Coin Market

NymVPN launches fully decentralized VPN amid privacy crackdown

Published

2 weeks ago

March 17, 2025

Privacy protocol Nym has launched NymVPN, which it describes as the “world’s most secure VPN” and says will help protect users from government, corporate and AI surveillance.

The release comes amid an increasingly hostile global environment for privacy-focused products — one that is seeing governments crack down on privacy projects and demand backdoors to encryption.

The decentralized VPN, which launched on March 13, uses the Nym protocol’s “mixnet” to keep users fully anonymous and ensure no metadata can be linked to any specific user, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph.

Halpin and Nym security adviser Chelsea Manning sat down with Jonathan DeYoung, co-host of Cointelegraph’s The Agenda podcast, to discuss the release, the importance of privacy and how Nym plans to navigate what seems to be an increasingly precarious privacy space.

How NymVPN’s mixnet works

Halpin and Manning appeared on The Agenda podcast back in December 2023 to discuss what was then their upcoming VPN project. Halpin explained that mixnets work by sending encrypted data across multiple servers while also adding “a bit of fake data” to throw off whoever may be attempting to surveil the traffic, such as an advanced AI algorithm.

“Each packet is like a card, and it like shuffles the pack of cards and then sends it to the next server and sends it to the next server,” Halpin explained.

This is in contrast with traditional centralized VPNs, where everything a user does is routed through the VPN provider’s servers and where customers must put their trust in a specific company. Halpin said:

“If you send your VPN data to ExpressVPN, NordVPN and Mullvad VPN, they know everything about you. They know your IP address. They connect to your billing information. They know what websites you’re going to. It’s actually kind of scary.”

Developing privacy software amid global crackdowns

A few months after their Agenda podcast appearance, Alexey Pertsev, a developer for crypto mixer Tornado Cash, was convicted of money laundering charges and sentenced for his role in developing the privacy protocol — a move that sent shockwaves through the industry.

According to Halpin, Nym is less likely to face the same sort of legal trouble because it’s not financial infrastructure. “In all countries except a few repressive ones, VPNs are legal, at least for now,” he said. “They fall under what’s called third-party intermediary lack of liability. […] We are not liable, at least under US law, for shipping bits from point A to point B.”

The nature of operating a fully decentralized VPN that can be used entirely anonymously means there is no way to prevent anyone from using it for whatever reasons they want to. Manning said it is not Nym’s role to be “the arbiter or the determiner of what is and is not nefarious.” She added:

“It’s not possible in a fully decentralized environment to stop them [bad actors]. Like we don’t have a way to. If we did, I mean, we would be centralized.”

More recently, various governments have pushed developers to implement backdoors in their encrypted products. Apple withdrew its end-to-end-encrypted iCloud service from the UK market after the government demanded a backdoor, while the US Federal Bureau of Investigation recently told Forbes it wants “responsibly managed encryption,” where “U.S. tech companies can provide readable content in response to a lawful court order.”

Halpin and Manning said that if a government were to ever attempt to shut NymVPN down or arrest its developers, the Nym network is decentralized, so it should be able to continue running as usual. “In theory, we should be able to get run over with a car, and the network would keep operating,” Halpin said.

Who will use NymVPN?

The Nym team was in Ukraine in 2024 to demo the VPN and present it to the Ukrainian government, and a representative from the humanitarian NGO Doctors Without Borders spoke at the March 13 launch event. Halpin also shared that the team has had conversations with people in Syria.

The Nym team demos NymVPN in Ukraine. Source: Nym

However, an anonymous and decentralized VPN is just that — anonymous and decentralized. This means the team behind it has no way of knowing who is actually using it and what they are using it for, only that it is being used.

As Manning put it, “One of the problems with that question is that if people are using the technology, if they don’t tell us that they’re using the technology, we won’t know.”

Magazine: Cypherpunk AI — Guide to uncensored, unbiased, anonymous AI in 2025

Coin Market

Bitcoin gets $71K target as tariffs deal rare US business outlook slump

Published

2 hours ago

April 3, 2025

Bitcoin (BTC) faces conditions similar to the 2022 bear market bottom as US business sees “very high risk” to come.

In his latest analysis, Charles Edwards, the founder of quantitative Bitcoin and digital asset fund Capriole Investments, queried when the US would start printing money.

”Higher than expected” US tariffs pressure Bitcoin

Bitcoin reacted noticeably worse than US stocks after President Donald Trump announced worldwide reciprocal trade tariffs on April 2.

BTC/USD fell up to 8.5% on the day, while the S&P 500 managed to end the Wall Street trading session 0.7% higher.

Despite this, Edwards notes that US business expectations reflect the type of uncertainty seen only three times since the turn of the millennium.

“Consider this as tariffs come in higher than expected. The Philly Fed Business Outlook survey is showing expectations today comparable to 2000, 2008 and 2022,” he told X followers.

An accompanying chart showed the Philadelphia Fed’s Business Outlook Survey (BOS) back under 15 for the first time since the start of 2024. Late 2022, meanwhile, was the pit of the most recent crypto bear market when BTC/USD reversed at $15,600.

Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey vs. S&P 500. Source: Charles Edwards/X

In Capriole’s latest market update on March 31, Edwards acknowledged that BOS data can produce unreliable signals over market sentiment but argued that it should not be ignored.

“While no guarantee of the future outlook (this metric does have false signals) this is a data reading we have had before at very high risk zones (year 2000, 2008 and 2022), telling us to keep a very open mind,” he wrote.

“Especially if the tariff war escalates significantly beyond current expectations or corporate margins start to fall.”

For Bitcoin, a key level to watch in the tariff aftermath is $91,000, with Capriole suggesting that US macroeconomic moves would “decide the ultimate technical trend from here.”

“All else equal, a daily close above $91K would be a strong bullish reclaim signal,” the update explained alongside the weekly BTC/USD chart.

“Failing that, a dip into the $71K zone would likely see a sizable bounce.”

BTC/USD 1-day chart (screenshot). Source: Capriole Investments

BTC price focus on US liquidity trend

As Cointelegraph reported, a silver lining for crypto and risk assets could come in the form of increasing global liquidity.

In the US, the Fed has already begun to loosen tight financial policy, with bets on a return to so-called quantitative easing (QE) varying.

“How long until the Powell printer starts humming?” Edwards queried.

M2 money supply, meanwhile, is due for an “influx” — something which has historically spawned major BTC price upside.

“The BIG take-away (the most important observation) is that a big M2 influx is coming. The exact date is less important,” popular analyst Colin Talks Crypto predicted in an X thread this week.

A comparative chart hinted at a potential BTC price rebound by the start of May.

US M2 money supply vs BTC/USD chart. Source: Colin Talks Crypto/X

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

Alabama, Minnesota lawmakers join US states pushing for Bitcoin reserves

Published

2 hours ago

April 3, 2025

Lawmakers in the US states of Minnesota and Alabama filed companion bills to identical existing bills that if passed into law, would allow each state to buy Bitcoin.

The Minnesota Bitcoin Act, or HF 2946, was introduced to the state’s House by Republican Representative Bernie Perryman on April 1, following an identical bill introduced on March 17 by GOP state Senator Jeremy Miller.

Meanwhile, on the same day in Alabama, Republican state Senator Will Barfoot introduced Senate Bill 283, while a bi-partisan group of representatives led by Republican Mike Shaw filed the identical House Bill 482, which allows for the state to invest in crypto, but essentially limits it to Bitcoin (BTC).

Twin Alabama bills don’t explicitly name Bitcoin

Minnesota’s Bitcoin Act would allow the state’s investment board to invest state assets in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and permit state employees to add crypto to retirement accounts.

It would also exempt crypto gains from state income taxes and give residents the option to pay state taxes and fees with Bitcoin.

Source: Bitcoin Laws

The twin Alabama bills don’t explicitly identify Bitcoin, but would limit the state’s crypto investment into assets that have a minimum market value of $750 billion, a criterion that only Bitcoin currently meets.

26 Bitcoin reserve bills now introduced in the US

Introducing identical bills is not uncommon in the US and is typically done to speed up the bicameral legislative process so laws can pass more quickly.

Bills to create a Bitcoin reserve have been introduced in 26 US states, with Arizona currently the closest to passing a law to make one, according to data from the bill tracking website Bitcoin Laws.

Arizona currently leads in the US state Bitcoin reserve race. Source: Bitcoin Laws

Pennsylvania was one of the first US states to introduce a Bitcoin reserve bill, in November 2024. However, the initiative was reportedly eventually rejected, with similar bills also killed in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.

Montana, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Wyoming are the five states thathave rejected Bitcoin reserve initiatives. Source: Bitcoin Laws

According to a March 3 report by Barron’s, “red states” like Montana have faced setbacks to the Bitcoin reserve initiatives amid political confrontations between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.

Additional reporting by Helen Partz.

Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again

Coin Market

Treasure DAO announces huge pivot in hopes of extending runway to February

Published

3 hours ago

April 3, 2025

Decentralized video game ecosystem Treasure DAO is restructuring as “a matter of survival” to extend its financial runway to at least February 2026.

Treasure DAO’s chief contributor John Patten says in an April 2 video posted to X that he has resumed a leadership role and is taking a plan to the DAO to streamline operations, eliminate unnecessary costs, and center the organization around a few key projects.

“I will introduce this after all of you provide your opinions at this time. I have my own thoughts, but we must make this decision as a community through long deliberation. The best ideas need to rise to the surface,” he said.

The Next Chapter of Treasure

We’re releasing an official statement on our pivotal transition, outlining the rationale behind leadership changes, financial restructuring, and our bold new strategic direction.

Full details pic.twitter.com/BjWgZxc98l

— Treasure (@Treasure_DAO) April 2, 2025

As part of cost-cutting to reduce Treasure DAO’s annual burn rate of $8.3 million, Patten says 15 contributors have either left or been laid off, and game publishing support and the treasure chain will be terminated.

At the same time, he is proposing to withdraw an idle $785,000 from the market maker Flowdesk to increase the DAO’s treasury.

Patten says that, with the current runway, “stablecoins will last until roughly December,” but if the DAO approves withdrawing the funds from Flowdesk, this could be extended to February 2026, in “an optimistic scenario.”

The DAO’s current treasury only has $2.4 million left, and the ecosystem fund holds 22.3 million MAGIC, valued at $2.3 million, according to Patten, but if “Magic falls,” the DAO is “unsustainable sometime between December and February.”

Treasure DAO to refocus on four products

Patten says the DAO also needs to focus its energy on a few key products and future partnerships will be based on revenue generation for the DAO, where users of the platform will need to generate value through token use.

“The DAO should officially commit to a focused, streamlined approach of four products and four products only, the marketplace, Bridgeworld, Smolworld and AI agent, scaling technology,” he said.

“That’s all that Treasure should be through 2025. Bridgeworld and Smolworld will be use cases to demonstrate how other projects utilize magic marketplace and our AI framework and back end to run many, many agents concurrently.”

TreasureDAO, launched in 2021, offered services to provide game publishers access to infrastructure and advisory services to launch Web3-based games.

However, Patten says it “didn’t have a scalable business model” and hasn’t grown since the Arbitrum airdrop in March 2023.

The Treasure ecosystem token MAGIC is down 16.5% to $0.0872 for the last 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. Overall, the token has shed 98% after hitting its all-time high of $6.32 on Feb. 19, 2022.

Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again