Author: Anthony M. Orbison

Sidechain developer StarkWare and Weizmann Institute of Science researchers claim to have created a workaround for multiple Bitcoin script limitations.According to a recent research paper, the new design claims to allow the deployment of complex smart contracts on Bitcoin in a more capital-efficient manner. The new system may also be vastly more efficient from a computing standpoint.ColliderVM is a protocol designed to enable stateful computation on Bitcoin, allowing multi-step processes to be securely executed over multiple transactions. Traditionally, Bitcoin script output is not accessible to other scripts, making complex calculations nearly impossible.The researchers argue that ColliderVM could allow the use…

Bitcoin (BTC) sought higher levels around the April 11 Wall Street open as the week’s final US inflation data gave bulls hope.BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewAnalyst: PPI undershoot “great” for US trade warData from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD reaching highs of $83,245 as US Producer Price Index (PPI) data came in below expectations.The Index came in at 2.7% versus the anticipated 3.3%, while the core PPI print also surprised to the downside.An official news release from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) added:“In March, over 70 percent of the decrease in the index for final demand…

The S&P 500 Index briefly experienced Bitcoin-level volatility in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” tariff announcement, underscoring the panic and fear gripping traditional markets amid the ongoing trade war. Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas alerted his followers on X that the S&P 500’s volatility, as measured by the “SPY US Equity Hist Vol” chart, reached 74 in early April, exceeding Bitcoin’s (BTC) 71 level. Source: Eric BalchunasThe increase marks a significant deviation from the S&P 500’s long-term volatility average, which is below 20. For Bitcoin though, extreme volatility has been a feature since the asset’s inception. “Bitcoin’s volatility remains…

A fast-tracked temporary crypto regulatory framework could bolster innovation within the US crypto industry while permanent regulations are still in the works, says acting US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Mark Uyeda.“A time-limited, conditional exemptive relief framework for registrants and non-registrants could allow for greater innovation with blockchain technology within the United States in the near term,” Uyeda said at the SEC’s April 11 Crypto Task Force roundtable titled “Between a Block and a Hard Place: Tailoring Regulation for Crypto Trading.”Relief measures may address immediate challengesUyeda said this might be the short-term answer as the SEC works toward a…

In a significant win for decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, US President Donald Trump overturned the Internal Revenue Service’s DeFi broker rule, which would have expanded existing reporting requirements to include DeFi platforms.Increasing US crypto regulatory clarity will attract more tech giants to the space, requiring existing crypto projects to focus on more collaborative tokenomics to survive, according to Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson.Trump signs resolution killing IRS DeFi broker ruleTrump signed a joint congressional resolution overturning a Biden administration-era rule that would have required DeFi protocols to report transactions to the Internal Revenue Service.Set to take effect in 2027, the IRS…

Neel Kashkari, President of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, addressed the issue of rising Treasury yields on April 11, suggesting that they might indicate a shift in investor sentiment away from United States government debt. Kashkari highlighted that the Federal Reserve has tools to provide more liquidity if necessary.While underscoring the importance of maintaining a strong commitment to reducing inflation, Kashkari’s remarks signal a possible turning point for Bitcoin (BTC) investors amid growing economic uncertainty. US Treasury 10-year yields. Source: TradingView / CointelegraphThe current 10-year US government bond yield of 4.5% is not unusual. Even if it approaches 5%, a level last…

Bitcoin (BTC) is entering what former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes calls “up only mode,” as a deepening crisis in the US bond market potentially drives investors away from traditional haven assets and toward alternative stores of value.Loss of confidence in US policy boosts Bitcoin’s upside prospectsOn April 11, the benchmark US 10-year Treasury yield surged above 4.59%—its highest level in two months.US 10-year Treasury note yields daily performance chart. Source: TradingViewThe $29 trillion US Treasury market has dropped more than 2% this week — its steepest decline since September 2019, when a liquidity crunch in the repo market forced the…

The Lomond School in Scotland will accept Bitcoin (BTC) tuition payments beginning in the Autumn semester of 2025, making it the first school in the United Kingdom to do so.Accepting Bitcoin is part of the school’s plan to integrate “sound money principles” from the Austrian School of Economics into the curriculum to “prepare students for the uncertain future,” the announcement reads, adding:”Bitcoin is available to anyone willing to learn — making it more democratic and inclusive, particularly for people in developing nations who lack access to traditional banking. Lomond sees Bitcoin as a perfect real-world case study in economics, computing,…

Draft legislation in the US Senate threatens to hit data centers serving blockchain networks and artificial intelligence models with fees if they exceed federal emissions targets, according to an April 11 Bloomberg report. Led by Senate Democrats Sheldon Whitehouse and John Fetterman, the draft bill purportedly aims to address environmental impacts from rising energy demand and protect households from higher energy bills, Bloomberg said.Dubbed the Clean Cloud Act, the legislation mandates that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set an emissions performance standard for data centers and crypto mining facilities with over 100 KW of installed IT nameplate power. The standard would…

Follow Frank on X. On Monday, Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Blanche published a memo entitled “Ending Regulation By Prosecution” in which he stated that the U.S. Department of Justice will stop its crackdown on bitcoin and crypto mixers. Here’s the exact language he used in the memo: “…the Justice Department will stop participating in regulation by prosecution in this space. Specifically, the Department will no longer target virtual currency exchanges, mixing and tumbling services, and offline wallets for the acts of their end users or unwitting violations of regulations…” The following day, New York Attorney General (NYAG) James co-authored a…