Rice Robotics, a firm specializing in AI-powered robots, is partnering with Floki. The company will launch a Floki-themed robot and its own RICE token, which will be airdropped to FLOKI holders.
The minibot will be an AI-powered task assistant that can offer several services to users. Users will receive RICE tokens for interacting with the minibots, as human data can help train the firm’s AI models.
Today, Floki broke new ground with its Rice Robotics partnership, possibly becoming the first major business relationship between these two spheres:
RICE ROBOTICS TO LAUNCH A CUSTOM FLOKI AI-POWERED ROBOT AND THE $RICE TOKEN
AI robotics startup @realRiceAI will launch a custom Floki AI-powered companion robot. The AI-powered companion robot, named the FLOKI minibot M1, will be natively integrated with the RICE AI… pic.twitter.com/6QQjpBFGqO
Rice Robotics is the parent company that produces the robots, but Rice AI focuses on the software and DePin protocol that powers these machines.
The firm will launch its RICE token through TokenFi, a tokenization platform part of the Floki ecosystem.
Initially, waitlist users and FLOKI holders will receive the RICE tokens in the ensuing airdrop. After this, the main way to farm new tokens will be through interacting with physical robots.
Essentially, the FLOKI M1 minibots can help users with tasks in the house, and they will receive RICE tokens for interactions. In other words, the Floki-themed robots will record human data to train AI protocols.
Users will be financially rewarded for using their robotic assistants, which have several practical uses. The program may extend to other minibots in the future.
The FLOKI M1 minibot is a very ambitious project, and Rice Robotics already has a waitlist open. In the past, it has worked with high-profile clients such as Nvidia (which has an interest in robotics), Softbank, Dubai Future Foundation, and 7-Eleven. The minibot itself will be powered by Nvidia’s nano-computer.
The firm raised $7 million in Series A funding earlier this year and counts SoftBank as a major AI customer. One of its key investors is e-commerce giant Alibaba.
It will be very interesting to see whether Floki and Rice Robotics have a successful partnership. This endeavor is truly unlike anything that the crypto industry has seen before.
Robotics and meme coins don’t have much in common on the surface, but they could combine popular appeal with real usefulness.
Following weeks of hype in the run-up to the airdrop and the associated centralized exchange (CEX) listings, sentiment indicators for Zora tokens have dropped, suggesting this was a short-term trend.
Zora marked the advent of content coins, a controversial trend that bore the support of Base creator Jesse Powell.
Zora Token Sentiment Drops Post-Airdrop: Was It Just Hype?
According to data on CoinGecko, the ZORA token price is down by 11.5% in the last 24 hours. As of this writing, it was trading for $0.01244.
According to data on LunarCrash, engagement and mentions have dwindled since April 23, when the Zora airdrop happened.
Specifically, engagement is down by 98%, from over 12.2 million to around 142,000 as of this writing. Meanwhile, Zora mentions are down 58% since April 23. Further, creators on the Zora app have reduced by 57.6% since April 23, whereas sentiment is down by a modest 6%.
Meanwhile, data on SimilarWeb shows platform traffic on Zora.co has dropped from 500,000 to 300,000 over the past three months. Data on Dune also indicates that users on the Zora Network have decreased by 90% since the peak in early April 2024.
A look at the “Coin It” indicator reveals the same sentiment, showing a sharp decline in the frequency of Jesse Pollak’s phrase “coin this” or “coin it” on social media. After peaking at 15 mentions on April 15, this metric is down to 1 after the Zora airdrop. This suggests a decline in engagement with content coins post-airdrop.
Jesse Pollak admitted in a thread that he had received feedback about being too aggressive in communication earlier, leading to some missteps in messaging. He said he has since adjusted by slowing things down.
“…I got feedback on being too loud, and to be direct I made some mistakes in my messaging, so I’ve taken that feedback and slowed down,” Pollak stated.
Nevertheless, this decision does not mean he stopped believing in content coins and on-chain social platforms like Zora. Pollak is committed to helping builders push boundaries on Base toward realizing on-chain’s full potential.
In a recent interview with BeInCrypto, Pollak distinguished between meme coins and content coins. He emphasized the latter’s potential to empower creators without reliance on speculative communities.
Pollak also articulated Base’s vision to expand the on-chain creator ecosystem. To do this, they would foster virality and creativity while lowering the barrier for non-crypto users to engage with blockchain technology.
“We’re working to bring a billion people on-chain, and we know we can’t do that alone. I have a lot of respect for the Solana team – they have done a lot to onboard people into crypto, and I’m glad to see that. We’re looking to grow the pie, not just compete for the existing pie. And we see content coins on Base as one way to grow that pie,” Pollack told BeInCrypto.
However, the charts above imply a potential lack of sustained interest, aligning with criticisms questioning the long-term viability of such experiments on platforms like Zora.
Donald Trump’s broader circle and business avenue is reportedly planning to launch a crypto game based on Monopoly this month. Trump is a longtime fan of the game, launching an officially licensed spinoff in 1989.
Bill Zanker, who helped Trump launch NFTs and his TRUMP meme coin, is spearheading development. However, the community response is skeptical, as very little information about the crypto element is public.
Trump Is Launching a Crypto Monopoly Spinoff
The intersection of blockchain and gaming has a wide variety of uses, from Tap-to-Earn tokens to NFT use cases and more. A surprising addition to this space is coming soon, as a new report claims that Trump’s family will launch a crypto game loosely based on Monopoly soon.
The exact details are somewhat hazy, but reporters have managed to identify a few key facts. This Monopoly game is being spearheaded by Bill Zanker, a longtime Trump associate who worked with him to launch his NFTs in 2023 and was also involved in the TRUMP token.
It’s unclear when the two renewed their partnership, but the game is set to release this month. Anonymous sources claimed that players will earn in-game cash, which is presumably where the crypto element comes in.
Both developers quoted directly compared this game to Monopoly, and its rules will likely match up. Further reports suggest that Zanker is looking to buy the IP rights for the 1980s Trump Monopoly spinoff board game.
In other words, this IP question could present a possible difficulty if Monopoly’s owners don’t license another spinoff to Trump. Even if the crypto game doesn’t bear any Monopoly branding, Hasbro could sue if the gameplay is substantially similar.
So far, the online crypto community’s response has been incredulous. Users called Trump’s crypto-themed Monopoly spinoff a “joke,” an attempt to “max extract” value from his supporters, and called developers “the largest manipulators ever.”
Even if retail investors have potential upside, there seems to be a narrow window for gains.
“Are we about to witness another Trump family rug? Apparently, Trump’s a big fan of Monopoly. Zanker claims it’s not a MONOPOLY GO! clone — but confirmed the game is real and set to launch end of April. Incoming circus or giga pump?” said one user.
It’s difficult to determine the potential impact of this game on crypto, as we have basically no information about its tokenomics. For example, in Monopoly, users have to spend in-game currency to play.
Will that be a major component of Trump’s version? Will the in-game currency include the TRUMP meme coin? How will users extract value? These details will likely remain unanswered until an official announcement.
Welcome to the US Crypto News Morning Briefing—your essential rundown of the most important developments in crypto for the day ahead.
Grab a coffee as we discuss the growing influence of stablecoin issuers in the US Treasury market. With growing institutional adoption and regulatory legitimization of US dollar-pegged stablecoins, experts warn of artificial inflation of demand for the dollar.
Crypto News of the Day: Using Government Debt Instruments To Back Digital Dollars is Risky, Keiser Warns
The influence of stablecoin issuers in the US is growing, so much that Tether, which already issues the USDT stablecoin, plans to launch a US-only stablecoin by 2025. Tether aims to position stablecoins as strategic financial tools under the Trump administration.
Stablecoin supply by issuer in billions of US dollars. Source: Bain & Company
This chart shows Tether’s dominance in the stablecoin market, with overall supply going from $2 billion to more than $200 billion in recent years.
Meanwhile, the US Treasury projects stablecoins could reach a $2 trillion market by 2028, which could attract more players.
Nevertheless, as stablecoin influence in the Treasury market grows, the House Financial Services Committee is concerned.
Perhaps, however, the greater concern is stablecoin issuers’ using Treasury yields to buy Bitcoin. According to experts, this could undermine US government reserves.
A recent US Crypto News publication indicated reports of stablecoin issuers using Treasury yields to buy Bitcoin. Some say this could undermine initiatives like the proposed US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, which aims to bolster national holdings of the pioneer crypto.
Growing Influence of Stablecoin Issuers in US Treasuries Market is Concerning, Max Keiser Says
Among them is Bitcoin pioneer Max Keiser, who voiced concerns over the growing influence of stablecoin issuers in the US Treasury market. Keiser warns that their use of government debt instruments to back digital dollars may have broader implications for the global financial system.
As of Q1 2025, Tether reported holding nearly $120 billion in short-term US Treasury securities and reverse repos. This makes it one of the largest non-sovereign holders of American government debt.
Meanwhile, Circle, issuer of USDC, disclosed more than $22 billion in Treasury bills in a February 2025 attestation.
These holdings collateralize dollar-pegged stablecoins, helping issuers maintain liquidity and trust. The issuers benefit from the interest income generated by the bonds.
While this practice is common and legal, Keiser contends it contributes to deeper systemic issues tied to fiat currency dynamics.
“This is exactly why the stablecoin issuers are buying Bitcoin, this is called a speculative attack on the US dollar. Feeding the debt spiral with fiat stablecoins, buying treasury bills, and then investing the interest into Bitcoin, allowing the stablecoin issuers to buy billions in Bitcoin for free,” Keiser told BeInCrypto.
Stablecoin issuers purchase US debt on secondary markets and earn interest, which they may or may not deploy into digital assets like Bitcoin. Keiser is critical of the broader financial architecture underpinning stablecoins.
“Issuing new stablecoins backed by US T-bills printed out of thin air is not a monetary system, but a financial hologram,” he said.
US Treasury bills are debt instruments issued by the federal government and sold to investors, including private companies like Tether and Circle, through regulated markets. These stablecoin issuers tokenize existing fiat currency held in reserve.
Keiser elaborated on what he sees as the long-term consequences of this model.
“It’s a speculative attack by private banks. It is financial repression, pushing rates down as ‘malinvestments’ increase. It is rinse and repeat,” he explained.
His critique also extends to the broader outlook for the US dollar, which, according to the Bitcoin pioneer, “is a quick, deadly fix; a USD hospice. Cue the final death throes of the US dollar.”
BeInCrypto has contacted Circle and Tether for comment and will update this article if they respond.
Max Keiser Proposes AI To Invent Novel Security Structures
Keiser also highlighted what he views as an emerging trend. He said high-profile investors and technologists use artificial intelligence (AI) and novel corporate strategies to increase Bitcoin exposure.
The Bitcoin maxi referenced Strategy Executive Chair Michael Saylor and investor-turned-politician Vivek Ramaswamy.
“Financial engineers like Michael Saylor and Vivek Ramaswamy are using AI to invent novel security structures to maximize the Bitcoin Treasury model. Vivek Ramaswamy plans to take his company, Strive Asset Management, public by merging with Asset Entities and starting to accumulate Bitcoin using the model that Saylor’s Strategy has already successfully adopted — using proceeds from stock and debt issuance,” Keiser remarked.
Though no confirmed public filings detailing Ramaswamy’s use of AI in this context, Keiser sees these developments as significant.
“The results are redefining finance globally and adding significantly to the Bitcoin demand. OG’s like myself, who have watched Bitcoin outperform everything for 15 years, are seeing, for the first time, investment strategies that are outperforming Bitcoin, and the implications are profound,” he said
Keiser believes such strategies could push Bitcoin’s market value even higher. He also implied that the extraordinary compounding rates of the past could be extended. This sentiment comes as Bitcoin captures more of the total addressable market and scales even higher price points.
The views expressed are those of Max Keiser and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BeInCrypto.
Chart of the Day
International holdings of US Treasuries in billions of dollars. Source: Bain & Company
This chart shows that stablecoins have become a large holder in US treasuries.
Byte-Sized Alpha
Here’s a summary of more US crypto news to follow today:
