity.**_
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&#8217;s alone and do not necessarily reflect 
or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.