Weekly Crypto Recap: Stablecoins Are in the News — A Huge Positive for DeFi

TGIF and happy Friday Havenauts and Web3 frens! 

Here’s what we have this week:

• Haven1 news
• Regulation and compliance
• DeFi 2.0
• Blockchain infrastructure
• Security
• The Haven1 take

‍Haven1 news

It’s been a busy week for Haven1 as we move closer to launching mainnet on 22 April.

Last Friday, this news recap took a break as we published an important update for the community in a note issued by our CEO Jeff Owens.

Highlights from social media this week include:

• We welcome TRIVE Digital as a Haven1 partner
• Jeff took part in an informative X Spaces session on Haven1 with Chinsanity
• Abhishek Bansal, Haven1 CPO, joined an X Spaces session comparing DeFi and TradiFi

Now, let’s get into this week’s report.

‍Regulation and compliance

1. US politicians reject concept of interest-bearing stablecoins

​Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong urged US lawmakers to permit interest-bearing stablecoins, arguing that prohibiting them favors traditional banks over the crypto industry. However, Rep. French Hill, Chair of the House Financial Services Committee, rejected this plea, stating that there is no consensus in Congress to allow stablecoins to generate yield for users, as they are intended to function as payment mechanisms rather than investment products. 

DeFi 2.0

‍1. Japan’s second-largest bank plans stablecoin

​Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), Japan's second-largest bank, reportedly plans to experiment with stablecoin issuance. That would be in partnership with Ava Labs, and it could launch next year. aiming for a potential launch in 2026. 

2. VanEck prepares to file for BNB ETF

First it was Bitcoin, then Ethereum now a myriad cryptocurrencies could be offered as ETFs. The latest linked is BNB, the token for the Binance blockchain,after investment manager VanEck completed a key filing to start the process.

Blockchain infrastructure

1. Bitcoin DeFi protocol Babylon announces airdrop

Babylon, a DeFi protocol for Bitcoin, announced plans for an airdrop as part of its plans to release a token called Baby. Babylon airdropped 6% of its total supply (600 million tokens). During the first 24 hours of the claim, more than $21 million worth of Bitcoin was unstaked from the Babylon protocol.

Security

1. New Android malware drains mobile wallets

Crocodilus is a newly discovered Android malware that masquerades as cryptocurrency-related apps to deceive users into revealing their wallet seed phrases, enabling attackers to drain their crypto funds. It employs advanced techniques like remote control, black screen overlays, and accessibility logging, and has primarily targeted users in Spain and Turkey.

The Haven1 take

Stablecoins remain one of the most talked about products within the industry, and they continue to draw interest and opinion from traditional financial players and regulators alike. That’s a positive sign for the industry as stablecoins are a key part of enabling DeFi and bridging the gap between traditional finance and crypto services.

DeFi is one of the primary focuses at Haven1, but we are also big believers that stablecoins can have a significant impact on cross-border industries like payments by reducing friction and fees, and encouraging greater transparency for users.

For a deeper dive on stablecoins, Circle, which issues USDC—the world’s second-largest stablecoin—filed for a US IPO, its filing is packed with plenty of interesting data.