The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) manages billions of dollars in aid and insures over a trillion dollars in mortgages. Now, it is considering using blockchain to track grant recipients’ spending.

The agency may also explore stablecoins as a financial tool within its system. However, this proposal has sparked intense debate, especially as HUD faces challenges in financial management efficiency.

HUD’s Crypto Consideration Raises Concerns of a 2008-2009 Crisis Repeat

According to ProPublica, HUD is looking to leverage blockchain—the core technology behind cryptocurrencies—to improve oversight of grant funds.

A HUD official stated that the idea of using blockchain and stablecoins is being driven by Irving Dennis, the agency’s Deputy Chief Financial Officer. Dennis, who previously worked as a partner at the global consulting firm EY, believes the technology could enhance transparency and efficiency in grant monitoring. This area has historically been complex and prone to waste.

Additionally, ProPublica reported that HUD officials held at least two meetings last month to discuss the blockchain proposal. Staff from the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and the Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD) attended these meetings.

During the discussions, CPD explored a “proof of concept” pilot project. In this project, blockchain would track funding for a CPD grant recipient.

“We might learn something from this, especially if the federal government is moving toward stablecoin adoption in the future,” one official who attended the meeting said.

However, ProPublica quoted a HUD employee expressing concerns: “People are trying to introduce another unregulated security into the housing market as if 2008 and 2009 never happened.” Another official compared cryptocurrency to “Monopoly money,” implying it could become worthless.

D.O.G.E. Highlights Internal Financial Issues at HUD

Recently, the Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) shed light on internal financial problems at HUD, raising doubts about the agency’s ability to manage new technology. D.O.G.E. revealed that HUD had just completed a software license audit, uncovering severe waste.

“HUD completed the same audit. Initial findings on paid software licenses: 35,855 ServiceNow licenses across three products; only using 84. 11,020 Acrobat licenses with zero users. 1,776 Cognos licenses; only using 325. 800 WestLaw Classic licenses; only using 216. 10,000 Java licenses; only using 400. All are being fixed,” D.O.G.E. stated.

HUD’s official press account responded to D.O.G.E.’s findings, saying the agency is reviewing every dollar spent and working closely with D.O.G.E. to address taxpayer money waste.

As of this writing, HUD’s official X account has not made any announcements regarding blockchain trial discussions.

Mark Carney, the former governor of both the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada, is poised to become Canada’s next prime minister. However, he has long been skeptical and strongly critical of Bitcoin (BTC).

On March 9, Carney secured an overwhelming victory with 85.9% of the vote. He is expected to assume office in the coming days.

Mark Carney’s Views on Bitcoin

Carney will become Canada’s next Prime Minister, replacing Justin Trudeau, who resigned in January 2025 after nearly a decade in power.

Although Carney has never held a seat in Parliament, his experience managing economic crises and international reputation have garnered significant support within the Liberal Party.

However, Carney’s rise to Canada’s new Prime Minister position does not appear to be a positive signal for the crypto market. For years, he has expressed deep skepticism and sharp criticism of Bitcoin (BTC) and other decentralized cryptocurrencies. He formed his stance during his tenure as Governor of the Bank of England and has reiterated it in the years since.

“Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney, a known critic of Bitcoin, previously labeled it [BTC] as having serious deficiencies,” said X user EdGeraldX.

Specifically, in a 2018 speech on the Future of Money, Carney assessed that Bitcoin has “serious deficiencies” due to its fixed supply cap, which leads to price instability.

“The fixed supply of Bitcoin has sparked a global speculative frenzy, encouraging the proliferation of new cryptocurrencies,” he stated.

He likened Bitcoin to a “criminal act of monetary amnesia,” arguing that recreating a digital gold standard was a historical mistake. Carney believes Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are “poor short-term stores of value,” failing to meet the basic criteria of money, such as stability and usability in transactions.

In 2018, he warned that Bitcoin threatened financial stability if left unregulated, calling for strict oversight to curb illegal activities like money laundering and terrorism financing.

Carney Prefers CBDCs Instead

In contrast, Carney enthusiastically advocates for Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) while opposing Bitcoin. This view is somewhat similar to that of Indian regulators. He argues that CBDCs could expand banking access for individuals and businesses while enabling central banks to combat terrorism and economic crime.

“Carney calls Bitcoin’s fixed supply a crime, supports CBDCs, and now controls policy for a $1.9 trillion economy,” shared an X user.

Carney’s views on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies align with and are arguably more rigid than those of his predecessor. In September 2022, Trudeau hit out at Pierre Poilievre, a pro-crypto politician chosen to lead Canada’s Conservative Party.

Carney assumes office as Canada faces a trade war sparked by US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. The US has officially imposed a 25% tariff on Canada after suspending it in early February.

Carney’s anti-Bitcoin stance may lead to stricter regulations to control cryptocurrencies. He might focus on anti-money laundering measures and investor protection, similar to the approach he advocated at the Bank of England. This could affect the ETFs operating in Canada like the BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF or 3iQ’s Solana ETF.

Additionally, Canada may soon develop a digital Canadian dollar, potentially diminishing the role of Bitcoin and altcoins in the economy.

The crypto market has kicked off the week with a sharp downturn, as a wave of liquidations wiped out $620.5 million in the past 24 hours.

The sell-off was fueled by a steep decline in Bitcoin’s (BTC) price, which plunged to as low as $80,000 over the weekend. The sudden drop triggered widespread margin calls, forcing traders out of leveraged positions and amplifying volatility across the market.

Crypto Market Hit by $620 Million Liquidation Wave

According to data from Coinglass, the past 24 hours saw a massive shakeout in the crypto market, with 225,381 traders liquidated. 

Long positions took the hardest hit, accounting for $529.4 million in losses. Meanwhile, short positions saw $91.1 million in liquidations.

Bitcoin led the liquidation spree, with $239.5 million in positions wiped out. $205.6 million came from long traders caught off guard by the market downturn, triggering forced sell-offs. The largest single liquidation order occurred on Binance, where a BTC/USDT position worth $32.0 million was wiped out.

Analyst Ash Crypto highlighted the severity of the recent market turmoil in the latest X (formerly Twitter) post.

“Bitcoin long liquidations in all exchanges exceeds 3AC, Celsius and FTX collapse,” the post read.

Data from CryptoQuant shows that Bitcoin’s long liquidations surged to 14,714 yesterday. For comparison, 13,453 BTC were liquidated during the Celsius crash, 1,807 BTC during the FTX collapse, and 1,311 BTC in the Three Arrows Capital (3AC) meltdown.

The wave of liquidations comes as Bitcoin struggles in the market, facing renewed downward pressure. Contrary to expectations, President Donald Trump’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve executive order triggered a sharp decline in Bitcoin’s value.

Furthermore, the downturn intensified as recession fears escalated, adding further uncertainty to the market.

“An ugly start to the week. Looks like BTC will retest $78,000,” Arthur Hayes, former BitMEX CEO wrote.

He predicted that if $78,000 fails to hold, $75,000 will be the next critical support level. Hayes also pointed out a large amount of open interest (OI) in Bitcoin options between $70,000 and $75,000. Thus, if BTC enters that range, it could lead to heightened volatility.

For now, BTC continues to hold above $80,000. At the time of writing, it was trading at $82,629, down 3.9% in the past 24 hours. 

Market Plunge Forces Crypto Whales Into Liquidation Chaos

The broad impact of Bitcoin’s price drop was felt across the sector. The total crypto market cap suffered a $148 billion drop. Ethereum (ETH) was the second most affected asset, with $108.5 million in liquidations. As per BeInCrypto data, ETH was down 5.3% over the past day, trading at $2,062 at press time.

The downturn has placed whales under increasing pressure, with some now facing the risk of massive liquidations. According to Lookonchain data, a whale holding 65,675 ETH (worth $135.8 million) on Maker is on the verge of liquidation. 

The whale’s health rate has dropped to 1.05, with a liquidation price set at $1,931, raising concerns about potential forced sell-offs if ETH continues to decline.

Additionally, an on-chain analyst revealed that World Liberty Financial’s (WLFI) investment portfolio has suffered heavy losses. The firm had initially invested $336 million across nine tokens. Yet, the portfolio’s value has plunged to $226 million, marking a $110 million loss. 

Ethereum makes up 65% of the entire portfolio, making it the most affected asset. The average purchase price of ETH was $3,240, but with ETH now trading around $2,000, the DeFi project has suffered a 37% loss, amounting to $80.8 million.

Despite the turmoil, OnchainLens reported that a whale has increased long positions across multiple assets, including Solana (SOL), Ethereum, dogwifhat (WIF), and Bitcoin.

The positions have turned against the trader, who is now sitting on an unrealized loss of $14.3 million. The whale still has an open order worth $8.4 million for these tokens, further increasing risk exposure. Moreover, the whale supplied 19,413 ETH to fund these trades and borrowed $16.2 million USDC to go long on HyperLiquid.

However, not all whales are losing money in this market shakeout. Data from Lookonchain highlighted that another whale has successfully shorted BTC multiple times during recent price drops. The trader has accumulated an unrealized profit of over $7.5 million.

“He has now set additional short positions at $92,449 – $92,636 and placed limit orders to take profit between $70,475 – $74,192,” the post further added.