Bitcoin sellers may show up if BTC hits $84,000, but altcoin charts continue to predict new price highs.

Key points:

Bitcoin (BTC) rallied above $82,800 on Wednesday, but bulls were unable to hold the higher levels. However, a positive sign for the bulls is that BTC exchange-traded funds recorded $1.63 billion in net inflows in May, according to SoSoValue data. That suggests investors are building positions as they anticipate the uptrend to continue. 

Analyst PlanC said in a post on X that BTC was about to enter its first supercycle, which began at the bear-market low of $16,000 in Nov. 2022. He expects BTC to rise above $250,000 in the second half of 2027 to the first half of 2028. 

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The FINMA-regulated bank's institutional clients will get access to trading and holding Canton Coin through a banking platform instead of crypto-native venues.

Swiss crypto bank Amina has added custody and trading support for Canton Coin, becoming the first regulated bank to offer services for the token tied to the Canton Network, an institutional-focused network.

In a Wednesday announcement, Amina said clients will gain regulated access to the Canton Network, a public blockchain designed for capital markets and tokenized finance. The network was developed by Digital Asset and is backed by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, Visa, BitGo, Goldman Sachs and Citadel.

The move allows institutional clients to hold and trade Canton Coin through a banking platform regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) rather than relying on a crypto-native exchange or custodian, potentially supporting companies that use Canton for tokenization and settlement.

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Ether could rise as high as $3,500 in the coming days, fueled by rising balances in Ethereum accumulation wallets and a strengthening technical structure.

Ethereum accumulation addresses witnessed a surge in daily inflows on Wednesday, suggesting growing confidence in Ether’s (ETH) long-term price trajectory following its latest rise to $2,400.

Key takeaways:

Ether’s investor confidence has returned following its 39% recovery from a multi-year low below $1,750.

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Bitcoin price action failed to revisit the $83,000 mark after US-Iran war tensions took over to steer the crypto market mood.

Bitcoin (BTC) cooled from new 13-week highs at Wednesday’s Wall Street open amid mixed signals over a US-Iran peace deal.

Key points:

Data from TradingView showed a new local peak for BTC/USD of $82,833 on Bitstamp.

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The Wall Street bank is charging 50 basis points per crypto trade, below basic retail pricing at Coinbase, Robinhood and Charles Schwab.

Morgan Stanley has rolled out a cryptocurrency trading pilot on its E*Trade platform, charging lower basic retail fees than some of the largest US crypto and brokerage platforms.

The Wall Street bank is charging clients 50 basis points on the dollar value of each crypto transaction, undercutting Coinbase, Robinhood and Charles Schwab on standard retail pricing, according to a Tuesday Bloomberg report.

The offering is currently in pilot mode, with E*Trade’s 8.6 million clients expected to gain access later this year, Bloomberg reported.

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The crypto industry in the UK has come out against the Bank of England’s proposed policy that would ban custodial wallets for stablecoins.

As the UK considers options to attract and develop the crypto industry at home, the Bank of England (BOE) has put forward several proposals for how it might regulate stablecoins to mitigate perceived financial risks.

These have included a ban on custodial wallets for stablecoin holdings. The UK crypto industry, from stablecoin issuers to Bitcoin hardliners, has predictably taken issue with the ban.

“This would be a serious misstep for the UK, risking long-term damage that is hard to unwind,” said Benoit Marzouk, CEO of stablecoin issuer tGBP told Cointelegraph.

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OpenTrade raised $17 million to expand its stablecoin yield platform, bringing total funding above $30 million as it scales stablecoin yield infrastructure for global clients.

OpenTrade, an institutional-grade platform for onchain and real-world asset (RWA)-backed lending and stablecoin yield products, has raised fresh capital to expand its yield infrastructure.

The platform secured $17 million in its latest strategic funding round led by Mercury Fund and Notion Capital, OpenTrade said in a Wednesday announcement seen by Cointelegraph.

The new funding will support the continued expansion of OpenTrade’s permissioned and permissionless yield infrastructure, as well as the growth of its vault-focused service Curation+, CEO David Sutter told Cointelegraph.

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Remittance firms are using crypto to bypass parts of traditional settlement infrastructure, but this does not mean SWIFT is disappearing.

Some of the world’s largest remittance providers are accelerating their digital asset strategies as they look for faster settlement alternatives to traditional banking rails.

Western Union’s new stablecoin USDPT is the latest example of the growing overlap between traditional payments firms and crypto infrastructure. The money transfer company launched its Solana-based stablecoin on Monday in the Philippines and Bolivia, with plans to expand into additional markets throughout 2026.

Western Union CEO Devin McGranahan said in the company’s Q1 earnings call that the stablecoin will be used as an alternative settlement layer to the decades-old SWIFT network.

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The Korea Securities Depository platform is expected to go live by February 2027, aligning with South Korea’s incoming security token framework.

Samsung SDS, Samsung’s information technology services subsidiary, will reportedly build a token securities platform for the Korea Securities Depository (KSD), moving South Korea’s central securities depository closer to operating blockchain-based securities infrastructure as the country prepares a legal framework for tokenized assets. 

Samsung SDS won a contract to build and operate the platform for KSD, according to local reports from Yonhap News Agency and The Korea Times. The project is expected to be completed by February 2027 and will convert a technology verification testbed into a formal system capable of stable service operations. 

KSD plans to link its existing electronic securities account system with blockchain-based distributed ledger data to strengthen tokenized securities issuance and rights management, according to the reports. 

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Robinhood’s ZEC listing, easing US–Iran tensions and a shrinking liquid supply of tokens are further strengthening the bullish outlook for Zcash in the coming weeks.

Zcash (ZEC) has outperformed the broader crypto market over the past month, rising by over 125% compared to an average 15% gain for most coins.

ZEC/USD versus TOTAL crypto market cap 3o-day performance chart. Source: TradingView

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Bubblemaps said it identified a large wallet cluster that accumulated 90% of the Mystery token’s supply at launch, raising concerns around the token’s distribution.

Blockchain analytics platform Bubblemaps said 90 newly funded wallets bought 90% of Mystery (MYSTERY) memecoin supply at launch, raising concerns about coordinated sniping.

The wallets were all funded by wallet "0x544E," which previously withdrew and distributed 20 Ether from crypto exchange Binance. After buying up 90% of the supply at launch, the wallet cluster sold about $100,000 worth of tokens and still holds 40% of the supply, said Bubblemaps in a Tuesday X post. The analytics company described the pattern as a “textbook scam.”

Sniping refers to using bots or automated trading tools to buy newly launched tokens immediately after trading opens, often before ordinary traders can react. The findings highlight how automated buying and coordinated wallet clusters can dominate thinly traded memecoin launches, leaving later buyers exposed to sharp losses if early holders sell.

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Linea Consortium board director Declan Fox said the move gives its technology a neutral, foundation-governed home.

Linea Consortium has joined Linux Foundation Decentralized Trust (LFDT) as a premier member and contributed the open-source zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup stack powering Linea as a new code project called Lineth.

The contribution places Linea’s core layer-2 technology under LFDT's open-source governance framework, rather than the control of any single company, Linea Consortium said in a release on Tuesday, positioning the move as a step toward decentralization. However, the contribution concerns governance of Linea’s open-source technology stack, not necessarily the decentralization of the Linea network itself.

Linea Consortium board director Declan Fox will join the LFDT governing board alongside representatives from companies like Consensys, Hedera, Kaleido, OpenAssets and Shielded Technologies.

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Bitcoin’s onchain data suggests that the upside may not be over for BTC price, but resistance at $84,000 could delay the recovery.

Bitcoin (BTC) buyers resumed their activity during the early Asian trading hours on Wednesday, pushing the price to a new multi-month high of $82,240.

Onchain indicators, including the short-term holder (STH) cost basis, suggest that the BTC price can go higher, with the next big target at $92,000. 

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The plaintiff says Coinbase froze traceable assets from a 2024 DAI phishing theft but refused to return them without a court order.

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase was sued in California federal court over frozen crypto allegedly tied to a $55 million DAI phishing theft from August 2024.

The complaint, filed Monday in a San Francisco federal court, alleges that after laundering the proceeds through crypto mixer Tornado Cash, the attacker deposited part of the “traceable stolen funds” into a Coinbase retail user account, where the funds remain frozen. 

The Puerto Rico-based plaintiff is asking the court to declare him the rightful owner of the frozen assets and order Coinbase to return them. The lawsuit also names an unknown John Doe defendant accused of carrying out the theft.

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CME to launch CFTC‑regulated Bitcoin Volatility futures in June, giving institutions an onshore way to trade implied BTC volatility.

CME Group plans to launch Bitcoin Volatility futures on June 1, pending regulatory review, giving investors a compliant way to trade expected Bitcoin volatility rather than price direction, according to a company release published Tuesday.

The Chicago-based derivatives marketplace said the contracts will settle to the CME CF Bitcoin Volatility Index, a 30-day measure of expected Bitcoin volatility derived from CME options markets.

CME describes the new contracts as Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-regulated futures aimed specifically at Bitcoin volatility, extending the existing US regulatory framework that already covers CME’s Bitcoin and Ether derivatives.

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Bitcoin price analysis saw $84,000 as bulls' "most critical" reclaim target as the risk of new $50,000 lows returned to the radar.

Bitcoin (BTC) is approaching its “most critical” resistance hurdle of the bear market, new BTC price analysis says.

Key points:

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A new era of on-chain trading transparency. Atlas Live enables traders to analyze token concentration and spot potential rug pulls. Now in real time.

A new era of on-chain trading transparency. Atlas Live enables traders to analyze token concentration and spot potential rug pulls. Now in real time.

Odense, Denmark, May 6, 2026 – InsightX, the on-chain safety and analytics platform, launches Atlas Live, the world's first real time token holder map.

InsightX is best known for Atlas, a holder visualization tool used by millions of traders each month. It simplifies token ownership at a glance, with clustering patterns revealing potential coordinated wallet activity. Atlas is integrated across major platforms including Pump.fun, Axiom, Terminal and GMGN.

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US spot Bitcoin ETFs posted $999 million in inflows over two trading days as Bitcoin moved back above $80,000.

Spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have recorded almost $1 billion in inflows since the cryptocurrency reclaimed $80,000.

Bitcoin ETFs posted $467.4 million of inflows on Tuesday as BTC surged past $81,000, extending Monday’s $532 million inflows, according to SoSoValue data, bringing the two-day total to more than $999 million.

The latest inflows follow April’s $1.97 billion in total net inflows, pointing to strong demand as Bitcoin's rebound continues.

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OKX Card data shows most crypto spending in Europe is on groceries and dining, signaling growing everyday use over luxury purchases.

OKX Card users in Europe spent mostly on groceries, restaurants and other routine purchases in the product’s first month, according to transaction data shared Wednesday.

In the first month of use across the European Economic Area (EEA), grocery stores and supermarkets accounted for 26% of all OKX Card transactions, while restaurants and fast food together made up 18%, ahead of travel and online marketplaces, according to the data.

The analysis covers settled purchase transactions made with the OKX Card in the EEA between Jan. 28 and Feb. 26, across the top 20 merchant types by transaction count, volume or unique users, the company said.

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BG Wealth Sharing, according to authorities, claimed to provide guidance on crypto trading, advertised heavily on social media and offered “daily profit opportunities.”

Investment group BG Wealth Sharing, a suspected $150 million crypto Ponzi scheme, has had its domain seized by law enforcement days after allegedly rug-pulling users.

Onchain sleuth ZachXBT said on X on Tuesday that “illicit actors” connected to the group tried to launder more than $92 million in crypto between April 27 and Sunday, but he helped lead an initiative that froze more than $41 million, working alongside Tether, Binance, OKX and US law enforcement.

He also said the scheme was likely responsible for losses greater than $150 million, given it’s been operating since 2025 and the “thousands of victim exchange withdrawals identified.”

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Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto investment arm said its new fund would seek to back projects that “people keep using when the hype fades.”

The crypto-focused arm of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz has raised $2.2 billion for its fifth fund dedicated to backing crypto projects.

In a blog post on Tuesday, a16z Crypto said its latest fund, Crypto Fund 5, would back founders “turning new infrastructure into products people use every day,” including stablecoins, perpetual futures, prediction markets and tokenized assets.

“Software is getting more complex and harder to trust,” a16z Crypto general partners Eddy Lazzarin, Guy Wuollet, Ali Yahya and founder and managing partner Chris Dixon wrote in the blog post.

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The crypto exchange said eligible US users can now access up to 10x leveraged spot crypto trading through a CFTC-registered entity.

Kraken has launched spot margin trading for eligible US retail users on Kraken Pro through a CFTC-registered entity, expanding access to leveraged crypto trading on a regulated domestic platform.

The product allows traders to borrow against crypto holdings without selling them, offering up to 10x leverage for long and short positions, according to the company. Kraken said the platform displays liquidation prices and borrowing costs before trades are executed.

The crypto exchange said regulated margin trading in the United States has historically been limited to institutions and high-net-worth individuals classified as Eligible Contract Participants, pushing many retail traders toward offshore platforms offering leverage products.

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Anchorage’s new product enables AI agents to have compliant access to capital across traditional finance and crypto payment rails.

Crypto bank Anchorage is launching a new agentic banking service, seeking to give AI agents the ability to access and move money without human interference — an industry that could be worth a trillion dollars, according to its co-founder. 

In an X post on Tuesday, Anchorage co-founder and CEO Nathan McCauley said the firm's new agentic banking infrastructure gives AI agents the ability to access both traditional finance and crypto payment rails.

Blockchain and tech companies have been rushing to prepare themselves for the future of agentic commerce. Firms such as Stripe argued in February that blockchains will need to eventually be able to process between 1 million and 1 billion transactions per second to handle the network demand coming from AI agents.

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The Colombian president pointed to the impact Bitcoin mining has had in Paraguay, which is now the fourth-largest Bitcoin mining country by hashrate.

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro said the nation’s Caribbean coast has the potential to become a Bitcoin mining hub, leveraging its surplus renewable energy to attract foreign investment and spur economic development.

In a post on X on Tuesday, Petro said the Caribbean cities of Barranquilla, Santa Marta and Riohacha could host Bitcoin (BTC) mining facilities and tap the country’s clean energy sources, following a path similar to Venezuela and Paraguay in recent years.

“It’s an immense boost to the development of the Caribbean,” Petro said, proposing that the Wayúu community — Colombia’s largest Indigenous community, which mainly resides on the Caribbean coast — could be co-owners of the project.

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Bryan Pellegrino, co-founder and CEO of LayerZero, disputed Kelp DAO’s accusations and said a postmortem by external security firms will be published soon.

DeFi protocol Kelp DAO said it will be migrating its restaking token, rsETH, to the Chainlink oracle platform after the $292 million exploit in April, as it continued to blame the attack on LayerZero's cross-chain infrastructure.

Hackers stole 116,500 Kelp DAO restaked ETH tokens on April 18 from Kelp DAO’s LayerZero-powered bridge, then used them as collateral on Aave v3 to borrow wrapped Ether.

“After the recent LayerZero exploit, we are taking steps to ensure rsETH is fully secure, which is why we are migrating to Chainlink CCIP,” Kelp DAO said in an X post on Tuesday.

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A class-action group has accused rapper Iggy Azalea of not following through on delivering utility and business integrations for her memecoin, Mother Iggy.

Rapper Iggy Azalea is facing a class-action lawsuit in the US, accusing her of misleading investors about the real-world utility and future development of her Solana-based memecoin Mother Iggy (MOTHER).

The complaint filed by plaintiff Kenneth Kolbrak in a Manhattan federal court on Monday claimed Azalea, whose real name is Amethyst Amelia Kelly, made representations about the token having real-world utility, commercial integrations and continuing development that never materialized.

“Those representations were limited, incomplete, contradicted, temporary, or not delivered in a durable way,” the complaint said. “The terms and effects of the market support arrangements were never disclosed to consumers.”

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It marks the first time that Saylor’s company has floated the idea of selling Bitcoin, parting ways with his long-held view that Bitcoin shouldn’t be sold.

Strategy executive chairman Michael Saylor said his company could sell Bitcoin to “inoculate” the market against sudden panic or to reinforce confidence in the company, in contrast to its long-standing “never sell” Bitcoin strategy.

“We’ll probably sell some Bitcoin to fund a dividend, just to inoculate the market, just to send the message that we did it,” Saylor said during the Strategy’s first-quarter earnings call on Tuesday.

Market participants will realize that “the company's fine, the Bitcoin's fine, the industry's fine, the world didn't come to an end,” Saylor said after Strategy reported a $12.5 billion net loss, driven mostly by unrealized losses on its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings as Bitcoin fell 23.8% in the first quarter.

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Bitcoin carved a path toward $82,000, but derivatives metrics need another push from bulls to sustain the rally.

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin (BTC) gained 7% over the past week, breaking above $81,000 for the first time in over three months. Despite the strong price performance, data suggest that Bitcoin derivatives lack optimism from investors and this raises questions on the rally’s sustainability. 

Macroeconomic and several onchain metrics point to softening demand.

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Bitcoin carved a path toward $82,000, but derivatives metrics need another push from bulls to sustain the rally.

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin (BTC) gained 7% over the past week, breaking above $81,000 for the first time in over three months. Despite the strong price performance, data suggests that Bitcoin derivatives lack optimism from investors and this raises questions about the rally’s sustainability. 

Macroeconomic and several onchain metrics point to softening demand.

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Investors back a model that moves insurance risk and capital flows onto blockchain rails, as onchain reinsurance looks to attract institutional participation.

Forward Industries and crypto investment company RockawayX have co-led a strategic investment in OnRe, a startup building reinsurance infrastructure on the Solana blockchain, in a move aimed at bringing traditional risk-transfer markets onto decentralized rails.

The companies said Tuesday they co-led OnRe’s $5 million Series A round, with Forward planning to allocate up to $25 million into the platform’s yield-bearing token on Solana.

The funding will be used to expand OnRe’s platform and attract more institutional participants to onchain reinsurance, a niche emerging segment within decentralized finance.

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Brad Garlinghouse addressed attendees at a Tuesday crypto conference on the progress of the CLARITY Act after US lawmakers announced a compromise on stablecoin yield that could advance the legislation.

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple Labs, warned Tuesday that recent progress on the digital asset market structure bill in the US Senate did not guarantee success for the legislation, speculating that the next two weeks would be crucial.

Speaking at the Consensus crypto conference in Miami, Garlinghouse said that the likelihood of the market structure bill, the CLARITY Act, passing would “drop precipitously” if not addressed in the next two weeks. According to the Ripple CEO, the bill would be “too much of a loaded issue” amid campaigns for the 2026 US midterms, with primaries ongoing until the November elections.

“Do I think it's perfect? Hell no,“ said Garlinghouse, referring to CLARITY. “I challenge you to show me any piece of legislation that we would call perfect. There's tradeoffs and compromises, but I do think clarity is better than chaos.”

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Brad Garlinghouse addressed attendees at a Tuesday crypto conference on the progress of the CLARITY Act after US lawmakers announced a compromise on stablecoin yield that could advance the legislation.

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple Labs, warned Tuesday that recent progress on the digital asset market structure bill in the US Senate did not guarantee success for the legislation, speculating that the next two weeks would be crucial.

Speaking at the Consensus crypto conference in Miami, Garlinghouse said that the likelihood of the market structure bill, the CLARITY Act, passing would “drop precipitously” if not addressed in the next two weeks. According to the Ripple CEO, the bill would be “too much of a loaded issue” amid campaigns for the 2026 US midterms ongoing until the November elections.

“Do I think it's perfect? Hell no,“ said Garlinghouse, referring to CLARITY. “I challenge you to show me any piece of legislation that we would call perfect. There's tradeoffs and compromises, but I do think clarity is better than chaos.”

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Prophet, an AI-native prediction market platform, has launched its first live trading tranche, introducing a system where an AI model acts as the counterparty to user trades using real capital.

Cape Town, South Africa, May 5, 2026 — Prophet, an AI-native prediction market platform, has launched its first live trading tranche, introducing a system where an AI model acts as the counterparty to user trades using real capital.

The initial deployment allocates $10,000 in USDC to an AI-powered trading system and opens participation to users on the platform. Instead of matching buyers and sellers, the system allows users to trade directly against the AI, which generates probability-based pricing for each market.

Prophet’s “Tranche 1” is a limited-access deployment designed to test the system under live market conditions. Users who deposit gain the ability to create markets, with the AI pricing each market upon creation. Once live, markets can be traded by other participants.

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Short liquidations and rising open interest may be signs of the bulls’ plan to push the Bitcoin price closer to $90,000.

Bitcoin (BTC) may have a clear path to $90,000 after $7.9 billion in short liquidations in February put pressure on the bears. Data show liquidations came in three waves that extended from February through April. The liquidations highlight a growing imbalance as BTC traders continue to build short positions above $80,000, while the price holds firm, creating repeat conditions for future short squeezes.

Bitcoin researcher Axel Adler Jr. tracked over $7.9 billion in forced short liquidations since early February. The largest spike hit $737 million on Feb. 13, followed by multiple waves through March and April. 

The liquidation volumes ranged from $2 million to $28 million per day before jumping back to $175 million on May 4. That spike came during a quiet week, pointing to renewed short exposure near $80,000. The pattern shows consistent reloading of bearish positions at higher levels.

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Days before Indiana’s primary election, the Defend American Jobs PAC disclosed roughly $514,000 in media spending supporting a Republican incumbent in the state’s 4th Congressional District.

Defend American Jobs, the crypto-backed political action committee (PAC) affiliated with Fairshake, reported spending more than $500,000 on media to support a Republican incumbent representative in Indiana.

According to a Saturday filing with the US Federal Election Commission (FEC), the Defend American Jobs PAC spent about $514,000 on media in support of James Baird, a Republican House member running for reelection in Indiana's 4th Congressional District. The spending was the latest in Fairshake’s spending on the 2026 US elections ahead of today's Indiana primary elections.

Source: FEC

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Regional lenders gain access to infrastructure for stablecoins, tokenized deposits and crypto-backed lending without building systems in-house, signaling wider bank adoption.

The Tennessee Bankers Association (TBA), a trade group representing the state’s commercial banks, has selected Stablecore as a preferred technology provider for digital asset services, highlighting growing interest among regional lenders in crypto infrastructure.

In a Tuesday announcement, the TBA said Stablecore will provide infrastructure that enables community and regional banks to offer products such as stablecoins, tokenized deposits and digital asset-backed lending through their existing systems.

The endorsement gives Stablecore exposure to the association’s roughly 175 member institutions, potentially accelerating adoption among smaller banks that lack in-house digital asset capabilities.

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Improving investor confidence supports Bitcoin’s hold on $80,000, as the Crypto Fear and Greed Index exited the “Extreme Fear” zone and now reads “neutral.” Are the bulls back in control?

The Crypto Fear and Greed Index hit 50 on Tuesday, measuring “neutral” for the first time since Jan. 17. This shift ended a 108-day stretch dominated by negative sentiment. The index gauges market sentiment using volatility, momentum, trading volume, and social signals. A score below 25 signals "extreme fear" or risk aversion, while 26–49 reflects cautious positioning or “fear,” with higher readings indicating improving investor confidence. 

Crypto Fear and Greed Index. Source: Alternative.me

The index's move to 50 marks its first neutral score since mid-January and follows a steady recovery in the total crypto market capitalization, which rose 5.45% in May. Since March, the market has expanded by 16.51%, climbing to $2.66 trillion from $2.28 trillion.

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While Roni Cohen-Pavon’s lawyers requested time served, US prosecutors stopped short of recommending a specific sentence, instead urging the judge to consider federal sentencing guidelines.

Federal prosecutors are recommending a light sentence for Roni Cohen-Pavon, the former chief revenue officer of defunct cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius.

In a Monday letter filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), US Attorney Jay Clayton cited Cohen-Pavon’s “substantial assistance” to the government by being prepared to testify against former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky.

Prosecutors did not request a specific amount of time for the former executive to spend in prison, instead asking the judge to consider the sentencing guidelines for an “appropriate sentencing reduction for a defendant who has rendered substantial assistance.”

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Bernstein points to Figure’s expansion beyond home equity lending into blockchain-based credit as tokenization begins to scale across broader loan markets.

Federal prosecutors are urging a judge to consider leniency for former Celsius executive Roni Cohen-Pavon, citing his cooperation in the criminal case against ex-CEO Alex Mashinsky.

In a Tuesday research note, the firm reiterated its “Outperform” rating on Figure (FIGR), with a $67 price target, implying roughly 67% upside from current levels, and maintained its previous outlook.

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XRP price broke out of a multi-month bull flag, while other chart technicals are also supporting more upside in the near term.

XRP (XRP) is currently displaying a technical pattern that follows a 2025 fractal that produced 66% gains. The daily chart shows XRP price breaking out of a bull flag, which can also result in massive gains.

Key takeaways:

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Kaiko said open interest, funding rates and wallet activity showed repeated pre-announcement positioning before several Robinhood token listings.

Open interest in perpetual futures markets and onchain trading patterns suggest some traders may have positioned ahead of Robinhood crypto listing announcements, according to a Monday report from analytics provider Kaiko.

One of the clearest examples was wallet address '0xa1E,' which Kaiko said opened a long position on Lighter (LIT) on decentralized exchange Hyperliquid at 11:05 am UTC on Jan. 15, about an hour before Robinhood announced the token’s listing at 12:12 pm The wallet closed the position at 1:00 pm, shortly after the announcement.

Kaiko said the same address later opened a short position on a HOOD-linked perpetual contract on April 28, hours before Robinhood reported first-quarter revenue that missed analyst expectations. The trader closed the short later that day after HOOD moved lower.

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The data blockchain securing onchain finance projects looks to provide lenders and borrowers with agreement-specific collateral solution.

Space and Time (SXT), a level-1 data blockchain that secures onchain finance projects, has launched a virtual vault platform that it says is purpose-built for institutional lending.

The Microsoft-backed blockchain said on Tuesday that its new virtual vaults can be configured by institutional lenders and borrowers to their specific agreement, with cryptographically verified, continuously updated visibility into borrower collateral across the centralized exchanges and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols where it actually sits.

Real-time verification of collateral has long vexed the institutional lending sector, with generic solvency metrics falling short of practical needs.

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Binance will shift to an orderbook-weighted pricing model for commodity perpetual futures during off-hours, potentially changing margin and liquidation behavior.

Binance will change how it calculates benchmark prices for commodity-based perpetual futures during off-hours, a move that could affect margin and liquidation levels during weekends, holidays and maintenance periods, according to an exchange notice published Tuesday. The update will take effect on Friday at 9:00 pm UTC.

The exchange will replace its current fixed pricing method with an Orderbook EWMA model for commodity-based traditional finance (TradFi) perpetual contracts. EWMA, or exponential weighted moving average, uses orderbook data that is smoothed over time rather than relying on a fixed reference price during periods of lower activity.

Binance said the change will apply during daily maintenance windows as well as weekends and holidays, when trading activity is typically reduced.

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Brian Armstrong said Coinbase will flatten management layers and require leaders to work as “player-coaches” under the new structure.

Update May 5, 2026, 1:30 pm UTC: This article has been updated to add information from an SEC filing.

Coinbase will cut about 14% of its workforce, or roughly 700 jobs, as CEO Brian Armstrong moves to make the crypto exchange leaner and more focused on artificial intelligence.

Armstrong said in an email to employees that Coinbase is responding to two forces at once: a down market that pressured the company's quarter-to-quarter business and rapid advances in AI that are changing how teams work. 

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Bitcoin bottom calls grow as analysts target $180,000–$250,000 within a year, fueling debate over whether BTC has resumed its broader bull cycle.

Bitcoin (BTC) climbed 3.5% this week to hit $81,325 on Tuesday, its highest level since January. But is Bitcoin’s multi-month highs just a bear-market rally, or has it already bottomed to resume the so-called "supercycle," as some traders suggest?

Key takeaways:

BTC/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingView

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Crypto ETPs shed $619 million over four days before a $737 million Friday session rescued the week, extending the inflow streak to $4.02 billion across five weeks.

Digital asset investment products recorded $117.8 million in inflows last week, marking a fifth consecutive week of gains after a late-week rebound reversed earlier outflows.

Crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) shed $619 million across Monday through Thursday before a single-session inflow of $737 million on Friday flipped the week to positive, according to a report from CoinShares published Tuesday. Total assets under management held steady at $155 billion.

The Friday figure ranks among the largest single-day inflows of 2026, CoinShares head of research James Butterfill wrote, adding that it reflects “a sharp improvement in risk appetite.”

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The Bank of Italy’s deputy governor floated the evaluation of tokenized SEPA payments, as the ECB experiments with tokenized digital payment frameworks to avoid stablecoin competition.

European financial institutions should assess whether the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) can be extended into tokenized payments, Bank of Italy Deputy Governor Chiara Scotti said, as policymakers look for ways to keep euro-denominated settlement central to digital finance.

Scotti called a tokenized extension of SEPA an “important area for reflection” during a Monday speech at the Digital Assets and Monetary Policy Transmission workshop in Rome, saying Europe’s existing payments framework offers scale, shared standards and interoperability.

Her comments come as the Eurosystem prepares a pilot for Pontes, a distributed ledger technology settlement initiative designed to link market DLT platforms with TARGET Services and settle transactions in central bank money. The pilot is expected by the third quarter of 2026.

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Bullish has agreed to acquire transfer agent Equiniti as more Wall Street participants accelerate their tokenization initiatives to offer 24/7 trading.

Bullish agreed to acquire transfer agent Equiniti from Siris Capital in a $4.2 billion transaction, giving the crypto exchange a major shareholder recordkeeping business as it pushes deeper into tokenized securities.

As part of the deal, Bullish will assume $1.85 billion in debt from Equiniti, according to a Tuesday announcement. The transaction is expected to close in January 2027, pending regulatory approval.

The acquisition will allow Bullish to offer 24/7 trading of tokenized securities and stablecoin-based payment and settlement tools. Equiniti is one of the world’s largest transfer agents, servicing nearly 3,000 companies, including the likes of Berkshire Hathaway and Rolls-Royce. Transfer agents are crucial for trading venues, as they are responsible for investor records, issuing ownership certificates and facilitating dividend payments.

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Polymarket was banned in the Netherlands in February, but Kalshi, Hyperliquid and Interactive Brokers are still offering prediction markets to Dutch users.

Dutch users can still access crypto prediction markets despite a previous ban on market leader Polymarket.

Polymarket was banned by the Dutch Gaming Authority (Ksa) in February for operating without a gambling license. However, US-based Kalshi, crypto exchange Hyperliquid and investment giant Interactive Brokers are still offering prediction markets to Dutch users, according to an investigation by Dutch financial newspaper FD.

The Ksa warned that Polymarket’s ban applies to similar platforms. “Websites similar to Polymarket also fall under our supervision and can therefore be sanctioned by us,” a spokesperson reportedly said.

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Accumulation by long-term Bitcoin holders, buying by institutional investors and a strengthening technical structure could fuel BTC’s price rise to $95,000 or higher.

Bitcoin (BTC) rose as much as 2% over the past 24 hours to an intraday high of $81,300 on Tuesday. This brings the weekly and 30-day gains to 5% and 21%, respectively.

This rally was accompanied by buying from long-term holders, who have added more than 330,000 BTC over the past month, according to data from CryptoQuant.

Key takeaways:

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Innovation City launches a blockchain-based business ID system, giving more than 1,000 firms verifiable onchain credentials for identity and access.

Innovation City, a Ras Al Khaimah-based free zone focused on artificial intelligence and Web3, has launched what it claims is the first blockchain-based digital business identity system.

According to a Monday release shared with Cointelegraph, every company registered in Innovation City receives a sovereign, cryptographically verifiable identity issued on OPN Chain, the public blockchain infrastructure developed by United Arab Emirates-based IOPn.

The release said this turns the business license from a static PDF or database entry into a dynamic onchain asset designed to reduce reliance on centralized intermediaries and cut verification uncertainty.

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Toncoin rose 33.8% after Pavel Durov said Telegram would deepen its role in TON, while details on the foundation and validator structure remain unclear.

Telegram founder Pavel Durov said Telegram will replace the TON Foundation as the main driving force behind The Open Network (TON) and become its largest validator, signaling a deeper operational role for the messaging platform in the blockchain ecosystem.

In a Monday Telegram post, Durov said TON fees had dropped sixfold to “nearly zero” and that the next step would be to shift the network’s focus toward “tech superiority.” This includes a new website, new developer tools and performance upgrades. 

The changes are expected over the next two to three weeks, according to Durov, who described the move as a step in a plan to “Make TON Great Again.” 

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Spot Bitcoin ETFs pulled in over $532 million on Monday as BTC surged past $80,000 amid improved risk sentiment following the US-Iran ceasefire.

US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $532.21 million in net inflows on Monday as Bitcoin pushed back above the $80,000 mark amid improving risk sentiment following the ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran.

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) led the pack with $335.49 million in daily inflows, followed by Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) with $184.57 million, according to SoSoValue data. Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin ETF (MSBT) was the only other fund to post positive flows on the day, adding $12.16 million. The remaining funds recorded no new inflows.

Monday’s inflows extended a three-day winning streak. On Friday, the funds pulled in $629.73 million, while Thursday saw a modest $14.76 million. The streak came after three consecutive days of outflows in which funds shed $490.63 million, the heaviest sustained redemption period in recent weeks.

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US Senator Thom Tillis said the current text of the CLARITY Act offers a compromise for the crypto industry and banks and provides a bipartisan path for the bill’s passage.

America’s largest banking groups said they remain dissatisfied with the CLARITY Act’s newly proposed language on stablecoin yield, arguing that it fails to protect bank deposits.

In a statement Monday, the bankers acknowledged that US Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks are “seeking to achieve the correct policy goal” in prohibiting stablecoin yield but noted that the CLARITY Act’s “proposed language” currently “falls short of that goal.”

“It is imperative that Congress get this right,” the American Bankers Association said in a joint statement with the Bank Policy Institute, Consumer Bankers Association, Financial Services Forum and Independent Community Bankers of America.

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The deal adds a Solana-based trading infrastructure platform that has processed more than $50 billion in volume and aggregates liquidity across multiple venues.

MoonPay has acquired DFlow, a trading infrastructure provider on Solana that routes and executes transactions across multiple liquidity sources.

Financial terms were not disclosed, though Fortune reported the deal was valued at around $100 million in stock, citing two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

DFlow has processed more than $50 billion in trading volume on Solana since 2025, including over $12 billion in the first quarter of 2026, according to Tuesday's announcement. The platform supports more than 1 million users across 500 applications.

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The partnership enabling conversion of digital assets into cash through MoneyGram’s global network follows a similar move by rival Western Union.

Kraken has teamed up with MoneyGram to let users convert crypto into cash for pickup across more than 100 countries, expanding access to off-ramps through its global retail network.

According to Tuesday’s announcement, Kraken users will be able to convert digital assets into local currency and collect cash instantly or near-instantly through MoneyGram’s payout network, which supports hundreds of fiat currencies.

The service will roll out in phases across regions including the US, Europe, Latin America, Africa and parts of Asia-Pacific, with plans to add bank deposits and cross-border payouts later.

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Haun Ventures founder Katie Haun said AI will “increasingly begin to conduct economic activity on our behalf," and services will need to adapt for that world.

Haun Ventures has raised $1 billion to back early- and late-stage crypto startups, while expanding into artificial intelligence for the first time.

The funds will focus on three areas: crypto financial infrastructure, tokenization and AI agents. The firm's founder, Katie Haun, called these areas the “new economy.” 

“I’ve been following the flow of assets my entire career, and this is the most dynamic period in technology and finance I’ve ever witnessed,” said Haun, a former US government prosecutor turned crypto executive, in a blog post on Monday.

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The new wallet feature hides senders, receivers and amounts onchain while maintaining compliance through know your transaction screening and auditable files.

Ethereum scaling solution Polygon has launched private stablecoin payments in an effort to attract more businesses and institutions to the chain. 

In a statement on Sunday, Polygon introduced its new wallet feature that enables users to privately route transactions through a shielded pool, with verification handled by zero-knowledge proofs. The move is part of an integration with privacy protocol Hinkal.

“For onchain payments to go mainstream, businesses need privacy. Not ‘hide from regulators’ privacy. Operational privacy,” noted Polygon community lead Smokey on X. 

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Aave argued that a thief doesn’t gain lawful ownership of property by stealing it and that Gerstein Harrow’s legal argument “defies logic, common sense and the law.”

Decentralized finance protocol Aave filed an emergency motion on Monday in New York to vacate a restraining notice from a US law firm aimed at blocking Arbitrum DAO from transferring 30,766 frozen Ether to the victims of the Kelp exploit. 

Gerstein Harrow LLP served Arbitrum DAO with a restraining notice on Friday, arguing its clients are owed over $877 million in default judgments against North Korea. The law firm claims the North Korean hacker group behind the Kelp exploit had possession of the tokens, giving its clients a legal claim over the Ether.

Aave filed the emergency motion in a New York district court, arguing that a thief doesn’t gain lawful ownership of property by stealing it. It also argued that North Korea is only suspected of being part of the theft, and that the law firm's argument “defies logic, common sense and the law.”

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Western Union is one of several remittance companies that announced stablecoin plans after the US passed the stablecoin-friendly GENIUS Act in July.

Western Union has launched its US dollar-denominated USDPT stablecoin on Solana, marking its first move into blockchain-based payments and onchain settlement for its global remittance network. 

One of the crypto infrastructure platforms involved in the launch, Fireblocks, said on Monday that USDPT is initially being rolled out in Bolivia and the Philippines, while Western Union said it plans to expand the stablecoin to more than 40 countries in 2026.

Major remittance companies have been eyeing stablecoins since the passage of the stablecoin-friendly GENIUS Act in July. MoneyGram started offering USDC (USDC) stablecoin services in Colombia in September, while Zelle announced plans to offer stablecoin-powered cross-border transfers in October.

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Bitcoin’s recent rally to $80,000 amid improving BTC miner and options markets metrics could create a clear path to $85,000.

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin (BTC) surged to $80,000 for the first time in three months on Monday, triggering $270 million in liquidations across leveraged short (sell) futures contracts. This positive momentum for Bitcoin coincided with tech stocks jumping to an all-time high, signaling a broad risk-on environment. Currently, three key indicators point to further upside momentum for Bitcoin.

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World Liberty Financial claimed Sun engaged in defamatory tactics and prohibited token transfers, including shorting the WLFI token and conducting straw sales on behalf of others.

World Liberty Financial filed a defamation lawsuit against Tron founder Justin Sun in Florida, escalating a legal fight between the Trump family-linked crypto platform and one of its largest investors.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, accused Sun of making false public statements about World Liberty and violating WLFI token-sale terms through alleged prohibited transfers, short-selling and straw purchases.

The lawsuit also accused Sun of spreading defamatory statements surrounding the crypto platform, demanding a court-ordered retraction and compensation from the founder. Sun denied the allegations in a Monday post on X, calling the lawsuit a “meritless PR stunt” and saying he looked forward to defeating the case in court.

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With $114 trillion in custodied liquid assets, Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation looks to position tokenization as the future of existing financial system.

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) plans to pilot trading of tokenized securities in July with a goal of a full service launch in October.

The post-trade market infrastructure giant said Monday that more than 50 TradFi and DeFi firms will play a role in the design and deployment of the service. That DTCC Industry Working Group includes Alpaca, Anchorage Digital, BitGo Bank & Trust, BlackRock, Circle and Fireblocks, along with some of the biggest banks in the country.

Source: DTCC

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Crypto markets turned euphoric as BTC traded above $80,000, but a rally through short-term holders’ cost basis is needed to cement the bull trend.

Bitcoin (BTC) reached a new three-month high of $80,500 on Monday, testing the level for the first time since Jan. 31. The rally above $80,000 puts the price just below short-term holders' cost basis of $81,486, the next dynamic resistance level. For the rally to continue, a daily close above this level is key to securing $80,000 as support. 

Bitcoin’s rally to $80,000 places the price directly under the short-term holder's realized price of $81,486. This metric reflects the average cost of coins moved over the last 155 days and indicates where recent buyers have flipped from loss to profit.

A daily close above $81,500 would return these holders to profit and reduce sell-side pressure. According to crypto analyst Crazyyblockk, the short-term holder losses have narrowed to about -2.17%, showing that the overhead supply band is thinning. The long-term holders (LTHs) hold near +27% profit and are not distributing aggressively.

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Tether’s XAUt tops $3.3 billion as gold reserves reach 154 tons, with demand rising amid geopolitical tensions and shifting expectations for Federal Reserve policy.

Tether’s tokenized gold product, Tether Gold (XAUt), saw reserves expand sharply in the first quarter as investor demand for bullion increased amid macroeconomic uncertainty ahead of the Iran war.

In its latest report, Tether said XAUt surpassed $3.3 billion in market capitalization during the first quarter, representing a 36% increase over the period.

The company disclosed that 707,741 XAUT tokens were in circulation at the end of the quarter, with each token backed by one troy ounce of physical gold held in reserve.

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Bitcoin has broken above the $79,500 level, backed by solid buying by institutional investors. Will the altcoins also follow?

Key points:

Bitcoin (BTC) opened the new week with a rally above $80,500, suggesting the bulls are attempting to take charge. Analysts are closely watching the $80,000 level, as some believe a failure to close above it could trigger a move toward $60,000. 

However, crypto analyst Matthew Hyland said in a post on X that traders calling BTC’s fall to $60,000 and lower ‘will be the ones flipping bullish late above $90K.” 

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Bitcoin faced new volatility and a new struggle to reclaim $80,000 as Iran events added pressure to crypto and risk assets.

Bitcoin (BTC) saw volatility at Monday’s Wall Street open as fresh US-Iran war events sparked instability.

Key points:

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Institutional investors are entering prediction markets as block trades, custom contracts and US regulatory shifts reshape a sector still dominated by retail users.

Prediction markets are evolving from retail speculation platforms into institutional-grade financial instruments, driven by demand for precise macro hedging and clearly defined binary outcomes, according to a May 4 report by Bernstein.

The report highlights why institutional investors may find these markets attractive — namely, they allow users to hedge specific event risks, such as tariffs, elections and geopolitical developments, using contracts that resolve to simple yes-or-no outcomes.

Bernstein pointed to the first bespoke institutional block trade executed on Kalshi last week as a key milestone. A block trade refers to a privately negotiated, large transaction typically arranged between institutional counterparties.

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Ethereum investors are no longer in the red, increasing the chances of a rally to $3,000, but resistance at $2,800 may delay recovery.

Ether's (ETH) surge to $2,390 on Monday pushed its value above its realized price, implying that the average holder of ETH is now back in profit. But is this enough for the ETH bulls to reach $3,000?

Key takeaways:

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The regulator reportedly requested more information from Roundhill, GraniteShares and Bitwise about how the event contract funds would work.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed the expected launch of the first exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to prediction markets after requesting more information about their structure and disclosures, Reuters reported Monday.

The delay affects more than two dozen proposed ETFs from Roundhill Investments, GraniteShares and Bitwise, according to Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter. The issuers filed for the products in February, and launches had been expected this week after a 75-day review period.

The proposed funds would give investors exposure to event contracts tied to binary outcomes, including elections, economic data and market prices, without requiring them to trade directly on prediction market venues such as Kalshi.

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K Wave Media is redirecting up to $485 million from a Bitcoin treasury strategy into AI infrastructure, alongside debt reduction and restructuring, per a Form 6-K filing.

K Wave Media, a Nasdaq-listed media and entertainment company, said it is redirecting up to $485 million in remaining financing capacity from a Bitcoin treasury strategy into an artificial intelligence infrastructure buildout, according to a Monday 6-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The capital will be deployed into data centers, graphics processing unit (GPU) compute operations and related AI infrastructure investments under an amended securities purchase agreement with Anson Funds, the structured equity financing counterparty to the company.

The amendment revises a prior $500 million equity purchase facility, which had been structured to support a Bitcoin treasury strategy, leaving $485 million available for deployment into AI infrastructure initiatives, according to the filing. The Bitcoin treasury was previously announced in 2025 as part of the company’s broader capital markets repositioning.

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ZIGChain, the blockchain built to bring regulated investment products onchain for everyday users, today reflected on its second annual ZIGChain Summit, a defining gathering for the future of onchain finance, held on 28 April at the The Meydan Hotel, Dubai.

Dubai, UAE, May 5, 2026 – ZIGChain, the blockchain built to bring regulated investment products onchain for everyday users, today reflected on its second annual ZIGChain Summit, a defining gathering for the future of onchain finance, held on 28 April at the The Meydan Hotel, Dubai.

Organised in partnership with Disrupt and streamed live on Cointelegraph, the summit brought together institutions, builders, regulators, and capital allocators from across the GCC and global markets under one shared conviction: that the shift from exploration to execution in onchain finance has already begun.

The summit's central theme, Nothing Compounds Alone, set the tone for a programme built around coordinated progress. Each session was designed not as another discussion but as a mechanism for alignment: bringing capital, technology, and regulation into the same room so that decisions happen earlier and execution compounds faster.

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The Bitcoin miner said the FalconX facility lowers its fixed interest rate to 7% and releases about 3,300 BTC from collateral restrictions.

Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin mining and energy infrastructure company Hut 8 secured a $200 million Bitcoin-backed credit facility from institutional crypto prime brokerage FalconX, replacing its prior credit facility with Coinbase Credit. 

The new facility reducwd the company's fixed interest rate to 7% from 9% under the prior Coinbase credit structure, as part of the company’s focus on lowering the cost of debt on its Bitcoin-backed credit and broader cost of capital, said Hut 8 in a Monday announcement.

The refinancing unencumbered about 3,300 BTC, worth roughly $260 million, from the collateral package after replacing the prior Coinbase facility, Hut 8 said.

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Bitcoin’s rally on Monday pushed it above $80,000 for the first time since January as analysts say BTC price could rise further to fill the futures gap at $84,000 in the short term.

Market analysts said Bitcoin (BTC) is “primed for upward momentum” after rallying past $80,000 during the early Asian trading hours on Monday. 

Key takeaways:

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In past instances, BTC has averaged 24% gains in one month when institutional demand absorbed over 500% of the daily mined supply.

Bitcoin (BTC) may rally toward $96,000 by June as institutions absorb more than five times the daily mined BTC supply, according to Capriole Investments founder Charles Edwards.

In a Monday post, Edwards said institutions have been "slurping up 500%+ of Bitcoin’s daily mined supply."

BTC/USD daily chart vs. institutional buying market cap. Source: Capriole Investments

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Crypto industry body DAXA said the proposed rules could push suspicious transaction reports from South Korea’s five largest exchanges to more than 5.4 million a year, Yonhap reported.

South Korea’s crypto industry has reportedly warned that proposed Anti-Money Laundering (AML) rule changes could create operational confusion by forcing virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to report all overseas-linked virtual asset transfers worth 10 million Korean won (about $6,800) or more as suspicious transactions.

According to a Yonhap News report on Sunday, the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA), an industry body representing South Korean exchanges, submitted comments on the proposed changes to the Enforcement Decree of the Specific Financial Information Act and related supervisory rules. The comments reflected the views of 27 registered VASPs, including the country’s five major exchanges: Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax.

DAXA said the proposal could increase suspicious transaction reports from South Korea’s five largest exchanges by 85 times, from about 63,000 cases last year to over 5.4 million, making compliance difficult in practice. The group also objected to a proposed requirement to verify the accuracy of customer information, arguing that lower-level rules add obligations not clearly set out in the underlying law. 

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Bitcoin gained fresh bullish BTC price targets after hitting new three-month highs above $80,000.

Bitcoin (BTC) starts a new week in fighting form as $80,000 returns after a three-month absence.

It started with a breakthrough a key 21-week trend line last week, and now, Bitcoin is back at $80,000 for the first time in three months.

Data from TradingView shows new local highs of $80,617 on Bitstamp.

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GameStop proposes a $55.5 billion cash-and-stock takeover of eBay, disclosing a 5% stake and says CEO Ryan Cohen would lead the combined company.

GameStop proposed an unsolicited, non-binding $55.5 billion acquisition of eBay in a cash-and-stock deal, as the video game retailer looks to push further beyond its legacy retail business.

The company on Sunday submitted a non-binding proposal to acquire 100% of eBay at $125 per share in cash and stock, according to an announcement.

The offer includes a 46% premium to eBay’s unaffected closing price on Feb. 4, 2026, when GameStop began building its position in the company. GameStop also disclosed it has accumulated a roughly 5% economic stake in eBay through derivatives and common stock holdings.

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The Blockstream CEO subscribed to 10 million warrants as Capital B pushes ahead with its Bitcoin treasury strategy.

Capital B raised 1.1 million euros ($1.28 million) through a warrant issuance subscribed by Blockstream CEO Adam Back, extending the cryptographer’s backing of the French-listed Bitcoin treasury company.

Back subscribed to 10 million subscription warrants at $0.13 each, according to a Monday announcement from Capital B. Each warrant gives Back the right to buy one new share of future company stock at the exercise price of $0.98, corresponding to the company’s market net asset value (mNAV) of 1.1 per share, the company said.

The deal would increase Back’s exposure to Capital B, where he is already one of the company’s largest strategic investors. Back now holds over 39.5 million shares or 9.97% of Capital B’s shares on a fully diluted basis. Back is best known as the inventor of Hashcash, the proof-of-work system cited in the Bitcoin white paper.

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Gerstein Harrow has filed similar cases in the past, arguing its clients have a claim to funds stolen by the DPRK and frozen by crypto firms.

A US law firm has filed a restraining notice to block the transfer of frozen Ether from the Kelp exploit, arguing that its clients are owed over $877 million in compensation and damages by North Korea. 

Charlie Gerstein, a lawyer for US law firm Gerstein Harrow LLP, said in a post on the Arbitrum DAO forum on Friday that a New York district court signed off on a restraining notice and three writs of execution preventing the DAO from moving the Ether under threat of contempt of court.

The law firm argued that its clients, who were not affected by the Kelp exploit, won default judgments against North Korea in three separate US court cases in 2010, 2015 and 2016 and are owed a collective $877 million in compensatory and punitive damages, plus interest.

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Bitcoin soared as the MSCI AC Asia Index rose to a new high on Monday, an early indicator that investors viewed the weekend developments in a reasonably positive light.

Bitcoin breached $80,000 on Monday, rising 2.7% over a three-hour span as Asian equities began trading, marking its highest price since Jan. 31, 2026.

The Bitcoin rally began at 1:25 am UTC, rising from $78,415 to break the $80,000 level about 75 minutes later, before climbing to $80,515 by 4:20 am UTC, according to TradingView data. 

Bitcoin’s price change on Coinbase on Monday. Source: TradingView

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The CFTC received more than 1,500 responses to its prediction market rulemaking proposal, with respondents divided on how it should police the platforms.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission received more than 1,500 responses to a proposed rule tied to prediction markets, with some backing the regulator while others called for a tougher crackdown on the platforms.

The CFTC’s request for public comments on a rule it proposed in March that would allow it to amend or issue new regulations for event contracts on prediction markets ended on Thursday, drawing responses from prediction markets, crypto firms and consumer advocacy groups.

Kalshi co-founder and chief operating officer Luana Lopes Lara backed the CFTC in a letter on Thursday, saying its existing regulations were “well-designed and effective,” urging it to give guidance to ensure “that the universe of event contracts can continue to be listed, traded, and overseen by the Commission.”

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John Palmer, a developer and brand adviser, said it "feels like a bug" to call them stablecoins and that they should have a self-defined and non-reactionary name.

Stablecoins, the name given to cryptocurrencies pegged to the price of a stable asset such as the US dollar or gold, have outgrown their label as they become part of the global financial system, said Robert Hackett, head of special projects at a16z crypto. 

Hackett said in a report on Friday that the term “stablecoins” was coined in crypto’s early years, when wild volatility defined the space and the tokens were created to maintain stable value and encourage their use for everyday financial activity.

“The name was straightforward, if slightly defensive: not a volatile coin, but a stable one. It described the problem it solved perfectly. But the technology has since outgrown the label,” he said.

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John Palmer, a developer and brand adviser, agreed, said it "feels like a bug" to call them stablecoins and that they should have a self-defined and non-reactionary name.

Stablecoins, the name given to cryptocurrencies pegged to the price of a stable asset such as the US dollar or gold, have outgrown their label as they become part of the global financial system, said Robert Hackett, head of special projects at a16z crypto. 

Hackett said in a report on Friday that the term “stablecoins” was coined in crypto’s early years, when wild volatility defined the space and the tokens were created to maintain stable value and encourage their use for everyday financial activity.

“The name was straightforward, if slightly defensive: not a volatile coin, but a stable one. It described the problem it solved perfectly. But the technology has since outgrown the label,” he said.

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The US-to-Mexico remittance corridor, while still the largest, shrank 4.5% in 2025 as other Latin American corridors grew.

Fintech and stablecoin firms should consider looking outside of the US-to-Mexico corridor to win the $174 billion Latin America remittance market, according to a Bybit executive.

Most firms have focused too narrowly on the $61.8 billion US-Mexico remittance market and are missing faster-growing corridors between the US and Central America, as well as remittances within Latin America, Bybit Chief Marketing Officer Claudia Wang said in a post on X on Sunday. 

“The corridors that look ‘hot’ right now are not the corridors most fintechs are optimized for,” she said, citing Venezuela-to-Colombia, Argentina-to-Bolivia and Spain-to-Ecuador as examples. The non-US-to-Mexico remittance market stands at about $112 billion. 

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The US-to-Mexico remittance corridor, while still the largest, shrank 4.5% in 2025 as other Latin American corridors grew.

Fintech and stablecoin companies should consider looking outside of the US-to-Mexico corridor to win the $174 billion Latin America remittance market, according to a former Bybit executive.

Most firms have focused too narrowly on the $61.8 billion US-Mexico remittance market and are missing faster-growing corridors between the US and Central America, as well as remittances within Latin America, Bybit's former chief marketing officer, Claudia Wang, said in a post on X on Sunday. 

“The corridors that look ‘hot’ right now are not the corridors most fintechs are optimized for,” she said, citing Venezuela-to-Colombia, Argentina-to-Bolivia and Spain-to-Ecuador as examples. The non-US-to-Mexico remittance market stands at about $112 billion. 

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Michael Saylor signaled a “pause” on BTC buying ahead of Tuesday’s earnings report, with Wall Street expecting a loss for Q1.

Strategy, the world’s biggest public Bitcoin holder, is taking a break from crypto purchases as the company readies its first quarter earnings report, slated for Tuesday.

On Sunday, executive chairman Michael Saylor announced “No buys this week” in a post on X, where he has regularly provided a signal of planned purchases.

In its most recent purchase, the Tysons Corner, Virginia-based company acquired 3,273 Bitcoin for $255 million between April 20 and 26, according to an 8-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on April 27.

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Bitcoin canceled out the week's earlier losses to tease the highest weekly BTC price candle close since the end of January near $79,000.

Bitcoin (BTC) eyed $79,000 into Sunday’s weekly close as crypto markets continued to be guided by the US-Iran war.

Key points:

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A new Politico poll finds most Americans distrust crypto and AI, raising questions about whether candidates backed by industry super PACs could face voter backlash.

Crypto and AI industry groups are pumping tens of millions of dollars into the 2026 midterm elections, but a new poll shows most Americans don't trust either industry.

About 45% of Americans say investing in cryptocurrency is not worth the risk and 44% say AI is developing too fast, according to an April survey by Public First for Politico. The survey also found that nearly half trust a traditional bank over a crypto platform, and two-thirds want Congress to impose strict regulations or broad oversight principles on AI.

The numbers spell trouble for candidates taking money from industry-aligned super PACs. In hypothetical matchups, poll respondents were far less likely to back candidates supported by groups pushing looser AI regulations than those backed by groups calling for tighter tech rules.

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Nobitex, Iran’s largest crypto exchange, was founded by brothers linked to the powerful Kharrazi family, which has ties to the country’s supreme leaders.

Nobitex, Iran’s biggest crypto exchange, was founded by two brothers from one of the Islamic Republic’s most influential families with ties to the supreme leaders, according to a Reuters investigation.

The exchange, which now accounts for the majority share of Iran’s crypto activity, was launched by Ali and Mohammad Kharrazi. The duo operated under the alternative surname “Aghamir,” which they used across corporate records and professional life, masking links to the Kharrazi dynasty, according to the report.

The Kharrazi family has long occupied positions close to the country’s leadership, with ties spanning generations of power, including links to Ali Khamenei and his successor Mojtaba Khamenei.

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New York AG Letitia James secured a $5 million settlement from Uphold for promoting CredEarn, a crypto savings product that misled users about its risks.

New York Attorney General Letitia James has secured more than $5 million from cryptocurrency platform Uphold over its role in promoting a fraudulent investment product.

The settlement centers around Uphold’s promotion of CredEarn, a product offered by Cred, LLC and its CEO Daniel Schatt. Between January 2019 and October 2020, the platform marketed CredEarn to users on its platform and mobile app as a safe, reliable savings product with attractive annual interest payments.

However, Uphold didn’t tell customers that Cred was generating those returns by making microloans to low-income video game players in China, who are typically borrowers with no credit histories and no access to traditional financial institutions, the Attorney General’s office said in an announcement.  

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The efforts of the SEC and CFTC chairmen indicate that the crypto industry will not suffer without the CLARITY Act, according to crypto executive Chris Perkins.

The US crypto industry’s momentum won’t be derailed in the long term even if the much-anticipated CLARITY Act, aimed at bringing more regulatory clarity to the crypto industry, doesn’t make it through Congress, according to 250 Digital Asset Management CEO Chris Perkins.

“If not, we’re going to be just fine,” Perkins said on Cointelegraph’s Chain Reaction podcast on Friday, emphasizing that the two major financial regulators are already building workable frameworks.

Perkins pointed to ongoing efforts by US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins and Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Michael Selig, following the agencies’ joint interpretation released in March on how federal securities laws apply to crypto assets.

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Despite being the best-performing month in the past 12 months, Bitcoin still came in slightly below its historical average, according to CoinGlass data.

Bitcoin has posted its best-performing month in a year, prompting analysts to forecast what could lie ahead for May, which has historically delivered returns of about 8%.

“Long way to go back to ATHs, but good to see some green,” Coin Bureau founder Nic Puckrin said in an X post on Friday, referring to Bitcoin’s (BTC) performance during April, which saw a monthly return of 11.87%.

It marked Bitcoin’s best-performing month since April 2025, when it returned 14.08%. However, it still came in slightly below its historical April average of 12.98%, according to CoinGlass.

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Malicious actors with code execution capability may gain root access on Linux systems using as few as 10 lines of Python, according to a researcher.

A newly discovered vulnerability could affect most open-source major Linux distributions released since 2017, according to security researchers. 

Codenamed “Copy Fail” by Xint.io and Theori, the flaw caught the attention of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA), who added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on Saturday, warning it poses “significant risks to the federal enterprise.”

"An unprivileged local user can write four controlled bytes into the page cache of any readable file on a Linux system, and use that to gain root," the vulnerability research team at Xint.io and Theori said.

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that wallets the US targeted as part of Operation Economic Fury were linked to Tehran, but analysis of the wallets' characteristics suggests otherwise.

Multiple wallet addresses recently sanctioned by the US Treasury ‌Department for their ties to Iran may not be linked to the Islamic Republic, but to other state actors instead, analysis published Sunday suggests.

That analysis, by blockchain intelligence firm Nominis, said that while the recent seizing of wallets holding more than $340 million by Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) was a significant crypto enforcement event, some of those wallets’ characteristics lack a similarity to previously seized wallets linked Tehran.

“While the use of cryptocurrency by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is well established, this case presents structural and behavioral characteristics that diverge meaningfully from previously observed patterns,” said Nominis CEO Snir Levi.

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Venture capital firm a16z argues that state crackdowns on platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket conflict with federal law and hurt market access for ordinary users.

A16z has thrown its weight behind the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in a growing federal-state standoff over prediction markets, opposing state regulators that try to shut down platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket.

The venture capital heavyweight submitted the letter on Thursday in response to the CFTC’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking on prediction markets. It argues that state-level crackdowns, ranging from cease-and-desist letters to criminal charges, are creating barriers that undermine the federal agency’s mandate to provide “impartial access to its markets and services.”

In recent weeks alone, the CFTC has filed lawsuits against Illinois, Arizona, Connecticut, New York and Wisconsin, claiming that those states overstepped by trying to regulate markets that fall under federal jurisdiction. A16z backed that position, arguing that forcing exchanges to block users based on their state of residence directly conflicts with the CFTC’s impartial access rules.

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Riot Platforms reported $167.2 million in Q1 2026 revenue, with its new data center business contributing $33.2 million as Bitcoin mining income fell.

Riot Platforms posted $167.2 million in revenue for the first quarter of 2026, with its newly launched data center business contributing $33.2 million.

The data center revenue helped offset a decline in Riot’s core Bitcoin mining business, which fell to $111.9 million from $142.9 million in Q1 2025, driven by lower average Bitcoin prices and a 24% rise in the global network hash rate. Riot produced 1,473 Bitcoin during the quarter, down from 1,530 a year earlier, while the average cost to mine one coin increased to $44,629 from $43,808, according to an announcement.

“The first quarter of 2026 marks a definitive inflection point for Riot, as we officially transitioned into an active, revenue-generating data center operator,” CEO Jason Les said, adding that AMD’s decision to double its contracted capacity to 50 megawatts during the quarter validated the company's ability to execute at institutional scale.

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The Ethereum Foundation has now sold roughly $47 million worth of ETH to BitMine in a week, drawing fresh criticism over the pace and scale of its sales.

The Ethereum Foundation has completed a third over-the-counter (OTC) sale of ETH to BitMine Immersion Technologies, offloading another 10,000 ETH at an average price of $2,292 per coin, worth roughly $22.9 million.

“This sale funds the Ethereum Foundation’s core operations and activities, including protocol R&D, ecosystem development, community grant funding and more,” the Foundation wrote in a Friday post on X.

The sale follows a nearly identical 10,000 ETH transaction completed just one week earlier at $2,387 per coin. The Foundation's first sale to BitMine came in March, when it sold 5,000 ETH at around $2,043. Combined, the Foundation has sold approximately $47 million worth of ETH to BitMine in the past week alone.

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All major mining stocks are up in 2026, with gains of up to 85% while Bitcoin remains down on the year.

Publicly traded crypto mining companies are posting strong gains in 2026, even as the broader crypto market remains under pressure.

Ten of the largest publicly traded mining stocks are in positive territory year-to-date, with gains ranging from around 5% to more than 85%, according to data from Bitcoinminingstock.io.

Top Bitcoin mining stocks by market capitalization. Source: Bitcoinminingstock.io

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The acquisition provides a fully licensed derivatives stack under CFTC oversight, covering trading, clearing and brokerage.

Payward, the parent company of Kraken, announced it has completed its acquisition of crypto derivatives venue Bitnomial, giving it control of a fully CFTC-regulated derivatives stack in the United States.

The acquisition gives Payward a three key infrastructure components -- Futures Commission Merchant, Designated Contract Market and Derivatives Clearing Organization -- that it plans to use to expand federally regulated products across Kraken and NinjaTrader, starting with spot margin, with perpetuals and options expected to follow.

Payward said Bitnomial will continue operating within its existing regulatory structure, with the deal enabling partners, including fintechs, banks and brokerages, to access US-regulated derivatives through the company's infrastructure platform.

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With attention spilling into multiple other technology sectors, crypto may struggle to capture a strong, price-driving narrative, a crypto analyst says.

Bitcoin may not need a new story or catalyst to push back above the psychological $100,000 level, which it has not traded above in nearly five months, according to MN Trading Capital founder Michael van de Poppe.

"There doesn't need to be a narrative that pushes the price upwards,” van de Poppe said in an X post on Friday, after asking, “What narrative will bring Bitcoin to $100K?”

“Price moves upwards, and the narrative will create itself,” van de Poppe said, adding:

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Institutional investors and corporate-level Bitcoin accumulation remain the primary drivers of BTC’s price gains, despite the lack of bullish leverage.

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin (BTC) reclaimed the $78,000 level amid broader risk-on sentiment, as the S&P 500 Index jumped to an all-time high on Friday. Despite 15% gains over the past 30 days, options markets are pricing in 25% odds that Bitcoin will trade above $84,000 by the end of May. 

Derivatives markets remain skeptical of further gains, although institutional spot demand remains solid.

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Galaxy Digital head of research Alex Thorn expects the banking industry to “increase their opposition efforts” following the release of the final stablecoin yield provisions.

The US CLARITY Act, which aims to provide the US crypto industry with more regulatory clarity, could now move closer to becoming law after new stablecoin yield provisions were published, according to Coinbase chief legal officer Faryar Shirzad.

“It’s time to get CLARITY done,” Shirzad said in an X post on Friday, after US Senator Thom Tillis and US Senator Angela Alsobrooks published the final text aimed at settling the stablecoin yield dispute between the banking and crypto industries, which has centered on whether such yields would harm the banking system’s competitiveness.

“In the end, the banks were able to get more restrictions on rewards, but we protected what matters – the ability for Americans to earn rewards, based on real usage of crypto platforms and networks,” Shirzad said.

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Bitcoin chases $80,000 as rising spot volumes and futures open interest suggest the market has shifted back in the bulls’ favor.

Several Bitcoin (BTC) data points suggest that $80,000 is the next destination for the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin gained 2.52% to trade above $78,800 on Friday after holding support at the 100-day exponential moving average. Spot market buy volumes also strengthened while the cumulative volume delta (CVD) reached 11,500 BTC, its highest level since Feb. 17. 

BTC futures activity is picking up, with the open interest rising 6.64% to 257,000 BTC, indicating fresh positioning.

Bitcoin rebounded from its 100-day exponential moving average (100-EMA) after retesting the daily trend over the past two days. The move lifted the price by 2.52% to $78,800 on Friday, holding the short-term uptrend intact.

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XRP social media sentiment has turned bullish following integration with Rakuten Wallet, but resistance at $1.40 could cap the upside.

XRP’s (XRP) sentiment on social media has risen sharply over the last few days, but overhead resistance at $1.40 kept the price in consolidation.

Key takeaways:

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Technical charts suggest that Bitcoin’s rally continuation is fully dependent on bulls securing a weekly close above $75,000.

Key points:

Bitcoin (BTC) has risen above $78,000, extending upon its 11.87% rally in April, per CoinGlass data. The recovery in April was supported by solid buying in the US spot BTC exchange-traded funds, which saw $1.97 billion in inflows, according to SoSoValue data.

The rally is expected to encounter selling in the zone between the True Market Mean at $78,000 and the Short-Term Holder (STH) cost basis at $79,000. Analysts are closely monitoring the $80,000 level, which needs to be flipped into support for confirmation that bulls remain in control.

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AI and blockchain infrastructure company Gency AI today announced it has raised $20 million in a new funding round.

San Francisco, U.S.A., March 17, 2026 — AI and blockchain infrastructure company Gency AI today announced it has raised $20 million in a new funding round. The round saw participation from several institutions, including Y&ZC Capital, MTmetaworld Holdings, Riverpark, ArkStream, MH Ventures, ViaBTC and Basics Capital.

The fresh capital is earmarked for scaling Gency AI’s decentralized advertising execution and settlement network, hardening its privacy-preserving computing stack, and accelerating product deployment and ecosystem partnerships across North America, Asia, and Europe.

The global digital advertising market continues to grow rapidly, but many execution and settlement processes still rely on centralized platforms. Industry participants have highlighted ongoing challenges related to attribution transparency, data ownership, and reconciliation cycles between advertisers, publishers, and agencies.

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Crypto markets splinter as miners pivot to AI, BitMine doubles down on ETH, stablecoin liquidity idles, and tokenized Treasurys reshape trading collateral.

Historically, crypto markets have been driven by a dominant narrative. Not today. 

In one corner, miners are trying to break free of four-year cycles. IREN is being recast as an AI infrastructure company, with analysts pointing to data centers and compute demand as the real growth engine. In another corner, BitMine is doing the exact opposite, pouring billions deeper into Ether (ETH) even as losses mount. 

The disconnect doesn’t stop there. Stablecoin balances have ballooned to over $300 billion, yet activity has dropped sharply. It reflects capital waiting, with no clear consensus on what comes next.

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Crypto faces backlash for freezing stolen funds and for doing nothing, with expectations pulling in opposite directions.

Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols are stepping in to freeze stolen funds while centralized issuers face criticism for holding back.

A recent intervention on Arbitrum saw attacker-linked assets frozen after a major exploit, while some stablecoin issuers, including Circle, have faced public backlash for slower or more limited responses in similar situations.

Connor Howe, CEO and co-founder of cross-chain infrastructure project Enso, said that crypto protocols are not that different from centralized platforms or banks if a small group of people can freeze funds.

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Crypto VC funding fell to $659 million in April, its lowest monthly total since July 2024, as dealmaking slowed across the sector.

Crypto venture capitalist (VC) funding plunged to a near two-year low in April as investors pulled back from crypto start-ups and early-stage companies.

Crypto VC funding fell to $659 million across 63 funding rounds in April, down 74% from the $2.6 billion seen across 84 rounds in March, according to Cryptorank data. This brings the total year-to-date investments to $5.64 billion so far in 2026. 

The April total was the lowest monthly fundraising sum since July 2024, when crypto projects raised $622 million across 132 rounds.

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Dogecoin whale wallets hit record DOGE holdings as the price rallies 23.5%, strengthening the memecoin’s rally chances in May.

Dogecoin (DOGE) has outpaced the broader crypto market over the past month, rising roughly 18% versus the market’s 10% gain, as whale accumulation and a bullish chart setup hint at a potential bottom.

DOGE/USDT vs. TOTAL crypto market cap 30-day returns. Source: TradingView

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US spot Bitcoin ETFs posted strong April inflows as Bitcoin rallied, with IBIT leading gains despite late-month outflows across funds.

US-listed spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) finished April in the green as Bitcoin rallied throughout the month.

Bitcoin ETFs drew $1.97 billion in inflows in April, well above March’s $1.37 billion, marking their highest monthly inflows of the year, according to SoSoValue data.

With inflows in March and April offsetting outflows in January and February, Bitcoin ETFs now show about $1.47 billion in net inflows for 2026. The cumulative net inflows to the products since they launched have topped $58 billion.

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Brazil’s central bank barred virtual assets from settlement inside regulated eFX payment rails as it tightens oversight of crypto-linked flows.

Brazil’s central bank, Banco Central do Brasil (BCB), has barred the use of virtual assets in certain regulated international payment and transfer services, tightening rules for cross-border payment providers operating under the country’s eFX framework.

On Thursday, BCB published Resolution BCB No. 561, amending existing rules for eFX, a regulated category covering international payments and transfers. The resolution states that payments or receipts between an eFX provider and its foreign counterparty must be carried out exclusively through a foreign exchange transaction or movement in a non-resident Brazilian real account, with the use of virtual assets prohibited.

The restriction also applies under transitional rules for eFX providers that are not yet listed among approved provider categories. Those firms may continue providing eFX only if they apply for authorization from the central bank by May 31, 2027, but their payments and receipts must still use foreign exchange transactions or non-resident real accounts, not virtual assets. 

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SBI Holdings is in discussions to make Bitbank a subsidiary, adding to its push to acquire crypto exchanges amid improving regulatory clarity in Japan.

Tokyo-based SBI Holdings has opened talks to acquire shares in cryptocurrency exchange Bitbank and make it a consolidated subsidiary, extending its push to consolidate regulated crypto trading platforms in Japan as the country moves toward securities-style rules for digital assets.

The financial conglomerate said Friday it is considering a share acquisition as part of a potential capital and business alliance with Bitbank. The deal remains subject to due diligence, negotiations and internal approvals, SBI said.

The talks come a month after SBI VC Trade absorbed Bitpoint Japan on April 1, with SBI VC Trade becoming the surviving company. A Bitbank acquisition would give SBI a larger position in Japan’s crypto exchange market at a time when policymakers are preparing to bring crypto assets under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.

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Bitcoin finished April above $76,000 to preserve most of its monthly gains, but the S&P 500 stole the limelight with a trip back to record highs.

Bitcoin (BTC) eyed $77,500 on Friday after US stocks posted fresh record highs on strong tech earnings.

Key points:

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Bakkt announced the deal in January, which was originally for 9.3 million shares, along with a corporate name change to Bakkt Inc.

Digital asset company Bakkt completed its acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure firm Distributed Technologies Research (DTR) through an equity-based transaction as part of its bid to create a digital settlement layer.

Bakkt CEO Akshay Naheta said on Thursday that the deal aims to combine Bakkt’s institutional infrastructure with DTR’s native artificial intelligence payments engine and stablecoin technology to create a 24/7 digital settlement layer.

“The architecture of money movement rarely evolves at this level,” he said. “This transaction accelerates the re-platforming of global financial infrastructure. By fully integrating DTR's technology, we are introducing stablecoin functionality as a critical bridge between legacy financial systems and the next generation of digital assets.”

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The top stablecoin issuer’s balance sheet remains heavily concentrated in US Treasuries as stablecoin adoption expands across emerging markets.

Stablecoin issuer Tether (USDT) reported $1.04 billion in net profit for the first quarter of 2026, as its excess reserves rose to a record $8.23 billion, according to its latest attestation on Friday.

The company said its reserves remain heavily concentrated in US Treasuries, with around $141 billion in direct and indirect exposure, while total assets of about $191.8 billion exceeded liabilities of approximately $183.5 billion as of March 31.

Tether said this level of exposure makes it the 17th largest holder of US Treasuries globally. Beyond Treasuries, reserves included about $20 billion in physical gold and $7 billion in Bitcoin (BTC).

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The card links self-custodied wallets to Mastercard rails, allowing AI agents to spend stablecoins at checkout without preloading funds or moving assets offchain.

MoonPay is launching a virtual debit card that allows users and AI agents to spend stablecoins directly from self-custodied onchain wallets at merchants that accept Mastercard, using real-time crypto-to-fiat conversion at checkout.

The card, developed with Monavate and Exodus Movement, Inc., connects onchain wallets to traditional card rails, enabling transactions without preloading funds or transferring assets offchain, with smart contracts authorizing spending at the point of purchase.

Available through MoonPay’s CLI and agent workflows to users in the UK and Latin America, the card is designed for programmatic use, allowing users to delegate spending permissions to AI agents, with identity verification required before issuance, the company said.

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Futures drove up Bitcoin's price in April while spot demand declined, which CryptoQuant warned has historically preceded extended price declines.

Bitcoin could be setting up for a multimonth price decline, after a rally in April driven mainly by futures traders while spot demand declined, according to the crypto analytics firm CryptoQuant.

Bitcoin gained around 20% in April, rising from $66,000 to a peak of $79,000 in a rally “driven entirely by growth in perpetual futures demand,” CryptoQuant said in a report on Thursday. 

Meanwhile, spot demand for Bitcoin contracted throughout the rally, “indicating that the market’s marginal buyer was speculative, not fundamental,” it said.

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The Bitcoin FUD-stopping tool cites over 22 peer-reviewed research papers to address common misconceptions about Bitcoin.

A group of Bitcoiners has launched a new open-source AI tool that generates evidence-based responses to misconceptions about Bitcoin’s environmental impact, energy use and its role in the financial system. 

Nordic-based Bitcoin education platform Bitcoin Beyond 66 said it built “The Bitcoin Evidence Base” at a time when there is a “growing body of peer-reviewed research” showing the environmental benefits of Bitcoin mining, but “outdated data, methodologically weak studies, or plain lack of knowledge” continue to negatively shape public perception.

The database seeks to offer users quick access to relevant, evidence-based information about Bitcoin mining and related topics so they can share it with social media posters who have knowingly or unknowingly spread incorrect information about Bitcoin. 

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Carrot's total value locked has collapsed 93% in a month, from $28 million to $1.99 million, leaving the protocol financially unable to continue.

Solana-based decentralized finance yield protocol Carrot said Thursday that it is shutting down permanently, becoming one of the first DeFi protocols to fall due to contagion from the Drift Protocol exploit in early April. 

In an X post on Thursday, Carrot said the Drift exploit was “catastrophic” for the protocol and had left it financially unable to continue operating. The platform set a May 14 deadline for users to withdraw remaining funds. It said it will continue to help recovery efforts related to Drift and distribute assets once they become available.

“We are setting May 14th as the deadline to withdraw any remaining funds from Boost, Turbo, and CRT before we will then begin to deleverage the system. Your deposited funds are still yours, but all leverage will be reduced to zero, freeing up all liquidity for CRT redemption,” the protocol’s team said.

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Bitcoin bulls took another swing at the $77,000 resistance, but profit-taking and traders’ reluctance to increase margin and spot longs limit the strength of each breakout.

Bitcoin (BTC) traders pushed the price to $77,400, but data suggests profit-taking may thwart the bull's goal of turning the $77,000 to $80,000 zone into support. 

Orderbook data from TRDR shows over $130 million in asks extending from $76,700 to $79,300. 

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Tokenized US Treasurys were one of the biggest growth areas of the RWA market, rising from a market capitalization of $3.9 billion at the start of 2025 to more than $15 billion.

The size of the tokenized real-world asset (RWA) market has increased by more than 420% since the start of 2025, as investors were treated to easier market access and regulatory clarity, according to analysts.

The RWA market cap was about $5.8 billion on Jan. 1, 2025, but has since risen to more than $30.2 billion as of Wednesday, according to analytics platform RWA.xyz. Tokenized US Treasurys experienced the largest increase, from $3.9 billion at the start of 2025 to more than $15 billion, followed by commodities.

Dominick John, an analyst at Zeus Research, told Cointelegraph the surge in the RWA sector was driven by tokenized Treasurys, which offer compliant onchain access to real-world yield and effectively turn blockchain rails into a distribution layer for institutional capital.

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The US Senate unanimously passed a rule banning members and staff from prediction markets, with a similar resolution set to be introduced in the House.

The US Senate on Thursday unanimously approved a resolution banning its members and staff, who are often exposed to sensitive information, from using prediction markets.

The resolution, passed by unanimous consent, changed the Senate's rules and took immediate effect. 

“Engaging in any way in a prediction market or trying to place bets where we might have inside information deteriorates the confidence that our constituents have in us,” Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, who introduced the resolution, said on the Senate floor.

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Spot Bitcoin ETF outflows reached $490 million as crypto investors considered the impact of high oil prices, Big Tech earnings and a shortfall in AI industry growth metrics.

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin (BTC) faced three consecutive days of outflows from US-listed spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The outflows coincided with a failed attempt to reclaim $78,000. Traders fear more downside, but heightened US inflation will likely act as a catalyst for further bullish momentum.

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Short-term traders took profit each time BTC rallied above $77,000, creating overhead sell pressure that has capped BTC’s ability to reach $80,000.

Bitcoin's (BTC) attempts to trade above $77,000 have failed multiple times over the past week, despite traders managing a one-day breakout to $79,500. Data shows short-term holders taking profits as the rally peaked, sending 150,000 BTC to exchanges since April 15. 

Crypto analyst Darkfost noted the continued fragility among short-term holders (STHs), or wallets holding BTC for less than 155 days. As the price rose over the past two weeks, BTC transfers from these wallets to exchanges increased.

Three consecutive sessions saw 65,000 BTC, 54,600 BTC and 39,000 BTC sent to exchanges and these flows may have prevented Bitcoin from overtaking the resistance level at $80,000.

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A Bitso report shows shifting user behavior as dollar-linked stablecoins gain traction for everyday financial use across Latin America’s inflation-hit economies.

Digital asset adoption in Latin America is evolving, with more users now converting funds into stablecoins than into Bitcoin — a shift that reflects growing pressure from local economic conditions.

According to Bitso’s 2025 report on crypto adoption in Latin America, 40% of crypto purchases in 2025 were US dollar-linked stablecoins such as Tether’s USDt (USDT) and Circle’s USDC (USDC), while Bitcoin (BTC) accounted for 18%. The report marks the first time stablecoin purchases have surpassed Bitcoin in the region.

The findings are based on data from Bitso’s nearly 10 million retail users across its exchange platform.

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Bitcoin found support above a key investor cost-basis level as spot BTC ETF flows and spot positioning compressed BTC’s price range in preparation for the next trending move.

Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $76,350, which is above several key investors' cost-basis levels. The one-to-three-month holder average sits at $75,620, placing a large share of recent buyers near breakeven, while the price sits just below the US spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) cost basis of $76,700. 

The short-term holder (STH) cost basis and the adjusted realized price extend on either side of this range, increasing the importance of the $75,000 level as a near-term support pivot. 

The one-to three-month holder cohorts share an average cost basis of $75,620. That level capped the price earlier in March when BTC fell to $62,000 from $75,600 in two weeks, but now it aligns as a potential support pivot.

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Sentora has announced that Sentora Smart Yield is now publicly available, opening access to its DeFi vault discovery and monitoring platform to all users.

April 30, 2026 – Sentora has announced that Sentora Smart Yield is now publicly available, opening access to its DeFi vault discovery and monitoring platform to all users.

As DeFi vaults become a core way capital moves onchain, Sentora is opening public access to the same research-led yield infrastructure it has used to support institutional deployments.

This comes as vaults have become a key part of DeFi infrastructure, and risk curators already account for nearly $7 billion in DeFi capital through curated vault structures.

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Polymarket has selected Chainalysis to flag suspicious trades as insider betting concerns mount and regulators tighten scrutiny on prediction markets.

Prediction market platform Polymarket is rolling out new monitoring and detection tools following backlash over alleged insider-informed betting activity, partnering with blockchain analytics company Chainalysis to strengthen oversight.

Polymarket said Thursday it selected Chainalysis to provide an onchain market integrity solution aimed at monitoring trading activity and enforcing platform rules.

The detection model is “designed to surface patterns consistent with insider knowledge in prediction markets,” the company said.

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Despite Ether’s 8% deviation from 10-week highs above $2,460, data suggests that ETH's price could still rise toward $3,000 as a new month begins.

Ether (ETH) has rebounded more than 25% from its February low below $1,800, and a mix of technical and onchain signals suggests the recovery may still have more room to run in May.

Key takeaways:

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Bitcoin price action risked repeating January's breakdown despite April being poised to offer the best monthly BTC price gains in a year.

Bitcoin (BTC) rebounded above $76,000 at Thursday’s Wall Street open while traders stayed bearish on the short-term BTC price outlook.

Key points:

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HederaCon 2026 will take place on May 4 at the Faena Forum in Miami Beach, bringing together leaders from global finance, policy, and enterprise to explore how tokenization, stablecoins, interoperability, and AI-powered financial systems are moving into real-world adoption.

April 30, 2026 – HederaCon 2026 will take place on May 4 at the Faena Forum in Miami Beach, bringing together leaders from global finance, policy, and enterprise to explore how tokenization, stablecoins, interoperability, and AI-powered financial systems are moving into real-world adoption.

Taking place in between the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix and Consensus 2026, it’s a timely stop for those already in the city, and a one-day event you don’t want to miss on your Miami schedule.

Across two stages, Main Stage and The Trust Layer Stage, the agenda focuses on how trust is being embedded into financial systems, real-world assets, and the infrastructure underpinning the digital economy. Discover the full agenda here: https://hederacon.hedera.com/agenda.

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Brighty data shows Spain leading EURC retail usage, offering an early look at how euro stablecoins are being used under MiCA.

Spain appears to be the strongest retail market for Circle’s euro-pegged stablecoin EURC on crypto banking platform Brighty, according to company data.

Spain led EURC usage by a wide margin in 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, accounting for about 36% of transactions and 25% of volume, according to Brighty data seen by Cointelegraph.

“For Spanish users, EURC functions essentially as a standard euro on a card with no exchange rate friction when transacting against USDC,” Brighty co-founder Nick Denisenko said.

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A large overhead supply cluster, increased profit-taking activity and the resumption of spot Bitcoin ETF outflows are key factors keeping BTC price pinned below $80,000.

Bitcoin (BTC) rebounded 32% to a 10-week high of $79,500 on April 22 from its sub-60,000 multi-year low. But recent buyers took advantage of the rally to exit as the price has since corrected to $76,000 on Thursday, with $80,000 proving a tough barrier to break.

Key takeaways:

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Stablecoin payments company Kast hired former SEC adviser Stephanie Allen as it expands licensing, communications and policy efforts after an $80 million raise.

Stablecoin payments company Kast Kast has hired former US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) communications official Stephanie Allen as head of corporate and policy communications, as the company builds out its licensing and policy operation following an $80 million funding round last month.

Kast said Thursday that Allen will work with senior leadership on policy and communications as the company prepares to launch Kast Business and expand further across North America, Latin America and the Middle East. The company said the hire is tied to its next phase of growth and regulatory engagement.

Allen previously served as acting director of the SEC’s Office of Public Affairs and earlier held senior media relations and speechwriting roles at the agency. Kast said she also advised the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, though that role does not appear in the SEC’s public biography of Allen.

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Solana is launching a Swiss-based research institute and practitioner guide to help European financial institutions evaluate its blockchain as regulatory clarity and onchain usage grow.

Solana is launching a Swiss-based research body to help financial firms interpret evolving crypto regulations, as competition intensifies between public blockchains and permissioned networks for institutional adoption.

The Solana Research Institute (SRI), founded by former Euroclear executive Angus Scott, is debuting alongside a roughly 60-page report aimed at senior financial practitioners evaluating the network, according to a Thursday release shared with Cointelegraph. Contributors include the Solana Foundation, Jito, R3 and Figment.

The initiative is designed to help institutions navigate frameworks such as Europe’s Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework and the United States’ Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, as regulatory clarity begins to shape how firms engage with digital assets.

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Prosecutors say Jeong Sang-ho’s “active deceptive acts” left nearly 2,800 investors frozen out of their funds, as South Korea's crackdown on the crypto industry widens.

South Korean prosecutors have requested a 20-year prison sentence for the CEO of crypto deposit service Delio, calling the scale of alleged fraud against thousands of investors “massive.”

During closing arguments at the Seoul Southern District Court on Thursday, prosecutors asked the court to sentence Jeong Sang-ho under the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, citing what they described as deliberate deception and false promotion that left nearly 2,800 victims without access to their funds, according to the Korean news agency Yonhap.

“The defendant’s active deceptive acts and false promotion have resulted in numerous victims, and the scale of the damage is massive," prosecutors reportedly said, adding that Jeong was “exacerbating their suffering by evading responsibility and maintaining an uncooperative attitude.”

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The FCA signs off rules to let UK funds keep registers onchain and add a new Direct‑to‑Fund dealing model, aiming to simplify tokenized funds inside the existing regime.

The United Kingdom’s financial regulator has signed off on new rules and guidance for tokenized funds, aiming to make it easier for asset managers to use blockchains within the existing fund regime rather than in separate experimental structures.

In a Thursday policy statement, PS26/7, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said tokenization and distributed ledger technology (DLT) could make fund management more efficient and that it wants to “support innovation in the UK asset management sector,” as part of a digital assets roadmap first outlined in a January 2025 letter to the prime minister.

The changes give firms a clearer path to integrate blockchain into regulated fund operations, as policymakers seek to modernize market infrastructure without altering existing investor protection frameworks, and reflect a broader push to bring tokenized finance into the regulatory perimeter rather than allowing it to develop in parallel systems.

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Bitcoin’s 40% rebound against gold signals a potential bottom, echoing past setups that preceded strong BTC/USD rallies.

Bitcoin (BTC) may undergo a massive rally, based on a recurring gold chart pattern, with gains of up to 180% over the next 12 months.

Key takeaways:

The bullish signal comes from the Bitcoin-to-gold ratio (BTC/XAU), which tracks BTC’s performance relative to gold in US dollar terms. Historically, sharp rebounds in this ratio have aligned with major Bitcoin cycle bottoms, often preceding strong upside.

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The US CFTC has sued four states for trying to enforce state-level gambling laws on prediction markets, meanwhile Strategy stacked over 56,000 BTC.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is suing New York, Connecticut, Arizona and Illinois for applying state-level gambling laws to prediction markets. 

The move follows a heated legal argument between states and companies like Kalshi, as they fight over who has jurisdiction to regulate the “prediction” platforms. Other states have issued cease-and-desist letters or sued the prediction markets.

Strategy bought over 56,000 Bitcoin. One of its last purchases in April was funded by a $250 million sale of the company’s common stock. 

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THORWallet has partnered with Swiss-regulated provider Unblock to expand global access to non-custodial Mastercard solutions, advancing self-custodial finance adoption.

April 30, 2026 – THORWallet has partnered with Swiss-regulated provider Unblock to expand global access to non-custodial Mastercard solutions, advancing self-custodial finance adoption. This strategic collaboration enables the issuance of non-custodial cards in over 175 countries, allowing users to leverage digital assets for daily payments within a secure, compliant framework.

Rather than choosing one of the larger established crypto card players such as ether.fi or Kulipa, THORWallet selected Unblock for a very specific reason: flexibility, regulatory alignment, and global reach.

Unblock is headquartered in Switzerland, operates under a Swiss regulatory framework and maintains offices in Panama, Medellin, and Miami. This international setup allows the company to support efficient card issuance and delivery across more than 175 countries, giving THORWallet the ability to serve users in almost every region of the world.Unblock is headquartered in Switzerland, operates under a Swiss regulatory framework and maintains offices in Panama, Medellin, and Miami. This international setup allows the company to support efficient card issuance and delivery across more than 175 countries, giving THORWallet the ability to serve users in almost every region of the world. With this extensive reach, we are uniquely positioned to scale globally with speed and efficiency, reaching users in markets that remain inaccessible to most competitors.

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OKX published a new open-standard payment protocol for autonomous AI agents in business and commerce, aiming to support more complex financial interactions.

Cryptocurrency exchange OKX has launched an open payments protocol for artificial intelligence agents, joining a growing push by crypto and payments companies to build infrastructure that lets software agents pay for services and transact with less human input.

The new cross-chain Agent Payments Protocol (APP) is designed to let AI agents operate and communicate autonomously. OKX said Wednesday that the cross-chain standard can handle agent-to-agent payments, recurring or top-up payment flows and other automated payment arrangements across business processes. The company also said agents will be able to negotiate with each other, escrow funds and release them on verified task delivery.

OKX said the framework is built around its self-custodial Agentic Wallet and Payment SDK, with support on X Layer and broader cross-chain implementation. The company is pitching the protocol as a way for AI agents to move from simple payment requests to more autonomous commercial activity.

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Losses from crypto hacks have topped $630 million in April across more than 25 hacks, with DeFi dominating major incidents and exploits accelerating despite security updates.

The cryptocurrency industry has seen a sharp spike in hacks in April, with losses topping $600 million in the worst month for crypto hacks in more than a year.

According to DeFiLlama, the total value hacked in April so far amounted to $629.7 million, the highest since $1.47 billion in February 2025. With KelpDAO’s $293 million hack and Drift Protocol’s $280 million exploit accounting for 82% of the monthly losses, decentralized finance (DeFi) has taken the unwanted crown as the most targeted sector over the past month.

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US has seized nearly $500 million in Iranian crypto assets, surpassing the previously reported $344 million freeze.

The United States has seized nearly $500 million in Iranian cryptocurrency assets as part of a sweeping economic pressure campaign against Tehran, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday.

Bessent made the comments during an appearance on Fox Business’s “Kudlow,” where he outlined the scope of Operation Economic Fury, a campaign ordered by President Donald Trump in March 2025 aimed at cutting off Iran’s financial lifelines through asset seizures, bank account freezes and secondary sanctions on countries that continue to buy Iranian oil.

“We are freezing bank accounts everywhere. More importantly, we are making people less willing to deal with the regime,” Bessent said, adding that retirement funds and overseas real estate held by Iranian officials are also being targeted.

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Shinhan Card signed a deal with Solana Foundation to expand stablecoin payment tests and explore non-custodial wallets and DeFi-based services.

One of South Korea’s largest credit card providers, Shinhan Card, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Solana Foundation to test stablecoin payment technology and explore the use of non-custodial wallets through a more advanced follow-on proof of concept (PoC). 

Following a joint pilot project completed at the beginning of April, the new partnership will conduct a more “advanced” PoC to explore the commercial feasibility of stablecoin payments for merchants and customers seeking an improved payment experience, Shinhan Card announced on Thursday.

The partnership will also explore developing a “hybrid financial model” that combines traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi) infrastructure.

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A draft vision for Australia’s domestic payments system says stablecoins and tokenized fiat currency could reshape how money moves across future rails.

Australia’s future account-to-account (A2A) payment systems may need to adapt if tokenized forms of money gain broader use, including stablecoins and tokenized liabilities, according to a draft vision for the country’s domestic payment rails.

The draft, co-developed by the Account-to-Account Payments Roundtable, which includes AusPayNet, Australian Payments Plus, the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Commonwealth Treasury, identifies digital assets as one of several external forces that could affect future A2A payments. 

“Tokenised forms of money, such as stablecoins and tokenised liabilities, are moving from experimentation to adoption,” the draft said, adding that the shift reflects a move toward programmable, ledger-based value that could enable new settlement models, continuous availability and more automated execution. 

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Crypto has become the most-muted topic on X since the platform launched its snooze feature, with AI-generated spam and InfoFi posting likely driving users to tune it out.

Crypto has topped the list of most-muted topics on X since the platform rolled out its snooze feature, with spam and artificial intelligence content, or "AI slop," likely playing a major role.

On Thursday, Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, revealed that crypto has become the most-muted topic ahead of politics, the Iran conflict, sports and business and finance, a notable shift in a platform that was once the heartbeat of Crypto Twitter.

The snooze feature, which lets Premium subscribers hide topics from their For You feed for 24 hours, was launched on April 22. At the time, Bier described the tool as a way for users to “crank up or turn down the slop,” apparently a nod to the flood of low-quality content that has increasingly plagued the platform.

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ETH price is retesting a long-term support trend line that previously preceded a 5,200% rally, a fractal setup pointing to a potential move toward $60,000 by 2030.

Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee shared a "generational play" thesis for Ethereum that predicts 3,000% upside in Ether (ETH) price to $60,000.

Key takeaways:

On Wednesday, Lee reposted a bullish outlook shared by analyst Crypto Patel that predicted ETH's price reaching $60,000 in the coming years.

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Bitcoin price action remained weak as the US-Iran war delivered a Fed meeting that was the "most hawkish in years" and oil neared four-year highs.

Bitcoin (BTC) failed to recover new support on Thursday as oil hit its highest levels in nearly four years.

Key points:

Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD circling $76,000, down around 2% from the previous day’s high.

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The latest stablecoin move comes years after Meta first dipped its toes into stablecoins through Libra in 2019, before scrapping the plans in 2022 due to regulatory pushback.

US tech giant Meta has launched USDC payouts for creators on its platforms in the Philippines and Colombia, with plans to expand to additional markets. 

Creators who opt into the service will receive payments directly into crypto wallets on the Solana and Polygon blockchains. However, Meta does not offer a built-in conversion option, so an external exchange is required to convert USDC into fiat currency, according to the announcement on Wednesday. 

The service is currently available only to select creators in Colombia and the Philippines, but Polygon said Wednesday that the stablecoin rollout is expected to expand to more jurisdictions soon.

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Republican Senator Thom Tillis says the Senate’s version of the CLARITY Act has “made a lot of progress,” and it was time for lawmakers to vote on advancing the bill.

US Senator Thom Tillis says he will push the Senate Banking Committee to advance the stalled crypto market structure bill, as the text of the bill has made progress and is ready for another vote.

Tillis, a key Senate Banking Republican, told reporters on Wednesday that he would ask Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott “to move forward with scheduling a markup” when the Senate is back in session on May 11.

“I think that we've made a lot of progress,” Tillis said. “But at the end of the day, until you have a forcing mechanism of a markup, everybody that really doesn't want it done is going to have one more thing that they want to talk about, and I think it's time to get it before the committee, move it forward.”

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MARA's shares jumped as it added a 505-MW power plant and data center site to expand into AI infrastructure.

Bitcoin miner MARA said it agreed to acquire Long Ridge Energy & Power for about $1.5 billion, adding a 505-megawatt gas-fired power plant and a co-located data center site in Ohio. 

The company's Nasdaq-traded shares surged more than 12% following Thursday's announcement, extending a broader rally that has seen the stock gain about 55% over the past month, according to Yahoo Finance data.

Source: Yahoo Finance

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The move expands DeFi institutional assets to include Wall Street heavy hitters.

Centrifuge is bringing tokenized Treasurys, AAA-rated CLOs and private credit to the Monad blockchain, making for the first availability of institutional-grade assets on the network.

According to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph, the integration includes tokenized products from Janus Henderson and Apollo Global Management, including JTRSY, JAAA and ACRDX, with investors holding onchain fund shares that represent direct claims on the underlying assets and support in-kind redemptions.

Centrifuge is also introducing freely transferable versions of these assets (deJTRSY, deJAAA and deCRDX) designed for use across the Monad ecosystem in lending, collateral and secondary market activity.

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The proposal to unlock more than 62 billion WLFI tokens over four to five years has 99.95% approval but is still facing backlash on X. 

The native token of Trump-family-linked World Liberty Financial dropped nearly 14% on Wednesday as a controversial governance proposal that would place over 62 billion WLFI tokens under new multiyear vesting schedules went to a community vote.

The proposal was first submitted to the World Liberty governance community on April 15 and officially went live for voting on Wednesday. It proposes locking more than 62 billion WLFI tokens held by early investors and insiders for two years before gradually being released over a span of two to three years. 

Voting runs until May 7. At the time of writing, 99.95% of votes are in favor of the proposal, and the quorum requirement of 1 billion WLFI tokens has already been met, with 6 billion tokens in favor and 3.2 million against.

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Tether proposed that Elektron founder and CEO Raphael Zagury serve as president of the proposed merged company, while Strike's Jack Mallers would also serve in an executive role.

Shares in the Bitcoin-buying company Twenty One Capital climbed in after-hours trading on Wednesday after its majority shareholder, Tether, proposed a three-way merger with two other crypto companies.

Tether said Wednesday that it intends to vote in favor of a proposed merger between Twenty One Capital and Bitcoin payments company Strike, followed by a proposed merger of the combined company with Bitcoin mining firm Elektron Energy.

Tether added that if the mergers go through, “Strike would be contributing a profitable financial services platform, global distribution and regulatory infrastructure and Elektron would be adding large-scale Bitcoin mining infrastructure, operational depth and proven execution capabilities.”

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In another police action, European police arrested 10 people and took down three scam centers, estimated to have stolen over $58 million from victims around the world.

A Dubai police-led international crackdown on scam rings last week resulted in the arrest of 276 individuals and the shutdown of at least nine crypto scam centers, the US Department of Justice revealed on Wednesday. 

In a joint operation with the FBI and China’s Ministry of Public Security, Dubai authorities arrested 275 people, with an additional person arrested by the Royal Thai Police. 

Six people have been charged in connection with the scam centers. Four of the defendants and two fugitive co-conspirators were charged with federal fraud and money laundering in federal court in San Diego, according to the DOJ. If convicted, each offense carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison and hefty fines.

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Bitcoin derivatives highlight traders’ nervous view as the Federal Reserve holds interest rates and BTC struggles to trade above its range highs. Are the bears back?

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin (BTC) faced rejection at $77,800 on Wednesday, then retested the $76,000 level. This movement followed a correction in the S&P 500 Index as the war in Iran reached its 60-day mark, driving crude oil prices toward $118. While demand for leveraged bearish Bitcoin futures positions increased, the long-to-short ratio of whales at major exchanges indicates a different trend.

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Bitcoin dropped under $75,000 after FOMC minutes showed the US Federal Reserve holding interest rates and expressing slight concerns over inflation and the war in Iran.

Bitcoin (BTC) extended its two-day decline on Wednesday after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes confirmed the Fed’s decision to hold “the target range for the federal funds rate at 3-½ to 3-¾ percent.” 

While the Fed maintains its goal of achieving “maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run,” the FOMC minutes cited the “developments in the Middle East” as factors fueling an environment of “uncertainty” and the Fed stressed its desire to maintain optionality as it evaluates the “risks to both sides of its dual mandate.” 

FOMC minutes with new statements in red. Source: CNBC

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RealOpen, the leading platform for buying real estate with crypto, today announced the conclusion of its collaborative "Fast Moves, Fast Payments" Holiday Campaign with TRON

Los Angeles, California, April 29, 2026 – RealOpen, the leading platform for buying real estate with crypto, today announced the conclusion of its collaborative "Fast Moves, Fast Payments" Holiday Campaign with TRON, the leading settlement layer for stablecoin transactions. The campaign, which ran from November 17, 2025, through February 28, 2026, offered eligible U.S. homebuyers up to 50,000 USDT in rewards for purchasing property through RealOpen using USDT on the TRON blockchain, illustrating the network’s real-world use across both everyday payments and high-value transactions.

RealOpen combines the reliability of traditional real estate with the speed and efficiency of crypto. Through its platform, buyers can purchase any property on the market and fund the purchase directly with digital assets, making blockchain-powered homebuying accessible without sacrificing the familiarity of conventional real estate transactions.

Over the course of the campaign, RealOpen recorded 343 user sign-ups, with 27 completing KYC verification, and approximately $9.4 million in USDT on TRON verified by new users. A total of 69 real estate agents were onboarded through the accompanying 2025 TRON Real Estate Challenge, signaling increased industry participation in crypto-enabled property transactions.

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Businesses can now allocate idle cash to a government-backed fund via Stable Sea, as tokenized Treasury products gain traction in corporate finance.

Treasury management startup Stable Sea has integrated WisdomTree’s tokenized US Treasury money market fund into its platform, in a move aimed at helping businesses generate yield on idle cash.

On Wednesday, Stable Sea said the WisdomTree Government Money Market Digital Fund (WTGXX) is now available on its platform, allowing corporate clients to allocate excess cash to a government-backed fund rather than leaving it in low-yield bank accounts.

Stable Sea provides software that automatically reallocates — or “sweeps” — corporate cash balances into yield-bearing instruments. By integrating WTGXX, the company is extending that functionality to a tokenized fund that settles on blockchain infrastructure.

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Businesses can now allocate idle cash to a government-backed fund via Stable Sea, as tokenized Treasury products gain traction in corporate finance.

Treasury management startup Stable Sea has integrated WisdomTree’s tokenized US Treasury money market fund into its platform, in a move aimed at helping businesses generate yield on idle cash.

On Wednesday, Stable Sea said the WisdomTree Government Money Market Digital Fund (WTGXX) is now available on its platform, allowing corporate clients to allocate excess cash to a government-backed fund rather than leaving it in low-yield bank accounts.

Stable Sea provides software that automatically reallocates — or “sweeps” — corporate cash balances into yield-bearing instruments. By integrating WTGXX, the company is extending that functionality to a tokenized fund that settles on blockchain infrastructure.

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Bitcoin’s sell-off accelerated leading into this week’s FOMC, but charts highlight some positives for BTC and altcoins.

Key points:

Bitcoin (BTC) rallied above $77,900 on Wednesday, but the long wick on the candlestick shows selling on rallies. On-chain analyst Willy Woo said in a post on X that BTC needs to close above the $79,000 cost basis of recent investors to strengthen the recovery. Woo gave BTC only 30% odds of rising above $79,000 in this attempt.

Another cautious view came from crypto trading account CRYPTOWZRD, who highlighted the risks of downside in June. CRYPTOWZRD said in a post on X that historically BTC has corrected for a few months after a new Federal Reserve chair takes over. With Kevin Warsh slated to take over as the Fed chair in May, could BTC “break the curse,” or will it see a final dip? 

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Mexico's first peso-denominated blockchain escrow goes live on SPEI for high-value P2P transactions.

Mexico's first peso-denominated blockchain escrow goes live on SPEI for high-value P2P transactions.

Mexico City, April 29, 2026 — Kustodia, a programmable escrow platform for Latin America's high-value economy, today announced the public launch of its smart contract escrow service in Mexico. Buyers and sellers can now protect any transaction — from used vehicles to real estate deposits to B2B contracts — using SPEI, Mexico's instant payment rail. Funds are held in audited smart contracts until both parties confirm delivery, with no human intermediary involved.

Payment fraud stripped $44.3 billion from the global economy in 2024, according to Juniper Research. Latin America has the world's highest fraud rate, with 20 percent of merchant revenue lost annually. In Mexico, every dollar of fraud costs $4.08 in total economic damage — representing approximately $600 million USD in annual losses, according to data from Cloudflare and Mexico Business News.

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Bitcoin price volatility tends to spike before and after the FOMC, a pattern that is playing out this week. Will institutional investor BTC buying protect the $70,000 support?

Bitcoin (BTC) fell from its local high at $79,500 as traders repositioned ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Wednesday.

Historical data shows that since the start of 2025, BTC has corrected seven out of 10 times after an interest rate cut.

Bitcoin’s reaction to interest rate cut decisions in 2025 and 2026 shows a clear pattern. The price often moved higher in the days before the meeting, followed by negative returns afterward, as illustrated in the chart.

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Realmint officially launches today, opening doors for retail investors to access RWAs through a smarter, data-driven platform.

April 29, 2026 – Realmint officially launches today, opening doors for retail investors to access RWAs through a smarter, data-driven platform. Backed by Injective Foundation and Cointelegraph Accelerator, the platform combines scoring, aggregation, and one-click access to tokenized assets.

The market for tokenized real-world assets is growing fast, but for most users, understanding what they're actually buying is still far from simple. The barrier isn't access, it's understanding.

Assets are distributed across multiple chains and platforms, forcing users to manually navigate different ecosystems before even comparing options. Two tokens can represent the same asset, such as gold, while having completely different structures, levels of transparency, and risk profiles. One might be backed by audited reserves with clear redemption terms; another might offer little more than a whitepaper. For most users, these differences are not obvious, and there's currently no simple way to tell them apart.

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Coinbase survey results and onchain data suggest that Bitcoin is undervalued and at the tail end of its bear market phase.

More than 70% of crypto investors believe that Bitcoin (BTC) is undervalued, according to a recent Global Investor Survey conducted by Coinbase and Glassnode.

The survey found that 82% of institutions and 70% of non-institutions classify the market as a late bear cycle markdown phase, while onchain indicators suggest BTC is entering a “value-accumulation zone.” 

Coinbase Institutional Research surveyed 91 global investors between March 16 and April 7, including 29 institutions and 62 non-institutions. The responses show a sharp shift in perceptions for the current BTC market.

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Changelly, a leading instant cryptocurrency exchange and trusted blockchain API provider, is marking its 11th anniversary with a new company milestone.

April 29, 2026 – Changelly, a leading instant cryptocurrency exchange and trusted blockchain API provider, is marking its 11th anniversary with a new company milestone. More than 12 million users worldwide now rely on the platform's web and app alone for seamless digital asset swaps, purchases, and cash-outs—with API integrations driving an even greater volume of users beyond that count. After more than a decade on the market, the platform has grown to support 1,200 cryptocurrencies across 200 blockchains for instant crypto swaps.

To celebrate, the company is launching Changelly’s 11th Birthday Mystery Boxes—a limited-time in-app game available starting April 28, 2026, featuring prizes from Changelly and its partners, including Topper by Uphold, SafePal, OneKey, SecuX, and MyTonWallet.

Asset availability on Changelly has continued to expand. The platform now supports 1,200 cryptocurrencies, with 200 new coins added over the past year—a selection built around users’ preferences and market demand. Include Changelly DeFi, a recently launched cross-chain swap product accessible directly on the web platform and as a standalone app, and that figure grows to over 1 billion supported assets.

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Dogecoin’s latest rebound resembled bounces witnessed in mid-2023, raising the odds of a rally toward $0.33 in the coming weeks.

Dogecoin (DOGE) gained as much as 12% on Wednesday, leading gains in a broader relief rally across global risk markets ahead of the US Federal Reserve decision on interest rate cuts. 

Key takeaways:

DOGE rose as much as 14% to an intraday high of $0.112 on Wednesday from a low of $0.097, outperforming the broader crypto market.

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KuCoin EU hires a new AML chief and deputies in Vienna weeks after Austria’s regulator banned the MiCA‑licensed exchange from taking on new business over compliance gaps.

Update (April 29, 17:15 UTC): This article has been updated to include comments from KuCoin EU's AML officer Carmen Kleinhans and managing director Sabina Liu.

KuCoin EU has appointed a new Anti-Money Laundering (AML) chief and expanded its compliance team in Vienna, weeks after Austrian regulators barred the exchange from taking on new business under Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) regime.

The MiCA-licensed entity named Carmen Kleinhans as its Anti-Money Laundering Officer, alongside two deputy AML officers drawn from former Austrian regulators and bank compliance chiefs. According to a Wednesday release, the team will oversee AML, Counter-Terrorist Financing (CTF) and sanctions controls, as well as enterprise-wide risk management and regulatory engagement. Kleinhans told Cointelegraph that the focus is on embedding controls into day-to-day operations rather than “box-ticking” compliance.

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MoonPay has acquired Israel-based crypto security infrastructure provider Sodot, forming the foundation of its new institutional unit led by former CFTC Acting Chair Caroline Pham.

Crypto payments platform MoonPay is launching an institutional unit after acquiring Sodot, an Israeli crypto security infrastructure provider.

MoonPay on Wednesday announced the acquisition of Sodot, using Sodot’s key management technology as the core infrastructure layer of its new business serving financial institutions, asset managers, trading firms and exchanges entering digital asset markets.

"We built MoonPay to be the world's leading crypto payments network,” MoonPay co-founder and CEO Ivan Soto-Wright said in a press release, adding that its institutional arm is the next stage for the company.

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A new report by Bitget Wallet and Polymarket found that retail users are driving repeat activity on prediction markets, signaling a shift from one-off bets to continuous engagement.

Prediction markets are becoming one of the most active onchain applications, with retail users driving most activity even as participation across much of the broader digital asset market remains subdued.

According to a new report by Bitget Wallet and Polymarket, monthly trading volume reached $25.7 billion in March, with more than 80% of users classified as retail, defined as those trading less than $10,000.

The figures are broadly consistent with data from Dune Analytics, which recorded $23.7 billion in March trading volume, up from $1.9 billion a year earlier.

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Flying Tulip’s Andre Cronje says circuit breakers can give teams time to respond during abnormal outflows, while Curve’s Michael Egorov warns they may create new human vulnerabilities.

Andre Cronje says much of decentralized finance is “no longer DeFi” in the strict sense, as builders debate whether circuit breakers and other emergency controls are now necessary to protect users from exploits.

The Flying Tulip founder told Cointelegraph in an interview that many protocols are no longer immutable public goods, but rather “teams running for-profit businesses” with upgradeable contracts, offchain infrastructure and operational controls.

That shift changes the security model, he said. While early DeFi protocols were mostly defined by immutable smart contracts, newer systems often depend on proxy upgrades, multisigs, infrastructure providers, admin processes and human response teams, according to Cronje. 

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XRP price technicals are favoring a potential rebound to $2.15 as long as support at $1.40 is held, and institutional demand remains elevated.

XRP (XRP) price was up 1.2% over the last 24 hours to trade at $1.40 on Wednesday. Several market and technical factors suggest that the XRP/USD pair may climb further as long as key support levels hold.

Key takeaways:

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse is urging the XRP community to "lock in" as massive marketing campaigns take over the Las Vegas Strip ahead of the XRP Las Vegas 2026 (XRPLV26) conference. 

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The vulnerability behind ZetaChain's $334,000 exploit had been reported through its bug bounty program before the attack but was dismissed.

The vulnerability that led to ZetaChain’s recent exploit had been flagged through its bug bounty program before the attack, but was dismissed as intended behavior.

In a post-mortem published Wednesday, the team said the incident has prompted a review of how it handles bug bounty submissions, particularly reports involving chained attack vectors that may appear harmless in isolation but are dangerous in combination.

“This bug was reported and they simply ignored it,” one user wrote on X. “That's how bug bounty programs work with these protocols currently; they incentivize losses for the protocol, the TVL, and the user's balance instead of paying the researcher for discovering and fixing the bug,” they added.

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South Korea's Hana Financial, POSCO International and Upbit operator Dunamu have moved their blockchain remittance system into live trade transactions.

South Korea's Hana Financial Group, POSCO International and Dunamu, the operator of the crypto exchange Upbit, have signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding (MoU) to launch their blockchain-based remittance system, with POSCO International serving as the first real-world test case.

The agreement, signed Tuesday at Hana Financial Group's Seoul headquarters, follows a successful proof-of-concept (PoC) completed earlier this year by Hana and Dunamu, which showed that blockchain could reduce settlement times and costs compared to the traditional SWIFT framework. That pilot used Dunamu's proprietary GIWA Chain to replace SWIFT's messaging network for cross-border transfers.

The new MoU allows the system to be tested on real trade transactions for the first time, with POSCO International handling the actual fund flows, the company said in a Wednesday announcement.

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Polymarket is reportedly in talks with the CFTC to restore US access after its 2022 settlement, following a limited US rollout in December 2025 focused on sports contracts.

Polymarket is seeking regulatory approval to reopen its main prediction markets platform to US users, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

According to Bloomberg, Polymarket has been engaging with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to lift the prohibition on US-based customers.

The move would mark a broader US return for the company, which re-entered the market in a limited form last year through its regulated QCEX-based setup but still keeps Americans off its main international exchange.

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The FTC order ties Mashinsky’s $10 million payment to a mostly suspended $4.72 billion judgment that can be revived over asset disclosures.

Celsius founder Alexander Mashinsky agreed to a US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) settlement that permanently bars him from promoting asset-related products and requires a $10 million payment tied to a broader, mostly suspended $4.72 billion judgment. 

The stipulated order, entered by Judge Denise Cote in the Southern District of New York on Tuesday, said Mashinsky is “permanently restrained and enjoined” from advertising, marketing, promoting, offering or distributing any product or service that can be used to “deposit, exchange, invest, or withdraw assets.”

The order entered a $4.72 billion monetary judgment in favor of the FTC against Mashinsky, but most of it was suspended. Mashinsky must now pay $10 million to the FTC. However, the order said this obligation can also be satisfied if he pays at least $10 million to the US Department of Justice under the forfeiture order in his criminal case.

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Ottawa says Bitcoin ATMs have become a key tool for scammers, as regulators move to tighten oversight of high-risk parts of the crypto sector.

The Canadian government has proposed banning Bitcoin and other crypto ATMs, arguing the machines have become a primary on-ramp for fraudsters and money launderers rather than a convenient access point for everyday users.

The government's Spring Economic Update 2026, published on April 28, says crypto ATMs are a “primary method for scammers to defraud victims and for criminals to place their cash proceeds of crime,” and explicitly states that the government “proposes to ban crypto ATMs.”

The proposal states that Canadians will still be able to buy virtual currencies from brick-and-mortar money services businesses, but the standalone kiosks that have proliferated in malls, gas stations and corner stores would be phased out.

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Bitcoin fell after each new Federal Reserve chair began work, data showed, while Kevin Warsh gave mixed signals over policy for risk assets.

Bitcoin (BTC) may face “a few months” of downside as the new US Federal Reserve chair takes over next month.

Key points:

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The apparent hacker claimed to have breached other prediction markets and planned to release the data in the next few days.

Prediction markets platform Polymarket has denied recent reports that its customer data was breached after a hacker on the dark web posted what the person claimed was a trove of private user details.

Cybersecurity company Vecert Analyzer and several other X accounts that track dark web activity shared screenshots from DarkForums on Tuesday showing a hacker using the pseudonym “xorcat” claiming to have breached Polymarket.

In the post, xorcat said they had stolen over 300,000 records, including 10,000 unique user profiles with full names, profile images, proxy wallets and base addresses. 

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The proposed legislation would allow regulated funds to issue blockchain-based shares with full legal recognition and investor protections.

Gibraltar has introduced legislation that would legally recognize tokenized fund shares and allow certain regulated funds to issue shares on distributed ledger systems, granting investors the same rights as traditional shareholdings.

The Protected Cell Companies (Amendment) Bill 2026 states that “the holder of a share token is a shareholder with the same rights and obligations as any other holder of cell shares,” referring to shares linked to specific asset pools within a protected cell company.

Protected cell companies, typically insurance or financial entities, have a core organization that is linked to several independent cells, each with its own balance sheet.

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The move allows institutions to trade Bitcoin options through a prime brokerage layer using existing accounts.

Crypto exchange Bullish has expanded its integration with Ripple Prime to give institutional clients direct access to Bitcoin options trading, adding to existing spot, perpetual and futures connectivity through the platform’s prime brokerage network.

The integration connects Ripple Prime users to Bullish’s regulated Bitcoin (BTC) options markets, allowing trades to be funded through existing sub-accounts without additional onboarding, with stablecoins such as Ripple USD (RLUSD) supported as collateral.

RLUSD is a US dollar-pegged stablecoin designed for payments, settlement and use as collateral in digital asset markets. It has a market capitalization of about $1.57 billion, according to DeFiLlama data.

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Aptos said its new privacy coin could be used to enable businesses to transact onchain without competitors tracking treasury moves and trading strategies.

Aptos Labs founding engineer Sherry Xiao said Aptos’ newly introduced privacy coin could fix a long-standing trade-off between protecting user privacy and preserving transparency for compliance.

“Confidential APT” launched on the Aptos mainnet on Friday after a governance proposal to integrate the privacy feature passed in a near-unanimous vote. It uses zero-knowledge proofs to conceal token balances and transfer amounts while still enabling transactions to be verified.

Source: Aptos

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The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has sued Wisconsin in the agency’s fifth lawsuit against a US state to assert jurisdiction over prediction markets.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Tuesday sued the state of Wisconsin in the agency’s latest effort to assert jurisdiction over prediction markets after the state sued multiple platforms.

The CFTC said in a statement that it filed the lawsuit against Wisconsin “in response to the state’s lawsuits against Kalshi, Polymarket, Crypto.com, Robinhood, and Coinbase, five CFTC-regulated prediction markets.”

“States cannot circumvent the clear directive of Congress,” CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said. “Our message to Wisconsin is the same as to New York, Arizona, and others: if you interfere with the operation of federal law in regulating financial markets, we will sue you.”

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Robinhood’s Q1 earnings per share and revenue figures missed industry expectations, sending the company’s shares down nearly 10%.

Online trading platform Robinhood fell 9.4% in after-hours trading after its Q1 revenue missed analyst estimates, while crypto revenue and trading volume fell nearly 50% from a year ago. 

Robinhood’s crypto transaction revenue fell 47% year-on-year from $252 million to $134 million, while crypto trading volume fell 48% to $24 billion over the same period, according to the company’s Q1 earnings report on Tuesday. 

Robinhood’s transaction-based crypto revenue fell for the third consecutive quarter in Q1. Source: Robinhood 

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While Bitcoin exchange-traded funds and whale buying have contributed to the recent Bitcoin rally, the key driver has been consistent buying by Michael Saylor's treasury firm, Strategy, according to Bitwise's chief investment officer.

Bitcoin treasury company Strategy and its perpetual preferred stock, STRC, have been the “single biggest factor” in the recent rally of Bitcoin, which has jumped 20% from its February low, according to Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan.

Over the past eight weeks, Strategy has added $7.2 billion in Bitcoin, Hougan said in a report published Tuesday. 

“Yes, there have been multiple drivers of the recent rally, including strong buying from ETFs, $3.8 billion since March 1, and renewed purchases by long-term holders. But Strategy has been the single biggest factor,” he said. 

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A federal judge slammed Sam Bankman-Fried’s request for a new trial as seemingly “a plan to rescue his reputation,” denying the former FTX boss’s request.

A Manhattan federal judge has denied former FTX CEO and co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s motion for a new trial, rejecting his claim that there is new evidence.

Judge Lewis Kaplan, who oversaw Bankman-Fried’s trial in 2023 and sentenced him to 25 years in prison in early 2024, wrote in an order on Tuesday that Bankman-Fried’s claim of new evidence and witnesses was baseless.

“This motion appears to be one part of a plan to rescue his reputation that Bankman-Fried hatched and even committed to writing after FTX declared bankruptcy but before he was indicted,” Kaplan wrote.

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Bitcoin’s dip below $76,000 was driven by an AI sector sell-off and investors’ worries about slowed progress in the CLARITY Act negotiations.

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin (BTC) retreated below $76,000 on Tuesday, erasing gains from the prior week. This movement followed a 1% decline in the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index after OpenAI reported a shortfall in its revenue and user growth targets. While the AI industry may be a factor in Bitcoin’s decline, crypto market regulations and macroeconomic indicators are also contributing.

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Bitcoin price followed weakening US spot market demand as the Coinbase Premium Index turned negative for the first time in three weeks.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) Coinbase Premium Index has turned negative at -0.008 for the first time in three weeks, signaling a sharp reduction in US spot market demand and aligning with BTC's current price drop. The signal held across hourly readings through the next 48 hours, showing consistent selling pressure from US-based buyers. The shift comes as the net weekly average of BTC realized losses climbed to $829 million, suggesting reduced investor conviction. 

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A new system targets the mismatch between fast DeFi liquidations and slow asset redemptions, a key barrier to the use of tokenized assets in lending markets.

RedStone, a decentralized oracle provider, has launched a new settlement layer for decentralized finance, aiming to make tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) usable as collateral in lending protocols.

The system, called RedStone Settle, is designed to address a long-standing structural issue in DeFi. While lending platforms such as Aave rely on near-instant liquidations to manage risk, RWAs, including tokenized funds and bonds, typically have redemption periods ranging from 60 to 180 days. This mismatch has largely prevented RWAs from being used as collateral.

According to RedStone, the new layer introduces an onchain auction mechanism that is triggered during liquidation events. Liquidity providers can step in to purchase positions immediately, supplying protocols with liquidity while assuming the delayed redemption risk tied to the underlying assets.

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Canaan secures a new Tether order for modular mining hardware as the stablecoin issuer expands into integrated, data center-style Bitcoin infrastructure.

Canaan (CAN) has secured an additional order from Tether for custom Bitcoin mining hardware, extending their collaboration beyond an earlier research and development effort that tested new system designs for large-scale mining.

Under the new order, Canaan will supply high-density hash board modules designed for immersion-cooled systems, with usage planned at a Tether-linked facility in South America, the crypto mining tech maker announced on Tuesday. 

Canaan is supplying these systems to deepen its role as a custom hardware provider for large-scale operators such as Tether. The agreement follows a 2025 R&D partnership with ACME Swisstech, which resulted in a proof-of-concept platform to improve efficiency and scalability in mining operations.

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Bitcoin price downside returned to send BTC to one-week lows thanks to renewed concerns over global oil supplies focused on the Strait of Hormuz blockade.

Bitcoin (BTC) headed to weekly lows after Tuesday’s Wall Street open as oil-supply woes panicked global markets.

Key points:

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The 30-day Trade-to-Feed competition marks BitMart's 8th anniversary and the exchange's strategic listing of EAT, the first cause coin.

The 30-day Trade-to-Feed competition marks BitMart's 8th anniversary and the exchange's strategic listing of EAT, the first cause coin.

New York, United States, April 28, 2026, Chainwire – BitMart, the global digital asset exchange serving millions of users worldwide, today launched the Trade-to-Feed competition, a 30-day trading competition paying out up to $4.4 million USDT in trader rewards. The campaign marks BitMart's eighth anniversary and the exchange's listing of EAT (WYDE: End Hunger), the first cause coin to list on a major centralized exchange.

Cause coins are an emerging asset class engineered so that fees from trading activity flow to charitable grant-making infrastructure alongside trader rewards. By making EAT the inaugural cause coin listing and pairing it with the largest competition in BitMart's history, the exchange is positioning itself ahead of a category where market activity produces measurable real-world outcomes.

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Bitcoin failed to break $80,000 resistance amid weak onchain fundamentals, but rising spot CVD could support a recovery.

Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $76,000 on Tuesday after failing to break $80,000 as uncertainties surrounding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and macroeconomic conditions unnerved the market. Meanwhile, technicals and onchain data sent mixed signals on BTC’s ability to sustain the recovery.

Key takeaways

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Mike Novogratz's Galaxy Digital posted a $216 million first-quarter loss as weaker crypto prices hit asset values, while Helios data center revenue nears.

Mike Novogratz’s digital asset company Galaxy Digital posted a $216 million loss in the first quarter of 2026, extending losses from the prior year.

Galaxy Digital (GLXY) reported first-quarter earnings Tuesday of a loss of $0.49 per diluted share, compared with a loss of $0.86 in Q1 2025. The earnings came in ahead of expectations, according to MarketBeat analysts, who had expected a loss of $0.59 per share.

Gross revenue for the quarter ended March 31 was $10.2 billion, compared with $10.2 billion in Q4 2025 and $12.9 billion in the same period a year earlier.

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US Anti-Money Laundering fines hit $900 million in the first half of 2025 as enforcement shifted from securities cases, while Basel rules and mandatory audits reshape crypto compliance, according to CertiK.

Anti-Money Laundering enforcement has overtaken securities violations as the leading regulatory threat facing crypto companies, according to CertiK, with the United States Department of Justice and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network imposing $900 million in AML-related fines during the first half of 2025.

The shift marks a sharp break from the US Securities and Exchange Commission-led enforcement cycle that defined earlier years of crypto regulation. SEC crypto-specific penalties collapsed 97% in penalty value year over year, dropping from $4.9 billion in 2024 to $142 million in 2025, according to a Tuesday report by blockchain security auditor CertiK.

Transaction monitoring and licensing failures are now drawing penalties that rival or exceed many earlier crypto securities cases. The DOJ's February 2025 settlement with OKX reached $504 million, while KuCoin paid $297 million in January 2025, both for operating unlicensed money transmitting businesses and Bank Secrecy Act violations.

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Veteran trader Peter Brandt and other analysts question the $250,000 Bitcoin target, warning the current bear phase may not be over.

Bitcoin (BTC) is trading roughly 40% below its October 2025 record high near $126,000 despite its ongoing recovery.

Still, some of the cryptocurrency's loudest bulls, including billionaire investor Tim Draper and Fundstrat’s co-founder Tom Lee, have not backed down from their $250,000 year-end prediction, a target that would require more than a threefold rally from current levels.

Is that realistic, or is Bitcoin’s latest drawdown a warning that the cycle has already peaked?

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Crypto projects are shutting down as token funding weakens and fragmented structures leave them with limited options to restructure or recover.

A wave of crypto shutdowns is unfolding across the industry this year, hitting projects from trading platforms to analytics tools.

April was no exception, as decentralized email service Dmail said it is shutting down due to high infrastructure costs, failed fundraising and weak token utility.

“In prior cycles, projects could extend runway through new issuance or venture support,” Roshan Dharia, a restructuring advisor and CEO of crypto holding company Echo Base, told Cointelegraph.

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Four Japanese government agencies have warned against the AML risks posed by crypto in real estate transactions, instructing industry bodies to enforce stricter compliance.

Japan's financial, law enforcement and real estate regulators have issued a joint guidance request warning that crypto assets pose money laundering risk in property transactions.

The request, published on Tuesday, was issued by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Financial Services Agency, the National Police Agency and the Ministry of Finance. It was addressed to major real estate and crypto industry bodies, including the Japan Cryptocurrency Business Association and several national real estate federations.

“Crypto assets, which have the nature of being transferred instantly across national borders, are considered to pose a high risk of being used as a payment method in real estate transactions for the purpose of money laundering,” the request states.

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The integration lets employees earn yield on stablecoin-paid salaries without moving funds or giving up custody.

Paxos Labs has integrated its Amplify platform with Toku to let employees earn yield on stablecoin salaries as soon as they are paid, without moving funds off-platform or giving up custody.

The feature applies to balances held in Toku wallets, allowing users to opt in and earn yield on USDC (USDC), USDt (USDT) and USDG (USDG) with no lockups or withdrawal delays. The rollout extends across Toku’s payroll network, which it said processes more than $1 billion annually for workers in over 100 countries and integrates with systems including ADP, Workday, Gusto and UKG.

The update addresses a limitation of stablecoin payrolls, where funds typically sit idle between pay cycles. Embedding yield directly into balances allows users to earn on their salaries without using external platforms or transferring assets out of their wallets.

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DeFi United published a technical plan to restore rsETH backing and unwind attacker-linked DeFi positions after the $293 million Kelp exploit.

The Aave-linked recovery group DeFi United has published a technical implementation plan to restore rsETH backing after the April 18 Kelp bridge exploit released 116,500 rsETH, worth about $293 million at the time, without a corresponding burn on Unichain.

The plan would convert committed Ether (ETH) into rsETH in tranches and deposit the tokens into the affected bridge lockbox, allowing the bridge to resume normal operations once the backing is restored. LayerZero and Kelp have also implemented additional security measures before the bridge returns to full operation, according to Aave. 

In parallel, DeFi United plans to clear attacker-linked positions across Aave and Compound to recover collateral and resolve market impairments caused by the exploit. The group said seven addresses associated with the exploiter still hold active rsETH-backed positions on Aave and Compound, representing about 107,000 rsETH of the original 116,500 rsETH released in the incident.

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Startale plans to integrate Sunnyside Labs’ Privacy Boost into its Soneium app, adding private transfers with audit-friendly compliance controls.

Crypto infrastructure company Startale Group has selected Sunnyside Labs’ Privacy Boost as the official privacy partner for its Startale App, built for Soneium, a Sony-linked blockchain network. 

Startale Group said Tuesday that the integration will add self-custodial private transfer features to the app, including shielded balances, private peer-to-peer transfers and privacy-enabled payment flows on Soneium.

The move adds a consumer-facing privacy layer to Startale’s Sony-linked Soneium ecosystem as crypto apps try to give users more control over visible onchain activity while preserving compliance mechanisms for operators.

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Stablecoin transfer volume fell more than 19% in 30 days even as supply, holders and active addresses continued to climb.

Stablecoin monthly transfer volume fell by nearly 20% over the past 30 days, even as the market’s total supply and holder count continued to rise. 

According to data from RWA.xyz, 30-day stablecoin transfer volume dropped 19.18% to $8.31 trillion as of April 28, while stablecoin market capitalization rose 2.06% to $305.29 billion over the same period. The number of stablecoin holders also increased by 2.32% to 246.94 million, while monthly active addresses edged up 0.26% to 51.28 million.

The divergence suggests that stablecoin growth is not translating evenly into onchain activity. While more capital appears to be sitting in dollar-denominated crypto assets, fewer dollars are being moved across blockchains compared with 30 days earlier. 

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Tokenized stock holders can now participate in corporate governance, closing a long-standing gap between onchain securities and their traditional counterparts.

Ondo Finance has teamed up with financial technology giant Broadridge to give holders of tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) the ability to participate in proxy voting.

Broadridge has built a Web3-enabled relay system where tokenholders connect their crypto wallet to Broadridge's ProxyVote platform, submit their voting preference, and Ondo's issuer then votes the real shares accordingly, with the entire process recorded onchain for transparency, according to a Tuesday announcement.

“By working with Broadridge, we are enabling holders of our on-chain tokenized stocks to access governance and voting capabilities, with all the additional benefits on-chain tokens provide,” Matthieu de Vergnes, global head of institutional at Ondo Finance, said.

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Ethereum market participants saw the 100-day SMA at $2,200 as particularly important for bulls to hold to avoid a deeper correction.

Ether (ETH) analysts have mapped out key ETH price levels to watch over the next few weeks, with a focus on the $2,000 psychological level.

Key takeaways:

Data from TradingView showed the ETH/USD pair trading below $2,300, down 5% over the last two days and erasing all gains made over the weekend. 

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OKX integrates BlackRock’s tokenized Treasury fund into Standard Chartered custody, allowing institutions to use it as regulated trading collateral.

Crypto trading platform OKX has added BlackRock’s BUIDL tokenized US Treasury fund to its collateral framework with Standard Chartered, allowing eligible institutional and VIP clients to use the yield-bearing asset as trading margin while holding it off-exchange with the bank.

The arrangement, announced in a Tuesday release shared with Cointelegraph, lets institutional and VIP clients post BUIDL as collateral held with Standard Chartered while trading on OKX Middle East, or deposit it directly on the exchange. The companies described it as the first globally systemically important (G-SIB) bank-backed off-exchange tokenized collateral framework.

It also adds to a broader industry push to turn tokenized real-world assets into working market infrastructure. By allowing a yield-bearing fund to be used as collateral while remaining in regulated custody, the framework shows how companies are trying to make tokenized cash-like assets more useful in day-to-day trading and risk management.

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Changelly and Tonkeeper have teamed up to make cross-chain deposits into TON a seamless, in-wallet experience.

April 27, 2026 — Changelly and Tonkeeper have teamed up to make cross-chain deposits into TON a seamless, in-wallet experience. Users can now fund their Tonkeeper wallet with USDT, USDC, or DAI from 13 decentralized networks, without leaving the app.

For Changelly users already familiar with cross-chain swaps, this extends existing functionality into direct wallet deposits. For Tonkeeper’s user base, it introduces a new way to move assets into the TON ecosystem within a single interface.

With Changelly’s infrastructure integrated into Tonkeeper, cross-chain deposits can be completed within the wallet, while routing is handled in the background.

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US spot Bitcoin ETFs post $263 million in outflows, ending a nine-day inflow streak as Bitcoin failed to reclaim $80,000 in its latest run.

US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds posted their first net outflows in nine sessions as BTC slipped below $77,000 on Monday.

Bitcoin ETFs saw $263 million in net outflows on Monday, marking the first outflows since mid-April, according to SoSoValue data.

The losses came after spot ETFs drew $2.1 billion in inflows since April 13 as BTC rose about 10% over the period, according to CoinGecko.

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Core Scientific is converting its Pecos, Texas site into a high-density AI colocation hub, repurposing 300MW of mining capacity.

Bitcoin miner Core Scientific plans to scale its Texas operations into a large artificial intelligence-focused data center campus with up to 1.5 gigawatts of gross power capacity.

In a Monday announcement, the company said it is developing its Pecos, Texas, site into a high-density colocation hub designed to support AI workloads amid rising demand for computing infrastructure. Of the planned capacity, about 1 GW is expected to be available for leasing.

“We continue to leverage our deep in-house expertise to differentiate how we build and scale next generation artificial intelligence infrastructure,” Adam Sullivan, CEO of Core Scientific, said.

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The platform targets retail traders with always on access across more than 500 crypto and traditional markets, including equity-linked derivatives, from a single interface.

Liquid has raised $18 million in a seed funding round to expand a platform that lets users trade crypto and traditional assets around the clock from a single interface.

The platform offers access to more than 500 markets across crypto, equities, commodities and foreign exchange, with leverage of up to 200x and tools that allow trading without transferring custody of assets, according to Tuesday's announcement.

The round was co-led by Neo and Left Lane Capital, with participation from Haun Ventures, K5 Global, SV Angel, AntiFund and Sunflower Capital, alongside existing investors Paradigm and General Catalyst.

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US President Donald Trump says the US can’t be “left out in the cold” on prediction markets just days after he said he was “not happy” with the fast-growing platforms.

US President Donald Trump has softened his stance on prediction markets just days after he bemoaned the surging interest and popularity of the betting platforms.

“I don't know. I know some people who are very smart. They like it,” Trump told reporters in Florida on Saturday after he was asked about his earlier comments, in which he said he didn’t support prediction markets. “They disagree, but they like it.”

“A lot of other countries are doing it, and when the other countries do it, we get left out in the cold if we don't do it,” he said.

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The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. finalized a similar rule removing reputation risk earlier this month.

US crypto lobby group Blockchain Association has thrown its support behind the US Federal Reserve’s proposal to codify the removal of “reputation risk” from its supervision of banks, which has been used in the past to debank crypto companies.

In a letter sent Monday in response to the Fed's request for comment, Ashok Pinto, the group's executive vice president of legal and government relations, said reputation risk, which was removed as a component of examination programs in June 2025, should be made a formal rule.

“The Blockchain Association strongly encourages the Board to move expeditiously to finalize and codify the removal of reputation risk from its supervisory framework,” Pinto wrote.

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The US dollar-backed token will roll out across Paystand’s network, which the company says has processed more than $20 billion in business payments.

Paystand is launching USDb, a US dollar-backed stablecoin built on Bitcoin-linked infrastructure for use in business payments, including accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll and treasury operations.

According to Tuesday's announcement, the token is issued on Bitcoin-linked rails, including Rootstock, and interoperates with infrastructure from Blockstream. It will roll out first across Paystand’s payments network, which the company says has processed more than $20 billion in volume for over one million businesses.

Santa Cruz, California-based Paystand is a blockchain payments company that provides accounts receivable and accounts payable infrastructure to businesses across North America and Latin America.

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The integration enables crypto payments at more than 650,000 merchants, with transactions settled for businesses in South African rand.

Crypto exchange Bybit has expanded its Bybit Pay service to South Africa through an integration with local payments provider MoneyBadger, allowing users to pay with cryptocurrency at merchants nationwide using QR codes while businesses receive settlement in local currency.

According to Bybit's Tuesday announcement, the rollout connects Bybit Pay to existing payment networks, giving users access to more than 650,000 merchants via Scan to Pay, 31,000 through Zapper and over 1,500 Pick n Pay stores, with additional support for online payments through Peach and Ozow.

Users can pay with Bitcoin (BTC), stablecoins and more than 20 other digital assets, with transactions processed in seconds while MoneyBadger converts funds to South African rand at the point of sale to limit exposure to price volatility, allowing merchants to accept crypto without holding it.

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Bitcoin’s ascending channel setup and rising stablecoin inflows suggest improving liquidity conditions could support a push toward higher price levels.

Bitcoin (BTC) has rebounded more than 28% from its February low below $60,000, and a mix of technical, liquidity, and on-chain signals suggests the recovery may still have room to run.

BTC/USD daily chart. Source: TradingView

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Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche said developers will no longer be investigated or charged unless they knowingly help third parties commit crimes.

Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche said the US Department of Justice and FBI are no longer targeting blockchain developers over platforms used for illegal activity, instead shifting focus to the users engaged in financial crime.

Speaking at a Bitcoin conference in Las Vegas alongside FBI Director Kash Patel and Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal on Monday, Blanche said that the approach to enforcement has significantly changed under the Trump administration.

The acting attorney general explained that as long as developers have nothing to do with illicit activity, the DOJ and FBI have no reason to go after them, noting that "we have fundamentally changed the game when it comes to our investigations."

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Block’s proof-of-reserves will enable anyone to verify the company’s 8,883 Bitcoin stash worth over $680 million through an on-chain signature.

Online payments firm Block has launched proof-of-reserves for its corporate Bitcoin treasury and two of its flagship products, Cash App and Square, joining a growing list of crypto companies proving their holdings onchain. 

“People shouldn't have to trust that their bitcoin is there, they should be able to verify it,” the Jack Dorsey-led company said in a post to X after announcing the proof-of-reserves feature and other new offerings in Las Vegas on Monday.

Block said anyone can “independently confirm Block's holdings” through on-chain signatures. “Reserves are actively controlled, not just historically observed,” it added.

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Jump Crypto, the team behind Firedancer, said Falcon has the smallest signature among NIST standards, which could help preserve Solana’s high-throughput capabilities.

Two of Solana’s most-used validator clients have implemented a test version of a new post-quantum signature solution, Falcon, to help prepare the Solana network for future quantum threats.

In an announcement on Monday, Anza and Firedancer said Falcon is built for “high-throughput blockchain use” and that it can be activated “if and when the time comes” — an apparent reference to Q-Day, the point at which quantum computers become powerful enough to break public-key encryption.

Source: Solana Foundation

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Visiting the fake login website alone isn’t enough for hackers to gain entry to accounts. However, entering sensitive information such as passwords could grant them access.

Robinhood users are being warned about a new phishing attack that takes advantage of Gmail’s native “dot alias” feature and flaws in Robinhood’s account creation process to send malicious emails.  

Robinhood users on Sunday began reporting on social media of emails originating from the platform's mail server warning of an unrecognized device login, which linked to phishing websites in the "call to action" button.

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Democrats seeking to crack down on the Trump family’s crypto empire have found an ally in Republican Thom Tillis, who supports ethics provisions in a key crypto bill.

Republican US Senator Thom Tillis said he won’t support the Senate’s crypto market structure bill unless it includes ethics provisions limiting how White House officials can use crypto.

“There has to be ethics language in the bill before it leaves the Senate, or I’ll go from one of the people working on negotiating it to voting against it,” Tillis told Politico on Monday.

Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego said that there is “no final bill — there is no final movement — unless there is a bipartisan agreement when it comes to the ethics provision.”

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As part of its launch, the MARA Foundation has asked the community to vote on which of three Bitcoin companies should receive a $100,000 contribution.

Bitcoin miner MARA Holdings launched the MARA Foundation on Monday to support the health of the Bitcoin network and the communities that rely on it as a tool for financial sovereignty.

The MARA Foundation said it plans to implement measures to “harden Bitcoin against security threats,” including quantum computing, while also expanding access to self-custodial Bitcoin (BTC) and offering a range of educational resources, MARA said after announcing the new foundation at the Bitcoin 2026 conference in Las Vegas on Monday.

It also plans to support the “development of a robust and healthy fee market for Bitcoin transactions,” it said. 

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Bitcoin pulled back to retest $76,500 as support, but the long-to-short delta indicates bulls have a significant advantage if the range highs are reclaimed.

Bitcoin bulls fell $515 short of their $80,000 target after BTC (BTC) topped out at $79,485 on Monday, but a potential upside is that the brief pullback provides a necessary retest of key underlying levels. 

In technical analysis, a break of structure is generally followed by a support-resistance retest as swing traders take profits at preset levels that align with metrics such as the Fibonacci retracement, exponential moving averages, Bollinger Bands, order book structure, and more. The support-resistance flip is also a feature traders look for to confirm that a longer-term resistance (in this case) has turned into support. When confirmed, it gives some traders the confidence to open new positions at the S/R level as they believe the break of structure and retest marks either the completion or the start of a trend reversal. 

After managing the first decisive breakout from the three-month-old channel, Bitcoin retested the channel resistance (at $76,688) that had pinned down every BTC rally since Feb. 8. A deeper retest could see the price drop to the 20-day moving average at $75,250, and then confirmation of the S/R flip would entail daily candle closes above the former trendline resistance. 

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Bitcoin failed to overcome $79,000, but a potential bear trap formed as $1.4 billion in short positions face liquidation at $80,000. Will spot market demand be the trigger?

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin (BTC) price sustained levels above $76,000 for the past week, distancing itself from its year low at $60,500. The recent bullish momentum came as crude oil prices jumped above $100 and the S&P 500 hit new trading highs, but futures market data may point to a short-term rally-ending outcome for Bitcoin.

A total of $1.4 billion in leveraged short positions near $80,000 has been built over the past 48 hours, according to CoinGlass data, and Bitcoin’s rejection at $79,500 has raised alarm.

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Ether charts flash an ominous triple-top pattern as ETH fails to overcome $2,400. Will bears maintain control over the altcoin’s price action?

Ether (ETH) fell 3.4% to $2,287 on Monday, after its fourth rejection at the $2,400 level since April 14. The price continues to trade below the 100-day moving average, with over $2.5 billion in liquidation risk concentrated near the $2,150 support zone.

Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe also flagged weakness in Ether relative to Bitcoin, raising doubts about the strength of any near-term uptrend. 

Ether has failed to break $2,400 four times over the past two weeks, forming a clear triple top pattern on the daily chart. Each retest saw a loss of strength near that level, suggesting supply absorption by sellers.

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The approval of the BILS stablecoin issued by Israeli exchange Bits of Gold came after a two-year pilot program on the Solana blockchain.

Israel’s Capital Market, Insurance and Savings Authority has greenlit the launch of a shekel-pegged stablecoin by the virtual exchange exchange Bits of Gold.

In a Monday notice, the Israeli regulator said that it had granted approval of the BILS stablecoin after a two-year pilot program of the stablecoin on the Solana blockchain.

Source: LinkedIn

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Lawmakers look to push election reform that would block crypto campaign donations, even as Canada expands oversight of stablecoins and digital asset markets.

Canada is moving closer to banning political donations made in cryptocurrency, as lawmakers in Ottawa tighten rules around how money flows into elections.

That's after a proposed law — Bill C-25, the Strong and Free Elections Act — passed a second reading in the House of Commons on Friday. The vote signals that lawmakers support the bill in principle and will now study it in detail at committee, where amendments can still be made.

The legislation would prohibit political parties and candidates from accepting cryptocurrency donations, closing what regulators see as a gap in campaign finance rules.

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Bitcoin accumulation by whales and institutional investors is reducing the available supply of BTC and potentially setting the stage for a rally above $80,000.

Bitcoin (BTC) whales holding between 1,000-10,000 BTC have increased their BTC exposure over the past five months, with the total balance reaching 3.09 million, a level last seen on November 11, 2025.

Short-term data suggest that Bitcoin traders may move toward existing liquidity at $73,700, but futures market activity and the longer-term market structure hint at higher levels above $80,000. 

Bitcoin wallets holding between 1,000 and 10,000 BTC have been steadily accumulating since December, adding approximately 240,000 BTC to their balances.

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Crypto ATM operators and businesses hosting the machines have until July 1 to be in compliance with the new law or risk potential fines and prison time.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has signed a bill into law that will officially ban the use and installation of cryptocurrency ATMs and kiosks in the southeastern US state, leaving only a matter of weeks for companies to be in compliance.

Lee signed Tennessee House Bill 2505 into law on April 13, making the installation of a cryptocurrency kiosk a Class A misdemeanor starting on July 1. The reclassification of the machines as illegal under state law would potentially put operators and businesses hosting the machines at risk of up to 11 months and 29 days in prison and a $2,500 fine.

Source: Tennessee General Assembly

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Bitcoin fails to top $80,000 as analysts debate whether BTC has truly changed its trend or remains in the grasp of the bears.

Key points:

Bitcoin (BTC) attempted to rise above $79,500, but the bears held their ground. BTC investor and author Michael Terpin told Cointelegraph that BTC risks falling to $57,000 in October 2026, based on a study of the “historical average” drawdown of about 1 year from a market-cycle top. Terpin added that BTC will have to rise above $100,000 for the bull market to resume.

Another negative view came from Bitcoin analyst Matthew Hyland, who said in a post on X that the “larger expected consensus outcome for BTC is another leg lower by October.” Veteran trader Peter Brandt also opined in an X post that BTC may form “an investable low” in September or October.

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The crypto treasury company continues to buy Ether and earn staking rewards, even as price swings leave billions in unrealized losses on its balance sheet.

BitMine Immersion Technologies, the Ether treasury company backed by Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, has expanded its ETH holdings for the second time in as many weeks, even as large unrealized losses underscore the strategy’s risks.

The company said Monday it purchased an additional 101,901 Ether last week, bringing its total holdings to roughly 5.08 million ETH. Its combined crypto and cash reserves now stand at about $13.3 billion.

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The European Commission made its move in response to Russia's increasing reliance on crypto transactions to circumvent sanctions amid the country's war on Ukraine.

The European Commission announced a package of crypto-related sanctions against Russia in response to the country’s military actions against Ukraine.

In a Thursday notice, the commission said the sanctions targeted Russia’s energy and financial sectors, including a “total sectorial ban on carrying out exchanges with any Russian crypto asset service provider as well as any decentralised platforms enabling crypto trading” that could be used to circumvent the measures.

The EC, composed of 27 member states in the European Union, also prohibited the use of stablecoins pegged to the Russian ruble and the central bank digital currency (CBDC) under development by the Central Bank of Russia.

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Bitcoin bulls struggled to maintain gains as the bull market support band became a key reclaim level to flip the BTC price trend.

Bitcoin (BTC) fell more than 2% on Monday as US-Iran war nerves again guided macro markets.

Key points:

Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD hitting local lows of $76,567 on Bitstamp, giving back earlier gains.

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As Bitcoin miner IREN shifts toward AI cloud infrastructure, leveraging a Microsoft deal and GPU expansion, analysts expect mining revenue to decline over time.

IREN could become the next major Bitcoin miner to transition into AI infrastructure following its multi-billion-dollar deal with Microsoft, underscoring a broader shift in mining economics, according to a new research report from Bernstein.

The Bernstein analysts point to IREN’s rapidly expanding AI cloud division, where around 150,000 GPUs are already contracted, supporting an estimated $3.7 billion in annual revenue run rate once fully functional.

A significant portion of this capacity is tied to a long-term agreement with Microsoft, which has committed to using GPU capacity for AI workloads over five years. The deal also includes substantial customer prepayments, helping fund the infrastructure buildout.

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Michael Saylor’s Strategy bought 3,273 Bitcoin for $255 million between April 20 and 26, bringing total holdings to 818,334 BTC.

Michael Saylor’s Strategy, the world’s largest public Bitcoin holder, added more Bitcoin last week as BTC traded above $77,000.

Strategy acquired 3,273 Bitcoin for $255 million between April 20 and 26, according to an 8-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.

The purchases were made at an average price of $77,906 per coin, raising Strategy’s cost basis to $75,537.

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The Ethereum Economic Zone aims to unify fragmented rollups, but its broader goal is to extend interoperability to other blockchains, says Ernst.

A proposal to stitch Ethereum’s fragmented liquidity together extends beyond its own ecosystem and may bring other blockchains into the fold.

On March 29, Gnosis, a long-time Ethereum builder and blockchain infrastructure company, unveiled that it is developing the Ethereum Economic Zone (EEZ) with Zisk, a zero-knowledge virtual machine project. 

The EEZ is aimed at linking layer-2 rollups more tightly to Ethereum layer 1, with Ether remaining as the gas token and settlement layer. It introduces a model where smart contracts can interact across mainnet and EEZ rollups with atomic execution.

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A new Blockchain for Europe report says MiCA has made euro stablecoins safer but less competitive, and urges targeted reforms to reserves and remuneration.

A new report released Monday from industry group Blockchain for Europe argues that the European Union’s flagship crypto laws, the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework, have produced euro-denominated stablecoins that are ultra-safe but commercially weak, leaving the bloc far behind US dollar-pegged tokens in digital payments and trading.

The report cites DeFiLlama data that euro stablecoins account for less than 1% of global stablecoin volume despite the euro’s much larger role in global markets, and argues that MiCA has pushed them onto the “downward-sloping” part of a regulatory "Laffer" curve, where stricter rules reduce the activity they are meant to govern.

Drafted by European Central Bank official Ulrich Bindseil and Blockchain for Europe’s Erwin Voloder, the report focuses on MiCA’s rules for euro electronic money tokens, or EMTs, which must be fully backed and are barred from paying interest.

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Bitcoin price action sealed its first weekly candle close above a 21-week moving average trend line since it traded near $115,000 in October 2025.

Bitcoin (BTC) counts down the final days of April with a fresh attack on $80,000 as price teases key breakouts.

Bitcoin sees its first weekly close above a key trend line since October 2025.

Liquidity grabs ramp up as traders eye a potential support retest closer to $70,000.

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ETH's price may drop 15% or more in the coming days as it paints a convincing bearish reversal pattern on its daily chart.

Ether (ETH) has surged more than 10% in April, reaching as high as $2,430 this month amid renewed market optimism.

Yet during the same period, the Ethereum Foundation, a nonprofit overseeing the Ethereum protocol’s development, has continued notable treasury sales.

Key takeaways:

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Kbank partnered with Ripple to test blockchain-based overseas remittances as South Korean companies prepare for new stablecoin and digital asset rules.

South Korean internet-only bank Kbank has signed a strategic partnership with blockchain payments company Ripple to test blockchain-based overseas remittances. 

According to local media outlets like News1, The Korea Herald and Maeil Business, Kbank CEO Choi Woo-hyung and Fiona Murray, Ripple’s Asia-Pacific managing director, signed the agreement at Kbank’s Seoul headquarters. The bank said the partnership will use Ripple’s global network and blockchain infrastructure to test whether overseas remittances can be made faster, cheaper and more transparent.

The companies are already conducting a phased technical verification. The first phase reportedly tested a separate app-based remittance structure, while the second phase is digitally linking customer accounts and internal systems to test remittance stability. It includes onchain transfers to countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Thailand, according to local reports. 

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Banking Circle's stablecoin settlement launch follows its CASP approval, entering a crowded market with SocGen, Sygnum and a 12-bank euro stablecoin consortium.

Luxembourg-based Banking Circle has launched stablecoin settlement services after receiving a Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) license from Luxembourg's financial regulator on April 15, expanding into regulated fiat-to-stablecoin and stablecoin-to-fiat settlement for institutional clients.

The rollout includes support for Circle's USDC, Paxos' USDG and Banking Circle's own euro stablecoin EURI, expanding the bank's digital asset settlement capabilities beyond its initial EURI launch in August 2024.

In a Monday announcement, the bank said it serves more than 750 payment companies, financial institutions and marketplaces that move and convert over 1.5 trillion euros (roughly $1.7 trillion) annually across its infrastructure. Chief digital asset officer Kirit Bhatia said in the release that stablecoins are "a natural extension" of the bank's infrastructure and central to reducing costs and improving efficiencies.

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The framework targets fragmented mining systems, offering a unified, open alternative for managing infrastructure across operations.

Tether has released an open-source development framework for Bitcoin mining, aimed at giving operators and developers unified control over hardware and software across mining operations.

According to Monday’s announcement, the framework combines a backend SDK and user interface tools to replace fragmented, vendor-specific systems, allowing miners to monitor devices, manage operations and build custom applications across sites from a single control layer.

It uses a modular architecture in which hardware exposes standardized functions and independent modules can be added without altering the core system, enabling integration across different machines, services and locations.

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Crypto ETPs see $1.2 billion inflows in fourth straight week as Bitcoin leads gains and blockchain equity ETFs hit record demand, CoinShares reported.

Cryptocurrency investment products continued their run of inflows last week as Bitcoin traded at its highest levels since early February.

Crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) recorded $1.2 billion in inflows last week, marking their fourth week of consecutive gains, CoinShares reported Monday.

The inflow streak is the largest so far this year, as the four-week total reached about $3.9 billion, surpassing the previous four-week run of $2.9 billion in March.

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French law enforcement agencies have been investigating wrench attacks and found that some of the alleged offenders were involved in multiple incidents

At least 88 people, including ten minors, have been indicted in connection with alleged wrench attacks against crypto owners in France, according to Vanessa Perrée, the country’s national prosecutor for organized crime.

Perrée said in a statement on Friday that 75 of the alleged offenders are being held in pre-trial detention, with the arrests related to 12 cases currently under investigation by specialized investigating judges of the Paris Judicial Court and monitored by the National Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime (PNACO).

Wrench attacks involve the use of physical force to gain access to a victim’s crypto wallet and have taken the form of home invasions, kidnappings and other extortion attempts. 

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About 3.5% of informed traders, including market makers and skilled takers, capture over 30% of profits on prediction platforms, while about 67% of users absorb the entirety of losses.

Prediction market platforms’ ability to accurately predict events is driven by a small set of highly informed traders rather than crowd-sourced wisdom, according to researchers from London Business School and Yale University.

About 3.5% of these accounts “generate the bulk of price discovery” on prediction markets like Polymarket, according to a paper by Roberto Gomez-Cram, Yunhan Guo, Theis Ingerslev Jensen and Howard Kung, which was revised April 25. 

“The remaining majority does not produce accuracy; rather, it funds it,” the authors said.

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The funding follows a $290 million rsETH bridge exploit that disrupted DeFi markets and triggered a coordinated recovery effort.

Consensys and Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin have joined DeFi United, committing as much as 30,000 ETH to a recovery effort aimed at restoring rsETH backing after a $290 million bridge exploit triggered widespread disruptions across DeFi.

The initiative, led by participants in Aave DAO, aims to support affected users and stabilize rsETH markets, with governance approvals still pending across involved protocols.

The funding is intended to provide immediate liquidity while governance processes continue, with an eye on limiting disruption across DeFi protocols. Sharplink, a publicly traded Ethereum treasury company, has joined in an advisory role to help structure the recovery plan.

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Western Union CEO Devin McGranahan said the company will focus on expanding adoption and embedding digital assets into its core money movement platform going forward.

Financial services giant Western Union is targeting May for the rollout of its new stablecoin as part of a crypto plan that includes its digital asset network and US dollar stable card. 

“Over the last few months, we've crossed an important threshold. It is no longer a question of if Western Union will be active in digital assets, it is now how fast can we scale,” said Western Union president and CEO Devin McGranahan during the company’s first-quarter earnings call on Friday. 

“At the foundation of our strategy is USDPT, our US dollar-backed stablecoin. USDPT is now in its final stages of readiness and is expected to go live next month,” he added. 

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More than $21 million in contributions has been made to the "DeFi United" relief effort so far, with another $215 million to be potentially allocated if certain governance proposals succeed.

Aave Labs has proposed that the decentralized autonomous organization behind Arbitrum unfreeze $73.5 million in Ether tied to the Kelp DAO attack and to direct those funds to “DeFi United,” a fund aimed at restoring rsETH and compensating its holders.

Last week, the Arbitrum Security Council moved to freeze 30,765 Ether (ETH) held in a wallet connected to the $293 million Kelp exploit. 

In a proposal posted Saturday on the Arbitrum governance forum, Aave Labs said directing those funds to a planned remediation effort would “restore normal conditions for Arbitrum users” and the wider ecosystem and that the Ether on Arbitrum “represents a material contribution” toward restoring the Kelp DAO restaked ETH (rsETH) token.

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Bitcoin was “rejected” from the $80,000 price level, which is its next resistance zone on the way to reclaiming the $100,000 psychological price level.

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) could bottom out at the $57,000 level in October 2026, despite rallying by more than 29% since the low of about $60,000 in February, according to Bitcoin investor and author Michael Terpin.

Terpin told Cointelegraph that his forecast is based on the “historical average” drawdown of about one year from a market cycle top, which was reached in October 2025 when BTC surged to an all-time high above $126,000, to the cycle bottom.

Bitcoin’s price needs to reclaim the $100,000 level for the bull market to resume, which will likely occur when the price falls below the 200-week moving average, a dynamic and critical support level, he said. Terpin added: 

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The biggest Bitcoin treasury company's data shows holdings are profitable, having gained about 3.3% amid Bitcoin's rally to about $78,000.

Michael Saylor, the co-founder of Strategy, the largest Bitcoin treasury company, as measured by total BTC holdings, signaled that the company will be boosting those holdings in the coming days.

Saylor shared a chart of the company’s Bitcoin purchase history, showing 107 BTC transactions since 2020, which has previously signaled an impending purchase.

Less than a week ago, Strategy completed its most recent BTC buy, purchasing 34,164 coins for more than $2.5 billion, bringing its total holdings to 815,061 BTC, valued at about $63.6 billion using spot market prices at the time of publication, according to the company.

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Valid transactions that occurred during the affected blocks were not impacted and remain on the main chain, the Litecoin development team said.

Litecoin, a layer-1 proof-of-work (PoW) blockchain network, was hit by a “zero-day” vulnerability on Saturday, which caused a 13-block reorganization of the chain, according to the Litecoin team, while other developers say the bug may have been previously known.

The bug caused a denial of service (DoS) attack on mining pools with newly updated software, suppressing their hashing power, according to an update from the Litecoin team.

This allowed older nodes to “peg out” coins to decentralized exchanges and cross-chain swap protocols, resulting in invalid transactions being posted to the network’s MimbleWimble Extension Blocks (MWEB) privacy layer, according to the team.

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More than a third of US crypto traders report cutting daily expenses and delaying major purchases as unrealized losses weigh on household finances.

The recent crypto market downturn has forced more than one in three crypto traders to cut everyday spending, according to a new survey by CEX.IO.

The survey, conducted among 1,100 US-based active CEX.IO users, shows the current market slump is straining household finances, though it remains less severe than 2022, when Bitcoin fell by roughly 75% from its peak. Bitcoin is still about 40% below its October 2025 high, leaving many retail investors sitting on unrealised losses.

36% of respondents said they reduced everyday spending as a direct result of market conditions, with 10% describing those cuts as significant sacrifices made to maintain their positions. 37% also reported delaying or cancelling purchases due to crypto losses, including 21% who postponed major financial commitments such as buying a home, car or undertaking renovations.

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The Ethereum Foundation unstaked over 17,000 ETH worth $40M shortly after approaching its 70,000 ETH staking target.

The Ethereum Foundation has moved to unwind part of its staking position shortly after nearing its stated goal of 70,000 staked ETH.

On Saturday, the Ethereum Foundation unstaked 17,035.326 ETH, worth roughly $40 million, according to Arkham data. The move involved depositing wrapped staked ETH (wstETH) into Lido’s unstETH contract, with ETH expected to be returned once the withdrawal queue completes.

In Ethereum, unstaking is the process of withdrawing ETH that was previously locked to help secure the network through validators. When ETH is staked, it’s deposited into the Ethereum Beacon Chain, where it remains locked while earning rewards. To unstake, a withdrawal request is initiated, and the funds enter a queue period after which the funds are released.

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TRUMP memecoin fell nearly 10% in 24 hours despite a Mar-a-Lago investor gala, with the token still down over 96% from its peak.

Donald Trump’s official TRUMP memecoin extended its decline on Saturday, even as he hosted a closed-door gathering for top holders of the cryptocurrency at Mar-a-Lago.

The token is currently trading at around $2.67, down by nearly 10% over the past day, according to data from CoinMarketCap. It is also down by more than 96% compared to its all-time high of $75.35 registered in early 2025.

The downturn comes despite efforts to maintain visibility through high-profile events. The Saturday event brought together 297 of the largest TRUMP investors for what was billed as the “most exclusive” crypto and business conference, with a smaller group of 29 attending a VIP reception and champagne toast, according to The Independent.

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The group spent tens of millions of dollars on luxury items and real estate, using funds stolen from crypto users in social engineering scams.

Evan Tangeman, a 22-year-old resident of California, was sentenced on Friday to 70 months in prison for his role in a criminal enterprise that stole about $263 million in cryptocurrencies from victims through social engineering scams and burglary.

Tangeman pleaded guilty to the charges in December 2025 and admitted to helping members of the criminal organization launder at least $3.5 million in illicit funds, according to the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) announcement.

He also received three years of supervised release in addition to his prison sentence for his role in the scheme, the DOJ said. 

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Bitcoin advocate Matthew Kratter said US Navy Admiral Samuel Paparo's Senate testimony on Tuesday sounded like it was written by an "intern."

Several members of the Bitcoin community cast doubt on the US government’s understanding of the Bitcoin network after a high-ranking military official told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that the US government runs a Bitcoin node.

“Our research into Bitcoin is as a computer science tool. It's the combination of cryptography, a blockchain, and a proof of work,” US Navy Admiral Samuel Paparo told the Senate Armed Services Committee. 

Bitcoin educator and advocate Matthew Kratter said that it sounded like the admiral was reading from the Bitcoin “Wikipedia page,” casting doubt on Paparo and US Senator Tommy Tuberville’s knowledge of the protocol. Kratter added:

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The CFTC has filed suit to block New York from enforcing gambling laws on prediction platforms, arguing federal regulators have sole authority over event-based contracts.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed a lawsuit against New York to stop the state from applying its gambling laws to federally regulated prediction market platforms, escalating a growing clash over who has authority to oversee these products.

In a complaint lodged in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, the CFTC argued that federal law gives it exclusive authority over these markets, asking the court for a declaratory judgment and a permanent injunction against New York’s enforcement actions.

“CFTC-registered exchanges have faced an onslaught of state lawsuits seeking to limit Americans’ access to event contracts and undermine the CFTC’s sole regulatory jurisdiction over prediction markets,” CFTC Chair Michael Selig said.

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Bitcoin market participants favored a short-term return to $73,000 as resistance stayed in place, with some analysis seeing even lower levels.

Bitcoin (BTC) risked a return to $73,000 as the weekend began after bulls failed to reclaim a key trend line.

Key points:

Bitcoin price analysis increasingly sees $73,000 getting retested in the short term.

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Brazil has blocked 27 prediction market platforms, including Kalshi and Polymarket, as new rules classify many contracts as gambling.

Brazilian authorities have moved to shut down 27 prediction market platforms, including Kalshi and Polymarket.

The decision, announced Friday, follows a directive from the Ministry of Finance and enforcement by the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), according to state-owned news outlet Agência Brasil. Authorities claimed that such services fall outside Brazil’s current legal framework and therefore operate illegally.

“We have been monitoring the evolution of this sector in Brazil, which suffered a period of anarchy because there were no rules, no oversight, from 2018 to 2022,” Finance Ministry executive secretary Dario Durigan reportedly said during a press conference at the Palácio do Planalto.

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Recent XRP outflow spikes have often come before short-term price rallies, signaling a potential move higher in May if the pattern repeats.

XRP (XRP) has rallied more than 30% in the last three months, and fresh technical and on-chain signals suggest the XRP/USD pair may have more upside ahead.

Key takeaways:

Exchange outflows, positive whale flows and strong ETF demand raise XRP’s bullish outlook.

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US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $2.12 billion in inflows over nine days, signaling growing conviction among investors.

US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have extended their inflow momentum through late April, notching a nine-day streak amid growing investor conviction.

During the period, which spanned April 14 and April 24, total net inflows reached roughly $2.12 billion, with the strongest single-day performance on April 17, when funds attracted $663.91 million. April 14 and April 22 also posted robust gains of $411.50 million and $335.82 million, respectively.

The weakest day came on Friday, with a more modest $14.45 million in net inflows. BlackRock’s IBIT led the day with $22.88 million in inflows. In contrast, Fidelity’s FBTC recorded outflows of $1.69 million, while Bitwise’s BITB and ARK 21Shares’ ARKB saw withdrawals of $8.85 million and $9.02 million, respectively. Other funds, including Grayscale’s GBTC and smaller products, reported largely flat flows.

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A Hyperliquid whale holds large short positions against Bitcoin and several altcoins. Does the position provide any signal on the markets’ future outcomes?

Key takeaways:

A whale linked to asset manager Fasanara Capital holds a $38 million crypto short position, but will it impact Bitcoin’s price?

Negative futures funding rates at Binance and Bybit point to unusual demand for bearish positioning despite BTC’s recent price gains.

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The announced crypto freeze came just one day after Tether said it had frozen $344 million of its USDt stablecoin in response to a request from US law enforcement.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned several wallets tied to Iran, resulting in authorities freezing $344 million in cryptocurrency.

In a Friday X post, Bessent said that the move by OFAC was part of the US’ efforts to “systematically degrade Tehran’s ability to generate, move, and repatriate funds.” The US and Israel launched joint airstrikes on Iran in late February.

“We will follow the money that Tehran is desperately attempting to move outside of the country and target all financial lifelines tied to the regime,” said Bessent.

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The hard fork will introduce a new, competing layer-1 blockchain and seven layer-2 scaling networks, according to Sztorc's announcement.

Bitcoin developer Paul Sztorc announced on Friday that a new hard fork of the Bitcoin network called eCash will be deployed in August.

Bitcoin holders will be able to exchange their BTC for eCash at a 1:1 ratio once the hard fork is live, Sztorc said in an X post.

He added that the layer-1 node software for the chain will be a “near-copy” of the BTC Core client software and will use the SHA-256 hashing algorithm used by the Bitcoin blockchain, with a reduced initial mining difficulty to make it easier for participants to mine blocks.

Source: Paul Sztorc

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The US President has confirmed his attendance for the Florida event, but it's unclear whether Tron founder Justin Sun, suing the Trump family's crypto business, will appear.

In a repeat of 2025, top holders of US President Donald Trump’s memecoin, Official Trump (TRUMP), will gather for a private event that many critics have described as selling access to the presidency.

On Saturday, Trump and up to 297 of his memecoin holders will meet at the president’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida. According to the project behind the memecoin, attendees will include stablecoin issuer Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, cryptocurrency exchange Upbit founder and CEO ChiHyung Song, Bitcoin (BTC) advocate Anthony Pompliano, Anchorage Digital co-founder and CEO Nathan McCauley and many others associated with financial institutions, crypto and blockchain.

Notably, however, there was no public statement confirming the appearance of Tron founder Justin Sun, a prominent supporter of the president, an investor in the Trump family crypto business World Liberty Financial, and the TRUMP holder at the top of the memecoin project’s leaderboard, with 2.4 billion points.

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The XAUE protocol lets holders earn yield on tokenized gold through lending and trading strategies while maintaining exposure to the underlying asset.

Aurelion, a Nasdaq-listed company building a Tether Gold-backed treasury, has allocated 10,000 units of the token, worth about $48 million, to a newly launched protocol designed to generate yield on tokenized gold.

The DeFi protocol, XAUE, was introduced earlier this week by the Aurise Foundation as a treasury layer for Tether Gold, allowing tokenized gold to be used in yield-generating strategies while maintaining exposure to the underlying asset.

Aurelion is the rebranded form of wealth and asset manager Prestige Wealth and is positioning Tether Gold as a primary reserve asset. In October 2025, the company raised $150 million in financing, including a $100 million private investment in public equity and a $50 million debt facility, to support the strategy.

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The Bitcoin community continues to debate whether cryptographically relevant quantum computers are imminent or decades away.

Project Eleven, a quantum security research company, awarded a prize to researcher Giancarlo Lelli for using a quantum computer to break a 15-bit elliptic-curve key — a small-scale version of the same cryptography used in Bitcoin, which relies on far larger 256-bit keys.

Lelli was able to derive a private key from the public key paired to it, using a “variant” of Shor’s algorithm, an integer factorization algorithm for quantum computers, according to Project 11’s announcement on Friday.

Bitcoin’s keys are 256 bits long, representing a “large” gap from the 15-bit key Lelli was able to crack, Project 11 said. However, the gap between Bitcoin’s 256-bit keys and the number of bits a quantum computer can factor has “fallen sharply” since 2025. Project 11 added.

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After reporting more than $1.7 million to election officials, a crypto-aligned political action committee has reportedly backed out of advertising for a Texas Senate candidate.

The Fellowship political action committee (PAC), which launched claiming to have more than $100 million from crypto-aligned backers, has reportedly backed out of an advertising deal to support Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a crucial US Senate race.

According to a Thursday report from Axios, Republican leaders contacted US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on his connections to Fellowship, which has been partially funded by Cantor Fitzgerald.

Lutnick, as the former president and CEO and whose sons are now in charge of the financial services company, reportedly faced questioning from Republicans about Fellowship’s support of Paxton, whom on Tuesday the PAC reported spending $1.75 million in supportive advertising.

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Familiar players ramp up Bitcoin and Ether bets as markets hint at a rebound, while institutions test blockchain rails and US lawmakers stall on crypto rules this week.

Familiar names have been aggressively accumulating Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), but this time, their buying comes amid early signs of a market reversal.

This week, Strategy made one of its largest Bitcoin purchases on record, bringing its total holdings well north of 800,000 BTC. Bitmine Immersion Technologies, despite sitting on steep unrealized losses, executed its largest Ether purchase since December.

Beyond digital asset treasuries, traditional finance continues to test blockchain infrastructure, with Japan exploring the use of government bonds onchain. In the United States, regulation is still grinding forward, albeit slowly, as lawmakers remain divided over key market-structure legislation.

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Bitcoin and risk assets faced an uphill struggle after the S&P 500 hit new all-time highs as analysis warned that BTC price support was at risk.

Bitcoin (BTC) stayed glued to $78,000 on Friday with markets “awaiting clarity” from the US-Iran war.

Key points:

Bitcoin stalls in its bid to recapture $80,000, as US stocks tread water.

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A bullish signal from Solana’s MACD indicator hinted at a potential rally, though resistance at $90 could delay the recovery.

Solana’s (SOL) MACD indicator sent a “buy” signal on its weekly chart, an occurrence that has historically preceded parabolic rallies.

Key takeaways:

Solana’s MACD indicator sent a “buy” signal that has led to a 100%-860% SOL price rallies in the past.

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Nakamoto launched a Bitcoin derivatives program with Bitwise and Kraken, aiming to generate options premiums and hedge part of its BTC treasury exposure.

Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin treasury company Nakamoto announced on Friday an actively managed Bitcoin derivatives program designed to generate recurring income from volatility while hedging part of its downside exposure.

Nakamoto said the program has been in place since the first quarter of 2026 and uses a portion of the company’s Bitcoin holdings as collateral for a derivatives strategy managed by Bitwise Asset Management in a separately managed account.

Under the arrangement, a portion of the company’s Bitcoin is held in Kraken’s qualified custody solution and used as collateral for a derivatives strategy managed by Bitwise Asset Management in a separately managed account.

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South Africa’s draft capital flow rules would bring crypto under exchange controls, with declaration duties, transaction limits and tougher penalties.

South Africa’s National Treasury has published draft rules that would bring cryptocurrency transactions under the country’s capital flow regime, requiring some holders to declare digital asset holdings and routing certain transactions through authorized providers or Treasury-approved channels.

Published on April 17, the draft Capital Flow Management Regulations bill proposes that crypto holders above a yet-unspecified threshold would be required to declare investments to the treasury within 30 days. In some cases, crypto acquired through an authorized provider for a stated purpose would have to be offered for sale if it was no longer needed for that purpose.

The draft is open for public comment until May 18 and would replace South Africa’s Exchange Control Regulations of 1961, marking the most significant overhaul of the country’s exchange control framework in decades.

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Historically, MSTR’s outperformance signals traders are taking more risk, betting Bitcoin’s worst drawdown phase may be over.

Strategy’s MSTR stock has jumped roughly 25% over the past month, outperforming Bitcoin’s circa 9% gain and reviving a historical signal that has often appeared near BTC cycle bottoms.

Key takeaways:

Historically, a sustained MSTR outperformance versus Bitcoin has preceded the latter’s bear market bottom.

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China’s new online marketing rules tighten an already sweeping crypto ban and place fresh pressure on financial influencers, echoing parallel crackdowns in Europe, Australia and the UK.

China’s central bank and seven other regulators have finalized the “Administrative Measures for Online Marketing of Financial Products” (Announcement No. 9), dated April 21 and publicly released on April 24.

The rules take effect on Sept. 30, 2026, and confine online marketing of financial products to licensed financial institutions and lawfully entrusted third-party platforms, and prohibit any organization or individual from offering online marketing services or any other form of assistance that facilitates illegal financial activities.

The text explicitly folds virtual currency issuance and trading, along with illegal foreign exchange margin business, into the definition of illegal financial activity, reinforcing a stance first made explicit when the People’s Bank of China declared all crypto transactions illegal in 2021.

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The ECB signed deals with three standards bodies to reuse open payment standards for the digital euro and lower integration costs for banks and merchants.

The European Central Bank (ECB) said Friday it has signed agreements with three European standards bodies to reuse existing open payment standards for digital euro transactions, as it seeks to reduce integration costs for banks, merchants and payment service providers. 

According to the ECB, the agreements with the European Card Payment Cooperation, Nexo standards and the Berlin Group will allow the ECB to use standards covering contactless tap-to-pay payments, merchant-to-payment-provider connections and alias-based payments, such as transactions using a mobile phone number.

The ECB said using existing open standards would minimize adoption costs for the market and help create a uniform digital euro user experience across the euro area. However, the standards agreements remain a cost-mitigation step, not confirmation that the digital euro will be cheap to implement.

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Polish prosecutors are investigating Zondacrypto over alleged fraud and fund access issues, while local media report that CEO Przemysław Kral is in Israel.

Zondacrypto’s crisis deepened on Friday after Polish outlet Onet reported that CEO Przemysław Kral had gone to Israel as prosecutors investigate the exchange over alleged fraud and investor losses.

According to the report, Kral has been in Israel for about a week and holds Israeli citizenship, a factor that could complicate any potential extradition to Poland. Polish authorities opened an investigation into Zondacrypto last Friday over alleged fraud and investor losses. Cointelegraph also confirmed that Kral’s email address, previously used to communicate with him, has become unavailable.

The developments come a week after Kral admitted last Thursday that Zondacrypto’s cold wallet holding 4,500 Bitcoin was inaccessible, marking his last publicly known communication at the time of reporting. Polish prosecutors have identified several hundred possible victims and potential losses of at least 350 million Polish zloty (around $97 million), according to Notes from Poland, citing prosecutor spokesperson Michał Binkiewicz.

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Wisconsin’s lawsuit against Kalshi, Robinhood, Coinbase, Polymarket and Crypto.com deepens the battle between state gambling enforcers and federal regulators over sports prediction markets.

Wisconsin’s top law enforcement official has sued a group of fintech and crypto platforms, including Kalshi, Robinhood, Coinbase, Polymarket and Crypto.com, accusing them of facilitating illegal sports betting by offering “event contracts,” according to complaints filed April 23 in Dane County.

Attorney General Josh Kaul is seeking preliminary and permanent injunctions to block the companies from offering sports-related markets to customers in Wisconsin and to have a court declare the operations unlawful under state gambling law and a public nuisance.

The case adds to a growing clash between state gambling laws and federally regulated prediction markets, as regulators and courts across the United States debate whether event contracts are financial instruments or illegal wagers.

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Spot XRP ETFs record net inflows for nine consecutive days, absorbing sell pressure and potentially supporting XRP price recovery over time.

XRP (XRP) has fallen about 5% against Bitcoin (BTC) over the past week, and the confirmation of a bearish pattern now points to the risk of more losses ahead.

Key takeaways:

XRP/BTC’s descending triangle pattern on the weekly chart points to a possible 40% drop.

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Bitcoin price action has one more week to go until it potentially achieves its biggest month's gains since late 2024.

Bitcoin (BTC) will cement its biggest monthly gains since late 2024 if it closes at current levels.

Key points:

Bitcoin is on track to see its best monthly performance since late 2024, narrowly beating April 2025.

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Cryptography company Succinct launched Zcam, an iPhone camera app that signs photos and videos at capture to help prove media authenticity in the AI era.

Cryptography company Succinct has launched Zcam, an iPhone camera app that cryptographically signs photos and videos at the moment of capture to help prove their authenticity.

The company said Thursday that Zcam embeds a tamper-evident record linking media to the device that captured it, allowing viewers to verify that content was not digitally altered or generated by artificial intelligence. 

According to Succinct, the app works by hashing raw image data and signing it using keys generated inside Apple’s Secure Enclave, a hardware-based security module. The resulting signature, along with capture metadata and attestation, is embedded into the file using the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) standard, a framework for attaching tamper-evident provenance data to digital media.

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Metaplanet raises $50 million through zero-interest bonds from EVO FUND to expand its Bitcoin treasury, extending its capital markets-driven accumulation strategy.

Tokyo-listed Metaplanet has issued 8 billion Japanese yen ($50 million) in zero-interest bonds to EVO FUND, with the proceeds earmarked for additional Bitcoin purchases, according to a Thursday filing.

According to the filing, the 20th series of ordinary bonds matures in April 2027 and is unsecured, giving Metaplanet another source of zero-interest funding as it expands one of the largest corporate Bitcoin treasuries in the market.

EVO FUND, a Cayman-based fund at the core of Evolution Financial Group, specializes in structured financings for digital asset-focused companies and is the main subscriber to Metaplanet’s zero-coupon bonds used to fund Bitcoin purchases.

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US President Donald Trump will appear at an event for holders of the TRUMP memecoin after the White House previously said it wasn’t locked into his schedule.

The White House has reportedly confirmed that US President Donald Trump will attend the exclusive event for top TRUMP memecoin holders at his Florida residence on Saturday, after questions were raised earlier this month over whether he would attend.

Reuters reported on Friday that the White House confirmed Trump would deliver a keynote address at the gala luncheon organized by the company behind his Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin.

The gala is set to take place at Mar-a-Lago. It will be open to the top 297 holders of the TRUMP token, and the top 29 holders will also qualify for a private reception with the president.

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Besides freezing crypto, the strike force also seized a Telegram channel used to recruit unsuspecting job seekers and took down 503 fake crypto investment websites.

The US Department of Justice revealed on Thursday that it has frozen more than $701 million in crypto linked to investment scams targeting Americans as part of an ongoing operation. 

The US Scam Center Strike Force and its law enforcement partners targeted scam centers aimed at Americans, the US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia said Thursday.

The cryptocurrency was "restrained" through voluntary actions by crypto exchanges and legal processes, it added. 

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Stablecoin issuers must invest a minimum of $10 million into Morgan Stanley’s money market fund, MSNXX, to access the stablecoin reserve offering.

Morgan Stanley’s investment management arm has launched “Stablecoin Reserves Portfolio,” an offering that allows stablecoin issuers to park the reserves backing their stablecoins in one of the bank's money market funds while earning interest.

The offering is part of the Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds trust (MSNXX), which aims to preserve capital, provide daily liquidity and distribute income while maintaining a $1 net asset value, Morgan Stanley said on Thursday.

“Developing innovative ways to work with stablecoin issuers is another step towards modernizing the financial infrastructure,” said Amy Oldenburg, head of Morgan Stanley’s digital asset strategy.

The bank said the offering seeks to comply with the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act), a framework that was signed into law in July, which led several TradFi payment service providers like Western Union and Zelle to expand into the stablecoin space.

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The White House’s office of technology policy said that foreign entities are using proxy accounts and jailbreaking techniques to distill capabilities from American AI models.

The Trump administration has unveiled plans to combat “industrial-scale campaigns” by Chinese-based entities to copy AI technology developed by US companies. 

In a statement on Thursday, the assistant to the president for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Michael J. Kratsios, said the government has "information" indicating that foreign entities — primarily based in China — are deliberately targeting major US AI firms to distill their AI models.

"Models developed from surreptitious, unauthorized distillation campaigns like this do not replicate the full performance of the original. They do, however, enable foreign actors to release products that appear to perform comparably on select benchmarks at a fraction of the cost," Kratsios said.

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Jane Street has filed to dismiss Terraform’s insider trading suit, arguing the reasons for Terra’s collapse have already been litigated.

Trading firm Jane Street has asked a US court to toss a lawsuit brought by the administrator of the bankrupt Terraform Labs, accusing the company of insider trading that worsened the collapse of the Terra ecosystem.

In a motion to dismiss filed in a Manhattan federal court on Thursday, Jane Street argued Terraform’s suit was an attempt “to extract cash from Jane Street to foot the bill for a fraud that Terraform itself perpetrated on the market.”

“Terraform now claims it was victimized by Jane Street’s trading,” it added. “The problem with this theory is that Terraform’s fraud scheme — in which Jane Street had no involvement — has already been prosecuted, adjudicated, and punished.”

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Mantle, EtherFi Foundation, Golem Foundation, Lido DAO, Ethena, LayerZero, Ink Foundation and Tyrdo have all made pledges to the “DeFi United” recovery effort.

Decentralized finance protocols have banded together in an attempt to restore the backing of rsETH following the $293 million exploit of the Kelp restaking platform on Saturday, which has triggered a liquidity shock.

The amount pledged has now exceeded 43,500 Ether, worth over $101 million, which decentralized lending platform Aave has called the “DeFi United” relief effort. Crypto protocols involved include Lido DAO and the Golem Foundation, with the largest pledges coming from the EtherFi Foundation and Mantle at the time of writing. 

“We believe ecosystem collaboration matters most in moments like this, and our priority is achieving the strongest possible available outcome for users, said Aave on Thursday. 

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US prosecutors alleged that Gannon Ken Van Dyke asked Polymarket to delete his account after profiting from trades tied to the military operation in Venezuela.

A US Army soldier involved in the capture of Nicolás Maduro has been charged with making over $400,000 by allegedly betting on the removal of the former Venezuelan president on a prediction market platform. 

In a statement on Thursday, the US Department of Justice alleged that Master Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke was involved in the planning and execution of “Operation Absolute Resolve” that led to the capture of Maduro at a residence in Caracas, Venezuela, in January. 

Van Dyke allegedly used this information to buy “yes” shares in related Polymarket contracts, including "Maduro out by January 31" and "Trump invokes War Powers against Venezuela by January 31,” according to the DOJ. 

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Bitcoin’s rally above $79,000 may be a sign that the downtrend is ending, but a multi-day candle close above $80,000 would help strengthen the odds of a trend change holding.

On Thursday, Bitcoin (BTC) continued to wrestle with the $78,000 level as bulls attempted to cement their newfound hold over the market. 

The convergence of an improving market structure, institutional investors’ fresh allocation to the spot ETFs and investors’ belief that the Senate will pass the CLARITY Act before the US mid-term elections provided the much-needed narrative catalyst the market had been waiting for. 

On the institutional side of the market, fresh capital helped place strengthening support in the $68,000 to $70,000 price range. Spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen a $2.03 billion inflow in April; Strategy purchased 34,000 BTC for $2.54 billion; and Morgan Stanley’s newly launched MSBT BTC ETF took in over $153 million in its first two weeks of trading. 

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MN Trading Capital founder Michael van de Poppe doesn’t expect Bitcoin to drop below $75,000 in the near term, even as Polymarket traders price in a different outcome.

Momentum from Bitcoin’s recent rally could spill into the altcoin market, which could see gains of as much as 60% if Bitcoin continues to rise, according to a crypto analyst.

“I think this leg has enough room to continue to $86K, and altcoins to run 30-60% from here,” MN Trading Capital founder Michael van de Poppe said on Thursday. 

A move to $86,000, a level Bitcoin hasn’t seen since Jan. 28, would represent about a 10% increase from its current price of $77,890, according to CoinMarketCap data.

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The Fellowship PAC disclosed that it had spent $1.75 million in support of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, facing Senator John Cornyn in a May runoff.

The crypto-aligned Fellowship political action committee (PAC), led by stablecoin issuer Tether’s head of government affairs, reported spending more than $3 million on advertising related to US Senate races, with the majority going toward to support a Texas Republican candidate.

In a Tuesday filing with the US Federal Election Commission (FEC), Fellowship PAC disclosed that it had spent $1.75 million in support of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The Republican is facing off against incumbent Senator John Cornyn in a May 26 runoff to determine who will become the party’s candidate for the 2026 US Senate race.

In addition to Paxton, the PAC reported spending $350,000 on advertising for Mike Collins in Georgia’s Senate race, $350,000 on Barry Moore in Alabama’s Senate race, and $250,000 and $350,000 on Blake Miguez and Julia Letlow, respectively, for House and Senate races in Louisiana. All expenditures went through the Nxum Group, a marketing company co-founded by former White House crypto adviser and Tether US CEO Bo Hines.

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Inflows to the spot Ether ETFs topped $633 million over the past 10-days, but are the flows significant enough to trigger a rally to $3,000?

Key takeaways:

The spot ETH ETFs recorded ten consecutive days of net inflows, totaling $633 million.

Weekly DApps revenue on the Ethereum network fell to $13 million, following a broader decline seen in Solana and BNB Chain.

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Retail crypto activity fell 11% in Q1 as macro pressures weighed on markets, though Turkey and emerging economies showed resilience, TRM Labs data shows.

Global crypto adoption declined in the first quarter as retail activity weakened under mounting macroeconomic and geopolitical pressures, underscoring the sector’s continued sensitivity to broader market conditions.

TRM Labs’ Q1 Global Crypto Adoption Index showed an 11% year-over-year drop in retail crypto volumes, to $979 billion. The decline marked a second consecutive quarterly contraction and the sharpest pullback since the 2022 bear market.

The downturn was largely driven by a stronger US dollar, higher interest rates and a broader risk-off environment, all of which weighed on retail participation, TRM said. The softer demand coincided with a 22% drop in the price of Bitcoin (BTC) during the quarter.

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The integration with Marinade Finance lets clients earn yield via validator selection strategies while retaining custody and control within a single platform.

Anchorage Digital has integrated Marinade Finance into its platform, allowing institutional clients to stake Solana tokens through automated validator strategies while maintaining custody of their assets.

According to Thursday’s announcement, the integration gives clients direct access to Marinade’s staking strategies within Anchorage’s custody and wallet infrastructure, including its Porto self-custody wallet, without requiring external applications.

The setup separates staking delegation from withdrawal control, allowing institutions to participate in validator selection and yield generation while retaining asset control.

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The stablecoin issuer cited "activity tied to unlawful conduct” but no further explanation for the freezing of the dollar-pegged tokens held in two wallet addresses.

Tether, the company that issues the USDt dollar-pegged stablecoin, said Thursday that it froze more than $344 million in USDt at the request of US law enforcement officials. 

The company froze two wallet addresses at the request of US authorites for “activity tied to unlawful conduct,” according to Tether’s announcement.

Tether did not provide a specific reason for the asset freezes, but said that it freezes wallet addresses tied to “sanctions evasion, criminal networks, or other illicit activity.”

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A negative Bitcoin funding rate and $7.5 billion in USDC reserves suggest traders may start positioning against the bearish trend. Will BTC price keep rising?

Bitcoin (BTC) has rallied 30% since its 2026 low of $60,000, and stablecoin balances on exchanges suggest the market has entered a disbelief phase, with roughly $7.5 billion in USDC on Binance highlighting readily deployable capital that traders could start positioning soon.

Data shows that derivatives market positioning has not kept pace with the bullish price trend. Crypto analyst Darkfost tracked the 30-day cumulative funding rate, which aggregates funding over time to reveal sustained positioning. The metric stands near -4.5%, reflecting a prolonged bearish bias against the current move.

The analyst explained that the negative funding creates conditions that incentivize traders to take the opposite side.

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MoonPay has expanded its virtual accounts product to New York, allowing businesses to convert fiat into stablecoins and settle funds without prefunding across jurisdictions.

MoonPay has launched fiat-to-stablecoin virtual accounts in New York, allowing businesses to convert incoming funds from bank rails such as ACH and SWIFT into stablecoins and settle them directly to non-custodial wallets through a single API.

The product is underpinned by technology provider Iron and allows platforms to issue named, dedicated accounts that receive fiat and automatically convert it into stablecoins, enabling payment, trading and treasury flows without relying on prefunded balances or multiple intermediaries.

The rollout in New York follows MoonPay’s acquisition of Iron in 2025 and builds on integrations with platforms including Deel and Paysafe, extending its stablecoin infrastructure across payroll and payments networks, according to Thursday's announcement.

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More than 120 entities associated with the crypto and blockchain industry signed onto a letter urging US Senators to move forward with a crypto market structure bill.

More than 120 entities affiliated with the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry are urging US lawmakers to stop stalling on the advancement of a digital asset market structure bill.

In a Thursday letter to leaders in the US Senate Banking Committee, the Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI) and Blockchain Association said that the body should “proceed towards a markup of the CLARITY Act to provide a comprehensive federal market structure framework for digital assets.”

The legislation, expected to be one of the most significant laws to potentially impact the crypto industry, passed the House of Representatives in July 2025 but has been delayed due in part to government shutdowns and debates over stablecoin yield and other issues.

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FIGR stock retreated after a brief rally as shifting sentiment hits crypto-linked equities, even as analysts point to strong growth in the fintech's blockchain-based lending.

It's been a volatile week for the shares of Figure Technology Solutions as crypto-linked stocks react to shifting investor sentiment and early signs of a broader market rebound.

FIGR stock fell more than 9% in early Thursday trading, slipping back to the mid-$32 range after climbing near $37 earlier in the week. The earlier gains were driven by momentum in crypto-related equities and growing investor interest in companies tied to blockchain-based lending.

Today's decline extended Figure's more than 20% year-to-date slide, reflecting ongoing uncertainty around both crypto markets and higher-growth technology stocks. The sharp swings highlight how sensitive the stock has become to changes in market sentiment. 

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Ethereum signalled a potential rally to $6,000 as bullish technicals, tightening supply, and rising institutional demand are starting to look like major tailwinds.

Ether’s (ETH) 33% rally from its sub-$1,800 multi-year lows appears to be cooling, but several key metrics suggest the top altcoin is primed for a bigger rally toward $6,000 or higher.

Key takeaways:

Ether is currently displaying a technical setup similar to past cycles that ignited a massive rally in ETH price. 

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Bitcoin brought its bull market support band as a key level for BTC price action to reclaim during the weekly candle close.

Bitcoin (BTC) slipped from near three-month highs on Thursday as attention turned to the weekly close.

Key points:

Bitcoin retraces after its latest trip to its highest levels in several months.

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Spanish police seized crypto cold wallets tied to an alleged illegal manga site, as questions remain over whether officers can access the funds.

Spanish police seized two crypto cold wallets containing about 400,000 euros ($467,000) during a raid on what authorities described as the country’s largest illicit Spanish-language manga distribution platform.

Police in Almería arrested three suspects and confiscated two cold wallets hidden inside a wall thermometer, seized from what authorities called the largest portal for illegal manga distribution that generated over 4 million euros ($4.6 million) over the past decade, according to Spain's Interior Ministry.

The ministry said the website had offered free access to pirated manga since 2014 and generated most of its revenue through advertising.

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The FTX estate sold its Cursor stake for $200K in 2023, now worth $3B after a SpaceX-linked valuation surge, raising questions about bankruptcy asset sales.

The FTX bankruptcy estate sold a 5% stake in AI coding startup Cursor for $200,000 in April 2023, missing out on roughly $3 billion after the company was valued at $60 billion in a SpaceX-linked deal this week.

On Wednesday, SpaceX said it has secured the right to acquire Cursor later this year at a $60 billion valuation, or alternatively pay a $10 billion breakup fee if the transaction does not proceed.

That valuation sharply revalues FTX’s earlier position in the company, which traces back to April 2022 when Alameda Research, a quantitative trading firm also founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, invested $200,000 in Anysphere, the startup behind Cursor. The investment reportedly secured about a 5% equity stake at a $4 million valuation.

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OKX integrates BitGo off-exchange settlement for US institutions, reducing pre-funding requirements and marking a key step in its US expansion following ICE investment.

Cryptocurrency exchange OKX is accelerating its push into the United States by rolling out off-exchange settlement for its US institutional clients.

OKX has integrated the Off-Exchange Settlement (OES) platform by publicly listed digital asset custodian BitGo, the company said Thursday in an announcement shared with Cointelegraph.

The integration enables institutional clients to trade on OKX while keeping assets secured in BitGo’s cold custody, aiming to eliminate pre-funding requirements and improve capital efficiency.

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The wallet linked to the Kelp DAO exploit appears to have laundered most of the $175 million worth of stolen Ether, while another $71 million remains frozen by Arbitrum’s security council.

The exploiter behind the roughly $293 million Kelp DAO hack appears to have laundered nearly all of the unfrozen Ether stolen in the attack, narrowing recovery efforts to the tranche Arbitrum’s security council managed to freeze.

The Kelp Dao hacker appears to have laundered nearly all of the 75,700 Ether (ETH) stolen from the protocol on Saturday. The hacker primarily used the THORChain to swap the Ether for Bitcoin (BTC), generating about $910,000 in fee revenue for the protocol, according to blockchain analyst EmberCN in a Thursday X post.

The attacker began moving the funds on Tuesday, sending roughly 75,700 ETH, worth about $175 million at the time, into newly created wallets before routing the assets through THORChain and privacy protocol Umbra. Arkham data showed the attacker’s tagged main wallet had been largely emptied by Thursday.

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Flying Tulip said its withdrawal safeguard is designed to fail open, while a status page lets users monitor the system in real time.

Flying Tulip, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform founded by DeFi developer Andre Cronje, has added a circuit breaker that can delay or queue withdrawals during abnormal outflows, as April DeFi losses climbed amid a string of major exploits. 

According to Flying Tulip’s documentation, the mechanism is designed to slow funds leaving the protocol if outflow capacity is exceeded, giving the team time to investigate suspicious activity and limiting how much an attacker could drain in a worst-case scenario.

Flying Tulip said the circuit breaker works differently across products. In the first version of the circuit breaker, used in its Perpetual PUT product, withdrawals can revert and users must retry later. In the second version, used in Flying Tulip’s stable asset and settlement currency, ftUSD, withdrawals are queued and become claimable after a delay instead of being rejected outright.

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US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a seven-day inflow streak totaling $1.9 billion, surpassing their March run over a similar period.

US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have been gaining momentum amid Bitcoin’s price recovery, showing steady inflows since mid-April.

Spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs logged $335.8 million in inflows on Wednesday, marking the seventh consecutive day of inflows, according to Farside data.

During the inflow streak, the ETFs drew around $1.9 billion in total inflows, surpassing the previous seven-day inflow streak in March, which totaled $1.2 billion.

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MetaMask co-founder Dan Finlay is stepping down from ConsenSys citing burnout, as long-time crypto figures such as Bitcoin advocate Preston Pysh also pull back from public roles.

MetaMask co-founder Dan Finlay is stepping down from ConsenSys after more than a decade working on the popular self-custody wallet, citing burnout and a desire to spend more time with his family.

In a Thursday post on X, Finlay announced his decision and said that he wishes the MetaMask team “the best,” and believes they “have an amazing road ahead of them.” 

Finlay has been one of the most visible faces of MetaMask since its early days as a browser extension in the 2010s, helping the wallet grow into a default gateway to Ethereum (ETH) and other Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible networks.

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Bitcoin reached multi-month highs at $79,000 as bulls regained control and exchange reserves tightened, signaling buyers returning and reduced sell pressure.

Bitcoin (BTC) rallied past $79,000 during the New York trading session on Wednesday as buying pressure strengthened. Meanwhile, BTC supply on exchanges continues to drop, reducing sell-pressure, a new analysis said.

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin price taps $79,000 as onchain data shows signs of returning demand. 

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Ruben Hallali, a meteorologist, told French media outlet BFMTV the sudden temperature fluctuation recorded at a weather station at the Charles de Gaulle Airport was unlikely to be a natural event.

Two Polymarket accounts have attracted suspicion after making $37,000 betting correctly on two unusual temperature readings of a weather station located in a major airport in France.

The two weather-focused prediction markets focused on the highest temperature in Paris on April 6 and 15, using the highest temperature recorded at the Charles de Gaulle Airport Station in degrees Celsius, according to Polymarket.

French media outlet BFMTV reported on Monday that the temperature suddenly climbed to over 21 degrees Celsius on April 6, before dropping again immediately. The market resolved with the winner taking over $16,000. The winning account is under 30 days old.

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Despite the rise, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index score remains stuck in the “Fear” zone, where it has been since Jan. 18.

A crypto market sentiment index has risen to its highest level in over three months on Wednesday after Bitcoin rallied nearly 6% to within striking distance of $80,000.

The Alternative.me Crypto Fear & Greed Index rose 14 points to 46 out of 100, its highest level since Jan. 18 and its largest single-day gain in more than three months.

While still in the “Fear” zone, the current reading marks a sharp rebound from the all-time low of 5 recorded on Feb. 23 after the Trump administration imposed a 15% global tariff, sending Bitcoin (BTC) down to about $63,000.

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FBI used the flaw to extract readable Signal messages from an iPhone's notification database even after the app was deleted.

Tech giant Apple has fixed a security flaw that had allowed the FBI to access a Signal user’s deleted messages through their phone’s push notification database, despite the app being deleted and messages being set to disappear.

In a security advisory released on Wednesday, Apple said it had fixed a bug that allowed “notifications marked for deletion” to be “unexpectedly retained on the device.”

In an X post on Wednesday, Signal said the update fixed the issue that made a user’s messages retrievable by law enforcement. 

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The new funding rounds are expected to be completed in the next six months, but the firm has already begun deploying some of the new capital, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Crypto-focused venture capital firm Blockchain Capital is in the process of raising another $700 million for two new funds, according to Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The firm is raising capital for its seventh early-stage fund aimed at experimental or early-stage projects as well as a second growth fund, which covers more mature companies that already have some traction, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

Blockchain Capital previously raised a total of $1 billion for crypto investments, the source said. The new funding rounds are expected to be completed in the next six months, but the firm has already begun deploying some of the new capital.

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ETH derivatives show strong buyer dominance, leading traders to target $2,500 to $2,600 as the next crucial rally.

Ether (ETH) futures on Binance have risen to a near two-month high as aggressive buyers stepped into the market over the past week. Buy-taker volume rose above $5 billion, and the current setup suggests the ETH rally is poised to continue. 

On Binance, the 24-hour cumulative net taker volume reached $5.5 billion, rising 72% from $3.2 billion earlier in the month. The metric tracks the difference between market buy and sell orders, indicating who is driving price action.

The 30-day average has stayed positive since March 1, returning to levels last seen in July 2022. The positive readings point to consistent buyer aggression.

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The GSR Crypto Core3 ETF is GSR's first crypto exchange-traded product, giving investors access to the top three largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

Institutional crypto trading platform GSR launched its first crypto exchange-traded fund on Wednesday, recording nearly $5 million in trading volume on its first trading day.

The GSR Crypto Core3 ETF (BESO) tracks the spot price of Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Solana (SOL) and offers staking rewards, GSR said in a statement on Wednesday. 

In a separate post on X, GSR said it will be adopting a “dynamic allocation strategy” to optimize returns for the fund, which carries a 1% management fee.

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CertiK has urged crypto users not to overlook basic security practices as major crypto hacks spiked in April.

Real-time deepfakes, phishing attacks, supply chain compromises and cross-chain vulnerabilities will likely be the root of some of the biggest hacks in 2026, according to CertiK senior blockchain investigator Natalie Newson.

The industry has already lost over $600 million to hacks in 2026, due largely to two North Korea-linked crypto thefts in April, including the $293 million Kelp DAO exploit on Saturday involving a single point-of-trust failure in cross-chain messaging protocol LayerZero’s infrastructure, and the $280 million exploit of the Drift Protocol.

Another DPRK-linked attack involved the use of AI for social engineering. Crypto wallet Zerion revealed on April 15 that North Korean-affiliated hackers used AI in a long-term social engineering attack to steal about $100,000 from the company’s hot wallets.

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Matt Klein, a sitting member of the Minnesota State Senate, said he made a bet out of curiosity, while Mark Moran claimed he wanted to see how Kalshi responded to insider trading activity.

Two US congressional candidates and one sitting lawmaker have received fines and bans from Kalshi after they were found betting on the outcomes of their election races, as prediction market platforms crack down on insider trading.

Matt Klein, a sitting member of the Minnesota State Senate, was fined $539 for betting on his primary race in his bid for the US House of Representatives, which is set to take place in August. Ezekiel Enriquez, who ran for a US House seat in March, received a $784 penalty, according to Kalshi's notice of settlement.

Another case involved Mark Moran, a candidate in Virginia's US Senate race, who received a $6,229 penalty and was ordered to return any profits from his trades after allegedly refusing to cooperate with Kalshi to resolve the issue. All three were banned from the platform for five years.

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New York Governor Kathy Hochul criticized the Trump administration for not implementing any “meaningful ethical standards” to curb insider trading in prediction markets.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed an executive order banning state employees from betting on prediction markets, following a similar move by Illinois earlier this week.

“Getting rich by betting on inside information is corruption, plain and simple,” Hochul said on Wednesday, adding: “Our actions will ensure that public servants work for the people they represent, not their own personal enrichment.”

Hochul also slammed the Trump administration and congressional Republicans for allowing an “ethical Wild West” to take hold around prediction markets without implementing any “meaningful ethical standards” to protect against insider trading.

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New York Governor Kathy Hochul criticized the Trump administration for not implementing any “meaningful ethical standards” to curb insider trading in prediction markets.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed an executive order banning state employees from betting on prediction markets, following a similar move by Illinois earlier this week.

“Getting rich by betting on inside information is corruption, plain and simple,” Hochul said on Wednesday, adding: “Our actions will ensure that public servants work for the people they represent, not their own personal enrichment.”

Hochul also slammed the Trump administration and congressional Republicans for allowing an “ethical Wild West” to take hold around prediction markets without implementing any “meaningful ethical standards” to protect against insider trading.

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Blockstream’s Adam Back discusses why people think he’s Satoshi Nakamoto, while the CEO of OKX Europe said MiCA is “extremely beneficial” for the industry at the latest LONGITUDE event in Paris.

Blockstream CEO Adam Back, the British cryptographer and inventor of Hashcash, said it’s “flattering” that people think he’s Satoshi Nakamoto, and that it was probably a result of his being a little too “talkative” on the cypherpunk mailing list that started it all. 

Back was speaking in a fireside chat with Cointelegraph at the recent LONGITUDE event in Paris, co-hosted by crypto exchange OKX, with discussions centered on crypto regulation, market structure and the growth of stablecoins.

“It is flattering in some sense that they think you could have done it,” Back told Cointelegraph, reflecting on the widely publicized New York Times article on April 8 that suggested he is Satoshi, a claim he has denied. 

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Bitcoin and Ether surged as US liquidity measures and record spot ETF inflows offset investors’ recession fears and their concerns over the war in Iran.

Key takeaways:

US government bailout plans and currency swap lines with the UAE are easing global liquidity fears and lowering credit crisis risks.

Record Bitcoin ETF inflows and rising BTC miner profits suggest strong bullish momentum despite the ongoing war in Iran.

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Bitcoin moves closer to $80,000 as data shows traders positioning in futures markets. Will potential profit-taking in the $83,000 to $88,000 range put a cap on the rally?

Bitcoin (BTC) reached a monthly high of $79,472 on Wednesday, marking its strongest 28-day return since April 2025. The rally aligns with a shift in a market positioning metric and a surge in leverage use. 

A combined view of the market positioning metric and open interest shows new positions are being added, potentially influencing BTC’s push toward new highs.

Bitcoin researcher Axel Adler Jr. said that the Bitcoin positioning index has turned higher, with its 30-day average rising to 4.5 from -10.9 in February. The indicator blends net taker flow direction, open interest trends, funding and the exchange balance into a single metric. 

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Bitcoin rally above the $78,333 resistance signals sustained buying by the bulls, clearing the path for a potential rally to $84,000.

Key points:

Bitcoin’s rise above the $78,333 resistance opens the door for a rally to $84,000.

Several major altcoins are attempting to rise above their resistance levels, signaling aggressive buying at lower levels.

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The ex-FTX CEO said he consulted with his parents and lawyers regarding a recent filing he sent from prison, but claimed to be the ”ultimate author of the documents.”

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, serving a 25-year sentence for his role in misusing user funds at the crypto exchange, has dropped a motion in federal court requesting a new trial for his criminal case, but still has a pending appeal of his conviction and sentence.

In a Wednesday filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Bankman-Fried responded to a March 23 letter from Judge Lewis Kaplan ordering the former FTX CEO to answer whether he received any assistance from lawyers for a pro se motion — a filing on his own behalf without an attorney. Kaplan’s order followed US prosecutors raising doubts whether the convicted company founder filed for an extension of his request for a new trial by himself in March, just a few days after his mother, Barbara Fried, though lacking standing, sent a letter to the court on her son’s behalf.

“I am the author of this letter, but did consult with my parents about it, since it concerns both of them,” said Bankman-Fried, referring to an extension to file for a Rule 33 motion for a new trial, adding:

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The Shariah-compliant stablecoin backed by Gulf currencies expands to a new Layer-2 network aimed at institutional settlement in the Middle East.

PUSD, a Shariah-compliant stablecoin backed by Gulf currencies, is set to deploy on ADI Chain, a Layer-2 network focused on institutional settlement in the Middle East.

According to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph, the stablecoin has about $2.3 billion in circulation and is backed 1:1 by reserves held in Saudi riyals and UAE dirhams and pegged to the US dollar. 

It is already available on multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, BNB Chain, Solana and Tron, with ADI Chain marking its latest integration. The stablecoin is positioned to provide access to Islamic finance markets, which represent more than $3 trillion in assets globally, according to the announcement from the ADI Foundation.

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The letter to four US government agencies said banks needed 60 more days for comment after OCC stablecoin rulemaking had been finalized.

The American Bankers Association (ABA) has asked US government agencies responsible for regulations related to a stablecoin bill for more time to comment, potentially delaying implementation by as much as two months.

In a Tuesday letter to the US Treasury Department, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the ABA requested the agencies extend the deadline for public comment on rules for the GENIUS Act, a stablecoin payments bill signed into law in July 2025.

The banking group asked for 60 additional days to comment on rulemaking after the issuance of a final rule by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), saying the rules by the other agencies were “substantially dependent” on the outcome of the OCC’s.

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American Bitcoin (ABTC) originally purchased the mining rigs in March, weeks after reporting a $59 million loss for Q4 2025.

American Bitcoin (ABTC), a publicly traded mining company co-founded by United States President Donald Trump’s sons, has completed its energization of 11,298 application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) at its Drumheller site in Alberta, Canada.

Following the acquisition of machines, the company now owns about 89,242 ASICs, the computers used to mine Bitcoin (BTC) and other proof-of-work (PoW) cryptocurrencies, according to the company’s announcement on Wednesday.

ABTC’s mining fleet now generates a total of about 28.1 exahashes per second (EH/s) of computing power, operating at an “average efficiency” of 16 joules per terahash, the company said.

Shares of ABTC surged by about 11.7% on Wednesday, rising to about $1.38 per share, according to data from Yahoo Finance.

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Thailand’s SEC is seeking feedback on rule changes that would let digital asset firms offer derivatives within existing entities, lowering barriers to market entry.

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking public comment on proposed rule changes that would allow licensed digital asset businesses to apply directly for derivatives licenses, removing the requirement to establish separate entities.

The proposed revisions would build on earlier changes recognizing digital assets as eligible underlying assets for futures contracts, expanding the scope of Thailand’s derivatives market while introducing additional requirements to manage conflicts of interest and strengthen oversight.

The proposal could lower barriers for crypto companies to enter the derivatives market by allowing them to apply for licenses within existing entities, rather than establishing separate companies, while bringing those activities under tighter regulatory oversight.

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The crypto exchange advocated for two key changes to US tax law affecting crypto users to “eliminate millions of unnecessary forms.”

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken called for a change in US tax policy after reporting millions of cases of transactions “worth less than $1” as part of its reporting requirements for 2025.

In a Wednesday blog post, Kraken said it issued more than 56 million tax forms — 1099-DAs — to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in 2025 as now required by law. However, the exchange said that about 18.5 million of those forms were for transactions under $1, with about 28 million for $10 or less and 75% under $50.

In an effort to “eliminate millions of unnecessary forms,” the exchange called for a de minimis exemption for taxes to exclude “small, routine digital asset payments from capital gains reporting.” It similarly advocated for an end to “phantom” income derived from staking cryptocurrencies, requiring holders to “owe taxes on value they have not realized” by not selling their staking rewards.

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The crypto exchange advocated for two key changes to US tax law affecting crypto users to “eliminate millions of unnecessary forms.”

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken called for a change in US tax policy after reporting millions of cases of transactions “worth less than $1” as part of its reporting requirements for 2025.

In a Wednesday blog post, Kraken said it issued more than 56 million tax forms — 1099-DAs — to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in 2025 as now required by law. However, the exchange said that about 18.5 million of those forms were for transactions under $1, with about 28 million for $10 or less and 75% under $50.

In an effort to “eliminate millions of unnecessary forms,” the exchange called for a de minimis exemption for taxes to exclude “small, routine digital asset payments from capital gains reporting.” It similarly advocated for an end to “phantom” income derived from staking cryptocurrencies, requiring holders to “owe taxes on value they have not realized” by not selling their staking rewards.

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The prediction platform will use Pyth’s pricing data to settle trades on its new commodities markets, as it expands into assets including oil, gold and crops.

Oracle network Pyth Network has been selected as the resolution data source for Kalshi’s expansion into commodities markets, underscoring the growing focus on reliable pricing infrastructure in event-based trading.

Kalshi said on Wednesday that Pyth will supply real-time pricing data for its newly launched commodities hub, which debuted in April. The data will be used to determine how event contracts tied to commodity prices are settled.

The move reflects a broader push among prediction market platforms to strengthen backend infrastructure as they expand into more complex asset classes. Accurate, tamper-resistant data feeds are critical for ensuring fair and transparent contract resolution, particularly in markets tied to real-world financial benchmarks.

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The private equity investment will be used to give retail customers indirect price exposure to OpenAI through venture tokens.

Robinhood Ventures Fund I (RVI), a publicly traded closed-end fund that offers retail investors access to private equity investments, announced a $75 million investment in OpenAI.

The company announced on Wednesday that it purchased $75 million of the AI developer's common stock, which will be used as the underlying asset to give Robinhood clients price exposure to OpenAI via the fund's venture tokens.

The investment is “one of RVI’s largest investments to date,” according to RVI president Sarah Pinto, who added that the tokens aim to democratize access to private investing.

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Ethereum’s record 32.33% staking ratio is shrinking liquid supply, reducing sell pressure and potentially supporting an ETH price recovery over time.

Ether (ETH) has fallen about 5.5% against Bitcoin (BTC) over the past week, and a bearish continuation setup now points to the risk of deeper losses ahead.

Key takeaways:

ETH/BTC’s bear flag pattern points to a possible 10% drop toward 0.026 BTC in May.

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Security researchers linked a new “Mach-O Man” malware kit to a Lazarus campaign that steals credentials and accesses corporate systems on macOS.

Update April 23, 12:13 p.m. in UTC: This article has been updated to include comments from Terence Kwok, founder and CEO of Humanity Protocol.

Security researchers have linked a new macOS malware campaign to the Lazarus Group, the North Korea-linked hacking operation behind some of the crypto industry’s biggest thefts.

Flagged on Tuesday, the new “Mach-O Man” malware kit is distributed via “ClickFix” social engineering schemes across traditional businesses and crypto companies, according to Mauro Eldritch, offensive security expert and founder of threat intelligence company BCA Ltd.

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The exchange set maker fees at 0% and taker fees at 0.02% across all pairs, extending near-zero pricing to all users with no volume tiers or subscription requirements.

Update (April 22 7:49 PM UTC): This article has been updated to reflect the relationship between Binance.US and Binance in the eighth paragraph.

Binance.US has reduced spot trading fees to 0% for makers and 0.02% for takers across all trading pairs, extending near-zero pricing to all users without volume thresholds or subscription requirements.

The new pricing replaces the platform’s tiered fee structure and applies to all accounts, with the company saying the move could reduce trading costs by as much as 98% compared with competitors such as Coinbase.

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Aave’s supplied balance tanked after the Kelp DAO bridge exploit, as users pulled funds amid uncertainty over how much of the shortfall the protocol will absorb.

Aave, the largest decentralized lending protocol, has seen around $15 billion in deposits withdrawn since the Kelp Dao exploit on Saturday. 

Total value supplied to Aave fell from $45.8 billion on Saturday to $30.8 billion on Wednesday, according to Aavescan data.

The decline followed an attack that drained about 116,500 restaked Ether (rsETH), worth roughly $293 million, from Kelp DAO’s LayerZero-powered rsETH bridge. The exploiter then used part of the stolen funds to borrow on Aave.

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The Financial Conduct Authority has raided eight locations suspected of illegal peer-to-peer crypto trading, issuing cease-and-desist orders.

The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has raided multiple sites suspected of running illegal peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto trading operations.

The financial services and markets watchdog said Wednesday that it worked alongside HM Revenue & Customs and the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit to inspect eight locations linked to illegal crypto trading. Officials issued cease-and-desist notices on site, ordering operators to halt activity immediately, while gathering evidence tied to ongoing criminal investigations.

“Unregistered peer-to-peer crypto traders operating in the UK are doing so illegally and pose a financial crime risk,” Steve Smart, the FCA’s executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said.

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Smaller crypto companies across Europe face mounting compliance costs as MiCA moves from framework to enforcement, raising fears of market consolidation.

The European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA) transition period is entering its final stretch, forcing smaller crypto firms across the EU to either secure authorization quickly or prepare to shut down regulated services. The transitional period ends across the bloc on July 1, after which any crypto asset service provider operating without a MiCA license must stop serving EU clients.

Early movers like United Kingdom-based exchange CoinJar, which said it secured MiCA authorization in Ireland in 2025, call the regime a necessary maturation that rewards compliance-first players, but founders in markets like Poland warn thousands of virtual asset service providers (VASPs) could fall off a regulatory cliff as deadlines hit.

Companies face a hard stop of July 1 for the longest 18-month grandfathering window, with some national regimes already closing. For smaller companies and hybrid crypto projects, the same regime may prove a breaking point.

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Russian lawmakers passed a first reading of a bill regulating crypto through licensed intermediaries, with key rules set to take effect in July 2026 and 2027.

Russia’s lower house of parliament passed a bill in first reading on Tuesday that would create the country’s core legal framework for digital currency, moving Moscow closer to a system that channels crypto trading through licensed intermediaries under Bank of Russia oversight.

The draft bill No. 1194918-8, titled “On Digital Currency and Digital Rights,” passed its first reading in the State Duma on Tuesday, according to official records.

The bill would allow Russians to buy and sell crypto through approved intermediaries as early as July, while banning unlicensed crypto platforms beginning in July 2027, if the draft becomes law.

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DPRK-linked crypto theft topped $578M in April after the Kelp DAO exploit, as attacks continue to expand across protocols, companies and end users.

Kelp DAO suffered a $292 million hack on Saturday, overtaking Drift as the largest crypto exploit of the year so far. North Korea-linked hackers are suspected to be behind the attack.

Kelp DAO said Monday that the exploit stemmed from a failure of cross-chain messaging protocol LayerZero’s infrastructure. LayerZero said the breach was enabled by Kelp DAO’s use of a single verifier configuration to approve cross-chain messages.

LayerZero said that “preliminary indicators” attributed the exploit to TraderTraitor, a subgroup of North Korea’s state-backed hacking unit known as Lazarus Group. 

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SEC Chair Paul Atkins says the SEC is “on the cusp” of an innovation exemption to enable compliant onchain trading of tokenized securities.

US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins said the agency is nearing the release of an exemption that would allow market participants to trade tokenized securities onchain within a compliant framework. 

Speaking at the Economic Club of Washington on Tuesday, Atkins said the SEC is close to introducing what he described as an exemption aimed at enabling limited activity in tokenized markets while the agency develops longer-term rules.

“We are on the cusp of releasing what I call an ‘innovation exemption,’ which will provide market participants with a cabined framework to begin facilitating the trading of tokenized securities onchain in a compliant fashion as the Commission works toward long-term rules of the road,” he said. 

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Bitcoin’s technical indicators predicted a significant move ahead for BTC, but the price must first break resistance at $80,000.

Bitcoin (BTC) could see further upside volatility as several technical indicators suggested the BTC price was due for a “powerful“ upward move.

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin’s Bollinger Bands indicator now sees the potential for a massive price breakout.

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Coinbase legal chief Paul Grewal says the company removed New York’s prediction markets lawsuit to federal court, setting up a sharper fight over CFTC authority and state gambling laws.

Coinbase’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, said Wednesday that the company had removed New York Attorney General Letitia James’ prediction markets lawsuit from state court to federal court, arguing that the case turns on disputed questions of federal law over how event contracts are regulated.

The move escalates a legal fight that could help define whether prediction markets fall under federal commodities regulation and the scope of the US Commodities and Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) or state gambling laws, with broader implications for the oversight of platforms like Coinbase and Gemini.

“We have removed this action to federal court,” wrote Grewal in a Wednesday X post, adding that New York’s claims raise “disputed and substantial questions of federal law” and are subject to “complete preemption.”

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Bitcoin price metrics saw a broad recovery in April, but analysis warns that the 2022 bear-market breakdown could still repeat.

Bitcoin (BTC) price metrics are showing relief this month, but the risk of repeating the 2022 bear market remains.

Key points:

Bitcoin’s Bull Score Index combined price metric reaches its highest levels since October last year.

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Volo Protocol has confirmed a $3.5 million exploit affecting select vaults, adding that it has frozen assets and started fund recovery efforts amid ongoing investigation.

Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Volo has disclosed a security breach that resulted in the loss of approximately $3.5 million in digital assets, marking the latest incident in a series of exploits targeting DeFi platforms.

In a Wednesday post on X, the team said the attack affected select vaults and involved assets including Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), Matrixdock Gold XAUm and USDC (USDC). “We detected the attack, immediately notified the Sui Foundation and ecosystem partners to contain the damage, and froze the vaults to prevent any further exposure,” the team wrote.

The protocol added that around $28 million in total value locked across other vaults is safe, with the exploit limited to three isolated vaults and no shared vulnerability identified. It also revealed plans to absorb the losses rather than pass them on to users, though details of any remediation plan have yet to be finalized.

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Uzbekistan has created a supervised crypto mining zone in Karakalpakstan, allowing foreign sales while requiring proceeds to flow through local bank accounts.

Uzbekistan has created a special crypto mining zone across Karakalpakstan under a presidential resolution signed on Friday, opening a supervised framework that lets approved mining companies sell mined digital assets on foreign platforms while keeping the proceeds inside the country’s banking system.

A presidential decree effective Monday creates the “Besqala Mining Valley,” a special mining zone across the Republic of Karakalpakstan, where registered legal entities can carry out crypto mining, use a mix of power sources and apply for resident status through a new directorate under the republic’s Council of Ministers.

The framework gives miners in the zone the right to sell crypto assets obtained through mining on national crypto exchanges or foreign platforms, including through direct contracts, and to exchange them for other liquid crypto assets. Still, the opening comes with strict controls over how mining revenues move through the financial system, and proceeds from those sales must be transferred to bank accounts in Uzbekistan.

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Stratiphy is reopening a tax-free route to crypto ETNs in the UK after HMRC’s ISA rule change left retail investors with little practical access.

UK fintech platform Stratiphy launched a new offering with a practical, tax-free route back into crypto exchange-traded notes (ETNs) for UK investors after a series of regulatory shifts effectively shut them out.

In October 2025, the Financial Conduct Authority lifted its four-year ban on retail access to crypto ETNs tied to assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). These products could initially be held in standard stocks-and-shares Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs), offering tax-free exposure.

However, that changed at the start of the new tax year, when HM Revenue & Customs ruled that new purchases of crypto ETNs would no longer qualify for those ISAs. Instead, eligibility was limited to Innovative Finance (IF) ISAs, a niche wrapper typically used for peer-to-peer lending, and no platform offered both, resulting in a dead end for investors seeking access.

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HackerOne, one of the largest bug bounty platforms in the world, reported there were 85,000 valid bounty submissions in 2025, up 7% from the previous year.

Crypto protocols have warned that an increase in AI use has led to a flood of bogus bug bounty submissions, putting a strain on teams trying to identify real threats to their protocols. 

Bug bounties are a system to reward “good” hackers for submitting reports about potential vulnerabilities and are popular in the crypto industry. AI has now made it easier to sift through large amounts of code to find possible bugs, though AI is also known to hallucinate. 

“AI is changing the way that bug bounty programs must operate,” said Barry Plunkett, co-CEO of Cosmos Labs, on Tuesday, responding to a bug bounty hunter who accused the protocol of ignoring their vulnerability report. 

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HackerOne, one of the largest bug bounty platforms in the world, reported there were 85,000 valid bounty submissions in 2025, up 7% from the previous year.

Crypto protocols have warned that an increase in AI use has led to a flood of bogus bug bounty submissions, putting a strain on teams trying to identify real threats to their protocols. 

Bug bounties are a system to reward “good” hackers for submitting reports about potential vulnerabilities and are popular in the crypto industry. AI has now made it easier to sift through large amounts of code to find possible bugs, though AI is also known to hallucinate. 

“AI is changing the way that bug bounty programs must operate,” said Barry Plunkett, co-CEO of Cosmos Labs, on Tuesday, responding to a bug bounty hunter who accused the protocol of ignoring their vulnerability report. 

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Umbra has shut down its front end to stop hackers, but says it can’t stop the use of its smart contracts or another version of its open-source front end.

Privacy-focused crypto protocol Umbra said it has taken down its front-end website to make it more difficult for hackers who have been using it to move funds from recent “high-profile hacks.”

Umbra posted to X on Tuesday that it is aware that around $800,000 worth of stolen funds were moved via its protocol.

It added that it made the decision to move the hosted version of its front end into maintenance mode and would restore it “as soon as we are assured that doing so won't create obstacles to the current recovery efforts.”

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Sullivan & Cromwell’s Andrew Dietderich said the company has AI policies to prevent incorrect citations and other errors, but procedures weren’t followed on this occasion.

Wall Street law firm Sullivan & Cromwell has apologized to a federal judge after submitting a court filing that contained around 40 incorrect citations and other errors caused by AI hallucinations.

“We deeply regret that this has occurred,” Andrew Dietderich, co-head of Sullivan & Cromwell’s global restructuring team, wrote Friday in a letter to Chief Judge Martin Glenn of the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

“The Firm and I are keenly aware of our responsibility to ensure the accuracy of all submissions including under Local Bankruptcy Rule 9011-1(d), and I take responsibility for the failure to do so,” he said of an emergency motion filed nine days earlier.

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Sullivan & Cromwell’s Andrew Dietderich said the company has AI policies to prevent incorrect citations and other errors, but procedures weren’t followed on this occasion.

Wall Street law firm Sullivan & Cromwell has apologized to a federal judge after submitting a court filing that contained around 40 incorrect citations and other errors caused by AI hallucinations.

“We deeply regret that this has occurred,” Andrew Dietderich, co-head of Sullivan & Cromwell’s global restructuring team, wrote Friday in a letter to Chief Judge Martin Glenn of the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

“The Firm and I are keenly aware of our responsibility to ensure the accuracy of all submissions including under Local Bankruptcy Rule 9011-1(d), and I take responsibility for the failure to do so,” he said of an emergency motion filed nine days earlier.

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Coinbase’s quantum advisory board says quantum computing isn’t yet a threat, but has urged for upgrade work to begin, with some blockchains being less prepared than others.

Coinbase’s quantum researchers have highlighted Algorand and Aptos’ work to prepare their networks for potential threats from quantum computing in a report on Tuesday, as they warned that other proof-of-stake chains may be more vulnerable to attacks.

Coinbase’s Independent Advisory Board on Quantum Computing and Blockchain released a paper outlining the threat that quantum computers pose to blockchains and suggested ways to prepare networks for the technology.

“A sufficiently powerful quantum computer could one day break the cryptography that secures digital assets across major blockchains,” Coinbase said. “The board has high confidence this type of machine will eventually be built.”

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Sun said the suit is to protect his rights as a token holder, but he remains a supporter of President Donald Trump and his administration’s efforts to make the US crypto-friendly.

Update: April 22, 6:40 am UTC: This article has been updated to include more information on Justin Sun and World Liberty Financial.

Tron founder Justin Sun said he filed a lawsuit against Trump-family-backed World Liberty Financial for allegedly freezing his tokens and threatening to burn them “without any proper justification.”

In a post to social media on Wednesday, Sun said the suit, filed in a California federal court, was meant to protect his rights as a token holder.

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How Ripple is testing RLUSD in Singapore’s MAS sandbox to enable conditional trade settlements, and why this does not amount to full regulatory approval.

Singapore has strengthened its position as a leading hub for tokenized finance through Project BLOOM (Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency).

This collaborative initiative brings together a group of traditional banks, fintech firms and stablecoin providers to evaluate how digital settlement assets can be integrated into existing financial infrastructure.

A notable partnership in the pilot involves Ripple and supply chain specialist Unloq. Together, they are exploring automated trade settlements using Ripple’s upcoming stablecoin, RLUSD, on the XRP Ledger.

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US Navy Admiral Samuel Paparo said Bitcoin’s proof-of-work technology has "really important" computer science applications when it comes to cybersecurity.

A senior US military commander has lauded Bitcoin as a “valuable computer science tool,” arguing its usefulness extends beyond monetary applications and can support US national security interests.

“It is a valuable computer science tool, as a power projection,” Admiral Samuel Paparo said at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday, adding that Bitcoin’s proof-of-work technology “imposes more cost” on attackers attempting to compromise the network:

The Senate hearing looked into the strategic posture of US forces in Indo-Pacific, including ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, China’s military expansion and coordination with foreign adversaries, and threats from North Korea.

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According to reports, Kalshi plans to launch crypto perpetual futures, expanding beyond prediction markets as regulated derivatives offerings in the US continue to evolve.

Prediction market exchange Kalshi is reportedly preparing to expand into cryptocurrency trading by introducing perpetual futures contracts, marking a major shift beyond its core event-based derivatives business.

In a Tuesday report, The Information cited people familiar with the matter as saying Kalshi plans to offer perpetual futures — commonly known as “perps” — on cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC).

Perpetual futures are a type of derivative contract that allows traders to speculate on price movements without an expiration date. 

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With a CFTC greenlight expected soon, industry momentum is building for the derivative contracts still only available to non-US investors.

Blockchain.com has rolled out perpetual futures trading in its non-custodial DeFi wallet, allowing users to open leveraged positions directly from self-custodied Bitcoin used as collateral without transferring funds to an exchange.

According to Tuesday’s announcement, the feature is routed through decentralized derivatives exchange Hyperliquid and gives users access to more than 190 crypto markets with up to 40x leverage.

Perpetual futures are derivative contracts that allow traders to take leveraged positions on an asset’s price without an expiration date. Michael Selig, chair of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), said last month that the derivatives regulator plans to allow the contracts in the coming weeks.

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Bitcoin inflows diverge across exchanges as selling pressure eases on Binance, while Coinbase shows more dominant activity.

Bitcoin (BTC) mid-size wallet inflows to Binance fell to 3,000–4,000 BTC, marking a multi-year low in sell-side activity from this cohort.

This coincides with Coinbase recording about 8,500 BTC in inflows from similar wallets on Sunday, while other exchanges saw much smaller flows. Binance exchange Bitcoin inflows have fallen to 2023 levels, but how is this significant to today’s market?

CryptoQuant data classifies mid-size wallets as the entities holding roughly 100–1,000 BTC, often linked to active traders and smaller institutions. These wallets tend to move coins to the exchanges during distribution periods, making their inflows a useful proxy for near-term selling intent.

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Attorney General Letitia James alleged that Coinbase and Gemini ran unlicensed markets, adding pressure on crypto companies as states move to regulate event-based trading platforms.

New York's attorney general has filed lawsuits against crypto exchange operators Coinbase Financial Markets and Gemini Titan for allegedly violating state gambling laws, according to court records cited by Reuters.

Copies of the complaints show the state alleges both exchanges failed to obtain licenses from the New York State Gaming Commission to operate their markets, Reuters reported. 

“Gambling by another name is still gambling, ​and it ​is not ⁠exempt from regulation under our state laws and Constitution,” Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement.

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Nium integrates Coinbase’s infrastructure to enable USDC-based cross-border payments, allowing businesses to settle in fiat or stablecoins without relying on prefunded accounts.

Singapore fintech Nium has selected Coinbase to integrate USDC payments into its global network to send, receive and convert stablecoins to fiat across more than 190 countries through a single platform.

According to a Tuesday announcement, the integration uses Coinbase’s infrastructure for custody, liquidity and wallet services, enabling Nium’s customers to fund cross-border payouts in USDC and settle in either stablecoins or local currencies.

Traditional cross-border payment systems often require companies to prefund accounts across multiple jurisdictions, tying up capital while transactions settle across time zones and banking networks, Santhosh Srinivasan, VP of treasury at Nium, told Cointelegraph.

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Analysts say Bitcoin’s rally has begun, but the upside may be capped at an average spot BTC ETF cost basis near $84,000.

Market analysts said Bitcoin’s (BTC) latest rally to $78,000 means that the “uptrend has began,” but the upside could be capped at $84,000, based on several key metrics.

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin profitability metrics say that BTC has entered the early stages of a “real rally.”

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Analysts say Bitcoin’s rally has begun, but the upside may be capped at an average spot BTC ETF cost basis near $84,000.

Market analysts said Bitcoin’s (BTC) latest rally to $78,000 means that the uptrend has begun, but the upside could be capped at $84,000, based on several key metrics.

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin profitability metrics say that BTC has entered the early stages of a “real rally.”

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The miner plans to refinance short-term debt and scale its US infrastructure as the broader industry pivots toward AI and high-performance computing.

Core Scientific is seeking to raise $3.3 billion in debt to support its expanding data center operations across the United States, as crypto miners increasingly pivot toward high-performance computing and artificial intelligence workloads amid tighter conditions in the mining sector.

The financing will come through senior secured notes due in 2031, the company disclosed Tuesday. The notes will be backed by Core Scientific’s assets, giving investors priority claims in the event of default. Unlike an equity raise, the offering allows the company to access capital without diluting existing shareholders.

Proceeds from the offering are expected to fund ongoing data center development and refinance existing short-term debt. 

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BTC price action slowly headed upward but funding stayed negative, a unique occurrence that analysis said would likely result in a short squeeze.

Bitcoin (BTC) sought to match 10-week highs on Tuesday as market participants bet on a new short squeeze.

Key points:

Bitcoin is due a fresh short squeeze as funding rates uniquely stay negative as price grinds higher, say market pundits.

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Kevin Warsh faced intense questions from Senator Elizabeth Warren and other lawmakers over his more than $100 million financial disclosure ahead of a confirmation hearing.

The nominee to lead the US Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, on Tuesday faced criticism and backlash from Democrats questioning his financial disclosures and potential conflicts of interest.

Heading into today’s Senate Banking Committee confirmation hearing, it was clear that the independence of the Fed remains a key issue for many lawmakers concerned about US President Donald Trump’s influence over any Senate-confirmed candidate. 

With Jerome Powell’s term as the US Federal Reserve Chair set to expire next month, lawmakers are scrambling to replace the long-serving official. 

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A $517 million rise in spot volume led by Coinbase is helping Bitcoin reclaim $76,000, with steady inflows absorbing the weekend selling pressure.

Bitcoin (BTC) rebounded above $76,000 on Tuesday, after the spot market demand on Coinbase exchange saw a second week of bullish volume trends.

Net spot buy volume has climbed sharply over the past 15 days, signaling sustained strength from bulls, but will BTC be able to turn the $75,000 level into a long-term support level?

The aggregated spot cumulative volume delta (CVD) continues to trend higher, rising to $517 million on Tuesday, up from $55 million on April 17. The broader CVD across spot and futures is above $8.5 billion, with BTC price consolidating just below $77,000 following Monday's recovery. 

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Poland’s parliament is in a deadlock over crypto and its inability to align local laws with MiCA may drive some local crypto companies abroad.

Poland’s parliament, the Sejm, has yet to pass a domestic enabling act for the EU’s regulations on cryptocurrencies. 

The parliament has again failed to override a presidential veto on a key crypto regulation bill. President Karol Nawrocki defended his veto, citing concerns over excessive regulation that could harm small businesses. Opponents state that the lack of framework makes the Polish market vulnerable to fraud and free-for-all for illicit actors. The political path forward is unclear.

Outside the political arena, the reality is that Poland is the only EU member state left to implement the bloc’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework. The deadline for the transitionary period ends on July 1.

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A survey by Börse Stuttgart Digital shows that 35% of European investors might switch to banks with better crypto offerings, but regulatory uncertainty remains an issue.

Cryptocurrency offerings are beginning to influence how European investors choose their banks, but regulatory uncertainties continue to hinder mainstream adoption, according to a new survey.

A Börse Stuttgart Digital survey released Tuesday found that 35% of European investors would consider switching banks if another institution offered better cryptocurrency investment options, suggesting crypto is starting to influence how some customers choose financial providers.

Nearly one in five respondents said they expect their main bank to offer crypto access within the next three years, according to the survey, which covered about 6,000 investors in Germany, Italy, Spain and France. The findings suggest crypto is moving closer to the mainstream banking relationship, at least among investors already open to digital assets.

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A thwarted home invasion near Montpellier adds to France’s surge in violent “wrench attacks,” as high‑profile and doxxed crypto holders are increasingly in criminals’ sights.

A man posing as a delivery driver allegedly tried to extort a crypto investor at gunpoint in a suburb of Montpellier, in what local media describe as the first reported crypto-motivated home invasion in France’s Hérault region. 

According to French outlet Actu.fr, the suspect gained access to the family home in Saint-Jean-de-Védas on April 11, pulled out a handgun and forced the parents and their children into a room before the father overpowered him during a struggle in which a shot was fired. 

No one was injured, and investigators from the Montpellier research section of the Gendarmerie later identified and arrested a 25-year-old suspect, who has since been charged and remanded in custody while police examine whether he acted alone.

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A 39-member coalition including Nasdaq urged the EU to fast-track DLT pilot changes, warning Europe could lose ground to the US in tokenized finance.

A group of European financial companies and industry bodies have urged European Union officials and lawmakers to fast-track changes to blockchain rules, warning the region risks falling behind the US in tokenized finance.

In a joint letter on Tuesday, 39 signatories, including Nasdaq and Boerse Stuttgart, called on the European Commission and Parliament to carve out the DLT Pilot Regime from a broader legislative package and review it as a standalone law, according to a copy of the letter shared by crypto association Adan.

The group argued that folding the regime into the wider Market Integration and Supervision Package could delay reforms needed to keep pace with global developments. “Negotiations are likely to be lengthy,” the letter, addressed to Financial Services Commissioner Maria Luis Albuquerque, said, adding that delays “risk dampening Europe’s momentum in DLT adoption.”

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A 39-member coalition including Nasdaq urged the EU to fast-track DLT pilot changes, warning Europe could lose ground to the US in tokenized finance.

A group of European financial companies and industry bodies have urged European Union officials and lawmakers to fast-track changes to blockchain rules, warning the region risks falling behind the US in tokenized finance.

In a joint letter on Tuesday, 39 signatories, including Nasdaq and Boerse Stuttgart, called on the European Commission and Parliament to carve out the DLT Pilot Regime from a broader legislative package and review it as a standalone law, according to a copy of the letter shared by crypto association Adan.

The group argued that folding the regime into the wider Market Integration and Supervision Package could delay reforms needed to keep pace with global developments. “Negotiations are likely to be lengthy,” the letter, addressed to Financial Services Commissioner Maria Luis Albuquerque, said, adding that delays “risk dampening Europe’s momentum in DLT adoption.”

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The UK government plans a stablecoin and tokenization rules overhaul, appointing former FCA official Chris Woolard to support work on its digital markets strategy.

The United Kingdom is revisiting its payments rulebook to support the adoption of new fintech and payment technologies such as stablecoins and tokenization.

In a Tuesday announcement, HM Treasury and Economic Secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby said the government will consult on reforms for payment services and electronic money rules.

The Treasury said the changes are meant to create a single framework for traditional and tokenized payments, including stablecoins and tokenized deposits. It also said it plans to bring forward legislation to reduce administrative burdens for companies seeking to offer stablecoin payment services.

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South Korea's tax authority is looking to build crypto transaction tracking software that can help track potential tax evaders.

South Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS) has opened a tender for software licenses to track virtual asset transactions as part of tax evasion enforcement, according to a government procurement notice.

The notice said the contract is for “virtual asset tax evasion response transaction-tracking software licenses,” with a budget of 146.5 million won (around $99,500), including value-added tax and delivery due within 30 days of contract signing. Bid submissions are scheduled for April 28 to April 30, with proposal evaluation set for May 7.

The procurement notice itself gives limited detail on the software’s technical scope. However, citing an official from the NTS scientific investigation unit, local outlet ZDNet Korea reported that the software would allow officials to monitor crypto transactions in real time, visualize transfers between specific wallet addresses and exchanges, and support probes into hidden assets, offshore tax evasion and unreported inheritance or gift transfers.

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Private key compromises led crypto hack losses over the past decade as recent DeFi exploits show attackers moving beyond smart contract bugs.

Private key compromises are emerging as one of crypto’s costliest attack vectors, with hackers stealing more than $17 billion across 518 recorded incidents over the past decade, according to data platform DefiLlama.

In data shared Tuesday, DefiLlama’s dashboard shows a large share of those incidents stemmed from compromised private keys, alongside phishing and other credential-based attacks.

Around 22.3% of the incidents were attributed to private key compromises through “brute force,” 18.2% to private key compromises via “unknown methods,” and 10% occurred due to phishing attacks on multi-signature wallets.

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Matter Labs’ Alex Gluchowski says Canton isn’t a blockchain, while Digital Asset co-founders argue public chains aren’t that different.

Banks are moving onchain through competing models that take different approaches to how financial rules are enforced.

On the one hand are blockchain-native builders like Matter Labs co-founder Alex Gluchowski, who argue that financial systems require rules to be enforced across all participants. On the other are networks built for institutions like Canton, which prioritize privacy, control and interoperability over global state.

Gluchowski is among the most vocal critics of the latter approach, arguing it reproduces the limitations of traditional finance in a new form. The core of the critique is whether rules can be enforced across an entire network. That’s not possible in systems like Canton, he claimed.

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Most XRP investors are back in profit, increasing the chance for a rally to $2.24, but bulls must first hold the price above $1.40.

XRP’s (XRP) 28% rebound from its macro low at $1.12 pushed it above its realized price. In other words, the average XRP holder is no longer in the red.

Is this enough fuel for the bulls to push the altcoin’s price to $2.24?

Key takeaways:

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A falling VIX signals improving risk appetite, boosting Bitcoin’s chances of attracting fresh demand and breaking above the $80,000 level.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), a preferred Wall Street metric to measure investor sentiment and market risk, dropped by over 45% in under a month. For Bitcoin (BTC), this could be a significant bullish signal.

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin may rise toward $82,700 if VIX keeps underperforming.

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BitMEX has partnered with Zodia Custody to enable institutional crypto derivatives trading via off-exchange collateral held in segregated custody.

BitMEX, a derivatives-focused cryptocurrency exchange, said it has secured a custody partner to enable asset segregation and trading with off-exchange assets.

The company announced Tuesday a partnership with Zodia Custody to allow traders to access derivatives while keeping collateral in segregated custody. The integration is immediately accessible via Interchange, Zodia Custody’s off-venue settlement solution.

BitMEX CEO Stephan Lutz told Cointelegraph the move reflects lessons from past market failures, including the FTX collapse and the $1.4 billion Bybit hack, which exposed risks tied to unsegregated or compromised exchange-held funds.

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The Kelp DAO attacker has moved $175 million of stolen Ether in an apparent bid to start laundering it after the $290 million exploit.

The attacker behind the roughly $290 million Kelp DAO exploit began moving tens of thousands of Ether to newly created blockchain addresses on Tuesday, in what appears to be an effort to start laundering the stolen funds.

The wallet tagged by Arkham as linked to the Kelp DAO exploit moved about 75,700 Ether (ETH) worth roughly $175 million across three transactions on Tuesday, including a 25,000 ETH transfer to one newly created address and transfers of 50,700 ETH and 0.7 ETH to another.

Blockchain investigator ZachXBT wrote in a Tuesday Telegram post that addresses tied to the exploit had begun moving funds through THORChain and Umbra. He flagged three THORChain transactions totaling about $1.5 million and a separate $78,000 transfer through Umbra.

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Shipping companies with vessels stranded near the Strait of Hormuz are being targeted by scammers posing as Iranian authorities, demanding Bitcoin or USDt for safe passage.

Fraudulent actors posing as Iranian authorities have reportedly sent messages to shipping companies whose vessels remain stranded west of the Strait of Hormuz, demanding payment in cryptocurrency for safe passage.

On Monday, maritime risk company Marisks issued a warning saying unknown groups had contacted shipowners claiming to represent Iranian security services and requesting transit “fees” in Bitcoin (BTC) or USDt (USDT) in exchange for clearance through the strait, according to Reuters.

“These specific messages are a scam,” Marisks reportedly said, adding that they do not originate from Iranian authorities. Tehran has not publicly commented on the claims.

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Promoters of flagged platforms may face fines of up to 5 million Philippine pesos ($89,000) or up to 21 years in prison under Philippine securities law.

The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a public investor alert warning Filipinos not to invest in dYdX and six other crypto trading platforms, saying they are not registered or authorized to solicit investments in the country.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, the SEC named dYdX, Aevo, gTrade, Pacifica, Orderly, Deriv and Ostium, stating that based on its findings, the platforms appear to be offering investments to the public in exchange for promised returns, profits or interest. 

The regulator said none of the listed entities are registered with the Commission or hold the required authorization under its crypto-asset service provider (CASP) framework, which requires firms offering crypto-related services in the Philippines to obtain licenses and meet capital and operational requirements.

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New Bank of Korea Governor Hyun-Song Shin supported CBDCs and deposit tokens in his first address, while stablecoins were notably absent from his remarks.

The newly appointed governor of the Bank of Korea, Hyun-Song Shin, has voiced support for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and tokenized deposits in his first public address.

Shin, who began his four-year term after an inauguration ceremony in Seoul on Tuesday, said the central bank will advance the second phase of “Project Hangang,” a Bank of Korea-led pilot project to test a blockchain-based, wholesale CBDC system.

He also pointed to international cooperation efforts, including the Agora Project, an international collaborative initiative launched in April 2024 by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and seven central banks to explore the tokenization of cross-border payments. Shin said these initiatives “will elevate the status of the Korean won in the digital payment environment.”

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STRC's dropped below its $100 par value, indicating that Strategy will likely pause Bitcoin buying this week, which could help the bears pull price down to $70,000.

Bitcoin (BTC) rose 2.66% to around $75,800 on Monday after Strategy disclosed a $2.54 billion purchase, the company’s third biggest ever, and equivalent to about 2.5 months of new BTC supply.

However, several indicators suggest the rally may fizzle out.

Key takeaways:

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A 12-bank European consortium led by Qivalis is partnering with Fireblocks to develop a regulated euro stablecoin under MiCA, targeting launch in the second half of 2026.

A consortium of 12 European banks led by Qivalis has selected digital asset custody provider Fireblocks to provide infrastructure for a Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA)-compliant euro stablecoin, according to a Tuesday release shared with Cointelegraph. 

Qivalis’s stablecoin is intended to support institutional use cases such as settlement, treasury and tokenized assets. Fireblocks said it will provide tokenization technology, wallet infrastructure, custody, and other important tools and features to support compliance, such as identity verification and sanctions screening.

Qivalis, launched in 2025, is a Netherlands-based venture backed by major banks including BBVA, BNP Paribas, ING and UniCredit, which plans to issue a fully regulated, 1:1-backed euro token structured as an electronic money institution under Dutch supervision. The group says it is targeting a launch in the second half of 2026, subject to approval from the Dutch central bank, De Nederlandsche Bank, under the European Union’s MiCA regulatory framework.

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A fake police raid enabled a $1 million Bitcoin robbery, exposing the rise of wrench attacks and the shift from digital hacks to physical crypto threats.

Crypto security is expanding beyond digital threats, with criminals increasingly targeting individuals directly through physical coercion rather than trying to exploit blockchain vulnerabilities or hack wallets.

The French case illustrates how attackers used a fake police raid and violence to force a Bitcoin transfer worth $1 million, bypassing encryption entirely by compelling the victim to authorize the transaction.

Wrench attacks are rising, with criminals using threats or force instead of technical exploits. This highlights how human vulnerability can override even the most secure cryptographic systems.

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The value of tokenized real-world assets on public blockchains is estimated at more than $29 billion, up more than 10% in the last 30 days.

OCBC, one of Singapore’s largest banking and financial services corporations, has launched a tokenized physical gold fund, with the underlying token, GOLDX, issued on both Ethereum and Solana.

The launch was made together with its asset management arm, Lion Global Investors and digital asset exchange DigiFT. The token is aimed at institutional investors, hedge funds and asset managers and can be bought and sold using both stablecoins and fiat currencies. After subscription, the token is delivered directly to investors’ blockchain wallets, OCBC said on Monday.

Kenneth Lai, head of global markets at OCBC, said the move is part of a new corporate strategy and a milestone in the corporation’s blockchain-focused approach.

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Griff Green, a member of Arbitrum’s security council, said the group acted with input from law enforcement and “did not make this decision lightly."

Ethereum layer-2 blockchain Arbitrum on Monday froze more than 30,000 Ether worth about $71.2 million held in a wallet connected to the recent exploit of the Kelp protocol.

Arbitrum said on Monday that its security council, a 12-member body elected by the Arbitrum community, took “emergency action” to freeze 30,766 Ether (ETH) that was held in a wallet connected to the Kelp exploit.

It added that the ETH had been moved to “an intermediary frozen wallet” and was “no longer accessible to the address that originally held the funds, and can only be moved by further action by Arbitrum governance.”

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US Senator Thom Tillis said members of the crypto and banking industries still need more time to be heard.

A US senator has reportedly urged Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott to delay the markup for the crypto market structure bill until May, as banking and crypto representatives need more time to resolve disagreements over stablecoin yield provisions.

US Republican Thom Tillis of North Carolina told reporters Monday that he does not expect the Senate Banking Committee to mark up the legislation, also known as the CLARITY Act, in April and has recommended that Scott schedule it for next month, according to Punchbowl News.

Tillis, who has been leading discussions between crypto and banking members, reportedly told Scott: “It’s very important to me not to accelerate things, to hear everybody, and give them a rational basis for what we do accept.”

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Crypto software developers are concerned about whether they may be held criminally liable for publishing their software, following high-profile convictions last year.

Crypto lobby Coin Center expanded its argument that software code is free speech and should be protected under the First Amendment of the US Constitution, amid continued uncertainty over whether crypto developers are liable for how their inventions are used.

In a report published Monday, Coin Center executive director Peter Van Valkenburgh and director of research Lizandro Pieper said writing and publishing crypto software code is the same as writing a book or publishing a recipe.

The pair argued that the First Amendment, which protects individuals' freedom of speech and expression, offers strict constitutional protection for developers who only publish and maintain software. 

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Coinbase’s x402 AI payments protocol has launched Agentic.market, a platform where AI agents can discover and use AI-friendly services.

Coinbase-backed artificial intelligence payments standard x402 has launched a marketplace for apps and services to boost the usefulness of AI agents.

Coinbase product lead Nick Prince said in a video posted on X on Monday that the idea behind the platform, called Agentic.market, was to “give humans and their agents access to thousands of services, with zero API keys required.”

Prince, in a separate post, said the market was a “storefront for discovering, comparing, and using x402 services” and offers access to a wide variety of apps and websites that AI agents can use, such as CoinGecko, Google Flights and the social media site X.

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The proposed AI dividend would be funded by taxes on AI use and equity stakes in AI companies, paying US citizens if automation meaningfully displaces workers.

A New York state assemblymember and congressional candidate has proposed an artificial intelligence dividend program for US citizens to address potential job losses stemming from advances in AI technology.

In an X post on Sunday, New York lawmaker Alex Bores outlined a plan to prepare the US and its citizens for the "potential large-scale displacement of human labor by artificial intelligence."

"Today, I'm proud to announce the AI Dividend, my plan to prepare for the AI economy with direct payments to Americans funded by tax reform that simultaneously incentivizes hiring humans instead of AI," he said.

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The first scenario is cheaper but risks rsETH depegging 15%, while the second is costlier but better protects Ethereum mainnet and concentrates losses at the layer-2 level.

Decentralized lending platform Aave’s risk management provider has outlined two scenarios on how bad debt from the Kelp DAO exploit over the weekend could impact the ecosystem, depending on how the losses are allocated.

The incident began on Saturday when hackers stole 116,500 Kelp DAO Restaked ETH (rsETH) tokens worth $293 million from Kelp DAO’s LayerZero-powered bridge and used them as collateral on Aave V3 to borrow wrapped Ether (wETH).

On Monday, LlamaRisk modeled two possible scenarios for how this “bad debt” could materialize on Aave, noting that the final decision rests with Kelp DAO.

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Prediction market platforms took center stage on HBO‘s "Last Week Tonight" on Sunday as host John Oliver addressed regulation, laws and market manipulation.

John Oliver, host of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight,” targeted prediction market platforms on his show’s latest weekly deep dive.

In Sunday’s airing of the show, Oliver discussed some of the trivial event contracts on platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket, including betting whether members of the Trump administration would use certain words in public addresses, to companies’ controversial partnering with news organizations. 

Specifically, the host questioned Donald Trump Jr.’s relationship with both platforms — an adviser to Kalshi and Polymarket — and how the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) “doesn’t even seem to be trying” to block event contracts on terrorism, assassination and war under Chair Michael Selig.

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Prediction market platforms took center stage on HBO‘s Last Week Tonight on Sunday as host John Oliver addressed regulation, laws and market manipulation.

John Oliver, host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight, targeted prediction market platforms on his show’s latest weekly deep dive.

In Sunday’s airing of the HBO show, Oliver discussed some of the trivial event contracts on platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket, including betting whether members of the Trump administration would use certain words in public addresses, to the companies’ controversial partnering with news organizations. 

Specifically, the host questioned Donald Trump Jr.’s relationship with both platforms — an adviser to Kalshi and Polymarket — and how the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) “doesn’t even seem to be trying” to block event contracts on terrorism, assassination and war under Chair Michael Selig.

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The funding supports a dual-licensed platform as Malaysia expands its regulatory framework for digital assets and tokenization.

Bybit led an $8 million Series A funding round in Hata, a dual-licensed digital asset exchange operating in Malaysia. The round also included participation from global family offices and followed Bybit’s earlier investment in Hata’s $4.2 million seed round.

According to Monday’s announcement, the funding will be used to improve liquidity, expand the user base and develop additional digital asset products.

Hata operates under licenses from the Securities Commission Malaysia and the Labuan Financial Services Authority, allowing it to offer trading and custody services for digital assets in the Southeast Asian country.

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While the regulator under Atkins has dropped several cases against crypto companies, the SEC still awaits passage of a market structure bill to clarify its authority over crypto.

Since Paul Atkins was sworn in as chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 21, 2025, the agency has significantly changed its position on regulation and enforcement related to digital assets, marking a shift from the leadership of former Chair Gary Gensler during the Biden administration.

During his 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump made removing Gensler one of his promises to the crypto industry, along with creating a national Bitcoin (BTC) stockpile and opposing the issuance of a US central bank digital currency.

His November 2024 election win led to Gensler’s resignation in January 2025 and the appointment of SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda as acting chair of the financial regulator until the Senate could confirm Atkins as Trump’s pick to lead the agency. 

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Bitcoin bulls retain control over the market, but charts show $80,000 is likely to remain a stiff overhead resistance. Will altcoins rally as BTC price consolidates?

Key points:

Buyers aggressively bought into the dip in Bitcoin, indicating positive sentiment. That increases the possibility of a rally to $84,000.

Several major altcoins have pulled back to their support levels, signaling that the bears remain sellers on rallies.

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The purchase comes as the stablecoin issuer expands its investments across crypto infrastructure and financial services, including in Kaio, also announced today.

Tether has taken an 8.2% stake in Antalpha, making the stablecoin issuer one of the company’s largest shareholders following its May 2025 initial public offering (IPO), according to a Monday filing.

The Schedule 13D filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission indicates that Tether now holds 1.95 million shares through related entities, with Giancarlo Devasini, chairman of Tether, sharing voting and dispositive power over the position.

The filing also states that Tether and its related entities may increase or reduce their holdings over time depending on market conditions and other factors.

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ETH price rising to $2,400 drove whales to open large ETH long bets, as technical indicators suggest a short-term ETH price rally toward $3,000.

An Ethereum whale has opened a significant long position on Ether (ETH) worth $90.8 million, in what looks like a bold bet that the upside is not over for the top altcoin.

Key takeaways:

Ethereum whale opened a leveraged long position totaling $90.8 million.

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Bitcoin bulls avoided a correction as US markets opened, but analysis warned that Strategy was responsible for much of the latest BTC price strength.

Bitcoin (BTC) erased losses after Monday’s Wall Street open as markets largely shrugged off the return of the US-Iran war.

Key points:

Bitcoin joins stocks in a muted reaction to the latest US-Iran deterioration and closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

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Bitmine bought 101,627 Ether last week, lifting holdings to 4,976,485 ETH, or about 4.12% of supply, as the company moves closer to its 5% target.

Bitmine Immersion Technologies, the world’s largest public holder of Ether, increased its ETH treasury last week with another large purchase.

The company acquired 101,627 ETH during the week of April 13 to April 19, according to a press release and an accompanying Form 8-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.

The purchase marks Bitmine’s largest Ether buy since Dec. 15, 2025, according to chairman Tom Lee. “Bitmine has maintained the increased pace of ETH buys in each of the past four weeks, as our base case ETH is in the final stages of the ‘mini-crypto winter,’” Lee said.

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The Japanese Securities Clearing Corporation will test using Japanese government bonds as digital collateral on the Canton network with Mizuho, Nomura and Digital Asset.

Japan Securities Clearing Corporation (JSCC), part of Japan Exchange Group (JPX), said Monday it will launch a proof of concept with Mizuho Financial Group, Nomura Holdings and Digital Asset to test the use of Japanese government bonds as digital collateral on the Canton Network.

The project will examine whether Japanese Government Bonds (JGBs) can be transferred and managed onchain while maintaining the legal status of the bonds under the Book-Entry Transfer Act and the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.

The trial will also test whether integrating existing systems with Canton’s blockchain infrastructure can support more sophisticated, real-time collateral transactions on a 24/7 basis, including in cross-border use cases.

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ZachXBT challenged MemeCore to justify its valuation and explain what he claimed is insider-held supply, as the onchain sleuth widened a probe after the RAVE token’s collapse.

Onchain investigator ZachXBT publicly challenged MemeCore on Monday to justify the valuation and supply distribution of its M token, asking the project to explain its market cap and why “insiders hold >90% of supply.”

“Please provide a single data point to support your $6B mkt cap at a top 20 token and why insiders hold >90% of supply,” wrote ZachXBT in a Monday X response to Memecore, a project advertising itself as the layer–1 blockchain for the “Meme 2.0 economy.”

The comments add fresh scrutiny to MemeCore after a sharp rally, though live valuation metrics differed across major trackers. CoinMarketCap ranked the token No. 21 at about $4.33 billion on Monday, while CoinGecko ranked it No. 20 at about $5.97 billion.

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RAVE is trending inside a descending channel pattern, and is about to test the lower trendline target near $0.30 amid price manipulation concerns.

RavenDAO’s RAVE token lost over 98% of its value over the weekend, and the hourly chart now warns of another massive drop in the coming days.

Key takeaways:

RAVE’s technicals puts the price in position for another 58% drop in April.

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Strategy bought 34,164 Bitcoin for $2.54 billion last week, marking its third-largest BTC purchase on record.

Michael Saylor’s Strategy, the world’s largest public Bitcoin holder, has blasted past 800,000 BTC in total holdings after announcing its latest purchases.

Strategy acquired 34,164 Bitcoin (BTC) for $2.54 billion between April 13 and 19, according to an 8-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.

The buy ranks as Strategy’s third-largest Bitcoin acquisition on record by coin count, behind purchases of 55,500 BTC and 51,780 BTC in November 2024.

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With $75,000 possibly the new floor, Bitcoin is giving hints that a BTC price breakout is about to begin, based on two classic technical indicators.

Bitcoin (BTC) has recovered 25% from its multi-year low below $60,000, with momentum indicators flashing rare “buy” signals.

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin’s MACD and RSI indicators forecast a sharp BTC price rally in the coming days.

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Coinbase launched USDC loans for UK users backed by BTC, ETH and cbETH, expanding its borrowing product as Britain moves toward a crypto regulatory regime.

Crypto exchange Coinbase has rolled out crypto-backed USDC loans for users in the United Kingdom, allowing users to borrow USDC against Bitcoin, Ether and Coinbase Wrapped Staked Ether (cbETH). The loans are issued through Morpho, a lending protocol on Base.

According to a Monday announcement, users can borrow up to $5 million in USDC (USDC) with Bitcoin (BTC)-backed loans, depending on how much collateral a user pledges. Coinbase said interest rates are variable and set by Morpho based on market conditions on Base, suggesting that borrowing costs can change frequently.

The exchange said there is no fixed repayment schedule, but borrowers face liquidation risk if the loan-to-value ratio exceeds specific thresholds. 

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Crypto investment products recorded $1.4 billion in inflows last week as Bitcoin almost touched $78,000, with assets under management rising to $154.8 billion.

Cryptocurrency investment products logged another week of strong inflows on ceasefire optimism and a Bitcoin price breakout driving investor sentiment.

Crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) posted $1.4 billion in inflows last week, beating the prior week’s $1.1 billion and marking the second-largest weekly inflow since January, CoinShares reported on Monday.

Following the three-week inflow streak totaling $2.7 billion, crypto ETPs now have net year-to-date inflows of around $3.8 billion, with assets under management (AUM) at $154.8 billion — the highest level since early February, after dipping as low as $128 billion in March.

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LayerZero said that Kelp’s DVN setup allowed the $290 million exploit, as investors questioned which protocol would step up to cover the shortfall.

Interoperability protocol LayerZero claims that an inadequate setup tied to Kelp’s decentralized verifier network (DVN) enabled malicious actors to steal $290 million from Kelp DAO, adding that preliminary signs point to North Korea-linked threat actors.

An attacker drained about 116,500 Restaked ETH (rsETH), worth as much as $293 million at the time, from Kelp DAO’s LayerZero-powered rsETH bridge on Saturday.

LayerZero said Monday that the exploit stemmed from a single point of failure in Kelp’s setup, which relied on a single LayerZero DVN as the only verified path, despite LayerZero previously advising them against this.

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Mastercard is testing stablecoin settlement with SoFiUSD to speed up card transaction clearing and help bridge traditional finance and blockchain.

Mastercard is integrating stablecoins into its payment infrastructure to modernize the back-end settlement process, allowing banks and issuers to settle card transactions using regulated digital dollars such as SoFiUSD.

The partnership with SoFi Technologies enables SoFi Bank to settle Mastercard transactions in SoFiUSD, while Galileo’s platform allows other banks and fintech issuers to adopt stablecoin settlement.

Stablecoin settlement focuses on the post-transaction clearing stage, meaning consumers will continue using cards normally while the underlying settlement between banks may occur through blockchain-based digital assets.

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Bitcoin saw a green weekly close despite renewed US-Iran war momentum, and a trader forecast that BTC price action would beat last week's local highs.

Bitcoin (BTC) begins the last full week of April juggling fresh US-Iran war fears as resistance hurdles line up.

Key points:

Bitcoin stays green on weekly time frames with multiple nearby price levels in focus.

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BIS general manager Pablo Hernández de Cos said US dollar stablecoins may pose risks to financial stability and urges stronger global coordination on regulation.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) general manager, Pablo Hernández de Cos, on Monday called for tighter global coordination on stablecoins, warning that US dollar-denominated tokens could have “material consequences” for financial stability and economic policy if they grow large enough to rival traditional money. 

Speaking at a Bank of Japan seminar in Tokyo, he said current stablecoin arrangements fall short of what is needed for a widely used means of payment, even if they offer faster cross-border transfers and integration with smart contracts.

De Cos said the largest US dollar stablecoins, such as USDt (USDT) and USDC (USDC), share characteristics with investment products rather than cash-like money, pointing to fees and conditions on primary market redemptions and episodes where their prices diverge from par in secondary markets. 

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Strategy’s Michael Saylor posted “Think Even Bigger” on Sunday, coming just a week after it disclosed $1 billion of Bitcoin buying.

Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor has hinted at another large Bitcoin purchase, just a week after the company disclosed that it bought around $1 billion of Bitcoin in the second week of April. 

Strategy disclosed last Monday that it acquired 13,927 Bitcoin for $1 billion between April 6 and 12, at an average price of $71,902 per coin, posting “Think ₿igger” the day before the filing. 

However, Saylor posted “Think Even ₿igger” on X on Sunday along with a chart of Strategy’s purchase history, something he has historically done to hint at another purchase announcement. 

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Brian Armstrong has now predicted that AI agents will not only transact onchain more than humans but will outnumber employees at his company very soon.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the company has started testing AI agents on Slack and email to assist employees with work tasks, continuing the company’s efforts to embed AI into its workflows. 

In a post to X on Saturday, Armstrong said the company has already deployed two AI agents, modeled after two former executives, speculating that AI agents could eventually outnumber human employees at the crypto exchange.

“Soon, it will be easy for any employee to spin up a new agent for themselves or their team. I suspect we will have more agents than human employees at some point soon.”

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Vercel has confirmed it was compromised after a member of a hacking forum put the company’s information up for sale for $2 million.

Vercel, a cloud hosting provider popular among crypto projects, confirmed it suffered a security breach that allowed hackers to make off with a “limited” subset of customer credentials.

Vercel said in a blog post on Sunday that it “identified a security incident that involved unauthorized access to certain internal Vercel systems,” and that it was investigating the breach.

“Initially we identified a limited subset of customers whose Vercel credentials were compromised,” it added. “We reached out to that subset and recommended an immediate rotation of credentials.”

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Why Bitcoin and Ethereum are taking different paths to address future cryptographic risks and long-term blockchain security.

Quantum computing has long been viewed as a distant, largely theoretical threat to blockchain systems. However, that perspective is now starting to change.

With major technology companies such as Google establishing timelines for post-quantum cryptography, and crypto researchers re-examining long-held assumptions, the discussion is shifting from abstract theory to concrete planning.

However, Bitcoin and Ethereum, two major blockchain networks, are addressing the quantum computing threat in different ways. Both networks depend on cryptographic systems that could, in principle, be compromised by sufficiently powerful quantum computers. However, their approaches to addressing this shared vulnerability are evolving in markedly different directions.

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Polymarket’s potential $15 billion valuation would still put it below the $22 billion valuation of competitor platform Kalshi in its latest funding round.

Prediction market platform Polymarket is reportedly in talks with investors to raise another $400 million in fresh capital, The Information reported Monday.

The $400 million raise would be made at a $15 billion valuation, The Information said, citing two people familiar with the matter. 

The raise would add to a wave of institutional capital flowing into the predictions market space in recent months. New York Stock Exchange parent Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) invested $600 million into Polymarket in late March, while competitor platform Kalshi’s valuation was marked at about $22 billion in its last funding round.

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EasyDNS CEO Mark Jeftovic said the social engineering attack was highly sophisticated and the company is conducting further investigation to determine how the breach occurred.

Ethereum Name Service gateway eth.limo has revealed that the domain hijacking on Friday was caused by a social engineering attack directed against EasyDNS, its domain name service provider. 

According to a postmortem published by eth.limo on Saturday, an attacker impersonated one of its team members to initiate an account recovery process with easyDNS, granting access to the eth.limo account and allowing them to alter domain settings.

“The NS records were changed and directed to Cloudflare… Once we understood that a DNS hijack had taken place, we immediately notified the community as well as Vitalik Buterin and others. We then began contacting EasyDNS in an attempt to respond to the incident,” the company said.

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