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DEX dev Uniswap Labs looks for new funding at unicorn valuation: Report

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Uniswap has been previously in talks with NFT lending protocols, planning to tackle liquidity issues and the “information asymmetry” around NFTs.

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US-China trade deal could shed light on Bitcoin’s use case: Trader

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Bitcoin’s potential price reaction to a trade deal between the United States and China could give insights into whether Bitcoin is being used as a safe-haven asset in the current market.

Bitcoin (BTC) outperformed stocks and held up “incredibly strong” during a sharp sell-off on stock markets in April, following Donald Trump’s announcement of tariffs on “Liberation Day,” observed crypto trader “Daan Crypto” on May 11.

Following its plunge to $75,000 on April 7, Bitcoin recovered strongly to trade 27% higher at around $95,000 by the end of the month. Meanwhile, indexes like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq declined in April. 

At the time, people wondered if Bitcoin’s relative strength came from the narrative that countries were using Bitcoin to bypass tariffs. The analyst said the opposite should theoretically occur if the trade deal is confirmed.

“Theoretically speaking, if the trade uncertainty was what was making BTC outperform, it should stop outperforming after we hit the most important deal, which includes China.”

Bitcoin performance since Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement. Source: Daan Crypto

On May 11, the White House announced that talks between the US and China regarding a trade deal have made “substantial progress.” However, no official agreement had been announced.

Related: Bitcoin must close the week above this level to start ‘price discovery 2’

“We will be giving details tomorrow, but I can tell you that the talks were productive,” said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

However, if Bitcoin keeps doing its thing and outperforming, “it’s safe to assume that tariffs likely have little direct impact on how BTC is treated or used,” Daan concluded. 

Markets await trade deal announcement 

Some analysts, however, believe that Bitcoin will likely jump if a trade deal comes through, along with potential rate cuts.

“We believe that institutional investors are less apprehensive about investing in Bitcoin and crypto as US-China trade talks come to a conclusion and the likelihood of rate cuts increases,” Jeff Mei, chief operations officer at BTSE, told Cointelegraph. 

Meanwhile, Jupiter Zheng, researcher at HashKey Capital, said, “A US-China trade deal could signal stability in global markets, potentially driving investors to seek growth opportunities and send capital into alternative assets.”

“Bitcoin could also see new highs as a result, particularly if the deal weakens the dollar or leads to renewed liquidity flows into emerging markets.”

Analyst Will Clemente said on X that only a solid announcement of a trade deal is likely to keep momentum rolling. 

“Feels like you’re gonna need a real, tangible announcement on the China front to keep things moving here locally, momentum starting to stall out on BTC for the first time in a bit,” he said.  

Magazine: Bitcoin eyes ‘crazy numbers,’ JD Vance set for Bitcoin talk: Hodler’s Digest

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‘Dark stablecoins’ could emerge as regulations tighten

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Censorship-resistant “dark stablecoins” could come in increasing demand as governments tighten their oversight of the industry. 

Stablecoins have been used for various groups to store assets due to a lack of government interference; however, with regulations pending, that could soon change, Ki Young Ju, CEO of crypto analytics firm CryptoQuant, said in a May 11 X post.

“Soon, any stablecoin issued by a country could face strict govt regulation, similar to traditional banks. Transfers might automatically trigger tax collection through smart contracts, and wallets could be frozen or require paperwork based on government rules,” he said.

“People who used stablecoins for big international transfers might start looking for censorship-resistant dark stablecoins instead.”

On the heels of US President Donald Trump’s crypto-friendly administration assuming power earlier this year, lawmakers are weighing stablecoin legislation, which seeks to regulate US stablecoins, ensuring their legal use for payments. 

The European Union has already brought in its Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, which, among other measures, mandates that stablecoins be regulated and transparent.

Source: Ki Young Ju

Ju speculates that a dark or private stablecoin could be created as an algorithmic stablecoin, with the value maintained through algorithmic mechanisms rather than being pegged to an external asset like gold, which makes it susceptible to interference from authorities. 

“One possible example could be a decentralized stablecoin that follows the price of regulated coins like USDC using data oracles like Chainlink,” he said.

Another way would be stablecoins issued by countries that don’t censor financial transactions, or, for example, if Tether chooses not to comply with US government regulations in the future.

“USDT itself used to be considered a censorship-resistant stablecoin. If Tether chooses not to comply with US government regulations under a future Trump administration, it could become a dark stablecoin in an increasingly censored internet economy,” Ju said.

Privacy technology in crypto is already being used

Zcash (ZEC) and Monero (XMR) — while they aren’t stablecoins —already shield transactions and allow users to send and receive funds without revealing their transaction data on the blockchain.

Related: Russia finance ministry official floats country making own stablecoins: Report

Several projects are also working on using similar technology for stablecoins, such as Zephyr Protocol, a Monero fork that hides transactions from being revealed on the blockchain. PARScoin also hides user identities, transaction values, and links to past transactions.

The market cap of US dollar-denominated stablecoins has continued to grow, crossing $230 billion in April, a report from investment banking giant Citigroup found. That’s an increase of 54% since last year, with Tether (USDT) and USDC (USDC) dominating 90% of the market.

Meanwhile, total stablecoin volumes hit $27.6 trillion in 2024, surpassing the combined volumes of Visa and Mastercard by 7.7%. 

Magazine: Ridiculous ‘Chinese Mint’ crypto scam, Japan dives into stablecoins: Asia Express

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Stablecoin bill gets second chance with Northern Mariana lawmakers

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Tinian, a small island in the US territory of the Northern Mariana Islands, could get a second chance at launching a stablecoin after the territory’s Senate voted to override the governor’s earlier veto of its stablecoin bill.

On May 9, the Northern Mariana Islands Senate voted 7-1 to override Governor Arnold Palacios’ April 11 veto of the bill, which would allow the Tinian local government to issue licenses to internet casinos and includes a provision for the Tinian treasurer to issue, manage and redeem a “Tinian Stable Token.” 

The bill will now head to the 20-member Northern Mariana Islands House, which will need a two-thirds majority vote to override the veto and pass the bill into law.

If the House is quick to pass the bill, the Tinian government could be in the lead for the first US public entity to issue a stablecoin. It’s in a race against the state of Wyoming, which is aiming to issue a stablecoin by July.

Tinian is governed by the local government, the Municipality of Tinian and Aguiguan, and is one of four municipalities in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a small US territory in the Pacific north of Guam. 

Tinian has just over 2,000 residents, and its economy heavily relies on tourism.

Senators push “much-needed” bill despite “deep concerns” 

Governor Palacios said in his letter last month that he vetoed the bill as it “presents several legal issues and may be unconstitutional” and would regulate an activity that could not “be clearly restricted” to Tinian.

Democrat Senator Celina Babauta, the only one to vote against overriding the veto, said before the vote that she had “deep concerns with respect to the lack of resources, the lack of manpower” to enforce the gambling law and police use of the stablecoin.

“We are restricted by federal statutes and must comply with that,” she added.

Senator Celina Babauta (right) delivers remarks at a Senate hearing alongside Senator Karl King-Nabors (middle). Source: YouTube

“We struggle with trying to find creative and innovative ways to diversify our economy and our industries,” Babauta said. “I don’t believe that gambling is the only thing that we can be looking forward to every single time there’s an investor that comes in.”

However, Republican Senator Karl King-Nabors, who represents Tinian and co-authored the bill, said it was “a far more stringent and efficient way to oversee the online gaming aspect.”

“This stablecoin is tracked through software, and if anything, it allows for more transparency when it comes to the Tinian Casino Gaming Control Commission,” he added.

King-Nabors said the bill aligned with “much-needed” economic diversification measures, as the local economy was yet to bounce back from a COVID-19 pandemic-induced slump.

“This legislation stands at a time where we’re going through so much economic hardships,” King-Nabors added. “I find it difficult that we’re constantly having to step over obstacles when we’re trying to incentivize and look for ways to bring in revenue that don’t affect our environment, that don’t require a brick and mortar, that don’t impact our land.”

Tinian bids for fully-backed stablecoin

Republican Senator for Tinian, Jude Hofschneider, led the introduction of the bill in February, which aims to amend a local Tinian law to allow internet-only casino licenses, along with allowing the island to launch a fully backed US dollar-pegged stablecoin.

A four-member Tinian delegation to the Marianas legislature, which includes Hofschneider and King-Nabors, had passed the bill to Governor Palacios in a unanimous vote on March 12.

Statements shared with Cointelegraph in March said the stablecoin is called the Marianas US Dollar (MUSD) and will be backed by cash and US Treasury bills held in reserve by the Tinian Municipal Treasury.

The Tinian government chose tech services firm Marianas Rai Corporation, based in the Northern Mariana Islands’ capital of Saipan, as the exclusive infrastructure provider to issue and redeem MUSD.

MUSD is built on the eCash blockchain, a network that rebranded from Bitcoin Cash ABC in 2021 and is a fork of Bitcoin Cash, a blockchain that split off from Bitcoin in 2017.

Related: Senator Tim Scott slams partisan politics for failed stablecoin bill 

Marianas Rai Corp. co-founder and technology chief Vin Armani told Cointelegraph in April that it was “in active discussions with potential partners” about launching the token after Governor Palacios’ veto and was “poised to act quickly” as US Congress is looking to pass stablecoin laws.

In the US, one stablecoin bill, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, has since stalled in Congress after Senate Democrats pulled support for the bill due to concerns about President Donald Trump’s sprawling crypto ventures.

Another stablecoin-regulating bill in the House, the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy (STABLE) Act, has also lost Democrat support due to Trump’s crypto tie-ups.

Legal Panel: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight 

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