Ethena Labs, the developer of the USDe synthetic dollar (USDe), and financial technology company Securitize, released a preliminary roadmap for their upcoming Converge network, a high-throughput blockchain focused on real-world assets and decentralized finance (DeFi).

According to the announcement, a testnet will be live in the coming weeks, with a mainnet launch later in 2025.

Converge will feature a 100 milliseconds (ms) native block time, with plans to reduce block times to 50ms by Q4 2025. The developers also plan to achieve at least one gigagas of potential throughput during 2025. Gigagas is a measure of billions of gas units processed by a blockchain network in one second.

Ethena and Securitize are launching the network to support permissioned real-world tokenized applications and permissionless DeFi applications as the line between traditional and decentralized finance continues to blur.

Converge 1-year performance targets. Source: Converge

Related: Ethena Labs exits German market following agreement with BaFin

Traditional finance converging with the crypto world

Traditional financial institutions are increasingly using decentralized finance protocols and interacting with tokenized real-world assets like stablecoins and tokenized bonds.

The merging of TradFi and DeFi has drawn mixed reactions from the crypto community, with some saying it was inevitable that the two worlds came together, and others warning of institutional capture.

In a Jan. 21 interview, Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson told Bloomberg that US President Donald Trump would integrate crypto and traditional finance by establishing clear regulations.

“We need to have some sort of regulatory clarity so that you could bring these together because, fundamentally, it will drive out costs, and there is great innovation that the technology enables,” Johnson said.

Shibtoshi, the founder of the SilentSwap privacy-preserving trading platform, recently told Cointelegraph that some institutions are currently hesitant to adopt decentralized finance solutions.

The DeFi founder said that a lack of privacy, legal liability issues, and unclear regulations have stymied institutional adoption, but added that the tools to address these concerns already exist.

“Institutions have realized the benefits of a securely decentralized system. As early as 2021, reports said nearly one in three institutional investors in crypto were already using DeFi,” Shibtoshi told Cointelegraph.

Magazine: DeFi will rise again after memecoins die down: Sasha Ivanov, X Hall of Flame

Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, or a16z, announced a $55 million investment in LayerZero, a Web3 company that runs a crosschain messaging protocol. The investment was disclosed in an April 17 X post by Ali Yahya, a general partner in the firm.

A16z has made previous investments in LayerZero, including an initial investment in March 2022 and a subsequent investment during LayerZero’s Series B funding round in April 2023. The companies have not disclosed the funding round’s valuation.

Source: Ali Yahja | alive.eth

The Canada-based LayerZero was valued at $3 billion during its Series B funding round, which saw participation from 33 investors. In addition to a16z, Circle Ventures, OKX Ventures, OpenSea Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and many others participated at the time. 

In January 2025, LayerZero reached a settlement with the FTX Estate over a long-running dispute stemming from allegations that it exploited the exchange’s liquidity crisis by “negotiating a fire-sale transaction,” according to the Estate. In June 2024, LayerZero launched its own token, LayerZero (ZRO).

Related: ‘Big Sybil hunt’ and durable users helped LayerZero airdrop succeed, says CEO

Crosschain protocols, chain-agnosticism gain traction

Crosschain messaging protocols allow programs to share information across ecosystems and can be a critical function for decentralized applications (DApps) or traders who want seamless swaps across blockchains.

Some protocols competing in the same space as LayerZero include Wormhole, Stargate, Superbridge, Connext, and many others.

Related: PayPal USD links with LayerZero for transfers between Ethereum and Solana

Wormhole may be one of the largest competitors to LayerZero, having raised $225 million at a $2.5 billion valuation in November 2023. Like LayerZero, Wormhole hosted an airdrop for its token, Wormhole (W), although the airdrop attracted scammers and spoof tokens. Chainlink also has a crosschain interoperability protocol that allows for messaging between blockchains. 

More and more companies are realizing the value of being omnichain or at least chain-agnostic. Phantom, which at first was a Solana-centric wallet, now supports six major blockchains, including Bitcoin and Ethereum. Magic Eden, an NFT-infrastructure company, also started as Solana-centric but has launched marketplaces for multiple blockchains now.

Magazine: X Hall of Flame: ChainLinkGod was in High School when he started the account! 

The latest US initial jobless claims data came at 215,000, below the estimated expectation of 225,000, on April 17. The dip in jobless claims indicated that the US labor market remained stable, with fewer people being affected by the uncertainty of US tariffs. Initial jobless claims are a leading economic indicator that measures the health of the US economy and it often impacts investor sentiment around risk assets like Bitcoin (BTC). US jobless claims data. Source: Investing.com

Resiliency in the labor market comes on the back of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s recent comment about the impact of tariffs. In a press conference at the economics club of Chicago on April 16, Powell said,

“The level of the tariff increases announced so far is significantly larger than anticipated. The same is likely to be true of the economic effects, which will include higher inflation and slower growth.”

The Fed Reserve Chair also stated that the Fed has no plans to intervene with market bailouts or implement rate cuts in the near future. This stance aligns with his earlier comments from April 4, 2025, when he noted it was “too soon” to consider rate reductions, reflecting the Fed’s cautious approach amid ongoing economic uncertainty.

However, the European Central Bank cut interest rates to 2.25% from 2.50% in order to combat economic pressure from US trade tariffs. According to data, the ECB has taken borrowing costs to its lowest level since late 2022, with the current rate cut marking its seventh reduction in a span of a year.

Related: Bitcoin gold copycat move may top $150K as BTC stays ‘impressive’

Bitcoin remains at an inflection point, says analyst

For risk assets like Bitcoin, the recent US jobless claims data leans bearish in the short term, as a strong labour market reduces the likelihood of rate cuts, which supports speculative investments.

BTC prices have consolidated in a tight range over the past few days, failing to break above the $86,000 level. In light of that, anonymous crypto trader Titan of Crypto said that Bitcoin is at an “inflection point”.

Bitcoin analysis by Titan of Crypto. Source: X.com

An inflection point in trading is a critical juncture where the market’s direction or momentum may shift significantly. It’s a moment where the balance between buyers and sellers reaches a tipping point, often leading to a reversal or acceleration in the trend. The trader said,

“Bitcoin Inflection Point. On the 1H chart, BTC is contracting within a triangle and is about to choose a direction. The RSI is above 50 and attempting to break its resistance. A move is brewing.”

Order flow trader Magus noted that Bitcoin is consolidating between $83,700 and $85,200. For the bullish momentum to persist, BTC must break above $85,000 soon, as the long-term chart signals potential bearish risks if this level isn’t surpassed.

Related: Bitcoin price levels to watch as Fed rate cut hopes fade

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.