ECB teams with ECPC, nexo and Berlin Group to reuse open payment standards, cutting digital euro integration costs and clearing the path to a 2027 pilot, 2029 launch.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has signed agreements with three European standards bodies to reuse existing open technical specifications for processing digital euro payments, in a bid to lower integration costs and accelerate adoption across the euro area. Under the deals, European Card Payment Cooperation (ECPC), nexo standards, and the Berlin Group will align their frameworks so that payment providers can support digital euro transactions without expensive, bespoke upgrades to point-of-sale terminals and online systems.

The standards in scope include ECPC’s CPACE protocol for tap‑to‑pay near-field communication, nexo’s ISO 20022‑based acceptance specifications, and Berlin Group’s open interfaces for account-to-account and card-based payments. By building the digital euro on top of these existing rails, the ECB wants to offer “a European free alternative to current proprietary standards” dominated by global card schemes and digital wallets, according to Executive Board member Piero Cipollone. “The open digital euro standards will provide a European free alternative to current proprietary standards, make it easier for new European providers to enter the market and give European payment service providers and merchants the certainty they need to invest, innovate and compete across the euro area,” Cipollone said.

ECB targets cheaper rollout for banks and merchants

The ECB argues that reusing open standards should minimize scheme and implementation costs at a time when banks face multibillion‑euro IT bills to adapt to a potential central bank digital currency. Earlier estimates cited by Reuters suggested a digital euro rollout could cost European banks between €4 billion and €6 billion over four years, or roughly 3% of their annual IT maintenance budgets, underscoring why avoiding custom builds matters for political buy‑in.

Ana Grade, CEO of ECPC, called the deal “a major step” for her consortium’s CPACE standard, saying it will “further enhance the standard’s visibility and market presence” as part of the digital euro project. Jean‑Philippe Joliveau, chairman of nexo standards, added that the cooperation “confirms the position of nexo standards as an international and collaborative standardisation body for payment acceptance, supporting interoperability across the payments ecosystem.”

Next steps toward a 2029 launch

The agreements land as EU lawmakers work to finalize the digital euro regulation, which is expected to be adopted in 2026 and unlock full-scale investments by payment firms. The ECB has said it plans to publish the complete technical standards by this summer, with a 12‑month pilot focused on person‑to‑person and point‑of‑sale payments scheduled from the second half of 2027 and potential issuance readiness around 2029 if the legal framework is approved.

Officials frame the digital euro as a way to strengthen Europe’s monetary sovereignty and reduce reliance on non‑European payment giants such as Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal, while giving merchants access to a low‑fee, publicly backed payment option alongside cash and bank deposits. “This partnership shows our strong commitment to making sure the digital euro works with existing European standards that the private sector can also use,” Cipollone said, arguing that early standardization is key to a smooth rollout.

Dogecoin price prediction targets $0.50, but slow gains push investors toward Varntix for stable 20–24% returns and flexible income options.

Dogecoin is up on its daily and weekly scale, showing signs of recovery after early-year losses. Dogecoin price prediction models show a shift from a bearish to neutral sentiment. In fact, some forecasts point to DOGE even touching $0.50. However, the memecoin remains driven by hype and sentiment, making price moves unpredictable.

That uncertainty is pushing investors toward more reliable options. Varntix is gaining attention with fixed returns of up to 20–24% and flexible plans that still allow access to funds. With clear returns set from the start and growing demand from investors, it offers a more stable and practical way to earn in today’s market.

DOGE price prediction points to $0.50 as market sentiment turns neutral

DOGE is trading around $0.09 after a tough start to the year, which saw it lose over 21% of its value. As per Dogecoin price prediction metrics, momentum has improved from bearish to neutral. In fact, the memecoin even built on this modest leap by recording 18 green days in the last 30 days. 

In line with the positive Dogecoin price predictions, some analysts see a strong upward movement for DOGE. Some projections even point to a possible move toward $0.50, but this depends heavily on market sentiment and demand.

Even at that, the memecoin price is not moving enough to make investors money. Many are stuck holding through long periods of sideways action with no real returns. Because of this, more investors are starting to look for ways to earn steady income instead of waiting for price gains.

Varntix shows why fixed income beats waiting in slow crypto markets

Dogecoin’s slow price action shows a bigger problem in crypto. Holding alone is no longer working for many investors. If they poured $500,000 into the market and prices stayed flat for even a year, they would earn nothing during that time. And on top of that, there remains a risk of losing investments to price crashes.

But when compared to Varntix’s structured income strategies, a key upside stands out. Investing that same $500,000 at a 20% APY could yield about $100,000 in a year or about $50,000 in 6 months. This shows how much investors stand to gain by adopting fixed and stable strategies.

Varntix drives demand with fixed and flexible crypto income plans

Varntix is also gaining traction by offering both fixed- and flexible-income plans in crypto. The platform gives users clear returns from the start, rather than leaving them to guess.

Fixed plans offer returns of 20–24% annually, with terms of 6-24 months. Investors lock in their funds and know exactly how much they will earn. Flexible plans offer returns of 4–6.5% while still allowing access to funds, making them more liquid.

Interestingly, entry to these structured income options is investor-friendly. Fixed plans start at $500, while flexible plans start at just $50, making it easier for more people to participate. It’s no surprise this investment barrier has attracted smart movers.

Varntix reportedly raised over $20 million within hours for the high-net-worth investor offering, which has fixed yields of 24%. Current allocations in their fixed and flexible plans are also limited, and the rates are not expected to last for long as more investors are moving toward steady income options.

Conclusion

The Dogecoin price prediction models show that DOGE is making a recovery and could potentially move toward $0.50. But for now, the memecoin’s slow price movement means many investors are not making real profits. Holding during long sideways periods is still a challenge, even with positive forecasts.

This is where Varntix stands out. It is a digital wealth platform that helps users earn a fixed income on their crypto through structured savings accounts. With clear returns and simple, flexible options, it gives investors a more stable way to grow their money without depending only on price movement.

Take a closer look at Varntix to put crypto to work.

FAQs

1. What is the latest Dogecoin price prediction?

Some forecasts suggest Dogecoin could reach $0.50, but it depends on market demand and sentiment.

2. What does Varntix offer investors?

Varntix provides fixed returns of 20–24% and flexible plans with 4–6.5% returns on crypto savings.

3. Why are investors choosing Varntix?

Because it offers steady, predictable income instead of relying only on uncertain price movements.

Zcash price rallied nearly 12% on Friday, continuing its recent uptrend as buying interest picked up again after a brief pullback earlier this week.

According to data from crypto.news, Zcash (ZEC) rose to an intraday high close to $360 before easing slightly to trade around $350 at the time of writing. The move comes after the token found support near the $300 level, where buyers stepped in to defend the downside.

The latest rally appears to be driven by a mix of fresh demand and improving technical structure. After holding key support zones during its recent dip, Zcash has started to attract traders looking to position for a continuation move higher.

A key factor behind the renewed interest is the steady demand for privacy-focused cryptocurrencies. With growing attention on blockchain transparency and regulation, some investors are rotating into assets that offer stronger transaction confidentiality, which has helped lift sentiment around Zcash.

At the same time, activity within Zcash’s shielded ecosystem continues to support its outlook. The increasing share of coins held in shielded pools has effectively reduced liquid supply, which can amplify price moves when demand rises.

The token is also tracking the broader market recovery, with improving sentiment across crypto helping altcoins regain momentum after recent volatility.

If the current trend holds, traders will be watching whether Zcash can push toward the $400 level, which remains a key psychological barrier.

Zcash price analysis

On the daily chart, Zcash price has bounced from the 50% Fibonacci retracement level near $293, confirming it as a strong support zone.

It is now testing resistance around the 78.6% Fibonacci level near $350. A clean break above this level could see the price move back toward the recent high near $390.

The Supertrend indicator has stayed in bullish territory, suggesting the uptrend remains intact. Meanwhile, the RSI is sitting around 64, showing steady buying pressure without signs of extreme overheating.

On the downside, a drop below the $316 level, which aligns with the 0.618 Fibonacci support, could lead to a pullback toward the $293 zone.

Coinbase is rolling out a BLEND–USD spot pair for Fluent’s newly launched token, joining KuCoin and MEXC in a coordinated listing that could turn the tiny‑cap altcoin into a high‑beta volatility play.

Coinbase is preparing to launch spot trading for Fluent’s BLEND token, adding a BLEND–USD pair to its platform as early as today, subject to sufficient order-book liquidity. The decision places BLEND on the largest regulated crypto exchange in the United States by trading volume, signaling that demand for fresh altcoin listings remains strong despite a choppy market backdrop.

In an update on its listings page, Coinbase confirmed support for Fluent (BLEND) and said users in eligible regions can already generate deposit addresses, though deposits only become active once the asset issuer enables transfers. “Spot trading for BLEND will allow users to buy and sell the token directly on the platform, as opposed to derivative or futures-based exposure,” Coinbase’s listing note states, underscoring that the asset will be available in the cash market rather than via leveraged products.

New altcoin, thin float, high volatility risk

Fluent is a web3 platform whose native token, BLEND, is designed to sit at the center of its ecosystem for functions such as payments, governance, and incentives. According to CryptoRank, Coinbase is acting as a “primary launch platform” for BLEND as part of a wider collaboration focused on token distribution, developer onboarding, and educational content.

The timing aligns with BLEND’s initial exchange rollout, with MEXC and KuCoin both scheduling BLEND/USDT spot markets to open at 13:00 UTC on April 24, 2026, while Bybit has teased a forthcoming listing. Social posts from BSCNews noted that “leading exchanges @Coinbase and @krakenfx have scheduled $BLEND spot trading to begin today, April 24, 2026, once liquidity conditions are met,” highlighting a coordinated launch across multiple venues.

On-chain and order-book data suggest traders should brace for heavy volatility. A recent flow analysis from Streetbrief put BLEND’s market capitalization at roughly $1.85 million with only about $783 in 24‑hour volume ahead of the Coinbase listing, an “extremely illiquid” profile that can magnify both upside and downside moves when fresh demand hits.

Analysts expect that access via a BLEND–USD pair on Coinbase could pull in U.S.-based retail flow seeking high‑beta exposure, but warn that thin float and tight liquidity bands make the token particularly vulnerable to sharp intraday spikes and drawdowns in its early trading sessions.

South Africa’s 2026 capital flow draft recasts crypto as “capital,” tightening FX controls with declarations, approvals and sanctions as Africa’s biggest market matures.

South Africa’s National Treasury has released its Draft Capital Flow Management Regulations for 2026, a sweeping overhaul that explicitly classifies crypto assets as “capital” and pulls them into the country’s foreign exchange control framework for the first time. The proposal, published on April 17 and now open for public comment, aims to replace the 1961 Exchange Control Regulations and align South Africa’s regime with recommendations from the OECD and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and illicit financial flows.

According to the draft, crypto assets are now treated as a channel through which capital can be imported and exported, placing them alongside foreign currency, gold, and securities rather than outside the regulatory perimeter. National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank said in a joint statement that the amendments are intended “to address gaps in the current regulations, including in relation to cross‑border crypto asset transactions,” and to remove “any ambiguity regarding the declaration of foreign assets.”

Prior approval, declarations, and tougher sanctions

The new framework introduces authorised crypto asset service providers, transaction thresholds, mandatory declarations, and stiffer administrative sanctions for non‑compliance. In practice, this could mean that certain cross‑border crypto transfers will require prior approval from authorities, while residents and visitors may have to declare digital asset holdings above thresholds set by the finance minister, with the risk of seizure or forced sale if they fail to do so.

Bitcoin.com reported that draft rules “require visitors to declare crypto or face up to 5 years in prison,” and grant border officials powers to search devices for coins such as Bitcoin and other tokens suspected of being moved in violation of capital controls. Business Insider Africa added that the same regulations could “require residents to declare and sell certain crypto, gold and foreign currency holdings to the National Treasury” if they exceed those thresholds.

National Treasury insists the overhaul does not amount to a ban on digital assets but a modernization of control tools. “The policy emphasis shifts away from transaction‑by‑transaction pre‑approval towards reporting, traceability and risk‑based oversight, particularly in relation to illicit financial flows and capital flight,” the South African Institute of Taxation wrote in a commentary, describing the approach as a “pragmatic acknowledgment that value now moves across borders digitally.”

Africa’s largest crypto market under tighter watch

The timing is significant for a country that has emerged as the continent’s biggest crypto hub by volume and venture funding. Chainalysis data cited by Mariblock show that Sub‑Saharan Africa received more than $205 billion in on‑chain value between July 2024 and June 2025, with South Africa accounting for about $35 billion of that total, second only to one other market in the region.

Market research from IMARC Group estimates that South Africa’s cryptocurrency market reached roughly $11.18 billion in 2024, driven by both speculative trading and real‑world use cases such as remittances and hedging against domestic currency volatility. A CV VC report highlighted that the country captured 18% of all African blockchain venture capital, with blockchain deals representing 7.4% of total VC funding on the continent — more than double its approximate 3.2% share globally.

Those figures, combined with South Africa’s exit from the FATF grey list in late 2025 and preparations for the next assessment cycle starting mid‑2026, help explain the urgency behind the draft. Treasury officials argue the rules are a “vital prerequisite” for modernizing the financial architecture and shutting down channels for illicit flows, even as critics warn they could chill innovation and push activity into less regulated jurisdictions if implemented heavy‑handedly.

$178M in crypto liquidations over 24 hours show a choppy, leverage‑heavy market where both long and short traders are getting whipsawed out of positions.

The shakeout came as Bitcoin hovered near $77,487, down about 0.18% on the day, with more than $121 million in BTC futures positions liquidated over the same period, according to Coinglass’s BTC dashboard. Open interest in Bitcoin futures remains elevated at around $56.49 billion, suggesting leverage is still high even after the flush. Coinglass notes that it aggregates liquidation figures across perpetual swaps and dated futures on venues such as Binance, OKX, and Bybit to map total leverage washouts.

Range‑bound chop punishes both bulls and bears

The almost perfectly balanced split between long and short liquidations points to a market swinging back and forth within a tight range rather than trending decisively in one direction. When volatility spikes inside narrow bands and price repeatedly reverses around key levels, over‑leveraged traders on both sides can be wiped out in quick succession as stop‑losses and margin calls cascade through order books.

Coinglass’s long/short ratio indicators have flagged this tug‑of‑war dynamic for weeks, with futures positioning oscillating around parity rather than skewing clearly bullish or bearish on major pairs. That pattern often precedes large “breakout” moves once one side finally overwhelms the other, but in the interim it tends to produce exactly the kind of two‑sided liquidation profile seen in today’s $178 million tally.

For altcoins and smaller‑cap tokens, the impact can be even more violent, as thinner liquidity and higher funding‑rate sensitivity magnify forced selling and buying. With derivatives still driving a large share of total crypto trading volumes, the latest data underscores how quickly sentiment can flip — and how costly it can be to run high leverage in a market that has not yet chosen a clear direction.

Hyperliquid whales now hold $3.66B in nearly balanced perp positions, turning the on‑chain DEX into a real‑time gauge of institutional crypto sentiment.

Whale traders on Hyperliquid, one of the fastest‑growing on‑chain derivatives exchanges, are currently running $3.66 billion worth of open perpetual futures positions, according to fresh figures from Coinglass. Of that total, $1.854 billion, or 50.64%, is parked in long exposure, while roughly $1.8 billion sits in shorts, leaving a near‑neutral long/short ratio of 1.03 that reflects finely balanced conviction among the platform’s largest accounts.

Coinglass, which tracks whale activity on Hyperliquid through its dedicated whale tracker, notes that it aggregates large perpetual positions and marks them to market in real time to give traders “a better understanding of whale behavior and smarter trading decisions.” Its long/short ratio dashboard for Hyperliquid is designed to “quickly assess market sentiment and positioning, analyze trader behavior, and enhance risk control and trading strategy decisions,” making today’s almost symmetric split a clear signal of indecision rather than one‑sided speculation.

Hyperliquid cements role as on‑chain perps heavyweight

The sheer size of the $3.66 billion whale book underscores how Hyperliquid has evolved into a genuine institutional‑scale venue in the perpetual futures market. A recent MEXC research note highlighted that the exchange processed about $492.7 billion in derivatives volume in the first quarter of 2026, pushing it into the global top‑10 alongside incumbents such as Binance, OKX, and Bybit.

Separate analysis from IndexBox, citing data from Yahoo Finance, CryptoRank, and DefiLlama, said Hyperliquid handled roughly $40.7 billion in perp volume over a single seven‑day stretch, with about $9.57 billion in open interest — more than all major rival perp DEXs combined over the same window. In January 2026 alone, Hyperliquid facilitated over $208 billion in perpetual futures turnover, capturing 5.38% of total centralized exchange perpetual volume, its highest market share on record, according to a post by market analyst Jean‑Pierre Palomba‑Marin.

This combination of deep liquidity, fully on‑chain transparency, and large, nearly balanced whale positioning makes Hyperliquid a real‑time barometer of institutional‑level sentiment in crypto. With the long/short ratio hovering just above 1.0 and billions of dollars committed on both sides, the data suggest that big traders are positioned for volatility but not yet prepared to bet aggressively on either a sustained rally or a deeper drawdown.

Senator Bernie Moreno’s end‑of‑May ultimatum has turned the CLARITY Act into Congress’s last credible chance this cycle to set U.S. crypto market‑structure rules before politics and bank lobbying slam the window shut.

At a Washington event on April 22, Senator Bernie Moreno (R‑Ohio) dropped the optimism and set a hard line: the CLARITY Act must clear Congress by the end of May or U.S. crypto market structure legislation is effectively dead for this cycle. “I think we’re going to get it done by the end of May,” he said, but he has also warned that if the bill isn’t passed by then, digital asset legislation “will likely be impossible” to advance for the foreseeable future as the midterm calendar takes over.

Moreno’s ultimatum comes as the Senate Banking Committee still hasn’t held a single formal vote on the package, even though the House approved its version 294–134 in July 2025 and the Senate Agriculture Committee cleared its own text back in January. As Disruption Banking and Galaxy Research have both mapped out, the bill must now run a five‑step gauntlet in a matter of weeks: a Banking Committee markup, a 60‑vote Senate floor passage, reconciliation with the Agriculture version, reconciliation with the House bill, and finally President Donald Trump’s signature.

Bank noise, DeFi text, and a shrinking calendar

If Moreno is playing bad cop on timing, he is even blunter on bank pushback around stablecoin yield. At the DC Blockchain Summit he dismissed the backlash outright: “There’s a lot of noise in the market, but most of it is fake,” he said, arguing that banks “also need to innovate” instead of trying to kill yield‑bearing stablecoin products in committee. His comments landed just as reports emerged that the North Carolina Bankers Association was urging member banks to call Senator Thom Tillis’s office to oppose a hard‑won stablecoin yield compromise.

On April 20, industry lobby group the Digital Chamber sent a formal letter to Senate leadership pressing for an immediate markup, warning that further delay would turn the CLARITY Act into another lost opportunity for market‑structure reform. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R‑Wyo) has said DeFi provisions in the bill are already finalized and called this “our last chance,” while Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad has publicly projected an April markup and a May floor vote if leadership moves.

“The US Senate Banking Committee is unlikely to consider the CLARITY Act, a bill to regulate the crypto market, in April. Discussion of the document may be postponed until May,” says Yuliya Barabash, founder and managing partner at the law firm SBSB Fintech Lawyers.

The main obstacle remains the regulation on rewards for storing stablecoins. Banking industry representatives fear that high returns from stablecoins will lead to an outflow of deposits from traditional institutions. This could undermine the financial stability of smaller institutions. According to Tillis, negotiators need more time to find a compromise between banks and crypto companies.

-Yulia Barabash

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That schedule now runs head‑on into another priority: the nomination of Kevin Warsh as Trump’s pick to replace Jerome Powell as Fed chair, a process that is already burning Banking Committee time in late April. Every day the Warsh hearing occupies the agenda is a day the markup does not happen, and Congress is due to leave town for Memorial Day recess on May 21, leaving roughly three working weeks in May to get Democratic votes and clear a 60‑vote threshold on the floor.

Prediction markets flash amber as capital looks abroad

For traders, the legislative clock is now a tradable variable. On Polymarket, odds that the CLARITY Act is signed into law in 2026 climbed from around 38% to the mid‑40s after Moreno’s April 22 remarks, but remain far from a confident yes. One recent update pegged the “yes” probability at roughly 44%, even after earlier spikes above 80% when White House adviser Patrick Witt signaled that remaining hurdles were “toppling fast.” Finbold noted this week that expectations for 2026 passage have been “slashed” by about a third in just five days amid Senate delay.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has repeatedly warned that every month of U.S. dithering pushes digital asset innovation toward hubs like Dubai and Singapore, which are actively courting American crypto capital with clearer licensing, tax, and tokenization regimes. That warning is backed by hard numbers: Q1 2026 saw a record $297 billion in global venture funding, with growing slices aimed at crypto and AI‑adjacent infrastructure, while Y Combinator made its first stablecoin investment this April.

With or without the CLARITY Act, that capital is going to move. The difference, as Moreno and industry advocates keep stressing, is whether it moves under a U.S. legal framework that offers institutional guardrails and SEC‑CFTC clarity — or whether Washington runs out the clock and watches its last real shot at shaping the next decade of crypto market structure vanish with the May recess gavel.