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Today in crypto, a report from TRM Labs has revealed an uptick in decentralized finance (DeFi) usage from Yemenis amid US sanctions targeting the Houthi “terrorist” group. US President Donald Trump slammed the Federal Reserve chair for delaying rate cuts, and CoinGecko says investor focus remains on memecoins and AI in early 2025.
Yemenis are turning to DeFi as US sanctions target Houthi group
Yemeni citizens are increasingly using decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols to bank themselves amid US sanctions aimed at the Houthi group, which they have deemed a terrorist organization.
DeFi platforms account for most of Yemen’s crypto-related web traffic, taking up over 63% of observed activity, while global centralized exchanges account for 18% of crypto-related web traffic, TRM Labs data shows.
In the past, internet infrastructure challenges and low financial literacy among the war-torn population contributed to relatively limited crypto adoption, according to an April 17 report from blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs.
“However, there are signs of growing interest and usage driven primarily by necessity rather than speculation,” the blockchain intelligence firm said.
“For those who use cryptocurrencies in Yemen, the ability to bypass the disruption in local financial services offers a modicum of financial resilience, especially as banks can be difficult to access or are simply inoperable due to the ongoing conflict.”
Trump blasts ‘too late’ Powell for not cutting interest rates
US President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, accusing him of being too slow to cut interest rates and escalating a long-running conflict that risks undermining the central bank’s political independence.
With the European Central Bank (ECB) cutting interest rates again on April 17, “Too Late” Powell has failed to act appropriately in the United States, even with inflation falling, Trump said on Truth Social on April 17.
“Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!” Trump said.
Florida Senator Rick Scott agreed with the president, saying, “it’s time for new leadership at the Federal Reserve.”
Trump’s public criticism of the Fed breaks a decades-long convention in American politics that sought to safeguard the central bank from political scrutiny, which includes any executive decision to replace the chair.
In an April 16 address at the Economic Club of Chicago, Powell said Fed independence is “a matter of law.” Powell previously signaled his intent to serve out the remainder of his tenure, which expires in May 2026.
AI tokens, memecoins dominate crypto narratives in Q1 2025: CoinGecko
The cryptocurrency market is recycling old narratives, with few new trends emerging to replace the leading themes in the first quarter of 2025.
Artificial intelligence tokens and memecoins were the dominant crypto narratives in the first quarter of 2025, accounting for 62.8% of investor interest, according to a quarterly research report by CoinGecko. AI tokens captured 35.7% of global investor interest, overtaking the 27.1% share of memecoins, which remained in second place.
Out of the top 20 crypto narratives of the quarter, six were memecoin categories while five were AI-related.
“Seems like we have yet to see another new narrative emerge and we are still following past quarters’ trends,” said Bobby Ong, the co-founder and chief operating officer of CoinGecko, in an April 17 X post. “I guess we are all tired from the same old trends repeating themselves.”
Interest in memecoins saw a sharp increase ahead of US President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20 after his team launched the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin on Jan. 18 and the Official Melania (MELANIA) token on Jan. 19 on the Solana network.
However, some industry watchers are concerned that memecoins are draining capital from utility tokens, such as Solana (SOL), limiting their price potential.
