Stripe is testing a new US dollar-backed stablecoin product for businesses outside the U.S., U.K., and Europe, aiming to expand the dollar's global footprint.

Daily top performer — Pudgy Penguins (PENGU)

S&P 500 futures dipped as over 180 S&P companies prepare to report earnings this week, following a 4.59% gain last week amid easing US-China trade tensions. Gold prices dipped to around $3,310 as easing US-China trade tensions reduced safe-haven demand, though recession fears may limit further losses ahead of key US economic data releases. Fed hawkishness may cap gains. CoinDesk Indices, which tracks the broader crypto market, fell 0.72% in the past 24 hours, while Bitcoin and Ether dropped 0.19% and 1.07%, respectively. Trade these markets and more with up to 500x leverage on Bybit MT5 using this 

Today's top performer is PENGU, rising by 27.5%, following Pudgy Penguins' recent expansion into multiple industries and their celebration of World Penguin Day.

Pudgy Penguins (PENGU), launched in July 2021, is a popular NFT collection known for its cute artwork. It has expanded into physical products like toys, generating over $10 million in sales, and the collection now holds a market cap of over $1.19 billion. Pudgy Penguins and $PENGU were recently 

 as a fitspo in Wisdom Kaye's content, marking a major milestone for their influence across industries. Additionally, last Saturday, the brand celebrated 

, highlighting its continued growth and impact beyond the NFT space. This showcases Pudgy Penguins' expanding presence and reach in multiple sectors.

Check out the latest prices, charts, and data of 

 a new US dollar-backed stablecoin product for businesses outside the U.S., U.K., and Europe, aiming to expand the dollar's global footprint. This follows Stripe's acquisition of Bridge, a stablecoin payment network, which competes with the SWIFT system. Stripe has a history with crypto and recently introduced stablecoin payments in over 70 countries. The company sees this new product as a decade-long ambition, with the stablecoin market growing significantly in 2025.

BTC spot ETFs saw $3.06B of net inflows for the week ending 25 April 2025, with $2.97B from non-GBTC products and $94M from GBTC. Since inception, ETFs have accumulated $38.4B in net flows, with non-GBTC products contributing $61.1B and GBTC seeing $22.7B of outflows.

GiveRep, a decentralized reputation protocol on Sui, has 

 a points program where users can earn Reputation Points by tweeting about GiveRep and its Loyalty projects to qualify for an upcoming airdrop. A minimum of 100 X (Twitter) followers is required, and participants may also earn bonus airdrops from partner projects.

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Stripe launches testing for global stablecoin payments after Bridge acquisition

Initia is a blockchain ecosystem that unifies Layer 1 security with customizable Layer 2 rollups through its Interwoven Stack architecture. Learn more here.

 ecosystem forces developers to choose between security and customization, while fragmenting liquidity across isolated chains. Enter Initia (INIT), a groundbreaking protocol that reimagines blockchain architecture by seamlessly integrating 

This article examines Initia's Interwoven Stack architecture, its innovative economic features and the INIT token's utility and distribution, and considers whether this ambitious ecosystem redesign represents a promising investment opportunity following its recent mainnet launch.

 is a blockchain ecosystem that unifies Layer 1 security with customizable Layer 2 rollups through its Interwoven Stack architecture, enabling developers to build specialized application chains without sacrificing interoperability or liquidity or requiring deep infrastructure expertise.

Initia emerged in 2022 when Stanford Liu and Ezaan "Zon" Mangalji left Terraform Labs to tackle blockchain's fragmentation challenges. They later added ecosystem lead OmniscientAsian from Sino Global Capital to help create a more streamlined blockchain infrastructure.

The project quickly gained investor backing, starting with Binance Labs' pre-seed funding in October 2023. This was followed by a $7.5 million seed round led by Delphi Digital and Hack VC, then a $2.5 million community round and a $14 million Series A that valued Initia at $350 million by late 2024.

Initia aims to eliminate the traditional security/customization trade-off in blockchain by creating a unified ecosystem that allows both to coexist. By establishing a central hub for all rollups, the project combines the advantages of monolithic security with the flexibility of modularity, thereby eliminating the fragmentation that currently plagues blockchain systems.

The platform's integrated stack simplifies blockchain development with pre-built solutions that work together seamlessly. Users benefit from Initia's Universal Accounts system, which provides a consistent experience across all connected chains, eliminating the need for multiple wallets or managing different tokens for gas fees.

By introducing economic alignment mechanisms such as the 

, Initia creates an environment in which developers can focus solely on innovation in their applications. This shift away from infrastructure concerns toward product development aims to enhance capital efficiency and drive broader adoption of blockchain.

Initia fuses Layer 1 (L1) and Layer 2 (L2) technologies into a unified architecture with three distinct components. The foundation is Initia L1, built on Cosmos SDK, which functions as the orchestration layer. This base provides security, governance and interoperability.

Above this foundation, Interwoven Rollups (Minitias) provide developers with customizable Layer 2 environments, allowing them to select their preferred virtual machine (

, Move or Wasm), define unique gas token systems and implement specialized transaction ordering mechanisms. 

Binding everything together is the Interwoven Stack, a comprehensive framework that provides all necessary tools for building and deploying rollups without requiring developers to source and integrate disparate components.

The system leverages optimistic rollups through the OPinit Stack to achieve remarkable transaction speeds (up to 10,000 

) while maintaining security. Transactions processed via L2 rollups are submitted to Initia’s L1 for finalization, with data availability secured through 

Initia provides the following core features that work together to simplify development and unify the blockchain ecosystem.

Initia L1 serves as the foundational layer and central coordination hub for the entire ecosystem. Built on the Cosmos SDK with CometBFT and MoveVM, it provides essential services, including network security, governance mechanisms and liquidity solutions through InitiaDEX.

 (also known as Minitias) are flexible Layer 2 blockchains built on top of Initia L1. These rollups rely on the orchestration layer for security and data settlement, operating without native 

 while enabling advanced rollup functionalities.

Developers can customize their rollups by selecting from multiple virtual machines and defining their own gas token and fee structure. This flexibility enables application-specific optimizations and economic models, at the same time maintaining seamless interoperability within the broader Initia ecosystem.

The Interwoven Stack is Initia's comprehensive, all-in-one solution, designed to empower developers in building and deploying rollups with unmatched ease. Instead of requiring developers to research and piece together numerous components — such as wallets, explorers and 

 — the Stack provides everything needed right out of the box.

At the core of this framework is OPinit Stack, designed exclusively for optimistic rollups within the Cosmos ecosystem. It includes mechanisms for fraudproofs and rollback capabilities and supports multiple virtual machines, which allows developers to focus solely on building their applications, rather than configuring complex infrastructure.

The Vested Interest Program (VIP) is Initia's novel incentive alignment mechanism that’s designed to address common issues in multi-rollup ecosystems. It addresses the misalignment of incentives for high-activity 

 (DApps), the economic underutilization of the native token and the inefficient distribution of protocol-level incentives.

VIP programmatically rewards valuable economic activities by allocating INIT tokens to rollups that create innovative applications, and to users who perform beneficial actions. This approach ensures that rollup teams, users and token holders all share aligned interests in the ecosystem's long-term success.

 (DEX) built on the Initia L1, functioning as the central liquidity hub for all Interwoven Rollups. It features Balancer-style weighted pools for diverse asset pairs, and 

 pools for assets with closely correlated prices, ensuring an optimal trading experience.

Enshrined Liquidity is Initia's solution to the traditional dilemma in 

 (PoS) systems, whereby token holders must choose between either staking for security or providing liquidity. It allows governance-whitelisted InitiaDEX liquidity positions (INIT-TOKEN pairs) to function as staking assets alongside the native INIT token.

Users can earn both staking rewards and trading fees from a single position, dramatically improving capital efficiency. To qualify, LP tokens must include INIT as part of the pair (with at least 50% weight for Balancer pools) and receive 

 approval, which also determines reward weight distribution among all whitelisted tokens.

Minitswap eliminates the days-long waiting periods typically required by optimistic bridges when moving assets from rollups to Layer 1s. Users can instantly swap their rollup tokens for L1 assets through liquid trading pairs, creating a frictionless experience for asset transfers throughout the Initia ecosystem.

 offers a unified interface for managing assets across multiple rollups, thereby facilitating cross-chain transfers and accessing DApps. By abstracting multichain complexity into a single interface, users can navigate the entire Initia ecosystem without confronting technical barriers or fragmented experiences.

Initia's bridge technology enables secure token transfers between Initia L1 and rollups using an optimistic bridge model. The OPinit Bridge leverages Cosmos SDK modules, and operates through two key components that work in tandem to ensure system integrity.

The Executor handles token movements, output submissions and data relay, while the Challenger monitors for invalid proposals and provides security oversight. This balanced architecture delivers verifiable cross-chain communication that maintains the integrity of both L1 and L2 chains while enabling reliable asset transfers throughout the Initia ecosystem.

Initia reached a major milestone with its successful mainnet launch on Apr 24, 2025. Before then, the project had completed several critical developments, including the MiniEVM and MiniMove frameworks, the deployment of InitiaDEX and the implementation of the innovative Vested Interest Program.

The immediate post-launch phase is focusing on expanding the ecosystem by onboarding strategic partner projects across 

 and enterprise sectors. This expansion demonstrates Initia's versatility as it builds a network of interconnected Interwoven Rollups that leverage the platform's unified infrastructure.

The INIT airdrop will distribute 50 million tokens, representing 5% of the total supply, to early supporters and community members. This allocation is strategically divided across three main categories: testnet participants (89.46%), social contributors (6.04%) and Interwoven Stack partners (4.50%).

The largest portion (44.7 million INIT) is being designated for the 194,294 users who participated in Initia's public testnet campaigns, particularly those who engaged with interactive 

 activities. Additional allocations target users from partner ecosystems, including LayerZero, IBC and milkTIA holders.

Following the mainnet launch on Apr 24, 2025, eligible participants will have a 30-day claim window to secure their tokens. This airdrop serves as both a community-building initiative and a strategic token distribution to those most likely to contribute to the ecosystem's growth.

INIT is the native token of the Initia ecosystem, with a fixed total supply of 1 billion. Initial circulating supply at launch was 148.75 million INIT, representing 14.88% of the total supply. The token’s distribution is strategically designed to ensure long-term sustainability and broad community engagement.

INIT enables staking to secure the network, powers governance decisions for protocol changes, facilitates cross-rollup operations between different Minitias and provides liquidity through InitiaDEX. This utility-driven model ties INIT's value directly to ecosystem activity and adoption.

Looking to trade Initia tokens? Bybit now offers the INITUSDT Perpetual contract following the recent mainnet launch. To get started, you'll need to create a Bybit account, fund it with cryptocurrency and navigate to the 

While Initia represents a groundbreaking approach to blockchain scalability through its interwoven architecture and unified liquidity model, investors must carefully weigh its significant growth potential against relevant risk factors.

Initia shows promising potential with its comprehensive ecosystem approach and significant financial backing. In addition, growing demand for scalable blockchain infrastructure that doesn't sacrifice security or customization provides a favorable market environment. However, potential investors should 

 and consider their individual risk tolerance.

Initia revolutionizes blockchain architecture by creating a multichain environment in which thousands of appchains can coexist harmoniously through modularity and orchestration. With established financial backing and over 16 appchains already onboarded at mainnet launch, Initia could transform the way blockchain applications are built, deployed and interconnected.

Intermediate

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Initia (INIT): The Interwoven Stack behind scalable rollups

Apr 28, 2025: Our weekly Institutional Insights explores the latest market developments — market performance, industry news, exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows, trending topics, upcoming events and token unlocks — to help you supercharge your crypto trading.

 explores the latest market developments — market performance, industry news, exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows, trending topics, upcoming events and token unlocks — to help you supercharge your crypto trading.

Weekly highlight — US-Sino trade conflicts cool down

China is considering suspending its 125% tariff on certain US imports, including medical equipment and industrial chemicals like ethane, due to the economic impact of the trade war. Discussions are also underway to waive tariffs on aircraft leases, which are financially burdensome for airlines.

This potential move has boosted investor optimism, with Asian shares rising and the yuan recovering losses. Analysts view this as a step toward de-escalation, although significant differences between the US and China remain.

The proposed exemptions align with recent US tariff exclusions on electronics, highlighting the intertwined nature of the two economies. Chinese companies reliant on US goods, such as advanced medical equipment and ethane, have reported some shipments arriving without tariffs.

While the list of potential exemptions is still being finalized, authorities have requested companies submit customs codes for necessary goods. Reports suggest China may also waive tariffs on at least eight semiconductor-related products, excluding memory chips, which could impact companies such as Micron Technology.

Overall, while investor interest grows, relations between the two nations still face challenges, with China demanding the US revoke unilateral tariffs before resuming trade talks.

Traders have heavily invested in Cantor Equity Partners Inc, a blank-check company merging with Twenty One Capital Inc., which is backed by Tether, Bitfinex and SoftBank. Since the April 22 merger announcement, Cantor's stock has surged 197%, closing at $31.50 on Friday.

The merger includes a convertible debt offering, potentially leading to a market capitalization of about $12 billion that would far exceed the estimated $4 billion value of the Bitcoin it’s expected to hold. This would reflect strong demand for crypto-related investments.

Analysts note that investing in such vehicles is akin to betting on Bitcoin's growth. Public special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) shareholders are projected to own 2.7% of the new company, while major stakeholders like Tether and SoftBank will have substantial shares. Overall, the market is optimistic about this collaboration in the digital asset space.

Advanced

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Weekly Institutional Insights: Trade conflicts cool down as crypto SPAC sees popularity

Our weekly crypto derivatives analytics report delves into macro events; the current state of crypto and trading signals from spot trading volume; and futures, options and perpetual contracts.

At the start of the week, Bitcoin showed signs of decoupling from US equities. However, US president Trump's positive remarks about the US-China trade war (which had included a 145% tariff on Chinese goods) triggered a relief rally across markets. As a result, BTC has resumed moving up with US equities. 

This rally has led to a rise in short-tenor implied volatility and a recovery in BTC’s put-call skew, indicating that traders are seeking upside exposure.

Please check out the report’s highlights.

Perp open interest rises across the board

Perpetual open interest increased significantly this week across various tokens, especially ETH. Perpetual trading volumes also rose. Notably, Ap 7, 2025 recorded the highest trade volume of the month, following Trump's comment, "Forget markets for a second, we have all the advantages."

BTC option open interest shows a mixed picture; put-call skew in short tenor sends positive signals

President Trump’s recent willingness to negotiate a trade deal with China’s President Xi triggered a relief rally across asset classes, including crypto. Bitcoin had already risen 7% since Apr 21, 2025, prior to Trump's comments. Despite this rally, open interest in puts has outpaced calls, with options volume remaining relatively balanced. 

It's unclear if the demand for puts reflects a hedge against downside risks, or a bet against the upward movement. Meanwhile, perpetual funding rates are providing limited insight into sentiment. However, the recovery of the put-call skew at short tenors indicates that traders are seeking upside exposure to the rally — and are willing to pay for it.

ETH unexpectedly outperforms BTC in this relief rally

ETH's response to the recent crypto market recovery has diverged from previous trends: it outperformed BTC in spot prices, a rarity in past rallies, and open interest in calls exceeds that in puts — opposite to BTC's trend. In addition, ETH call open interest is nearly double that of puts, with calls dominating options volumes. This suggests traders anticipate ETH will reduce its significant underperformance against both BTC and other “ETH killers” like SUI and SOL. Additionally, the spot rally has led to another term structure inversion for ETH.

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Bybit X Block Scholes crypto derivatives analytics report (Apr 24, 2025): Put-call skew recovers at short tenors, showing reviving sentiment

Blockchain

On-chain transactions are validated by miners and added to the blockchain. While off-chain transactions boast of cheaper and faster transactions outside of the main chain. Learn more.

. Bitcoin’s soaring popularity can be traced to several factors, including its simplicity and convenience as a reliable payment system. With Bitcoin, you can make fast, easy, secure peer-to-peer payments, and it is decentralized. The decentralized nature of the network allows for greater transparency and increased trust.

Bitcoin uses blockchain as a ledger to record all of the network transactions on-chain. It uses numerous nodes rather than a single centralized server, and each transaction is verified, recorded and distributed across the various nodes. Because there are no regulatory bodies or cumbersome paperwork involved, overhead is reduced, and so is the risk of errors.

The picture is not completely rosy, however. Security comes with trade-offs, in particular, the fees associated with the transaction, as it can mount during periods of network congestion. Processing speed can also grind to an unbearably slow rate during congested periods. Taking certain transactions off the blockchain might just simplify, speed and lower the cost of your Bitcoin transactions.

This begs the question: will off-chain transactions be the ultimate solution? And what are some of the drawbacks? Before we begin, let’s understand how does a distributed ledger work. 

Blockchain’s Distributed Ledger Explained

 that records, shares and synchronizes transactions in a shared electronic database. First described in 1991, blockchain technology was designed to record transactions without the possibility of timestamp tampering. When Bitcoin was launched in 2009, it incorporated blockchain technology.

In a distributed ledger, independent computers called 

 record and track transactions and other data in their respective electronic ledgers, as opposed to a centralized data repository, such as a traditional bank’s ledger. Data is organized in blocks, which are chained together to create a blockchain. In which, allows anyone to view the entire history of the transaction and prove that there’s no double-spending of the coin. The resulting ledger can then be distributed across the various nodes that make up the blockchain network.

Distributed ledgers offer several benefits over conventional databases. First, they eliminate the need for third-party oversight, which is what makes them so appealing for cryptocurrency. For example, a 

 blockchain provides an objective way for the nodes to validate the order of the transactions. Users can save considerable time, effort and 

 by skipping the intermediary and recording their transactions directly to the 

The decentralized nature of distributed ledgers makes them naturally secure. External attackers will find it difficult or even impossible to access them. The data they contain is highly transparent and spread across all nodes, freely available and easy to view. This transparency and accessibility make them popular not only with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin but in other industries as well.

Finally, distributed ledgers are tamperproof and immutable as well. No single user can alter the data they contain, which offers an additional layer of security for all users.

Bitcoin on-chain transactions are validated by miners and recorded on the blockchain. Once the transactions are added to the ledger, the blockchain network is updated and distributed.

A transaction must go through several steps before it can get into the blockchain. In order to carry out an on-chain transaction, you must own Bitcoin on the blockchain and it must be locked in an address. A private key is used to send your Bitcoin to a recipient’s address. Any user who carries out an on-chain transaction needs to pay a transaction fee that varies based on the transaction size of the in bytes and the amount of network traffic at the time. Network congestion can delay transaction processing, and a Bitcoin transaction with a higher fee is normally prioritized and confirmed more quickly.

The Bitcoin network is secure and reliable due to its transparency. Since the blockchain is open and the public ledger is readily accessible to all network participants, counterfeit or double-spending attacks are unlikely to happen. Security is ensured through blockchain immutability. Nothing can be changed, including transaction details, timestamps or other data contained in the blocks. Potentially malicious attacks are blocked before they can occur.

The Drawbacks of Bitcoin On-Chain Transactions

On-chain transactions offer many benefits when it comes to security, but there are limitations involving the blockchain’s scalability, speed and cost.

Scalability has been an issue plaguing Bitcoin nearly from its inception. With the ability to process only about seven 

, the Bitcoin system can be cumbersome and pricey. For this reason, many users tend to keep their lower-value transactions off-chain to reduce network congestion.

Network congestion can lead to delays. On-chain transactions can be slow to confirm, and accepting an unconfirmed transaction comes with risks. For example, Bitcoin transactions are confirmed with an average of ten minutes though it could take up to an hour depending on the network’s condition. An off-chain transaction can be recorded immediately, eliminating the risk of reversal.

Finally, fees are a necessary part of doing business both on and off the blockchain. Miners charge fees for confirming transactions. Unfortunately, these fees can rise sharply as network congestion increases, resulting in higher transaction costs. 

State channels allow users to complete Bitcoin transactions directly off the blockchain and minimize the use of on-chain operations. This alternative uses smart contracts, which define the rules under which an off-chain transaction can occur. Each off-chain transaction creates new states and must be signed by the respective parties. The new state invalidates any previous states.

To use a state channel, each party must open a 

 and deposit the appropriate amount of currency. Parties can then begin to make off-chain transactions using the channel, and the smart contract ensures there is no double-spending. The combined transactions will equal the total amount of deposited currency. When the channel is closed, the final tally is added to the blockchain.

Off-chain transactions are any transactions processed outside the blockchain. These second-layer protocols aim to circumvent the on-chain’s flaws by enabling a cheaper and faster transaction.

 to that wallet, which enables fund transfers off-chain. As long as the channel is active, they can then continue to swap currency as much as they want until they’re ready to settle, at which point they can close the channel and record the final tally on-chain. 

Unlike on-chain networks, there are plenty of off-chain protocols. These include the Lightning Network, Liquid Network, and more. Let’s dive into it. 

 built on top of Bitcoin’s blockchain that allows users to engage in limitless transactions instantly and for minimal cost. The Lightning Network also allows for cross-chain atomic swaps, offering even greater convenience and versatility without the need for third-party custodians.

It is a decentralized peer-to-peer network, which means participants can transact by locking up their Bitcoin in a multi-signature address using a funding transaction. Participants can perform infinite transactions repeatedly with the address for off-chain transactions until the balances are finalized on the blockchain. 

 is a sidechain protocol, meaning it relies on the Bitcoin blockchain for the data, but the operations are carried out separately. Like the Lightning Network, it’s built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain and enables users to transact off-chain while still enjoying security and privacy. The Liquid Network is faster than the main blockchain and more affordable, and it’s confidential, which means that it doesn’t reveal the amount of currency involved in a specific transaction. The only downside is that Liquid is not decentralized. In fact, they are governed.

User A sends one bitcoin (BTC) using the peg-in transaction. The Liquid Network then pegged an equivalent of Liquid to Bitcoin (L-BTC) to users on the network as a representation of the real BTC. These L-BTCs are then used within the Liquid Network to perform infinite transactions until the participants finalize the transactions. Once it is done, users can peg out by exchanging L-BTC one-for-one for BTC.

Just like Bitcoin has Lightning Network, the 

 is Ethereum’s off-chain protocol. It operates independently of the main Ethereum chain, but is considered a “child” chain, anchored to the primary blockchain. It allows users to complete token transfers, swaps and other basic transactions off the Ethereum network at a lower cost and faster transaction speed. Plasma chains use 

 and independent block validation mechanisms for security.

 refers to an independent service that stores and secures tokens, typically for institutional investors transacting large cryptocurrency volumes. Online wallets and private keys are also used to store tokens, but these aren’t foolproof. Each user’s keys include complex alphanumeric codes that can be difficult to remember and use, and these codes can be vulnerable to hackers. Online wallets are equally vulnerable to hackers. Custody solutions are an innovation signaling the developing interest of institutional investors in the ecosystem of cryptocurrency.

Are Off-Chain Transactions Better Than On-Chain Transactions?

Both off-chain and on-chain transactions offer specific benefits and drawbacks for cryptocurrency users. Blockchain technology has a scalability issue, which can be managed through off-chain solutions. Whereas on-chain transaction confirmation time can vary widely depending on network congestion, off-chain transactions execute immediately. The cost is also lower for off-chain transactions, which may have no fee at all until the transaction is added to the blockchain. Off-chain transactions can also offer more privacy, with the details of the transactions kept off the main blockchain and not broadcast publicly.

But there are trade-offs to off-chain transactions. For example, Liquid Network sacrifices Bitcoin’s decentralization for peg-in transactions, and Lightning Network requires BTC to be locked up and there’s a limited capacity of each payment channel. Essentially, there’s no permanent solution to on-chain transactions just yet. There are only trade-offs that fulfill the demands based on one’s need. As blockchain and crypto are evolving, there are chances for off-chain to be a permanent solution, but only time will tell.

Many factors can go into deciding whether to complete your transactions on or off the blockchain. Off-chain transactions tend to be best for those looking for fast, inexpensive and private transactions. On-chain transactions can be better for those seeking security, validation and immutability. Understanding the benefits and drawbacks of both on- and off-chain transactions — as well as what you want and need from your payment experience — can help you make the best decision for your needs.

Crypto Off-Chain vs. On-Chain Transactions: What Are They?

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