Iranian media have dismissed reports that Tehran is currently collecting transit tolls for the Strait of Hormuz in cryptocurrency, underscoring the confusion surrounding a wartime payment regime that has rattled global shipping and crypto markets.

Tehran moves to quash ‘crypto toll’ claims

State-linked outlet Fars News said on Apr. 23 that “reports about Iran collecting tolls for the Strait of Hormuz in cryptocurrency are inaccurate,” countering weeks of speculation that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had already begun accepting Bitcoin or stablecoins from oil tankers during a fragile US-brokered ceasefire.

The denial follows detailed reporting from the Financial Times that Iran planned to demand that shipping companies pay transit fees in cryptocurrency for oil tankers passing through the narrow waterway, at an indicative rate of about $1 per barrel of crude.

Scam messages and market fallout

Even as Tehran rejects the idea that crypto tolls are already live, a Greek maritime risk firm, MARISKS, warned that unknown actors have been sending fraudulent messages to shipowners stuck west of the Strait, “posing as Iranian authorities” and demanding payment in Bitcoin or Tether in exchange for “clearance” and safe passage.

“These specific messages are a scam,” MARISKS said, stressing the emails “did not originate from Iranian authorities” and may have contributed to at least one vessel coming under fire while attempting to leave the area.

The Strait of Hormuz previously carried about one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows, and proposals for a crypto-based toll system have drawn intense scrutiny from regulators and blockchain analysts.

Bloomberg reported that an IRGC-linked intermediary has discussed opening negotiations at roughly $1 per barrel, implying potential revenue of up to $2 million for a fully loaded supertanker and between $70 billion and $80 billion a year if traffic returns near pre-war levels.

Chainalysis noted that Iran has historically relied on dollar-pegged stablecoins such as USDT on Tron, arguing that any implemented Hormuz tolls would deepen Tehran’s pivot toward censorship-resistant rails while posing new compliance risks for virtual asset service providers.

Industry observers say the Fars News denial leaves a narrow distinction: Iran appears keen to formalize tolls and experiment with yuan and crypto settlement, but claims it has not yet begun collecting those fees directly in digital assets, even as scammers and intermediaries race to fill the vacuum.

MoonPay has launched fiat-to-stablecoin virtual accounts in New York, enabling businesses to convert incoming funds from traditional bank rails such as ACH and SWIFT into stablecoins and settle them directly to non-custodial wallets through a single API. The product is supported by Iron’s technology, following MoonPay’s 2025 acquisition of the company, and is designed to streamline payment, trading, and treasury workflows without prefunded balances or multiple intermediaries.

The rollout strengthens MoonPay’s enterprise stack, extending its integrations with platforms like Deel and Paysafe. It also comes after the company secured a BitLicense, money transmitter licenses, and a New York limited purpose trust charter from the New York State Department of Financial Services in 2025, enabling the service in one of the world’s most regulated crypto markets. MoonPay described the arrangement as delivering faster settlement and programmable payments by bridging traditional banking rails with blockchain infrastructure through a single integration.

MoonPay’s announcement highlights the broader shift toward stabilized fiat rails interwoven with on-chain settlement, a trend echoed across the payments and fintech landscape. The move builds on a growing appetite among enterprises to use stablecoins to streamline cross-border payouts and treasury operations without maintaining multiple prefunded balances across jurisdictions. announcement notes the enterprise focus and regulatory footing behind the launch.

Key takeaways

• The New York launch leverages Iron’s technology and MoonPay’s licensed, regulated framework to offer fiat-to-stablecoin virtual accounts for enterprise use.
• Named, dedicated accounts receive fiat and automatically convert to stablecoins, enabling payment, trading, and treasury flows through a single integration to non-custodial wallets.
• The service extends MoonPay’s enterprise footprint, following the 2025 acquisition of Iron and New York licensing, with existing integrations into payroll and payments networks.
• Across the industry, stablecoins are being embedded into cross-border payout rails to reduce the reliance on prefunded accounts, aided by moves from payment networks and large fintechs.

MoonPay’s NY rails: what changes for businesses

At the core of MoonPay’s offering is a model that replaces the need for pre-funded balances held across multiple accounts with an on-demand bridge between fiat inflows and blockchain settlement. Under the Virtual Accounts program, platforms can issue named, dedicated accounts that receive fiat funding and automatically convert those funds into stablecoins. The stabilized assets can then be settled to non-custodial wallets, enabling seamless onboarding for users and smoother cash-management workflows for enterprises.

Industry participants say the approach can shorten settlement times and reduce the friction typically associated with moving money between fiat and crypto. For businesses that run payrolls, supplier payments, or cross-border settlements, the ability to fund on demand and settle in stablecoins or local currencies via a single API can simplify treasury operations and improve liquidity management. MoonPay’s own materials emphasize faster settlement and programmable payments as key benefits of the New York rollout.

Stability-enabled payments: a broader pattern in crypto finance

MoonPay’s move sits within a wider industry push to embed stablecoins deeper into payments infrastructure. In recent months, several high-profile developments have mirrored this shift. For example, Singapore-based fintech Nium recently integrated USDC payments via Coinbase to enable on-demand funding and settlement of cross-border payouts across more than 190 countries through a single platform. The arrangement allows businesses to fund payouts in stablecoins and settle in either digital assets or local fiat, reducing the overhead of maintaining multi-jurisdictional prefunding.

On the card network side, traditional rails are gradually embracing on-chain settlement. Visa and Stripe-backed Bridge rolled out stablecoin-linked card capabilities across more than 100 countries, with pilots testing on-chain settlement that could see transactions settled in digital assets rather than fiat. Visa publicly stated that its stablecoin settlement run rate reached an annualized level of $4.6 billion as of December 2025, underscoring the growing scale of on-chain payments in mainstream networks.

Meanwhile, Mastercard has signaled its intent to strengthen its own stablecoin capabilities by agreeing to acquire BVNK in a deal valued at up to $1.8 billion. The acquisition aims to deepen Mastercard’s ability to connect traditional payment rails with blockchain-based transactions, supporting use cases such as cross-border payments and business payouts.

Overall market context remains sizable: DefiLlama estimates the total stablecoin market capitalization at roughly $320 billion, illustrating the breadth of stablecoins’ reach across payments, remittances, and treasury operations.

The envelope of regulation continues to shape how these products scale. MoonPay’s New York license package — BitLicense, money transmitter licenses, and a New York trust charter — positions the company within one of the world’s most closely watched crypto markets. This regulatory clearance is frequently cited as a prerequisite for banks and other financial service providers to engage in on/off-ramp activity with certainty, reducing compliance risk for partner platforms and their customers.

What this implies for investors and builders

For investors, MoonPay’s New York program signals a maturation path for enterprise-grade stablecoin infrastructure. The combination of licensed fiat rails, API-driven settlement, and native integration with non-custodial wallets lowers friction for capital deployment and cash management in crypto-native ecosystems. For developers and platform operators, the approach offers a blueprint for scalable, compliant stablecoin infrastructure that can be extended to payroll, cross-border payments, and treasury services without juggling multiple prepaid balances.

For the broader market, the trend toward on-demand stablecoin funding and on-chain settlement highlights both opportunities and risks. On one hand, it could accelerate real-world utility for stablecoins, improving liquidity and access for businesses and individuals alike. On the other hand, it concentrates settlement activity within a handful of regulated corridors, making compliance and interoperability more critical than ever. Industry observers will be watching how these rails adapt to evolving regulatory expectations and how banks, fintechs, and crypto platforms coordinate across international borders.

As adoption broadens, readers should monitor MoonPay’s rollout trajectory in New York and potential expansion to other jurisdictions. The balance between speed, cost, and compliance will likely determine how quickly enterprise users embrace virtual accounts for fiat-to-stablecoin workflows, and whether competing networks can replicate or surpass the efficiency gains demonstrated by this model.

Looking ahead, the intersection of regulated fiat rails and programmable digital assets is likely to remain a focal point for both investors and builders. The coming quarters will reveal how rapidly these enterprise-ready rails proliferate, how adaptable they are to evolving regulatory regimes, and which партнерs will emerge as primary beneficiaries of streamlined stablecoin infrastructure.

Coinbase has rebuilt its anti‑fraud stack by tightly integrating machine learning models with a high‑speed rules engine, slashing response times to new scam patterns from days to hours just as TRM Labs warns crypto fraud is now a tens‑of‑billions‑per‑year, AI‑supercharged industry.

The company describes a dual-track strategy where “models [are] responsible for long-term defense, rules [are] responsible for rapid response,” all housed in a unified framework that lets rules capture new fraud types which can then be fed back into models to strengthen overall defenses over time.

Coinbase says it has turned what used to be a manual and slow rule creation workflow into a data-driven, automated recommendation system by restructuring data, automating schema evolution, and introducing notebook-based analytical tools for its risk teams.

Coinbase’s new fraud playbook

As part of the overhaul, the performance of rule backtesting has improved by more than 10 times, allowing Coinbase to trial and ship new protections far more quickly as scam behavior evolves in real time.

According to Coinbase, the system now uses machine learning to recommend rule parameters, with the goal of “reducing false positive rates while combating fraud and minimizing the impact on normal users,” an important balance for a major exchange processing billions in trading volume.

The latest upgrade builds on earlier efforts outlined in a Coinbase blog on advanced machine learning models, where the company said its mission is “to keep building scalable, adaptive, blockchain aware ML systems that enable Coinbase to effectively manage risk for its products” without degrading user experience.

Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs reported that global crypto fraud reached about $35 billion in 2025, warning that when underreporting is included, “total annual losses likely exceed USD 200 billion worldwide”.

In a separate 2026 crime report, TRM said illicit crypto flows hit a record $158 billion in 2025, with scam networks increasingly run like professional businesses and AI tools accelerating impersonation and outreach at scale.

Coinbase’s own chief information security officer, Philip Martin Lunglhofer, has previously said the exchange is seeing growing “AI-use cases to detect fraud” and is already using machine learning to monitor user activity and support chats for signs of scams or account takeovers.

The exchange’s latest investment in automated, event-driven rule generation and potential “one-click conversion” of efficient rules into model features is meant to push Coinbase closer to a fully automated risk management system, as fraudsters themselves weaponize AI to probe and exploit weaknesses faster than ever.

For broader context on Coinbase’s security posture and user protection efforts, readers can refer to Coinbase’s fraud-focused blog posts on machine learning and compliance, as well as prior coverage of Coinbase scam activity and crypto fraud trends on crypto.news.

US spot ETFs absorbed 4,349 BTC, 35,736 ETH and 1,311 SOL in a day, signaling that despite choppy prices, regulated wrappers remain the preferred route into crypto exposure.

US-listed spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs saw net inflows of 4,349 BTC today, pointing to steady institutional and advisory demand despite ongoing volatility in digital asset markets, according to on-chain tracker Lookonchain.

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana ETFs attract new capital

At current market levels, that represents a roughly mid eight-figure allocation into regulated Bitcoin products in a single session, adding to the already sizable holdings accumulated by issuers since the first approvals.

Ethereum (ETH) ETF flows were even more notable in native units, with Lookonchain reporting 35,736 ETH in net inflows into US vehicles over the same period.

This wave of ETH buying via ETFs comes as traders reassess Ethereum’s positioning ahead of potential further upgrades and as staking yields and DeFi risks remain in focus for professional allocators.

Solana products, still comparatively smaller than their Bitcoin and Ethereum peers, logged net inflows of 1,311 SOL, suggesting that investor interest in higher-beta layer-1 exposure is persisting alongside blue-chip assets.

Taken together, the positive flows into Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana (SOL) ETFs highlight that regulated wrappers remain a preferred channel for US-based institutions and advisers seeking crypto exposure, even as macro conditions and regulatory signals stay mixed.

XRP spot ETFs have not recorded a single day of outflows since April 9, pulling in $71.31 million so far in April and putting the month on track to be the strongest of 2026, fully erasing March’s $31.16 million loss, which was the first monthly loss XRP ETFs had ever posted.

XRP spot ETFs have not recorded a single day of outflows since April 9, according to 247 Wall St., which reported that the funds have pulled in $71.31 million in April so far, with April 21 being the only session to see zero flows rather than positive ones. The run fully erases the $31.16 million that left the funds in March, which was the first monthly loss XRP ETFs had ever posted since their November 2025 debut.

XRP Spot ETF Inflows Deliver Their Strongest Uninterrupted Streak on Record

As crypto.news reported, the week ending April 17 was the single best week for US-listed XRP ETFs in all of 2026, with $55.39 million flowing into the funds across five sessions. Bitwise and Franklin Templeton have absorbed nearly all of April’s inflows, with Bitwise’s XRP ETF on the verge of overtaking Canary Capital as the largest XRP ETF by cumulative inflows, sitting at $419 million against Canary’s $421 million. Combined assets under management across US-listed products have recovered to $1.28 billion, a three-month high that matches the level the funds last reached in mid-January. Live fund flow data from CoinGlass confirms the sustained accumulation pattern, with XRP ETFs logging consistent daily inflows across the streak with no single session of net redemptions recorded.

April’s Run Follows a Record Week of Global XRP ETF Demand

The domestic US inflow streak came on the heels of an even larger global surge. As crypto.news documented, global XRP ETF products pulled in a combined $119.6 million in the week ending April 11, the strongest single weekly figure since December 2025 and more than half of all global crypto fund flows that week. That surge was driven almost entirely by European buyers, making the subsequent US-led streak from April 9 onward a meaningful shift, as domestic institutional demand began catching up to the pace European investors had already set.

The CLARITY Act Is the Next Major Test for the Streak

The 247 Wall St. analysis points directly to the CLARITY Act as the primary catalyst that could extend or supercharge the current run. If the bill clears the Senate Banking Committee before the May 21 recess, XRP ETF inflows could potentially double current cumulative levels, as approximately 65% of institutional investors have cited regulatory clarity as the one condition holding them back from deploying serious capital into XRP. As crypto.news tracked, XRP’s $55 million weekly contribution represented a disproportionately large share of the broader $1 billion week for crypto ETFs overall, and the momentum heading into the CLARITY Act deadline gives the streak meaningful fundamental backing beyond short-term sentiment.

If April closes without a single outflow day, it would mark the first full calendar month of 2026 to achieve that record, a milestone that analysts say could act as a structural signal to institutional allocators watching whether XRP ETF demand has found a durable floor.

Coinbase has filed documentation with the CFTC confirming it will activate Trade at Settlement functionality for XRP futures on May 1, 2026, giving institutional traders a regulated mechanism to execute large block orders at the official closing price rather than against live, intraday market prices.

Coinbase filed documentation with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission confirming it will activate Trade at Settlement for XRP futures on May 1, 2026. The CFTC filing outlines how the mechanism will support block trades and structured execution under the Commodity Exchange Act, with Coinbase’s Market Regulation team overseeing all TAS activity to ensure market fairness and prevent manipulation.

Coinbase XRP Futures TAS Launch Targets Institutional Block Traders

The TAS feature will apply to both nano XRP and standard full-sized XRP futures contracts on Coinbase Derivatives. Under the structure, large market participants can execute block orders at the day’s official closing settlement price, removing the execution risk that comes from placing high-volume orders against live, fluctuating bids. For funds and professional trading desks, TAS is about execution efficiency rather than market access. Intraday price swings in digital assets can distort total execution costs significantly when handling large positions, and the ability to lock in the settlement price removes that variable entirely. As crypto.news reported, XRP was simultaneously classified as a digital commodity in a joint SEC-CFTC framework in March 2026, a regulatory shift that has been progressively expanding the institutional derivatives infrastructure available for the asset.

Why This Move Matters for XRP’s Institutional Standing

Placing XRP alongside Bitcoin, Ethereum, gold, and crude oil under the same TAS execution framework on Coinbase is a structural signal as much as a product update. TAS has long been standard in traditional futures markets precisely because institutional participants require it to manage large positions efficiently without moving the market against themselves. As crypto.news documented, XRP’s derivatives market has been undergoing a structural shift in 2026, with futures volume rising significantly relative to spot trading as institutional positioning grows. Adding TAS to that environment gives institutional participants a tool that matches the operational standards of traditional commodity markets, reducing one of the remaining friction points between regulated crypto derivatives and legacy finance workflows.

XRP Derivatives and ETF Infrastructure Expanding in Parallel

The TAS launch arrives as XRP’s institutional infrastructure expands simultaneously across spot and derivatives channels. A Coinbase and EY-Parthenon survey cited in market commentary found that institutional investors plan to increase XRP portfolio exposure from 18% to 25% in 2026, with 65% citing regulatory clarity as the primary condition holding them back. As crypto.news tracked, the CFTC’s posture under newly confirmed Chairman Brian Quintenz has shifted toward a pro-innovation stance, with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse having joined the agency’s Innovation Advisory Committee earlier this year. That regulatory relationship gives Ripple and the broader XRP ecosystem a direct line into the policy conversations shaping how digital asset derivatives are governed going forward.

Coinbase has not disclosed which institutional counterparties have been engaged ahead of the May 1 TAS launch, but the CFTC filing confirms the feature will go live on schedule barring any regulatory objection.

The Bittensor price prediction gained fresh weight on April 20 when BitGo launched institutional custody and staking for TAO subnet tokens through a partnership with Yuma, per CoinMarketCap. Bittensor (TAO) trades at $243 with 70% of supply locked in staking. Three days earlier, Worldcoin (WLD) shipped World ID 4.0 with live integrations into Tinder, Zoom, and DocuSign, per CoinDesk.

Both tokens carry real adoption signals, but market caps of $2.6 billion and $865 million leave limited room for portfolio-changing returns. That math is why capital keeps flowing into the Pepeto presale at $0.0000001866, where $9.45 million has entered and the Binance listing draws closer every day.

BitGo Custody Deal and World ID 4.0 Launch Reshape AI Crypto in April

BitGo now offers institutional staking and trading for Bittensor subnet tokens through Yuma’s validator, giving regulated funds a direct route into TAO for the first time, per BitGo. This Bittensor price prediction catalyst arrived alongside the first TAO halving from December 2025, which cut daily emissions from 7,200 to 3,600 TAO.

World ID 4.0 introduced iris verification to Tinder, Zoom for deepfake protection, and DocuSign for identity checks, per TechCrunch. The network now supports 18 million verified humans across 160 countries. Institutional access to TAO and mainstream adoption of WLD both point to the same conclusion, that capital is looking for early entries with real upside before the larger wave arrives.

Bittensor Price Prediction Compared: TAO, WLD, and the Presale Opportunity Pepeto

Pepeto: The Presale Running Ahead of Schedule While Institutional Money Arrives Late

The Pepe co-creator leads Pepeto alongside an exchange architect who spent years inside Binance shipping trading infrastructure. SolidProof reviewed every contract before the first dollar entered, and more than $9.45 million followed during a quarter where most projects struggled to raise at all.

PepetoSwap lets traders swap across Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Solana without paying fees on any leg. An AI-driven security layer checks each contract a wallet interacts with and warns users before funds commit. Because both products settle in the native Pepeto token, every transaction adds buying pressure the same way Ethereum’s fee burn shrinks ETH supply after each block.

The current round is filling at the same speed that closed the last one early. At $0.0000001866 buyers secure a cost basis that the upcoming Binance debut will replace with a market-set price, and 178% APY staking grows every position daily until that day arrives. Each new Bittensor price prediction headline brings fresh eyes into crypto, and those eyes land on presale entries where the math still points to life-changing returns.

Bittensor (TAO) Price at $243 as BitGo Opens Institutional Staking

Bittensor (TAO) trades at $243 per CoinMarketCap, down 1.76% on the day and 23% on the week after the Covenant AI exit triggered a sell-off.

Support holds near $230 with resistance at $260. The all-time high of $757 from April 2024 sits 211% above, strong for a large cap but a fraction of what a presale entry at $0.0000001866 delivers in one listing event.

Worldcoin (WLD) Price at $0.26 as World ID 4.0 Reaches Tinder and Zoom

Worldcoin (WLD) trades at $0.26 per CoinDesk, recovering from its all-time low of $0.24 set earlier in April. The Lift Off event brought partnerships with Tinder, Zoom, and DocuSign, but WLD dropped 13% as token unlocks totaling $330 million added supply pressure.

Even a full recovery to the $11.74 all-time high prints roughly 44x, while the Pepeto presale targets 267x from a single Binance listing.

Conclusion:

The Bittensor price prediction strengthened this week after BitGo opened institutional TAO staking and Worldcoin shipped World ID 4.0 to Tinder and Zoom. TAO at $243 and WLD at $0.26 both carry real upside, but neither can match what happens when a presale token at $0.0000001866 meets a Binance listing for the first time.

The wallets loading Pepeto right now chose the entry that still has real distance ahead, and 178% APY staking adds to every position quietly while the Binance debut approaches. Once this round sells out, the cost basis resets higher and never returns to current levels. Securing the presale price today is how accounts end up holding the kind of gains that everyone else spends the next year regretting they missed.

Visit the Pepeto Website to Enter the Presale

FAQs

What does the Bittensor price prediction target for 2026 after the BitGo deal?

Bittensor (TAO) at $243 holds 211% upside to its $757 all-time high, and the BitGo-Yuma staking partnership removes a major barrier for institutional capital. Pepeto at presale pricing targets 267x from a single Binance listing event.

Is Pepeto a better entry than Worldcoin right now?

Pepeto offers presale access at $0.0000001866 with $9.45 million raised and 178% APY staking before an upcoming Binance listing. Worldcoin (WLD) at $0.26 and an $865 million market cap cannot match that presale-to-exchange return.

Disclaimer: This is a Press Release provided by a third party who is responsible for the content. Please conduct your own research before taking any action based on the content.

Ripple has partnered with Kyobo Life Insurance, one of South Korea’s three largest life insurers with over $92 billion in assets, to pilot Korea’s first blockchain-based tokenized government bond settlement, targeting a compression of the standard two-day settlement cycle to near real-time execution using Ripple Custody.

Ripple announced on April 15 a strategic partnership with Kyobo Life Insurance, the first Tier-1 Korean insurer to adopt on-chain bond infrastructure, to pilot the tokenization and settlement of South Korean government bonds using the Ripple Custody platform. The arrangement targets a compression of Korea’s standard T+2 bond settlement cycle into near real-time execution, simultaneously settling both the bond and the payment leg on a single on-chain ledger.

Ripple Kyobo Life Korea Partnership Targets Government Bond Settlement

As crypto.news reported, the deal uses Ripple Custody rather than Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity product, meaning it does not create direct XRP purchase demand today. Despite that distinction, XRP rallied 6% to $1.42 on the day the announcement dropped, reclaiming fourth place by market capitalization. The partnership is structured explicitly as a pilot and feasibility study. No transaction sizes, go-live dates, or specific bond series have been disclosed, as Korean regulators have not yet established a complete legal framework for tokenized securities. Fiona Murray, Managing Director for Asia Pacific at Ripple, said the move signals that institutional-grade digital asset infrastructure in Korea is “no longer a future aspiration,” and described the Kyobo deal as “the beginning of a broad and enduring partnership, not only with Kyobo, but with the Korean institutional financial market as a whole.”

Stablecoin Payment Rails Add a Second Layer to the Deal

Beyond bond settlement, the partnership includes an exploration of stablecoin-based payment rails that would allow Kyobo Life to process transactions 24 hours a day, seven days a week, outside normal banking hours. Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin is already listed on Korean exchange Coinone, giving the stablecoin component a live domestic distribution channel. As crypto.news documented, SBI Holdings, Ripple’s long-term Japanese institutional partner, is also an investor in Kyobo Life, connecting Ripple’s Japan and Korea institutional strategies through the same financial network and reinforcing that the deal is part of a deliberate regional build rather than a standalone partnership. Jin Ho Park, Senior Executive Vice President at Kyobo Life, said the collaboration is “not simply about digital assets, it is about validating how traditional financial instruments can operate securely and efficiently on blockchain.”

Where the Kyobo Deal Fits in Ripple’s Asia-Pacific Strategy

Ripple has been building its Korean institutional presence methodically over 14 months, partnering with local custodian BDACS in February 2025 for institutional XRP and RLUSD storage, and achieving live exchange listings across Upbit, Coinone, and Korbit by August 2025. The Kyobo partnership is the first to bring Ripple into the Korean insurance sector, which holds some of the largest concentrations of long-duration government debt in the country. As crypto.news tracked, Ripple’s Asia-Pacific push has been advancing on multiple fronts simultaneously, including a trade finance pilot with Singapore’s Monetary Authority through the BLOOM sandbox and an Australian Financial Services License acquisition. The Kyobo deal adds Korea’s sovereign debt market to that regional footprint, positioning Ripple Custody as the settlement layer across a growing number of regulated Asian financial institutions.

The partnership’s roadmap anticipates integration with payments, liquidity services, and treasury management over time, though Ripple and Kyobo have not committed to a specific timeline for moving beyond the pilot and feasibility phase.

Global crypto adoption cooled in the first quarter as retail activity faced headwinds from a stronger dollar, higher interest rates and a broader risk-off environment. TRM Labs’ Q1 Global Crypto Adoption Index recorded an 11% year-over-year drop in retail volumes to $979 billion, marking a second consecutive quarterly contraction and the sharpest pullback since the 2022 bear market. Bitcoin’s price also slid, falling about 22% in the quarter after a late-2025 rally that topped above $126,000.

“This downturn underscores the sector’s sensitivity to macro conditions,” TRM Labs noted, highlighting how shifts in global liquidity and risk appetite translate into thinner retail participation across markets.

Key takeaways

• Retail volumes declined 11% year over year to $979 billion in Q1, the second straight quarterly contraction.
• Bitcoin prices dropped roughly 22% during the quarter, continuing a broader price correction after a late-2025 peak.
• Advanced economies—led by the United States, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and Germany—saw the steepest declines in crypto trading activity, reflecting a higher opportunity cost for speculative exposure.
• Turkey bucked the trend with a 7% year-over-year increase in volumes, while Latin America and South Asia held relatively stable performance.
• Venezuela emerged as a notable growth market in crypto adoption, underscoring the role of crypto as a store of value in sanctioned or constrained economies.

Diverging regional dynamics reshape the global picture

The quarterly data drew a clear line between regions where crypto serves primarily as a speculative asset and those where it fulfills a more functional role—payments, savings, and value transfer. In mature markets such as the United States, South Korea, the United Kingdom and Germany, traders faced elevated opportunity costs and a tighter risk-on environment, contributing to the steepest declines in trading volume observed in the index.

TRM Labs attributed part of the shift to a tightening macro backdrop, noting that higher interest rates and a stronger U.S. dollar compressed retail appetite for risk assets. The dynamics appeared to run counter to regions where crypto has become a more practical tool for daily use or capital preservation, where activity remained comparatively steadier.

Bitcoin price action and the broader market mood

The quarter’s macro backdrop helped push Bitcoin lower in tandem with the broader pullback across digital asset markets. After peaking near $126,000 in late 2025, BTC’s price drifted down through Q1 as investors reassessed risk against rising yields and slower economic momentum. The price trajectory underscored the link between macro conditions and demand for crypto exposure, particularly in markets with high speculative activity.

Beyond price, the index’s segmentation hints at where crypto demand may rebound. In regions where the asset is used as a hedge or store of value, activity can prove more resilient even amid volatility. The contrast between these dynamics was most evident in the regional split described by TRM Labs, suggesting that the sector’s path forward will depend on both macro stabilization and the evolution of on-chain use cases.

Geopolitics, policy and the evolving role of crypto

Geopolitical developments continued to color crypto adoption patterns in Q1. The report notes that the late-February onset of regional tensions, including the Iran conflict, intensified market sensitivity to energy flows and global risk factors, complicating the macro and liquidity environment for crypto markets.

Among the outliers, Turkey recorded a 7% year-over-year rise in volumes, signaling a more practical reliance on crypto within the local economy. Latin America and South Asia also demonstrated relative stability, suggesting a continued, if uneven, adoption trajectory across diverse regulatory and monetary contexts.

TRM Labs highlighted a broader implication: “This divergence reflects a fundamental difference in demand: where domestic monetary policy is constrained or capital controls limit alternatives, crypto functions as a store of value and shadow dollar system.” The statement captures how crypto’s role shifts with local policy regimes and macro stress, potentially offering a hedge where traditional instruments are less accessible or trusted.

Implications for investors, users and builders

The Q1 findings illuminate a nuanced landscape for different crypto actors. For investors and traders, the persistence of a bifurcated market—softening retail participation in advanced economies alongside more resilient activity in specific regions—adds a layer of complexity to risk assessment. The decline in retail volumes amid a stronger dollar and higher rates could sap near-term liquidity, particularly in assets with high speculative demand.

Platform operators, wallets and payment-focused projects may see varied exposure as consumer demand reorients around cost of capital and cross-border usage. In economies where crypto remains a practical alternative to restricted or unstable local currencies, the asset may continue to fulfill its traditional functions even in downturns, potentially stabilizing demand in those pockets of the market.

Regulators and policymakers will likely monitor how macro shifts influence crypto activity, especially in jurisdictions where crypto serves as a quasi-official channel for value retention or as a substitute for capital controls. The Venezuela case, highlighted by TRM as a growth market, exemplifies how sanctions and monetary constraints can shape on-chain usage patterns and adoption trajectories.

What to watch next

As the year resumes, watchers should keep an eye on several developing threads: whether macro conditions ease sufficiently to rekindle retail appetite in advanced economies, how stablecoins and on-chain payments ecosystems influence adoption in constrained markets, and how geopolitical tensions or policy shifts affect cross-border flows and liquidity. The evolving balance between speculative demand and functional use will likely continue to define the pace and geography of crypto adoption in 2026.

Readers should monitor TRM Labs’ ongoing analyses for updates on regional momentum and the intersection of macro factors with on-chain activity, as this dynamic will shape strategic decisions for traders, builders and institutions navigating a still-maturing crypto landscape.