Vitalik Buterin proposes swapping EVM language for RISC-V

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed replacing the current Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) contract language with the RISC-V instruction set architecture to improve the speed and efficiency of the Ethereum network’s execution layer. Buterin’s April 20 proposal outlined several long-term bottlenecks for scaling the Ethereum network including, stable data availability sampling, ensuring block production remains competitive, and zero-knowledge EVM…

Blocksquare, Vera Capital ink deal to tokenize $1B in US real estate

Ethereum-based real-world asset (RWA) tokenization platform Blocksquare has partnered with a Florida-based real estate company to offer fractional ownership in a pipeline of US commercial properties valued at over $1 billion. Announcing the deal on April 18, Blocksquare and Vera Capital said a marketplace would launch in the coming weeks to enable global investors to buy tokenized…

Farmers are switching to stablecoins

Opinion by: Henry Duckworth, founder and CEO of AgriDex We all need and buy it. Food is a common, universal ground across the planet. It should come as no surprise then that the agricultural industry is enormous. In 2023, the European Union alone imported 154 million tonnes of agricultural products and exported 134 million tonnes more. The…

Tariffs, explained: How they work and why they matter

What are tariffs? Tariffs are taxes placed on imported goods by a government or a supranational union. Occasionally, tariffs can be applied to exports as well. They generate government revenue and serve as a trade regulation tool, often to shield domestic industries. Four main categories of tariffs are: Ad valorem tariffs: These are calculated as a…

Charles Schwab CEO eyes spot Bitcoin trading by April 2026

Charles Schwab Corp CEO Rick Wurster is reportedly eyeing an April 2026 launch window to provide spot Bitcoin trading services to Schwab clients. According to RIABiz, Wurster cited a 400% increase in traffic to Schwab’s crypto website as evidence of investor interest in digital assets. The CEO predicted: “Our expectation is that with the changing regulatory…

Crypto, DeFi may widen wealth gap, destabilize finance: BIS report

The growing adoption of cryptocurrencies may pose risks to the traditional financial system and exacerbate wealth inequality, according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). In an April 15 report, the BIS warned that the number of investors and amount of capital in crypto and decentralized finance (DeFi) have “reached a critical mass,” with investor protection becoming a “significant…