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Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Invest, has expressed confidence that a new directive from the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) could have a major impact on Bitcoin. The move, which aims to incorporate cryptocurrency holdings like Bitcoin into the mortgage qualification process, may help crypto holders access home loans without needing to convert their
The post Cathie Wood Predicts FHFA Mortgage Rule Could Boost Bitcoin “Significantly” appeared first on CoinGape.
In a groundbreaking development within the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, Plume, the first Layer 1 blockchain purpose-built for Real World Asset Finance (RWAfi), has announced the upcoming launch of its PayFi Vault on its flagship yield streaming product, Nest.
This new vault will be powered by PayPal USD (PYUSD), aiming to revolutionize payment financing by bringing it on-chain and utilizing institutional-grade stablecoin-backed assets.
Plume’s integration of PYUSD into its PayFi Vault signifies a strategic move to bridge traditional payment systems with decentralized financial mechanisms.
By leveraging PYUSD—a fully reserved stablecoin backed by dollar deposits, U.S. treasuries, and cash equivalents—the PayFi Vault establishes a secure and stable foundation for on-chain payment financing. This integration not only enhances liquidity but also offers users globally access to institutional-grade financing opportunities.
According to the announcement by Plume Network, the PayFi Vault is designed to provide last-mile liquidity for the supply chain, effectively powering global trade, commerce, and inventory management.
By tokenizing payment financing solutions such as invoices, receivables, and payment obligations, the vault unlocks sustainable yield offerings that were previously inaccessible to a global user base. Stablecoins like PYUSD play a crucial role in this ecosystem, serving as a reliable and efficient means of transferring value, thereby facilitating faster settlements and reducing costs associated with traditional financing methods.
Our PayFi vault with @PayPal USD on @NestCredit is coming soon to expand financing opportunities onchain.
Stablecoins are the original RWA – real dollars onchain that are moving trillions, proving that the digital dollar works.
But moving money is just the beginning… pic.twitter.com/PZ1kYTfDQS
— Plume Network – RWAfi L1 (@plumenetwork) March 4, 2025
Stablecoins, particularly those fully backed by real-world assets like PYUSD, are increasingly recognized as digital dollar standards. Their stability and regulatory compliance make them ideal for integration into DeFi platforms seeking to offer secure and efficient financial services.
In the context of Plume’s PayFi Vault, PYUSD acts as a stable liquidity layer, enabling users to participate in yield-generating activities without the volatility risks associated with other cryptocurrencies. This integration underscores the evolving role of stablecoins in facilitating real-world financial applications within the DeFi landscape.
The post Plume Announces PayPal USD-Powered PayFi Vault, Coming Soon to Nest appeared first on CoinGape.
The Pi Network has resumed trading on this top exchange, a development which provides a bullish outlook for the Pi coin price. This comes as the altcoin looks to reclaim the $1 price level, with the sentiment in the broader crypto market more bullish at the moment.
In an X post, crypto expert Dr. Altcoin revealed that the Pi Network has resumed trading on the BitMart crypto exchange, a month after the exchange suspended the altcoin pending KYB approval. He noted that this development suggests that an official KYB approval for BitMart might come out soon.
This development is undoubtedly bullish for the Pi coin, especially with the altcoin looking to reclaim the psychological $1 price level. The network’s team has also made efforts to help stabilize the Pi price.
Dr. Altcoin revealed that the Pi Network team has been buying coins from crypto exchanges to help reduce the selling pressure on the token. So far, the team has allegedly used a sub-wallet to buy over 48 million coins from these exchanges.
Meanwhile, the team has also made progress in the ecosystem to help drive the token’s utility. The expert revealed that they recently approved the decentralized application FruityPi. He also mentioned that the team could approve other dApps soon.
Amid these developments, analysts like Moon Jeff have predicted that the Pi coin price could rally to as high as $5, marking a new all-time high.
Dr. Altcoin drew the community’s attention to crypto exchange HTX’s recent X post, in which it again hinted at a potential Pi Network listing. He noted that out of thousands of cryptos, HTX chose to include the Pi logo in its post, which the expert claimed shows that the love for the altcoin is “unreal.”
It is worth mentioning that this is the third time that HTX has hinted at a potential Pi coin listing. As CoinGape reported, the top exchange initially shared a cryptic post that included Pi’s logo. The second hint was also another post, which also included the logo.
Meanwhile, amid the positive developments, Dr. Altcoin mentioned that Banxa looks to have suspended Pi transactions, possibly due to pending KYB approval. He reminded community members that Banxa has already bought millions of Pi at a low price and is likely to come back stronger once KYB is approved and the Pi coin price rises.
The post Pi Network Resumes Trading On This Exchange, What Next For Pi Coin? appeared first on CoinGape.
Ethereum’s long‑awaited Pectra upgrade is live, activating 11 Ethereum Improvement Proposals on the mainnet.
The network crossed the upgrade slot at 10:05 UTC and reached finality roughly 12 minutes later, clearing the last hurdle after two turbulent testnet runs.
The headline change, EIP‑7251, raises each validator’s effective balance from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH, letting large staking providers consolidate thousands of nodes and slash bandwidth costs.
Pectra has gone live and finalized
! Testing of the newly activated EIPs continues.
— timbeiko.eth (@TimBeiko) May 7, 2025
Pectra Upgrade also debuts EIP‑7702, allowing externally owned accounts to temporarily execute smart‑contract code. The feature unlocks gas‑fee payments in stablecoins, subscription‑style transfers, and native wallet‑recovery tools. Nine additional EIPs target data availability, validator onboarding, and cryptographic efficiency.
At press time, ETH trades around $1,840, up almost 3% over the last 24 hours, as markets digest the upgrade while bracing for today’s FOMC rate decision.
Core developers will now pivot to the next hard fork, “Fusaka,” slated for late 2025, but today’s smooth rollout cements Ethereum’s momentum after three years of incremental tweaks.
BeInCrypto contacted Bitfinex analysts for insight on the Pectra Upgrade. In their opinion, Pectra brings both opportunities and challenges for Ethereum Layer 2s.
While it boosts efficiency and lowers costs, it may also concentrate validator power and reduce Layer 2 fee revenues.
According to the analysts, this shift could impact decentralization and incentives, pushing Layer 2s to adapt through innovation and user-focused design.
“Ultimately, the Pectra upgrade represents a double-edged sword for Ethereum’s Layer 2s,” Bitfinex analysts told BeInCrypto.
Others like Nicolai Sondergaard, Research Analyst at Nansen, offer a more measured outlook. Speaking to BeInCrypto, Sondergaard said Pectra enhances Ethereum’s Layer-2 ecosystem by doubling blob capacity and raising calldata costs.
According to Sondergaard, this makes blobs the standard for rollup data, with lower fees and smoother UX on dApps.
He said DeFi and NFTs benefit from smarter wallets, gas sponsorship, and cheaper transactions, while onboarding and voting in DAOs and social apps become easier.
“Gasless voting or simplified onboarding becomes more practical with the new wallet capabilities. Meanwhile, the upgrade doesn’t introduce backward-incompatible changes, meaning existing contracts continue functioning as-is,” Sondergaard concluded.
Meanwhile, while the technical changes are mostly invisible to users, major exchanges like Binance and Coinbase implemented temporary service pauses as a precaution.
Binance exchange said deposits and withdrawals of 14 tokens would not be available starting Wednesday at 09:45 (UTC).
“Starting at approximately 2025-05-07 09:45 (UTC), Binance will suspend the deposits and withdrawals of token(s)…to support the Ethereum network upgrade and hard fork to ensure the best user experience,” read the announcement.
With this news, the following tokens will not be available for depositing and withdrawing on Binance. Services will resume once the tokens are deemed stable and the volatility inspired by the Pectra Upgrade has eased.
| Ethereum (ETH) | Polygon (POL) |
| Arbitrum (ARB) | Metis (METIS) |
| Optimism (OP) | Scroll (SCR) |
| zkSync Era (ZKSYNC) | Cyber (CYBER) |
| Base (BASE) | Metal DAO (MTL) |
| Manta Network (MANTA) | Celo (CELO) |
| Starknet (STRK) | Worldcoin (WLD) |
This suspension comes as the exchange looks to support the Ethereum network upgrade and hard fork, ensuring the best user experience.
Notably, while Binance halts deposit and withdrawal functions for these tokens, trading on their networks will remain operational.
Coinbase also announced a similar move, pausing some operations to ensure a smooth and secure transition.
“To ensure user fund safety, we will temporarily pause Ethereum deposits and withdrawals from 2:50 AM to 3:45 AM PT,” Coinbase stated in a post.
However, the initiation of new staking requests on the Coinbase exchange will be delayed during that time. Normalcy will resume after 3:45 AM PT without affecting existing staked positions.
The post Ethereum Pectra Upgrade Hits Mainnet—Validator Caps Jump to 2,048 ETH appeared first on BeInCrypto.