According to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the growing adoption of cryptocurrencies may pose risks to the traditional financial system and exacerbate wealth inequality.
In a report on April 15, the BIS warned that the number of investors and amount of capital in crypto and decentralized finance (DeFi) have “reached a critical mass.” This is making the investor protection a “significant concern for regulators.”
According to Cointelegraph, the report states, that the size of the crypto market signals that authorities should be worried about the “stability of crypto over and above the role it may have for TradFi and the real economy.”
This highlights the role of stablecoins, which the BIS said have “become the means through which participants transfer value within crypto.”
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The report also calls for targeted stablecoin regulation on stability and reserve asset requirements that will guarantee the redemption of stablecoins for US dollars during “stressed market conditions.”
This report comes two weeks after the US House Financial Services Committee passed the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy, or STABLE Act.
Metaplanet Tops $400M Bitcoin Holdings With New $28M Purchase
Metaplanet, a Japanese investment firm has increased its Bitcoin holdings to more than $400 million after its latest purchase.
According to an April 21 post from Simon Gerovich, the CEO of Metaplanet, it has acquired 330 Bitcoin BTC$86,790 for $28.2 million at an average price of $85,605 per BTC, bringing its total holdings to 4,855 Bitcoin worth $414 million.
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The firm’s Bitcoin yield surpassed 119% year-to-date after its latest investment.
As per Cointelegraph report, Metaplanet issued 2 billion Japanese yen ($13.3 million) of bonds to buy more Bitcoin on March 31.
Bitbo data shows, that he $414 million in Bitcoin holdings make Metaplanet Asia’s largest and the world’s 10th-largest corporate Bitcoin holder.
Bitcoin up 33 per cent since 2024 halving as institutions disrupt cycle
Bitcoin holders are celebrating one year since the 2024 Bitcoin halving by praising BTC’s resilience amid a global trade war and suggesting an accelerated market cycle due to a growing institutional presence.
The block rewards in Bitcoin were reduced from 6.25 Bitcoin to 3.125 BTC, slashing new BTC issuance in half.
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Cointelegraph Markets Pro data shows, that despite rising concerns over a global trade war and escalating tariff tensions between the United States and China, BTC has climbed more than 33% since April 2024.
Enmanuel Cardozo, a market analyst at asset tokenization platform Brickken said, “So, even though Bitcoin’s showing resilience, I think the mix of past experiences, economic uncertainty, and this selling pressure is keeping investors on the sidelines, waiting for a stronger green light before they jump in.”
Cardozo added that institutional investment from firms such as Strategy and Tether could speed up Bitcoin’s traditional four-year halving cycle. He added:
“For the 2024 halving in May, that puts the bottom around Q3 this year and a peak mid-2026, but I think we might see things move it a bit sooner because the market’s more mature now with more liquidity.”
