Sonic, one of the fastest-growing blockchains for stablecoin activity, is set to transition from bridged USDC to native USDC and integrate Circle’s Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol V2 (CCTP V2).&#160; The upgrade is expected to begin with a bridging pause on May&#8230;

Sonic, one of the fastest-growing blockchains for stablecoin activity, is set to transition from bridged USDC to native USDC and integrate Circle’s Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol V2 (CCTP V2).  The upgrade is expected to begin with a bridging pause on May…

Sonic, a rapidly expanding blockchain for stablecoin transactions, will upgrade from bridged USDC to native USDC and implement Circle’s Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol V2 (CCTP V2). The transition will start with a temporary bridging pause in May, aiming to enhance efficiency and interoperability.  

Sonic to upgrade from bridged to native USDC, adds CCTP V2 support

Coinbase has made an official statement in the landmark Supreme Court case, which challenges IRS's powers to demand crypto-related data.

Coinbase is challenging the IRS's authority to demand extensive cryptocurrency transaction data, arguing that the agency's actions were unconstitutional in a pivotal Supreme Court case. The exchange's stance highlights concerns over privacy and regulatory overreach in the crypto industry.  

Coinbase to Supreme Court: IRS crypto dragnet was unconstitutional

The recent stagnation in XRP’s spot price may owe less to waning market interest than to a surge in off-exchange trading, according to crypto pundit and Digital Ascension Group managing director Jake Claver. In a 23-post thread published on X, the commentator argued that “dark pools are an invisible force … holding prices stable,” even as institutional demand accelerates. Claver’s thread—viewed more than 250,000 times within 48 hours—posits that private liquidity venues are absorbing large buy orders that would otherwise inflate the public order book. “So what’s a dark pool, exactly? Picture trying to buy $500 million worth of XRP without tipping off the market,” he wrote. “Dark pools are private spots where huge orders get filled off the main exchanges.” XRP Price Rigged? The pundit described the mechanism as a “double-edged sword.” In the near term, he contends, clandestine accumulation “hides bullish momentum and drags prices down,” leaving retail traders to conclude that the asset has lost steam. Over a longer horizon, however, the same process allegedly tightens circulating supply until, he warned, “the dam bursts.” Related Reading: XRP Price Takes a Breather — Can Bulls Bounce Back from Here? “Institutions are quietly draining liquidity from public exchanges,” Claver asserted, adding that hedge funds, family offices and even sovereign entities have begun using dark-pool facilities now offered by major exchanges such as Coinbase and Kraken, as well as emerging decentralized alternatives. Because transactions are reported only after execution, he argued, “smart money doesn’t leave a trail.” Claver suggested that XRP is a prime beneficiary of this covert activity. In his view, pending regulatory clarity and enterprise-level adoption could coincide with dwindling float, leading to an abrupt repricing. “At a certain point, demand on public exchanges will explode past supply — and that’s when the market will panic to reprice itself. Get ready for a potential 2×, 3×, even 5× sprint,” he wrote. Should the hidden bid exhaust available inventory, “the price gaps straight up … charts will look like someone flipped a switch.” Related Reading: XRP To Hit $8, No Double Digits This Cycle — Warns Crypto Analyst He underscored the psychological dimension of a prolonged flat tape: “These are the stretches where even the die-hard believers start doubting and walk away. But if you hang tight, you might just catch what comes next.” Comparing dark-pool activity to a “pressure cooker,” Claver added, “They bottle up all that buying pressure now, but eventually, the lid blows off.” Concluding his thread, he urged patience: “Stay locked in. When the dam breaks, you’ll be grateful you bought at 50 cents instead of scrambling to buy at $10.” Is There Proof? Market data do indicate muted volatility in XRP, which has traded in a narrow corridor around $2.00 for much of April despite a succession of positive fundamentals and news from Ripple. Whether dark-pool activity is the decisive variable, however, remains unverified; most over-the-counter (OTC) trading is reported only in aggregated form, and no public ledger tracks the size of institutional flows Claver describes. Claver offered no documentary evidence for the alleged scale of purchasing, and his analysis stops short of quantifying volumes. Nevertheless, his thread reinforces a familiar narrative in crypto markets: that price calm on the surface may belie deep currents of accumulation below. For retail spectators, the question is whether those unseen currents will indeed surface as the “vertical” move Claver envisions—​or remain, like most dark-pool orders, permanently out of sight. At press time, XRP traded at $2.21. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

Crypto pundit Jake Claver claims that XRP's stagnant spot price is due to increased off-exchange trading in "dark pools," which he argues are suppressing visible price movements despite rising institutional demand. His viral X thread suggests these private liquidity venues are masking true market activity.  

XRP Price Suppressed By ‘Dark Pools,’ Crypto Pundit Claims

<img src="https://images.cointelegraph.com/images/840_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjUtMDQvMDE5Njg3ZDgtY2FiOS03ODBiLWJjMDAtNDIyNmFlMWMwYzMx.jpg"><img src="https://images.cointelegraph.com/images/840_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjUtMDQvMDE5Njg3ZDgtY2FiOS03ODBiLWJjMDAtNDIyNmFlMWMwYzMx.jpg" alt="Tether plans US stablecoin launch as soon as this year — CNBC">Tether plans to launch a stablecoin product in the United States as soon as this year, the stablecoin issuer&rsquo;s CEO, Paul Ardoino, said in an April 30 CNBC interview. Tether&rsquo;s flagship stablecoin, USDT (<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/tether-price-index" rel="" target="_self" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/tether-price-index">USDT</a>), is already the US dollar&rsquo;s top &ldquo;exporter,&rdquo; Ardoino <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/04/30/nyt-has-their-facts-wrong-and-should-study-more-says-tether-ceo.html" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" text="null" title="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/04/30/nyt-has-their-facts-wrong-and-should-study-more-says-tether-ceo.html">told</a> CNBC. It has a market capitalization of nearly $150 billion, according to <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tether" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">data</a> from CoinGecko.&nbsp;Now, Tether is preparing to expand into the US market &ldquo;by the end of this year or early next year, at the fastest,&rdquo; Ardoino said, adding that the timing depends on US lawmakers&rsquo; progress on stablecoin legislation. The stablecoin issuer is working to woo US regulators by proactively collaborating with law enforcement and highlighting USDT&rsquo;s benefits for the US economy. "We are just exporters of what we believe to be the best product the United States ever created &mdash; that is, the US dollar,&rdquo; the CEO said.<figure><img alt="Tether plans US stablecoin launch as soon as this year &mdash; CNBC" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-04/0196880f-b777-765c-8667-64f81a7dba5f" title=""><figcaption style="text-align: center;">Tether's USDT has 66% of the stablecoin market share. Source: Nansen </figcaption></figure>Related: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/tether-still-dominant-despite-competition-nansen" rel="" target="_self" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/news/tether-still-dominant-despite-competition-nansen">Tether still dominates stablecoins despite competition &mdash; Nansen</a><h2>Market leader</h2>As of April 25, USDT <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/tether-still-dominant-despite-competition-nansen" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">commanded a roughly 66% market share</a> among stablecoins, according to Nansen, a Web3 researcher.&nbsp;Tether is also the most profitable stablecoin issuer, logging a <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/tether-13-billion-2024-profits-t-bill-holdings-all-time-highs" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">net income of nearly $14 billion</a> in 2024.&nbsp;It earns revenue by accepting US dollars to mint USDT and then investing those dollars into highly liquid, yield-bearing instruments such as US Treasury bills.&nbsp;Still, USDT&rsquo;s popularity is largely limited to users outside of the United States, where rival stablecoin USDC (<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/usdc-price-index" rel="" target="_self" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/usdc-price-index">USDC</a>) is dominant. Tether designed USDT &ldquo;for the people that live in small villages in Africa... [or] a shop owner in Istanbul,&rdquo; Ardoino told CNBC, adding that Tether is developing a &ldquo;different product&rdquo; for the US. Adoption of USDC has accelerated in the wake of US President Donald Trump&rsquo;s November election win, Nansen said in an April 25 report.&nbsp;Circle&rsquo;s USDC has a market capitalization of more than $60 billion, CoinGecko data shows.&nbsp;However, USDT is still <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/tether-still-dominant-despite-competition-nansen" rel="" target="_self" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/news/tether-still-dominant-despite-competition-nansen">likely to maintain its leading position</a> in the stablecoin market.&nbsp; &ldquo;Despite the potential dispersion in stables, we inevitably believe this is a &lsquo;winner-takes-most&rsquo; market dynamic,&rdquo; the Web3 researcher added.&nbsp;Magazine:&nbsp;<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/bitcoin-payments-undermined-centralized-stablecoins/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/bitcoin-payments-undermined-centralized-stablecoins/">Bitcoin payments are being undermined by centralized stablecoins</a><template data-name="subscription_form" data-type="markets_outlook" label="Subscription Form: Markets Outlook"></template>

Tether plans to launch a stablecoin product in the United States as soon as this year, the stablecoin issuer’s CEO, Paul Ardoino, said in an April 30 CNBC interview. 
Tether’s flagship stablecoin, USDT (USDT), is already the US dollar’s top “exporter,” Ardoino told CNBC. It has a market capitalization of nearly $150 billion, according to data from CoinGecko. 
Now, Tether is preparing to expand into the US market “by the end of this year or early next year, at the fastest,” Ardoino said, adding that the timing depends on US lawmakers’ progress on stablecoin legislation. 
The stablecoin issuer is working to woo US regulators by proactively collaborating with law enforcement and highlighting USDT’s benefits for the US economy. 
"We are just exporters of what we believe to be the best product the United States ever created — that is, the US dollar,” the CEO said.
Tether's USDT has 66% of the stablecoin market share. Source: Nansen

Related: Tether still dominates stablecoins despite competition — Nansen
Market leader
As of April 25, USDT commanded a roughly 66% market share among stablecoins, according to Nansen, a Web3 researcher. 
Tether is also the most profitable stablecoin issuer, logging a net income of nearly $14 billion in 2024. 
It earns revenue by accepting US dollars to mint USDT and then investing those dollars into highly liquid, yield-bearing instruments such as US Treasury bills. Still, USDT’s popularity is largely limited to users outside of the United States, where rival stablecoin USDC (USDC) is dominant. 
Tether designed USDT “for the people that live in small villages in Africa... [or] a shop owner in Istanbul,” Ardoino told CNBC, adding that Tether is developing a “different product” for the US. 
Adoption of USDC has accelerated in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s November election win, Nansen said in an April 25 report. Circle’s USDC has a market capitalization of more than $60 billion, CoinGecko data shows. 
However, USDT is still likely to maintain its leading position in the stablecoin market.  “Despite the potential dispersion in stables, we inevitably believe this is a ‘winner-takes-most’ market dynamic,” the Web3 researcher added. 
Magazine: Bitcoin payments are being undermined by centralized stablecoins

Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, plans to launch a new stablecoin product in the U.S. market as early as this year, according to CEO Paul Ardoino. With USDT already being the dominant dollar-pegged stablecoin globally, this expansion aims to strengthen Tether's presence in its home market.  

Tether plans US stablecoin launch as soon as this year — CNBC

<img width="768" height="432" src="https://static.news.bitcoin.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/cut-768x432.png" class="attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-post-image" alt="Markets Bet on Fed Pause in May Even as Trump Rattles the Cage" decoding="async" style="float:left; margin:0 15px 15px 0;" srcset="https://static.news.bitcoin.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/cut-300x169.png 300w, https://static.news.bitcoin.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/cut-1024x576.png 1024w, https://static.news.bitcoin.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/cut-768x432.png 768w, https://static.news.bitcoin.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/cut-190x107.png 190w, https://static.news.bitcoin.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/cut-380x214.png 380w, https://static.news.bitcoin.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/cut-760x428.png 760w, https://static.news.bitcoin.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/cut.png 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" />On April 12—just over two weeks prior—expectations surrounding a potential cut to the federal funds rate were in flux, with markets assigning a 39.8% probability that the U.S. Federal Reserve would lower the rate by 25 basis points. Fast forward to seven days ahead of the next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) gathering, and that [&#8230;]

On April 12—just over two weeks prior—expectations surrounding a potential cut to the federal funds rate were in flux, with markets assigning a 39.8% probability that the U.S. Federal Reserve would lower the rate by 25 basis points. Fast forward to seven days ahead of the next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) gathering, and that […]

Markets are increasingly anticipating a pause in Federal Reserve rate cuts in May, despite political uncertainties stirred by former President Trump. Recent data shows a shift from earlier expectations of a 25-basis-point rate reduction, reflecting evolving investor sentiment ahead of the upcoming FOMC meeting.  

Markets Bet on Fed Pause in May Even as Trump Rattles the Cage

After a sharp 75% rally, SUI is now showing signs of exhaustion as it approaches a key resistance area. Although the trend remains bullish, technical indicators suggest a healthy pause may be on the horizon before the next leg of&#8230;

After a sharp 75% rally, SUI is now showing signs of exhaustion as it approaches a key resistance area. Although the trend remains bullish, technical indicators suggest a healthy pause may be on the horizon before the next leg of…

SUI's recent 75% rally is showing signs of exhaustion near a key resistance level. While the overall trend remains bullish, technical indicators suggest a potential short-term pullback before the next upward movement.  

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Sonic to upgrade from bridged to native USDC, adds CCTP V2 support

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