Ethereum, the world’s second largest crypto currency, is facing a ‘midlife cris’ according to an article published in the FT.

The piece says the Ethereum blockchain is the most commonly used in the financial markets, but the price of the token has still dropped 40% over the past three months. This coincides with a general fall in prices of digital assets across the market in recent months, after record highs were recorded in the immediate aftermath of Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

The author believes that ether has lost favour with investors and has comparatively performed worse than other rivals such as bitcoin, solana and cardano.

There were certainly happier times, when the token offered greater promise and potential, and wanted to reshape the financial market by introducing decentralised finance. But those hopes seem to have faded away.

Carol Alexander, professor of finance at the University of Sussex, is quoted in the article as saying: “The whole DeFi vision looks much further away now than a year ago. There’s disillusionment as scales are falling from the eyes.”

The article points out that ethereum used to be the digital cash of choice for firms such as Paypal, USDC and Tether. It was also used by BlackRock and Fidelity. But the arrival of memecoins has taken investors’ attention away from the token this year.

Trump’s stablecoin

President Trump’s family have gone one step further into their crypto venture by announcing the launch of a digital token called USD1. The token will be tied to the value of the US dollar.

This follows the launch of World Liberty Financial last year, a crypto company started by the President’s sons Donald Trump Jr and Eric, during their father’s election campaign.

The announcement coincides with efforts by the Trump administration to introduce new legislation and a regulatory framework to manage digital assets and give them more legitimacy.

World Liberty Financial says the stablecoin will be “backed by short-term US government treasuries, US dollar deposits, and other cash equivalents.”

The company’s co-founder Zach Witkoff said: “USD1 provides what algorithmic and anonymous crypto projects cannot – access to the power of DeFi underpinned by the credibility and safeguards of the most respected names in traditional finance.”

Witkoff and some of the other co-founders are also expected to speak at a crypto conference on Wednesday, Politico has reported.

SEC roundtables

The SEC has announced it will continue its series of roundtables in order to discuss the future of crypto regulation in the country.

In a statement published on Tuesday, the SEC said its Crypto Task Force will hold another four roundtable between April and June 2025. The dates and agendas for these roundtables are:

• April 11, 2025 – Between a Block and a Hard Place: Tailoring Regulation for Crypto Trading
• April 25, 2025 – Know Your Custodian: Key Considerations for Crypto Custody
• May 12, 2025 – Tokenization – Moving Assets Onchain: Where TradFi and DeFi Meet
• June 6, 2025 – DeFi and the American Spirit

Commissioner Hester Peirce, leader of the Crypto Task Force, said: “The Crypto Task Force roundtables are an opportunity for us to hear a lively discussion among experts about what the regulatory issues are and what the Commission can do to solve them.”

The SEC’s first crypto regulation roundtable was held last Friday, and we have covered key details.

Salaries in crypto?

Will you be open to receiving part of or even your entire monthly salary in crypto? The answer might depend on where you live and work, and on the scope and nature of the crypto regulatory framework in that country.

In Brazil, a new bill has been introduced which, if passed, will allow employees to demand 50% of their salaries to be paid in crypto. The remaining half would be paid in Brazilian real, the national currency.

The exchange rate will be decided and fixed by the Central Bank and won’t be negotiable. The tax rates will also remain the same as if salaries were paid in national currency. Employers will have to issue statements with a breakdown of all key details, such as the equivalent amount paid in crypto, discounts, charges and bonuses.

According to its text, the bill “seeks to align the national legal system to innovations and the new dynamics of the digital market, ensuring security of employers and employees who wish to adopt this remuneration on a voluntary basis.” 

Young people and crypto

The head of the UK’s FCA has raised concerns about the huge number of young people in the country investing in crypto without a proper understanding of the risks and complexities involved. Chief executive Nikhil Rathi told MPs earlier this week it was one of the aims of the agency’s new strategy to tackle this problem, the FT has reported.

“One thing I think is not great is the sheer number of under 35-year-olds for whom the financial product that they invest in first is crypto – several million in the UK – rather than equities or debt or other types of products,” he said.

According to the report, Rathi warned that millions of people in the UK under the age of 35 could lose all the money they have invested in digital assets.

The FCA’s new five-year strategy which was announced this week, aims to encourage young people to invest more in equities and bonds in order to get better long-term results.

Last December, the FCA said results of its study revealed “young investors are making important investment decisions in a matter of hours, rather than taking the time to check out whether the product is right for them in the long-term.”