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In an interview, Input Output CEO Charles Hoskinson declared that Cardano’s long-running efforts to bring DeFi functionality to Bitcoin are no longer theoretical. Speaking with Crypto Megan, Hoskinson laid out the architecture, live integrations, and strategic rationale for what he described as a “multi-trillion dollar opportunity” to merge Bitcoin’s liquidity with Cardano’s programmability.

“This is not the beginning,” Hoskinson said, “but it’s the midpoint of a very long conversation about how does Bitcoin achieve programmability.” What began years ago with experiments like Colored Coins and Mastercoin has now matured, he argued, into real interoperability between Bitcoin and other smart contract systems—driven by breakthroughs like Taproot, BitVMX, and an expanding partner ecosystem.

Cardano Tech Goes Live on Bitcoin Mainnet

One of the most striking announcements came when Hoskinson confirmed that live transactions are already flowing between Bitcoin mainnet and Cardano mainnet. “We had demonstrated transaction between Bitcoin mainnet and Cardano mainnet where an ordinal was able to move back and forth,” he said. “It really proves not only the concept but it proves it at scale.”

Cardano’s role in this emerging stack, according to Hoskinson, is to serve as the computational layer to Bitcoin’s value and security layer. “Bitcoin is a very secure audit layer… Cardano is an amazing computation layer. And when you pull these two pieces together and have a little toggle to go back and forth, we can allow a seamless experience,” he said.

This toggle—a major part of the user experience innovation—is designed to abstract away complexity for end users. “You have a switch, and you push the switch and it says DeFi mode,” Hoskinson explained. “No mention of another network, no mention of other things… All your transactions you pay fees in Bitcoin and all your returns you get back in Bitcoin.”

From a design philosophy standpoint, Hoskinson emphasized the importance of staying true to Bitcoin’s cultural and ideological core. He identified three rules that define legitimate Bitcoin DeFi: it must use Bitcoin for security, Bitcoin for fees, and return yield in Bitcoin. “Unless and until you’re able to present that experience, you’re kind of dead in the water philosophically, culturally, and technologically,” he said. For years, this was an unsolved problem. Now, according to Hoskinson, it isn’t.

The infrastructure stack, he said, is maturing rapidly thanks to contributions from Cardano-aligned partners like Fairgate, Sundial, and the Lace Wallet team. The toggle switch was first showcased during this year’s Bitcoin conference, and is already live in the Lace desktop wallet.

Hoskinson also revealed that Cardano’s development environment is being reused on Bitcoin via BitVMX. “We showcased… is there a path where Cardano programming language can be used to write Bitcoin script?” he asked rhetorically, before answering with live demos that included tools across both chains.

He emphasized that the model builds on Cardano’s foundational similarities with Bitcoin, from its UTXO model to its native assets system. “It just has all the things you always wished Bitcoin had,” he said, “but if you’re a Bitcoin developer, you’ll instantly get how Cardano manages.”

That compatibility extends to Cardano’s Babel fees mechanism, which enables users to pay transaction costs in currencies other than ADA—including Bitcoin. “So just like when a tourist goes to France and they pay with dollars and don’t even realize they’re spending euros… under the hood, there’s ADA being transacted, but the user doesn’t see it.”

Hoskinson also revealed ambitions for a Bitcoin-backed algorithmic stablecoin, building on Cardano’s experience with Jed and his early work with BitShares. “I’d love to do a Bitcoin-backed algorithmic stablecoin. That would be incredible. It’s almost like the Bretton Woods agreement—you have gold-backed money, now you have Bitcoin-backed money.”

On the adoption curve, he believes the combination of user experience improvements, reduced fees, and clear trade-off control is critical. “You don’t pick the security model for the user—you let them decide,” he said, describing a UX layer where Bitcoin maximalists can toggle to a purist configuration, while others may prefer lower fees and faster throughput.

Hoskinson framed the entire initiative as part of a broader shift toward pragmatic cross-chain cooperation in crypto. “Bitcoin and Cardano kind of make each other better,” he said. “This is the changing of the ways in crypto. We’ve kind of buried the hatchet.”

And the scale is massive. “It’s four times larger than the market cap of Solana and Ethereum combined,” Hoskinson claimed. “Bitcoin at this juncture, especially with the bull market coming, has almost unlimited liquidity. So it’s the ecosystem that really needs this.”

While Cardano has long pushed for this integration, Hoskinson made clear that the leap from vision to mainnet deployment changes everything. Cardano’s Bitcoin DeFi roadmap is no longer just theoretical—it’s alive, on-chain, and ready to scale.

At press time, Cardano traded at $0.7598.

Featured image from YouTube, chart from TradingView.com

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Something to look forward to: Weeks after updating its Ray-Ban smart glasses with real-time translation and other AI-powered features, Meta has unveiled a new pair in collaboration with Oakley, offering enhanced camera functionality and additional upgrades. Pre-orders begin on July 11, with the standard model starting at $399 and the limited-edition version available for $499.

The new Oakley Meta HSTN (pronounced HOW-stuhn) smart glasses combine Meta’s AI and smart glass technology with Oakley’s HSTN-style frames. Compared to Meta’s Ray-Ban Stories model, the HSTN glasses support video recording at 3K resolution, offer up to eight hours of battery life, and introduce IPX4 water resistance.

Oakley claims the glasses can last up to eight hours with typical use, and up to 19 hours on standby. The included charging case provides up to 48 hours of battery life and can recharge the glasses to 50% capacity in just 20 minutes.

However, Meta and Oakley primarily advertise the HSTN glasses by showcasing features it shares with the $299 Ray-Ban model. These include a 12MP camera that captures photos and video with a button press, as well as built-in speakers for playing music from various streaming services.

The headline feature is Meta AI integration, which was introduced with the Ray-Ban glasses last month. Like those, the Oakley glasses support real-time translation, music playback controls, and an AI assistant equipped with visual processing capabilities.

Visual processing enables Meta AI to respond to natural language commands based on what users see. It’s designed for tasks such as translating signage or offering cooking advice. A recent clip from Oakley shows golfer J.R. Smith receiving instant wind speed and direction information from the digital assistant. Meta also announced support for sending text, audio, video, and photos to contacts via Instagram.

Real-time translation is currently available in English, French, Italian, and Spanish. Language packs can be downloaded to enable offline use.

Oakley will showcase the glasses at Fanatics Fest from June 20 to 22, UFC International Fight Week from June 25 to 27, and other sporting events later this year.

Availability is expected to begin later this summer in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark. The Meta HSTN glasses will also launch in Mexico, India, and the United Arab Emirates in 2025.

Available styles will include:

• Warm Grey with PRIZM Ruby Lenses
• Black with PRIZM Polar Black Lenses
• Brown Smoke with PRIZM Polar Deep Water Lenses
• Black with Transitions Amethyst Lenses
• Clear with Transitions Grey Lenses
• Black with clear Lenses

Foreign exporters are reportedly less interested in being paid in US dollars due to the currency’s recent volatility, according to US Bank.

Paula Comings, head of FX sales at US Bank, says in a new interview with Bloomberg that American importers have been reporting to her that their foreign export partners want to be paid in the euro, Chinese renminbi, the Mexican peso and the Canadian dollar.

Comings notes that exporters want to limit their exposure to the dollar’s price movement.

“A lot of clients previously were reluctant because dollars were sacred in the eyes of the supplier. Now the vibe from overseas vendors seems to be, ‘Just give us our currency.’”

For example, one US Bank client, a lumber company from the Midwest, now uses euros to purchase hardwood imports from Europe, while a second, a homeware retailer, now plans to pay for imports from China with yuan. Both firms previously used dollars to pay exporters.

The US Dollar Index (DXY) is trading at 98.92 at time of writing. The index is up 5% in the past five days but down nearly 9% year to date.

US Bank has $659.191 billion in total assets as of March 31st, 2025, per statistics from the Federal Reserve.

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Interest among XRP investors has been growing after renowned analyst Crypto Beast proposed a bold prediction. He’s seeing breakout levels of at least $8 on the horizon.

Crypto Beast believes XRP is on a clear path as the Securities and Exchange Commission no longer presents obstacles.

Related readings

His view is based on the idea that the market is not yet fully priced with XRP cleared status with regulators. Short-term traders and long-term holders are similarly adjusting.

Regulation Milestones and Market Reactions

According to court records, XRP won a significant victory in July 2023 when Judge Analisa Torres ruled it was not safe under US law. At that moment, I sent the XRP very quickly from about $0.48 to $0.93.

However, prices slipped back in the coming weeks and again reduced to the $0.50 area. After that, President Donald Trump won the re-election and signaled a shake-up in the SEC, XRP advanced into a new range around $2.00. Despite its climbing, Crypto Beast argues that legal victory is not fully valued by the wider market.

XRP is about to explode.

I’m focusing on at least $8, but the market hasn’t caught up with the fact that the SEC doesn’t see it as security yet.$ xrp The owner is about to print.

Drops the signal to finish here when the moment is correct.

You regret not following. pic.twitter.com/oie8inoy7f

– Crypto Beast (@cryptobeastreal) June 16, 2025

Technical patterns refer to upside down

Crypto Beast pointed to a bull flag chart pattern starting with rallyings ranging from $0.40 to $3.40. The flag pattern formed when the XRP was pulled back into the $2.00-$3.00 zone. He marked the breakout level at $3.37.

By measuring that $3.00 pole height and adding it to the lower value of the flag, he reached a target of nearly $10.69. In another post he set up a more conservative floor for $8.80. Today’s prices are around $2.20 to about 4x profit.

This kind of move will push XRP’s market capitalization to over $500 billion and put it in leagues with big companies such as Oracle, Netflix and MasterCard.

Broader cryptography trends and correlations

Based on reports from his channel, Crypto Beast is not only bright at the XRP price that is about to “explode.” He’s looking for a triple rise at Solana, double pop at Ethereum and five run at SUI. Additionally, he has his pencils lined up with a potential 40x profit of a small token selected.

Still, these predictions depend on the growing crypto atmosphere. Most of it is led by Bitcoin. When BTC stalls or soaks, large altcoins often follow suits. So, meetings at XRP may require fresh money flowing through the market.

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Risk and End Strategies

Crypto Beast says it will flag it when it’s time to sell. He reminded his followers that the patterns have failed and that the chart alone cannot guarantee profits. A sudden market shift or macro emotional shift can ruin your setup.

He recommends setting a stop level and looking at BTC for tips. His trust in XRP’s future is strong, but he wants what twists the traders are ready to get.

Pexels featured images, TradingView charts

Ethereum (ETH) has failed to break from a key level, retracing 4% as most of the market bleeds. Some analysts believe that ETH’s next leg up won’t come in a few months, as the second-largest cryptocurrency could move sideways until May.

Related Reading

Ethereum To Continue Sideways Move?

On Monday, Ethereum swan against the current and registered a 6.3% surge toward the $2,850 support zone, momentarily breaking out of a symmetrical triangle pattern where it has been consolidating for the past 15 days.

The cryptocurrency attempted to reclaim the $2,700-$2,800 level but failed to hold the zone in the following hours. On Tuesday, ETH’s short-lived party ended, sending the King of Altcoins on a 4% pullback toward the $2,605 mark.

Crypto analyst Ali Martinez noted that Ethereum needed to hold the $2,600 support, a crucial level for the cryptocurrency, to continue within its multi-year ascending channel. To the analyst, failing to hold this level could hinder the long-awaited Altcoin season.

Moreover, failing to hold this level could see ETH dropping to the $2,400 mark, as the current level doesn’t have significant demand. According to Martinez, the $2,425 level remains the most critical support zone for the cryptocurrency, as 10.33 million wallets accumulated 63.43 million ETH.

Amid its most recent performance, market watcher DocXBT considers that Ethereum needs a re-accumulation period to attempt to reclaim higher levels. The analyst stated, “It needs an extended period of re-accumulation,” as the ones seen during the FTX collapse, 2023’s capitulation, and summer 2024’s capitulation.

To DocXBT, “There’s nothing for ETH to do except go sideways for an extended period of time.” He added that it could continue hovering within its current range for two to three months “before we can bring trends down, flip them, and maybe get bullish again.”

ETH’s $4,000 Breakout Just ‘A Matter Of Time’

Crypto trader Mikybull pointed out ETH’s bullish pattern in the longer timeframes. Ethereum has been in an ascending triangle since 2022, which suggests it could have a “massive breakout” once the upper resistance, around the $4,000 mark, is broken.

The trader asserted that a “longer consolidation leads to a sustainable rally.” Similarly, analyst Ted Pillows stated that Ethereum is holding its uptrend support level, which suggests that the $4,000 breakout is just “a matter of time,” which could lead to a retest of the 2021 all-time high (ATH).

The analyst pointed out the sentiment shift toward the Solana memecoin ecosystem, suggesting that rotation to Ethereum is about to happen. “Memecoins chains are dying, and people are flocking to utility chains,” he affirmed on X.

Related Reading

Other analysts have recently signaled the potential rotation from SOL to ETH, arguing that the SOL/ETH trading pair has topped after the recent events in the Solana network. The most recent incident saw capital rotate toward Ethereum for the first time in a while and suggests the “ETH season” could be near.

At the time of writing, Ethereum trades at $2,631, a 1% retrace in the weekly timeframe.

Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com