TLDR:

• RailsX enables peer-to-peer bitcoin and stablecoin trading natively on the Lightning Network with no intermediary..
  
• The platform launches with two stablecoin pairs, USDT-L and USDC-L, both issued by Speed Wallet on Lightning.
  
• All trades settle atomically through Lightning channels in seconds, removing the need for centralized exchanges.
  
• RailsX combines Amboss’s Magma liquidity marketplace with Taproot Assets to power decentralized BTC trading.

RailsX, a new peer-to-peer exchange built on the Lightning Network, is now live for early users. Amboss Technologies developed the platform to allow self-custodial trading between bitcoin and stablecoins.

The launch introduces two stablecoin-bitcoin pairs: USDT-L and USDC-L, both issued by Speed Wallet. Users retain full control of their private keys throughout all transactions, removing the need for centralized custody.

Trading Bitcoin Against Stablecoins Without Giving Up Custody

RailsX routes all trades through existing Lightning payment channels. This means settlement happens in seconds, with minimal fees and no third-party intermediary holding assets.

There is no centralized order book managing trades on the platform. Instead, transactions execute atomically, giving users a fully decentralized trading experience.

The platform is accessible through open-source node manager Thunderhub, with no additional setup required. Amboss is also coordinating liquidity formation across BTC/stablecoin pairs to support growing trading volume.

RailsX combines Amboss’s liquidity marketplace, Magma, with Taproot Assets to enable this decentralized structure. The company says this approach aligns with its reading of U.S. draft Clarity Act legislation.

Speed Wallet handles the issuance and underlying custody for both USDT-L and USDC-L. All assets remain fully backed and transparent under Speed Wallet’s framework.

Before RailsX launched, Speed Wallet had already been operating wrapped stablecoins for its own users. Now, that infrastructure is available to the entire Lightning Network through RailsX.

Amboss CEO and co-founder Jesse Shrader addressed what the platform means for everyday users. “RailsX lets users trade, hold, and move value on Lightning without ever giving up control of their money,” Shrader said.

He added that the platform is designed to unlock Bitcoin’s potential as a medium of exchange. According to Shrader, RailsX serves global stablecoin demand without exposing users to cross-chain decentralized finance risks.

Stablecoins Return to Bitcoin via Taproot Assets

RailsX builds on Amboss’s existing Rails product, which lets users supply liquidity to Lightning channels and earn yield. The new platform extends that foundation into fully self-custodial stablecoin trading.

Industry leaders have recently discussed bringing stablecoins back to Bitcoin using Taproot Assets. These include Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino and Lightning Labs CEO Elizabeth Stark.

Speed Wallet CEO Raj Patel spoke directly about the platform’s role in expanding access. “Speed Wallet built this technology with one goal: to make stablecoins on Lightning accessible to everyone,” Patel said.

He described RailsX as the kind of distribution platform Speed Wallet had always envisioned. Patel also noted that the launch takes self-custody stablecoin trading into the mainstream for the broader Lightning Network.

The Lightning Network saw a sharp drop in capacity earlier this year amid bear market conditions. However, capacity has largely stabilized over the past two months.

According to The Block’s data dashboard, total U.S. dollar capacity on the network stands at roughly $380 million. Bitcoin capacity hovers at approximately 4,870 BTC. RailsX was first unveiled in January and is now entering its early-user phase. 

The platform represents a growing push to make Bitcoin a practical medium of exchange at scale. As stablecoin demand rises globally, Lightning-native solutions like RailsX are drawing increasing attention from users seeking alternatives to centralized exchanges.

TLDR:

• TON Tech’s Agentic Wallets let AI agents execute on-chain transactions without needing per-action user approval.
  
• Users retain full ownership and can withdraw funds or revoke agent access at any point during operation.
  
• The framework needs no wallet upgrades and supports leading AI models, MCP, and CLI developer tools.
  
• Telegram bots using Agentic Wallets can now handle both autonomous communication and on-chain payments.

Agentic Wallets on TON represent a new standard for AI-driven blockchain activity. TON Tech has introduced a self-custodial framework that allows AI agents to manage funds and execute transactions independently.

Users retain full control over their assets at all times. The system requires no third-party involvement and works with existing TON wallets without requiring upgrades.

This development connects blockchain payments directly to the Telegram ecosystem, where autonomous bots are already active.

How Agentic Wallets Operate Within the TON Ecosystem

The setup process for Agentic Wallets is straightforward for any user. A user asks their AI agent to create a wallet, funds it, and confirms the setup.

After that, the agent can transact within clearly defined spending limits. No per-transaction approval from the user is needed during normal operation.

Control over funds stays with the user throughout the entire process. The agent operates a dedicated on-chain wallet funded directly by the user.

Ownership, however, remains tied to the user’s main wallet at all times. Funds can be withdrawn at any point, and agent access can be revoked on demand.

TON Tech shared details about the framework publicly, noting the open and self-custodial nature of the standard. The role separation between agent and user reduces the risk of unauthorized activity.

This separation is built directly into the architecture of each wallet setup. Users therefore do not need to rely on any intermediary to manage agent transactions.

The system is also designed to protect developers from vendor lock-in. No upgrades to existing wallets are required to implement the framework.

Developers can build and manage their own setups independently from the start. Compatibility with leading AI models and agent frameworks further adds to that flexibility.

Telegram Integration and the Developer Stack Behind Agentic Wallets

The developer tooling packaged with Agentic Wallets supports multiple integration paths. It includes MCP and CLI tools specifically built for managing agent workflows.

These tools allow developers to work inside their existing environments without major changes. The framework’s broad compatibility makes adoption practical for teams of various sizes.

Telegram adds an immediate use case for this release. Bot API and recent bot-to-bot communication already allow agents to interact autonomously on the platform.

Agentic Wallets extend that foundation to include on-chain payments within the same chat interface. As TON Tech noted in its post, agents on Telegram can now both communicate and make financial transactions in one environment.

That combination makes the framework immediately actionable within Telegram. The existing bot infrastructure provides a ready-built environment for agent-based payments.

Developers can therefore build financial workflows directly into their Telegram bots without external tools. This bridges the gap between AI communication and real on-chain transactions.

The framework is open and available for any developer to adopt without restrictions. TON Tech has published resources to help teams launch AI agents with Agentic Wallets.

The standard is built to grow alongside the broader AI agent and blockchain ecosystem.

President Trump told hundreds of top $TRUMP memecoin holders at a private April 25 event at Mar-a-Lago that the White House will not allow banks to block the CLARITY Act, pledging to sign the bill immediately and framing crypto market structure legislation as a national priority.

CLARITY Act legislation received the most direct public presidential backing it has seen yet on April 25 when Trump addressed top $TRUMP memecoin holders at a private gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. TheStreet reported that Trump told the gathering he would not allow banks to hinder the progress of the bill and said he would sign the bill immediately if Congress sent it to his desk. Trump described crypto as having “become mainstream” and backed the CLARITY Act as essential for keeping the industry onshore.

CLARITY Act Gets a Presidential Warning Directed at Banking Industry Resistance

The April 25 event was organized by Fight Fight Fight LLC, the issuer behind the $TRUMP token, and billed as the most exclusive conference in the world. The top 297 $TRUMP holders by time-weighted average received access to a conference and gala luncheon. The top 29 holders received a private reception with the president. As crypto.news reported, attendees included Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, ARK Investment Management’s Cathie Wood, Anchorage Digital CEO Nathan McCauley, billionaire Tim Draper, and boxer Mike Tyson. Trump’s remarks directly targeted banking industry groups that have spent months lobbying senators to reopen the settled stablecoin yield provisions, warning that the White House would not allow those efforts to succeed. The event also carried a political subplot: Democratic senators Warren, Schiff, and Blumenthal sent a formal letter calling the gathering a direct sale of presidential access to crypto industry participants with financial interests in legislation Trump controls.

Why Trump’s Intervention Matters for the May Markup Window

The CLARITY Act missed its April Senate Banking Committee markup deadline after the Kevin Warsh confirmation hearing consumed most of the committee’s April calendar. As crypto.news documented, a coalition of 120-plus organizations including Coinbase, Ripple, Kraken, and Andreessen Horowitz had sent a joint letter on April 23 demanding an immediate markup, but no notice came from Chairman Tim Scott before the informal April cutoff. As crypto.news tracked, the committee’s most pressing competing obligation has now been removed following Tillis’s decision to end his Warsh block on April 27, potentially opening a direct path for a first-week-of-May markup. Trump’s April 25 statement now gives the Senate Banking Committee explicit White House pressure to move, with Senate Banking Committee Republicans aware that publicly resisting a Trump-backed bill carries its own political cost.

What Still Stands Between the CLARITY Act and Trump’s Signature

Presidential backing alone does not resolve the bill’s remaining structural obstacles. As crypto.news noted, the bill must still pass a Banking Committee markup, clear a 60-vote Senate floor threshold, be reconciled between the Banking and Agriculture Committee versions, reconciled with the July 2025 House text, and then signed by Trump. Congress breaks for Memorial Day recess on May 21, leaving fewer than four working weeks. Polymarket prices passage at approximately 46% and Galaxy Research puts odds at 50-50 or lower. The core dispute that banking groups are lobbying on, whether stablecoin activity rewards function as illegal yield, remains formally unresolved in the final bill text, and Democratic senators continue to insist on ethics language barring senior government officials from profiting from crypto holdings, language the White House has refused to accept.

Justin Sun, the Tron founder who emerged as the top $TRUMP holder at a previous May 2025 gala, held a notable position at the April 25 event, a development that drew renewed congressional scrutiny about the role of foreign investors in $TRUMP token purchases given Sun’s nationality.

TLDR:

• Peter Brandt publicly rejected $250,000 Bitcoin forecasts for 2026, calling them unrealistic based on current chart conditions.
  
• Bitcoin’s ascending channel allows gradual gains but does not confirm a bullish reversal or support a parabolic price advance.
  
• Brandt identified double bottoms and inverse head-and-shoulders as true reversal signals, none of which appear on Bitcoin’s chart.
  
• A legitimate breakout above the channel’s upper boundary with strong volume remains the only path toward extreme Bitcoin price targets.

Veteran trader Peter Brandt has publicly shut down projections of $250,000 Bitcoin in 2026. He pointed to a defined ascending channel on the chart as evidence against such forecasts.

Brandt argued that the current structure does not support a parabolic advance or a confirmed bullish reversal. His remarks came as Bitcoin traded between $76,000 and $78,000 in recent sessions. The response has drawn significant attention from traders and analysts across the market.

Brandt Calls Out Unrealistic Bitcoin Forecasts

Brandt took to X to confront what he sees as dangerous market optimism. He wrote directly, “Bitcoiners, those of you predicting $250,000 in 2026 need to stop with the mushrooms.”

He accompanied that remark with a chart showing a clear ascending channel pattern. His message was pointed and left little room for misinterpretation.

He identified the formation as a rising parallel channel, not a bullish reversal structure. Brandt stated plainly that the pattern “is NOT a bullish bottoming pattern.”

That distinction carries weight for traders who rely on technical analysis to guide decisions. An ascending channel and a bullish bottom are two very different market signals.

He then outlined what a genuine bullish reversal actually looks like. Double bottoms and inverse head-and-shoulders patterns are structures that historically confirm new uptrends.

These formations signal a definitive shift in market momentum from sellers to buyers. None of those signals is present on Bitcoin’s current chart, according to Brandt.

He also made clear that an ascending channel does allow for gradual price gains. However, he stressed it does not guarantee acceleration toward extreme price targets.

Without a confirmed breakout above the upper boundary, the channel simply defines a range. That range, in Brandt’s view, makes $250,000 an unsupported projection for 2026.

Chart Structure Tells a Different Story for Bitcoin

Bitcoin dropped sharply in late January 2026 and tested the $60,000 support zone in early February. Sellers dominated that move before buyers regained footing and pushed price higher.

The recovery established the current ascending channel that has contained price action since. That structure has held firm through multiple trading sessions without a confirmed break.

Within the channel, Bitcoin has posted higher highs and higher lows in an orderly fashion. The upper resistance boundary has continued to reject rally attempts near $77,000 to $78,000.

Meanwhile, the lower support boundary has absorbed each dip without a decisive breakdown. Price remains technically constructive but structurally capped.

Brandt stated that a move toward extreme price targets would require a clear breakout above channel resistance. He added that such a breakout must be accompanied by strong trading volume to carry validity.

That confirmation has not materialized as of the latest available market data. Until it does, the channel remains the dominant structure on the chart.

Bitcoin was near $77,000 at the time of reporting, with the channel still intact. Brandt offered no revised price target alongside his critique of the $250,000 forecasts.

His focus remained on chart interpretation and structural discipline rather than speculation. Traders continue to watch both channel boundaries closely for any sign of a directional shift.

Stablecoin transfer volume fell 19.18% to $831B in 30 days, yet market cap and holders rose as USDT, USDC, and DAI added billions while Ethena’s USDe saw $1.1B outflows.

Stablecoin transfer volume declined 19.18% to $831 billion over the past 30 days, signaling reduced on-chain activity even as the broader stablecoin market continues expanding. Despite the sharp drop in transaction throughput, total stablecoin market capitalization increased 2.06% to $305.29 billion, while the number of holders rose 2.32% to 246.94 million, reflecting sustained adoption and holding behavior across digital dollar ecosystems.

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a stable value by pegging their price to a specific real-world asset, typically the U.S. dollar. They achieve price stability through fiat-backed reserves, algorithmic supply adjustments, or crypto-collateralized mechanisms, making them critical infrastructure for payments, DeFi lending, and cross-border remittances.

Inflows and Outflows Reveal Divergent Trends

Net inflow data over the past 30 days reveals sharp divergence among major stablecoin issuers. Tether’s USDT led with $3.6 billion in net inflows, extending its dominance as the sector’s largest asset by market cap, currently sitting at $188 billion. Circle’s USDC followed with $2 billion in net inflows, while MakerDAO’s DAI recorded $1.2 billion in positive flows, demonstrating sustained demand for decentralized and centralized dollar-pegged instruments.

Meanwhile, Ethena’s USDe experienced the largest net outflow, shedding $1.1 billion as yield compression eroded its competitive advantage. USDe supply fell to November 2024 levels after approximately $1.6 billion in redemptions, driven by yields compressing to around 3.5%, well below the double-digit returns that initially attracted capital. The flight to quality following concerns around protocol sustainability pushed investors toward more established stablecoins with transparent reserve structures.

Market Activity Reflects Consolidation Phase

The 19% decline in transfer volume suggests a consolidation phase rather than capitulation, as stablecoin supply and holder counts continue growing despite reduced circulation velocity. Data from earlier in 2026 showed stablecoin transfer volume hitting $1.78 trillion in February alone, with velocity increasing from 2.6x to approximately 6x year-over-year, indicating coins were circulating more actively across payments and DeFi protocols. The recent pullback aligns with broader crypto market softness, as Bitcoin (BTC) trades near $76,190, down from recent highs.

Bitcoin is currently priced around $76,190, while Ethereum (ETH) sits near $2,329. The stablecoin market cap of $305.29 billion now represents roughly 1% of total U.S. dollar supply, a milestone reached as annual transaction volumes surpassed $33 trillion in 2025, rivaling Visa and Mastercard combined.

Billionaire investor Paul Tudor Jones said bitcoin BTC$76,393.96 stands out as the strongest hedge against inflation, citing its fixed supply as a key advantage over traditional assets like gold.

“Bitcoin is unequivocally the best inflation hedge that there is — more than gold,” Jones said in an interview with Invest Like the Best podcast published Tuesday. He pointed to the largest crypto’s capped supply. Unlike gold, whose supply increases each year, bitcoin has a hard limit on the number of coins that can be created, making it scarcer by design, he said.

Jones framed bitcoin’s appeal through the lens of past market cycles. During periods of aggressive monetary and fiscal stimulus, such as after the March 2020 pandemic crash, he said inflation trades tend to emerge as central banks inject liquidity into the system.

“When you saw all the interventions… you just knew that the inflation trades were going to take off,” he said, adding that bitcoin was the most compelling opportunity at the time.

His bullish view on bitcoin contrasts with a more cautious stance on equities. Jones warned that stock markets are stretched, with valuations that historically point to weak future returns.

At the same time, a wave of upcoming initial public offerings — such as SpaceX and artificial intelligence firms like OpenAI and Anthropic — and reduced share buybacks could increase equity supply, putting additional pressure on prices.

“If you buy the S&P at this current valuation, the 10-year forward returns [are] negative,” he said. “It’s going to be really hard to make money from here.”

While he stopped short of calling the current environment a full-blown bubble, he noted that the ratio of U.S. stock market capitalization to GDP remains near historic extremes, echoing levels seen before major downturns such as the dotcom bubble.

“In 1929 we were, I think at the top, at 65% [stock market capitalization to GDP] and then in ’87 we got to about 85%-90%, in 2000 we got 270%,” he noted.

“And now we’re at 252%, so you can just imagine,” he said. “We’re clearly so leveraged in equities in this country.”

Because of that, a major stock market correction may have broader ramifications on the economy, government budget deficit and the bond market, according to Jones.

“10% of our tax revenues are capital gains. They go to zero,” he said. “So you can see the budget deficit blowing up. You see the bond market getting smoked.”

You can see this kind of negative self-reinforcing effect,” he concluded. “It’s troubling.”

Canaan Inc. has landed another order from Tether to supply custom Bitcoin mining hardware, extending a collaboration that began with an experimental R&D phase focused on new system designs for large-scale operations. The latest deal centers on high-density hash board modules designed for immersion-cooled mining setups, with deployment planned at a Tether-linked facility in South America.

The arrangement positions Canaan as a preferred hardware partner for major mining operators like Tether, building on a 2025 research-and-development partnership with ACME Swisstech that produced a proof-of-concept platform aimed at boosting efficiency and scalability in mining operations. The open question moving forward is whether the new design will unlock meaningful gains in energy use and throughput at scale.

Beyond hardware, Tether is moving toward deeper integration of hardware and software within its mining operations. The issuer of the USDT stablecoin has been developing its own control boards and management software, signaling a broader push to coordinate mining infrastructure with centralized software systems. The latest agreement includes an option for additional purchases, giving Tether the flexibility to scale up its data-center-style mining footprint if the new design performs as hoped.

Canaan, a Singapore-based technology company focused on ASIC microprocessors and Bitcoin mining hardware, has disclosed that it currently holds 1,808 BTC on its balance sheet, valued at roughly $137 million. This represents its highest level of retained Bitcoin to date, according to the firm’s disclosures tracked by BitcoinTreasuries.NET.

Key takeaways

• The new order extends Canaan’s collaboration with Tether, supplying high-density, immersion-cooled hash boards for a South American facility and signaling deeper integration of cooling and processing technology.
• The arrangement includes an option for additional purchases, offering Tether a clear path to scale its mining operations if the tested designs prove effective.
• Tether’s move to develop control boards and software in-house points to a broader strategy of hardware-software cohesion within its mining stack, potentially reducing reliance on third-party management tools.
• Industry-wide demand pressures have spurred miners to diversify into data-center services and AI workloads, as companies seek new revenue streams beyond traditional BTC mining margins.
• Market response to related developments shows mixed sentiment, with Canaan’s stock and related mining ETFs reacting to broader sector dynamics and Bitcoin mining profitability expectations.

Strategic expansion: Canaan and Tether deepen collaboration

The latest contract underlines a strategic pivot for Canaan from standard ASIC manufacturing toward bespoke, turnkey hardware solutions for large-scale operators. By supplying immersion-cooled, high-density hash boards, the company aims to support more compact, efficient mining deployments in facilities designed to handle intensive heat and energy demands. This aligns with a growing industry preference for data-center-grade infrastructure that can host thousands of mining rigs under optimized cooling regimes.

The partnership builds on Canaan’s earlier R&D engagement with ACME Swisstech, which produced a proof-of-concept platform intended to improve mining efficiency and scalability. While the specifics of the platform remain largely private, industry observers see it as part of a broader trend toward engineering custom, enterprise-grade mining architectures rather than off-the-shelf solutions.

Tether’s broader mining strategy appears to be moving toward a tighter hardware-software loop. By developing its own control boards and management software, the stablecoin issuer signals an ambition to coordinate the entire lifecycle of mining operations—from hardware deployment to real-time performance monitoring and workload optimization. The objective is to reduce operational friction and create a more predictable, scalable mining environment as demand grows in certain regional markets.

Hardware-software convergence and the AI-infrastructure pivot

Coinciding with the Canaan deal, Tether announced the launch of an open-source mining framework designed to unify Bitcoin mining infrastructure under a single operational system. The framework aims to streamline management across disparate rigs and facilities, potentially lowering maintenance costs and shortening deployment cycles for large operators. The move follows industry-wide notices that several miners are expanding into data-center capabilities and AI-oriented workloads to diversify revenue and improve utilization of their physical assets.

The shift toward AI-enabled infrastructure is not unique to Tether. Major miners and adjacent players have been diversifying into AI-focused data centers and cloud capabilities as margins tighten within traditional mining. Industry observers note that this transition is driven by the high energy and capital intensity of Bitcoin mining, pushing firms to seek revenue streams that can better absorb cyclical demand fluctuations and rising energy costs.

Analysts have highlighted the broader risk-reward profile of this pivot. For instance, Bernstein has suggested that certain mining operators could recalibrate their portfolios toward AI cloud infrastructure, potentially reallocating capital away from pure mining activities if returns from existing mining operations prove insufficient to sustain growth. While this assessment focuses on specific players, the underlying takeaway is the sector-wide re-evaluation of where profitable growth lies as miners seek to weather a challenging operating environment.

From a market perspective, the news cycle surrounding Canaan and Tether has contributed to modest trading activity in related equities and funds. Canaan’s Nasdaq-listed shares traded down slightly in the mid-day session, while the CoinShares Bitcoin Mining ETF (WGMI) softened, reflecting a broader sensitivity to sector-wide profitability expectations and the evolving mix of mining assets within investor portfolios. Within WGMI’s holdings, CAN sits at a subdued weighting, underscoring the ETF’s diversified exposure to the mining sector rather than a single stock narrative.

BitcoinTreasuries.NET continues to track Canaan’s bitcoin holdings, which have climbed to their highest reported level. This reserve position is often cited by investors as a barometer of a mining-focused company’s willingness to retain capital in Bitcoin amid price volatility and sector headwinds. The current stance underscores a broader question for stakeholders: will Canaan’s strengthened hardware partnership with Tether translate into sustained cash flow and a longer-term upside for the stock as mining demand cycles evolve?

Industry backdrop: miners explore new revenue streams amid volatility

The expansion of mining infrastructure into data centers and AI workloads reflects a practical response to revenue pressures facing many miners. As mining rewards and margins compress, operators are looking to monetize energy-intensive assets through adjacent services and alternative compute workloads. The strategic emphasis on immersion cooling and high-density hardware is particularly relevant given the heat and energy dynamics associated with large-scale Bitcoin mining operations.

In parallel, several other players—ranging from established miners to new entrants—have signaled a similar appetite for diversification. The goal is not only to sustain profitability but also to position themselves as multi-service providers capable of supporting a broader compute ecosystem. Such positioning could prove advantageous if industry demand for AI-capable data-center capacity continues to grow, even as the price of BTC experiences volatility.

As this trend unfolds, observers will be watching indicators such as project execution milestones, unit-level efficiency gains from immersion-cooled designs, and the degree to which in-house hardware-software ecosystems translate into measurable improvements in uptime and operational costs. The outcome will influence who leads in the next phase of commercial mining infrastructure and whether AI-centric compute becomes a core pillar of long-term strategy for major miners.

With Tether continuing to push into hardware-software integration and Canaan expanding its custom, enterprise-grade offerings, the market will likely reassess the supply chain readiness for advanced mining deployments. The timing of any scale-up or additional orders will be telling, particularly as regional energy policies, tax considerations, and corporate strategies shape the feasibility and speed of such deployments.

Looking ahead, readers should monitor updates on Tether’s open-source framework implementation, any further disclosures about the performance of the new immersion-cooled modules, and the potential expansion of the partnership with ACME Swisstech or similar collaborators. These developments will help determine whether the convergence of hardware and software in mining signals a durable shift or a temporary alignment driven by current market dynamics.