Ethical finance must guide crypto’s evolution
Opinion by: Daniel Ahmed, co-founder of Fasset and founding member of the Own Foundation
Crypto was born from a vision to decentralize power, democratize finance and build systems where equity prevails over exploitation. Somewhere along the way, however, the movement lost its moral compass. As speculation surged, purpose dwindled.
We must return crypto to its decentralized roots, a technological revolution built on long-term value, inclusivity and ethics rather than cyclical, speculative gains. The industry should take inspiration from emerging regions and how ethical financial investing can help to repair some of the ways our industry has often fallen short.
The rise of layer 2
When Vitalik wrote a blog post on layer 2s as a cultural extension of Ethereum, he brought up a critical point not only in business and technology but humanity — what we build in this life should be more significant than ourselves. Citing blockchains, he described how layer 2s, which he framed as subcultures of Ethereum, don’t merely differ in their technical benefits but how their positioning and intricacies trickle down into the culture of their communities.
In a space where new layer 2s are emerging rapidly, Vitalik’s insights are accurate and inspiring. When we build in a vacuum of echo chambers and monocultures, we miss out on the actual value of community in Web3.
What really brings communities together? Too often in crypto, that answer has been making people rich. What it should be is shared ideals that solve real issues. If done with purpose and conviction, this can still make people money.
While the rapid rise of layer 2 and layer 3 solutions promises scalability and efficiency, they are too often motivated by speculative gains rather than lasting value creation. If there’s any doubt, the numbers speak for themselves.
Layer-2 fatigue aside, the sheer scope of this data raises the question: Is our industry innovating just because it can, or is it creating a real-world utility that improves the lives of fellow humans? There’s nothing wrong with building something to make money, but if that’s the only reason we’re building something, that’s a problem.
Recent: Islamic finance and Web3 take stage at Istanbul Blockchain Week
We need to shift the narrative and look at how Web3 is solving actual, fundamental issues in emerging markets — particularly in regions like the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Africa — as a north star for how to ethically build the future of our space.
What does innovation indeed mean?
If crypto projects think innovation in Web3 is only about VC-led fundraising rounds, comparing transactions per second, or building the next great decentralized application to trade cat coins, they have probably never existed in a place where even the simplest of financial transactions is cumbersome.
In emerging markets, where people grapple with inflation, high remittance fees and limited access to financial services, we’ve witnessed how meaningful effects can transform the daily lives of millions. These are not abstract issues. They affect business owners, families, students, creators and more.
From stablecoins to secure and user-friendly payment applications, Web3 offers a unique opportunity to address these problems by creating decentralized financial systems that bypass the inefficiencies and inequities of traditional banking. For Web3 to truly make a difference in these regions, it must be designed with a focus on ethics, accessibility and long-term utility. We must lead by example.
In these markets, if innovation doesn’t create a meaningful disruption that improves people’s lives and addresses real-world problems, it’s nothing more than a buzzword. The most powerful solutions in technology are those that solve the world’s greatest problems.
Ethical finance — Web3’s future?
If you want inspiration, pay attention to those doing something different. If you want to inspire others, lead by example.
Ethical finance, particularly Islamic finance, offers valuable lessons for Web3. Dating back to the 1960s and 70s in the Middle East and North Africa (and even further to around 620 AD), this sector is built on risk-sharing, ethical investment and a focus on tangible assets.
Islamic finance has endured for centuries because it rejects speculation in favor of real, meaningful value. For example, we’ve seen the rise of ethical finance institutions like Al Rajhi Bank, one of the most prominent Islamic banks globally, known for its investments in tangible assets and community-oriented financial products.
This model, which strives to build based on morals, substance and necessity versus mere financial opportunity, can guide Web3 as it moves beyond hype-driven growth.
Build by example
As we look toward the next few years with the wind and a bull market beneath our wings, the time has come for Web3 to take a hard look in the mirror and redefine what success and innovation genuinely look like. The answer to this won’t be the same for everyone — that would be pretty boring if it were.
We must find a common ground of shared values that extends beyond technical achievements, market capitalization, total value locked or X followers but strives to innovate something more significant than any layer 2 or token.
When gearing up to launch something new, our industry must ask itself something that lives at the heart of Islamic finance: How will this product improve people’s lives? Is it true to the ethos of creating decentralized systems that are transparent, fair and built for the benefit of all?
If we can’t answer that, perhaps we should step back and ask why. Then, get back to work.
Opinion by: Daniel Ahmed, co-founder of Fasset and founding member of the Own Foundation.
This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
Solana decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Loopscale has temporarily halted its lending markets after suffering an approximately $5.8 million exploit.
On April 26, a hacker siphoned approximately 5.7 million USDC (USDC) and 1200 Solana (SOL) from the lending protocol after taking out a “series of undercollateralized loans”, Loopscale co-founder Mary Gooneratne said in an X post.
The exploit only impacted Loopscale’s USDC and SOL vaults and the losses represent around 12% of Loopscale’s total value locked (TVL), Gooneratne added.
Loopscale is “working to resume repayment functionality as soon as possible to mitigate unforeseen liquidations,” its said in an X post.
“Our team is fully mobilized to investigate, recover funds, and ensure users are protected,” Gooneratne said.
In the first quarter of 2025, hackers stole more than $1.6 billion worth of crypto from exchanges and on-chain smart contracts, blockchain security firm PeckShield said in an April report.
More than 90% of those losses are attributable to a $1.5 billion attack on ByBit, a centralized cryptocurrency exchange, by North Korean hacking outfit Lazarus Group.
Related: Crypto hacks top $1.6B in Q1 2025 — PeckShield
Unique DeFi lending model
Launched on April 10 after a six-month closed beta, Loopscale is a DeFi lending protocol designed to enhance capital efficiency by directly matching lenders and borrowers.
It also supports specialized lending markets, such as “structured credit, receivables financing, and undercollateralized lending,” Loopscale said in an April announcement shared with Cointelegraph.
Loopscale’s order book model distinguishes it from DeFi lending peers such as Aave that aggregate cryptocurrency deposits into liquidity pools.
Loopscale’s main USDC and SOL vaults yield APRs exceeding 5% and 10%, respectively. It also supports lending markets for tokens such as JitoSOL and BONK (BONK) and looping strategies for upwards of 40 different token pairs.
The DeFi protocol has approximately $40 million in TVL and has attracted upwards of 7,000 lenders, according to researcher OurNetwork.
Magazine: Ripple says SEC lawsuit ‘over,’ Trump at DAS, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 16 – 22
United States Senator Jon Ossoff expressed support for impeaching President Donald Trump during an April 25 town hall, citing the President’s plan to host a private dinner for top Official Trump memecoin holders.
“I mean, I saw just 48 hours ago, he is granting audiences to people who buy his meme coin,” said Ossoff, a Democrat, according to a report by NBC News.
“When the sitting president of the United States is selling access for what are effectively payments directly to him. There is no question that that rises to the level of an impeachable offense.”
Senator Ossoff said he “strongly” supports impeachment proceedings during a town hall in the state of Georgia, where he is running for reelection to the Senate.
The Senator added that an impeachment is unlikely unless the Democratic Party gains control of Congress during the US midterm elections in 2026. Trump’s own Republican Party currently has a majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Related: US lawmaker says TRUMP coin could risk national security
Conflicts of interest
On April 23, the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin’s website announced plans for Trump to host an exclusive dinner at his Washington, DC golf club with the top 220 TRUMP holders.
The website subsequently posted a leaderboard tracking top TRUMP wallets and a link to register for the event. The TRUMP token’s price has gained more than 50% since the announcement, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
The specific guest list is unclear, but the memecoin’s website states that applicants must pass a background check, “can not be from a [Know Your Customer] watchlist country,” and cannot bring any additional guests.
On April 25, the team behind TRUMP denied social media rumors that TRUMP holders need at least $300,000 to participate in an upcoming dinner with the president.
“People have been incorrectly quoting #220 on the block explorer as the cutoff. That’s wrong because it includes things like locked tokens, exchanges, market makers, and those who are not participating. Instead, you should only be going off the leaderboard,” they wrote.
Legal experts told Cointelegraph that Trump’s cryptocurrency ventures, including the TRUMP memecoin and Trump-affiliated decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol World Liberty Financial, raise significant concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
“Within just a couple of days of him taking office, he’s signed a number of executive orders that are significantly going to affect the way that our crypto and digital assets industry works,” Charlyn Ho of law firm Rikka told Cointelegraph in February.
“So if he has a personal pecuniary benefit arising from his own policies, that’s a conflict of interest.”
Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions
Crypto investor sentiment has seen a significant recovery from global tariff concerns, but analysts warn that the market’s structural weaknesses may still result in downside momentum during periods of weekend illiquidity.
Risk appetite appeared to return among crypto investors this week after US President Donald Trump adopted a softer tone, saying that import tariffs on Chinese goods may “come down substantially.”
However, the improved investor sentiment “does not guarantee that Bitcoin will avoid volatility over the weekend,” analysts from Bitfinex exchange told Cointelegraph:
“Sentiment improvements reduce fragility, but they do not eliminate structural risks like thin weekend liquidity.”
“Historically, weekends remain vulnerable to sharp moves — especially when open interest is high and market depth is low,” the analysts said, adding that unexpected macroeconomic news can still increase volatility during low liquidity periods.
Related: Trump fought the bond market, the bond market won: Saifedean Ammous
Bitcoin (BTC) staged a near 11% recovery during the past week, but its rally has previously been limited by Sunday liquidity dynamics.
Bitcoin fell below $75,000 on Sunday, April 6, despite initially decoupling from the US stock market’s $3.5 trillion drop on April 4 after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned that Trump’s tariffs may affect the economy and raise inflation.
The correction was exacerbated by the lack of weekend liquidity and the fact that Bitcoin was the only large liquid asset available for de-risking, industry watchers told Cointelegraph.
Related: US banks are ‘free to begin supporting Bitcoin’ — Michael Saylor
“While improved sentiment creates a more stable foundation, cryptocurrency markets are still susceptible to rapid movements during periods of reduced trading volume,” according to Marcin Kazmierczak, co-founder and chief operating officer of RedStone blockchain oracle firm.
“The sentiment recovery provides some cushioning, but traders should remain cautious as weekend liquidity constraints can still amplify price movements regardless of the current market mood,” he told Cointelegraph.
Crypto investors may have “maxed out on tariff-related fears”
Cryptocurrency markets may have priced in the full extent of tariff-related concerns, according to Aurelie Barthere, principal research analyst at crypto intelligence platform Nansen.
“It feels like we’ve maxed out on tariff-related fear,” she told Cointelegraph, adding:
“While many remain uncertain about where things are headed over the next month or so, it also seems like markets were just waiting for the slightest signal that we’re back in the game.”
“Whether the rally is sustainable depends on whether we can break through previous resistance levels, at least in isolation. It could have legs, as markets now seem to believe there’s a ‘Trump put’ under equities, the US dollar and US Treasurys,” Barthere added, warning of more potential volatility amid the upcoming negotiations.
Nansen previously predicted a 70% chance that crypto markets will bottom and start a recovery by June, but highlighted that the timing will depend on the outcome of tariff negotiations.
The tariff negotiations may only be “posturing” for the US to reach a trade agreement with China, which may be the “big prize” for Trump’s administration, according to Raoul Pal, founder and CEO of Global Macro Investor.
Magazine: Bitcoin’s odds of June highs, SOL’s $485M outflows, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 2 – 8
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway