XRP’s recent grind higher has taken it straight into a critical resistance cluster near the $2.50 mark. Despite the bounce, volume has remained low, a warning sign that this move may lack the strength needed to sustain itself without a…

XRP must break the $2.50 cluster of resistance to trade higher

The crypto industry has seen a significant shift toward regulatory compliance 
since its early days, according to James Smith, co-founder of Elliptic, a 
crypto compliance firm established in 2013. 
&#8220;In the early days, only a few companies approached compliance in a serious 
way,&#8221; Smith told Cointelegraph at the Token2049 event. &#8220;Coinbase was our first 
customer &#8212; they knew from the start that they wanted to build their business 
that way. But for most others, it just wasn&#8217;t a major priority.&#8221;_Elliptic co- 
founder James Smith at Token2049. Source: Cointelegraph_
That began to shift as regulators, including those in New York State, took a 
more active interest in the crypto industry. The involvement of traditional 
financial institutions like Fidelity and DBS Bank also contributed, as they 
entered the space with established compliance expectations from traditional 
finance services.
Fidelity, for instance, offered its first crypto service for customers in 
2019, while the Asian giant DBS created a digital exchange for accredited and 
institutional investors in 2020.
&#8220;We&#8217;ve seen a big change in the last couple of years. Exchanges on the global 
map all care about compliance now, because they want to be part of a global 
ecosystem,&#8221; Smith said.
_**Related:**__**DeFi security and compliance must be improved to attract 
institutions**_
## Compliance questions after Bybit hack
Crypto exchanges and peer-to-peer protocols remain the industry&#8217;s key 
compliance targets. For authorities, these firms are seen as critical choke 
points where Anti-Money Laundering and broader financial surveillance controls 
take effect. At the same time, they&#8217;re frequent candidates for sophisticated 
hacks and laundering operations, as seen in the Lazarus Group&#8217;s tactics.
The latest example comes from the Bybit hack, where the Lazarus Group engaged 
in a sophisticated money laundering scheme to funnel funds. The hackers 
quickly swapped low-liquidity tokens for Ether (ETH), then swapped them for 
Bitcoin (BTC) using no-KYC (Know Your Customer) decentralized exchanges.
&#8220;They went through some no KYC exchanges, which probably shouldn&#8217;t exist, but 
also through a decentralized protocol where there was lots of liquidity 
provision that enabled them to get it into Bitcoin,&#8221; Smith said, adding that 
&#8220;we&#8217;re making it too easy for them as an industry.&#8221;
Smith also noted that even after firms flagged the funds as stolen, users 
continued to trade them through decentralized platforms. &#8220;Why was there so 
much liquidity available to help launder this money?&#8221; he said, arguing that 
those providing liquidity to such protocols should be subject to basic checks 
on the source and destination of funds. &#8220;Go and look at who&#8217;s making money. 
And that&#8217;s the first place to start putting some controls.&#8221;
_**Magazine: Lazarus Group &#8216;s favorite exploit revealed &#8212; Crypto hacks 
analysis**_

‘Huge Shift’ in crypto firms’ compliance mindset, says Elliptic co-founder

A Federal Reserve survey naming the trade war and U.S. debt as the economy’s 
top threats has prompted veteran investor Clem Chambers to warn of an 
overlooked supply-chain squeeze that could jolt markets. Inflation Time Bomb: 
Fed Printing Could Send Prices Soaring, Says Chambers Chambers, chief 
executive of Online Blockchain, told Kitco News Anchor Jeremy […]

Fed Liquidity or Bust: Veteran Investor Sees Inflation Roaring Back to 9%

Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng &#8220;CZ&#8221; Zhao took the stage at 
Token2049 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), where he told the audience 
that his investment in social media platform X was aimed at protecting freedom 
of speech.
The former Binance executive joined a fireside panel with macroeconomic 
analyst Raoul Pal to discuss the rationale behind his 2022 investment in X and 
artificial intelligence. Zhao said:
&gt; &#8220;I think freedom of money is important, but to have freedom of money, you 
&gt; have to have freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is kind of the bottom 
&gt; line. If you don&#8217;t have that, nothing &#8212; no other freedom &#8212; works.&#8221; 
&#8220;So, when we invested in Twitter back then, it was based on that philosophy,&#8221; 
Zhao continued.
The former Binance CEO also criticized Europe&#8217;s crypto policies, 
characterizing them as dead in the water compared to more pro-business 
jurisdictions like the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as he advocated for greater 
financial autonomy and personal liberties.
_Macroeconomic analyst Raoul Pal and Changpeng Zhao at the Token2049 event. 
Source: Cointelegraph_
 _**Related:**__**CZ aims to teach 1 billion kids through Giggle Academy &#8212; 
Token2049**_
## CZ sees potential in X, but issues persist
In October 2022, Zhau announced that crypto exchange Binance invested $500 
million into businessman Elon Musk&#8217;s takeover of Twitter, now known as X.
The crypto exchange was one of 19 co-investors in the deal, which also 
included firms such as Sequoia Capital Fund and Fidelity Management.
At the time of the investment, the former Binance CEO said that while &#8220;the 
platform has huge value, in itself,&#8221; it faced several issues, including 
monetization problems, spam bots, development issues, and scam accounts 
targeting users with the goal of stealing funds.
Zhao urged Elon Musk to ban bots on X in March, a problem that persists on the 
platform, particularly impacting the cryptocurrency community on the platform 
to promote fake tokens, scam users, or spam the site with promotional content.
Despite these issues, Zhao expressed hope that Binance could help the social 
media site integrate into Web3 by facilitating crypto payments in the near 
future.
_**Magazine:**__**&#8217; China&#8217;s MicroStrategy&#8217; Meitu sells all its Bitcoin and 
Ethereum: Asia Express**_

'To have freedom of money, you have to have freedom of speech' — CZ

**Key takeaways:**
 * Bitcoin bulls are attacking the $95,000 level again after today&#8217;s brief US GDP-induced sell-off. 
 * Traders are semi-agnostic to negative US economic data as they expect the Federal Reserve to resume easing and rate cuts at some point in the future. 
Bitcoin (BTC) price knocks on the door of $95,000 after starting the NY 
trading session with a slight sell-off to $92,910 following alarm-raising US 
GDP data, which showed the economy shrank in Q1 2025. The move mirrors a 
similar recovery seen in the DOW and S&amp;P 500, which bounced 0.35% and 0.15% 
respectively at the closing bell.
The quick recovery in Bitcoin price highlights the strong bid by a variety of 
market participants, and it lines up with the view that the April 30 GDP data 
could be a one-off event resulting from businesses ramping up their imports 
ahead of President Donald Trump&#8217;s tariffs on about 90 countries.
While a shrinking economy and record-low consumer confidence are valid 
concerns for TradFi investors, the threat of a US recession also plays into 
crypto traders investment thesis which predicts that a variety of negative 
economic events will eventually force the Federal Reserve to cut rates and 
issue more dollars &#8212; a maneuver which historically has benefitted Bitcoin 
price.
Current odds of a Fed interest rate cut have increased this week, from 59.8% 
on April 29 to 63.8% on April 30.
_Fed target rate probabilities for June 18, 2025 Fed meeting. Source:__CME 
FedWatch_
According to popular X trader Skew, the bounce in Bitcoin and US stocks was 
partially driven by &#8220;pretty solid revenue beats from big US companies so far,&#8221; 
which could also &#8220;bolster some confidence in risk.&#8221;
_BTC/USD chart. Source: Skew / X_
The trader also said that Bitcoin&#8217;s,
&gt; &#8220;Spot flow [was] primarily driven by passive buyers today, and price lifted 
&gt; with taker bid. Funding rate normalizing now after some shorts closing out.&#8221;
_**Related:**__**Bitcoin price consolidation likely as US Core PCE, 
manufacturing, and jobs reports print this week**_
Currently, $95,500 is the key level traders are watching, and many analysts 
believe that a sustained push through the resistance zone opens the door for a 
swift move back to $100,000.
It&#8217;s possible that the May 2 jobs report, which will show how many jobs were 
added to the US economy in April, could have a slight impact on the stock 
market and, in turn, cryptocurrencies.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every 
investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their 
own research when making a decision.

Bitcoin rebounds from bearish US GDP data as dip buyers push BTC price back toward $95K

Bloomberg Intelligence has boosted its estimated odds of US regulators 
approving a Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) in 2025 to 90%, according to an 
April 30 post on the X platform.
The company also set more favorable chances of approval for other altcoin 
ETFs, including proposed funds holding XRP (XRP) and Dogecoin (DOGE), 
Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas said in an X post.
The estimates reflect an improved outlook from Bloomberg analysts. In a 
February analysis, Bloomberg pegged the odds of a Solana (SOL) ETF approval at 
only 70%. They ascribed a 65% and 75% chance of approval to funds holding XRP 
and DOGE, respectively.
As of April 30, six asset managers &#8212; including Grayscale, VanEck and 21Shares 
&#8212; are awaiting clearance from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) 
to list ETFs holding the Solana blockchain network&#8217;s native cryptocurrency.
The same number of issuers are waiting on approval for XRP ETFs, and three are 
seeking approval for DOGE funds, according to Bloomberg data. The SEC has 
until October to review and potentially approve the proposed funds.
_Revised altcoin ETF approval odds. Source:__Bloomberg Intelligence_
 _**Related:**__**SEC acknowledges slew of crypto ETF filings as reviews, 
approvals accelerate**_
## **Altcoin ETF mania**
Asset managers are seeking the SEC&#8217;s permission to list dozens of altcoin 
ETFs, with up to 70 crypto ETFs awaiting the agency&#8217;s review as of April.
The deluge of filings reflects US President Donald Trump&#8217;s efforts to soften 
the SEC&#8217;s regulatory posture toward cryptocurrencies since taking office in 
January.
In March, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the US&#8217;s largest derivatives 
exchange, listed futures contracts tied to Solana.
According to Chris Chung, founder of Solana-based swap platform Titan, the 
listing on the regulated futures exchange signals that approvals for Solana 
ETFs could be next.
&#8220;[T]he timeline could extend into 2026 due to the SEC&#8217;s precedent of taking 
[…] 240-260 days to review filings,&#8221; Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart also 
said in a previous forecast.
In April, US securities exchange Nasdaq asked regulators for permission to 
list a 21Shares ETF holding Dogecoin, adding to the roster of DOGE funds 
awaiting a US public listing.
_**Magazine: **__**TV hit Peaky Blinders to launch crypto game, FIFA Rivals 
on Polkadot: Web3 Gamer**_