Casper launched its version 2.0 on the mainnet, intensifying the competition in the real world asset space.

Casper 2.0 launches on the mainnet, with a real world asset focus

RedStone has teamed up with Securitize to launch the first onchain price feed 
for Blockchain Capital’s $BCAP token on ZKsync Era. The $BCAP feed represents 
a key milestone in the rapid growth of RWAs, a sector that has grown over…

RedStone and Securitize bring $150m BCAP token onchain via ZKsync price feed

Kucoin has denied claims that it lost over 77% of its bitcoin reserves since 
June 28, 2023, and has described the data from Cryptoquant as “factually 
incorrect and highly misleading.” Cryptoquant Data Sparks Row Kucoin has 
refuted claims it lost over 77% of its bitcoin ( BTC) reserves since the 
mandatory know your customer (KYC) […]

Crypto Exchange Kucoin Slams ‘Misleading’ Report on BTC Holdings

Ripple, the blockchain technology company, has announced a significant 
commitment of $25 million aimed at supporting US classrooms and teachers. This 
initiative is designed to equip both students and educators with essential 
resources to improve academic outcomes, foster economic resilience, and 
prepare for a rapidly changing job market. Ripple&#8217;s $25 Million Initiative 
Despite the known correlation between educational success and long-term 
economic opportunity, the blockchain payment company stated on Monday that 
many classrooms across the country continue to struggle with inadequate 
resources. Ripple highlighted a recent Gallup survey that revealed that 55% of 
US parents and adults expressed dissatisfaction with K-12 education quality, 
alleging widespread concerns about funding constraints in the education 
sector. Related Reading: Dogecoin Bounce Expected By Analyst Who Called 
Bitcoin Bottom Ripple’s pledge seeks to address these challenges by providing 
critical support to students, teachers, and school staff, ultimately helping 
to rebuild confidence and drive positive results in the classroom. &#8220;Ripple has 
always championed financial and educational access for all, and we’re 
partnering with some of the most impactful organizations—DonorsChoose and 
Teach For America—to benefit thousands of classrooms across the US,&#8221; said Brad 
Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple. He emphasized the hope that this initiative will 
inspire others to contribute, starting with Teacher Appreciation Week and 
continuing throughout the year to ensure that educators and students have the 
necessary resources to create a brighter future. In a unique approach, the 
majority of the $25 million grant will be disbursed in Ripple USD (RLUSD), the 
company’s US dollar-backed stablecoin. Educational Opportunities For Students 
Ripple’s partnerships with these organizations will focus on a range of 
innovative initiatives throughout the year. This includes funding for 
thousands of classroom projects and teacher requests during Teacher 
Appreciation Week, supporting Teach For America’s Ignite tutoring program 
nationwide, and launching a national STEM Innovation Challenge. Additionally, 
Ripple unveiled that the collaboration aims to enhance financial literacy 
among students and educators, equipping them with the skills necessary for 
success in a dynamic job market. &#8220;Teachers are going the extra mile for their 
students&#8217; education, even spending hundreds—sometimes thousands—of dollars 
out-of-pocket for their classrooms,&#8221; said Alix Guerrier, CEO of DonorsChoose. 
He praised Ripple’s initiative for providing direct support to teachers, 
enabling them to access materials that enhance learning experiences and set 
students on a path to a successful future. Related Reading: Analyst Says $2 
XRP Price Is Low As It Still Isn’t “Activated” Aneesh Sohoni, CEO of Teach For 
America, expressed gratitude for Ripple’s transformative support. &#8220;This 
funding will expand our Ignite Tutoring Fellows program, drive innovation in 
our Reinvention Lab, and provide crucial financial assistance to thousands of 
new corps members during their teacher preparation. With Ripple’s partnership, 
we’re advancing our mission to ensure every child has access to an excellent 
education and the opportunity to thrive.&#8221; At the time of writing, XRP, 
Ripple&#8217;s related token, is trading at $2.13, down 8% for the week. Featured 
image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com

$25 Million Pledge From Ripple Set To Benefit Teachers And Students Across The US

This content is provided by a sponsor. PRESS RELEASE. Dubai, UAE – May 6, 2025 
– HTX, a leading global cryptocurrency exchange, has officially announced the 
listing of the USD1 stablecoin, becoming the first platform worldwide to 
support trading of this asset. This milestone underscores HTX’s ongoing 
commitment to supporting high-quality blockchain projects and advancing […]

HTX Premieres USD1 Stablecoin Globally, Partnering With World Liberty Financial to Forge a New Era of Decentralized Economy

_**Opinion by: Barna Kiss, CEO of Malda**_
An idea recently floated by some prominent thinkers in the Ethereum space to 
reclaim value for the mainnet is the taxing of its Layer-2s. The future of 
Ethereum does not depend on policy but on enabling frictionless capital 
movement between the L2s in question. Tariffing rollups may appear a neat way 
to reclaim value for the mainnet. In practice, it would fragment the 
ecosystem, drain liquidity, push users toward centralized platforms, and avoid 
decentralized finance altogether. In a permissionless system, capital flows to 
where it is treated best, and Ethereum&#8217;s rollups mistreat it. 
## Liquidity fragmentation is Ethereum&#8217;s real threat
In traditional finance, the link between fluidity and growth is well 
established. Lower barriers to capital inflows lead to higher investment. Take 
the European Union&#8217;s pre-Brexit single market. Investment flows slowed when 
the United Kingdom&#8217;s exit fragmented access to capital pools, as economists 
tracking cross-border activity noted. Ethereum faces a decentralized parallel.
Rollups, particularly those that are optimistic and ZK-based, impose delays of 
up to a week on withdrawals and offer only patchy cross-rollup liquidity. The 
result is a fragmented system in which adoption slows, and capital is 
underused.
Developers are left with two poor choices. Either they focus on one rollup and 
limit their audience, or fragment liquidity across several and accept 
inefficiencies. Neither option serves the ecosystem&#8217;s long-term interests. A 
significant opportunity lies, therefore, with protocols that remove these 
frictions. They will attract more capital, operate more efficiently, and 
deliver better experiences.
_**Recent:**__**3 reasons Ethereum could turn a corner**_
Capital movement must be abstracted away from the end-user. Bridges and 
withdrawal queues should become protocol-level concerns, not user problems. It 
is feasible for liquidity deployed on one rollup to satisfy demand on another, 
with background rebalancing ensuring solvency and efficiency. What today seems 
complex can be made invisible.
This design shift from reactive bridging to intent-based liquidity 
coordination would restore composability and preserve decentralization. More 
importantly, it would uphold Ethereum&#8217;s core principles of building open 
systems without central gatekeepers. Without it, users will continue to rely 
on centralized exchanges to bypass friction, compromising self-custody for 
convenience. This is not just a technical challenge &#8212; it is a philosophical 
one.
## Designing around friction is the competitive edge
Designing around capital efficiency is becoming a competitive edge. Tomorrow&#8217;s 
DeFi protocols will not simply compete on fees or yield. They will compete on 
how well they can access liquidity across a fractured landscape. The winners 
will be those that can fulfill a user&#8217;s request wherever the user is without 
requiring them to move funds manually. The result will be better UX, more 
productive capital, and higher network stickiness.
Some underlying technologies are beginning to address the problem. Ethereum- 
native rollups, planned after a hard fork in 2026, promise closer integration, 
and while they are still not ready for deployment, based rollups offer tighter 
alignment with Ethereum by sharing sequencing and improving settlement while 
sacrificing some independence. In the meantime, optimistic rollups are racing 
to implement zero-knowledge proofs to speed up exits. These innovations reduce 
friction, but they are not enough on their own. Scale will come from 
applications designed around these constraints, not from the base layers 
alone.
Zk-Rollups are particularly well suited for this. Their cryptographic 
structure allows for low-latency and trust-minimized messaging between chains. 
This makes them ideal for applications like payments, decentralized trading, 
and real-time financial products, all of which demand speed and certainty. If 
Ethereum can make such cross-rollup flows seamless, it will not just scale. It 
will become the backbone of a more efficient financial system.
That outcome is not guaranteed. Tariffing rollups may serve short-term goals, 
but in the long run, they would weaken the very network Ethereum aims to 
strengthen. Solana, for example, already offers composability within a single 
domain. While Ethereum&#8217;s modular approach is arguably more robust, it cannot 
afford to ignore the usability cost of fragmentation.
Ethereum&#8217;s greatest strength is its neutrality. That should include the 
ability of capital to move freely within its ecosystem. The future will not be 
built by taxing rollups. It will be built by enabling them to function as one 
economic engine.
_**Opinion by: Barna Kiss, CEO of Malda.**_
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.