🌍 This Week in Web3forGood
Bitcoin decoupling?
gm gm,
Congratulations to our friends at Crypto Altruists on recording their 200th podcast episode 🎉🎉
Fellow Kernel alumni, check your inboxes for a link to receive GLM tokens that you can use to support Kernel in the upcoming Octant Epoch 8 (reply to us here if you need us to forward it to you).
In the news this week: Bitcoin might be decoupling from the stock market, autocracies are thinking about crypto, and the ReFi community is reflecting and re-evaluating, which is a good thing. Our takes on all of this + more, below.
WAGMI (we are going to make an impact!)
What’s Inside
📣 Latest News
📚 What We’re Thinking About
🔈 Podcasts & Spaces
🚀 Opportunities & Calls to Act
🎪 Events
📡 On Our Radar
✨ And one more thing
📣 Latest News
Mercy Corps Ventures launches new pilot: Digital currency for last mile cash in rural Afghanistan
Bitcoin officially surpasses Google to become the 5th largest asset in the world by market capFilecoin Announces the ProPGF Selection Committee: Strategy and Approach
Stablecoin Giant Circle Is Launching a New Payments and Remittance Network
Coinbase expands partnership with PayPal to "advance stablecoin payments
Vitalik Buterin explores sunsetting the EVM in favor of a simpler Ethereum execution model
Global Policy, Regulation, and Adoption News
Panama City votes to approve crypto payments for public services
US SEC and El Salvador’s CNAD explore tokenization with cross-border trials
Project Updates
📚 What We’re Thinking About
📈 Bitcoin decoupling from stocks?
Big, if true (DLNews). This week, Bitcoin started to behave less like an equity instrument and more like a structurally differentiated asset (Bitcoin Magazine). A true decoupling would support the narrative that Bitcoin is digital gold (DLNews). But is it real or just a temporary thing? Experts say it's too early to really tell (Decrypt).
🌱 Green crypto mining
Bhutan is exploring how to do it with the goal of to boost the economy, create jobs, and reduce brain drain (Reuters). Positioned between India and China, the Himalayan nation has earned millions from crypto investments—some of which funded government salaries—and sees digital currencies mined with clean energy as a contribution to the green economy. Each coin mined in Bhutan offsets one mined with fossil fuels, positioning the country as a sustainable player in the global crypto space since it began investing in 2019. We love to see it.
🪙 Stablecoins
Imagine if we had a newsletter without stablecoin news? This week is not the week. PayPay is making big moves. The company announced its going to pay 3.7% annual yield on its stablecoin $PYUSD in an effort to drive adoption as competition heats up, AND its doubling down on its partnership with Coinbase (CoinDesk, WatcherGuru). Ripple launched a new stablecoin on Aave (The Defiant). Meanwhile, next week, Circle (the firm behind $USDC) is set to launch a new payments and cross border remittance network aimed at banks, fintechs, payment service providers, remittance providers, and USDC strategic partners (CoinDesk). Still need convincing that stablecoins are worth your attention? “There were more stablecoin transactions in the first quarter of 2025 than there were Visa transactions,” as reported by The Defiant.
❗ Autocracies and crypto
For the most part, we love to talk about how crypto is being used to level the financial playing field and connect everyone in the world to the global financial system. Financial freedom is the goal. But what about when it's not? Both China and Russia were in the news this week for their evolving approach to crypto policy (Reuters, CryptoSlate). As the Financial Freedom Report writes on the China front, “While the regime debates how to manage its seized digital assets, the trading of Bitcoin and other digital assets remains banned for Chinese citizens on the mainland. Reports indicate that local governments have quietly sold confiscated Bitcoin and other digital assets through private companies to bolster their dwindling budgets. If true, this exposes the hypocrisy of a regime banning digital assets for its people while exploiting them as a strategic revenue source for the state” (Financial Freedom Report). In Russia, access to crypto investing is set to be restricted to include only the nation’s financial elite (CryptoSlate). We don’t think this was part of Satoshi’s vision (Bitcoin.org).
🌐 Crypto is macro
And we just discovered a really cool newsletter all about it (Crypto is Macro Now). News to know this week: Bretton Woods institutions must reorient their focus, according to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who emphasized that organizations like the IMF and World Bank need to address trade imbalances and safeguard the value of fiat currencies from exchange rate risks — ok this isn’t explicitly crypto, BUT it's all intertwined (Cointelegraph). Political reports that the European Central Bank and the European Commission are not happy about Trump’s approach to crypto in America, writing that his total support “risks causing financial contagion that could blow up the European economy” (Politico). Or as CryptoSlate reports, “The ECB warns that Trump's crypto policies could undermine EU monetary sovereignty by amplifying US-backed stablecoin presence.” Meanwhile, in the US, a draft of a crypto market structure bill is coming soon, according to reporting from Unchained. We don’t know what it all means yet, but one thing is certain: it will mean something, on a global scale.
🛣 ReFi realignment
It’s been a weird last few months (years?) in crypto, with many being turned off by the seeming financialization of literally everything and the never-ending stream of memecoins and betting market news. We’ve been saying this for a while, but that’s not why the people that we know are here! Everything happening on the outside has, at least, pushed many projects to look inward, to re-evaluate the roadmaps, if you will, and it’s been refreshing to watch what unfolds. This week, CARBON Copy called for a new approach to ReFi solutions, pointing out that financial incentives are not enough to convince people to be a part of the movement, AND even if they were, we make it so hard for people to get involved. Hard truth! It’s great to see this conversation and others like it happening. Another movement we’ve been following closely is Ethereum Localism, the idea that Ethereum’s decentralized infrastructure can strengthen local economies, governance systems, and social networks, which Monty Merlin Bryant describes in detail here (ReFi DAO). In his words: “This moment of transition presents a unique opportunity to reimagine how local economies function, how communities coordinate and relate, and how technology like Ethereum can serve as infrastructure for more participatory, resilient, and regenerative systems.” Speaking of re-evaluating, even Vitalik is doing it (The Defiant).
Plus:
🤝 In uncertain times, nonprofit leaders must adapt—crypto philanthropy, which proved to be a lifeline for many organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic, illustrates what is possible when new donor channels and innovative strategies are fully embraced. (The NonProfit Times)
🤖 Cheaper, faster, riskier — the rise of DeepSeek underscores trade-offs between rapid AI innovation and growing concerns around data privacy and cybersecurity. As DeepSeek gains popularity for its low-cost, high-speed capabilities, it also exposes vulnerabilities that have sparked a global debate on balancing progress with safety. (Cointelegraph)
🚔 Crime syndicates are minting stablecoins and building exchanges to launder billions of dollars. (United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime).
📚 Op-Ed: Content Belongs Onchain — But Not Everything Needs a Coin. (Now Media)
🏛 Local Digital Spaces Are Essential Civic Infrastructure. (SSIR)
🧭 Pioneering the Future of Digital Assets: A Conversation with Sandra Ro, CEO of GBBC. (Connect Group)
👤 The co-writer of TLS, the cryptographic protocol that still secures much of the web, says we’ve lost the privacy plot. (HackerNoon)
🔈 Podcasts & Spaces
Crypto Altruists Podcast - Episode 200 - Celebrating 200 Stories of Impact & Innovation Powered by Web3
The Giving Block - Episode 44 - Overcoming Barriers to Crypto Donations - The Blackbaud Giving Fund and JustGiving
Leather - Ep 49 - Bitcoin, Farms & the Future of Green Energy with Carbon Country
🚀 Opportunities & Calls to Act
Apply: Institute for Progress is hiring a Fellow/Senior Fellow, Metascience Team.
Apply: CoinDesk is hiring a Social Media Content Editor.
Create: Submissions are open for the Haus of Nouns Residency Program in NYC from May 1 - 2.
Celebrate: This year, Ethereum will celebrate 10 years since genesis. 10 Years of Ethereum Meetups are local gatherings happening on July 30 to celebrate the anniversary. Get up to $500 in support from the Ethereum Foundation to host an event near you.
Earn: Glo Dollar is partnering with ReFi Hub to reward community members with $VIDA rewards.
Earn: If you supported the Regen Coordination round on Gitcoin, you could be eligible to receive $VIDA rewards.
Hack: Base4Good Hackathon is a 24-hour online sprint to build AI-powered apps and tools that create real-world impact happening April 27-28.
Build: Friends With Builders from Friends with Benefits offer hands-on programming, peer support, technical mentorship and partner collaboration. Friends With Builders is not a bootcamp, not an accelerator and not a hackathon. It’s an R&D lab for building cultural applications of emerging tech. Applications are open for the Alpha cohort.
Convene: GBBC USA’s Blockchain Central DC is a curated, by invitation gathering of senior leaders from private and public sectors that will focus on the convergence of tech, policy, and business. Express interest in attending or supporting here.
Learn: SheFi Season 14 begins this summer and applications are already open. Scholarships available.
Get $1000: If you’re a nonprofit,sign up with The Giving Block by May 15, 2025 and receive a $1,000 bitcoin donation.
🎪 Events
🆕= New to the roundup this week
Virtual
GETTING-Plurality Research Workshop: Sovereigns and Subjects in the Digital Age is happening April 25 🚨TODAY🚨. 🆕
Hyperlocal Heroes: Building Community Knowledge in the Digital Age is happening April 25 🚨TODAY🚨. 🆕
At Last., a live update with Alex Blania and Sam Altman on what's next for Worldcoin, World ID and World App, will be livestreamed on April 30. 🆕
Mento’s Global Stablecoin Hackathon is happening now through May 2.
IRL
SheFi Central Park SPRING Meetup is happening April 27 in NYC. 🆕
AI x Biology Workshop 2025 is happening May 9-10 in Berkeley.
FIL Dev Summit 6 is happening May 12-13 in Toronto.
All Tech Is Human x Consulate General of Finland New York will host a curated gathering on strengthening multistakeholder collaboration in Responsible AI on May 21st in NYC.
Stablecon is happening May 29 in NYC.
Global Blockchain Business Council Blockchain Central DC 2025 is happening June 11-13 in Washington D.C.
Funding the Commons: Berlin Forum 2025 is happening June 10 in Berlin.
Collaborative Finance Gathering is happening June 16-20 at The Commons Hub in Austria.
2025 Bitcoin Policy Summit is happening June 25 in Washington DC.
Impact Evaluator Research Retreat is happening June 26-July 10 in Iceland.
Ethereum Community Conference is happening June 30 - July 3 in Cannes.
ETHSafari 2025 is happening September 7-14 in Nairobi.
Progress Conference 2025 is happening October 16-19 in Berkeley.
Devconnect 2025 is happening November 17-22 in Argentina.
Recurring
Monthly Earth Day is a global event that happens on the 22nd every month, not just once a year. Get involved on May 22 and share on X to @HighlyArtistic with the hashtag #MonthlyEarthDay.
Hosting an event that you’d like to see listed? Reply here or send us a DM.
📡 On Our Radar
Memory connects the moments, accounts, and actions that make you you—across platforms, across time. It’s your digital story, finally able to move with you.
D.Energy is a comprehensive blockchain ecosystem dedicated to transforming the energy sector.
Crypto is Macro Now is a newsletter that delivers updates on and insight into developments in crypto markets and the macro economy. You won’t find investment advice, nor trading ideas. You will find thoughts on adoption trends, sentiment shifts, regulatory rumblings and the developing understanding of crypto’s role on the global stage. You’ll also find deeper dives into how the macro markets are shaping the crypto ecosystem, and where this could be heading.
✨ And One More Thing
https://intelligentsound.substack.com/p/d3b0a071-e9c4-4f48-8e7f-df45efd284cb