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Real estate not the best asset for RWA tokenization — Michael Sonnenshein

As more institutions explore blockchain-based finance, some industry leaders say tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) may surpass $30 trillion by the 2030s. Others are casting doubt on that projection.

In June 2024, Standard Chartered Bank and Synpulse predicted that RWAs may reach over $30 trillion by 2034. The narrative remained strong in the latter part of 2024, with some analysts expressing similar sentiments.

At Paris Blockchain Week 2025, a panel moderated by Cointelegraph’s managing editor, Gareth Jenkinson, brought together executives from across the tokenization ecosystem to discuss the future of RWAs. Participants included Charles Adkins of Hedera, Dotun Rominiyi from the London Stock Exchange, Shy Datika of INX, Steven Gaertner of Tiamonds and Securitize chief operating officer Michael Sonnenshein.

While the majority supported the $30 trillion estimate, Sonnenshein expressed skepticism.

The Truth Behind Tokenization and RWA panel. Source: Paris Blockchain Week

Securitize exec predicts a

Crypto fintech Taurus launches interbank network for digital assets

Swiss cryptocurrency fintech Taurus has launched an interbank network that is purpose-built for regulated institutions involved in digital asset operations.

On April 9, Taurus said in an announcement shared with Cointelegraph that it had launched Taurus-Network (TN), an interbank network designed to simplify and improve digital asset transactions between regulated financial institutions worldwide.

The network aims to improve collateral mobility, optimize settlement speed and reduce counterparty risk while benefiting capital and liquidity management in digital assets.

Among the key benefits of the network is the ability for participants to retain full sovereignty over assets, direct interaction with counterparties and automated compliance without third-party intervention, Taurus SA’s head of product infrastructure, Vassili Lavrov, told Cointelegraph.

Multiple banks already involved

The Taurus-Network launches with participation from several banks worldwide, including Arab Bank Switzerland, Capital Union Bank, Flowdesk, ISP Group, Misyon Bank and Swissquote.

According to Lavrov, all of those banks have taken meaningful steps to integrate digital asset

Kraken taps Mastercard to launch crypto debit cards in Europe, UK

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has partnered with Mastercard to issue crypto debit cards across the United Kingdom and Europe, the company announced on April 8.

The partnership will enable the crypto exchange to expand its payment offerings by launching physical crypto debit cards.

The partnership comes as Kraken continues to pursue a license under the European Union’s regulatory framework, the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).

The debit card will allow users to spend cryptocurrencies and stablecoins directly. Kraken said the rollout will begin in the coming weeks, with a waitlist now open to customers.

This partnership builds on Kraken Pay’s growth

Kraken said its partnership with Mastercard builds on the rapid growth of Kraken Pay, a new tool that enables customers to send money from their Kraken account.

Launched in January 2025, Kraken Pay allows users to send more than 300 crypto assets to multiple countries worldwide.

US gov’t actions give clue about upcoming crypto regulation

The early days of the Trump administration saw a flurry of activity that could give the crypto industry an idea of forthcoming crypto regulations, namely that they may not be regulated as securities.

Practitioners have decried a lack of concrete change in the form of new rules and guidance. The skeptics have their reasons. The formation of the crypto task force, Trump’s crypto executive order, crypto czar David Sacks’ lone press conference, and the digital asset reserve has been criticized as mere theater.

The real work of regulating comes not in press conferences but in the guidance, enforcement, and rulemaking that support the structure of rules-based systems.

A faithful account of all of the cryptocurrency decisions from the Trump administration reveals a new approach to enforcement and regulation that could meaningfully affect the

Thailand targets foreign crypto P2P services in new anti-crime laws

Thailand is beefing up measures to combat online crimes involving digital assets by passing new amendments to several national laws.

Thailand’s cabinet on April 8 passed a resolution approving amendments to emergency decrees on digital asset businesses and on measures for cybercrime prevention, the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced.

As part of the new laws, Thai regulators aim to strengthen measures for combating digital asset mule accounts in banks, restrict foreign cryptocurrency peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms and introduce strict financial penalties of as much as $8,700 and imprisonment of up to three years.

The new laws are expected to be enforced in the near future, and will take effect after being published in the Royal Thai Government Gazette, the announcement stated.

Key measures to combat mule accounts and money laundering

The new regulations include stringent measures for crypto asset

4th gen crypto needs collaborative tokenomics against tech giants — Hoskinson

The next generation of cryptocurrency projects must embrace a more collaborative approach to compete with major centralized tech companies entering the Web3 space, according to Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson.

Speaking at Paris Blockchain Week 2025, Hoskinson said one of the main criticisms of the crypto and decentralized finance (DeFi) space is its “circular economy,” which often means that the rally of a specific cryptocurrency is bolstered by funds exiting another token, limiting the growth of the industry.

Hoskinsin said that to have a chance against the centralized technology giants joining the Web3 industry, cryptocurrency projects need more collaborative tokenomics and market structure.

Charles Hoskinson. Source: Cointelegraph

“The problem right now, with the way we’ve done things in the cryptocurrency space, is the tokenomics and the market structure are intrinsically adversarial. It’s sum 0,” said Hoskinson. “Instead of picking a fight, what you have to

Argentine lawmakers back Milei probe in Libra crypto scandal

Lawmakers in Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies backed an investigation into President Javier Milei’s alleged involvement in the Libra (LIBRA) cryptocurrency scandal.

According to an April 8 report by local news outlet Buenos Aires Times, deputies in the lower house voted 128 to 93 in favor, with seven abstentions. The same proposal previously failed to move forward in the Senate.

The news follows Milei promoting the LIBRA memecoin on social media. With the Argentine president leveraging his credibility as a government official and his 3.8 million followers, the token quickly reached $5, briefly touching a market cap of $4 billion.

Milei has since faced accusations of wrongdoing, with critics claiming that LIBRA was a rug-pull scam and that he lured investors in. Lawyer Jonatan Baldiviezo, alongside Marcos Zelaya, engineer María Eva Koutsovitis and economist Claudio Lozano, a former

Builders beware! — The UK's 2026 crypto regime is coming

Opinion by: Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos, general counsel at StarkWare

As Washington takes a softer stance on crypto, regulators are counting down to even stricter regulations in the UK. The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is working on plans for a new “gateway” authorization regime by 2026, targeting a broader spectrum of crypto activities.

It is easy to disregard this if you aren’t in the UK, but as frameworks are formed, regulators may look to other jurisdictions for lessons and inspiration. Crypto is global, and one of the challenges and opportunities is the need to pay careful attention to many jurisdictions at once.

Bigger net than Anti-Money Laundering

For some time, the FCA’s crypto focus was primarily on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) checks. Even that was no walk in the park — only around 14% of firms seeking mandatory registration have made the cut since <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/75-of-vasps-registered-in-the-eu" rel="null" target="null"

BitMEX CEO explains how perpetual swaps test altcoin value

As the cryptocurrency market matures, advanced trading instruments like perpetual swap contracts are increasingly influencing the value of altcoins, according to BitMEX CEO Stephan Lutz.

Perpetual swap contracts are a type of crypto trading contract that lets traders bet on the price of a coin without actually owning it. The derivatives product functions similarly to a futures contract. However, it never expires, which means that traders can hold the position as long as they want.

Lutz told Cointelegraph that perpetual swap contacts are important to track because newly launched perpetual swaps allow traders to short the underlying altcoin for the first time. Lutz said this is where “true price discovery” begins:

“Perpetual swaps play a key role in price discovery for newly launched altcoins and are a strong sign of market sentiment as they’re often the first derivatives product to be launched.”

Lutz said perpetual swaps allow for long and short positions, which helps

Bitcoin ETFs lose $326M amid ‘evolving’ dynamic with TradFi markets

The evolving relationship between Bitcoin and traditional financial markets is under renewed pressure as global investors flee risk assets amid intensifying US trade tensions.

US-listed spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded their fourth consecutive day of outflows on April 8, with more than $326 million in net redemptions across products, according to data from Farside Investors.

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) saw the largest sell-off of over $252 million, its biggest daily outflow since Feb. 26.

Bitcoin ETF flows, US dollars, millions. Source: Farside Investors

The selling pressure follows US President Donald Trump’s April 2 announcement of sweeping reciprocal import tariffs, which triggered a historic $5 trillion wipeout in the S&P 500 over two days.

Related: Bitcoin may rival gold as