Coindesk

Bootstrapping decentralized finance (DeFi) on any blockchain usually requires a mix of builders with big ideas and funders to back them. That much is as true for baselayers as it is for the financial protocols launching atop them.

Arch Labs, whose eponymous network is one of the many projects trying to bring DeFi to Bitcoin, had no trouble raising its $7 million launch capital from big-name venture firms last year. Now it’s shifting focus to help fund those smaller protocols that could make the whole network boom.

In that goal it has found a willing partner. An entire venture company, DPI Capital, is dedicating millions of dollars in resources toward backing early-stage DeFi projects that enter Arch’s first accelerator program, called Keystone.

“We’re really focused on the pillars right now, the things that are most important for growth,” said Brent Fisher, a general partner at Caymans Islands-registered DPI Capital. That means finding and funding compelling projects building borrow-and-lend protocols, decentralized exchanges, stablecoin platforms and real world asset (RWA) plays.

It’s not unheard of for venture firms to go big on a single protocol. Early Solana investor Multicoin Capital also backs many of the smaller ecosystem projects that drive activity on the blockchain. But even that giant diversifies beyond Solana. For example, it led last year’s investment in Arch.

DPI used to have a more diversified risk appetite as it chased deals across the Etheruem ecosystem. But not anymore. “I’m going all in on Arch,” Fisher said.

DPI’s yet-to-close fund will be a quasi-official venture wing for early stage projects on Arch alone. Such myopic focus carries a lot of risk. First, that the “pillar” protocols DPI picks as leaders prove the theory. Second, and more importantly, that Arch itself will catch on.

Fisher’s more focused on the counterpoint: that Arch is the winning bet, and no strategy’s better than betting on all its horses.

“This has huge potential, potentially even to knock out on Ethereum,” said Brent Fisher, general partner.

His Arch bull case stems from Bitcoin’s enduring status as the world’s most valuable crypto asset. The crypto is nearly one trillion dollars more valuable than Ethereum despite lacking a strong internal DeFi ecosystem, which has long been the runner-up’s claim to fame.

Plenty of family offices, investment companies and increasingly exchange-traded funds hold BTC and do so without much concern for their inability to deploy those coins into low risk yield plays on the Bitcoin Network, as they might with ETH on Ethereum Network.

“I think that that play is huge, because, as you see these ETFs with Black Rock and ARK and so forth, for them to even get a Delta neutral strategy of 10% is a game changer,” Fisher said.

Arch’s Bitcoin-powered programmability layer allows for such activity, Fisher said. They’re not the only network with this kind of vision, but Fisher says it’s the only one with a “true native self custody model” instead of some sort of bridging or wrapping mechanism. Keeping bitcoin on the network eliminates a level of risk, he said.

Arch’s Keystone accelerator is thus a natural pipeline for DPI to get a right-of-first refusal look at many of the teams angling to launch their BitcoinFi tech on the platform. DPI will write checks of up to $250,000 for the teams it likes and then help them find other investors and scale.

The U.S. House Financial Services Committee checked the next box in moving toward what Representative Bryan Steil referred to as the “second half” of President Donald Trump’s crypto agenda: a bill to set U.S. crypto market rules for a fully regulated domestic industry.

Steil, the Republican chairman of the panel’s crypto subcommittee, said that the first half of Trump’s goal is well underway — Congress’ stablecoin legislation that’s already advanced through committees in both the House and Senate — so a Wednesday hearing explored the other long-awaited digital assets bill to establish the structure of crypto markets. Such hearings represent a rung on such an effort’s climb through Congress.

Representative French Hill, the Arkansas Republican who runs the overall committee, indicated that those working on the bill are closer to releasing a successor to the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21), the House legislation that passed last year but failed to progress through the Senate.

“The committee has engaged with a wide range of stakeholders, from government agencies to leaders in the ecosystem to identify ways market structure legislation can be further refined and strengthened,” he said during the hearing. “We’re actively working to release a legislative discussion draft that reflects that feedback from members and market participants.”

Democrats on the committee returned repeatedly to the crypto business activity of Trump and his family, questioning industry lawyers about whether it represents a conflict of interest. Representative Maxine Waters, the committee’s ranking Democrat, accused the panel of trying to make Trump “the king of crypto by passing legislation that lets him corner the market on stablecoins, kick George Washington off the dollar and make his own stablecoin.”

The witnesses mostly declined to engage on Trump, though a consumer advocate testifying on Wednesday, Alexandra Thornton, a senior director at the Center for American Progress, noted “there have been a number of things that the Trump administration has done that have favored crypto, and they include many that you mentioned, but also letting go of many enforcement staff, dropping many cases against crypto.”

The lawmakers also drilled down on the proper roles of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in future crypto oversight, and how Congress should define which regulatory buckets should handle the different digital assets. In recent years, the SEC’s interpretation of how to use securities law to identify which crypto tokens are securities left the industry in legal confusion and mired in enforcement disputes, despite some early guidance from the agency on how to negotiate legal standards.

“Market participants have still found it challenging to apply,” said Tiffany Smith, who works with crypto clients at law firm WilmerHale. She added that the definitions become even more complicated when the bulk of crypto transactions happen on secondary markets, such as on crypto exchanges. “Regulatory clarity is needed,” she said.

Read More: U.S. House Stablecoin Bill Poised to Go Public, Lawmaker Atop Crypto Panel Says

Virgil Griffith, a former Ethereum developer jailed for attending a crypto conference in North Korea in 2019, was released from prison and is on his way to a halfway house, according to his lawyer, Alexander Urbelis.

Urbelis, general counsel of the Ethereum Name Service who has also been serving as Griffith’s outside counsel, posted a photo of the newly released Griffith and his parents on X on Wednesday, standing in front of FCI Milan, the low-security Michigan prison where Griffith served a portion of his 56-month sentence.

“I am so pleased to report that VIRGIL IS OUT!” Urbelis wrote. “Happy day indeed.”

Griffith was arrested in November 2019, seven months after returning from the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, where he had attended a crypto conference. While at the conference, Griffith gave a presentation on Ethereum and explained how cryptocurrency could be used to evade sanctions against the country. Though he initially fought the charge, Griffith pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate international sanctions in 2021.

The New York judge overseeing the case sentenced him to a $100,000 fine and 63 months, or a little over five years, imprisonment — a fraction of the possible 20 year sentence he faced if he went to trial and lost. Last year, Griffith’s lawyers were successfully able to get his sentence reduced to 56 months, citing his status as a first-time offender.

Griffith has been imprisoned since mid-2021. Though he was initially released on bail following his arrest, a judge sent him back to jail in New York to await trial after he violated his bail conditions by attempting to access one of his cryptocurrency accounts in order to pay his lawyers.

Urbelis told CoinDesk that Griffith’s legal team has hopes he will soon be moved from his halfway house in Baltimore to home confinement.

“But the long-term consequences persist: Virgil will have to endure burdensome probation for several years, the conditions of which are not yet known,” Urbelis said. “And on top of that, the Department of Commerce placed severe export restrictions on Virgil that will extend until 2032 and which would make his life very difficult.”

The Department of Commerce’s restrictions prohibit Griffith from participating either directly or indirectly in any transaction involving software or technology that will be exported from the U.S., Urbelis said, making a return to working in the crypto industry difficult, if not impossible.

Griffith is seeking a pardon from President Donald Trump’s administration, which Urbelis said was an “ongoing process” they had made “great progress” on.

“We are seeking a pardon to bring justice to a prosecution that we believe was wrongheaded and fundamentally un-American from the outset, to better Virgil’s life, and to make sure that Virgil has [the] ability to contribute to a world that so desperately needs thinkers and doers like him,” Urbelis said.

Trump has pardoned a number of people convicted on crypto-related criminal charges, including Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht and former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes and three people convicted of violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). Still more convicted crypto criminals, including former FTX CEO and fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried, are hopeful for pardons of their own.

EMB: April 9, 16:00 UTC

A blockchain-based startup in London said it closed a $50 million funding round to forward its goal of “reinventing social media.”

Wunder.Social raised the funds in a round led by Rollman Management, according to an announcement shared with CoinDesk on Wednesday.

The project uses blockchain technology to verify users, thereby eliminating bots, and shares advertising revenue with users, allowing them to fund causes they care about, Wunder.Social said in the announcement.

A token offer is planned for later this month, with interested potential users signing up on the company’s website.

The project also said that the former head of marketing at TikTok, Ryan Martin, joined Wunder.Social as chief marketing officer.

Read More: Decentralized Social Media Firm Lens Eyes Massive Scale-Up

Tokenization of funds is booming, but their rapid rise comes with serious risks that investors should not overlook, credit agency Moody’s Ratings said in a Wednesday report.

Several major financial institutions, including BlackRock and Franklin Templeton, have made their mark in the world of tokenization and inspired others to follow the latest trend. For example, tokenized money market funds grew roughly 350% in a year to a market capitalization of $5.2 billion, per rwa.xyz data.

“When assessing tokenized funds, investors have to weigh not only the benefits of accessibility and transparency, but also the risks tied to the underlying technology, security vulnerabilities, scalability limitations and evolving regulations,” said Cristiano Ventricelli, VP-senior analyst at Moody’s Ratings.

At the forefront of these risks is the limited experience of many fund managers in the still-developing tokenization market, Moody’s noted. With small teams and short track records, operators could face key-man risk where too much depends on a few individuals: If a crucial executive leaves or governance structures are thin, the stability of the fund could be shaken, the report said. Moody’s urged fund teams to distribute responsibilities and shore up risk management practices.

Blockchain disruptions, again resulting from the novelty of the technology, poses another risk. While smart contracts offer operational efficiencies like automating fund operations, they remain susceptible to coding flaws or malicious attacks, the report noted. Using public, permissionless blockchains increases accessibility but also raises exposure to potential exploits, it added. Moody’s recommended keeping off-chain backups and conducting rigorous smart contract audits to guard against disruptions.

Redemption mechanisms, which let investors cash out their holdings, are another fragile link. The report encouraged tokenized funds to allow redemptions in both stablecoins and fiat currency. This dual approach helps cushion against events like stablecoin depegs or blockchain outages.

Lastly, tokenized funds operate across jurisdictions with varying regulations, and this patchwork increases the risk that investor claims could face legal hurdles, the report said. While some funds use structures designed to give token holders direct claims on the underlying assets, enforceability still depends on local laws and the strength of fund documentation, the report added.

World Liberty Financial, the Donald Trump family-backed DeFi project, reportedly started to sell its ether (ETH) stash at $1,465 a token despite purchasing the asset for $3,259 at the start of the year.

On-chain data from Arkham shows that a wallet closely tied to World Liberty Financial sold 5,471 ETH for around $8 million on Wednesday after racking up a $125 million loss.

The sale comes just two months after Eric Trump, the U.S. president’s son, said it was a great time to buy ETH, which was trading at $2,880.

The main World Liberty Financial wallet still holds $98 million worth of crypto, $11.7 million of which is in ether.

Donald Trump wrote on Wednesday that it is a “great time to buy” on Truth Social while global markets tumbled on the escalating risks of a trade war.

Since Trump was inaugurated on Jan. 20 the Nasdaq is down by 20%, S&P 500 by 17% and bitcoin (BTC) by 24%.

The TRUMP and MELANIA memecoins have fared worse, losing 83% and 95%, respectively, since Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration.

World Liberty Financial did not immediately respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment.

Global Economic Tensions Impact SHIB

The cryptocurrency market experienced significant turbulence as escalating trade tensions between the United States and China sent shockwaves through global financial markets. Shiba Inu (SHIB) was not spared from the selloff, plummeting to $0.00001038 – its lowest level since February 2023 – as investors fled risk assets following President Trump’s announcement of new tariff policies.

The meme coin’s dramatic decline came despite positive developments within its ecosystem, including Shibarium’s achievement of processing over 1 billion transactions. The layer-2 scaling solution has now processed more than 10.3 million blocks since its launch, averaging approximately 4.4 million daily transactions, making it one of the fastest-growing networks on Ethereum.

Some technical analysts note that SHIB has formed a potential double-bottom pattern around the $0.00001050 support level. Recent price action shows signs of recovery as the asset reclaims the $0.00001097 level with increasing volume. However, with SHIB’s open interest declining by $454 million since January and funding rates turning negative, short-term bearish sentiment remains strong despite the potential for continuation toward the $0.00001150 resistance zone if current support holds, according to CoinDesk Research technical analysis model.

Technical Analysis Highlights

SHIB experienced a 16.2% decline from $0.00001239 to $0.00001038 on April 7th. During the sell-off, unusually high trading volumes exceeded 3.6 billion.

A clear double bottom pattern formed around the $0.00001050 support level, followed by the establishment of an uptrend channel with resistance at $0.00001108.

Recent price action shows bullish momentum with increasing volume as SHIB reclaimed the $0.00001097 level with consecutive higher lows.

After reaching a low of $0.000010939, the asset established a higher low at $0.000010949, followed by a significant upward movement to $0.000010985, representing a 4.2% gain from the session low.

An ascending channel formed with support at $0.000010965, while increased trading volume during upward movements (particularly the 29.8M volume spike at 09:08) confirms strengthening bullish momentum.

Recent consolidation between $0.000010970 and $0.000010973 suggests accumulation before potential continuation toward the $0.000010990 resistance level.

Disclaimer: This article was generated with AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy. This article may include information from external sources, which are listed below when applicable.

External References:

Times Tabloid, “Shiba Inu (SHIB) Coils for a Massive Move: Key Levels to Watch,” published April 5, 2025.

Times Tabloid, “ChatGPT Predicts Shiba Inu (SHIB) Price for April 30, 2025,” published April 6, 2025.

CoinGape, “Shiba Inu Price Faces 50% Crash as Bearish Breakout Looms,” published April 7, 2025.

CryptoPotato, “Shibarium’s Latest Milestone Fails to Stop SHIB’s Nosedive: Details,” published April 7, 2025.

TheCoinrise, “SUI & SHIB Struggle for Momentum While BlockDAG Mobile Mining Sees Surge to 1.2M Users After Keynote 3,” published April 7, 2025.

European Union (EU) member states have approved the European Commission’s proposal to introduce retaliatory tariffs against the U.S.

The bloc’s executive made the proposal as a countermeasure against the U.S.’ imposition of tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium from the EU.

Duties will be collected from April 15 once the implementing act is published, the Commission announced on Wednesday.

“The EU considers U.S. tariffs unjustified and damaging, causing economic harm to both sides, as well as the global economy,” the Commission said in the announcement.

The Commission added that its preference is to avoid imposing tariffs and that they could be suspended at any time should the U.S. “agree to a fair and balanced negotiated outcome.”

President Donald Trump’s unveiling of steep import tariffs have sent both crypto equity markets tumbling in the last week. BTC has lost around 8% and both the S&p 500 and Nasdaq have fallen by over 10%.

Teucrium Investment Advisors’ 2x Long Daily XRP exchange-traded fund (XXRP), the first leveraged XRP product in the U.S., racked up $5 million in trading volume on its Tuesday debut, becoming one of the company’s “most successful” introductions and posting a top 5% performance for a new ETF.

The ETF is designed to deliver twice the daily returns of XRP through swap agreements. With no suitable US-listed spot XRP ETFs available, the swaps’ reference rates incorporate several European exchange-traded products.

The change in U.S. government and its more pro-crypto stance helped bring the ETF to market. The filing for the ETF took place right after the prior Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) administration exited, and as soon as the standard 75-day review period passed, Teucrium seized the earliest launch window.

“We filed as soon as we could after the old SEC regime left … we launched today,” CEO Sal Gilbertie said on Tuesday. “I think it’s almost at a couple hundred thousand shares.”

The fund saw about four times the initial activity of Volatility Shares’ 2x Solana ETF (SOLT), propelling it into the top 5%, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.

“It’s been a terrific, very successful launch — our most successful launch day to date for any fund we’ve ever done,” Gilbertie said. “There was overwhelming excitement… I think a lot because we were overlooked.”

The ETF gains XRP exposure through swaps tied to European XRP ETPs but can also use other XRP-linked instruments, like futures, to enhance efficiency and cut costs. Gilbertie emphasized that the product isn’t for long-term investors.

“This is absolutely a short-term trading tool — ideally for one day,” he said. “Because of the reset and the math … if that asset goes up very slowly or sideways or down, you will lose money.”

Teucrium, managing roughly $320 million across 12 ETFs, is already planning an inverse XRP ETF, the Teucrium 2x Short Daily XRP ETF, a prospectus shows. This would let investors profit from XRP price drops, though Gilbertie said the firm will wait to assess demand before proceeding.

CoinDesk Indices presents its daily market update, highlighting the performance of leaders and laggards in the CoinDesk 20 Index.

The CoinDesk 20 is currently trading at 2164.45, down 0.9% (-20.67) since 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

Six of the 20 assets are trading higher.

Leaders: LTC (+1.7%) and LINK (+1.7%).

Laggards: SUI (-3.8%) and XLM (-2.7%).

The CoinDesk 20 is a broad-based index traded on multiple platforms in several regions globally.