Stripe is testing a new US dollar-backed stablecoin product for businesses outside the U.S., U.K., and Europe, aiming to expand the dollar's global footprint.

Daily top performer — Pudgy Penguins (PENGU)

S&P 500 futures dipped as over 180 S&P companies prepare to report earnings this week, following a 4.59% gain last week amid easing US-China trade tensions. Gold prices dipped to around $3,310 as easing US-China trade tensions reduced safe-haven demand, though recession fears may limit further losses ahead of key US economic data releases. Fed hawkishness may cap gains. CoinDesk Indices, which tracks the broader crypto market, fell 0.72% in the past 24 hours, while Bitcoin and Ether dropped 0.19% and 1.07%, respectively. Trade these markets and more with up to 500x leverage on Bybit MT5 using this 

Today's top performer is PENGU, rising by 27.5%, following Pudgy Penguins' recent expansion into multiple industries and their celebration of World Penguin Day.

Pudgy Penguins (PENGU), launched in July 2021, is a popular NFT collection known for its cute artwork. It has expanded into physical products like toys, generating over $10 million in sales, and the collection now holds a market cap of over $1.19 billion. Pudgy Penguins and $PENGU were recently 

 as a fitspo in Wisdom Kaye's content, marking a major milestone for their influence across industries. Additionally, last Saturday, the brand celebrated 

, highlighting its continued growth and impact beyond the NFT space. This showcases Pudgy Penguins' expanding presence and reach in multiple sectors.

Check out the latest prices, charts, and data of 

 a new US dollar-backed stablecoin product for businesses outside the U.S., U.K., and Europe, aiming to expand the dollar's global footprint. This follows Stripe's acquisition of Bridge, a stablecoin payment network, which competes with the SWIFT system. Stripe has a history with crypto and recently introduced stablecoin payments in over 70 countries. The company sees this new product as a decade-long ambition, with the stablecoin market growing significantly in 2025.

BTC spot ETFs saw $3.06B of net inflows for the week ending 25 April 2025, with $2.97B from non-GBTC products and $94M from GBTC. Since inception, ETFs have accumulated $38.4B in net flows, with non-GBTC products contributing $61.1B and GBTC seeing $22.7B of outflows.

GiveRep, a decentralized reputation protocol on Sui, has 

 a points program where users can earn Reputation Points by tweeting about GiveRep and its Loyalty projects to qualify for an upcoming airdrop. A minimum of 100 X (Twitter) followers is required, and participants may also earn bonus airdrops from partner projects.

Beginner

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Stripe launches testing for global stablecoin payments after Bridge acquisition

Initia is a blockchain ecosystem that unifies Layer 1 security with customizable Layer 2 rollups through its Interwoven Stack architecture. Learn more here.

 ecosystem forces developers to choose between security and customization, while fragmenting liquidity across isolated chains. Enter Initia (INIT), a groundbreaking protocol that reimagines blockchain architecture by seamlessly integrating 

This article examines Initia's Interwoven Stack architecture, its innovative economic features and the INIT token's utility and distribution, and considers whether this ambitious ecosystem redesign represents a promising investment opportunity following its recent mainnet launch.

 is a blockchain ecosystem that unifies Layer 1 security with customizable Layer 2 rollups through its Interwoven Stack architecture, enabling developers to build specialized application chains without sacrificing interoperability or liquidity or requiring deep infrastructure expertise.

Initia emerged in 2022 when Stanford Liu and Ezaan "Zon" Mangalji left Terraform Labs to tackle blockchain's fragmentation challenges. They later added ecosystem lead OmniscientAsian from Sino Global Capital to help create a more streamlined blockchain infrastructure.

The project quickly gained investor backing, starting with Binance Labs' pre-seed funding in October 2023. This was followed by a $7.5 million seed round led by Delphi Digital and Hack VC, then a $2.5 million community round and a $14 million Series A that valued Initia at $350 million by late 2024.

Initia aims to eliminate the traditional security/customization trade-off in blockchain by creating a unified ecosystem that allows both to coexist. By establishing a central hub for all rollups, the project combines the advantages of monolithic security with the flexibility of modularity, thereby eliminating the fragmentation that currently plagues blockchain systems.

The platform's integrated stack simplifies blockchain development with pre-built solutions that work together seamlessly. Users benefit from Initia's Universal Accounts system, which provides a consistent experience across all connected chains, eliminating the need for multiple wallets or managing different tokens for gas fees.

By introducing economic alignment mechanisms such as the 

, Initia creates an environment in which developers can focus solely on innovation in their applications. This shift away from infrastructure concerns toward product development aims to enhance capital efficiency and drive broader adoption of blockchain.

Initia fuses Layer 1 (L1) and Layer 2 (L2) technologies into a unified architecture with three distinct components. The foundation is Initia L1, built on Cosmos SDK, which functions as the orchestration layer. This base provides security, governance and interoperability.

Above this foundation, Interwoven Rollups (Minitias) provide developers with customizable Layer 2 environments, allowing them to select their preferred virtual machine (

, Move or Wasm), define unique gas token systems and implement specialized transaction ordering mechanisms. 

Binding everything together is the Interwoven Stack, a comprehensive framework that provides all necessary tools for building and deploying rollups without requiring developers to source and integrate disparate components.

The system leverages optimistic rollups through the OPinit Stack to achieve remarkable transaction speeds (up to 10,000 

) while maintaining security. Transactions processed via L2 rollups are submitted to Initia’s L1 for finalization, with data availability secured through 

Initia provides the following core features that work together to simplify development and unify the blockchain ecosystem.

Initia L1 serves as the foundational layer and central coordination hub for the entire ecosystem. Built on the Cosmos SDK with CometBFT and MoveVM, it provides essential services, including network security, governance mechanisms and liquidity solutions through InitiaDEX.

 (also known as Minitias) are flexible Layer 2 blockchains built on top of Initia L1. These rollups rely on the orchestration layer for security and data settlement, operating without native 

 while enabling advanced rollup functionalities.

Developers can customize their rollups by selecting from multiple virtual machines and defining their own gas token and fee structure. This flexibility enables application-specific optimizations and economic models, at the same time maintaining seamless interoperability within the broader Initia ecosystem.

The Interwoven Stack is Initia's comprehensive, all-in-one solution, designed to empower developers in building and deploying rollups with unmatched ease. Instead of requiring developers to research and piece together numerous components — such as wallets, explorers and 

 — the Stack provides everything needed right out of the box.

At the core of this framework is OPinit Stack, designed exclusively for optimistic rollups within the Cosmos ecosystem. It includes mechanisms for fraudproofs and rollback capabilities and supports multiple virtual machines, which allows developers to focus solely on building their applications, rather than configuring complex infrastructure.

The Vested Interest Program (VIP) is Initia's novel incentive alignment mechanism that’s designed to address common issues in multi-rollup ecosystems. It addresses the misalignment of incentives for high-activity 

 (DApps), the economic underutilization of the native token and the inefficient distribution of protocol-level incentives.

VIP programmatically rewards valuable economic activities by allocating INIT tokens to rollups that create innovative applications, and to users who perform beneficial actions. This approach ensures that rollup teams, users and token holders all share aligned interests in the ecosystem's long-term success.

 (DEX) built on the Initia L1, functioning as the central liquidity hub for all Interwoven Rollups. It features Balancer-style weighted pools for diverse asset pairs, and 

 pools for assets with closely correlated prices, ensuring an optimal trading experience.

Enshrined Liquidity is Initia's solution to the traditional dilemma in 

 (PoS) systems, whereby token holders must choose between either staking for security or providing liquidity. It allows governance-whitelisted InitiaDEX liquidity positions (INIT-TOKEN pairs) to function as staking assets alongside the native INIT token.

Users can earn both staking rewards and trading fees from a single position, dramatically improving capital efficiency. To qualify, LP tokens must include INIT as part of the pair (with at least 50% weight for Balancer pools) and receive 

 approval, which also determines reward weight distribution among all whitelisted tokens.

Minitswap eliminates the days-long waiting periods typically required by optimistic bridges when moving assets from rollups to Layer 1s. Users can instantly swap their rollup tokens for L1 assets through liquid trading pairs, creating a frictionless experience for asset transfers throughout the Initia ecosystem.

 offers a unified interface for managing assets across multiple rollups, thereby facilitating cross-chain transfers and accessing DApps. By abstracting multichain complexity into a single interface, users can navigate the entire Initia ecosystem without confronting technical barriers or fragmented experiences.

Initia's bridge technology enables secure token transfers between Initia L1 and rollups using an optimistic bridge model. The OPinit Bridge leverages Cosmos SDK modules, and operates through two key components that work in tandem to ensure system integrity.

The Executor handles token movements, output submissions and data relay, while the Challenger monitors for invalid proposals and provides security oversight. This balanced architecture delivers verifiable cross-chain communication that maintains the integrity of both L1 and L2 chains while enabling reliable asset transfers throughout the Initia ecosystem.

Initia reached a major milestone with its successful mainnet launch on Apr 24, 2025. Before then, the project had completed several critical developments, including the MiniEVM and MiniMove frameworks, the deployment of InitiaDEX and the implementation of the innovative Vested Interest Program.

The immediate post-launch phase is focusing on expanding the ecosystem by onboarding strategic partner projects across 

 and enterprise sectors. This expansion demonstrates Initia's versatility as it builds a network of interconnected Interwoven Rollups that leverage the platform's unified infrastructure.

The INIT airdrop will distribute 50 million tokens, representing 5% of the total supply, to early supporters and community members. This allocation is strategically divided across three main categories: testnet participants (89.46%), social contributors (6.04%) and Interwoven Stack partners (4.50%).

The largest portion (44.7 million INIT) is being designated for the 194,294 users who participated in Initia's public testnet campaigns, particularly those who engaged with interactive 

 activities. Additional allocations target users from partner ecosystems, including LayerZero, IBC and milkTIA holders.

Following the mainnet launch on Apr 24, 2025, eligible participants will have a 30-day claim window to secure their tokens. This airdrop serves as both a community-building initiative and a strategic token distribution to those most likely to contribute to the ecosystem's growth.

INIT is the native token of the Initia ecosystem, with a fixed total supply of 1 billion. Initial circulating supply at launch was 148.75 million INIT, representing 14.88% of the total supply. The token’s distribution is strategically designed to ensure long-term sustainability and broad community engagement.

INIT enables staking to secure the network, powers governance decisions for protocol changes, facilitates cross-rollup operations between different Minitias and provides liquidity through InitiaDEX. This utility-driven model ties INIT's value directly to ecosystem activity and adoption.

Looking to trade Initia tokens? Bybit now offers the INITUSDT Perpetual contract following the recent mainnet launch. To get started, you'll need to create a Bybit account, fund it with cryptocurrency and navigate to the 

While Initia represents a groundbreaking approach to blockchain scalability through its interwoven architecture and unified liquidity model, investors must carefully weigh its significant growth potential against relevant risk factors.

Initia shows promising potential with its comprehensive ecosystem approach and significant financial backing. In addition, growing demand for scalable blockchain infrastructure that doesn't sacrifice security or customization provides a favorable market environment. However, potential investors should 

 and consider their individual risk tolerance.

Initia revolutionizes blockchain architecture by creating a multichain environment in which thousands of appchains can coexist harmoniously through modularity and orchestration. With established financial backing and over 16 appchains already onboarded at mainnet launch, Initia could transform the way blockchain applications are built, deployed and interconnected.

Intermediate

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Initia (INIT): The Interwoven Stack behind scalable rollups

Apr 28, 2025: Our weekly Institutional Insights explores the latest market developments — market performance, industry news, exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows, trending topics, upcoming events and token unlocks — to help you supercharge your crypto trading.

 explores the latest market developments — market performance, industry news, exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows, trending topics, upcoming events and token unlocks — to help you supercharge your crypto trading.

Weekly highlight — US-Sino trade conflicts cool down

China is considering suspending its 125% tariff on certain US imports, including medical equipment and industrial chemicals like ethane, due to the economic impact of the trade war. Discussions are also underway to waive tariffs on aircraft leases, which are financially burdensome for airlines.

This potential move has boosted investor optimism, with Asian shares rising and the yuan recovering losses. Analysts view this as a step toward de-escalation, although significant differences between the US and China remain.

The proposed exemptions align with recent US tariff exclusions on electronics, highlighting the intertwined nature of the two economies. Chinese companies reliant on US goods, such as advanced medical equipment and ethane, have reported some shipments arriving without tariffs.

While the list of potential exemptions is still being finalized, authorities have requested companies submit customs codes for necessary goods. Reports suggest China may also waive tariffs on at least eight semiconductor-related products, excluding memory chips, which could impact companies such as Micron Technology.

Overall, while investor interest grows, relations between the two nations still face challenges, with China demanding the US revoke unilateral tariffs before resuming trade talks.

Traders have heavily invested in Cantor Equity Partners Inc, a blank-check company merging with Twenty One Capital Inc., which is backed by Tether, Bitfinex and SoftBank. Since the April 22 merger announcement, Cantor's stock has surged 197%, closing at $31.50 on Friday.

The merger includes a convertible debt offering, potentially leading to a market capitalization of about $12 billion that would far exceed the estimated $4 billion value of the Bitcoin it’s expected to hold. This would reflect strong demand for crypto-related investments.

Analysts note that investing in such vehicles is akin to betting on Bitcoin's growth. Public special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) shareholders are projected to own 2.7% of the new company, while major stakeholders like Tether and SoftBank will have substantial shares. Overall, the market is optimistic about this collaboration in the digital asset space.

Advanced

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Weekly Institutional Insights: Trade conflicts cool down as crypto SPAC sees popularity

Our weekly crypto derivatives analytics report delves into macro events; the current state of crypto and trading signals from spot trading volume; and futures, options and perpetual contracts.

At the start of the week, Bitcoin showed signs of decoupling from US equities. However, US president Trump's positive remarks about the US-China trade war (which had included a 145% tariff on Chinese goods) triggered a relief rally across markets. As a result, BTC has resumed moving up with US equities. 

This rally has led to a rise in short-tenor implied volatility and a recovery in BTC’s put-call skew, indicating that traders are seeking upside exposure.

Please check out the report’s highlights.

Perp open interest rises across the board

Perpetual open interest increased significantly this week across various tokens, especially ETH. Perpetual trading volumes also rose. Notably, Ap 7, 2025 recorded the highest trade volume of the month, following Trump's comment, "Forget markets for a second, we have all the advantages."

BTC option open interest shows a mixed picture; put-call skew in short tenor sends positive signals

President Trump’s recent willingness to negotiate a trade deal with China’s President Xi triggered a relief rally across asset classes, including crypto. Bitcoin had already risen 7% since Apr 21, 2025, prior to Trump's comments. Despite this rally, open interest in puts has outpaced calls, with options volume remaining relatively balanced. 

It's unclear if the demand for puts reflects a hedge against downside risks, or a bet against the upward movement. Meanwhile, perpetual funding rates are providing limited insight into sentiment. However, the recovery of the put-call skew at short tenors indicates that traders are seeking upside exposure to the rally — and are willing to pay for it.

ETH unexpectedly outperforms BTC in this relief rally

ETH's response to the recent crypto market recovery has diverged from previous trends: it outperformed BTC in spot prices, a rarity in past rallies, and open interest in calls exceeds that in puts — opposite to BTC's trend. In addition, ETH call open interest is nearly double that of puts, with calls dominating options volumes. This suggests traders anticipate ETH will reduce its significant underperformance against both BTC and other “ETH killers” like SUI and SOL. Additionally, the spot rally has led to another term structure inversion for ETH.

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Bybit X Block Scholes crypto derivatives analytics report (Apr 24, 2025): Put-call skew recovers at short tenors, showing reviving sentiment

Bybit Learn

Bitcoin

Investing

Will I make a loss or profit if I dollar-cost-average (DCA) in Bitcoin over the years? Here's everything you need to know. 

 is a digital currency that’s gained significant popularity over the past decade, becoming almost synonymous with cryptocurrency. It’s often seen as a good store of value and remains the most valuable cryptocurrency in the market. 

Since its introduction in 2009, Bitcoin’s price has experienced a hair-raising rollercoaster. Bitcoin’s price started at $0, but by 2011 it had pushed past $1, and exceeded $100 by mid-2013. After some alternating highs and lows, it hit its first milestone of nearly $20,000 in 2017. However, Bitcoin’s subsequent crash in December of the same year sent its price 

The 2019 pandemic had an impact on Bitcoin, pushing its price below $6,000 in March 2020. Then, in a stirring comeback, BTC’s value jumped to an all-time high of around $69,000 in November 2021. 

However, the 2022 crash set in motion by 

 caused Bitcoin’s price to bottom out at around $15,000 in November 2022. Bitcoin began its gradual recovery in 2023, 

with a significant boost in late November due to speculation about potential approval of a Bitcoin spot ETF. The subsequent approval of several Bitcoin spot ETFs

 in early January 2024 led to a roaring rally as BTC peaked at over $46,000.

Despite the wild ride, many investors in the crypto market remain interested in Bitcoin investments, with many wondering what would have happened if they’d invested $100 in a single Bitcoin at different points in its history. 

In this article, we’ll explore the outcome of such an investment and discuss whether or not 2024 is still a good time to invest in Bitcoin.

What if I’d Invested $100 in Bitcoin in 2022?

The value of Bitcoin in 2022 saw significant fluctuations, peaking at $46,285 in February and dropping to a low of $15,742 by November. The value of your investment would have varied significantly, depending upon when you made your purchase. 

If you’d invested $100 in BTC at its peak price in 2022, your investment would have fallen by more than half at its low to $34.01. But if you’d chosen not to sell your BTC and held it till today (Feb 6, 2024), with Bitcoin’s price at $42,712.72, your $100 would be worth $92.28. 

Meanwhile, if you’d chosen to invest $100 during Bitcoin’s dip to $15,742, your investment would be worth $272.33 today — meaning you’d have earned $172.33.

What if I’d Invested $100 in Bitcoin in 2023?

2023 is the year when Bitcoin started to recover from the 2022 crash. It began with a slightly higher price than 2022’s low of $15,742, at around $16,674. In just a month, investor confidence grew, and BTC’s price rose to $24,284 by February. April saw another peak at $30,405. From then on, Bitcoin’s price fluctuated between $25,000 and $30,000 for several months until October. The rally started in October, as Bitcoin’s price skyrocketed to $44,202 in December.

If you’d invested $100 in Bitcoin at the start of 2023, in just one month, your $100 would have grown by over $40 to $145.63, and by April it would have reached $182.35. When Bitcoin hit its December high of $44,202, your $100 would be worth $265.10. And if you’d continued to 

 your Bitcoin investment until today, you’d have earned a total profit of $156.19.

Investing $100 in Bitcoin in February would have earned you $25.21 by April and $82.02 in December. Today, your $100 would be worth $175.89, making your total earnings $75.89. 

If you were late into the investment game, and joined in December when BTC hit its highest price for that year at $43,042, you would have made a slight loss of around $0.75 today.

Whether Bitcoin's price skyrockets is subject to the economy’s macro and micro factors, such as market supply and demand, regulatory developments, hype, investor sentiment and technological advances. 

While Bitcoin may have had a strong start this year, thanks to the Bitcoin spot ETF approvals in early January, it’s still impossible to predict whether 2024 will truly be an excellent year for crypto investments. However, most analysts foresee value growth, mainly from the expected deflationary effect of the next 

Additionally, Bitcoin's recent technological advancements, which have created 

, might lead to increased demand as Bitcoin evolves from a mere store of value to a payment method. As its utility expands and overall adoption increases, Bitcoin’s price will likely rise.

Not all industry watchers are bullish about Bitcoin, however.

 Some predict its value may fall as low as $10,000, due to concerns about its environmental impact, which have led to the proposal of a 

 excise tax in the United States in 2024 at a rate of 10%, which could rise to 30% by 2026. 

While the introduction of Ordinals on the Bitcoin blockchain may help generate sustainable fees in the long run, some experts assert that Ordinal inscriptions will only cause congestion on Bitcoin’s network.

The wildly opposing views of experts demonstrate that Bitcoin still remains a highly speculative investment, despite the trend toward increasing regulation. While there are Bitcoin evangelists who strongly believe in its potential, there are also those who are skeptical of or opposed to Bitcoin and its adoption. Diversifying your investment assets may not be a bad idea if you have excess cash reserves overall.

What Will $100 in Bitcoin Be Worth in 2030? 

ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood is incredibly bullish on Bitcoin’s future, following the SEC's approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs. She has predicted Bitcoin (BTC) will 

 in a bullish setting, and still exceed its current all-time high price to reach $258,500 in a bear market. 

Nevertheless, most other financial experts are more conservative on the future of Bitcoin’s price growth. Digital Coin Price 

 $320,603.40 by 2030. Price Prediction is more bullish, 

Is Investing $100 in Bitcoin Sufficient to Profit in the Long Term? 

It’s difficult to predict with certainty whether or not investing $100 in Bitcoin will yield a profit over the long run. The king of cryptocurrencies has proven notoriously volatile, and isn’t guaranteed to increase in value over time. Potential investors must be aware of the risks associated with investing in Bitcoin and approach doing so cautiously.

 (DCA) investing strategy potentially allows investors to profit from their Bitcoin investments over the long term. This is because DCA softens the impact of market volatility and enables you to buy more BTC when prices are lower, which can reduce the average cost of your investment. 

As mentioned before, many factors influence the price of Bitcoin. Still, some experts believe that as adoption increases and its infrastructure improves to fit the users’ criteria, Bitcoin’s price will likely stabilize. Here are some reasons that could contribute to the price stabilization of Bitcoin over time:

If you’re considering investing in Bitcoin in 2023, there are a few things to keep in mind in order to better increase the return on your initial investment.

How to Choose a Reliable Crypto Exchange 

One of the most important considerations when investing in Bitcoin is choosing a reliable cryptocurrency exchange. Historically, this became even more pertinent following the disastrous collapse of 

 and, more recently, FTX. Devastated investors saw their life savings vanish overnight in 2014 as over 800,000 Bitcoins were stolen from the Mt. Gox exchange in the now infamous hack. 

FTX, another major exchange, collapsed in November 2022 after 

 reported alleged malpractice, raising doubts over the exchange's solvency. 

These catastrophic incidents highlight the importance of choosing the right place to invest and store your Bitcoin.

Choosing a reputable cryptocurrency exchange involves looking for one that has an associated physical address, offers unparalleled security and complies with relevant regulations. One such trustworthy exchange is Bybit, a Dubai-based exchange committed to user security through its multiple security measures, such as triple-layer asset protection and real-time risk monitoring.

 to remember when searching for a reliable exchange: Always research extensively and read other users' reviews before choosing an exchange to partner with.

Another critical factor to consider when selecting an exchange for your Bitcoin investment is the transaction fees, which can vary significantly from one exchange to another and can be based on transaction size or activity level. Transaction fees add up over time, and can have a significant impact on your investment profitability. Therefore, it’s essential to compare the fees charged by different exchanges and their fee structures before deciding where you want to invest.

) is operated by a central authority. It allows users to trade cryptocurrencies within the exchange, which acts as an intermediary between buyers and sellers. On the other hand, a decentralized exchange (

) operates without a central authority and allows users to trade cryptocurrencies directly with each other, securely and trustlessly.

Let’s look at the pros and cons of both CEXs and DEXes.

Ultimately, deciding whether to use a CEX or DEX depends upon your individual needs and goals. If you’re a beginner or are looking for a more user-friendly platform with advanced trading features, a CEX might be a good choice. However, a DEX might be a better option if you value control over your assets and privacy, and are willing to trade off some convenience and features.

You need to safely and securely store your Bitcoin once you’ve purchased it. Proper storage will protect your investment, and give you peace of mind. Each storage option has its pros and cons, so you’ll want to consider the tradeoff between security and convenience before carefully deciding which option is best for you.

Regardless of which storage option you choose, it’s important to keep your Bitcoin secure and make sure to follow best practices for storing and protecting it.

If you have spare cash in your bank account, consider 

 to diversify your portfolio. Bybit offers an intuitive interface that allows users to buy and sell Bitcoin and other digital assets via their local fiat currencies.

How Much Would I Have Earned if I’d Invested $100 in Bitcoin? (2024 Edition)

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How Much Would I Have Earned if I’d Invested $100 in Bitcoin? (2024 Edition)

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