Uniswap has added support for Soneium, a new layer-2 blockchain built by Sony Block Solutions and Startale Labs. Uniswap Labs announced the update in a blog post on May 6. The network is now operational on the Uniswap (UNI) wallet…

Uniswap integrates Sony’s layer-2 Soneium to enhance trading experience

While blockchain infrastructure may be ready for institutional use, many legal 
teams at large firms remain cautious about full integration with the 
technology.
At the Token2049 event in Dubai, DoubleZero Labs founder and former Solana 
head of strategy Austin Federa told Cointelegraph that today&#8217;s high- 
performance blockchains like Solana are technically capable of supporting 
large-scale institutional usage. However, lawyers still need to catch up.
&#8220;Most blockchains nowadays, especially things like Solana, are fast enough for 
institutions to use them,&#8221; Federa said. &#8220;It&#8217;s really more about the 
institutions and the institution&#8217;s lawyers getting comfortable with crypto.&#8221;
Federa added that institutional lawyers and compliance teams are still 
addressing regulatory concerns. The executive said this may slow adoption 
despite the growing regulatory clarity in key markets like the United States.
_DoubleZero Labs founder Austin Federa. Source: Cointelegraph_
## Institutions are coming; they just move slow
According to Federa, technical infrastructure is no longer a primary barrier 
for large firms. Tools needed to support enterprise-scale activity on networks 
like Solana are already in place:
&gt; &#8220;Especially on networks like Solana and other fast networks, the 
&gt; infrastructure is there today for high amounts of institutional adoption.&#8221;
While crypto community members may feel like institutional adoption should be 
bigger than it is, Federa said that these organizations are not quick at 
onboarding new technologies. 
&#8220;Institutions are coming on board, but they just move really slow,&#8221; Federa 
told Cointelegraph. &#8220;People expect these massive institutions to move fast, 
but that&#8217;s just not what they&#8217;re good at.&#8221;
Until legal departments are fully satisfied with risk controls and compliance 
structures, Federa said meaningful adoption may unfold gradually.
_**Related:**__**DoubleZero &#8216;s alternative to public internet targets mainnet 
rollout in H2**_
## Institutional involvement in crypto infrastructure
Federa also highlighted a growing trend of institutional involvement in the 
crypto infrastructure space. He said that bare-metal infrastructure providers 
and venture capital firms have offered financial support and contributed 
actual fiber infrastructure to DoubleZero.
This kind of commitment was almost unthinkable just a few years ago, he said. 
&#8220;Most of those companies two years ago would not have had any interest or 
thought it was way too legally risky to take something and contribute fiber to 
it.&#8221;
Unlike running a validator node, deploying fiber and infrastructure is a major 
commitment. Federa said that institutional players now allocating serious 
resources to crypto-native projects reflects a shift in how traditional 
finance views the sector.
Despite this, he acknowledged that while institutional adoption grew, the 
broader crypto product landscape isn&#8217;t fully mature. &#8220;The products are not 
quite there yet for the most part,&#8221; Federa said.
_**Magazine:**__**Solana &#8216;will be a trillion-dollar asset&#8217;: Mert Mumtaz, X 
Hall of Flame**_

Blockchains ready for institutions, lawyers hesitate: DoubleZero CEO

Investment bank Citi and Switzerland&#8217;s SIX Digital Exchange (SDX) are teaming 
up to modernize traditional private markets through tokenization.
The initiative, revealed during the Point Zero Forum in Switzerland, will 
leverage SDX&#8217;s blockchain-based Central Securities Depositary (CSD) platform 
to tokenize, settle, and safekeep assets, according to a May 6 announcement.
The platform, expected to go live by the third quarter of 2025, will make 
late-stage, pre-initial public offering (IPO) equities accessible to 
institutional and eligible investors globally.
For issuers, the project offers a compliant and scalable framework to manage 
liquidity, particularly for early investors and employees, while maintaining 
cap table control. For investors, it opens access to high-growth, venture- 
backed companies in a more efficient and transparent manner.
&#8220;We are excited to welcome Citi to the SDX platform and together deliver this 
landmark project in the tokenization of private shares,&#8221; said David Newns, 
head of SDX.
Newns added that this will &#8220;enable the efficient distribution of shares in 
mature international private companies, which are expected to generate strong 
investor interest.&#8221;
_Citi announcing the partnership. Source: Citi_
 _**Related: **__**Real-world asset tokenization: Unlocking a new era of 
finance**_
## Citi to provide servicing for tokenized assets
Citi will provide end-to-end servicing for these tokenized assets as the 
digital custodian and tokenization agent. &#8220;We are meeting client demand for 
access to emerging and relevant digital asset ecosystems and investments,&#8221; 
added Ryan Marsh, head of innovation at Citi.
Marni McManus, Citi&#8217;s country officer for Switzerland, said private markets 
represent a major and growing opportunity, helping digitize an industry still 
reliant on manual processes and paper-based documentation.
Citi has been among the earliest major financial institutions to express 
strong confidence in the future of tokenization, even betting that it would 
become the next &#8220;killer use case&#8221; in crypto.
In September 2023, Citigroup introduced Citi Token Services, a private, 
permissioned blockchain that offers cross-border payments, liquidity and 
automated trade finance solutions to institutional clients.
In early 2024, Citigroup teamed up with Ava Labs, other traditional financial 
institutions and digital asset companies to complete a proof-of-concept for 
tokenizing private equity funds.
_**Related: **__**$21B tokenized RWA market doubtful, institutions 
uninterested &#8212; Plume CEO**_
## RWA tokenization gains traction
Citi and SDX&#8217;s new initiative comes amid a renewed wave of interest in real- 
world asset (RWA) tokenization, with major players from both traditional 
finance and crypto making headlines last week.
On April 30, BlackRock filed to create a blockchain-based share class for its 
$150 billion Treasury Trust Fund, allowing a digital ledger to mirror investor 
ownership. On the same day, Libre revealed plans to tokenize $500 million in 
Telegram debt via its new Telegram Bond Fund.
The most significant news came from Dubai, where MultiBank Group inked a $3 
billion tokenization deal with UAE real estate firm MAG and blockchain 
provider Mavryk.
&#8220;The recent surge isn&#8217;t arbitrary. It&#8217;s happening because everything&#8217;s lining 
up,&#8221; Eric Piscini, CEO of Hashgraph, told Cointelegraph:
&gt; &#8220;Rules are getting clearer in major markets. The tech is stronger, faster, 
&gt; and ready to scale. And big players are actually doing it &#8212; BlackRock is 
&gt; tokenizing funds, Citi is exploring digital asset custody, and Franklin 
&gt; Templeton has tokenized money market funds on public blockchains.&#8221;
_**Magazine: **__**Tokenizing music royalties as NFTs could help the next 
Taylor Swift**_

Citi and SDX partner to tokenize traditional private markets

The United States Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions on the 
Karen National Army, a Burmese militia group, accusing it of orchestrating 
large-scale crypto scams alongside other offences. The sanctions were 
announced on May 5 in a press release…

U.S. Treasury sanctions Burmese militia group over crypto pig butchering scams

On Monday, two long-dormant wallets—first activated in July 2013, precisely a 
decade and ten months ago—moved 3,421 bitcoin valued at $322.5 million, 
marking their first transaction since inception. Long-Dormant Silk Road 
Wallets Move Millions in Bitcoin Data compiled on May 5, 2025, reveals two 
separate transactions (1,2) originating from wallets established in July 2013. 
The […]

Ghosts of the Silk Road: Dormant Wallets Move Over $322M in Bitcoin

Bitcoin dipped marginally after reaching a new peak above $97,000 on May 2. It 
retreated to just below $94,000, a 3% to 4% decline from its recent high. 
Although short-term price movements are keeping traders nervous, longer-term 
on-chain data is beginning to exhibit signs that may influence what happens 
next. Related Reading: BNB Bulls Target $644 As Classic Chart Formation 
Emerges Index Reading Indicates A Potential Early Bull Market One gauge, which 
is referred to as the Bitcoin Composite Index v2.0, is now standing at a 
reading of 0.8. The index mixes price action with blockchain activity and 
attempts to weigh where Bitcoin could be going. For analyst Constantin Kogan, 
a reading on this scale has previously appeared ahead of some massive price 
rallies, such as in 2017 and 2021. Kogan described how if this number rises to 
1.0 and holds, Bitcoin may begin to accelerate significantly faster. The index 
isn&#8217;t quite there now—but it&#8217;s heading in the right direction. One of the most 
important components of the index, the &#8220;Running ATH Price,&#8221; has begun trending 
upward too. This suggests that additional buyers are entering the market and 
faith may be on the rise. 📈 The upward momentum in Bitcoin is just starting to 
build, with on-chain metrics like the Bitcoin Composite Index signaling the 
beginning of a bull market. The index has already reached 0.8 (80%). Here are 
three possible scenarios: 🚀 Bullish: BTC could surge to… 
pic.twitter.com/8bZ4vmr2CH — Constantin Kogan (@constkogan) May 4, 2025 Price 
Target May Hit $175K If Momentum Continues If Bitcoin maintains its momentum 
and drives the Composite Index to more than 1.0, analysts predict the price to 
rise sharply. The target range given is between $150,000 and $175,000. That&#8217;s 
if bullish momentum accelerates and past trends are repeated. But if the index 
remains wedged between 0.8 and 1.0, Bitcoin may stall for a bit. That means a 
range-bound market, ranging from $90,000 to $110,000. Kogan also highlighted a 
third, less probable route—if the index falls below 0.75. Then Bitcoin may 
correct back to $70,000 to $85,000. Supply Data Shows Where Buyers Stepped In 
The second part of the puzzle is from the UTXO Realized Price Distribution 
chart, also referred to as the URPD chart. Provided by analyst Checkmate, it 
plots where the holders of Bitcoin last transferred their coins. This provides 
a sense of who purchased when—and at what price. A huge segment of buyers 
appears to have entered between $93,000 and $98,000. That region is currently 
behaving as a crucial supply zone. It&#8217;s the region where investors have just 
bought Bitcoin and may hold on or sell based on what follows. Related Reading: 
TRUMP Token Bloodbath: Whales Lose Big In $8.58 Million Sell-Off Market Awaits 
Clear Move From Current Zone Bitcoin is squarely in the middle of that range 
at about $94,000. As Checkmate points out, the next move will depend on 
whether price breaks out strongly or gets rejected. A strong breakout, 
evidenced by a powerful daily candle, could turn recent supply into profit and 
propel prices higher. But if the price can&#8217;t rise through this area, it could 
create a lower high and attract additional selling pressure. For the moment, 
Bitcoin sits in wait mode. Traders and analysts are monitoring both the 
Composite Index and supply figures to determine whether the current lull 
becomes the next leg up—or a further step down. Featured image from Gemini 
Imagen, chart from TradingView