The Stacks Asia DLT Foundation has partnered with EVG and Aspen Digital to accelerate the adoption of Stacks, the bitcoin layer two (L2) protocol, across Asia by tapping into high-growth markets, institutional networks, and localized outreach. New Alliance Aims to Ramp Up Bitcoin Adoption in Asia In a strategic move to deepen its reach across […]

Stacks Partners With EVG and Aspen Digital to Expand Bitcoin Layer 2 Adoption Across Asia

VIRTUAL rallied as much as 38% today following renewed investor interest after 
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companies as part […]

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Dubai is rapidly emerging as a global web3 powerhouse with its future-proof 
regulations and innovation-friendly governance structure.

Dubai is building the blueprint for web3-driven finance | Opinion

**Key points:**
 * Bitcoin traders wait for signals of US economic policy loosening as data forces the Federal Reserve into a corner.
 * Recession is more likely than not, sources say, amid rising unemployment and resurgent inflation.
 * Bitcoin and risk assets should ultimately gain from a recession shock.
Bitcoin (BTC) stands to gain as a US recession becomes the &#8220;base case 
scenario.&#8221;
Fresh analysis from sources including trading resource The Kobeissi Letter 
makes grim predictions for the US economy and Federal Reserve.
## Fed&#8217;s &#8220;worst nightmare&#8221; gets real
US economic health is due to take a hit on the back of trade tariffs and the 
resurgent inflation, which may accompany them.
The latest macroeconomic data, which includes Q1 GDP and the Fed&#8217;s &#8220;preferred&#8221; 
inflation gauge, puts officials in a tight spot, Kobeissi says.
GDP came in markedly below expectations, turning negative against a forecast 
0.3% gain.
_US quarterly GDP growth (screenshot). Source: The Kobeissi Letter/X_
&#8220;Effectively, the Fed must pick between containing either inflation or 
unemployment,&#8221; it summarized, calling the situation the Fed&#8217;s &#8220;worst 
nightmare.&#8221;
A key issue is the extent and timing of any interest rate cuts &#8212; something 
that crypto and risk-asset traders are keenly eyeing thanks to the positive 
knock-on effect for markets.
&#8220;Not reducing interest rates will further weaken US GDP and likely increase 
unemployment. However, if interest rates are cut immediately, we would expect 
to see another rebound in inflation,&#8221; Kobeissi continued.
Thus in a &#8220;lose-lose&#8221; situation, the Fed faces the threat of both stagflation 
&#8212; rising inflation with rising unemployment &#8212; and a full-on recession.
&#8220;A recession in the US has become our base case scenario,&#8221; Kobeissi added, 
linking to rising odds on prediction service Kalshi.
_Source:__Kalshi_
## Bitcoin analyst sees recession silver lining
The latest data from CME Group&#8217;s FedWatch Tool underscores market expectations 
for Fed policy, which has remained conservative through 2025 despite the 
insistence of US President Donald Trump that rates head lower.
_**Related:**__**Bitcoin &#8216;hot supply&#8217; nears $40B as new investors flood in at 
$95K**_
The June meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is currently the 
event that should spark the next 0.25% cut, consensus suggests. The May 
meeting, however, now has just 3% odds of such an outcome.
_Fed target rate probabilities (screenshot). Source: CME Group_
Crypto market participants are meanwhile weighing the possible Fed course as 
conditions become increasingly hard to navigate.
&#8220;Yesterday the market was pricing 57% probability of 25bps cut for June 18th 
FOMC. Today it&#8217;s 63%,&#8221; popular trader Skew commented on the FedWatch data.
&gt; &#8220;Push coming to shove in terms of economic data &amp; rate cuts. Fed will still 
&gt; be concerned about price pressures but more so about weakness within the 
&gt; economy, especially if policy isn&#8217;t corrected in time.&#8221;
_Fed target rate probabilities for June FOMC meeting. Source: CME Group_
Crypto trader, analyst and entrepreneur Michael van de Poppe predicted that 
recession alone would cause the Fed to rethink its stance.
&#8220;The rumours for a potential recession is increasing, which should strengthen 
the thesis for the FED to loosen up the policy,&#8221; he wrote in part of an X 
reaction to Q1 GDP data.
&gt; &#8220;That will likely be a low on the markets, liquidity to be added and risk-on 
&gt; to thrive.&#8221;
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 eyes gains as macro data makes US recession 2025 'base case'

_**Opinion by: Amitej Gajjala, co-founder and CEO of Kernel DAO**_
The restaking narrative has moved fast &#8212; from side conversations in validator 
circles to the forefront of DeFi infrastructure discussions.
It&#8217;s not hard to see why. DefiLlama states that major liquid restaking 
protocols now hold over $12 billion in total value locked (TVL), with dozens 
of middleware services aligning their security with Ethereum&#8217;s economic base 
layer. What started as an idea to increase capital efficiency for validators 
has evolved into a serious attempt to redefine how security is provisioned 
across decentralized systems.
While restaking is gaining momentum among crypto-native participants, 
institutions &#8212; the kind with multi-year horizons and regulatory constraints 
&#8212; still keep DeFi at arm&#8217;s length.
Not because the rewards aren&#8217;t attractive. Risk is still poorly understood, 
isolated and mitigated.
Restaking can change that.
## Adding friction &#8212; where it&#8217;s needed most
Restaking isn&#8217;t about reducing risk to zero; it&#8217;s about introducing friction, 
which deters bad actors without killing protocol composability.
Enabling validators to opt into securing new protocols using already-staked 
assets, restaking creates a second validation layer. This strengthens 
middleware like oracles, bridges and data availability layers without 
bootstrapping entirely new trust networks.
Unlike traditional validator sets, restaking aligns existing economic 
incentives with broader infrastructure needs. Instead of competing for 
security, protocols can now share it &#8212; with customizable slashing conditions, 
service-specific operator sets and dynamic risk parameters.
_**Recent:**__**Unlocking the potential of dormant Bitcoin in DeFi**_
For institutions, this is meaningful; it signals the beginning of a modular 
security stack, where exposure can be configured and audited per protocol.
## Slashing becomes a risk class &#8212; not a red flag
One of the main blockers for institutional staking has been slashing: the risk 
that validator misbehavior (or simply technical error) could lead to capital 
loss.
Restaking introduces slashing segmentation. On all major platforms, operators 
choose which services they secure. Slashing, therefore, is scoped to the 
context of misbehavior &#8212; not the entire validator lifecycle.
This distinction matters. It transforms slashing from an unpredictable 
liability into a quantifiable, bounded risk, similar to how fixed-income 
traders model default risk.
It also opens the door to restaking insurance markets, actuarial modeling and 
structured risk products.
## Risk offloading through exposure diversification
DeFi&#8217;s volatility isn&#8217;t going away. Price swings, gas spikes and liquidation 
cascades are part of the terrain. But restaking enables cross-protocol 
exposure**** less correlated than holding multiple tokens.
A validator restaking into a curated mix of oracle, bridge and data 
availability layer services fundamentally builds a portfolio of security 
commitments &#8212; each with different risk and reward profiles. That&#8217;s 
diversification in the validator economy, not just in the asset layer.
It also makes network-level attacks harder. Restaking dilutes attack vectors 
by spreading economic security across a web of services, making DeFi&#8217;s attack 
surface less monolithic and more modular.
## Oracles get more credible
A single point of failure in many DeFi protocols? Oracle feeds. And it&#8217;s not 
just flash loans &#8212; even minor price feed delays can be exploited.
ScienceDirect research shows that staking-based oracle models significantly 
reduce manipulation risks, especially when tied to performance-based 
incentives and slashing conditions.
Restaking supports this by allowing oracle operators to secure feeds with 
economic weight, aligning truthfulness with profit. When misreporting can cost 
you slashed Ether (ETH), the game theory changes.
This creates stronger guarantees for protocols relying on price data &#8212; a 
prerequisite for serious capital to flow in.
## Restaking as the institutional wedge
Institutions won&#8217;t enter DeFi because of vibes or community incentives. 
They&#8217;ll enter when infrastructure risk can be scoped, quantified and mitigated 
when the stack looks more like a layered security model than a black box of 
smart contracts.
Restaking isn&#8217;t the whole answer. But it is one of the first scalable 
primitives to make DeFi security modular, composable and economically aligned.
As regulation matures and tokenized finance becomes more interoperable with 
TradFi, restaking may be the layer that bridges trust between networks and 
entire financial systems.
We&#8217;re not there yet. But the path looks a lot clearer than it did a year ago.
_**Opinion by: Amitej Gajjala, co-founder and CEO of Kernel DAO.**_
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.