The internal power struggle in Iran could either hinder or facilitate future diplomatic engagements, impacting regional stability and global markets.

The post US sees rift between Iran’s negotiation team and Revolutionary Guard appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Italy's energy crisis highlights the vulnerability of global supply chains, prompting shifts in energy policy and economic strategies.

The post Italy’s energy crisis deepens as Iran conflict disrupts gas supplies appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Uncertainty over the ceasefire extension could heighten tensions, impacting diplomatic relations and market stability in the region.

The post Trump statement casts doubt on Iran ceasefire extension appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

UnitedHealth's strong earnings amid economic tensions highlight resilience, influencing broader market sentiment and investor confidence.

The post UnitedHealth stock soars on earnings beat amid US-Iran conflict, inflation concerns appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The resumption of flights may signal reduced internal threats, but geopolitical tensions and market skepticism about regime stability persist.

The post Iran Air to resume domestic flights after 50-day suspension amid conflict appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Price Retakes $76,500 as Iran Tensions and Oil Volatility Drive Market Uncertainty

Bitcoin price traded above $76,500 today, holding onto recent gains despite rising geopolitical tension. Bitcoin fell back toward $75,000 into the weekly close and over the weekend as renewed tension between the United States and Iran rattled markets and refocused attention on oil prices.

The pullback followed a failed breakout above $78,000, which had marked Bitcoin’s highest level in ten weeks. The move higher came after a brief easing in geopolitical risk, when Iran signaled the Strait of Hormuz was open. That shift sent crude lower and lifted risk assets, including crypto. The rally reversed once reports emerged that the waterway had been closed again, raising the prospect of tighter global oil supply.

“Bitcoin finally broke out of its multi-week range last week, now trading around $75,000, finally breaching the important $74,000 as $530 million worth of shorts were squeezed by positive developments around the Straits of Hormuz,” Bitfinex analysts wrote to Bitcoin Magazine. 

The Strait of Hormuz handles a significant share of the world’s oil shipments, and any disruption tends to drive energy prices higher. Oil climbed back toward the high-$80 range after the renewed closure, adding pressure to inflation expectations and risk markets. Bitcoin price, which has tracked macro conditions through the conflict, gave up gains as sentiment shifted.

“The sustainability of a move higher [for bitcoin] now hinges on geopolitics as the US-Iran ceasefire expires 21 April unless a resolution is found, leaving upcoming negotiations in the driving seat and determining whether this breakout evolves into a continuation or a failure,” Bitfinex analysts note.

Market data shows the reversal triggered a wave of liquidations. More than $250 million in crypto positions were wiped out over a 24-hour period, with longs taking the brunt after the failed push higher. The unwind followed a larger short squeeze earlier in the week, when Bitcoin price’s surge above $76,000 forced bearish bets out of the market.

Traders remain focused on key technical levels. Bitcoin price continues to face resistance near its 21-week exponential moving average, which sits just below $79,000. Analysts say rejection at that level raises the risk of a retest of support near $73,000, an area tied to a prior double-bottom formation.

Derivatives positioning also points to heightened volatility. Roughly $7.9 billion in Bitcoin options are set to expire this week, with heavy open interest clustered around the $75,000 strike. That level may act as a pivot zone, where dealer hedging flows could amplify price swings in either direction.

Bitcoin price sentiment is bullish

Despite the recent pullback, broader sentiment has not fully turned. Funding rates in perpetual futures remain negative, signaling that short positioning is still elevated. That leaves room for another squeeze if prices hold above key support levels.

At the same time, macro drivers remain dominant. Bitcoin price’s recent price action has shown sensitivity to headlines tied to the conflict and energy markets. Any sustained rise in oil prices could reinforce inflation concerns and delay expectations for looser monetary policy, a backdrop that has weighed on crypto demand in recent months.

This post Bitcoin Price Retakes $76,500 as Iran Tensions and Oil Volatility Drive Market Uncertainty first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Alcoa Nears Sale of Idle New York Smelter to NYDIG for Bitcoin Mining Use

Alcoa is in talks to sell its idle Massena East aluminum smelter in upstate New York to bitcoin mining firm NYDIG, according to comments from Alcoa chief executive Bill Oplinger in a Bloomberg interview.

The Massena East site sits along the St. Lawrence River and has been out of operation since 2014. The closure followed sustained pressure from high energy costs and global competition that reduced domestic aluminum production. The facility spans about 1,300 acres and contains heavy electrical infrastructure built for continuous industrial use.

Alcoa is pursuing a broader plan to divest a group of idle US smelter assets. The company has identified ten dormant sites for potential sale as it shifts focus toward higher-margin operations and reduces exposure to high-cost legacy facilities. The Massena East property is one of the most advanced cases in that program.

NYDIG, a bitcoin financial services firm linked to Stone Ridge, has expanded its presence in industrial-scale mining infrastructure over the past two years. The firm has built exposure to mining operations through partnerships and acquisitions, including involvement with Coinmint at the Massena campus under a long-term lease structure tied to the site’s power capacity.

The Massena East smelter draws power from the New York Power Authority hydropower system. That access to stable electricity supply forms a key part of the site’s value for digital asset mining operations. Aluminum smelters require large and constant energy input, and their grid connections often remain intact after shutdown. That infrastructure reduces the time required for conversion into data center or mining use.

NYDIG holds a strategic stake in Coinmint, the operator of bitcoin mining equipment at the broader Massena campus. Coinmint has hosted mining clients under existing arrangements tied to Alcoa’s property and power agreements. The planned transaction would transfer control of the smelter site itself to NYDIG and expand its operational footprint in the region.

Alcoa and NYDIG have discussed terms for a transfer structure that includes ownership of the land, electrical systems, and remaining industrial assets. Both sides aim to complete the transaction within the middle portion of the year, pending final agreements and regulatory steps.

Bitcoin mining and high-performance computing 

The proposed sale follows a broader trend across North America in which retired aluminum smelters and other heavy industrial sites shift toward digital infrastructure use. These sites offer large power connections, transmission access, and industrial zoning that suit bitcoin mining and high-performance computing workloads.

Century Aluminum completed a similar transaction involving its Hawesville, Kentucky smelter, which was sold to TeraWulf for redevelopment into a data center and computing campus. That deal reflected growing demand for sites with secured energy capacity.

NYDIG continues to build its position in bitcoin mining through acquisitions of power-linked assets and mining operations across multiple US states. The firm has acquired capacity in North Dakota, South Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Missouri, and has added additional mining infrastructure through separate transactions involving energy-focused companies.

The Alcoa–NYDIG deal, if completed, would place one of the largest US aluminum production sites under bitcoin mining ownership and extend the reuse of legacy industrial power infrastructure for digital asset operations.

This post Alcoa Nears Sale of Idle New York Smelter to NYDIG for Bitcoin Mining Use first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Jason Lowery Appointed Special Assistant to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Commander, Bringing Bitcoin Strategic Expertise

Jason Lowery, former Deputy Director of Technology & Innovation at the United States Space Force, and author of Softwar: A Novel Theory on Power Projection and the National Strategic Significance of Bitcoin, has announced his new role as Special Assistant to the Commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. 

In a LinkedIn update, he shared his Honor to receive the appointment, explaining that “In this new position, I will directly advise and report to the Combatant Commander on strategic priorities affecting the Department of Defense and the Indo-Pacific region.” Lowery added, “It’s a humbling responsibility during a critical time for our national security posture. I’m grateful for the trust placed in me to support this level of leadership, and excited to contribute to the mission.”

Lowery rose to Bitcoin fame as he made the case that Bitcoin is a new landscape of military technology and defense, where power is projected not via bullets, missiles or drones, but by commanding more hashing power, which governs Bitcoin’s proof of work protocol. Those who control enough hashing power can guarantee the confirmation of their Bitcoin transactions, and in extreme cases, those who dominate the hash rate can interfere in the confirmation of their enemies’ transactions. The thesis, which is best understood by reading Lowery’s work, poses Bitcoin as a fundamental change in military technology, akin to the discovery and proliferation of gunpowder or aviation. 

The announcement comes just days after Iran told FT they would specifically accept Bitcoin for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. While there have been no reports of the Bitcoin Toll of Hormuz becoming a reality yet, the story made international news and appears to have reached the halls of power in D.C. and the Department of War. While the Gulf states and the Strait of Hormuz fall under a different division of the DoW called CENTCOM, the timing of Lowery’s appointment nevertheless demonstrates a recognition of Bitcoin’s strategic value in geopolitics. He will be advising command over a wide region, including China, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean regions, many of which benefit tremendously from Gulf oil that passes through Hormuz. Some reports suggest China drew up 42% of its oil from affected Gulf states before the war.  

This post Jason Lowery Appointed Special Assistant to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Commander, Bringing Bitcoin Strategic Expertise first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Juan Galt.

Bitcoin Magazine

Capital B Buys 12 Bitcoin, Expands Treasury to 2,937 BTC

Capital B, the listed arm of The Blockchain Group, confirmed the acquisition of 12 bitcoin as it continues to build out its treasury strategy centered on the digital asset.

The company said it spent €0.8 million on the purchase, bringing total holdings to 2,937 BTC. The group’s aggregate acquisition cost stands at €270.1 million, with an average purchase price of €91,975 per bitcoin, according to a note shared with Bitcoin Magazine. 

The latest buy follows a series of transactions since early 2026, with the company reporting a year-to-date BTC yield of 1.57%. It also posted a BTC gain of 44.4 BTC and a BTC-denominated gain of €2.9 million over the same period. Quarterly figures show a 0.85% yield and a gain of 24.4 BTC.

Last week, the company confirmed the purchase of 37 BTC for €2.3 million, at a reference price of €60,892 per coin, as part of its ongoing Bitcoin Treasury strategy.

Alongside the purchase, Capital B completed several financing actions tied to its treasury strategy.

The firm confirmed the full exercise of 16.6 million BSA 2025-01 warrants, which converted into 2.36 million ordinary shares. The transaction raised about €1.29 million. The company noted that the warrants expired on April 10, 2026, and any unexercised rights are now void.

Capital B also carried out a capital increase under its at-the-market agreement with TOBAM. The issuance of 370,701 new shares at an average price of €0.60 generated €0.22 million. The price reflects a discount to the recent market close, based on the agreement’s pricing mechanism tied to trading volumes and prior-day benchmarks.

The proceeds from these operations supported the latest bitcoin acquisition.

Bitcoin as a reserve asset for Capital B

The company positions itself as a Bitcoin Treasury Company, with a stated objective of increasing the amount of bitcoin held per fully diluted share over time. Its model mirrors a growing trend among public firms that allocate capital to bitcoin as a reserve asset.

Custody and execution for the latest purchase were handled by Swissquote Bank Europe SA, with assets secured through infrastructure provided by Taurus.

Capital B operates subsidiaries focused on data intelligence, artificial intelligence, and decentralized technology consulting. Its shares trade on Euronext Growth Paris.

The company’s capital structure reflects a mix of institutional and public investors, including Blockstream Capital Partners, TOBAM funds, and other shareholders. Following the latest transactions, total shares outstanding stand at about 274.9 million on an ordinary basis and 394.8 million on a fully diluted basis.

Earlier today, Strategy (MSTR) added 34,164 BTC for $2.54B, its third-largest purchase, bringing total holdings to 815,061 BTC acquired at an average cost of about $75,527 per coin. The move pushed the company ahead of BlackRock in total Bitcoin holdings, with its position now roughly near break-even as BTC trades around $75,000.

Disclaimer: Bitcoin Magazine is owned by Nakamoto Inc. (NASDAQ: NAKA). Nakamoto Inc. also owns UTXO Management. UTXO Management invests in Capital B.

This post Capital B Buys 12 Bitcoin, Expands Treasury to 2,937 BTC first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Spot Bitcoin ETFs Cross $1B Last Week in Inflows as Cumulative Flows Approach Record High

U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs recorded net inflows of $996.4 million last week, marking the strongest weekly intake since mid-January. The move extends a three-week inflow streak that has added more than $1.8 billion to the category and pushed year-to-date flows above $1 billion after a prior stretch of net outflows.

BlackRock’s IBIT led issuance with $906 million in net inflows during the week. Morgan Stanley’s MSBT posted $71 million in inflows in its first full trading week after launch on April 8. Ethereum spot ETFs recorded $275.8 million in net inflows over the same period.

ETF accumulation continues to define bitcoin market structure in 2026. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs bought 8,572 BTC on Friday alone. The ten-day net accumulation rate reached 24,197 BTC. Total holdings sit 3.71% below the peak recorded on October 10, 2025, despite a large price decline during the same period.

Cumulative net flows across U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs sit near $58 billion. The peak level reached $62.8 billion. The gap between current and peak cumulative flows stands near $5 billion. This metric remains the central reference point for institutional adoption tracking because it reflects total capital entering the product set since launch, minus all withdrawals.

Market structure data shows sustained demand from institutional allocators. Weekly inflows have returned after a period of net redemption pressure. The recovery follows a full reversal of prior outflows and extends the category back into positive territory on a year-to-date basis.

Bitcoin ETF demand

ETF demand has become a dominant component of bitcoin supply absorption. New issuance from mining remains limited relative to ETF accumulation rates. The imbalance between supply and demand continues to influence liquidity conditions across spot venues.

Morgan Stanley’s newly minted MSBT Bitcoin ETF recorded $116M in net inflows in its first week, a small figure against the firm’s $1.9T asset base but notable for a new crypto product in a competitive ETF market.

Despite trailing giants like BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC, the launch signals growing bank involvement in Bitcoin ETFs, with its low 0.14% fee positioning it as a cost-competitive and legitimacy-driven entry point.

Price action across all ETFs remains sensitive to flow regimes. Bitcoin ETF inflows tend to align with stronger bid support in spot markets, while outflow periods coincide with reduced demand absorption. The latest inflow wave coincides with stabilization in broader risk assets and renewed positioning from institutional desks.

The composition of inflows shows concentration in large products. IBIT continues to capture the majority of flows across the category. Smaller and newer funds show uneven participation, though MSBT recorded early traction in its first full trading week.

Across global products, cumulative ETP demand shows a similar direction. Institutional accumulation remains a key driver of total bitcoin demand alongside corporate treasury purchases and long-term holder retention.

ETF holdings remain close to record levels despite volatility in price. This divergence between holdings and price reflects sustained accumulation during drawdowns rather than distribution. The structure suggests long-duration allocation behavior rather than short-term trading exposure.

This post Spot Bitcoin ETFs Cross $1B Last Week in Inflows as Cumulative Flows Approach Record High first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

When Customs launched the CAPE refund portal, it put administrative certainty behind an asset class that Wall Street had already begun pricing.

As of Apr. 9, 56,497 importers had registered for electronic refunds totaling $127 billion, out of roughly $166 billion the government expects to be returned after the Supreme Court ruled in February that IEEPA did not authorize President Donald Trump's tariffs.

CBP says valid claims will generally be paid within 60 to 90 days. That timetable has brought a set of questions back into focus, including what Cantor Fitzgerald actually did with tariff-refund rights, and what Howard Lutnick knew about it while serving as Commerce Secretary.

WIRED reported in July 2025 that a Cantor representative had approached importers offering to buy tariff-refund rights for 20 to 30 cents on the dollar, claimed the firm had capacity for “several hundred million” of these trades, and said Cantor had already put through a transaction representing about $10 million of IEEPA rights.

The pitch described an arbitrage scheme consisting of buying distressed claims from importers who wanted liquidity now and collecting at or near par when courts ruled the tariffs unlawful.

Cantor called the reporting “absolutely false,” with a February report by Semafor noting that the firm had considered the product but decided against it, and quoted a spokesman saying Cantor had “never executed any transactions or taken risk on the legality of tariffs.”

Related Reading

Bitcoin faces a $175B liquidity shock as tariff refunds move to trade court

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Feb 22, 2026 · Gino Matos

As of Apr. 21, these two records sit unresolved.

The structural position Howard Lutnick occupied made that dispute combustible from the start. He publicly backed across-the-board tariffs and advised Trump to pursue them while Cantor's investment bank was exploring ways to profit if courts later invalidated those same tariffs, according to WIRED.

Cantor Fitzgerald has publicly served as a custodian for Tether’s US Treasury holdings, tying Lutnick’s former firm to one of crypto’s most important reserve pools.

The ethics architecture

Lutnick built that structure to create a clean line between his policy role and his former firm's commercial activity. He transferred his Cantor stake to trusts for his adult children, controlled by Brandon Lutnick, and agreed to forgo all economic benefits in Cantor, BGC, and Newmark as of May 16, 2025.

His OGE ethics agreement states he would receive no economic benefits associated with his ownership while the sale remained pending.

Congressional Democrats argued that the arrangement fell short of that standard. Senators Ron Wyden and Elizabeth Warren demanded in August 2025 that Cantor disclose how many tariff-refund agreements had been drafted or finalized and if Cantor or an affiliate was the counterparty.

Representative Jamie Raskin followed in February 2026 with a records request directed at both Howard and Brandon Lutnick, citing the “appearance of tariff profiteering” and asking for documents covering any agreements, counterparties, communications with Commerce or the White House, and any nonpublic information related to the tariff litigation.

Both the congressional demands and Cantor's responses left the ownership question publicly unresolved.

Reuters reported in February that secondary market prices for tariff-refund claims surged once the Supreme Court ruled, reaching 40 to 50 cents on the dollar from roughly 16 to 17 cents for fentanyl-tariff claims and 26 to 28 cents for reciprocal-tariff claims before the decision.

By early April, reports noted that some importers could sell a $500,000 claim outright for roughly 55 to 75 cents on the dollar, while others were exploring loans backed by claims, with lenders generally requiring at least a $10 million loan secured by a claim of at least $20 million.

A claim purchased at 20 to 30 cents on the dollar in mid-2025, in a market now clearing between 55 and 75 cents for some categories, would represent a decent return on cost if purchased and held.

The congressional letters demanded counterparties, term sheets, and executed agreements to establish if anyone captured that move.

CBP's CAPE portal processes refunds for importers of record and authorized brokers, the entities that appear in the government's trade records. Private market buyers and lenders have transferred economic rights through contracts that live in term sheets, side letters, and private agreements entirely outside that payment rail.

Any past assignment of claim economics to a third party would run through those private documents, invisible to the CAPE interface itself.

Potential outcomes ahead

CBP says the refund system will process roughly 330,000 importers who paid the affected tariffs on 53 million shipments, with about $2.9 billion in certain entries still requiring manual review.

The scale of that pipeline means the next 60 to 90 days will produce a large public record of who received what. That record will cover importers of record; private assignments to third parties live in contracts outside that system entirely.

Wyden, Warren, and Raskin were already asking whether anyone else held an economic interest upstream and whether any of those interests connected to Cantor, affiliates, clients, or arranged counterparties during the period when Lutnick was shaping or defending the tariff policy.

If records, counterparties, or importer testimony surface showing that one or more tariff refund rights were in fact sold or brokered on the terms WIRED reported, the economic stakes become concrete.

A claim purchased at 20 to 30 cents, in a market that moved to 55 to 75 cents after the ruling, yields a return easy to calculate and document. The congressional letters already established the legal and political frame for that finding.

At that point, the ownership-chain matter reduces to a transaction record, and the ethics architecture Lutnick built around his divestiture comes under direct scrutiny to determine whether it functioned as intended.

The alternative path keeps Cantor's denial standing. If no executed agreement surfaces, the operational story shifts toward the broader refund finance market, comprising commercial banks, hedge funds, and private credit funds that are now openly lending against claims, with no reported connection to Cantor or the Lutnick family.

In that version, the firm's reported market exploration in 2025 stands as an open allegation, and the live story becomes the maturation of tariff claims as a financeable asset class, with Lutnick's role carrying an unresolved ethics dimension.

That version still puts the Commerce Secretary at the center of a policy he publicly advanced that a federal court overturned, producing a nine-figure refund market his former firm was reported to have been courting.

The portal launch established that refund rights are now part of a live federal payment pipeline, the secondary market has already repriced to reflect that certainty, and the government is on a published timetable to distribute $166 billion.

What congressional investigators were asking in 2025 and 2026 now runs through an active, documented market.

The post Were tariff refunds bought for 20 cents on the dollar by stablecoin-backed Treasurys custodian Cantor Fitzgerald? appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Tehran is fighting a new price signal in public

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf chose a strange phrase for a dangerous moment. In the middle of a live crisis around the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s parliament speaker mocked “vibe-trading digital oil” and took a swipe at US Treasuries as well, turning a market argument into part of a wartime message campaign.

The immediate surface read is easy enough. A senior Iranian official wanted to ridicule speculative pricing and frame physical oil as the real thing.

The deeper significance sits somewhere else. A state actor in the middle of a regional conflict is now speaking directly to the way risk is being priced on crypto-native rails.

That shift deserves more attention than the phrasing itself. Oil has always carried military weight, inflation risk, and political leverage.

What changed over the past several weeks is the venue through which some of that risk gets expressed first. As CryptoSlate documented in late March, the market for 24/7 oil exposure accelerated as geopolitical shocks kept landing outside the operating hours of traditional exchanges.

The world does not pause on weekends, so traders increasingly want a venue that stays open when the old infrastructure is dark.

The Iran angle carries more force than a generic crossover between geopolitics and crypto. Tehran is no longer talking about crypto as a sanctions story, a payments workaround, or a symbolic side channel.

It is reacting to a market function. When a public official in a war zone starts arguing about “digital oil,” the implication is that these synthetic and crypto-linked instruments have become visible enough to enter the information battle around price itself.

The timing carries extra significance because the Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world's most important chokepoints. The International Energy Agency says around 20 million barrels per day moved through the strait in 2025, about a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil trade.

The US Energy Information Administration says flows through Hormuz accounted for more than one quarter of global seaborne oil trade and about one-fifth of oil and petroleum product consumption, alongside around one-fifth of global LNG trade.

Those numbers pull the issue out of crypto-native abstraction very quickly. A disruption there can bleed into fuel prices, shipping costs, inflation expectations, central-bank bets, and broader market stress.

Ghalibaf has already been leaning into market language throughout this conflict. Last week, after Washington tightened pressure around Hormuz, he warned that Americans would grow “nostalgic” for cheaper gasoline.

CryptoSlate also reported that Iran had floated Bitcoin-denominated payments for tanker passage, pulling BTC directly into a coercive chokepoint debate. Today’s attack on “digital oil” extends that pattern.

Tehran is speaking in the language of price, and that reveals something important on its own. Crypto has moved closer to the front edge of global market signaling during conflict, and public officials can see it.

The market that stays open during war weekends is starting to shape the first reaction

The central mechanism here is simple and powerful. Legacy oil markets still have defined hours, established benchmarks, and deeper institutional roots.

Conflict does not respect those hours. Missiles, naval warnings, tanker disruptions, and diplomatic breakdowns tend to land whenever they land.

That leaves a gap between the moment risk arrives and the moment conventional venues fully reopen. Crypto-native derivatives platforms have spent the past few months filling that gap.

The strongest example has been Hyperliquid. In March, Bloomberg reported that an oil-linked perpetual contract on the platform generated more than $1.2 billion in 24-hour volume as Middle East tensions intensified.

CryptoSlate later noted that wartime oil trading helped push HYPE into the crypto top 10, with the token gaining a second channel of demand as traders used the venue to express oil views around the clock.

Hyperliquid’s oil-linked contracts have become a live venue for traders who want exposure before mainstream markets come back online.

Related Reading

Why the US-Iran conflict sent traders to Hyperliquid — and pushed HYPE into crypto’s top 10

Weekend oil trading surge on Hyperliquid’s platform fuels HYPE token’s rise during wartime market adaptation.

Mar 18, 2026 · Oluwapelumi Adejumo

Crypto did not suddenly take over the global oil price. Brent, WTI, physical barrels, and legacy futures venues still anchor the market.

What crypto venues are beginning to influence is the first tradable reaction when the old system is shut. In fast markets, that first reaction can carry real weight.

It shapes sentiment, frames expectations, and gives traders a reference point before more established benchmarks catch up. During an active conflict, first-reaction pricing can become the first draft of the broader macro move.

That is why Ghalibaf’s language stands out. He appears to be dismissing a pricing mechanism because that mechanism has become inconvenient.

Physical oil still rules the real economy, while synthetic and crypto-linked oil markets now help translate fear, scarcity, and military risk into a visible price before dawn in New York and before London is fully engaged.

Once that translation begins, the move can travel. The people trading those contracts are reacting to the same geopolitical stress that will later hit energy desks, rate markets, and equity futures.

The broader backdrop reinforces the tension. The market structure around 24/7 trading is expanding beyond crypto itself.

In late March, Wintermute launched a round-the-clock crude product through OTC channels. The same report pointed to a broader migration across finance, with tokenized equities, extended-hours settlement, and new 24-hour trading pushes gathering momentum.

Once that architecture spreads, the distinction between “crypto market” and “macro market after hours” starts to thin out.

Two paths now sit in front of the market, and both carry weight. One path leads to persistence.

If traders keep using crypto rails during geopolitical shocks, platforms built for continuous trading gain a durable foothold in macro price discovery. The other path leads to retrenchment.

If the conflict cools and volume collapses back to pre-crisis levels, the past several weeks still stand as proof points of what opens up when the legacy clock fails. Either way, the old assumption that oil, war, and macro risk belong to one world while crypto belongs to another looks weaker than it did a month ago.

Bitcoin still sits inside the same chain reaction, even when Hyperliquid carries the cleaner direct exposure

Bitcoin enters this picture through consequence rather than analogy. BTC is one step removed from the direct oil trade and sits one layer downstream, where oil shocks feed inflation anxiety, rate repricing, and broader risk appetite.

That chain comes into focus because the latest energy data already shows the conflict hitting the real economy. In its April Oil Market Report, the IEA said global oil demand is now expected to contract by 80,000 barrels a day this year, a dramatic reversal from the growth outlook it carried just a month earlier.

The agency also said global oil supply plunged by 10.1 million barrels a day to 97 million barrels a day in March, calling the disruption tied to attacks on energy infrastructure and restrictions through Hormuz the largest in history.

Those numbers reach far beyond energy desks. Higher oil prices can harden inflation pressure.

Harder inflation pressure can delay or dilute expectations for easier monetary policy. That is the bridge back to Bitcoin.

When markets push rate cuts further out, the effect often spills over to speculative and duration-sensitive assets as well. Traders can track that chain in real time through the CME FedWatch tool, where rate expectations shift as inflation risk and macro stress evolve.

That dynamic helps explain why Bitcoin can attract attention during geopolitical chaos while still trading like a risk asset when the oil impulse grows too strong. According to CryptoSlate’s latest BTC market data, Bitcoin changed hands at about $75,219 on April 20, up 0.19% over 24 hours, up 6.22% over seven days, and up 6.51% over 30 days.

Those numbers show resilience. They also show that BTC is trading inside a larger macro frame rather than floating above it.

There is a reason the cleaner direct market expression of this specific wartime shift has been Hyperliquid rather than Bitcoin itself. CryptoSlate’s latest HYPE data shows the token at around $40.87, down 5.60% on the day, down 1.81% over seven days, and still up 3.26% over 30 days.

That profile looks less like a simple fear trade and more like a venue trade, a bet that continuous access to macro risk has become a business in its own right.

The most human part of the whole picture remains easy to miss. Most people will never trade an oil perpetual contract on a crypto platform.

They will still feel the consequences if wartime risk keeps lifting energy prices, tightening supply chains, and forcing central banks into a harder posture. That is why Ghalibaf’s broadside carries more bite than it first appears to.

He is arguing about price formation because price formation is where conflict turns into lived cost. In that sense, the clash over “digital oil” is a clash over who gets to shape the first market answer when the world jolts after hours.

If this pattern holds, crypto’s next phase may look less like an isolated parallel economy and more like an overnight extension of global finance, especially in moments when old systems are closed, and the pressure is highest.

If the pattern fades, the last several weeks still offered a revealing preview. A live military crisis pushed oil speculation onto crypto rails; Iran responded by attacking the legitimacy of “digital oil” in public, and Bitcoin found itself caught in the same chain reaction that runs from conflict to crude to inflation to risk.

That is a very different place for crypto to stand than the one it occupied a few cycles ago.

The post Iran calls out “digital oil” trade amid volatile US-Iran ceasefire trading appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The S&P 500 closed at 7,126 on April 17, another record, while the University of Michigan’s preliminary April consumer sentiment reading fell to 47.6, the weakest print in the survey’s history.

The split on the screen looks surreal.

Charlie Bilello shared the chart below, highlighting the gap.

Wall Street is trading at altitude. Households are signaling something far darker.

Bitcoin sits in the middle of that gap, pulled between its hard-asset mythology and its actual behavior in a market regime still dominated by equity risk, ETF flows, and macro positioning.

That tension gives the current setup its shape. It also gives the dot-com comparison a fresh audience, because the concern centers on the anatomy of late-cycle rallies.

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Jul 26, 2025 · Christina Comben

A recent look under the hood of the S&P 500 shows how much of the earnings revision support has come from a narrow group of names, with Micron alone accounting for 51% of positive earnings revisions since the Iran war began.

That sits alongside concentration data showing the top 10 holdings at 35.5% of SPY and the Mag 7 at 30.4%.

The index can keep climbing in that kind of structure. It can also become more fragile in exactly the moment it looks strongest.

For Bitcoin, the core question is straightforward.

If the stock rally turns out to be thinner than the headline index suggests, does BTC absorb the shock like a high-beta extension of risk appetite, or does it hold up as distrust in the broader system spreads?

Recent market behavior leans toward the first answer.

In March, Bloomberg reported that Bitcoin’s 30-day correlation with the S&P 500 rose to 0.74, the highest level of the year.

That does not settle the long-term identity debate around Bitcoin. It does narrow the short-term map.

In this phase, BTC has been moving in sync with stocks, and many holders want it to trade as an alternative.

Wall Street is celebrating, households are retreating

The clearest way to understand the present moment starts with the household side of the economy, because that is where the emotional reality comes through most sharply.

The Michigan survey sank 10.7% from March, with current conditions at 50.1 and expectations at 46.1.

Joanne Hsu, the survey’s director, said the slide extended a decline that began with the start of the Iran conflict, while respondents pointed to high prices, weaker asset values, and worsening buying conditions for durable goods and vehicles.

One-year inflation expectations jumped from 3.8% to 4.8%, the largest monthly increase since April 2025.

This is what a squeezed consumer sounds like.

Gas, groceries, financing costs, and uncertainty around household balance sheets all show up in that reading.

Energy is part of the bridge between Main Street and the market.

U.S. crude has risen to $87 and Brent to $95 after renewed tension in the Strait of Hormuz, with national average gasoline prices around $4.05 a gallon.

The survey itself points back to the Iran conflict as a driver of deteriorating sentiment.

Consumers do not need to model earnings revisions or passive inflows to feel this.

They experience it at the pump, in their shopping cart, and in how they think about replacing a car or taking on new credit.

At the same time, the equity market has been behaving as if those pressures are manageable.

The S&P 500 keeps printing all-time highs, and the Nasdaq just logged one of its most powerful bursts on record.

Plenty of that move has a rational foundation.

Earnings have held up better than feared in key pockets of the market, and hopes of de-escalation in the Middle East have offered investors a reason to take on risk again.

Even so, the divergence has widened into something difficult to ignore.

Household psychology is signaling strain. Asset prices are still signaling resilience.

That gap creates the natural tension around Bitcoin.

Crypto holders do not need another abstract debate about whether consumer sentiment can predict a recession.

The practical question is: what happens to BTC if the market decides that households have been sending the truer signal?

Bitcoin is trading around $75,500 on CryptoSlate, down 0.40% over 24 hours, up 6.3% over seven days, and up 6.5% over 30 days.

The coin has stabilized, and ETF demand has helped, though the price structure still sits 41.3% below its October 2025 all-time high of $126,198.

That leaves room for two very different interpretations.

One sees consolidation ahead of another leg higher. The other sees a market still tethered to the same macro forces that lift and threaten equities.

The dot-com analogy is useful, concentration is the sharper lens

The Nasdaq chart from 2000 has a way of resurfacing every time a market gets stretched.

It resurfaces for a reason.

Bear markets often feature violent countertrend rallies that feel persuasive in real time.

The 2000 to 2002 sequence included rebounds of 35%, 12%, 25%, 41%, and 45% before the full drawdown ended at 78%. Thierry Borgeat shared the chart below.

That pattern reminds investors that powerful upside bursts can happen inside broader periods of repricing.

It also reminds them that the path and destination can point in different directions for a long stretch.

Today’s setup still carries a different structure.

The late-1990s market was loaded with companies built on fragile business models, speculative capital, and distant earnings promises.

Today’s leaders are larger, richer, and far more cash generative.

That changes the comparison. It also raises a different risk.

When leadership narrows, and index performance depends on a smaller and smaller set of engines, the benchmark can project strength even as participation beneath it thins.

That is why the recent market internals warrant more attention than the “pure bubble” label.

Goldman Sachs data show that Micron was responsible for 51% of S&P 500 earnings-per-share revisions since the Iran war began, while Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips together contributed another 29%, and Broadcom 10%.

The median S&P 500 company saw no change in earnings expectations.

That leaves the rally resting on a narrow support base.

It does not guarantee a break, though it leaves the structure more exposed to disappointment in a small number of names and sectors.

Concentration data points in the same direction.

The top 10 holdings in SPY (35.59%) and the Mag 7 (30.44%) tell the same story in plain English.

A lot of the market’s apparent health is sitting on a small platform.

Valuations remain elevated, too.

YCharts’ cyclically adjusted P/E data and other long-run valuation measures reflect a market priced for confidence.

When leadership narrows, it takes fewer weak points to change the tone of the whole market.

When positioning is crowded, the unwind can travel faster than the buildup did.

Bitcoin’s role in that setup has changed over the last year.

Spot ETFs have made BTC a more direct channel for institutional capital, bringing both sponsorship and sensitivity.

SoSoValue’s Bitcoin ETF dashboard shows the sector attracting meaningful capital again, with $664 million in net inflows on April 17, following a March rebound after months of outflows.

Those flows can cushion a weak session.

They can also transmit a broader risk appetite straight into crypto.

Bitcoin gains a larger buyer base through ETFs, and it also inherits more of Wall Street’s mood swings through the same door.

Bitcoin is approaching an identity test

That leaves Bitcoin in a position that feels unresolved, which is the central tension running through the market now.

It is caught between two roles.

One role is a liquid risk asset that tends to run when stocks run, especially when ETF inflows are healthy and macro stress is easing.

The other role is a harder asset that can attract capital when confidence in the broader financial order weakens.

In previous cycles, those narratives often took turns. This time, they are competing in the same frame.

The near-term market still favors the risk-asset interpretation.

Bitcoin’s elevated correlation with the S&P 500 shows how the market has been treating BTC as part of the same broader appetite for risk.

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The current price data on CryptoSlate’s Bitcoin page shows recovery, though the market has not yet reclaimed its prior peak.

A calm macro backdrop, continued ETF buying, and broader participation in equities could keep that stabilization going.

In that path, Bitcoin would likely keep grinding higher alongside the same forces lifting tech and large-cap growth.

A more consequential path opens if the divergence between Wall Street and households closes through falling asset prices rather than through improving consumer confidence.

That is where Bitcoin’s identity test becomes tangible.

A crack in equities driven by narrow leadership, fading systematic support, or renewed energy stress would put immediate pressure on BTC if the current correlation regime holds.

The move would not need a crypto-specific trigger.

Stocks could do the work on their own, and Bitcoin could absorb the second-order impact through sentiment, positioning, and ETF flows.

There is another route as well, and it is the one Bitcoin bulls still have in mind.

If household stress persists, inflation fears remain sticky, and confidence in traditional assets weakens without turning into outright liquidation, Bitcoin could begin to trade more like a parallel store of value than a leveraged tech proxy.

That path is harder to call from today’s evidence.

It would likely require relative strength against the Nasdaq during a wobble in equities, along with steady ETF inflows and renewed demand for assets perceived as outside direct sovereign control.

The setup is possible. The market has not yet confirmed it.

For now, the live detail sits in the split-screen itself.

Stocks are celebrating, consumers are retreating, oil is still capable of repricing inflation expectations overnight, and Bitcoin is holding a middle ground that may not hold forever.

That is why the comparison to 2000 keeps returning.

It captures the emotional risk of powerful rallies that arrive on uneasy foundations.

It also leaves room for a more precise conclusion.

The current market does not need to be a replay of the dot-com bubble for Bitcoin holders to have a real exposure problem.

A concentrated stock rally and a deeply pessimistic consumer can coexist for a while.

They rarely coexist without consequence.

The post What Happens to Bitcoin if the TradFi rally breaks? Wall Street keeps printing record highs but consumer confidence just hit rock bottom appeared first on CryptoSlate.

KelpDAO's $292 million rsETH exploit landed at the wrong moment for DeFi. Roughly $10 billion left the sector over the weekend, after confidence had already been shaken by Drift Protocol's April 1 breach and Venus's March post-mortem.

That combination makes DeFi's problem harder to ignore. While open DeFi may still be alive for now, it is losing the case for being the default gateway to on-chain finance. Stablecoins, tokenized Treasuries, and regulated settlement rails continue to scale, while permissionless protocols continue to absorb the trust discount.

A hack scoreboard circulating on X captures the mood.

Some incidents are well documented. Some remain live situations. Some blur the line between protocol exploit, bridge failure, and user compromise. The safer route is to anchor the piece to verified 2026 failures and to the competitive shift they expose.

This moment feels different from the heyday of the DeFi Summer in 2019 and the bull run of 2021, which now feel like distant memories. Back then, DeFi sold the market on openness, speed, and composability. In 2026, those same traits still matter, but they no longer come with automatic narrative prestige.

Each large exploit raises the cost of trusting the stack, while the safest and fastest-growing corners of on-chain finance increasingly look like payment rails, Treasury wrappers, and regulated tokenized products rather than reflexive token ecosystems.

The live test is whether open DeFi can rebuild trust fast enough to keep default-front-end status. Right now, the sector looks squeezed rather than finished.

DeFi's security problem now sits above the smart contract

The easiest mistake after a big exploit is to treat every failure as another smart-contract bug. Drift's loss of about $285 million is a good example of why that frame is getting stale.

Chainalysis described a breach built around privileged access, pre-signed administrative actions, and fake collateral rather than a simple line-by-line contract failure. The market got another lesson in how much DeFi risk now lives in governance paths, signer workflows, and operational complexity.

That detail changes what users are being asked to trust. Audits and battle-tested code still matter, but they do not cover the full path from signer to bridge to oracle to market configuration. Once the system spans multiple chains, admin councils, liquidity venues, and collateral wrappers, the attack surface grows faster than the language around decentralization.

Venus's own post-mortem shows a different version of the same problem. The attacker borrowed about $14.9 million against an inflated THE position and left the protocol with just over $2 million in bad debt. That was not the same failure mode as Drift, yet the reader-facing conclusion was similar. A major DeFi venue could still be pushed into emergency accounting around thin liquidity and structural edge cases.

Then came KelpDAO's weekend shock. The exploit was severe enough, according to CryptoSlate, to trigger roughly $10 billion in withdrawals across DeFi and to force freezes around rsETH-linked markets. Even if that outflow estimate moves as conditions settle, the signal is clear. Users saw cross-chain complexity, collateral uncertainty, and possible contagion, then pulled capital.

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That reaction lines up with the broader security trend TRM outlined in its 2026 crime-report summary. The firm said infrastructure attacks drove the majority of 2025 hack losses, outpacing smart-contract exploits.

DeFi's trust problem is becoming harder to quarantine because the sector is defending the entire operating system around the code, not only the code itself.

On-chain finance is still growing, just in safer wrappers

The capital base tells a different story from a straight collapse narrative. An April CryptoSlate report pointed out that USDT had reached $185 billion in market capitalization and USDC had reached $78 billion.

The same report cited DefiLlama figures showing Tron at $86.958 billion in stablecoins and Solana at $15.726 billion.

DefiLlama's Ethereum chain page also shows where the deepest open DeFi capital still sits, which makes the current setup look more like concentration than abandonment.

The rotation is even clearer in low-volatility yield products. RWA.xyz's Treasury dashboard shows $10.9 billion in tokenized U.S. Treasuries and 55,144 holders as of March 12, 2026.

The user taking risks there is still choosing blockchain-based settlement and ownership rails. What that user is rejecting is the idea that open-ended DeFi complexity deserves an equal share of the balance sheet.

A quick way to frame the split is this:

The split is hard to miss. Capital is rotating toward products that look more legible, more collateralized, and more institution-friendly.

That is why Visa's 2026 stablecoin strategy note deserves attention. Visa said stablecoin supply grew more than 50% in 2025, reaching $274 billion in December from $186 billion a year earlier. It also framed 2026 as the year institutions need an actual stablecoin strategy. That is the language of a market category being normalized.

The same pattern appears in settlement. In its December 2025 USDC settlement announcement, Visa said its monthly stablecoin settlement volume had passed a $3.5 billion annualized run rate.

The specific number is smaller than the broader stablecoin market, yet the institutional meaning is larger. Regulated financial plumbing is moving on-chain without needing the full cultural package that DeFi used to sell.

The fight is now over who owns the rails

A recent CryptoSlate analysis framed the competitive problem clearly. Regulated venues are chasing an on-chain capital pool above $330 billion, including roughly $317 billion in stablecoins and nearly $13 billion in tokenized U.S. Treasuries.

That capital will continue to look for speed, programmability, and round-the-clock settlement. The broad live market overview reinforces that attention is concentrated on the largest assets and rails rather than on the long tail of governance experiments.

That is where the 2021 comparison turns harsh.

In the earlier cycle, DeFi could claim it was both the infrastructure and the product. It was where the innovation lived, where the yields lived, and where users went if they wanted to see the future arrive early. In 2026, more of the future is being packaged in ways that cut out the messier parts of that proposition.

Tokenized funds can offer 24/7 movement and faster settlement. Stablecoins can handle payments and treasury operations. Institutions can adopt those benefits while keeping tighter control over compliance, counterparties, and market structure.

More than 80 crypto projects had formally shuttered or started winding down in the first quarter, according to a CryptoSlate report on project closures. That number spans more than just DeFi, but it still reinforces the point that capital is becoming less patient with products that cannot demonstrate durable utility, yield, or distribution.

Crypto ETFs belong in that context. At the product level, regulated options now absorb more attention and capital, while users and institutions gravitate toward rails that deliver blockchain advantages without demanding full DeFi trust assumptions.

That leaves DeFi with a narrower but still meaningful role. Open composability and permissionless experimentation still matter, especially as a research lab for new financial primitives before safer wrappers absorb demand.

The latest evidence describes a trust squeeze.

Open DeFi is losing narrative leadership and may lose default-front-end status unless it can rebuild trust, tighten operations, and prove that its added complexity buys something irreplaceable.

The live debate now is who captures the next wave of on-chain demand, and the safer wrappers are winning the race.

The post Six years after “DeFi Summer” is the sun already setting on the decentralized finance revolution? appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Institutional investors are looking past the crypto market’s two largest behemoths, aggressively rotating capital into alternative cryptocurrencies as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East agitate traditional markets.

Data from SoSoValue shows that US-based investment vehicles tracking the spot price of XRP absorbed $55.39 million in fresh capital over the past week, positioning the asset as the undisputed leader among alternative cryptocurrency funds.

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When combined with substantial allocations into Solana, Avalanche, and Chainlink, Wall Street poured more than $100 million into altcoin-focused exchange-traded funds last week, signaling a sophisticated diversification strategy beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The surge in altcoin demand comes amid severe macroeconomic crosscurrents. Digital asset markets are currently navigating deeply fragile sentiment driven by escalating military confrontations between the United States and Iran, alongside a looming ceasefire deadline.

Yet, rather than retreating entirely to the safety of cash, institutional and retail participants are utilizing regulated crypto investment vehicles to capture yield and position themselves for potential supply shocks.

Overall, the US crypto ETF landscape witnessed massive inflows across the board last week. Bitcoin funds commanded $996.38 million, while Ethereum products pulled in $275.83 million.

However, it is the rotation down the market capitalization spectrum that has captured attention, highlighting a maturing market in which traditional finance is increasingly willing to underwrite the risk of decentralized payment networks and smart contract platforms.

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Rotating down the market cap spectrum

The nearly $56 million allocated to XRP-linked funds marks the product category's second-best weekly performance of 2026, trailing only the week of Jan. 16, which saw $56.83 million in net additions.

This latest wave of capital cements XRP as the best-performing crypto asset outside of the industry's two majors.

By comparison, Solana-linked funds secured $35.17 million during the same period, its strongest performance since February.

Meanwhile, Avalanche and Chainlink ETFs registered slightly over $5 million each. Notably, this represents the strongest weekly performance since launch for Avalanche, and the highest weekly buy-in for Chainlink since last December.

Smaller-cap products also saw minor activity, with Dogecoin ETFs registering $187,310 and Hedera pulling in roughly $123,300. In a testament to the highly targeted nature of this altcoin rotation, only Litecoin products recorded zero flows during the week.

For XRP, the latest figures represent a major reversal from sluggish March, when the funds saw their first notable outflows of the year.

The resurgence was characterized by a relentless six-day positive streak, with the funds averaging double-digit, million-dollar inflows daily.

According to SoSo Value data, these investment products are now on track to record their strongest month of the year, having already attracted $65.89 million in April.

This latest push has elevated total historical inflows to $1.27 billion, pushing cumulative assets under management to approximately $1.11 billion.

Product expansion broadens the XRP market

Beyond the confines of traditional ETFs, XRP's fundamental demand is being bolstered by aggressive expansions into decentralized finance (DeFi).

Last week, a wrapped version of the asset (wXRP) officially went live on the Solana blockchain. Issued by the institutional custodian Hex Trust, the integration makes the token natively available in Solana's bustling DeFi ecosystem for the first time.

According to Hex Trust, every wXRP is backed 1:1 by native XRP held in segregated custody accounts, ensuring immediate redeemability.

The development allows XRP holders to deploy their assets to major Solana-based decentralized applications to generate yield, without being forced to liquidate their underlying spot positions.

This launch is part of a sweeping interoperability rollout that Hex Trust initiated late last year, with future expansions targeting other networks, including Ethereum and layer-2 network Optimism.

The Solana launch extended XRP into a part of the market where trading, liquidity provision, and collateral use are more active than on the XRP Ledger itself.

That does not change XRP’s core role in payments and settlement, but it does broaden the token’s role within crypto infrastructure.

Notably, Ripple has been leaning into that broader institutional pitch over the past year. The crypto payments firm has linked XRP demand to a broader stack built around custody, prime brokerage, payments, and the XRPL's settlement functions.

As Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated:

“Demand for XRP keeps growing. More access, more ecosystems, more utility.”

US-Iran sends geopolitical shockwaves

The accelerated pace of these developments initially coincided with easing expectations surrounding the US-Iran conflict, but the geopolitical baseline remains exceptionally volatile.

Market sentiment was jolted following reports that US naval forces fired upon and seized an Iranian cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman, marking a drastic escalation in the region's naval standoff.

President Donald Trump confirmed the military action, stating that the vessel was given “fair warning to stop” while attempting to bypass a US blockade of Iranian ports. Trump stated on Truth Social:

“The Iranian crew refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom. Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel. The TOUSKA is under U.S. Treasury Sanctions because of their prior history of illegal activity. We have full custody of the ship, and are seeing what’s on board!”

The incident is deeply intertwined with the ongoing crisis in the Strait of Hormuz.

The vital shipping artery was briefly opened on April 17 under strict Iranian conditions requiring commercial vessels to obtain authorization from Iran's Ports and Maritime Organization and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to transit through designated safe lanes.

However, as the US maintained its broader shipping blockade of Iranian ports, Tehran once more closed the Strait on April 18.

This naval brinkmanship has pushed global markets into a tense countdown toward an April 22 ceasefire deadline.

Furthermore, there has been increased uncertainty about Iran’s willingness to participate in forthcoming diplomatic talks in Islamabad, keeping risk-asset managers on high alert.

For the crypto sector, these geopolitical developments and the looming threat of retaliatory strikes are acting as a double-edged sword: introducing severe near-term volatility while simultaneously reinforcing the narrative of decentralized assets as a hedge against sovereign supply chain shocks.

The post Wall Street moves beyond the Bitcoin ETF trade as XRP leads altcoins on fragile macro relief appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Arbitrum Isolates Stolen Funds

The Arbitrum Security Council has taken unprecedented action to intercept a massive haul of stolen digital assets. In a late-night operation on April 20, 2026, at 11:26 PM ET, the Council executed a technical maneuver to freeze 30,766 ETH—valued at approximately $71 million.

The funds are directly traced to the recent KelpDAO exploit. The exploit didn't just drain KelpDAO; it triggered a systemic liquidity crunch that saw Aave utilization rates spike to critical levels, threatening the stability of the protocol's Ethereum lending pools.

The Timeline of the Freeze

• April 18, 2026: KelpDAO bridge vulnerability is exploited, leading to a loss of approximately $292 million.
• April 19-20, 2026: Stolen funds are tracked moving across the Arbitrum One network.
• April 20, 2026 (11:26 PM ET): The Security Council identifies the attacker's address and executes an emergency move.
• April 21, 2026: Arbitrum confirms the funds are successfully isolated in an "intermediary frozen wallet."

The 'North Korea' Connection and Law Enforcement

In a move that underscores the gravity of the situation, the Security Council confirmed that the intervention was supported by critical intelligence from law enforcement. Emerging evidence points to the involvement of North Korean state-sponsored actors, specifically the Lazarus Group, which has a notorious history of targeting DeFi bridges.

The Council utilized its emergency powers to prevent these funds from being laundered or moved further. By isolating the assets, the Council has effectively "penned in" nearly 25% of the total stolen amount, providing a glimmer of hope for potential recovery.

Technical Execution: Precision Over Permissionless

A primary concern during any protocol-level intervention is the risk of collateral damage. However, the Security Council emphasized that this was a surgical operation.

"The Council identified and executed a technical approach to move funds to safety without affecting any other chain state or Arbitrum users."

The ETH was moved to a specific intermediary wallet. This wallet is programmatically locked; the original exploiter address no longer has access. Crucially, these funds cannot be moved again without a formal Arbitrum Governance vote, putting the ultimate fate of the $71 million in the hands of the ARB token holders.

The Centralization Paradox: Is "DeFi" Just Marketing?

This event has reignited the oldest debate in crypto: Can a blockchain be truly decentralized if its assets can be frozen?

For years, users believed that "Your Keys, Your Coins" was an absolute law. However, the KelpDAO intervention proves that on Layer 2 networks like Arbitrum, your keys are only as powerful as the code's "backdoors" allow. We have seen this before with USDC—where Circle can blacklist any address—but now we are seeing it with Ethereum itself on a major L2.

The uncomfortable truth is that much of what is marketed as "Decentralized Finance" currently operates with significant centralized guardrails. When emergency powers are used to freeze ETH, the line between a crypto protocol and a traditional bank begins to blur. The "permissionless" nature of the blockchain is effectively suspended when a small group decides that the "wrong" person is holding the money.

Who Really Controls the Freeze?

The Arbitrum Security Council is a body of 12 elected members who hold the keys to a 9-of-12 multi-signature wallet. These members are elected by the DAO every six months, but during their term, they hold absolute power to execute emergency upgrades or freeze assets without a public vote.

While these members are supposed to represent the interests of ARB holders, the decision-making process during an "emergency" is opaque.

• Who decides what qualifies as an emergency? 
• Which law enforcement agencies are providing the "input" that triggers a freeze?
• Whose interests are being protected, the users' or the protocol's reputation?

RAVE, the native token of the entertainment-focused RaveDAO, suffered a catastrophic 95% price collapse, falling from a peak of nearly $28 to approximately $1 in less than 24 hours. This move effectively wiped out over $6 billion in market capitalization, leaving retail investors reeling and raising urgent questions about the integrity of the project’s governance and supply distribution.

What Happened to RAVE?

The RAVE crash was not a slow bleed but a structural failure triggered by transparency concerns. On-chain investigator ZachXBT flagged suspicious activity, alleging a coordinated pump-and-dump scheme. The subsequent panic, fueled by exchange-led investigations from Binance, Bitget, and Gate.io, caused the token's valuation to evaporate. Despite a 3,700% rally in the preceding nine days, the lack of organic liquidity meant that even relatively small sell orders could—and did—cause a total price meltdown.

The "Paper Tiger" Valuation

In financial terms, RAVE was a "paper tiger." This refers to an asset that appears powerful and valuable on paper (high market cap) but lacks the underlying liquidity or volume to support that valuation during a sell-off. While the market cap sat at a staggering $6 billion, the collapse was triggered by just $52 million in liquidations. This massive disparity proves that the price was artificially inflated; there simply wasn't enough real money in the order books to support a multi-billion dollar valuation.

The Evidence: 95% Supply Held by 9 Wallets

The most damning evidence of risk was the extreme concentration of RAVE tokens. Investigation into the blockchain revealed that:

• Concentration: Approximately 95% of the total supply was controlled by only 9 addresses.
• Insider Links: On-chain data tracked transfers from these wallets to centralized exchanges just moments before the peak.
• Governance Risk: With such a high concentration, "community governance" was effectively an illusion, as the team or a small group of "whales" held absolute power over the market price.

RAVE Crash Timeline: From Rally to Ruin

The RAVE trajectory followed a classic, albeit extreme, Wyckoff accumulation-to-distribution pattern:

• Accumulation: The token traded flat for months at sub-$1 levels.
• Markup: A nine-day parabolic move took the price to $27.33, briefly placing RAVE in the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market cap, surpassing established projects like Litecoin.
• Distribution: Insiders began offloading tokens on Bitget and Gate.io.
• Markdown: Following ZachXBT’s public call for an investigation, the "house of cards" collapsed, leading to the 95% retracement.

The world’s largest decentralized lending protocol, Aave, is currently grappling with a localized "bank run" scenario. On the Ethereum mainnet, utilization for the two most critical stablecoins, USDC and USDT, have pinned at 100%. This means every single dollar deposited into these pools is currently being borrowed, leaving the "available liquidity" at zero and lenders unable to withdraw their assets.

Why Can't I Withdraw from Aave?

If you are currently attempting to withdraw USDC or USDT from Aave and receiving errors, it is because utilization has reached 100%. In DeFi lending, you can only withdraw if there is "idle" capital in the pool. When all funds are utilized by borrowers, lenders must wait for someone to repay their loan or for new deposits to enter the pool. This is a classic liquidity trap, currently exacerbated by a new interest rate model.

The 'Slow Burn' & Slope2 Risk Oracle

To understand why this crisis is persisting, we must look at the Slope2 Risk Oracle. Historically, Aave used a "kinked" interest rate model. Once utilization passed a certain threshold (e.g., 90%), the interest rate would spike instantly to 80%+ APY to force borrowers to repay.

The new Slow Burn mechanism, managed by the Aave Generalized Risk Stewards (AGRS), changes this. Instead of an instant spike, the Slope2 parameter escalates rates gradually over a 24 to 72-hour window. Currently, many of these rates are capped at a modest 10-12% during the initial escalation phase.

What Happened to DeFi Users: Lenders Frozen, Attackers Protected

The "Slow Burn" was designed to prevent volatile "flash" liquidations, but in a crisis, it creates a massive imbalance of power:

• For Borrowers: An attacker or institutional borrower sitting on hundreds of millions in debt is essentially paying a "cheap" interest rate (12%) to keep the liquidity trapped.
• For Lenders: Users are not being compensated for the risk. While their funds are frozen, they are earning a fraction of the market "risk premium" because the oracle prevents the rate from hitting the necessary 80%+ to force a repayment.

Institutional Flight: The $8B Deposit Exodus

The lack of immediate liquidity has triggered a massive loss of confidence. Data suggests an estimated $8 billion deposit flight from the ecosystem. Major players like Abraxas Capital and users on exchanges like MEXC have moved aggressively to pull assets. Those who did not exit before the 100% utilization mark are now locked in, watching the "Slow Burn" play out in slow motion.

Technical Structure: How the Slope2 Math Works

In technical terms, the Variable Borrow Rate (Rt) is calculated using the following logic:

In this crisis, the Slope2 value is no longer a fixed constant but a dynamic variable that climbs slowly. This "wait-and-see" approach by the protocol has turned what should have been a 1-hour liquidity crunch into a multi-day crisis.

What's going to Happen to DeFi Users?

For now, retail lenders in USDC and USDT pools must wait for the "Slow Burn" to eventually reach a punitive level—likely above 50%—to force borrowers to return the funds. This event serves as a cautionary tale regarding the trade-offs between "smooth" interest rate curves and protocol protocol agility during black swan events.

Bitcoin Holds Near $74K — But Momentum Is Missing

Bitcoin ($BTC) is trading around the critical $74K–$76K range, a zone that has become the most important battlefield for the market right now. Despite strong institutional inflows and major bullish headlines, price action remains muted.

This lack of reaction is telling.

While previous cycles saw Bitcoin surge on positive news, the current market shows hesitation. Buyers are present, but conviction is not. Sellers, on the other hand, are not aggressive enough to trigger a full breakdown.

👉 This creates a compression phase — and these phases rarely last long.

Institutions Are Buying — So Why Isn’t Bitcoin Moving?

Recent developments confirm heavy accumulation:

• Michael Saylor’s Strategy purchased over $2.5 billion in Bitcoin
• Major players continue expanding exposure to $BTC and $ETH
• Institutional demand remains structurally strong

Yet, Bitcoin is not breaking higher.

This divergence suggests that liquidity is being absorbed quietly. Instead of immediate price expansion, the market is building pressure beneath the surface.

👉 When price ignores bullish news, it often signals that a larger move is approaching.

The $74K Level: Support or Trap?

The $74K level is now acting as a key support zone.

• Holding above → bullish continuation scenario
• Losing it → opens the door to accelerated downside

Adding to this setup is the presence of a CME gap around $77,400, which Bitcoin has historically shown a tendency to fill. At the same time, liquidity is building below current price levels.

If $74K breaks:

• A cascade of stop losses could trigger
• Over $1B+ in leveraged positions may be liquidated
• Price could quickly revisit lower support zones

👉 This is not just a technical level — it’s a liquidity trigger.

Macro Pressure Is Controlling the Market

Bitcoin is no longer trading in isolation.

Current price action is heavily influenced by:

• Geopolitical tensions (US–Iran developments)
• Global liquidity conditions
• Risk sentiment across equities

This explains why Bitcoin is:

• Not rallying on bullish crypto news
• Reacting to macro headlines instead

👉 The “digital gold” narrative is weakening in the short term.
👉 Bitcoin is behaving more like a macro asset than a hedge.

What Happens Next? Breakout vs Breakdown Scenarios

Bullish Scenario

If Bitcoin holds above $74K and reclaims $77K:

• CME gap likely gets filled
• Momentum could accelerate toward $80K+
• Market confidence returns quickly

Bearish Scenario

If Bitcoin loses $74K:

• Liquidity below gets targeted
• Fast move toward lower support zones
• Panic selling and liquidations increase

👉 In both cases, volatility expansion is expected.

The Market Is Waiting — Not Deciding

Right now, Bitcoin is not trending — it’s waiting.

• Institutions are accumulating
• Retail is cautious
• Macro uncertainty remains high

This creates a rare setup where:
👉 The next move will likely be sharp, fast, and decisive

The $74K level is not just another support —
it is the line that separates continuation from correction.

Conclusion: One Level, One Decision

Bitcoin is approaching a defining moment.

Despite strong fundamentals and institutional demand, price remains trapped in a narrow range. This tension cannot last.

👉 A breakout above resistance could reignite the bullish trend
👉 A breakdown below $74K could trigger a deeper correction

For traders and investors alike, this is the level to watch.

DeFi Crash: The rsETH Contagion

Confidence in the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ecosystem has plummeted to an all-time low following a cascading series of security failures. What began as a targeted exploit on Kelp DAO’s rsETH (Liquid Restaked ETH) has rippled through the industry’s most trusted protocols, most notably Aave, the world’s largest lending market.

The incident has reignited a fierce debate over the risks of "DeFi composability"—the practice of layering different protocols on top of one another. Critics argue that a simple Ethereum deposit should not be vulnerable to the failure of a complex, cross-chain restaking bridge.

Aave and LayerZero: What Happened?

The crisis was triggered by a sophisticated exploit targeting the bridge infrastructure of rsETH. According to forensic reports, the attacker—widely identified as the North Korean state-sponsored Lazarus Group (DPRK)—executed a multi-stage attack on LayerZero’s Decentralized Verifier Network (DVN).

The Anatomy of the Exploit

Contrary to initial speculation that the DVN itself was compromised, the attackers targeted the RPC (Remote Procedure Call) nodes that the DVN relied on for data.

1. The Lure: Attackers identified two specific RPCs used by the DVN.
2. The Sabotage: A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack was launched against the DVN’s primary, healthy RPCs.
3. The Deception: This forced the system to fail over to the two compromised RPCs. These malicious nodes served accurate data to the public but fed fraudulent state information to the DVN, bypassing traditional security safeguards.

Impact on Aave: Frozen Markets and Bad Debt

The exploit allowed the attacker to mint fraudulent rsETH and deposit it into Aave to drain approximately $300 million in ETH. This sudden exodus of liquidity caused a "Whale Panic," with figures like Justin Sun reportedly withdrawing over $150 million in a single transaction.

Current Protocol Status

In an official statement, Aave confirmed that rsETH is now frozen across Aave V3 and V4. Additionally, WETH reserves remain frozen on several networks, including Ethereum mainnet, Arbitrum, Base, Mantle, and Linea, to prevent further contagion.

• Utilization Crisis: Lending rates for ETH spiked to 10-15% as utilization hit 100%.
• Liquidity Lock: Many lenders are currently unable to withdraw their assets because all available ETH in the pool is technically "borrowed."

Is the Debt Recoverable?

Aave’s official analysis suggests that rsETH on the Ethereum mainnet remains fully backed, and the exposure has been capped. However, the market remains skeptical. The "bad debt" looming over the protocol remains a primary concern for crypto news analysts. Until it is clear who will bear the brunt of the $300 million hole, trust in the "money lego" architecture of DeFi will remain suppressed.

For those looking to secure their remaining assets, diversifying into hardware wallets or reviewing top exchange comparisons for safer exit ramps has become a priority for many retail users.

Return to Pristine Collateral

The fallout from this incident suggests a shift in investor sentiment. There is an increasing demand for a "return to basics"—using pristine collateral like Bitcoin or native ETH rather than complex derivative products. While LayerZero has restored its DVN services, the industry now faces weeks of introspection regarding RPC security and the dangers of single-point-of-failure configurations.

Arbitrum's emergency response to the KelpDAO exploit has sparked praise and criticism over the network's ability to freeze stolen assets.

Panic, the firm behind the Playdate handheld, now prohibits creative AI applications while preserving developer productivity aids.

Congressional candidate Alex Bores outlined a policy that would trigger payments to Americans if surging AI use reduces employment.

Alibaba released Qwen3.6-Max-Preview, its most powerful AI model yet, topping six major coding benchmarks and posting gains in world knowledge and instruction following over its predecessor.

Reabold Resources faced criticism for plans to use a gas field to mine Bitcoin, but said serving U.K. energy demand remains its main focus.

Dogecoin’s transaction volume sees incredible surge to about $800 million, marking the highest daily surge seen so far in 2026.

The popular fund manager believes that most investors are clueless, which could be the catalyst for serious monetary losses.

Ripple routes 75 million XRP worth $108 million to Coinbase amid surge in spot ETF inflows. Is this a 'North Star' exit or a liquidity play for ODL corridors?

Memecoin hype is always fun, until big players join and (most of the times) ruin it.

RippleX researcher Aanchal Malhotra is warning the cryptocurrency industry that the preparation window is rapidly closing.

Key Highlights

• New York legislator presents conditional payment system responding to automation impacts
• Payment activation tied to specific labor market indicators and wage trends
• Funding strategy combines computational usage taxes with government equity positions
• Proposal includes workforce retraining initiatives alongside direct compensation
• Framework designed as preventative policy before widespread displacement occurs

The discussion around artificial intelligence and employment has moved from theoretical concern to legislative action as a New York state representative introduces a structured response. The proposed system would provide financial support when automation demonstrably affects job availability and worker compensation. This initiative represents a shift toward anticipatory policy-making in the face of technological acceleration.

Trigger-Based System Responds to Market Conditions

New York State Assembly member Alex Bores has developed what he calls an AI dividend framework that operates conditionally rather than universally. The system establishes specific economic benchmarks that must be reached before payments commence. This approach distinguishes it from universal basic income proposals by requiring evidence of actual workforce disruption.

The proposal identifies several key indicators that would activate the payment mechanism. These include decreased workforce participation rates in sectors experiencing AI integration and stagnating or falling wages despite increased corporate productivity. The system also monitors scenarios where technological efficiency gains fail to generate proportional employment opportunities.

Beyond direct financial transfers, the legislative framework allocates resources toward reskilling programs and career transition support. Additional funding would establish regulatory oversight mechanisms to track how artificial intelligence systems are deployed across industries. The comprehensive approach attempts to address both immediate financial needs and long-term workforce adaptation.

Revenue Sources and Implementation Strategy

The financial architecture behind Bores’ proposal draws from diverse revenue streams to ensure sustainability. A central component involves levying charges based on computational resources consumed during AI operations. Additionally, the framework proposes mechanisms allowing public sector equity participation in leading artificial intelligence corporations.

The legislation also encompasses tax reforms intended to rebalance incentives between human employment and capital-intensive automation. These adjustments seek to make workforce investment more economically attractive while capturing returns from productivity gains driven by machine learning systems. The revenue model reflects an attempt to create sustainable funding without stifling innovation.

This policy proposal arrives amid ongoing workforce adjustments at technology companies implementing AI-powered operational improvements. While layoffs continue across firms pursuing automation-driven efficiency, comprehensive research indicates that widespread job displacement has not yet materialized at predicted scales.

Context Within Evolving Technology Policy

The conditional payment system contributes to expanding dialogue about technology’s relationship with labor markets. Executives and researchers have increasingly highlighted artificial intelligence’s potential to transform professional services and knowledge work. Economic analyses suggest positions requiring routine cognitive tasks face particular vulnerability to automation.

Past technological transitions demonstrate that innovation often generates employment categories while eliminating others. Financial sector analyses indicate that AI adoption thus far has produced limited net employment reduction despite significant operational integration. However, the accelerated pace of current AI development raises questions about whether adaptation mechanisms can keep pace with disruption.

Bores frames his proposal as anticipatory rather than remedial policy intervention. The underlying argument suggests that establishing distribution mechanisms before crisis conditions emerge enables more effective implementation. The framework emphasizes that postponing action until economic concentration intensifies may constrain available policy responses and increase social costs.

The post New York Lawmaker Introduces AI Dividend Scheme to Combat Automation Job Losses appeared first on Blockonomi.

Quick Overview

• KeyBanc upgraded Amazon’s price objective from $285 to $325, suggesting approximately 30% potential gains from present trading levels.
• Justin Patterson, the firm’s analyst, highlighted AWS expansion accelerating toward ~30% as the primary catalyst.
• Additional growth catalysts include AI momentum via Anthropic, sustained grocery segment performance, and the Amazon Leo satellite initiative.
• Short-term concerns around profitability stem from elevated fuel expenses and Iran-related shipping disruptions.
• Shares declined 0.9% to $248.28 on Monday, trading just 1.4% beneath the November 2025 all-time closing peak.

Amazon received an optimistic assessment from KeyBanc over the weekend, though investors showed little enthusiasm on Monday.

Justin Patterson, analyst at KeyBanc, increased his price objective for Amazon (AMZN) to $325 from the previous $285 mark while maintaining his Overweight recommendation. Based on Monday’s closing price of $248.28, this new target represents approximately 30% potential appreciation.

Amazon.com, Inc., AMZN

The heart of Patterson’s investment case revolves around AWS performance. He characterized the cloud division’s trajectory toward roughly 30% growth as “the story of the quarter,” highlighting infrastructure scaling and an impressive pipeline of customer acquisitions.

Anthropic receives particular attention in the analysis. KeyBanc calculates that AWS represents approximately 60% of Anthropic’s overall expenditures, with the AI company’s accelerating subscription revenue viewed as “a meaningful tailwind” for Amazon’s cloud operations.

Patterson also revised upward his 2026 revenue forecast by 1% and his 2027 estimate by 2%. His updated model projects earnings per share nearing $10 by 2027, with his $325 target reflecting a 33x multiple on that projection.

Beyond the Cloud Business

The analyst identified three additional catalysts deserving investor attention. The grocery segment continues demonstrating resilience. Amazon Leo, the company’s satellite broadband venture, is preparing for deployment. And Amazon’s pending purchase of Globalstar provides crucial additional spectrum resources.

“Given early large customer wins, M&A, and more successful launches, we believe Amazon Leo is well-positioned to gain traction as an alternative option in the market,” Patterson wrote.

Other financial institutions share similar optimism. Truist Securities maintains a $285 target driven by AWS AI integration. TD Cowen holds a $300 price objective, anticipating Q1 2026 revenue will surpass Street expectations.

Geopolitical Tensions Create Headwinds

The picture isn’t entirely positive. The Iran conflict has created bottlenecks in Strait of Hormuz shipping lanes and elevated fuel expenses. Patterson anticipates these challenges will impact Amazon’s second-quarter outlook.

Amazon has already taken action. The company recently implemented a 3.5% fuel surcharge affecting third-party marketplace sellers, which Patterson views as offering partial protection.

KeyBanc maintains a conservative stance regarding first-half profitability overall, pointing to gasoline prices and Amazon Leo infrastructure spending as temporal obstacles.

On Monday, AMZN shares dropped 0.9% to $248.28 amid broader market weakness tied to escalating U.S.-Iran geopolitical concerns.

The stock closed Friday’s session at $250.56, positioning it just 1.4% away from its all-time closing record established in November 2025.

Amazon is expected to announce first-quarter financial results on April 29.

The post Amazon (AMZN) Stock Target Raised to $325: KeyBanc Sees 30% Upside Ahead appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Takeaways

• SoundHound AI (SOUN) advanced approximately 3% to reach $8.32 in Monday’s session, defying widespread tech sector declines.
• The rally occurred during a risk-averse trading day sparked by escalating geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran following Trump’s announcement of an Iranian vessel seizure.
• The company’s latest quarterly results showed revenue reaching $55.06M, representing 59.4% growth versus the prior year, while EPS matched forecasts at -$0.02.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently, disposing of 307,973 shares valued at approximately $2.09 million during the last 90-day period.
• Wall Street maintains a Moderate Buy rating on the stock with a consensus price objective of $14.93, suggesting potential upside exceeding 75% from current levels.

SoundHound AI (SOUN) posted a nearly 3% advance during Monday’s trading session, finishing at $8.32 despite a widespread selloff across technology equities. This type of outperformance during sector weakness typically catches the eye of traders searching for stocks demonstrating relative momentum.

SoundHound AI, Inc., SOUN

Shares began the session from a previous $8.08 close and touched an intraday peak of $8.35. Trading activity registered approximately 25.1 million shares, modestly trailing the 30-day average volume of 26.2 million.

The positive performance came during a challenging market environment. During the weekend, President Trump revealed that U.S. forces had seized an Iranian cargo vessel in Gulf of Oman waters following Iran’s refusal to participate in U.S.-organized peace negotiations scheduled in Pakistan. Trump additionally cautioned about possible strikes targeting Iranian infrastructure assets. With a temporary U.S.-Iran ceasefire scheduled to lapse this week, geopolitical uncertainty remains heightened.

Against this challenging backdrop, SOUN managed to advance. While shares remain approximately 16.5% lower year-to-date, Monday’s performance provided a respite from recent selling pressure.

Financial Performance and Revenue Expansion

SOUN’s most recent quarterly results, unveiled on February 26, demonstrated revenue of $55.06 million — surpassing Wall Street projections of $53.88 million. This represented a 59.4% increase compared to the corresponding quarter in the previous year. Earnings per share registered at -$0.02, precisely matching analyst expectations.

For the complete 2024 fiscal year, SoundHound delivered record annual revenue totaling $169 million, essentially doubling the $84.7 million generated in the prior year.

Despite this growth trajectory, the market has remained skeptical. Concerns persist regarding ongoing profitability challenges, intensifying competition within the voice AI market segment, and uncertainty about the company’s ability to sustain its expansion pace.

The stock’s 50-day moving average currently stands at $7.44. The 200-day moving average rests at $11.08, significantly above present trading levels.

Executive Transactions and Street Forecasts

Recent insider selling activity has created some overhang. During the previous 90-day window, company insiders divested a cumulative 307,973 shares valued at roughly $2.09 million. COO Michael Zagorsek disposed of 52,968 shares in late March at an average price point of $6.79. Director James Ming Hom sold 31,019 shares during the identical timeframe, also at $6.79 per share.

Corporate insiders presently control 9.17% of outstanding shares. Institutional investors hold approximately 19.3%, with multiple funds expanding their stakes during recent reporting periods.

Additional pressure emerged from leadership changes. CFO Nitesh Sharan disclosed in March his intention to depart in April for a position at a quantum computing company.

Regarding analyst perspectives, opinions vary but tilt constructive. HC Wainwright reduced its price objective from $26 to $20 while maintaining a Buy recommendation. Piper Sandler lowered its target to $9 alongside a Neutral stance. DA Davidson established a $14 target. Zacks upgraded SOUN from Strong Sell to Hold in February.

According to MarketBeat aggregated data, the consensus recommendation stands at Moderate Buy with an average price target of $14.93. TipRanks data indicates a Strong Buy consensus among recent analyst ratings, with an average objective of $14.50 — suggesting potential appreciation of approximately 74% from Monday’s closing price.

SoundHound carries a market capitalization of $3.52 billion and exhibits a beta of 2.71, indicating the equity’s propensity for amplified volatility relative to the overall market.

The post SoundHound AI (SOUN) Stock Climbs 3% Despite Broader Tech Sector Weakness appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Takeaways

• Intel’s Q1 2026 financial results will be released after trading hours on April 23, Thursday
• Wall Street consensus calls for $0.02 earnings per share, representing approximately 90% growth versus last year, alongside $12.42 billion in sales
• Shares have surged more than 78% in 2025, recently reaching $70.32—the highest level in a quarter century
• Stifel Nicolaus upgraded its target price to $65 from $42 while keeping a Hold stance
• The options market suggests roughly 10% volatility in either direction following the earnings announcement

The chipmaker is scheduled to unveil its first-quarter 2026 financial performance following Thursday’s market close on April 23. Shares have experienced a remarkable rally throughout the year, climbing over 78% since January and briefly touching $70.32—a level not seen in 25 years.

Intel Corporation, INTC

Analyst consensus points to quarterly earnings of $0.02 per share for the period, marking an approximate 90% increase compared to the year-ago quarter. Sales are projected to reach $12.42 billion, representing a modest 2.2% decline on a year-over-year basis.

When Intel last reported in January, the company exceeded expectations by posting $0.15 per share versus the Street’s $0.08 estimate. Sales totaled $13.67 billion, surpassing the anticipated $13.37 billion.

Market participants will closely monitor commentary regarding Intel’s 18A manufacturing node advancement and the company’s participation in Elon Musk’s Terafab artificial intelligence chip initiative. Management guidance on operational efficiency improvements and future AI semiconductor development will attract significant attention.

RBC Capital’s Srini Pajjuri maintained a Neutral position with a $48 valuation target. His analysis suggests a slight upside surprise is probable, supported by healthy server processor demand, though he highlighted wafer supply limitations as a headwind.

Pajjuri further observed that Intel’s present stock price already incorporates substantial optimism surrounding its foundry operations and Terafab collaboration. He emphasized that meaningful revenue contributions from the 14A node and advanced packaging capabilities may require additional time to materialize.

Raymond James analyst Simon Leopold confirmed his Market Perform stance after revising his financial models upward. His assessment referenced Intel’s repurchase of its remaining interest in Fab 34 and changing product mix dynamics based on Asian supply chain intelligence.

These supply chain indicators revealed softening personal computer demand, though accelerating data center and artificial intelligence adoption trends are providing balance. Leopold identified possible additional gains from initiatives connected to Musk’s business ventures.

Wall Street Price Target Breakdown

Stifel Nicolaus increased its valuation from $42 to $65 while retaining a Hold recommendation. This target suggests approximately 5% potential downside from present trading levels.

Susquehanna boosted its objective to $65 from $45 with a Neutral view. Melius Research established a $75 projection. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a Buy recommendation with a $66 target.

The overall Street consensus stands at Hold, comprising six Buy ratings, 27 Hold ratings, and six Sell ratings. The mean price objective of $52.51 remains substantially below current share prices.

Implied Volatility Signals Significant Post-Earnings Swing

Shares began Monday’s session at $68.50, within a 52-week trading band spanning $18.25 to $70.32. The company’s market capitalization stands at $342.16 billion.

Regarding insider activity, EVP Boise April Miller divested 20,000 shares in early February at $49.05 apiece. EVP David Zinsner acquired 5,882 shares in late January at $42.50 per share.

Looking at full-year fiscal projections, the analyst community currently forecasts a loss of $0.11 per share for Intel.

The post Intel (INTC) Earnings Preview: What Wall Street Expects on April 23 appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR

• Project Prometheus, Jeff Bezos’ artificial intelligence venture, is pursuing a $10 billion capital raise
• The funding round would establish the company’s valuation at approximately $38 billion
• Major financial institutions including JPMorgan and BlackRock are participating as investors
• This follows an earlier $6.2 billion fundraising completed in November 2025
• The startup specializes in artificial intelligence applications for engineering, manufacturing, automotive, computing, and aerospace industries

Project Prometheus, the artificial intelligence laboratory spearheaded by Jeff Bezos, is on the verge of securing a substantial $10 billion investment round that would establish the enterprise at a $38 billion valuation, the Financial Times has reported.

This fundraising effort would position itself among the most substantial early-stage capital raises globally.

The investment round expands upon a previous $6.2 billion secured in November 2025, with the increase driven by overwhelming interest from potential backers.

Notable participants in this latest financing include [[LINK_START_0]]JPMorgan[[LINK_END_0]] and BlackRock, though the Financial Times notes the transaction remains pending finalization.

Bezos serves as a founding investor in the enterprise and has taken an active leadership role in securing capital alongside co-chief executive Vikram Bajaj.

What Is Project Prometheus?

The artificial intelligence company operates under joint leadership from Bezos and tech entrepreneur Vik Bajaj, with additional co-founders Sherjil Ozair and William Guss.

This marks Bezos’ first operational leadership position following his departure from the chief executive role at Amazon. The venture concentrates on developing artificial intelligence solutions for engineering and manufacturing applications across multiple sectors including computing hardware, automotive systems, and aerospace technology.

Beyond its core technology development, Prometheus is establishing a dedicated investment division structured as a holding company. This arm intends to deploy capital into businesses positioned for transformation by Prometheus’s own artificial intelligence innovations.

The investment strategy targets industries including engineering services, architectural firms, and design organizations.

A Dual Strategy

Prometheus distinguishes itself through more than conventional AI tool development. The company is strategically positioning itself to invest in enterprises vulnerable to disruption from its technological advances, establishing a dual-revenue business framework.

This organizational approach differentiates Prometheus from competing AI startups that maintain singular focus on product creation.

BlackRock representatives declined to provide commentary on the transaction. JPMorgan and the venture’s co-founders have not responded to inquiries seeking comment. Bezos was unavailable for comment.

According to the Financial Times report, the fundraising was anticipated to reach completion imminently, though it remained unfinalized as of April 20, 2026.

The post Jeff Bezos’ Project Prometheus AI Venture Targets $38B Valuation With Massive Funding Round appeared first on Blockonomi.

The cryptocurrency market saw a renewed uptick over the past 24 hours, with many leading digital assets flashing in green.

Bitcoin (BTC) soared past $76,000, while popular altcoins such as Stellar (XLM), Toncoin (TON), and others ranked as the top daily performers.

BTC Heads North Again

The leading cryptocurrency has experienced heightened volatility over the past several days, driven mainly by geopolitical tensions and uncertainty in the Middle East. Towards the end of the last business week, its price climbed to nearly $78,000 after US President Donald Trump announced that the Strait of Hormuz was open, while later he argued that Iran had agreed to halt its nuclear program.

However, the Asian country denied those claims, which, combined with the renewed attacks in the region, caused BTC to drop below $74,000 on Monday (April 20).

Over the past 24 hours, though, the asset started pumping again and currently trades at around $76,400 (per CoinGecko’s data). This represents a 2% daily increase and a significant 11% rise over two weeks.

It is important to note that its resurgence happened shortly after Strategy announced its latest major crypto purchase. The company, founded by Michael Saylor, scooped up 34,164 BTC for more than $2.5 billion and now holds a total of 815,061 BTC.

Following the coin’s latest revival, its market capitalization has spiked above $1.5 trillion, while its dominance over the altcoins stands at roughly 57.4%.

XLM Leads the Altcoin Recovery

The altcoins have followed BTC’s footsteps, and many of them have posted much more impressive gains over the last 24 hours. The top performer is Stellar (XLM), whose valuation jumped by 7% to reach a monthly peak of $0.18.

Toncoin (TOM), Mantle (MNT), and MemeCore (M) have also registered solid increases of around 5-6%, while the well-known alts such as Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), and Solana (SOL) are up a mere 1-2% for the day. Rain (RAIN), DeXe (DEXE), and Pi Network (PI) stand on the opposite side, with losses of around 2-5%.

The total cryptocurrency market capitalization has risen by 2% in the last day to around $2.6 trillion.

The post Bitcoin (BTC) Reclaims $76K as Stellar (XLM) Jumps by 7%: Market Watch appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Popular crypto trader Doctor Profit has said that the altcoin sector could fall back to its 2020 levels.

And he is putting his money where his mouth is, backing his prediction with $1 million worth of short positions across 100 altcoins.

100 Coins, $10,000 Per Coin

In a post shared on X earlier today, Doctor Profit outlined his strategy built on 100 isolated short positions of $10,000 each, all placed with 1x leverage.

“I’m now betting on the biggest hill of garbage the market has ever seen, even worse than during the dot com bubble and the garbage of the penny stocks,” he declared.

The trader says altcoins are in “a multi-year bear market,” with as much as 90% of that market being in a relentless structural downtrend, and that there presently isn’t any catalyst that can change their trajectory, including social media influencers, whom he accused of shilling what he described as “garbage” to the public.

He added that when $19 billion was wiped out from leveraged positions in one of the worst liquidation events in the history of crypto on October 10, 2025, most altcoins fell by between 50% and 80%. What remained, in his view, was stranded retail liquidity with no institutional floor to support it.

The analyst estimates a 50% drop across his positions, which, if realized, would translate to about $500,000 in profit. According to him, if any single position gets liquidated because a coin doubles in price, the loss will be capped at $10,000 while the other 99 positions keep running.

He also insisted that his play was not based on guesswork, likening the current altcoin market to penny stocks, which look cheap to buy but have no mechanism for recovery. However, per his assessment, the opportunity set comprises tens of thousands of liquidity-filled altcoins, which he claims are “ready to be milked.”

Others Say Fed Liquidity Could Change the Equation

Despite Doctor Profit’s dismissal of altcoins, there are other market watchers who believe the sector is due for a bump upwards soon. One of them, Mark Chadwick, has pointed to the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet activity, saying it is a potential wildcard. He pointed to several incoming liquidity injections due this week, including a $5.058 billion Fed bill purchase and $90 billion to be released through the Treasury General Account, as well as a $15 billion Treasury debt buyback, which he described as the largest on record.

The trader drew one conclusion from all that activity: that quantitative tightening is effectively ending, and alt season, rather than being canceled, had only been delayed.

Looking at the market, Bitcoin was trading near $76,000 at the time of writing, up by about 2.4% in the last 24 hours, with a dominance sitting at 57.4%. Several major altcoins also posted modest 24-hour gains, with Ethereum (ETH) near $2,300, Solana (SOL) around $86, and XRP at $1.43, even though some analysts believe the token is getting ready for a move that could push it as much as 35% in either direction.

The post Altcoin Bloodbath Incoming? Trader Bets $1M on Sector Collapse to 2020 Prices appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Ripple unveiled a strategic roadmap to make the XRP Ledger (XRPL) resistant to quantum attacks.

The company’s native token, XRP, has rebounded 5% over the past week, with some indicators suggesting a further ascent may be on the way.

The Security Plan

J. Ayo Akinyele, Head of Engineering at Rippe, revealed that the firm has partnered with Project Eleven to introduce a “multi-phase roadmap targeting full readiness by 2028.” The initiative’s main goal is to evaluate quantum threats, roll out hybrid models alongside existing systems, and define a clear migration path. In the aftermath, it should make XRP Ledger, the core infrastructure that underpins Ripple’s ecosystem, protected against quantum attacks.

“It is a fundamental architectural shift in how digital assets are secured over the long term. This transition will impact key management, validator infrastructure, and how users interact with the network,” he posted on X.

Google’s quantum research team recently warned that future machines could pose real risks to today’s cryptography much sooner than people expected. This is why the topic has been trending, prompting developers to act fast before it is potentially too late.

More Support for RLUSD

Besides its popular cryptocurrency XRP, Ripple launched a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the American dollar. The product, dubbed RLUSD, debuted in late 2024 and has since made significant progress. Currently, its market capitalization stands at roughly $1.44 billion, making it the 54th-biggest cryptocurrency.

Some well-known exchanges that have listed RLUSD in recent months include Binance, Kraken, Bybit, Gemini, and more. Earlier this month, Bitrue made the stablecoin available as margin for futures trading.

XRP and the Whales

As of this writing, Ripple’s native token trades at around $1.43, up 5% on a weekly basis. It has followed the broader market’s resurgence, while recent whale activity suggests additional gains may be on the way.

The renowned analyst Ali Martinez revealed that large investors have purchased 360 million XRP over the past week. The USD equivalent of the stash is more than $500 million, and this group of market participants now holds a total of 8.73 billion coins (14% of the asset’s circulating supply).

Such accumulations show strong conviction among whales, while smaller players may be encouraged to mimic their move, thereby injecting fresh capital into the ecosystem.

Meanwhile, institutional investors have renewed their interest in the asset, which could be interpreted as another bullish sign. Data shows that spot XRP ETFs have attracted substantial capital, witnessing a 7-day green streak: something last observed at the start of March.

The post Ripple (XRP) News Today: April 21 appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Prediction markets platform Polymarket is in discussions with investors to raise $400 million in fresh funding, which could place its valuation at around $15 billion, according to a report by The Information. The move comes shortly after competitor Kalshi completed a $1 billion funding round that put the company at about $22 billion.

The new financing round is expected to bring the total capital raised to around $1 billion if additional strategic investors are included.

Polymarket Expansion

Polymarket recently announced a $600 million investment from Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), as part of its plan to allocate up to $2 billion toward expanding into event-based trading.

The fundraising efforts come amid growing interest in prediction markets, which allow users to trade on the outcomes of real-world events. The sector has seen a surge in trading volumes and user participation, and has attracted the attention of institutional investors aiming to capitalize on the expanding market.

According to estimates from brokerage firm Bernstein, volumes from prediction markets are expected to reach $1 trillion annually by 2030. Major platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket registered trading volumes of around $60 billion so far this year, surpassing the $51 billion recorded in all of 2025.

Bernstein projects total volumes will climb to $240 billion in 2026, which will be a 370% increase year-on-year, and expects the market to grow at a compound annual rate of about 80% through the end of the decade. Growth has been driven by rising participation and expanding contract categories, including sports, crypto assets, and macroeconomic events.

Weekly volumes on Kalshi have also reached over $3 billion compared to roughly $100 million a year earlier.

Insider Trading Concerns

Despite rapid growth in prediction market activity, concerns around misuse and oversight continue to surface. Earlier this month, Lookonchain identified a group of newly created wallets that earned about $663,000 on Polymarket by correctly betting on a US-Iran ceasefire shortly before it occurred. The accounts had no prior activity and placed trades at low implied probabilities, which raised questions of insider knowledge.

Meanwhile, Israeli authorities charged an IDF reservist and a civilian for allegedly using classified military information to place bets on Polymarket, following an investigation involving multiple security agencies. Prosecutors said such actions posed risks to national security.

Additionally, regulatory pressure has intensified across the globe. For instance, in March, a court in Buenos Aires ordered a nationwide block on Polymarket, citing its operation as an unlicensed betting platform and flagging gaps in identity checks and payment controls, including the use of cryptocurrencies and credit cards without standard compliance measures.

The post Polymarket Eyes $400M Raise at $15B Valuation Amid Surging Prediction Market Demand: Report appeared first on CryptoPotato.

The largest meme coin by market capitalization has rebounded 4% over the past week, with some analysts expecting the uptrend to continue in the short term.

Some key on-chain metrics support the bullish outlook, yet traders and investors should tread lightly, as market conditions remain unstable due to ongoing geopolitical tensions and other factors.

How High Can DOGE Go?

During the Friday market-wide price resurgence, Dogecoin briefly surpassed $0.10, but it currently trades around $0.09. Its market capitalization hovers at approximately $14.6 billion, making it the undisputed leader in the meme coin realm and the 10th-biggest cryptocurrency.

According to some analysts, such as X user Don, the token has significant upside potential. They noted that DOGE has been trading above a certain support zone since 2021, setting the next critical resistance at $0.40. The market observer believes that a rise to such a dimension could open the door to $1.

Other analysts who recently chipped in include Mikybull Crypto and Cryptollica. The former argued that DOGE looks “so primed for a big move,” while the latter envisioned a possible explosion to a new all-time high of $1.60.

The recent whale activity reinforces the optimistic scenario. The renowned analyst Ali Martinez revealed last week that large investors had purchased 330 million DOGE in a few days. The development shows their strong conviction in the asset and could prompt retail investors to mimic the big players’ move.

Other Bullish Factors

Earlier this month, spot DOGE ETFs finally attracted capital, indicating that institutional investors have renewed some interest in the meme coin.

The first such product in the USA went live in November last year, launched by Grayscale, while Bitwise and 21Shares followed shortly after. The cumulative net inflow into those financial vehicles remains below $10 million, which is nothing compared to the massive demand for spot BTC, ETH, and XRP ETFs. Those products with Ethereum as an underlying asset, for instance, have witnessed a 7-day green streak: something last seen in October 2025.

The recent Dogecoin exchange netflow is also worth monitoring. Over the past weeks, outflows have dominated inflows, signaling that investors have been abandoning centralized platforms and moving toward self-custody methods. This is considered bullish since it reduces immediate selling pressure.

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