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Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Gains 2% While Index Declines

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Pudgy Penguins is emerging as one of the strongest NFT-native brands of this cycle, shifting from speculative “digital luxury goods” into a multi-vertical consumer IP platform. Its strategy is to acquire users through mainstream channels first; toys, retail partnerships and viral media, then onboard them into Web3 through games, NFTs and the PENGU token.

The ecosystem now spans phygital products (> $13M retail sales and >1M units sold), games and experiences (Pudgy Party surpassed 500k downloads in two weeks), and a widely distributed token (airdropped to 6M+ wallets). While the market is currently pricing Pudgy at a premium relative to traditional IP peers, sustained success depends on execution across retail expansion, gaming adoption and deeper token utility.

Trouble for Circle as Tether launches ‘Made in America’ stablecoin – DL News

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  • Tether’s USAT is now available to US users through major exchanges.
  • The stablecoin is issued by Anchorage Digital Bank under the GENIUS Act framework.
  • It enters a hot market: Circle’s CEO estimated stablecoin adoption could grow 40% annually.

Tether is finally coming to America.

On Tuesday, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer launched USAT, marking its official entry into the US market after years locked out by regulatory uncertainty.

USAT is a federally regulated, dollar-backed stablecoin designed to operate under the Genius Act.

“USAT is now available to US users seeking a dollar-backed token built to operate within the US’ dedicated federal regime,” Tether said in a statement.

The move takes a direct shot at Circle, which has largely dominated the US stablecoin market. And while Tether’s flagship USDT stablecoin commands a $186 billion market cap globally — dwarfing Circle’s $71 billion USDC — it wasn’t available to US customers.

USAT changes that.

The launch follows Congress passing the Genius Act last summer, which established a federal framework for stablecoins.

Adoption for stablecoins by traditional institutions is also coming. At the World Economic Forum last week in Davos, Switzerland, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said that stablecoin adoption could see 40% annual growth, while US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has predicted the sector will grow tenfold by 2030.

White House connections

Bo Hines is USAT’s CEO.

The 29-year-old former Republican congressional candidate previously ran the White House’s crypto council with crypto czar David Sacks before joining Tether last September.

Hines played a key role in several of the landmark crypto initiatives pursued by President Donald Trump’s second administration, including the Genius Act.

During discussions around the Genius Act, Hines’s became more familiar with Tether.

“One name kept coming up, and that was Tether,” Hines said last September, recalling his conversations with Sacks. “And we said to ourselves: ‘How can we be the crypto capital of the planet without having the most impactful company in the space operating here in the United States?”

Some of Trump’s top aides already had deep ties to the stablecoin company.

Cantor Fitzgerald, which manages USAT’s reserves, was until recently led by Howard Lutnick — Trump’s pick for Commerce Secretary.

Lutnick, who has an estimated net worth of $3.3 billion, defended Tether during his Senate confirmation hearing in January of 2025, comparing criticism of USDT’s use in money laundering to “blaming Apple because criminals use Apple phones.”

Meanwhile, Cantor holds a 5% stake in Tether and manages billions in US Treasuries backing the company’s reserves. The financial giant is one of 24 primary dealers authorized to trade government bonds directly with the Federal Reserve.

Besting banks

Tether is a giant.

The company is the 17th-largest holder of US Treasuries globally — ahead of Germany, South Korea, and Australia. The company made more than $13 billion in profits in 2024 from interest on those holdings.

But even though it is one of the most profitable companies in the world, Tether has had to deal with heavy scrutiny over USDT’s role in illicit finance.

In 2024, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime reported that $17 billion in USDT was connected to underground crypto exchanges and criminal activity. The company has frozen about 1,800 cryptocurrency wallets linked to illicit activities since 2014.

Tether has spent over a year emphasising its commitment to compliance as it prepared for US entry.

Pedro Solimano is a markets correspondent based in Buenos Aires. Got a tip? Email him at psolimano@dlnews.com.

5 Projects With the Math to Deliver Exponential Returns

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Finding a 100x return has become increasingly difficult as crypto markets mature. Bitcoin is struggling near $87,400. Ethereum has dropped 7% to around $2,860. Most altcoins that delivered exponential gains in previous cycles now carry heavy resistance levels and exhausted holder bases waiting to exit.

Yet presale markets continue offering entry before public listings and price history. For investors hunting the next 100x crypto presale, the question is which projects have the structure and positioning to deliver exponential returns rather than modest multiples.

This list examines five presales currently active, ranked by their potential to become the next 100x crypto presale based on entry pricing, market positioning, and realistic post-listing scenarios.

1. Zero Knowledge Proof (ZKP)

When analyzing candidates for the next 100x crypto presale, Zero Knowledge Proof presents the clearest mathematical case.

The project’s Initial Coin Auction started with an effective price near $0.001 during Stage 1. Stage 2 is now live with daily supply reduced to 190 million tokens. As stages progress, supply tightens mechanically while demand has room to grow. Analysts modeling the auction project effective pricing could reach $0.05 to $0.10 by later stages based on participation trends alone.

Post-listing is where the 100x math materializes. Comparable privacy-focused Layer 1 infrastructure has historically traded between $0.50 and $2.00 once adoption curves steepen. If ZKP reaches $0.50 from a Stage 2 entry near $0.001, that represents a 500x return. Even conservative projections targeting $0.10 suggest 100x upside from current levels.

What makes ZKP a credible candidate for the next 100x crypto presale is execution. Over $100 million was self-funded into infrastructure before public participation. The system is built, not promised.

2. Sonami (SNMI)

Sonami presents interesting math at the lower end of presale pricing. Tokens are currently available at $0.001, and traders are discussing potential listing prices between $0.005 and $0.01 based on comparable Solana ecosystem projects. That represents 5-10x from current levels — not 100x, but meaningful for a project still in early stages.

The Solana Layer 2 focus addresses real congestion issues that have plagued the network during high-activity periods. By processing transactions off-chain and settling back on Solana, the project aims to maintain speed while reducing fees. 

The presale remains in early stages, which means higher risk but also wider potential if the team executes on its roadmap. For the next 100x crypto presale, Sonami represents a longer-shot candidate worth monitoring.

3. Remittix (RTX)

Remittix offers more modest but achievable projections. The presale has raised $28.5 million at $0.119 per token. Analyst projections suggest a listing price around $0.28, representing roughly 2.4x from current levels. That is not 100x territory, but the cross-border payments market is large enough that significant post-listing growth remains possible.

Next 100x Crypto Presale 5 Projects With the Math to Deliver Exponential Returns

The project allows crypto-to-fiat conversion across 30+ countries with low fees and near real-time exchange rates. Smart contracts have passed audit and appeared on CertiK’s pre-launch leaderboard. For investors seeking the next 100x crypto presale, Remittix is better categorized as a lower-risk, moderate-return option rather than an exponential play.

4. Bitcoin Hyper (HYPER)

Bitcoin Hyper has raised over $24 million with dynamic pricing that increases through presale stages. The current structure creates a gap between early entry prices and potential listing values, though exact multiples depend heavily on market conditions at launch.

The Bitcoin Layer 2 narrative has attracted significant capital this cycle. Whale purchases exceeding $274,000 suggest confidence from larger investors. The project offers 49% staking APY currently, which decreases as participation grows. Whether Bitcoin Hyper becomes the next 100x crypto presale depends on execution and timing, but the capital raised indicates meaningful institutional interest.

5. NexChain (NEX)

NexChain positions itself as an AI-optimized Layer 1 with $12 million raised. The “AI x Crypto” narrative is one of the dominant themes this cycle, and infrastructure plays in that sector have historically delivered strong multiples when adoption materializes.

Next 100x Crypto Presale 5 Projects With the Math to Deliver Exponential Returns

The project has completed audits and launched a testnet. Tokens support network fees, governance, and AI marketplace access. Mainnet is planned for early 2026. The next 100x crypto presale may come from AI infrastructure if the sector continues expanding, making NexChain a speculative but relevant candidate.

What the Next 100x Crypto Presale Actually Requires

Exponential returns require specific conditions: early entry before price discovery, exposure to structural demand trends, clean charts without historical resistance, and execution that matches ambition.

The next 100x crypto presale will likely come from a project targeting a market larger than crypto alone, distributing fairly enough that early participants are not diluted, and building infrastructure before selling tokens.

Not every presale can become the next 100x crypto presale. Most will deliver modest returns or fail entirely. The difference lies in identifying projects where entry pricing, market positioning, and execution capability align.

 







Crypto Must Be Indispensable if Bill Fails to Pass: Bitwise

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The crypto industry will need to become ingrained in everyday life in the US should Congress fail to pass a crypto market structure bill, or risk being set back by a change in administration, says Bitwise investment chief Matt Hougan.

Hougan said in a note on Monday that legislation making its way through the Senate to clarify how regulators police crypto “would cement the current pro-crypto regulatory environment into law.”

If the bill fails, Hougan said a future administration “could reverse today’s pro-crypto push,” and the industry will have three years, the end of President Donald Trump’s term (in 2029), to “make crypto indispensable to the everyday lives of regular Americans and the traditional financial industry.”

“If, at the end of three years, we’re all using stablecoins and trading tokenized stocks, we’ll get positive crypto legislation regardless of who is in charge. But if crypto is instead still operating on the edges, a change in Washington could be a huge setback,” he added.

Two Senate committees are pushing to mark up and pass crypto market structure legislation to clarify how the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission should approach crypto.

The markups have been plagued by delays as the Senate Banking and Agriculture Committees have both needed to garner bipartisan support for the bill, with lawmakers seeking to include ethics provisions and bans on stablecoin yields, among other requests.

Crypto on divergent paths depending on the bill’s fate

Hougan said that the fate of the crypto bill, whether it passes or fails to advance, will have “big implications for near-term price returns.”

“The result is two very different pathways for the market,” he said. “One is an early bull market built on strong expectations. The other is a ‘wait and see’ market where any optimism has to wrestle with prolonged regulatory grind and skepticism.”

Matt Hougan says the crypto bill’s fate in the Senate, which the House passed under the CLARITY Act, could set crypto on different paths. Source: Bitwise

If the bill passes, specifically a version “that the crypto industry is comfortable with,” then the market “will rally sharply,” Hougan said.

“With legislation in place, investors will assume that the growth of things like stablecoins and tokenization is guaranteed,” he added. “They’ll begin to build that future into prices today.”

Related: US ‘crypto capital’ claim tested by developer prosecutions

However, if the bill fails, then the future growth of the crypto industry will depend on real-world progress, Hougan said.

“Investors will demand that crypto prove real-world adoption before they begin to reward prices, because without that real-world adoption, crypto will be built on a regulatory foundation of sand,” he added.

Hougan was optimistic that Congress would pass crypto market structure legislation, saying the Trump administration has so far “delivered on its election promises to the crypto industry.”

“But if it doesn’t pass, I think we need to prepare for a slower ascent,” he said.

Magazine: How crypto laws changed in 2025 — and how they’ll change in 2026