Ditch – Earlybirds Invest https://earlybirdsinvest.com Latest Crypto News Sun, 31 Aug 2025 09:24:21 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.8 https://i0.wp.com/earlybirdsinvest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/cropped-New-Project-2024-12-17T235703.455.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Ditch – Earlybirds Invest https://earlybirdsinvest.com 32 32 240146708 Given Trump’s Pro-Crypto Stance, Is it Time to Fully Ditch Gold in Favor of Bitcoin? https://earlybirdsinvest.com/given-trumps-pro-crypto-stance-is-it-time-to-fully-ditch-gold-in-favor-of-bitcoin/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/given-trumps-pro-crypto-stance-is-it-time-to-fully-ditch-gold-in-favor-of-bitcoin/#respond Sun, 31 Aug 2025 09:24:20 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/given-trumps-pro-crypto-stance-is-it-time-to-fully-ditch-gold-in-favor-of-bitcoin/

Given the Trump administration’s vocal and demonstrated support for crypto, some investors are wondering whether gold’s days as the world’s favorite hedge asset are numbered.

André Dragosch, European head of research at Bitwise Asset Management, suggests the choice isn’t so simple. In a post on X Saturday, he offered a rule-of-thumb: gold still works best as protection against stock market losses, while bitcoin increasingly acts as a counterweight to bond market stress.

Gold: Equity Hedge of Choice

The reasoning starts with history. When equities sell off, investors often rush into gold. Decades of market data back this up. Gold’s long-run correlation with the S&P 500 has hovered near zero, and during market stress it often dips negative.

For example, in the 2022 bear market, gold prices rose about 5% even as the S&P 500 tumbled nearly 20%. That pattern illustrates why gold is still considered the classic “safe haven.”

Bitcoin: A Bond-Market Counterweight

Bitcoin, by contrast, has often struggled during equity panics. In 2022, it collapsed more than 60% alongside tech stocks. But its relationship with U.S. Treasuries has been more intriguing.

Several studies note that bitcoin has shown a low or even slightly negative correlation with government bonds. That means when bond prices sink and yields rise — as they did in 2023 during fears over U.S. debt and deficits — bitcoin has sometimes held up better than gold.

Dragosch’s takeaway: investors don’t need to pick one over the other. They play different roles. Gold is still the better hedge when stocks wobble, while bitcoin may help portfolios when bond markets are under pressure from rising rates or fiscal worries.

How the Rule Holds in 2025

The split has been clear this year. As of Aug. 31, gold was up more than 30% year-to-date, according to World Gold Council data. That surge reflects renewed demand during bouts of equity volatility tied to tariffs, slowing growth, and political risk.

Bitcoin, meanwhile, has gained about 16.46% this year, based on CoinDesk Data, a solid performance considering that 10-year U.S. Treasury yields have fallen around 7.33%, according to MarketWatch data.

The S&P 500, by comparison, is up roughly 10% in 2025, per CNBC data.

The diverging performance underscores Dragosch’s heuristic: gold has benefited most from equity jitters, while bitcoin has held its ground as bond markets wobble under the weight of higher yields and heavy government borrowing.

Not Just Opinion: Data Backs It

This isn’t just Dragosch’s personal view. A Bitwise research report earlier this year noted that gold remains a reliable hedge against stock market downturns, while bitcoin has tended to provide stronger returns during recoveries and shows lower correlation with U.S. Treasuries. The report concluded that holding both assets can improve diversification and optimize risk-adjusted returns.

The Caveats

Still, correlations aren’t static. Bitcoin’s ties to equities have strengthened in 2025 thanks to large inflows into spot ETFs, which have brought in billions from institutional investors.

The huge net inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs makes BTC trade more like a mainstream risk asset, reducing its “purity” as a bond hedge.

Short-term shocks can also scramble the picture. Regulatory surprises, liquidity squeezes, or macro shocks may move both gold and bitcoin in the same direction, limiting their usefulness as hedges. Dragosch’s rule-of-thumb, in other words, is just that — a heuristic, not a guarantee.

The Bottom Line

Trump’s pro-crypto stance raises a provocative question: is it time to abandon gold entirely in favor of bitcoin? Dragosch’s answer, supported by years of data, is no. Gold still works best when stocks tumble, while bitcoin may offer shelter when bonds are under pressure. For investors, the lesson isn’t ditching one asset for the other, but recognizing that they hedge different risks — and using both may be the smarter play.

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/given-trumps-pro-crypto-stance-is-it-time-to-fully-ditch-gold-in-favor-of-bitcoin/feed/ 0 56018 Google’s new Passwords app means I can finally ditch Chrome https://earlybirdsinvest.com/googles-new-passwords-app-means-i-can-finally-ditch-chrome/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/googles-new-passwords-app-means-i-can-finally-ditch-chrome/#respond Sat, 30 Aug 2025 12:41:20 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/googles-new-passwords-app-means-i-can-finally-ditch-chrome/
google password manager app shortcut on a smartphone home screen

Megan Ellis / Android Authority

I’ve been on a mission to de-Google my life as much as possible in an attempt to control how much information a single company has about me. While there are some essential Google services I will never part with, switching my browser from Chrome has been a priority.

Which password manager do you use to save your Android passwords?

25 votes

I prefer Brave, but I was tethered to Chrome

an ai summary in brave on a smartphone screen

Megan Ellis / Android Authority

I have never regretted the switch to Brave. However, Chrome remained in my app rotation for one simple reason: I have hundreds of passwords saved in the Password Manager. While it’s possible to export passwords to another browser, Password Manager is also built into Android. This integration allows you to save passwords, generate secure password suggestions, and access login details across devices.

I’m glad I switched to Brave, but password management on Android kept me tethered to Chrome.

This also means that Password Manager has been essential for my Android phones. When an OEM doesn’t have its own version of a credential manager, Google’s Password Manager remains the default way to save and access app passwords. Even when an alternative manager was available, I used Google’s solution wherever possible to make my details easily accessible across phones from different manufacturers.

I could technically access the passwords by searching through my phone’s settings and finding my Google account preferences, but the process was different for each device and resulted in me visiting a variety of different menus before finding the right one. This is why I kept Chrome around. If I wanted to access my app passwords easily, I needed to open Chrome and access them there. But the standalone Password Manager app has changed that.

Google Password Manager app makes accessing Android passwords easier

google password manager play store listing

Megan Ellis / Android Authority

Google Password Manager now exists as a standalone app that you can download from the Google Play Store. Not only does this make it easier to access the service on your home screen and through your app drawer, but it also makes accessing the service easier overall.

I was initially concerned that the app only functioned as a shortcut to the password manager within Chrome. I’ve since disabled Chrome on my smartphone to see whether this was the case. I was happy to discover that I can still access the password manager without needing Chrome. I was also able to sign up for a new app, generate a password through the Password Manager pop-up, and save the password to the service.

Google’s Password Manager app works even if you have Chrome disabled on your smartphone.

Likewise, I can still access the most important features of the service, including account credentials, the checkup tool, and autofill settings.

The only other reason I kept Chrome around was to easily access Google Search when I needed shopping links or better local results. I love Brave Search, but it doesn’t provide as many local results and local shop listings as I would like. However, I don’t need Chrome to access Google — I can just add a shortcut to the search engine in Brave.

With the introduction of the standalone Password Manager app, my last reason to keep Chrome around no longer applies. The anxiety I felt when considering completely leaving Chrome behind is gone.

However, there are drawbacks. Even though Google Password Manager is now a standalone app, this doesn’t mean it acts like other credential management apps. When I use Brave, the passwords I enter save to Brave’s built-in password manager, even when I’m using my phone. Google’s autofill feature also only works when I’m using an Android app that requires a login, or when I’m using Chrome.

So, when I want to log in to a site using Brave, I need to open Google’s app to copy over the credentials and paste them separately to the browser. Overall, though, I’m glad I no longer need to keep Chrome installed to do this.

I may eventually move to a different password manager

create passkey prompt ios bitwarden 2

Calvin Wankhede / Android Authority

While Google Password Manager is the most convenient password manager to use across devices, it isn’t necessarily the most secure. There are plenty of great password managers to choose from, many of which offer free plans. Since I’ve also switched from Chrome as my default browser on my computer, I need a manager I can use across devices and browsers. A dedicated password manager app will also allow me to use the autofill feature regardless of which browser I’m using.

But to be honest, I find comfort in familiarity, so it will take time for me to truly make the jump. I’m eager to try out Proton Pass due to the company’s focus on privacy. The password manager also offers benefits like email aliases and an integrated two-factor authentication (2FA) feature. It will also let me import my passwords from multiple browsers and generate strong passwords for accounts.

However, before I make the switch to an alternative, I will need time to test it and see that it suits my needs. At the same time, I’m glad that Google’s new standalone app makes it possible for me to easily store Android credentials without needing to use Chrome to access them anymore.

I no longer feel stuck and bound to Chrome, which in turn has made it easier to envision more ways I can reduce my reliance on Google. I want to use a service because it offers the best features, not because I’m simply locked into the ecosystem.

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]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/googles-new-passwords-app-means-i-can-finally-ditch-chrome/feed/ 0 55890 Notion’s offline mode might just make me ditch Obsidian https://earlybirdsinvest.com/notions-offline-mode-might-just-make-me-ditch-obsidian/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/notions-offline-mode-might-just-make-me-ditch-obsidian/#respond Mon, 25 Aug 2025 03:22:06 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/notions-offline-mode-might-just-make-me-ditch-obsidian/
Notion offline mode toggle

Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority

Notion is one of my favorite tools. From databases to to-do lists, tracking restaurants I wanted to check out, and so much more, I’ve dabbled in it for years until I finally made the switch to Obsidian. That’s mostly because of Notion’s one fatal flaw. The moment you lose internet, the app effectively becomes useless.

The moment you lose internet, the app effectively becomes useless.

I’ve learned that the hard way on flights, cafes with rocky Wi-Fi, even when wanting to check a washing machine’s maintenance schedule in my basement laundry without a cellular signal. It’s what pushed me towards Obsidian, a local-first markdown-based app that has never failed me when I just needed access to my notes. For a very long time now, Obsidian has been my safety net. But now that Notion has finally fixed that fatal flaw by rolling out offline mode, it might be time for a rethink. Perhaps it’s time to ditch Obsidian and go back to Notion. Here’s why.

Are you team Notion or team something else?

185 votes

Why offline mode makes such a big difference

Notion database

Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority

For anyone who has used Notion long enough, the lack of offline access was not a minor inconvenience. It was effectively a dealbreaker. The whole app was designed around its well-defined structure and cloud-first experience. So when you lost access to the internet, you also lost the app’s utility. You could be staring at the prettiest dashboard in the world, but if you wanted to check your notes during a flight or in an area without a signal, it was effectively useless.

Obsidian’s local-first approach doesn’t care whether you have internet or not. It just works.

For me, that was the gap Obsidian stepped into so neatly. With its markdown-based files living on your local storage, it never mattered if the internet was on or off. I could take my laptop on a long-haul flight or my phone into a low-signal zone, and my notes were always there. Obviously, I couldn’t sync files across without the internet, but my work so far was right there and ready to be accessed. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been mid-thought on a flight and wanted to add something to my project tracker, only to stare at a blank Notion screen. Obsidian solved that, but at the cost of giving up Notion’s powerful databases, templates and collaboration tools. Now that Notion promises to work the same way anywhere, it feels like the balance is bridging the gap in the feature set. As someone who is frequently on the go, I needed that kind of reliability, and Obsidian has been the place where I keep anything important.

Don’t want to miss the best from Android Authority?

Of course, Obsidian and Notion are very different in how they approach note-taking. Obsidian leans into extensibility with plugins for almost everything, and the fact that all notes are just simple markdown files means they’re as portable as it gets. But the app isn’t perfect. Even the simplest tasks can take just a bit too much time to accomplish.

The Obsidian app open on a black Android with a white paper planner underneath.

Nathan Drescher / Android Authority

Notion, on the other hand, is more polished and collaborative. Building a database takes only a couple of clicks. It quickly lets you link projects, create aesthetic and functional pages, share them to the internet with one click, and more. Features like Notion Forms are incredible for quick data entry on the go. Suffice it to say, Notion has always felt like the better tool for managing bigger projects, while Obsidian is more geared towards personal projects and research. For years I lived in both worlds, and though it was messy, it worked.

Notion’s offline mode update upends that. With the software’s latest release, I can now view, edit, and create notes without needing the internet. Everything syncs back once you reconnect, similar to Obsidian. On paper, that means I no longer need two separate tools. My use case is better served by Notion, and having access to offline mode means I should be able to ditch Obsidian. Well, as is always the case, the details matter, and Notion’s offline mode comes with plenty of quirks that you will want to watch out for.

Where Notion’s offline mode still falls short

capacities vs notion coffee tracking notion

Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority

For starters, unlike Obsidian, Notion’s offline mode isn’t automatic. Any page that you want to access offline must be marked for offline use on each device you plan to use. If you forget to do that, you’re out of luck. Premium plans do ease things by automatically downloading recent and favorited pages, but it is still far from Obsidian’s always-available simplicity. And since most home and enthusiast users are on the free tier, they do not benefit from auto-downloading.

Notion’s offline mode feels more like a workaround than a seamless feature.

Then there are the limits. Databases are capped at 50 rows for offline access with no way to force a full download. If you have a complicated setup using multiple subpages, you’ll have to manually toggle each one for offline access. Subpages don’t automatically tag along when you mark a parent page offline. On top of that, embedded content, buttons, and forms stop working without a connection. None of these issues are dealbreakers individually, but together they make offline mode feel more like a workaround than a seamless feature. While I am glad the feature exists, it is clear that Notion was built from the ground up as a cloud-first tool.

Rethinking my workflow

notion on the phone

Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority

Despite the many limitations of Notion’s offline mode, it is already making me rethink how I work. As I mentioned earlier, Notion comes across as the slicker tool due to its more defined schema of getting things done. Obsidian offers more freedom and has never let me down with offline access, but all too often you have to jump through hoops for simple tasks. Sometimes you even need to install third-party plugins for what should be basic functionality. That isn’t ideal for how I use apps.

With offline mode, Notion has finally earned back some of that trust. Offline mode is not perfect, but it no longer collapses the moment Wi-Fi drops. That is enough for me to consider shifting back.

Offline mode isn’t perfect, but it’s enough to make me consider Notion again.

At the same time, I don’t see myself deleting Obsidian any time soon. Markdown files stored locally are still unmatched for permanence. If something goes wrong, I know my notes are sitting on my hard drive, untouched by anyone else. That sense of ownership is hard to beat, especially for someone like me who is deeply entrenched in the self-hosted ecosystem. But the reality is that I don’t want to live in two worlds anymore. Splitting notes between apps adds friction I no longer need. If Notion can do enough for me day to day, then Obsidian starts to feel like a safety net I don’t need to check quite as often.

For now, I will probably integrate Notion more into my daily workflow while keeping critical access documents on Obsidian. I still need to see how well offline syncing holds up in real-world use. How well does Notion handle conflicts? Will Notion increase the database limit? These are questions that only long-term use can answer. But offline mode, even in its current form, is enough for me to seriously consider ditching Obsidian. And it might just be for you as well.

Thank you for being part of our community. Read our Comment Policy before posting.

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/notions-offline-mode-might-just-make-me-ditch-obsidian/feed/ 0 54981 Ditch screen time guilt with help from low-stimulation app Pok Pok https://earlybirdsinvest.com/ditch-screen-time-guilt-with-help-from-low-stimulation-app-pok-pok/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/ditch-screen-time-guilt-with-help-from-low-stimulation-app-pok-pok/#respond Sun, 20 Jul 2025 19:57:41 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/ditch-screen-time-guilt-with-help-from-low-stimulation-app-pok-pok/

TL;DR: Ditch screen time guilt with help from low-stimulation app Pok Pok, now just $59.99 (reg. $250) for a lifetime subscription.

If you take care of little humans, you probably know the stress of balancing screen time. Fortunately, there’s now a calmer option that is Montessori-inspired and geared toward kids ages 2 to 8 — Pok Pok. And right now, you can secure a lifetime subscription to this educational, low-stimulation app for just $59.99 (reg. $250).

You don’t need to stress about screen time anymore

Not all screen time is created equal. If you’ve been on the hunt for an option that isn’t super stimulating, Pok Pok is an excellent option. Their award-winning educational games provide a gentler option while giving your kids a foundation in STEM, numbers, cause and effect, problem-solving, and language.

Let your little ones learn as they watch. Pok Pok is based on the Montessori child-centered educational approach, which takes your child’s natural development into account. It offers calm content that grows with your kids through open-ended play, with hand-drawn animations and gentle sound effects and music made in-house.

Pok Pok is COPPA-certified, so you don’t have to worry about ads that trick kids into buying things. You can also have them play offline if you prefer your children not to be connected to the internet.

This lifetime subscription gives your littles access to unlimited learning games and regular seasonal and cultural content updates that keep the experience fresh. There’s also a surprise gift mailed with your purchase.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

See other items in the shop.

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/ditch-screen-time-guilt-with-help-from-low-stimulation-app-pok-pok/feed/ 0 48756 Asia Morning Briefing: Bitcoin Becomes ‘Generational Asset’ as Speculators Ditch Rolexes https://earlybirdsinvest.com/asia-morning-briefing-bitcoin-becomes-generational-asset-as-speculators-ditch-rolexes/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/asia-morning-briefing-bitcoin-becomes-generational-asset-as-speculators-ditch-rolexes/#respond Wed, 28 May 2025 02:12:35 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/asia-morning-briefing-bitcoin-becomes-generational-asset-as-speculators-ditch-rolexes/

Good Morning, Asia. Here’s what’s making news in the markets:

Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk’s Crypto Daybook Americas.

Ethereum surged past $2,600 in early Asia hours, up 3.7%, breaking decisively above its previous resistance level of around $2,500 following a prolonged consolidation period, according to CoinDesk Research’s AI-assisted technical analysis model.

The rally is supported by robust trading volume and significant institutional confidence, underscored by $248 million in net inflows into spot Ethereum ETFs last week, led prominently by BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust. DeFi activity is also strengthening, with Ethereum’s total value locked (TVL) rising 3.59% over the last 24 hours to $64.37 billion, according to DeFi Llama.

However, the rally faces potential headwinds. Ethereum’s active addresses currently sit at 406,180, nearly flat compared to approximately 430,000 addresses one year ago, indicating muted user growth.

Additionally, stablecoin flows reveal mixed signals; traditional stalwarts USDT and USDC remain relatively flat, while emerging stablecoins such as Ethena’s USDe and BUIDL demonstrate stronger growth trends, signaling shifts within Ethereum’s broader stablecoin ecosystem. Despite bullish momentum and strong institutional backing, subdued retail investor participation and tepid user growth suggest this rally could face near-term constraints.

(CoinDesk)

Bitcoin Soars While Luxury Watches Stall: A Pandemic-Era Correlation Breaks Down

Bitcoin (BTC) and luxury watches, once pandemic-era companions buoyed by stimulus and speculative exuberance, have sharply diverged over the past year, market data shows, with BTC surging 56.9%, according to CoinDesk market data, while WatchCharts.com luxury watch index fell by 4%.

As recently as mid-2023, prices for bitcoin and luxury watches moved closely in tandem, buoyed by central banks and governments injecting substantial liquidity into global markets. However, the two have since taken distinctly different paths.

OKX Global Chief Commercial Officer Lennix Lai attributes Bitcoin’s sustained upward trajectory to increased institutional adoption and maturation as a credible asset.

In contrast, the secondary market for luxury watches has cooled significantly from its pandemic peak. “The real collectors stayed in watches while speculators moved on, and bitcoin has matured to take its place in many investors’ portfolios,” Lai said. “Watches make great heirlooms, but I’ll take Bitcoin any day as a generational asset. You can’t lose it, scratch it during a move, or have it stolen, as long as you keep your seed phrase secure.”

Yet, in recent months, the luxury watch market has shown early signs of a modest recovery, posting a 0.3% gain over the last three months.

Jake Plonskier, founder of Watches.io, credits this rebound to external economic pressures rather than renewed crypto-driven speculation. He notes rising tariffs and surging gold prices as key catalysts.

“Gold and silver are decent proxies for the watch market,” Plonskier explained, highlighting Rolex’s January decision to raise MSRP by 14% for its gold models.

He added that crypto’s lasting impact on luxury watches is primarily demographic: “Crypto wealth introduced a whole new market that can afford watches. Now men under 30 can afford Pateks and APs, which traditionally never would have been purchased by this type of clientele.”

(CoinDesk)

Circle Prepares for IPO Filing

Circle Internet Group, the issuer of stablecoin USDC, has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “CRCL,” aiming to sell 24 million class A shares priced between $24 and $26 each, CoinDesk previously reported.

The company itself will offer 9.6 million shares, potentially raising nearly $250 million, while selling stakeholders are providing an additional 14.4 million shares, possibly earning close to $375 million.

Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment has indicated interest in purchasing $150 million worth of shares during the IPO, which is being managed by joint lead active bookrunners J.P. Morgan, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs.

The IPO filing follows previous unsuccessful attempts, including a failed SPAC deal in 2021 and a brief consideration of a $5 billion sale to firms such as Coinbase or Ripple.

Marathon Digital CEO Says U.S. Government Should Mine BTC

Marathon Digital CEO Fred Thiel urged the U.S. government to start actively mining bitcoin to fulfill President Trump’s directive for a strategic bitcoin reserve, suggesting excess hydroelectricity could support domestic mining operations, CoinDesk previously reported.

Speaking at Bitcoin 2025, Thiel emphasized the necessity of tangible steps beyond the current plan of using approximately 200,000 seized bitcoins from government forfeitures. Senator Cynthia Lummis supports this broader vision through her proposed BITCOIN Act, advocating for converting underperforming government gold certificates into bitcoin to expand the reserve substantially.

However, Lummis acknowledges significant legislative hurdles remain, citing a general lack of congressional understanding about bitcoin and competing priorities such as stablecoin and market structure regulations.

Market Movements:

  • BTC: Bitcoin bounced back strongly from a correction to $107,604, stabilizing just below key resistance at $110,000, supported by easing EU trade tensions and continued accumulation from long-term investors, according to CoinDesk Research’s technical analysis model.
  • ETH: Ethereum broke decisively above $2,600 on strong institutional ETF inflows and rising DeFi activity, though flat active address growth could limit further upside.
  • Gold: Gold currently trades at $3,315.30 per ounce, down 0.77%, as Citi upgrades its near-term forecast to between $3,100 and $3,500 due to ongoing trade uncertainties, while remaining cautious longer term amid expectations of economic improvement and Fed rate cuts.
  • Nikkei 225: Japan’s Nikkei 225, which opened at 38,003.67 on Wednesday, is forecasted to rise approximately 5% to 39,600 by year-end, according to a Reuters poll, as U.S. trade uncertainties eased, though near-term volatility remained likely, with analysts predicting further gains to 42,000 by the end of 2026.
  • S&P 500: The benchmark S&P 500 closed about 2.1% higher Tuesday, boosted by optimism over a delayed implementation of U.S.-EU tariffs and improved prospects for a trade agreement.

Elsewhere in Crypto…

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/asia-morning-briefing-bitcoin-becomes-generational-asset-as-speculators-ditch-rolexes/feed/ 0 38688 Sonic Labs ditch algorithmic USD stablecoin for UAE dirham alternative https://earlybirdsinvest.com/sonic-labs-ditch-algorithmic-usd-stablecoin-for-uae-dirham-alternative/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/sonic-labs-ditch-algorithmic-usd-stablecoin-for-uae-dirham-alternative/#respond Sat, 29 Mar 2025 11:57:29 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/sonic-labs-ditch-algorithmic-usd-stablecoin-for-uae-dirham-alternative/

Sonic Labs has canceled plans to launch a US dollar-pegged algorithmic stablecoin, opting instead to develop a United Arab Emirates dirham-denominated alternative.

On March 22, Sonic Labs co-founder Andre Cronje said the company was working on a US dollar-pegged algorithmic stablecoin with an annual percentage rate (APR) of up to 23%, Cointelegraph reported.

However, one week later, the firm reversed course.

“We will no longer be releasing a USD based algorithmic stable coin,” Cronje said in a March 28 X post. “Completely unrelated, we will be releasing a mathematically bound numerical Dirham which is settled and denominated in USD, which is definitely not a USD based algorithmic stable coin.”

The shift in strategy comes shortly after the UAE announced it would launch its digital dirham central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Source: Andre Cronje

Khaled Mohamed Balama, governor of the Central Bank of the UAE, said the blockchain-based dirham could enhance financial stability and help combat financial crime. The digital currency will be accepted alongside its physical counterpart in all payment channels, according to a report from the Khaleej Times.

Related: Paolo Ardoino: Competitors and politicians intend to ‘kill Tether’

Sonic faced criticism over stablecoin plans

The reversal follows widespread criticism of Sonic’s original plan to launch an algorithmic stablecoin — a model that has raised concerns across the crypto industry since the collapse of the Terra ecosystem in 2022.

Cronje himself previously admitted to experiencing Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to algorithmic stablecoin due to previous cycles:

“Pretty sure our team cracked algo stable coins today, but previous cycle gave me so much PTSD not sure if we should implement.”

In May 2022, the $40 billion Terra ecosystem collapsed, erasing tens of billions of dollars of value in a matter of days. Terra’s algorithmic stablecoin, TerraUSD (UST), had been yielding an over 20% annual percentage yield (APY) on Anchor Protocol prior to its collapse.

As UST lost its dollar peg, crashing to a low of around $0.30, Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon took to X (then Twitter) to share his rescue plan. At the same time, the value of sister token LUNA — once a top 10 crypto project by market capitalization — plunged over 98% to $0.84. LUNA was trading north of $120 in early April 2022.

Related: Tether’s US treasury holdings surpass Canada, Taiwan, ranks 7th globally

The collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin issuer created shockwaves among both crypto investors and lawmakers.

To reduce systemic risk, the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) bill will prohibit algorithmic stablecoins to avoid another Terra-like failure.

Meanwhile, stablecoins are increasingly being used for smaller, everyday payments rather than large transfers, according to CoinFund managing partner David Pakman.

“We’ve seen a significant decrease in the size of each stablecoin transaction, which points to the fact that they are being used more as payments and less for large transfers,” Pakman said during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction live show on X on March 27.

Magazine: Ripple says SEC lawsuit ‘over,’ Trump at DAS, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 16 – 22

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/sonic-labs-ditch-algorithmic-usd-stablecoin-for-uae-dirham-alternative/feed/ 0 27859 FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried Getting Released? Last Ditch Political Effort Comes To Light https://earlybirdsinvest.com/ftxs-sam-bankman-fried-getting-released-last-ditch-political-effort-comes-to-light/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/ftxs-sam-bankman-fried-getting-released-last-ditch-political-effort-comes-to-light/#respond Sun, 23 Feb 2025 18:06:20 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/ftxs-sam-bankman-fried-getting-released-last-ditch-political-effort-comes-to-light/

The possibility of FTX’s co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) being released from prison has arisen again. This comes following his latch ditch political efforts to gain a presidential pardon from Donald Trump.

Sam Bankman-Fried Seeks To Gain Favor From Donald Trump

Sam Bankman-Fried is looking to get in Donald Trump’s good books and possibly get a pardon from the US president. In a recent interview with the New York Sun, SBF moved to throw the Democratic party and Biden’s administration under the bus in hopes of gaining sympathy from Trump and the Republican party. 

The crypto founder stated that he was really “frustrated and disappointed with what [he] saw of Biden’s administration of the Democratic party. It is worth mentioning that SBF was one of the biggest donors of the biggest donors of the Democratic party before he was convicted of fraud and misappropriation of customers’ funds and sentenced to 25 years on March 28, 2024. 

The FTX co-founder also tried to gain sympathy from the current administration by showing support for Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E), which has been tasked with cutting government expenses. SBF said that some things need more than a 10% cut and added that it could go as far as 30,50, and 70%. 

SBF has maintained his innocence up until now. In the interview, he once again mentioned that he doesn’t think anyone was guilty in reference to him and other FTX executives who were found guilty. 

Before now, Bitcoinist had reported that Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents were appealing to Donald Trump to get a presidential pardon for their son. As such, this interview may be one of the avenues that SBF and his parents are using to get the US president’s attention. 

FTX’s SBF Also Takes Aim At Biden’s Judiciary

Sam Bankman-Fried also criticized Judge Lewis Kaplan, the judge in charge of his case, and the Department Of Justice (DOJ) under Biden’s administration. The crypto founder lamented the “politicization of the DOJ over the last decades,” although he remarked that things look to be changing under Trump. 

Interestingly, Kaplan was also the same judge who presided over the civil case against Trump in which the jury reached a verdict that he sexually abused and defamed E. Jean Carroll. SBF looked to take advantage of this common interest with Trump, stating that he knows the US president had a lot of frustrations with Judge Kaplan. He added that he did as well. 

Sam Bankman-Fried filed an appeal last year in which one of his major arguments was that Judge Kaplan was biased. He suggested that the Judge had declared him guilty from the onset and didn’t give him a fair hearing in his case.

Sam Bankman-Fried could become the second crypto criminal that US President Donald Trump pardons. The president already pardoned Silk Road Founder Ross Ulbricht, a promise that he made even before he took office.

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