Opinion by: Kevin Rusher, founder of RAAC

It’s a volatile world out there. This year, we’ve seen stocks take a wild ride as gold has pumped and crypto has been caught somewhere in the middle. Investors have dumped risk assets and scrambled for safe havens. Gold is leading the charge.

While gold is safe, it is not very hard-working. Unlike cash and treasuries, the yellow metal does not generate income. Now, more than ever, investors need to be able to earn yield on gold — particularly in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector.

The only way to make money from gold is to buy low and sell high. Most investors don’t tend to buy gold like this. That’s for good reason — over the long term, gold’s performance is typically consistent, if not without a few peaks and troughs here and there, as we have recently seen.

For example, after the 2008 financial crisis, the price of gold soared 148% but stagnated for nearly a decade before the COVID-19 pandemic triggered another rally, and it’s likely we will see gold hold, if not fall from it’s new record high once markets revive. While it remains an excellent hedge, gold’s long-term track record is not a growth story.

Investors prefer US Treasurys or high-yield savings accounts as part of a balanced portfolio. While gold may outperform these assets in uncertain times, it offers a better balance of security and predictable income over the long term. 

The DeFi solution 

This is where DeFi brings innovation to the world’s oldest asset. DeFi can significantly modernize gold investing, offering the speed and transparency of blockchain-based transactions and the ability to earn returns.

Currently, though, most tokenized gold is much the same as holding it in an exchange-traded fund (ETF). Stablecoin giants like Tether and Paxos have launched gold-backed tokens, which they say are fully backed by physical, audited gold reserves, yet offer no yield.

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Most DeFi investors prefer liquid, tradable assets like cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, which can generate attractive returns. Many would rather, for example, buy Tether’s USDt (USDT) stablecoin and stake it, earning rewards while still maintaining ownership.

Perhaps this is why the market capitalization of gold-backed tokens remains modest. Tether Gold, the world’s most significant gold token, has a market capitalization of just under $835 million, for example, while Paxos Gold sits at around $799 million. Combined, this is equivalent to just 1% of the market cap of USDT. 

Unlocking income from the world’s oldest asset 

To unlock gold’s full potential, we need to take tokenization a step further by creating a DeFi ecosystem where tokenized gold is actively put to work — borrowed, lent and integrated into yield-bearing strategies.

One possibility is for companies such as gold miners is to issue tokenized versions of their reserves that can be turned into stablecoins that can then be staked to earn a yield. Leveraging protocols whose liquidity mechanisms enable the trading of stablecoins and real-world asset (RWA) tokens, holders could take advantage of further yield opportunities throughout the DeFi ecosystem.

Beyond the benefits of yield opportunities, blockchain technology means investors in tokenized gold can benefit from the flexibility of 24-hour trading, near real-time price discovery and near-instant settlement without compromising the stability of the asset. 

The future of gold investing

It is, perhaps, ironic that — just as governments worldwide are starting to put their stamp of approval on digital finance — gold is becoming a highly desirable commodity again. The public’s interest in it will grow as governments essentially ratify digital finance. At the same time, the appetite for gold in these uncertain times will also increase. 

DeFi could bring these trends together and kickstart a natural evolution in gold ownership that provides a solid bridge between traditional and digital finance. While gold inside traditional markets attracts investors looking for stability, DeFi brings opportunities that don’t compromise that stability, as it presents new and unique yield opportunities. 

Gold has captivated humanity for thousands of years. It’s the foundation of myths, the standard of wealth and the ultimate hedge against uncertainty. But in today’s financial world, it needs an upgrade.

Through integrating gold into the DeFi ecosystem, we could unlock its true potential — not just as a store of value but as an income-generating asset. The world’s oldest safe haven asset is finally on the brink of a digital evolution.

Opinion by: Kevin Rusher, founder of RAAC.

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’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

After 4chan was hacked on April 14 and vast troves of user and moderator data were leaked online, the controversial website quickly went down, and many believed it would never recover. However, less than two weeks later, the imageboard was back online, defiant as ever.

“4chan is back,” an official blog post proclaimed. “No other website can replace it, or this community. No matter how hard it is, we are not giving up.”

The imageboard has left its mark on the world in many consequential ways, birthing countless memes and conspiracy theories, serving as a platform for political movements ranging from the alt-right to Anonymous, and acting as a dumping ground for leaks and hacks of all sorts. 

Crypto is no exception, with 4chan also a historically influential gathering place to share altcoin alpha, coordinate campaigns to pump tokens, share price prophesies and more.

With the imageboard back from the dead, here are just a few of the ways it has influenced the crypto space during its storied history.

Finding alpha on 4chan’s /Biz/ imageboard

The primary hub of crypto activity on 4chan is its /Biz/, or “Business & Finance,” imageboard, where traders, gamblers, investors and commentators gather to share info, shill tokens, and discuss the state of the crypto industry at large. 

The imageboard has gathered a reputation for being a place where intrepid investors can go to learn about moonshot tokens the broader community has yet to discover, though X and Telegram have since given 4chan a run for its money. It has also been ground zero for countless shilling campaigns that have helped pump prices for various tokens.

A Reddit user shares some tokens they discovered early on, thanks to /Biz/. Source: Deleted Reddit account

/Biz/ has also become known for the various prophecies, lore and legends that emerge from its anonymous users. People who claim to have inside knowledge on major market movements often leak alleged secret info on the imageboard or issue prophecies, and every once in a while, they actually turn out to be accurate.

In January 2019, a user correctly predicted that Bitcoin (BTC) would hit $5,300 by April and $9,200 by July, sparking huge interest online. Unfortunately, their remaining price predictions quickly fell short of reality, including that Bitcoin would hit $87,000 by October 2020.

Another user claimed in May 2021 to work at a Chinese firm that collaborated closely with the government and said they had insider information that Bitcoin would sell off due to major news out of China. A few hours later, reports emerged that China would ban payment companies and financial institutions from offering services related to crypto transactions, and Bitcoin sold off.

/Biz/ was also the source of a June 2017 rumor that Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin had died in a car crash. The fake news led to Ether’s (ETH) market cap crashing by $4 billion before Buterin stepped in to share that he had, in fact, not died.

The fake news that Vitalik Buterin had died in a car crash started on /Biz/. Source: Warosu

Chainlink and the LINK Marines

Perhaps the most successful shilling campaign to come out of 4chan is that of Chainlink (LINK), which saw a massive rally that started in 2020 and continued into 2021. Many of the oracle project’s most diehard community members, known as the LINK Marines, first discovered Chainlink on /Biz/.

Much of the excitement among the early Chainlink community was galvanized by a mysterious figure known as “AssBlaster,” who claimed to have insider knowledge about the project and would share alpha on /Biz/. 

Source: Warosu

The LINK Marines relentlessly promoted Chainlink on 4chan and social media platforms, and by 2020, LINK had experienced its first major rally — from $1.80 at the start of the year to a high of $16.64 on Aug. 12.

Following the rally, Mechanism Capital co-founder Andrew Kang declared that “4chan has become the largest market driver” in crypto, “more powerful than even China or institutional crypto fund capital.”

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LINK went on in 2021 to hit an all-time high of $49.54, becoming one of the year’s most talked-about crypto success stories.

LINK’s price exploded to nearly $50 in 2021. Source: CoinMarketCap

LINK Marine Albert Nazarov told Cointelegraph Magazine in March 2021 that “4chan is basically a crucible of raw thoughts; the best and balanced make it to the top. It’s almost anything goes there, and it trains the brain to decipher good info from bad stuff.”

Chainlink remains the third most mentioned stock or cryptocurrency on /Biz/ over the last 24 hours as of the time of writing, behind only Bitcoin and Ether.

Pepe the Frog and memes galore

One of the most well-recognized memes associated with 4chan is Pepe the Frog, though its origins have nothing to do with the imageboard. Pepe was created by artist Matt Furie back in 2005 for a comic titled Boy’s Club.

Over the next several years, Pepe was popularized by 4chan and eventually became a mainstream meme. But in 2015, posters from 4chan’s /R9k/ board decided to “reclaim” Pepe and began a campaign to intentionally associate it with the far right. Nevertheless, the frog remains a popular meme on 4chan and in crypto circles.

In the cryptosphere, Pepe became closely associated with Chainlink. Sanctum CEO Tyler Ward, who sparked a Pepe non-fungible token (NFT) craze in 2021, told Magazine, “When Chainlink started doing well, it just became this cultish prophecy of 4chan, and 4chan really likes Pepe the frog, so it was kind of this merger.”

“A lot of people that posted about Chainlink would post with Pepe the Frog, and they kind of became intertwined.”

Crypto’s obsession with Pepe the Frog has since grown significantly beyond its early association with Chainlink. In 2023, the memecoin Pepe (PEPE), named after the frog, was launched and quickly became popular among traders. The token truly took off in 2024 amid the memecoin mania, going from a $591-million market cap at the start of the year to $11 billion by December, flipping Uniswap’s UNI (UNI) token.

But Pepe is not the only 4chan meme to be tokenized and explode in price. Mog Coin (MOG), a memecoin based on the phrase “mogging” — dominating, outclassing or outshining others — gained 1,800% in early 2024. According to CoinGecko, 4chan-themed memecoins command a $37-billion market cap as of May 8.

The popular phrase “we’re all gonna make it,” or WAGMI, was also popularized on 4chan. It was borrowed from Australian bodybuilder Aziz “Zyzz” Shavershian, who would frequently post on the Bodybuilding.com forum as well as 4chan’s fitness board and who passed away in 2011. It later made its way into crypto around 2017, seemingly as users who had been active in online fitness communities got into digital assets.

Source: Snoop Dogg

Despite the growing attention platforms like Telegram and X command among the crypto community, 4chan remains a cultural powerhouse, and these are just a handful of the ways it has influenced crypto culture and markets. 

And with 4chan back online and seemingly fully committed to continuing its operations, they won’t be its final influences — at least as long as 4chan can avoid being taken down for good.

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On April 29, UK Finance Minister Rachel Reeves unveiled plans for a “comprehensive regulatory regime” aimed at making the country a global leader in digital assets.

Under the proposed rules, crypto exchanges, dealers, and agents will be regulated similarly to traditional financial firms, with requirements for transparency, consumer protection, and operational resilience, the UK Treasury said in a statement released following Reeves’ remarks.

Per the statement, the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Order 2025 introduces six new regulated activities, including crypto trading, custody, and staking.

Rather than opting for a light-touch regime similar to the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA), the UK is applying the full weight of securities regulation to crypto, according to UK-based law firm Wiggin. That includes capital requirements, governance standards, market abuse rules, and disclosure obligations.

“The UK’s draft crypto regulations represent a meaningful step toward embracing a rules-based digital asset economy,” Dante Disparte, chief strategy officer and head of global policy at Circle, told Cointelegraph.

“By signaling a willingness to provide regulatory clarity, the UK is positioning itself as a safe harbor for responsible innovation.”

Disparte added that the proposed framework can provide the predictability needed to “scale responsible digital financial infrastructure in the UK.”

Source: MiCA Crypto Alliance

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UK’s new crypto rules are “net positive”

Vugar Usi Zade, the chief operating officer (COO) at Bitget exchange, also expressed optimism regarding the new regulations, claiming that it “is a net positive” for the industry.

“I think a lot of companies recently exited or hesitated to enter the UK because they were not clear about what activities, products, and operations need FCA authorization. Firms finally get clear definitions of “qualifying crypto assets” and know exactly which activities—trading, custody, staking or lending—need FCA authorization.”

For exchanges, including Bitget, the UK’s draft rules mean they need full approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to offer crypto trading, custody, staking, or lending services to UK users.

The rules also give companies two years to adjust their systems, like capital and reporting. “Mapping each service line to the new perimeter adds compliance overhead, but that clarity lets us plan product roll‑outs and invest in local infrastructure,” Zade said.

The new draft regulations reclassify stablecoins as securities, not as e-money. This means UK-issued fiat-backed tokens must meet prospectus-style disclosures and redemption protocols. Non-UK stablecoins can still circulate, but only via authorized venues.

Zade claimed that excluding stablecoins from the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 (EMRs), which keeps them out of the e‑money sandbox, could slow their use for payment.

However, Disparte, whose firm is the issuer of USDC (USDC), the world’s second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, said predictability is key to fostering responsible growth in the UK.

“What matters most is predictability: a framework that enables firms to build, test, and grow responsibly—without fear of arbitrary enforcement or shifting goalposts. If realized, this could mark a pivotal moment in the UK’s digital asset journey.”Ripple’s Cassie Craddock praising new UK draft rules. Source: Cassie Craddock

Related: UK regulator moves to restrict borrowing for crypto investments

UK to require FCA approval for foreign crypto firms

Among the biggest changes as part of the new draft rules is the territorial reach. Non-UK platforms serving UK retail clients will need the FCA authorization. The “overseas persons” exemption is limited to certain B2B relationships, effectively ring-fencing the UK retail market.

Crypto staking enters the perimeter as well. Liquid and delegated staking services must now register, while solo stakers and purely interface-based providers are exempt. New custody rules extend to any setup that gives a party unilateral transfer rights, including certain lending and MPC (multiparty computation) arrangements.

“Some DeFi nuances still need fleshing out, but the direction is toward efficient, tailored compliance rather than blanket restriction,” Bitget’s Zade said.

He added that the broad “staking” definition might sweep in non‑custodial DeFi models lacking a central provider. “Proposed credit‑card purchase restrictions—though aimed at high‑risk use — could dampen retail participation in token launches,” he said.

Furthermore, Zade said bank‑grade segregation rules for client assets could burden lean DeFi projects. “Final rule tweaks will need to mitigate these side effects.”

The FCA plans to publish final rules on crypto sometime in 2026, setting the groundwork for the UK regulatory regime to go live. The roadmap to greater regulatory clarity in the UK could follow the European Union, which started to implement its MiCA framework in December.

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