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Abu Dhabi Sovereign Wealth Fund teams up with FAB and @IHC to launch a new dirham-backed stablecoin. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em? As with any other new innovation, those engaged in traditional practices may initially resist change. A similar case was when music labels opposed digital music until Apple introduced iTunes in the early 2000s. In the case of stablecoins, and crypto in general, banks may initially resist, arguing that traditional finance remains safer and better regulated, but they could ultimately be forced to adopt stablecoin technology to remain competitive, said Josh Gilbert, a market analyst at investment platform eToro. "We’re already seeing financial institutions explore CBDCs [central bank digital currencies]. Stablecoins play a significant role in cross-border payments and remittance because they don’t require middlemen or hefty service fees, all without having to worry about volatility," he told The National. This has led to many traditional financial institutions to begin adopting digital assets, "recognising that they can't ignore the shift toward decentralised finance", the Binance representative said. Big names in the industry have began adopting digital assets. In February, the UK's Standard Chartered Bank, Europe's fifth-biggest bank by assets, said it was partnering with crypto companies to launch a stablecoin to be pegged with the Hong Kong dollar. Others, such as @bofa Bank of America, @PayPal PayPal and @stripe Stripe have either launched stablecoins or have made their intentions to enter the market known.

Americans are leaning harder than ever on buy now, pay later (BNPL) loans just to survive, and a lot of them can’t even make the payments on time anymore. LendingTree dropped new numbers on Friday, showing that more people are using BNPL for groceries and that a growing chunk of people are falling behind on their bills. Inflation won’t let up, interest rates are choking budgets, and talk about new tariffs is scaring the heck out of everyone. People are doing what they can, but in 2025, it’s looking ugly out there, and America is feeling it. In a survey run by LendingTree on April 2-3, 2,000 Americans between 18 and 79 were asked about their money habits. Half said they had used BNPL services. Out of those users, 25% said they had used BNPL loans to pay for groceries. That number was just 21% in 2023 and only 14% in 2024. The cracks are showing everywhere. Around 41% of BNPL users said they missed at least one payment in the last year, a nasty jump from 34% a year before. Matt Schulz, who is LendingTree’s chief consumer finance analyst, said late payers usually miss by just a week or so. But still, the number of people falling behind keeps getting worse. “A lot of people are struggling and looking for ways to extend their budget,” Matt said. “Inflation is still a problem. Interest rates are still really high. There’s a lot of uncertainty around tariffs and other economic issues, and it’s all going to add up to a lot of people looking for ways to extend their budget however they can.” Matt said that for many people across America, leaning on BNPL loans isn’t about convenience anymore; it’s survival. “For an awful lot of people, that’s going to mean leaning on buy now, pay later loans, for better or for worse,” he said. Matt made it clear he didn’t want to label the data as a recession warning, but he didn’t sound hopeful either. “I do think it’s going to get worse, at least in the short term,” he said . “I don’t know that there’s a whole lot of reason to expect these numbers to get better in the near term.” BNPL loans let people split a payment into smaller pieces without interest, but only if they pay on time. Late fees can tear through wallets fast, and juggling too many loans can turn into a nightmare. The LendingTree survey found that 60% of BNPL users had multiple loans at once. Nearly 25% said they had three or more going at the same time. Matt said that while BNPL can help when used carefully, it’s easy to lose control. LendingTree’s report follows a bomb from Billboard, which showed that 60% of Coachella’s general admission crowd this year used BNPL to buy their concert tickets. The news triggered a fresh debate about Americans going into debt just to keep up appearances. Then came DoorDash, announcing it would let people use BNPL through Klarna to pay for food deliveries. The internet wasted no time dragging it, throwing out jokes about Americans needing loans for cheeseburgers and burritos. For a while, America looked like it could handle inflation and crazy high interest rates because the job market was strong, and wages were rising. But the story is flipping fast. Big companies like Walmart and Delta Airlines warned earlier this year that they were already seeing weaker demand and dropping sales. Meanwhile, Google searches are pointing at a rising fear of recession. Searches for “Global Financial Crisis” are about to hit their highest point since 2010. People are also googling “Great Recession” more than they have since the early Covid days. The fear is thick. Even the music charts are catching the vibe. “Recession pop,” the name for the flashy pop music that blew up during the 2008 crash, is back again. Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, and Katy Perry — the faces of pop from back then — are dropping new music in 2025. Miley and Gaga already put out new tracks this year, and Katy actually kicked off a world tour earlier this week, right when more Americans are stressing about another crash. Cryptopolitan Academy: Want to grow your money in 2025? Learn how to do it with DeFi in our upcoming webclass. Save Your Spot

What's your favorite music to listen to while working / trading?

People - I trade and love crypto because it’s a passion. I made my nut from building startups for 15 years in Silicon Valley and producing electronic music for pop and hip hop artists and touring as a performer for 13 years till I lost half my hearing in my left ear from festival

Bloomberg analyst: There are still 72 crypto-related ETFs waiting for approval from the US SEC Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, wrote on the X platform that there are still 72 cryptocurrency-related ETFs waiting for the approval of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to be listed or listed. From Ripple (XRP), Litecoin (Litecoin), Solana to Penguins, Doge and Melania's 2x leverage, he added: "There is everything, this will be a crazy year. Tokenizing ETFs is like joining a band and having your songs added to all music streaming services. Although there is no guarantee that someone will listen, it can make your music heard by the vast majority of listeners."