Coin Market

CBDCs ‘costly fiat copy’, not fintech success so far: Ex-Binance exec

Published

4 weeks ago

April 29, 2025

The United States’ rejection of a central bank digital currency has not halted the progress of CBDCs globally, but their success has been questionable so far, according to a former Binance executive.

Global CBDC projects have not failed, but they have also not become what they were anticipated to be, according to Olga Goncharova, CEO at the consulting firm Rizz Go and former director of government relations in the Commonwealth of Independent States at Binance.

“CBDCs were conceived as a technological breakthrough, but so far they look like expensive imitations of existing traditional fiat currencies that citizens and businesses already use through online banking and payment apps,” Goncharova told Cointelegraph at the Blockchain Forum in Moscow.

Olga Goncharova during a panel on Web3 geopolitics at the Blockchain Forum 2025 on April 23. Source: Blockchain Forum

Though some of the CBDC-like creatives date back to the 1990s, modern initiatives are yet to offer users a real added value compared to traditional payment channels, she said.

CBDC leaders like China struggle with adoption

“Today it is clear that the expectations around CBDCs were overestimated,” Goncharova claimed, adding that none of the jurisdictions worldwide have succeeded in the mass adoption of retail CBDCs.

“Even in China, where the digital yuan project has been moving longer and more actively than others, its share in the payment system remains minimal,” she added, referring to multiple online reports suggesting that China’s CBDC has been struggling amid slow adoption.

Source: Mercator Institute for China Studies

With China’s CBDC early-stage research starting in 2014, China’s digital yuan is known as one of the biggest CBDC projects worldwide, offering an electronic version of the Chinese yuan intended for online and offline transactions.

The Chinese government has been actively promoting the use of the digital yuan. Still, some reports declared China’s digital project a failure in late 2024, referring to the downfall of Yao Qian, the first director of CBDC development at China’s central bank. Late last year, he was reportedly expelled from public office by the government.

EU pushes a digital euro for autonomy

Every country has its reasons to pursue a CBDC, Goncharova continued, noting that the European Union has been pushing its digital euro project to protect its financial autonomy.

“In the EU, the digital euro is perceived more as an instrument of strategic autonomy than as a response to market demand,” she stated, adding that its goal is to reduce reliance on payment giants like Visa and Mastercard.

Source: Reuters

However, the efforts to create a pan-European payment system have faced serious challenges, such as market share concerns by banks as well as adoption difficulties.

“The European Central Bank has not yet decided whether the digital euro will operate on the blockchain, as it does not see convincing cases for programmability and points to technological risks,” Goncharova said.

Russia delays a digital ruble

Russia has emerged as one of the most active jurisdictions in the global CBDC race, but it’s yet to roll out its digital currency as well, which has been on multiple trials since early 2022.

After seeing many launch delays, a digital ruble could be postponed further as Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina in February announced that the mass adoption of a digital ruble would occur later than planned.

A panel at the Blockchain Forum 2025 in Moscow. Source: Blockchain Forum

At the same time, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has recently claimed that the digital ruble is scheduled to be rolled out for commercial banks in the second half of 2025.

“In Russia, there is no urgent need to reduce dependence on foreign payment systems as in the EU,” Goncharova told Cointelegraph, adding:

“The digital ruble is rather perceived as a tool for increasing the efficiency of internal settlements. The project is still at the testing stage. Its further development will depend on how clearly the tasks are formulated and whether there is practical sense for users and the economy.”

While Russia has been delaying its digital ruble, some officials have recently called on the government to create ruble-pegged stablecoins, echoing the US’s stablecoin push.

While several ruble stablecoins have already been introduced, it remains to be seen whether the initiatives can compete with giants like Tether’s USDt (USDT).

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Coin Market

Bitcoin’s ‘aggressive leg higher’ in Q3 still up in the air: Analyst

Published

1 hour ago

May 28, 2025

Bitcoin’s recent all-time high of $111,970 has sparked optimism among crypto market participants, but whether that carries through into the third quarter of this year remains uncertain, analysts say.

“The coming weeks will likely determine whether Bitcoinʼs latest breakout was a local high or the prelude to a more aggressive leg higher in Q3,” Bitfinex analysts said in a May 28 markets note.

Consolidation or mild retracement may “be healthy”

Bitcoin (BTC) reached new all-time highs of $111,970 on May 22, however, Bitfinex analysts say a continued price increase alone won’t necessarily confirm the uptrend heading into the next quarter.

“A period of consolidation or mild retracement would not only be healthy but also provide a more sustainable foundation for the next leg higher,” the analysts said.

It isn’t unusual for Bitcoin to consolidate for an extended time after reaching all-time highs. After Bitcoin reached a high of $73,679 in March 2024, it swung within about a $20,000 range until Donald Trump was elected US president that November.

The third quarter of the year has, on average, been Bitcoin’s worst-performing quarter since 2013, with an average return of just 6.03% over the past 11 years, according to CoinGlass data. The next worst quarter on average is Q2, which has historically posted a stronger average return of 27.25%.

Q4 has been the best-performing quarter on average for Bitcoin since 2013. Source: CoinGlass

The analysts said that Bitcoin had entered a “short-term range-bound phase,” with a significant amount of short-term holders — those holding Bitcoin for under 155 days — selling off their positions over the past 30 days.

“With over $11.4 billion in short-term holder profits realized in the past month, the near-term supply overhang is expected — but so is structural demand. According to Bitbo data, the short-term holder realized price for Bitcoin was $95,781, while Bitcoin was trading at $108,929 at the time of publication.

This represents an average profit of 13.72% for short-term holders.

Bitfinex’s analysts said that Bitcoin’s ETF “bid strength,” low volatility and Bitcoin’s spot premium all signal a maturing market “poised for eventual continuation once macro clarity improves.”

The trading week ending May 23 saw around $2.75 billion flow into spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US saw approximately $2.75 billion in inflows between May 19 and May 23. Source: Farside

Crypto investors will be watching the US Federal Reserve’s next interest rate decision on June 18 for more clarity on the macro environment. The Fed kept rates steady at 4.25% to 4.50% in May.

Bitcoin reaching new highs earlier this month was an event several crypto pundits predicted would happen earlier this year. On March 7, Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten said there was a 50% chance Bitcoin would reach new highs before June.

Similarly, Real Vision chief crypto analyst Jamie Coutts said Bitcoin may hit “new all-time highs before Q2 is out.”

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This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Coin Market

Jack Dorsey’s Block to bring Bitcoin payments to Square by 2026

Published

1 hour ago

May 28, 2025

Jack Dorsey’s financial services firm Block, Inc. will launch Bitcoin payments on Square, its payments processing arm, with a rollout to begin later this year before a full launch in 2026.

The company announced the plan at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas on May 27, where Block demonstrated the feature at the BTC Inc. merchandise store.

Merchants will be able to accept Bitcoin (BTC) payments through existing Square hardware using the Lightning Network, Bitcoin’s faster, lower-cost layer-2 scaling network.

“Merchants can choose to hold the Bitcoin, or auto-convert it to fiat in real-time,” Dorsey said on X.

The company said it expects to start rolling out in the second half of 2025, reaching all eligible Square sellers by 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.

The move builds on Square’s existing Bitcoin Conversions feature that allows merchants to automatically convert sales to BTC. For consumers, payment is as simple as scanning a QR code, with Square handling the technicalities behind the scenes and Lightning enabling near-instant settlement.

Source: Jack Dorsey

“This is about economic empowerment for merchants who like to have options when it comes to accepting payments,” said Block’s Bitcoin Product Lead Miles Suter.

The company added that, starting in May, it’s adding new privacy and security features to its self-custody BTC wallet Bitkey that it launched in late 2023, which are designed to make self-custody more accessible without traditional seed phrases.

Stake n’ Shake slashes fees on BTC adoption

Meanwhile, Dan Edwards, the operating chief of American fast food chain Stake n’ Shake, said on stage at Bitcoin 2025 that the firm has cut its payment processing fees in half by adopting Bitcoin payments.

STEAK ‘N SHAKE CEO SAYS PEOPLE CAN NOW “PAY FOR YOUR FRANCHISE USING #BITCOIN”

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE pic.twitter.com/kTqHCazQDy

— The Bitcoin Conference (@TheBitcoinConf) May 27, 2025

“Our experience so far with Bitcoin has been that it is faster than credit cards, and when customers choose to pay in Bitcoin instead of credit cards, we are saving about 50% in our processing fees,” Edwards said.

“This means that Bitcoin is a win for the customer, a win for us, the merchant, and a win for you in the Bitcoin community.”

On May 9, Stake n’ Shake announced that it will begin accepting Bitcoin as payment at all restaurant locations globally starting on May 16.

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Coin Market

Real-world assets could revitalize dying NFT lending market: DappRadar

Published

2 hours ago

May 28, 2025

Real-world assets linking up with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is one of a few key catalysts that could reignite the waning NFT lending sector, which is suffering from a collapse in volumes and user activity, says blockchain analytics platform DappRadar.

Volumes in the NFT lending market, which allows NFT holders to take out a loan against their token, have dropped 97% from a peak of around $1 billion in January 2024 to $50 million in May, DappRadar analyst Sara Gherghelas said in a May 27 report.

Gherghelas said for NFT lending to “move beyond survival mode,” it needs “new catalysts” to reignite the sector, such as real-world asset NFTs, like tokenized real estate or yield-bearing assets that could unlock more stable, trusted collateral sources.

“So far, 2025 has not delivered a compelling reason for NFT lending to bounce back,” she said. “While the infrastructure is still here and the platforms remain active, activity has slowed across the board.”

Borrower and leading activity have taken a big hit in the NFT lending sector. Source: DappRadar

“For now, the sector seems to be in a holding pattern, waiting either for market recovery or a new use case to reignite interest.”

Gherghelas added that other catalysts that could rekindle NFT lending were tools that make it easier for NFT holders to borrow against their tokens, and that protocols should create “smart infrastructure” such as undercollateralized loans, credit scores and artificial intelligence risk matching.

The report adds that since January last year, borrower activity has declined by 90% and those willing to lend have shrunk by 78%.

The average NFT loan size has also taken a hit from a peak of $22,000 in 2022 to $4,000 in May, a 71% year-over-year drop.

Gherghelas said this shift “shows that either users are borrowing against lower-value assets or simply becoming more conservative with leverage.”

NFT lending overall trading volume and market activity have dropped off from the all-time highs of past years. Source: DappRadar

The average loan duration is also lower; after hitting an average of roughly 40 days in 2023, it’s been down to 31 days and has held steady throughout 2024 and into 2025.

Gherghelas said this could indicate that “loans are being taken more frequently but for shorter periods, perhaps a sign of more tactical liquidity plays.”

NFT market downturn also hurts lending

Part of the slowdown in NFT lending is connected to the overall NFT market decline, which has seen volumes drop 61% in the first quarter to $1.5 billion compared to $4.1 billion a year ago.

“With collateral value collapsing, the lending activity naturally followed,” Gherghelas said. “There are a few exceptions that managed to hold or regain traction, but they’ve been outliers, not enough to lift the sector.”

The protocol landscape has also narrowed, and the number of active NFT lending apps is limited, with only eight protocols holding any meaningful share.

“The flip-for-liquidity model that worked during bull markets isn’t built for a quieter, more risk-averse environment. But that doesn’t mean NFT lending is finished; it’s simply shifting focus,” Gherghelas said.

“Platforms are diversifying, use cases are shifting, and collateral preferences are changing. If the next wave builds on utility, culture, and better design, NFT lending might just find its second wind — one built to last.”

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