Stablecoins' perceived safety challenges traditional banking, but DeFi's infrastructure gaps pose significant risks.

The post Adrian Cachinero Vasiljevic: Stablecoins are safer and more efficient than banks, DeFi lending rates are aligning with traditional finance, and crypto guarantees ensure transaction integrity | Empire appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Aave's grant approval boosts development potential but highlights governance risks, as dissent and delegate exits could challenge decentralization.

The post Aave DAO approves $25M stablecoin grant to boost ecosystem growth appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The SEC's conditional framework for crypto apps may foster innovation while highlighting the need for comprehensive regulatory clarity.

The post SEC sets conditions for crypto trading apps to stay outside broker rules appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Understanding past financial crises can guide effective policy responses and prevent future economic disasters.

The post Kris Mitchener: Historical crises shape economic institutions, timely policy responses prevent calamity, and money is a social construct | Macro Musings appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitmine's aggressive Ethereum accumulation and staking strategy could significantly influence market dynamics and blockchain adoption trends.

The post Bitmine acquires 71,524 Ethereum, reaching 81% of its ETH supply accumulation goal appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitcoin Magazine

SEC Opens Limited Broker Exemption Path for Crypto Trading Interfaces

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has issued new staff guidance indicating that certain user-facing interfaces involved in crypto securities trading may not be required to register as broker-dealers, provided they meet a strict set of conditions designed to limit discretion, influence, and conflicts of interest.

In a statement released by the Division of Trading and Markets of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the agency outlined a framework under which websites, mobile applications, and browser-based tools that facilitate blockchain-based trading could operate outside traditional broker registration requirements for a limited period.

The guidance applies specifically to “covered user interfaces,” which include software products that help users prepare and transmit crypto asset securities transactions through self-custodial wallets. According to the SEC staff, these tools may qualify for an exemption if they function as neutral interfaces rather than intermediaries that exercise judgment or influence over trading activity.

To remain outside broker-dealer registration, interface providers must adhere to several conditions. These include refraining from recommending specific trades, avoiding solicitation of particular transactions, and ensuring users retain full control over trade parameters such as price, size, and execution preferences. The interfaces must also rely on objective, pre-disclosed criteria when routing trades or displaying execution options.

Back in March, the SEC and CFTC issued joint guidance stating that most digital assets are not securities and introduced a formal token taxonomy that classifies stablecoins, digital commodities, digital tools, and collectibles outside securities law. 

The framework left only “digital securities” under traditional regulation while clarifying that activities like staking, mining, and airdrops generally fall outside the Howey Test, marking a departure from prior enforcement-heavy approaches toward a more defined regulatory structure.

The SEC’s disclosure structures

The SEC also emphasized disclosure requirements. Providers must clearly outline fee structures, conflicts of interest, and any relationships with affiliated trading venues or liquidity systems. In cases where a provider connects users to multiple execution pathways, the system must allow users to sort or filter options based on neutral metrics such as price or speed, rather than editorial or promotional ranking.

Another key requirement is operational neutrality. The guidance prohibits interface operators from describing trading routes as “best” or “preferred,” or from providing commentary that could be interpreted as investment advice. The systems must also avoid discretionary decision-making in how market data is presented or how transactions are routed.

The staff statement also places limits on compensation structures. Fees must be fixed, transparent, and unrelated to trade outcomes, execution venues, or counterparty selection. This is intended to reduce incentives for interface providers to favor specific trading environments.

In addition, providers are expected to implement policies for evaluating and monitoring connected trading venues. These policies must assess factors such as liquidity, transparency, security, and reliability, and must be applied consistently across all integrated systems. Any default trading parameters must also be based on objective criteria and subject to ongoing review.

The SEC clarified that the statement is not a formal rule or binding regulation. Instead, it reflects the staff’s current interpretation of how existing broker-dealer laws under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 may apply to crypto-focused interfaces. The guidance will remain in effect for five years unless replaced or modified through future commission-level rulemaking.

Importantly, the agency stressed that the exemption is narrow in scope. It does not apply to entities that negotiate trades, provide investment advice, custody user funds, execute transactions, or otherwise engage in traditional broker functions. Any platform performing those activities would still fall under existing registration requirements.

This post SEC Opens Limited Broker Exemption Path for Crypto Trading Interfaces first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Faces Selling Strain Above $70K as Wall Street Signals Correction Near End

The S&P 500’s latest rebound has drawn a cautiously bullish response from major Wall Street firms, with Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase both signaling confidence that the recent correction may be nearing its end.

Morgan Stanley strategist Michael Wilson said the market’s recovery from its recent lows — about 7% off the trough — was holding at critical technical support levels, suggesting downside momentum may have run its course.

Wilson pointed to stronger-than-expected earnings growth, now tracking at roughly 15% on current reports and projected to climb more than 20% on a forward basis, as proof that equities still rest on a sound fundamental base. His team advises clients to buy market dips, focusing on cyclical sectors and quality growth stocks while reducing exposure to energy, which he said may have peaked following its early-year rally.

JPMorgan also urged investors to treat pullbacks as buying opportunities. Strategist Mislav Matejka said conditions favor another V-shaped recovery over the next three to twelve months. 

Though volatility remains likely amid geopolitical uncertainty, Matejka sees investor sentiment and market positioning as overly bearish and expects fresh inflows to stabilize risk assets. JPMorgan projects stronger performance in international markets, emerging economies, small-cap equities, and value sectors as global growth stabilizes.

Bitcoin continues to stall out above $72,000

While equity analysts find renewed optimism, Bitcoin continues to stall near its upper range. Data from Glassnode shows heavy profit-taking each time prices approach $70,000 to $80,000, with more than $20 million in BTC sold every hour during recent rallies.

Bitcoin briefly climbed near $74,000 over the weekend before slipping back below $71,000 as tensions between the U.S. and Iran pushed oil higher and weighed on U.S. futures. 

Over the weekend, U.S. and Iranian negotiations in Islamabad collapsed without a deal, leading the Trump administration to escalate tensions by announcing a Strait of Hormuz blockade and other maritime enforcement measures amid rising regional conflict and warnings of broader military and economic fallout.

Investor behavior, not chart resistance, has capped upside momentum as holders use strength to exit positions. Until that supply pressure eases, Bitcoin’s ceiling will remain firm within its current distribution band.

Earlier today, Strategy purchased 13,927 BTC for about $1 billion, lifting its total holdings to 780,897 BTC, with the buy fully funded through proceeds from its STRC at-the-market program.

The company’s continued accumulation contrasts with broader corporate trends, as most firms scaled back Bitcoin exposure while Strategy remains the dominant institutional buyer.

Editorial Disclaimer: We leverage AI as part of our editorial workflow, including to support research, image generation, and quality assurance processes. All content is directed, reviewed, and approved by our editorial team, who are accountable for accuracy and integrity. AI-generated images use only tools trained on properly licensed material. In Bitcoin, as in media: Don’t trust. Verify.

This post Bitcoin Faces Selling Strain Above $70K as Wall Street Signals Correction Near End first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Why Iran Wants Bitcoin For Safe Passage Though The Strait Of Hormuz

Iran’s grip over the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most important oil maritime transit choke points, remains firm. FT reported last week that Iran intends to charge a toll for passing, and Bitcoin was named the currency of choice. Here’s why this surprising turn of events has been predicted by Bitcoiners for over a decade.

On April 8, FT published a report titled “Iran demands crypto fees for ships passing Hormuz during ceasefire,” except it wasn’t crypto, it was Bitcoin. The report covered developments during the current two-week ceasefire in the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran, specifically over the Strait of Hormuz, which pre-war saw 20% of global oil flow through in tankers, supplying Europe, Asia, and much of the world. Iran as the article stated intents to charge a toll for ships to be allowed passage through Hormuz a key geographic choke point which Iran has tight control over via long range missles, underwater mines and attack drone technologies.

The report  included an interview with Hamid Hosseini, a spokesperson for Iran’s Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Union, who told FT what oil vessels need to share inventory data with Iran and pay a $1 fee per barril of oil in Bitcoin to be allowed safe passate through Hormuz; “Once the email arrives and Iran completes its assessment, vessels are given a few seconds to pay in Bitcoin, ensuring they can’t be traced or confiscated due to sanctions.”

The report shook the Bitcoin community and made international news, as the Bitcoin price rose to $73,000 from the high 60’s. Iran’s choice to demand Bitcoin for safe passage instead of dollars, yuan, or gold is a profound recognition of Bitcoin’s superiority as money in the modern world. It validates decade-old theories by Bitcoiners that Bitcoin is money for enemies, fundamentally neutral, and thus ideal for international trade.

The facts are clear. Iran does not want dollars because the United States has already placed incredibly heavy sanctions on it, cutting it off from Western payment rails. Iran does not want the Chinese currency either, as it would become dependent on yet another major power, giving up its sovereignty. Gold would need to be transported somehow, from the ships to Iran, complicating matters or settled via the banking system, resulting in the same sanction risk that fiat currencies pose. Tether gold is not an option either for the same reason: a trusted third party that can be sanctioned holds the shiny rocks; not even the most transparent and cryptographically authenticated “trust me, bro” technology can get around that fact.

Only Bitcoin stands as a viable option to receive payment for a country at war like Iran, as the Bitcoin blockchain is an international network of highly interconnected nodes that resist censorship and thus sanctions by design, allowing quick and secure digital settlement.

Bitcoin acquired by Iran could be stored in multi-signature cold storage, a kind of high-security Bitcoin account that requires multiple keys to sign a valid withdrawal, and probably already does. The keys can be distributed throughout the world or across various bunkers in Iran, making confiscation or destruction of the access keys very difficult. Iran has had a long history with Bitcoin now, reported to have held up to 10% of the total mining capacity of Bitcoin at various times, giving them deep experience using and securing the asset.

Earlier that day, before the FT report even came out, Trump told ABC that a joint venture had been discussed with the Iranian leadership to secure the Strait of Hormuz. “We’re thinking of doing it as a joint venture. It’s a way of securing it — also securing it from lots of other people.” Impling a discussion between the U.S. and the Iranian leadership as peace talks continue and some compromises are explored to re-stabilize the international oil trade. 

The Saudis quickly put out a statement, “Allowing Iran any form of control over the strait would be a red line,” said Ali Shihabi, a commentator close to the Saudi royal court, according to The Times of India “The priority has to be unimpeded access through the strait.”

The FT report dropped soon after, followed by a Trump statement shunning the idea of a toll, where he said Iran “Should not charge fees”. He added that “There are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait — They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now!” 

But will Iran roll back the toll of Hormuz, and why would they?

Given the state of the conflict and dramatic collapse in international relations between the warring nations, Hormuz stands as the biggest advantage Iran has in the conflict. The Iranian regime has proven its resilience despite extensive bombardment of its military infrastructure and multiple assassinations of its leadership. Meanwhile, they continue to demonstrate long-range weapons capabilities with which they can block passage through Hormuz. The cost of these long-range weapons is far lower than the cost of the missile interceptors required to protect the oil tankers attempting to cross, and in war, economics matter a great deal.

Trump acknowledged this fact in a press conference where he said that one Iranian with a machine gun is enough to block safe pasage; “Look, problem with the strait, a guy can take a mine, drop it in the water and say, ‘oh, it’s unsafe’… Or you can take a machine gun from the shore and shoot a few bullets at a ship, or maybe an over-the-shoulder missile, small missiles.” he told CBS earlier in the month. 

The cost of attacking ships that go through the strait is far lower than the cost of defending them. Short of a much larger military escalation, there’s actually surprisingly little that the United States can do from a military perspective to secure the strait. In theory, the U.S. could win this war against Iran, but at what cost? Genocide perhaps, or boots on the ground and a full invasion? Ultimately, the U.S. could go as far as nuking Iran, but what consequences would any of those options have for the U.S.’s international relations, or the midterms, which republicans are expected to lose as it stands? The political costs could be too large. And the next regime to take hold in Iran would know that at any point, they could try the same Hormuz gambit.

The only long-term solution to this conflict is likely to be diplomacy, and the leverage Bitcoin gives to Iran as a sovereign nation’s sanction-resistant money will play into the negotiations. Especially if Bitcoin lets Iran monetize the toll of Hormuz.

What happens next?

If the toll of Hormuz stands and is not defused by either diplomacy or total war, then oil tankers looking to pass will need to acquire Bitcoin in the millions of dollars per ship. But that is easier said than done, since basically every Bitcoin exchange in the West is sanctioned from doing business with Iran, so shipping companies would have to acquire it from jurisdictions that allow it, likely in the East. There they could make a fiat payment to some exchange in China or Russia, perhaps, buy the Bitcoin and send it to Iran for the toll. This will increase demand and thus the price for Bitcoin in the east, making mining more profitable, which would in turn balance the hashrate distribution, which over recent years has concentrated in the United States.

China and Japan are some of the largest beneficiaries of the oil that passes through Hormuz, as is Europe, so all these nations now have an added incentive to not just facilitate Bitcoin trade at a corporate and national level, but also to acquire mining hardware, as it is fundamentally the only way to guarantee their transactions go through.

If the United States chooses to, it could try to coerce large Bitcoin miners into trying to censor Bitcoin transactions that pay for the Iranian toll, but that too will fail as long as there’s enough eastern hash rate, and the economic incentives in this case seem to favor the east. 

Editorial Disclaimer: We leverage AI as part of our editorial workflow, including to support research, image generation, and quality assurance processes. All content is directed, reviewed, and approved by our editorial team, who are accountable for accuracy and integrity. AI-generated images use only tools trained on properly licensed material. In Bitcoin, as in media: Don’t trust. Verify.

This post Why Iran Wants Bitcoin For Safe Passage Though The Strait Of Hormuz first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Juan Galt.

Bitcoin Magazine

TD Securities Formalizes Public Bitcoin Treasury Companies (PBTCs) as Distinct, Investable Equity Category

In a foundational move for institutional finance, TD Cowen, a division of TD Securities, has officially formalized a new investable equity category: Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs). This strategic shift, detailed in a report to investors, moves the conversation beyond simple price speculation and establishes a rigorous framework for valuing Public Bitcoin Treasury Companies (PBTCs), operating companies that actively manage Bitcoin as productive treasury capital.

For C-suites and institutional allocators, this represents more than just a bullish research note; it is the installation of the professional plumbing required to drive Bitcoin adoption across wealth management, investment banking, and enterprise services.

Shifting from proxies to operating companies

The report draws a sharp distinction between “passive” Bitcoin ownership and the active management found in the PBTC model with operating companies as an edge. While spot ETPs (Exchange-Traded Products) structurally lose Bitcoin over time due to management fees, well-run PBTCs are designed to deliver superior long-term exposure by:

• Compounding Bitcoin-per-share over generational timeframes.
• Accessing institutional leverage (convertibles, preferred equity) unavailable to individual investors.
• Exploiting capital-markets flywheel effects by issuing equity at a premium to NAV to accretively acquire more Bitcoin.

TD Cowen likens the difference to owning undeveloped land versus owning a company that actively develops that land.

A new set of KPIs to measure success

To drive institutional legitimacy, TD Cowen references financial framework consisting of specific Bitcoin-centric metrics designed for forecasting and risk management:

• BTC Yield: The cornerstone KPI measuring the percentage change in Bitcoin held per fully-diluted share. This moves the goalpost from “stock price” to “Satoshi compounding.”
• BTC Torque: A measure of forward earnings power, capturing the financial gearing associated with different capital structures.
• BTC Rating: A credit metric defined as BTC NAV divided by the notional value of a liability and all senior liabilities, allowing investors to assess asset coverage.

The Foundational Case: Parity with Digital Gold

TD’s thesis is rooted in the “Debasement Trade”—the loss of institutional trust in fiat currencies due to persistent fiscal largesse and debt sustainability concerns. As history suggests superior stores of value tend to replace inferior ones, TD Cowen argues that Bitcoin’s predetermined scarcity makes it the primary challenger to physical gold.

Their base case model suggests Bitcoin could reach a market capitalization of $8 trillion by 2035. Crucially, if Bitcoin reaches parity with the world’s physical gold stores, the bank models a price of approximately $1.1 million per coin (in 2026 dollars). Perhaps most significant for institutional risk committees is TD’s declaration that widescale global adoption is no longer a “black swan” or “tail-risk” event; it is now a structural expectation.

The “Bitcoin Bank” evolution

TD Cowen conceptualizes the industry’s evolution in two distinct stages:

1. The Accumulation Phase: Currently ongoing, where firms focus on accretive acquisition.
2. The Operating Phase: An inevitable transition where these firms become “Bitcoin Banks,” providing loans, custody, and investments denominated natively in Bitcoin.

As this framework matures, it validates a new generation of specialized vehicles including firms like Strategy (MSTR), Strive (ASST), and Nakamoto (NAKA), that combine discrete operating synergies with a conviction-led treasury strategy.

The first step toward universal adoption

By establishing this research approach, TD Securities is signaling that the era of “crypto as an experiment” is over. This report provides the metrics, valuation models, and credit frameworks necessary for Bitcoin to be integrated into the core of traditional finance. The plumbing is now installed for Bitcoin-native balance sheets to become a foundational component of the global financial system, and corporate balance sheets alike.

Disclaimer: This content was prepared on behalf of Bitcoin For Corporations for informational purposes only. It reflects the author’s own analysis and opinion and should not be relied upon as investment advice. Nothing in this article constitutes an offer, invitation, or solicitation to purchase, sell, or subscribe for any security or financial product.

This post TD Securities Formalizes Public Bitcoin Treasury Companies (PBTCs) as Distinct, Investable Equity Category first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Nick Ward.

Bitcoin Magazine

How the Iran War is Repricing Bitcoin

Since the U.S. and Israel began striking Iran on February 28, 2026, markets have had to wrestle with the financial and economic implications. The IEA described the disruption through Hormuz as the largest supply shock in the history of the global oil market. The strait normally carries about a quarter of maritime oil trade and is involved in about a fifth of global petroleum liquids consumption. 

The Iran war has made monetary infrastructure visible again

The Strait of Hormuz is obviously a physical chokepoint. However, trade also depends on a monetary chokepoint. Cross-border payments usually move through correspondent banks, intermediary banks, screening layers, and trade-finance channels. Correspondent banking is an essential part of the global payment system for cross-border transactions, which involve a chain of linked correspondent banks. When that chain is stressed, settlement risk rises alongside freight and energy risk. 

That is what this war has forced markets to confront. Reuters reported on April 9 that ship traffic through Hormuz was running at well below 10% of normal volumes, with just seven ships crossing in the prior 24 hours against roughly 140 normally. Iran’s posture around routing, permissions, and possible tolls made clear that access has become conditional. 

Once trade access becomes conditional in the physical corridor, the other lever to pull is the monetary one. Here’s some important context. 

OFAC prohibits U.S. banks from operating correspondent accounts for Iranian banks. In August 2025, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned the developer of Iran’s Cross-Border Interbank Messaging System, saying it had been built to let Iran and its partners route around controls on more widely used payment systems and to facilitate ties with foreign banks, including links involving Bank of Kunlun. 

With the Iran war disrupting a major segment of global trade, it is practically inevitable that U.S. dollar rails will be used to try and force a resolution. If Iran wants money in exchange for Strait access, then it will need something else for monetary settlements. 

Bitcoin really shines here 

Bitcoin is an open settlement network. It does not require a correspondent bank, a reserve-currency issuer, or a central payments operator to authorize transfers. Although this does not remove friction from sanctions law, price volatility, or custody, Bitcoin nevertheless has a very different institutional dependency profile—one that could become extremely meaningful and useful in this context.

Consider that: 

• A kinetic conflict can freeze cargo and supply lines. 
• A banking crisis can freeze the payment for those items. 
• A sanctions regime can force transactions into narrower channels with more intermediaries and more approval points. 

Yet Bitcoin remains an open monetary rail. 

On March 3, researchers tracked millions of dollars worth of crypto leaving Iranian crypto exchanges after the strikes. Iran’s 2025 crypto transaction volume was roughly $8 billion to $11 billion. Clearly we see open digital rails attracting more use when domestic and cross-border financial channels are under pressure.

This is where Bitcoin shines. Gold is a neutral asset, but it is slow to move and impossible to trustlessly transmit in digital form (tokenizing the gold requires trust). Bank money is efficient inside the existing system, but fully dependent on that system. Stablecoins are useful, but they usually still depend on issuers, banks, and redemption channels. Stablecoin issuers will, if compelled, freeze addresses. Therefore, stablecoins are really just a fancy addendum to the existing financial system. 

Bitcoin is the largest liquid non-sovereign bearer asset that can be transferred natively over its own network. This utility seems to be getting more valuable, as we’ll see below. 

Why this creates an opportunity for BTC

Please consider the cumulative returns of assets since the Iran War started. I use the commodity spot ETFs to ensure an apples-to-apples comparison on elapsed time (so that everything is trading during U.S. market hours): 

This was an environment where long-duration bonds fell, gold fell, silver fell, international equities lagged, and Bitcoin exposure outperformed all of them. 

This simply does not fit a “risk-off” narrative for Bitcoin. It does not fit a clean “inflation-hedge” narrative either. 

The market appears to have priced several channels at once: 

• higher energy costs
• inflation expectations (also exacerbated by recent PPI and CPI numbers) 
• weaker conviction around rate cuts
• slower global activity
• greater value assigned to neutral monetary mobility

Gold had fallen 10% since the war began, arguably because higher energy prices fed inflation fears and pushed out expectations for rate cuts. That same mechanism helps explain weakness in TLT (increasing inflation expectations would push long term rates higher). If the dominant transmission channel is an oil shock with inflation consequences, longer duration and metals do not behave like safe havens. 

Bitcoin was and is different. BTC-linked exposure outperformed while investors were confronting supply disruption, payment fragmentation, and more visible political control over access. That makes Bitcoin easier to price as strategic monetary optionality. The asset is scarce, portable, liquid, and non-sovereign. These features appear to have mattered more than the traditional safe-haven attributes associated with gold or long duration bonds.

Now, I want to be clear. This does NOT mean BTC is about to become a dominant trade currency (though this isn’t impossible either). The market might assign more value to an asset that remains transferable when institutional access becomes less predictable. This is all I am saying and, given the evidence, we can argue that this is happening right now. 

Conclusion

The Iran war may have thrust a core feature of Bitcoin into the spotlight. It is a scarce asset and an open monetary rail. That combination matters more when trade routes, banks, sanctions, and state power start constraining one another.

If this really happens, Bitcoin stops looking like a speculative allocation to macro portfolios and starts looking more like resilient monetary infrastructure with valuable optionality. Every geopolitical fracture makes this easier to see.

This post How the Iran War is Repricing Bitcoin first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Allard Peng.

Hyperbridge, a decentralized bridge connecting the Polkadot ecosystem to the Ethereum network, suffered a major security breach that allowed an attacker to mint 1 billion unauthorized DOT tokens.

However, the hacker’s potential multimillion-dollar payday was drastically cut short to around $240,000 as there simply was not enough liquidity to cash out the fabricated assets.

While the direct financial losses from the exploit were relatively contained, the incident has sent shockwaves through the Polkadot ecosystem, driving the network's DOT native token toward its all-time low amid broader market anxieties regarding cross-chain security.

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Dec 31, 2024 · Oluwapelumi Adejumo

Anatomy of the Hyperbridge exploit

Security experts explained that the vulnerability resided in how Hyperbridge’s contracts validated incoming cross-chain messages before passing them along to the token gateway.

Blockchain security firm BlockSec Phalcon identified the root cause as a “Merkle Mountain Range (MMR) proof replay vulnerability.” This is essentially a cryptographic blind spot that allowed the attacker to recycle old, valid security proofs and attach them to malicious, newly crafted requests.

At the core of the breach was a missing input validation within the system's `VerifyProof()` function. In standard cross-chain operations, a bridge must verify that a request originating on one blockchain is authentic before executing a corresponding action, such as minting tokens, on another.

In this instance, the Hyperbridge contract failed to properly bind the submitted request payload to the validated proof. The system merely checked that a request hash had not been used before, without verifying if the proof actually matched the message it was supposed to authenticate.

By manipulating the index parameters, the attacker bypassed the system's root computation entirely. This disconnect enabled the hacker to forge a valid cross-chain message, elevate their privileges to administrator status, and command the contract to mint 1 billion DOT tokens on Ethereum.

Meanwhile, the primary token minting was preceded by an initial, quieter attack. On-chain analyst Specter noted that roughly an hour before the massive DOT fabrication, an attacker exploited a related TokenGateway contract to siphon 245 ETH, worth approximately $537,000.

These funds were rapidly fragmented, distributed across 15 separate wallet addresses in increments of roughly 16.4 ETH, and laundered through the privacy protocol Tornado Cash.

How shallow market depth mitigated the damage

While the minting of 1 billion tokens usually signals a catastrophic, protocol-killing event, the attacker was thwarted by the very mechanics of decentralized finance: market depth.

When a hacker steals assets, they typically swap them into an automated market maker (AMM) liquidity pool for a more liquid, stable asset, such as Ethereum or a stablecoin. A liquidity pool prices assets based on the ratio of tokens held within it.

In this scenario, the bridged DOT pool on Ethereum was relatively shallow. When the attacker attempted to dump 1 billion forged tokens into the pool to extract ETH, the sheer volume of the sell order immediately overwhelmed the available liquidity.

As a result, the algorithm, rebalancing the ratio, drastically reduced the price of bridged DOT from $1.22 to tiny fractions of a cent within milliseconds.

Because the market could not absorb the massive order at stable prices, the attacker's profit was severely capped.

Blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence reported that the hacker was only able to extract roughly $240,000 worth of ETH from the DOT liquidity pool.

Meanwhile, had the vulnerability been exploited in a deeper pool or with a higher-value bridged asset, the financial devastation would have been exponentially greater.

From April Fools’ prank to reality

Meanwhile, this recent breach carries a heavy dose of irony for the Hyperbridge development team, arriving less than two weeks after the project published an April Fools’ Day joke about suffering a catastrophic exploit.

On April 1, Hyperbridge’s official channels posted a fake incident report claiming a $37 million breach across its Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Base deployments.

The mock post blamed fictional North Korean Lazarus Group hackers, rogue artificial intelligence agents, and even quantum computing. The post went so far as to joke that external auditors had attempted to warn the team, but developers were offline, eating KitKat bars to celebrate an engineer becoming a father.

At the time, the project brushed off community criticism of the joke, publicly boasting that their core community knew the protocol was “un-hackable.”

That hubris has evaporated as of press time, as the protocol developers were forced to halt the platform in real time.

Parity Technologies, the primary development firm behind the Polkadot ecosystem, quickly stepped in to manage the fallout. The firm clarified that the exploit was strictly isolated to Hyperbridge's Ethereum gateway contract.

It added that Polkadot’s core network, its connected parachains, and native DOT tokens remained fully secure and untouched by the breach.

Contagion fears push Polkadot toward all-time lows

Even though the underlying Polkadot blockchain was never compromised, the psychological impact of its most dominant bridge being exploited has taken a heavy toll on its native currency.

Following the news of the breach, Data from CryptoSlate showed that Polkadot’s native DOT token fell 5% during early Asian trading hours on Monday, dropping to $1.14.

The decline pushes the asset perilously close to its all-time low of $1.13. The token has been locked in a brutal downward spiral, shedding roughly 70% of its value over the past year amid a broader crypto market downturn and waning retail interest in legacy alternative layer-one networks.

For the Polkadot ecosystem, the Hyperbridge exploit is a worst-case scenario regarding market optics.

Even as developers emphasize the technical distinction between a vulnerable third-party Ethereum contract and the secure core Polkadot network, retail investors often view the brand as a monolith.

Until cross-chain infrastructure can achieve the same level of security as the underlying blockchains it connects to, these liquidity events will continue to drag down the broader market’s confidence.

Bridges remain Web3’s weakest link

Meanwhile, the Hyperbridge incident underlines a persistent and systemic vulnerability in decentralized finance: cross-chain bridges are inherently fragile.

In the Web3 ecosystem, bridges are essential infrastructure. They allow disparate, siloed blockchains to communicate, offering users greater flexibility, lower fees, and access to a wider array of decentralized applications.

However, to function, these bridges must hold massive reserves of locked assets on one side to issue corresponding “wrapped” assets on the other.

Because these protocols essentially act as massive honeypots governed by complex smart contracts, they represent the single most lucrative target for cybercriminals.

If a hacker can compromise the private keys of the bridge's validators or, as in the Hyperbridge case, exploit a vulnerability in the smart contract's code, they can seize administrative control and drain the underlying assets or print infinite supply.

Notably, the history of crypto is littered with devastating bridge exploits. In March 2022, the Ronin Network bridge, built for the Axie Infinity gaming ecosystem, was drained of over $600 million in one of the largest heists in crypto history.

Later that year, the BNB Chain’s cross-chain bridge suffered a code exploit, resulting in the unauthorized creation of 2 million BNB tokens worth roughly $566 million. Other catastrophic breaches include the $321 million Wormhole hack and the $190 million Nomad bridge exploit.

The post Polkadot Hyperbridge April Fools’ joke comes true as over 1 Billion fake DOT tokens were minted on Ethereum appeared first on CryptoSlate.

World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the decentralized finance platform backed by President Donald Trump, is navigating a deepening crisis as a precipitous drop in its token price collides with a bitter public dispute involving Tron founder Justin Sun.

The turbulence centers on two distinct but compounding controversies: accusations from Sun that the protocol's team used centralized “backdoor” mechanisms to freeze his eight-figure investment.

Additionally, the project is facing mounting market anxiety over a highly concentrated, nine-figure borrowing loop executed by the protocol’s team on a decentralized lending platform.

The confluence of these events has wiped out hundreds of millions in market value, dropping the WLFI token to an all-time low of $0.07714 and raising alarms about structural vulnerabilities within the project’s tokenomics.

The architecture of WLFI's freeze of Sun's wallet

The public feud reignited over the weekend, when Sun launched a blistering critique on the social media platform X.

In an April 12 post on X, Sun accused World Liberty Financial of embedding hidden smart contract functions to arbitrarily seize investor assets.

He further stated that the WLFI team was treating “the crypto community as a personal ATM” and was engaging in illegitimate actions that “were never authorized by any fair, transparent, or good-faith community governance process.”

Notably, Sun is not a fringe participant in the WLFI ecosystem. He was the project’s largest early external backer, pouring roughly $75 million into WLFI to support what was pitched as a democratized vision for decentralized finance.

However, his wallet was blacklisted by the protocol in September 2025, effectively freezing his assets. Due to the token's price fluctuations, Sun's unrealized losses tied to the frozen wallet now exceed $80 million.

Related Reading

World Liberty Financial blocklists Justin Sun's address holding 595 million WLFI

Sun's blocked holdings represent not only a substantial portion of circulating tokens, but also a 2.4 billion WLFI stash waiting to be unlocked.

Sep 4, 2025 · Gino Matos

In recent statements, the Tron founder characterized the protocol’s governance as “theater,” alleging that the network's technical structure fundamentally contradicts its decentralized branding.

On April 12, Sun cited on-chain records demonstrating that a single Externally Owned Account (EOA, which also sits on the protocol’s 3-of-5 multisignature wallet) executed the blacklist.

On-chain analysts have largely corroborated Sun's structural claims.

Pseudonymous Yearn Finance developer Banteg noted that the original WLFI token deployed in September 2024 contained no blacklist functions. The restriction capabilities were introduced via a series of smart contract upgrades in late 2025, nearly a year after Sun’s initial investment.

That timeline is central to Sun’s case because it suggests the most controversial controls were added after early investors had already committed funds.

Banteg also said Sun was placed in a separate vesting category that did not apply to the rest of the investor base.

According to that analysis, WLFI’s multisig configured a 20% initial release for Sun’s allocation, after which he transferred a portion of those tokens out. A guardian then blacklisted his wallet.

In that structure, the power to freeze a holder rested with one address, while broader seizure actions required multiple signers.

WLFI makes legal threats

World Liberty Financial has forcefully pushed back against Sun’s narrative, characterizing his latest public campaign as a diversion to mask his contractual breaches.

On X, the project stated:

“Justin’s favorite move is playing the victim while making baseless allegations to cover up his own misconduct. We have the contracts. We have the evidence. We have the truth. See you in court pal.”

While the protocol has not publicly detailed the exact nature of the alleged misconduct, independent crypto analysts have pieced together the likely catalyst for the September 2025 freeze.

Crypto analyst Quinten François alleged that Sun had transferred a substantial tranche of WLFI to his proprietary crypto exchange, HTX, after receiving his initial 20% token unlock.

The analyst further noted that Sun offered retail investors on HTX high-yield incentives to lock in their newly vested WLFI tokens. Simultaneously, he allegedly liquidated tokens on the exchange's backend, effectively cashing out his position while using retail deposits as a buffer.

The strategy would, in theory, allow Sun to front-run the market and backfill the exchange's reserves using his future token unlocks.

In response, World Liberty Financial flagged this activity as a severe breach of the early investor agreement and used the recently upgraded smart contract controls to halt the flow of funds.

A $150 million looping strategy

While legal threats fly between Sun and World Liberty's executives, everyday retail investors are wrestling with an entirely different existential threat: a massive, highly centralized borrowing scheme that has paralyzed protocol liquidity.

On-chain analytics firm Chaos Labs highlighted the massive concentration of WLFI collateral on Dolomite, an EVM-compatible decentralized lending protocol.

The integration has drawn intense scrutiny, in large part because Dolomite’s co-founder, Corey Caplan, concurrently serves as an advisor and Chief Technology Officer for World Liberty Financial.

According to blockchain data, the World Liberty team has deployed approximately 5 billion WLFI tokens, valued at roughly $400 million and representing nearly 98% of the asset's supply on Dolomite, across two multisignature wallets.

Against this illiquid collateral, the team has borrowed approximately $150 million in stablecoins, according to Arkham Intelligence data.

Chaos Labs explained that the borrowing utilizes a complex “looping” structure. One wallet borrowed over $40 million in USD1 against 3 billion WLFI. A second wallet borrowed $111 million in USD1 against a mix of WLFI and USDC, then used that USD1 as collateral to borrow an additional $89 million in USDC, cycling the assets to maximize leverage.

Notably, Banteg claimed that one of those wallets is “the same multisig is using 5 billion WLFI as collateral on dolomite to borrow $250 million in stablecoins.”

Meanwhile, the sheer size of the position has functionally monopolized Dolomite's liquidity pools. Utilization rates for USD1 and USDC skyrocketed to 83.4% and 90.19%, respectively, locking up the platform's capital and pushing borrowing rates into the 5% range.

Furthermore, the 5 billion WLFI posted as collateral is four times the token's entire tradable supply on major centralized exchanges, including Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume.

WLFI is still seeing strong speculative interest despite the market fallout

The revelation of the Dolomite loans, coupled with the renewed spectacle of the Justin Sun dispute, has triggered a wave of risk-off behavior.

Data from CryptoSlate showed that the market panic has erased more than $700 million from World Liberty Financial’s market capitalization, dragging the valuation from $3.2 billion down to $2.5 billion in the last seven days.

During this period, the token's price plunged to an all-time low of $$0.07714 before stabilizing slightly at $0.07965 as of press time.

At the same time, the price action has been brutal for leveraged traders. CoinGlass data shows that the volatility has wiped out more than $4 million in derivative positions since April 10, with the vast majority of liquidations hitting bullish traders attempting to catch the falling knife.

Moreover, industry experts have expressed mounting concern that Dolomite could be saddled with massive bad debt if WLFI's price continues to slide. If the token drops another 75%, it would hit the liquidation threshold for the team's massive loans.

Given the token's thin secondary market liquidity, liquidating $400 million worth of WLFI to recoup $150 million in stablecoins would be mathematically impossible without driving the token price to zero.

Despite the headwinds, derivative metrics suggest speculative interest remains high.

Coinalyze data shows the token’s long-short ratio rising to 1.341, indicating that traders are actively betting on a rebound. Futures volume surged past $540 million over the weekend, marking the highest level of derivative activity since February.

At the same time, World Liberty Financial has also made efforts to quell the FUD by repaying $25 million of the stablecoin debt, thereby lowering utilization rates.

The firm also announced plans to introduce a governance proposal for a phased token unlock for early retail buyers.

Whether those assurances will be enough to calm a market spooked by opaque smart contracts and incestuous DeFi leverage remains to be seen, especially as the specter of a high-profile legal battle looms.

The post World Liberty Financial threatens top token holder with legal action as WLFI loses $700M amid token scandal appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Crypto backed Donald Trump for a reason. He gave the industry a simple political promise: less enforcement, friendlier rules, and a White House that would treat Bitcoin and digital assets as part of the American growth story instead of a threat to be contained.

That bargain helped Trump build real support inside crypto during the 2024 election cycle. It also helped bring a new type of voter into the coalition, people who saw crypto policy as part of a wider fight over innovation, markets, and state power.

The problem now is that the same community that once treated Trump as an asset is increasingly treating the Trump-branded crypto complex as a liability.

The great crypto divorce: Extraction, betrayal, and Trump’s token crisis

The shift has been building for months, then accelerated as WLFI slid toward its lows, as the economics of the Trump family’s token ecosystem came under sharper scrutiny, and as crypto-native reaction across X moved from rationalization to disgust.

The temperature change is hard to miss. After the 2024 election, pro-Trump sentiment on crypto timelines carried a triumphal tone.

Over the past several days, the language has turned prosecutorial. Traders, founders, and long-time market voices are now describing the Trump family’s crypto ventures as extraction, grift, and a stain on the industry’s legitimacy.

That shift has a market side and a political side. On the market side, Bitcoin has held up far better than the family’s branded ecosystem. Bitcoin remains the asset that institutions, public companies, and macro traders can still frame as scarce collateral, a sovereign hedge, or a reserve candidate.

WLFI sits in a very different bucket, a governance token wrapped in celebrity politics, concentrated economics, supply overhang, and widening distrust.

On the political side, the danger for Trump is broader. He used the crypto vote in 2024. If the industry starts to view Trump-linked tokens as a case study in how political power can be converted into private crypto wealth, the same constituency that helped him may become a source of blowback heading into the midterms.

The language inside crypto has changed from coalition politics to retail betrayal

The strongest evidence for a real break comes from the shift in language inside crypto itself. Participants tend to defend their own until losses can no longer be rationalized. Sharp practice, misaligned incentives, and personality-driven ecosystems persist longer than outsiders expect.

When that tolerance gives way, the tone flips quickly. The Trump conversation has reached that point.

“The president of the united states is the biggest crypto grifter in history. and he's done it in broad daylight.”

Chill Pill

“Trump never cared about Crypto. It’s time to admit that all of us were duped.”

Rodney

These reactions carry weight because they are not coming from Elizabeth Warren’s office or from anti-crypto academics. They are coming from market participants, founders, and long-time industry voices who, in another context, might have been expected to defend a pro-crypto president or at least keep the focus on policy gains.

The emotional center of this moment is retail betrayal. The charge running through community reaction is simple. Trump sold the cultural authority of his name and the political authority of his office into crypto products that looked open, populist, and aligned with decentralization, while the underlying economics favored insiders, controlled access, and family-linked revenue extraction.

CryptoSlate previously reported that Trump’s crypto empire had become the center of a new influence economy, and separately that WLFI was selling $5 million “Super Node” access while pitching finance for everyone. Those two threads now converge into a public perception problem that is larger than one token.

Price action sharpened that perception. The family’s branding machine once seemed capable of lifting anything it touched. That aura has faded. WLFI is far below its September peak and trading close to its April low.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin has remained comparatively resilient. That divergence gives the backlash a clearer shape. The community has separated Bitcoin from Trump. It now also has to decide whether to separate pro-crypto policy from Trump-branded crypto products.

Those two separations are politically dangerous because they break the old package deal. Support for Bitcoin can survive while support for Trump’s crypto ventures collapses.

Several posts captured that rupture with unusual force. One widely shared line from TXMC said, “You know it’s bad when one of the biggest scammers of all time [in reference to Justin Sun] denounces the president’s business for being even bigger scammers.”

A post from Drew Austin called WLFI “quite possibly the worst and most blatant fraud” he had seen in 13 years in crypto. Hyperbole is common on X, though the direction of travel here is the point. These are not isolated sneers from outside the room. This is the room turning on the host.

Concentrated economics and control became harder to ignore as WLFI lost altitude

The market can reprice trust without a smoking gun. A structure that feels stacked, a chart that confirms it, and a series of disclosures or allegations can be enough to make participants ask whether they ever understood the deal in the first place. WLFI now checks several of those boxes at once.

The token launched into public trading with a multibillion-dollar headline valuation, with CryptoSlate reporting a $7.4 billion valuation on day one. Public excitement looked strong. The structural questions never went away.

CryptoSlate also noted that holders voted overwhelmingly to back public trading, and tracked rising anticipation even before transfer restrictions were lifted. That helped produce the launch frenzy. It also created the conditions for a harsher reset once public price discovery met concentrated ownership, thin effective liquidity, and mounting distrust over how the system actually works.

The Trump family's economics are a major part of that reset. WLFI closed a raise above its target and has become a serious capital machine, with a much larger influence on the economy around the project.

Outside crypto media, Forbes estimated Trump’s net worth at $6.5 billion in March 2026, up $1.4 billion from the prior year, while Reuters, reporting widely across secondary coverage, put the Trump family's crypto income above $800 million in the first half of 2025 alone.

Those figures establish scale. Once the scale becomes visible, the community starts asking how the value moved, who captured it, and whether the public side of the trade ever had a fair shot.

That is where the retail anger deepens. A post from Wealthy Anon framed WLFI as “a one-way door with a MAGA flag on it.” The complaint is that Trump-linked branding created social trust while token structure, liquidity conditions, governance control, and insider economics concentrated the payoff elsewhere.

Another post from gum claimed that among 4,898 verified WLFI-holding wallets on Solana with identifiable PnL data, 4,719 were at a loss and 74 were in profit.

The market is primed to believe a retail pain narrative because the broader structure already feels predatory to many participants.

Recent scrutiny of collateral use and leverage pushed that perception further. A breakdown from Chaos Labs described a looped-borrowing structure tied to WLFI exposure on Dolomite, with two primary addresses accounting for most of the activity, and WLFI collateral utilization pushed close to its cap.

Thus, a token associated with the president’s family has become intertwined with concentrated borrowing behavior, synthetic support mechanics, and an evolving debate about how much of the visible market reflects organic demand versus internal recycling. That has consequences for sentiment even before a regulator, court, or auditor reaches a conclusion.

A clash with Justin Sun has now fed the fire. Sun’s public allegation that WLFI embedded a blacklist function and froze his wallet gave the controversy a high-drama focal point, while WLFI replied that it had the contracts, the evidence, and the truth, and would see him in court.

Sun then fired back, asking, as the largest WLFI investor, for the person behind the WLFI social media account to reveal themselves.

The deeper issue is that the community’s trust is breaking because the Trump family’s crypto products are increasingly viewed as an extraction system wrapped in populist branding. Sun became a catalyst. He did not create the sentiment.

The midterm risk is becoming easier to see as the crypto vote turns from asset to vulnerability

Trump gained a real advantage from being the candidate who spoke crypto’s language in 2024. He understood that Bitcoin voters, builders, and donors wanted a president who would stop treating the industry as a permanent suspect class.

That support was instrumental, especially among people who viewed crypto as part of a wider argument about economic freedom, digital property rights, and America’s willingness to compete in frontier technology. The danger now is that Trump’s personal monetization of crypto may damage the same political channel that helped him.

That risk already showed up in policy coverage. CryptoSlate reported in 2025 that concerns about Trump’s conflict of interest were slowing broader progress on crypto policy.

Cardano's Charles Hoskinson has also argued that the TRUMP token cost crypto a much stronger Senate outcome and triggered a broader credibility crisis around the industry’s political agenda.

Whether one accepts Hoskinson’s framing in full, the direction of pressure is clear. Every Trump-linked token controversy gives opponents a simpler attack line; crypto policy became a channel for presidential self-enrichment.

The potential midterm impact follows directly from that pressure. On Polymarket, Democrats are priced at 56% to take the Senate and 86% to take the House. Prediction markets are not destiny, and they can move quickly, though those odds capture the market's live political instinct.

If Democrats gain one chamber, Trump faces heavier investigative pressure. If they gain both, the pressure escalates into a full-spectrum oversight environment, with subpoenas, hearings, document fights, and a much more aggressive public inquiry into the financial intersection of presidential power and family crypto ventures.

The constitutional mechanics still matter. House control could bring impeachment risk. Senate removal would still require a two-thirds vote, a much higher bar. Even without removal, a hostile Congress could turn the Trump crypto complex into a permanent scandal machine during the run-up to 2028.

The backlash now reaches beyond a reputational problem inside crypto. It is becoming a live electoral vulnerability. The same people who once saw Trump as crypto’s defender may now see him as the figure who turned their industry into a public punchline. Retail holders nursing losses are not a huge voting bloc on their own.

Cultural betrayal extends beyond wallet-level pain, especially when it ties into a broader accusation that power was used to privatize upside while distributing downside to loyalists and latecomers.

The market side remains fluid. CryptoSlate wrote in February that the post-election crypto rally had already completed an 18-month round trip, adding roughly $2 trillion in value and then erasing a similar amount.

From market snapshots, that separation is showing up across the broader “Made in USA” basket as well. Trump spent the past year promoting American-made crypto as a strategic category, though the current leaderboard shows that most of the biggest U.S.-linked names are trailing Bitcoin on every meaningful medium-term window.

Top Made in USA Crypto Assets by Market Cap

#	Coin	Price	24h %	MCap	24h Vol
1	XRP XRP	$1.33	+0.65%	$81.87B	$1.89B
2	USDC USDC	$1.00	-0.02%	$78.68B	$9.65B
3	Solana SOL	$82.51	+1.07%	$47.44B	$3.77B
4	Dogecoin DOGE	$0.09	+1.08%	$15.54B	$1.02B
5	Bitcoin Cash BCH	$426.76	+0.65%	$8.54B	$187.61M
6	Chainlink LINK	$8.81	+0.98%	$6.4B	$482.03M
7	Zcash ZEC	$346.00	-4.22%	$5.75B	$622.65M
8	Stellar XLM	$0.15	+1.61%	$5.06B	$76.89M
9	World Liberty Financial USD USD1	$1.00	-0.02%	$4.11B	$1.27B
10	Litecoin LTC	$53.00	-1.11%	$4.08B	$226.8M

Bitcoin is down 23.18% over 90 days in the ranking view, while XRP is down 35.67%, Solana is down 42.06%, Dogecoin is down 34.71%, Chainlink is down 33.96%, and Avalanche is down 34.17%. Even on the 30-day view, Bitcoin is slightly positive while most of the flagship U.S.-associated cohort remains negative.

That weakens one of the political selling points Trump leaned on most heavily, that backing American crypto projects would translate into stronger market leadership. Right now, the market is saying the opposite.

Bitcoin has held up better, and much of the “Made in USA” complex has looked more like a lagging trade than a national-champion theme.

That created the first crack in the idea that Trump automatically equals bullish crypto. WLFI and the wider Trump token complex widened the crack into something more serious. Bitcoin can still retain support as a macro asset, reserve candidate, and institutional collateral.

Trump-linked tokens can continue to erode trust at the same time. That split is the next test. If it deepens, Trump will discover that the crypto vote he used in 2024 now carries a reverse charge. Support built on policy can disappear when the community decides the family business got there first.

The post Made in USA cryptocurrencies fall as the crypto love affair with Trump family moves close to divorce appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Bitcoin price fell during Asian trading hours after a weekend diplomatic push between Washington and Tehran broke down and a new US maritime order raised fresh concern over energy flows from the Middle East.

This pulled the top crypto lower alongside equities, reinforcing the market’s sensitivity to oil, inflation, and broader risk sentiment.

According to CryptoSlate's data, the largest digital asset dropped from a weekend high above $74,000 to a low of $70,540 after Vice President JD Vance said the negotiations in Islamabad had ended without an agreement.

As of press time, Bitcoin has slightly recovered to $70,877, leaving it sharply below levels reached after last week’s ceasefire announcement briefly lifted risk assets.

Meanwhile, this slide extended across other major digital assets, with Ethereum, XRP, and Solana all declining by more than 3% during the reporting period.

The move echoed a broader retreat in traditional markets as investors reassessed the odds of a near-term de-escalation in a conflict that has already shaken shipping routes, crude markets, and global expectations for growth and inflation.

As a result, the US stock market, including the S&P 500 and Dow Jones, declined by about 1%. Additionally, the Nasdaq 100 market fell 1.3%. Notably, this is consistent with the asset's struggles during a period of macroeconomic stress.

At the same time, oil prices surged as traders responded to the renewed prospect of prolonged disruption around one of the world’s most critical energy corridors.

Notably, this reversal followed a week in which risk assets had rallied on hopes that President Donald Trump’s two-week ceasefire plan could create room for a broader settlement.

That optimism began to unwind over the weekend as negotiators failed to bridge differences after nearly a full day of talks. Vance said Iranian officials were unwilling to accept U.S. terms, while Iran’s state media blamed what it described as unreasonable American demands.

The ceasefire remains in place until April 22, but the collapse of the talks left markets confronting the possibility that the pause could expire without a path to a more durable agreement.

A narrower US blockade still rattles markets

U.S. Central Command said it would begin enforcing, under a presidential proclamation, new restrictions on maritime traffic moving into and out of Iranian ports at 10 a.m. Eastern on April 13.

The order covers ships operating in Iranian coastal waters, including port areas along the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, regardless of nationality or ownership.

At the same time, CENTCOM said the action would still allow vessels bound for non-Iranian destinations to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, preserving navigation through the corridor for broader regional trade.

Commercial crews were instructed to monitor maritime advisories, remain in contact with U.S. naval forces, and watch for further guidance through official mariner notices.

Even with those limits, traders viewed the move as a fresh escalation in Washington’s effort to tighten pressure on Tehran.

Data from oilprices.com showed that Brent crude rose more than 8% to top $103 a barrel, crossing back above the $100 level after dipping below $92 last week when ceasefire hopes returned. US oil prices officially jumped 10% at the open, rising above $105 a barrel.

The speed of that move reflected how fragile energy markets had become after weeks of war and disruption.

The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world’s most important oil and gas chokepoints, carrying about one-fifth of global supplies. Since the US-Iran war began, traffic through the waterway has been reduced sharply.

That backdrop left Bitcoin exposed to a familiar macro chain reaction. Higher oil prices increase concern that inflation could remain sticky, which in turn threatens a longer period of tight financial conditions.

For a market that had just rallied on hopes of de-escalation, the failure of diplomacy and the return of crude above $100 forced a rapid repricing.

Bitcoin trades like a macro asset as liquidity thins

The magnitude of Monday’s drop also reflected a market structure that had become fragile well before the weekend talks collapsed.

Glassnode data showed that with Bitcoin near $70,800, the number of addresses in loss stood at about 13.5 million, indicating that a meaningful share of holders acquired coins above current levels.

That leaves a large cohort in drawdown and raises the odds that any rebound toward prior entry points will run into selling pressure.

The firm also said the $70,000 to $80,000 range has been marked by thin liquidity and repeated profit-taking, conditions that have capped recent bounces. One move back above $70,000 was exhausted by more than $20 million in profit realization per hour, underscoring how quickly supply has emerged as a strength.

Meanwhile, Joao Wedson, chief executive of Alphractal, pointed out that bearish traders had turned aggressive in the short term and built high leverage after a liquidity sweep above $73,000.

He said liquidity remains above $75,000, though the broader market structure has not shifted decisively. According to him, long traders remain the dominant side exposed to future liquidations, and the current phase still resembles an extended consolidation within a broader downtrend.

This is corroborated by CryptoQuant data, which noted that nearly $1 billion in sell volume hit Binance derivatives within an hour after the failed talks reinforced the market downside momentum.

According to the blockchain firm, BTC funding rates remained negative at around-0.0065%, a sign that short positions had come to dominate very short-term positioning. Historically, crowded short positioning can create the conditions for a squeeze, though those reversals tend to be smaller and shorter in bear markets.

That helps explain why Monday’s move did not look like a simple flight from crypto alone. Bitcoin increasingly trades as a liquidity-sensitive macro asset, responding to shifts in oil prices, interest rates, geopolitics, and broad investor appetite for risk.

As hopes of a ceasefire were building, crypto bounced quickly. However, when those hopes faded, the market gave back ground just as quickly.

Institutional demand through Bitcoin ETFs offers support beneath the sell-off

Even as headline risk weighed on prices, one part of the market continued to show signs of resilience.

Rachael Lucas, a crypto analyst at BTC Markets, pointed out that the institutional backdrop remained constructive after US-listed Bitcoin exchange-traded funds posted their strongest weekly inflows since February.

According to her, those products took in $786 million in the week ended April 10, with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust accounting for $612 million of that total. Morgan Stanley’s newly launched MSBT fund added $46 million in its first three trading days, a notable start for a product carrying a 0.14% fee and backed by the distribution network of 16,000 financial advisers.

That demand matters because it offers a source of absorption when older holders use rallies to cut exposure. In recent weeks, the market has struggled to sustain upside through the $70,000 to $80,000 band, where thin liquidity has combined with profit-taking and uncertainty over macro conditions. Continued ETF inflows could help offset some of that pressure if geopolitical tensions stop worsening.

Analysts at BIT Official, the crypto financial services firm formerly known as Matrixport, noted that:

“What makes this particularly notable is the parallel to 2025, when year-to-date ETF flows were similarly flat at this stage, only to be followed by a surge of nearly $30 billion in inflows. That wave of capital ultimately fueled the powerful post-April tariff policy rally, which extended through October. Viewed through this lens, the recent stabilization suggests that Bitcoin may have already absorbed the bulk of the selling pressure from January and February, with March marking the first return to positive inflows since the October correction.”

Additionally, CryptoQuant data indicate that Bitcoin is currently undervalued, noting that the top crypto has fallen below the 20th quantile of its power-law model.

The firm put the reading at 18.5%, indicating Bitcoin has spent only 18.5% of its history at similar valuation levels relative to that framework.

That signal is longer term and offers little protection against sudden macro shocks, but it does suggest that a deep downside is unfolding in a market already trading well below previous extremes.

Oil, inflation, and flows now shape the next move

Timothy Misir, head of research at BRN, told CryptoSlate that the market is entering the new week facing two competing forces: improving capital flows into Bitcoin investment products and rising macro risk linked to the Middle East.

He pointed to three drivers likely to set the tone over the coming sessions. The first is the conflict's trajectory itself. Any further disruption in or around the Strait of Hormuz would raise energy prices again and amplify volatility across asset classes.

The second is inflation data and Federal Reserve communication, both of which will shape whether traders begin to price a longer period of restrictive policy. The third is whether ETF inflows can continue strongly enough to absorb selling pressure within a range where holders have repeatedly taken profits.

Bitcoin, he said, is approaching an important test inside the $70,000 to $80,000 zone. Stability above $70,000 leaves room for faster upside movement, while a failure to hold there would reinforce the current range and extend the consolidation phase. Any durable move higher would likely require both sustained ETF buying and reduced profit-taking from holders looking to exit on strength.

On the other hand, Lucas said Bitcoin was testing support in the $70,500 to $71,000 range. She stated that holding that zone would leave room for a move back toward $72,000 to $73,000, while a stronger reclaim supported by sustained ETF demand would improve the near-term picture.

For now, the Bitcoin price is being driven by a geopolitical shift that quickly spilled into oil and then into every major risk asset.

The post Bitcoin price clings to $70,500 support after US-Iran talks collapse and oil spikes past $103 appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Wall Street remains deeply bullish on Strategy, even as many of the same banks benefit from the stock sales, helping fund its Bitcoin buying spree. That overlap does not prove misconduct, but it does raise a harder question about whether the market’s loudest optimism is being reinforced by the fees attached to it.

Strategy is one of the most aggressively promoted stocks on Wall Street, with a consensus “Strong Buy” rating and an average analyst price target that implies a 155% upside from recent prices.

That's nearly double the implied upside for any other large-cap name in America. It's also, by a wide margin, the single largest issuer of new stock on any US exchange, having raised an estimated $50 billion in roughly 18 months and paid around $274 million in fees along the way.

But the companies setting and publishing those bullish targets, and the companies profiting from that issuance pipeline overlap so much that it threatens to turn into a very serious conflict of interest.

The question we have to ask isn't whether anyone is breaking the law, because nobody is, at least for now. It's whether the incentive structure around Strategy has become so tightly wound that Wall Street's enthusiasm and Wall Street's compensation have merged into a single, very bullish, but unjustified emotion.

Strategy's analyst ecosystem and who populates it

The vast majority of analysts rate Strategy a buy. Bernstein maintains an Outperform with a target that previously sat at $600. TD Cowen carries a Buy at $440. Cantor Fitzgerald rates it Overweight. B. Riley Securities initiated coverage with a Buy in March 2026. The high target on the street, $705, belongs to Benchmark. Only Wells Fargo has issued a conspicuously bearish call, setting a target of just $54.

What makes this coverage unusual is the context behind it.

Strategy doesn't generate meaningful operating earnings from its legacy software business, which pulls in roughly $120 million per quarter. The real driver of the stock, and the real basis for every bullish target, is Bitcoin.

The company held 766,970 BTC as of early April 2026, purchased at a total cost of roughly $54.4 billion. Its market cap recently sat near $44 billion while Bitcoin traded in the low $70,000s, meaning the company's holdings were worth approximately $54 billion at market. At recent share prices around $120, the stock traded at a discount to its Bitcoin, a reversal from the persistent premium it carried through much of 2024 and 2025.

Several of the companies carrying bullish ratings on Strategy also serve as placement agents, underwriters, or sales agents for the company's at-the-market issuance programs.

Cantor Fitzgerald, TD Cowen, and others have appeared in SEC filings related to Strategy's various ATM offerings. That's not uncommon in capital markets, but the scale is what makes this situation different from a typical analyst-underwriter overlap.

Strategy isn't issuing stock occasionally; it's issuing stock constantly and across multiple instruments, to fund what is effectively a single bullish Bitcoin trade.

The fee machine behind the Bitcoin accumulation

Strategy's capital-raising apparatus now spans at least five distinct securities: its Class A common stock (MSTR), plus four series of perpetual preferred stock, each carrying different dividend rates. As of late 2025, the company had authorized $21 billion of common stock issuance under its ATM program and tens of billions more across the preferred instruments. In its December 2025 filing, $13.37 billion in common stock capacity remained available, alongside more than $30 billion of preferred capacity.

Every share sold generates a commission for the placement agents. On $50 billion of total issuance, the $274 million in estimated fees represents a blended rate of roughly 55 basis points, which is consistent with ATM program economics.

That fee stream is recurring, predictable, and directly proportional to the pace of issuance. The more BTC Strategy buys, the more capital it needs to raise. The more capital it raises, the more fees the banks earn. The more bullish the analyst coverage, the more appetite investors have for the next offering.

This creates a feedback loop that isn't inherently corrupt, but it is inherently self-reinforcing. Analyst optimism supports investor appetite, which supports issuance. Issuance then supports fee revenue, and fee revenue creates an institutional incentive to maintain coverage and, most importantly, to maintain optimism.

A Bitcoin proxy wearing a corporate wrapper

Strip away the capital structure, and the analyst thesis on Strategy isn't really about enterprise software or AI-powered analytics: it's all about Bitcoin.

Bernstein's own framework for Strategy comes from its broader call that Bitcoin could reach $150,000 by the end of 2026. Strategy is, in that view, the perfect, if not the only, leveraged institutional vehicle for gaining exposure to Bitcoin through traditional equity markets.

The stock's recent performance pretty much confirmed this. MSTR has fallen roughly 74% from its November 2024 peak and is down about 64% year-to-date, compared with a 19% decline in Bitcoin over the same window.

This discrepancy shows there's little trace of correlation here, and what we see is leveraged movement. The company now controls close to 4% of Bitcoin's total circulating supply, a concentration that magnifies both the upside and the downside in its share price.

In January 2026, Strategy purchased $2.13 billion of Bitcoin in just eight days, funding the buy through at-the-market sales of common and preferred stock.

What breaks the loop

Every reflexive system has a failure point. For Strategy, it sits at the intersection of three variables: Bitcoin's price, investor appetite for new issuance, and the sustainability of the company's growing obligation stack.

On the obligation side, the situation is getting more complex. Strategy established a $1.44 billion cash reserve in late 2025 to fund twelve months of preferred dividends and debt interest, with a stated goal of eventually covering 24 months.

The STRC preferred, its newest instrument, carries an 11.5% yield and a perpetual structure that creates ongoing cash distribution commitments on top of an already layered capital stack. The company reported an unrealized loss of $14.5 billion on digital assets in a recent quarter and posted one of the largest quarterly losses ever recorded by a US public company.

If Bitcoin falls sharply from here, the premium-to-holdings narrative that sustained the stock through 2024 and 2025 will invert, as it already has at recent prices. And if investor appetite for new issuance cools during a Bitcoin drawdown, the entire acquisition engine will stall.

But Strategy's relevance to Bitcoin goes beyond its share price.

The company has become one of the most important demand signals in the market, a recurring institutional buyer whose pace of accumulation shapes sentiment among both retail and institutional participants. The demand for Bitcoin as a corporate treasury asset has almost entirely dried up outside of Strategy. That concentration means the health of Strategy's fundraising loop is now a problem for anyone holding Bitcoin who depends on sustained institutional demand to support the price.

The real tension comes from whether Wall Street believes in Strategy because the Bitcoin thesis is irresistible, because the fee machine is lucrative, or because the two have become impossible to separate.

The next test shifts away from analyst price targets and toward capital access. Strategy must keep raising funds on favorable terms if Bitcoin remains weak, the stock trades at or below its underlying holdings, and investors begin to price it as a leveraged funding vehicle rather than a high-beta growth story. This is the point at which the bullish case moves from theory to a market verdict.

The post Wall Street says buy Strategy while getting paid to fund its Bitcoin binge appeared first on CryptoSlate.

As tensions in the Middle East reached a boiling point, risk assets—including $Bitcoin and major altcoins—faced a sharp "risk-off" liquidation. However, as diplomatic channels begin to signal a potential de-escalation, savvy investors are looking at the "blood in the streets" as a generational entry point.

Historically, markets overreact to geopolitical shocks. If a resolution is reached in early April, the pent-up liquidity currently sitting in stablecoins is expected to flood back into high-conviction projects that were unfairly hammered during the panic.

Is April a Good Time to Buy Crypto?

Potentially, as April 2026 is shaping up to be a prime recovery month. With many tokens trading at 20-30% discounts from their Q1 highs, the current "oversold" conditions on the RSI (Relative Strength Index) suggest a relief rally is imminent.

1. Ethereum (ETH): The Race Back to $3,000

$Ethereum remains the backbone of the decentralized economy. During the recent March turbulence, ETH slipped below its psychological support, but the fundamentals remain unshaken.

• Recovery Catalyst: The successful implementation of the "Prague" upgrade earlier this year has further reduced Layer-2 costs.
• Price Target: Analysts expect a swift recovery to the $3,000 mark as institutional ETH ETFs see renewed inflows once the global macro outlook stabilizes.

Investors should monitor the ETH price closely, as its recovery usually leads the broader altcoin market.

2. PEPE: The Volatility King

For those with a higher risk appetite, $PEPE remains the go-to memecoin for catching rapid bounces. Memecoins often act as high-beta plays on market sentiment; when the market turns green, PEPE tends to move twice as fast as the majors.

• Current State: PEPE lost significant ground in March but has maintained a strong community floor.
• Why Buy: Its extreme volatility makes it an ideal candidate for a "relief rally" play. As retail investors return to the market in April, the low-unit bias of PEPE often attracts massive speculative volume.

3. XRP: Regulatory Clarity Meets Institutional Adoption

$XRP has faced a double-whammy of geopolitical pressure and a temporary "capital flight" toward safer havens. However, its role in cross-border payments, especially in the Middle East, makes it a unique asset to watch as regional stability returns.

• Market Position: Having secured full regulatory clarity in late 2025, XRP is no longer a "gamble" but a utility-driven asset.
• Outlook: It has lost nearly 15% in the last month, making the XRP price highly attractive for those betting on the continued expansion of RippleNet.

4. Cardano (ADA): The "Deep Value" Opportunity

$Cardano is currently one of the most oversold "blue-chip" altcoins. While critics point to its slower price action, the network's resilience and growing DeFi TVL (Total Value Locked) suggest it is undervalued.

• The Dip: ADA has hit multi-month lows, hovering near critical demand zones.
• The Play: Historically, ADA performs well in the second stage of a market recovery.

5. Solana (SOL): The Ecosystem Powerhouse

No "Top 5" list for 2026 is complete without $Solana. Despite the market-wide dip, Solana continues to lead in retail transaction volume and NFT activity.

• Technical Outlook: SOL has shown incredible strength in bouncing off the $80-$100 support range.
• Why April: With the Firedancer upgrade nearing full optimization, Solana's throughput is unmatched. Any return of "risk-on" sentiment will likely see SOL outperform Bitcoin in percentage gains. You can compare Solana's performance against other majors on our exchange comparison page.

Top 5 Cryptos to Buy in April 2026

Polkadot Price Crash: $DOT Faces Sudden 5% Drop

In a high-intensity market event today, Polkadot ($DOT) experienced a sharp 5% price crash within a mere 5-minute window. The volatility resulted in the immediate wiping of $20 million in market capitalization and triggered the liquidation of over $728,000 in DOT long positions.

Early reports circulating on social media suggested a direct exploit of the Polkadot main chain. However, on-chain forensics quickly clarified that the vulnerability lies within Hyperbridge, a third-party interoperability protocol connecting Polkadot to Ethereum. The attacker successfully minted 1 billion "fake" wrapped DOT on Ethereum and dumped them into a Uniswap V4 pool, netting approximately 108.2 ETH ($237,000) in a single atomic transaction.

The Hyperbridge Vulnerability: What Happened to Polkadot?

The exploit was not a breach of Polkadot’s core security but a failure in the Hyperbridge architecture. Hyperbridge utilizes the Interoperable State Machine Protocol (ISMP) to facilitate asset transfers. The attack targeted the EthereumHost and HandlerV1 contracts on the Ethereum side of the bridge.

The Attack Execution

The attacker (address 0xC513...F8E7) executed the following sequence in one transaction:

• Forged Consensus: Exploited a zero-day vulnerability in the unverified consensus client on Ethereum to inject a forged Polkadot consensus proof.
• Zero Challenge Period: Because the bridge configuration had a challengePeriod = 0, the malicious state commitment was accepted and usable immediately, bypassing any "fisherman" or dispute window.
• Admin Hijack: The attacker used a forged ISMP message to trigger a ChangeAssetAdmin action, making their own contract the administrator of the wrapped DOT token.
• The Mint and Dump: Once in control, the attacker minted 1,000,000,000 fake DOT and swapped them for ETH, causing a massive price slippage that spooked the broader market.

The source check in the TokenGateway failed because the attacker controlled the MMR root. When you control the root, you control the proof—the security check becomes a tautology.

Impact on Polkadot Assets and Market Reaction

While the primary panic centered on $DOT, the scope of the exploit was broader. Multiple Hyperbridge-wrapped assets were targeted using the same vector:

• DOT: 1B minted (causing the 5% market dip).
• ARGN (Argon): ~999B minted.
• MANTA & CERE: Large quantities minted, though partially mitigated by MEV bots.

It is crucial for investors to understand that native DOT on the Polkadot Relay Chain remains secure. The "crash" was a result of market panic and automated trading bots reacting to the sudden liquidity pool imbalance on Ethereum. Users are encouraged to verify their holdings and check current rates on the Polkadot Ticker Page.

Technical Root Cause: The "Instant" Exploit

The catastrophe was made possible by two primary architectural weaknesses:

• Missing Dispute Window: The lack of a challenge period meant there was no time for external observers to flag the fraudulent state.
• Unverified Code: The consensus client contract lacked public source code, making it difficult for the community to audit the verifyConsensus() function prior to the attack.

The attacker appears to be a highly sophisticated actor, with wallet history showing preparation dating back over eight months, including the use of RAILGUN for fund obfuscation.

Tron (TRX) Records 13.5% YTD Gains Amidst Crypto Consolidation

While the broader digital asset market struggles to find its footing in 2026, Tron (TRX) has emerged as a beacon of resilience. Currently trading at $0.32, TRX has secured a 13.5% Year-to-Date (YTD) increase. This performance is particularly striking when compared to the total crypto market cap, which has retracted by an average of 22% in the same period.

As investors look for stability during high-volatility cycles, the $TRX price has decoupled from the downward trend of $Bitcoin and major altcoins. This article analyzes the fundamental drivers behind Tron’s growth and its role as a portfolio stabilizer.

What is Tron (TRX)? A Foundation for the Decentralized Web

Tron is a high-performance blockchain platform focused on decentralizing the internet through high throughput and low-cost transactions. Originally launched as an "Ethereum competitor," Tron has carved out a massive niche in the stablecoin and payment settlement sectors.

Core Features of the Tron Network:

• High Scalability: Capable of handling 2,000+ transactions per second (TPS).
• Unique Fee Model: Users "freeze" TRX to gain Energy and Bandwidth, allowing for feeless transactions.
• Stablecoin Dominance: Tron hosts a significant portion of the global USDT (Tether) supply, often surpassing Ethereum in daily active addresses.

Why is TRX Outperforming the 22% Market Crash?

The primary reason for Tron’s 13.5% YTD gain lies in its utility-driven demand. During market downturns, traders often rotate out of volatile speculative assets and into stablecoins. Because the Tron ecosystem is the primary highway for TRC-20 USDT transfers, the demand for TRX (to power these transactions) remains constant even when prices for other coins fall.

Furthermore, institutional adoption has seen a steady rise. Data from CoinMarketCap suggests that Tron’s deflationary mechanism—where a portion of TRX is burned daily to cover transaction costs—is putting upward pressure on the price as the circulating supply shrinks.

Low Volatility: Is TRX the New Crypto "Safe Haven"?

Volatility is often the biggest deterrent for traditional investors entering the crypto space. However, TRX has demonstrated a significantly lower beta compared to the rest of the market.

Why TRX Stability Matters:

• Staking Lock-ups: A large percentage of TRX is staked for governance and network resources, reducing the "liquid" supply available for panic selling on exchanges.
• Predictable Ecosystem: Unlike many DeFi-heavy chains that suffer during liquidations, Tron’s primary use case—payments—is evergreen.
• Risk Mitigation: Adding a low-volatility asset like TRX can lower the overall Sharpe ratio of a crypto portfolio, providing a buffer during 20%+ market drawdowns.

Saudi Arabia has officially announced the full restoration of its East-West pipeline. By successfully bypassing the volatile Strait of Hormuz, the Kingdom is now pumping approximately 7,000,000 barrels per day (bpd) toward Red Sea terminals. While the immediate reaction in the financial markets has been focused on crude prices, the implications for the digital asset space are profound.

This restoration isn't just an infrastructure win; it represents a major shift toward regional stability and lower energy-driven inflation. For investors watching the latest crypto news, this development serves as a foundational pillar for a medium-term bullish environment in the cryptocurrency market.

How Does Oil Affect Crypto?

The primary question investors ask is: Does cheaper oil mean higher crypto prices? The answer is a qualified yes, but with a delay. Historically, lower energy costs reduce global inflation expectations. When inflation cools, central banks—including the US Federal Reserve—often pivot toward a more dovish monetary policy.

As interest rate hikes pause or reverse, global liquidity increases. Since Bitcoin and Ethereum are highly sensitive to liquidity cycles, the stabilization of oil supplies through the East-West pipeline creates the exact macro conditions needed for a sustained crypto uptrend.

The Strategic Importance of the East-West Pipeline

The East-West pipeline, spanning 746 miles from the Eastern Province to the port of Yanbu, allows Saudi Arabia to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint often subject to geopolitical tensions.

Key Data Points of the Restoration:

• Total Capacity: 7 million barrels per day.
• Strategic Shift: Quadrupling shipments via the Red Sea to mitigate Persian Gulf risks.
• Operational Resilience: Restoration follows the rehabilitation of pumping stations previously impacted by regional conflict.

By securing this "lifeline," Saudi Arabia reduces the "risk premium" typically priced into global commodities. According to reports from Bloomberg, this bypass is a primary reason why oil prices have avoided crisis-level spikes despite ongoing regional uncertainties.

Will Crypto Prices go UP?

While the news is fundamentally positive, the Bitcoin price might not jump overnight. The transmission from oil stability to crypto growth follows a specific "medium-term" logic:

• Energy Prices Drop: Increased supply via the Red Sea stabilizes Brent crude.
• Inflation Cools: Lower transport and manufacturing costs lead to lower CPI readings.
• Monetary Policy Eases: Central banks stop "draining the swamp" of liquidity.
• Risk-On Sentiment Returns: Investors move capital from "safe havens" like gold back into growth assets like Bitcoin and Altcoins.

Crypto and Pil Future: Institutional Confidence and Vision 2030

Saudi Arabia isn't just stabilizing oil; it’s aggressively diversifying. Under Vision 2030, the Kingdom has shown increasing interest in blockchain and digital finance. Recent collaborations involving the Saudi Central Bank in projects like mBridge—a cross-border CBDC platform—highlight a shift toward a digitized financial future.

As the Kingdom secures its oil revenue through smarter infrastructure, its ability to invest in emerging technologies increases. This "petro-liquidity" often finds its way into global venture capital, eventually trickling down into the crypto ecosystem.

The global financial landscape shifted early Sunday morning as marathon diplomatic sessions between the United States and Iran failed to produce a lasting peace agreement. After 21 hours of intense negotiations in Islamabad, Pakistan, the temporary optimism that had recently pushed the $Bitcoin price toward yearly highs has evaporated.

Why Did Crypto Prices Crash?

Crypto prices decreased primarily due to the breakdown of high-stakes negotiations between US Vice President JD Vance and Iranian officials. This failure ended the brief "ceasefire rally" that had seen Bitcoin surge past $73,000 earlier this week. As the "Risk-Off" sentiment returned to global markets, Bitcoin retraced from its peak of $73,000 down to approximately $71,500 within hours of the official announcement.

Geopolitical Tension and Market Volatility

Geopolitical instability has historically acted as a double-edged sword for digital assets. While Bitcoin is often touted as "digital gold," its current price action reflects its status as a high-beta risk asset. The failure in Islamabad has led to:

• A reversal of the "Peace Premium": Market participants who bought into the ceasefire news are now liquidating positions.
• Rising Oil Prices: As reported by MarketWatch, oil futures surged as the prospect of a reopened Strait of Hormuz faded.
• Liquidity Exodus: Traders are moving capital toward traditional safe havens, momentarily cooling the crypto news cycle’s bullish momentum.

The "Ceasefire Retracement"

A retracement in this context refers to a temporary reversal in the direction of Bitcoin's price. Following the news of the initial two-week ceasefire on April 7, BTC gained over 5%. However, the inability to turn that ceasefire into a permanent deal caused a "bull trap," where the price hit $73,000 before falling back to the $71,500 support zone.

Impact on Major Altcoins

The ripple effect was felt across all major trading pairs. As Bitcoin slipped, other assets followed:

• Ethereum (ETH): Struggling to maintain the $2,200 level.
• Solana (SOL): Saw a sharp rejection after testing the $85 mark.
• Market Sentiment: The "Fear and Greed Index," which had briefly recovered, is once again trending toward "Extreme Fear" as uncertainty regarding the Strait of Hormuz persists.

Key Data Points

The world's largest Bitcoin mining pool operator expands into the privacy-focused Zcash token with rapid network adoption.

BitMine Immersion Technologies' Ethereum treasury gained another $157 million of ETH last week, its biggest acquisition since December.

Bitcoin fell over the weekend as Iran negotiations failed and sell pressure persists, while Morgan Stanley signaled growing crypto ambitions.

Following its latest Bitcoin purchase, Strategy only needs 9,000 BTC at present to surpass BlackRock’s industry-leading investment vehicle.

A developer distilled Claude Opus 4.6's reasoning into a local Qwen model anyone can run. The result is Qwopus—and it's surprisingly close to the real thing.

Bitcoin liquidations reached a 10,860% hourly imbalance as BTC touched $72,530 following the $100 oil price surge.

XRP derivatives market fails to show any major recovery since October 2025 amid the prolonged market downturn seen over the past six months.

Ripple USD continues to see significant activity, with over 29 million tokens removed from the Ethereum supply.

Bitcoin proved critics wrong 15 years ago following a comeback to $1.

Top analyst Willy Woo predicts that $80,000 is now the critical test level for the flagship cryptocurrency's next major leg up.

TLDR:

• Ondo Finance filed an SEC no-action request to tokenize securities entitlements on Ethereum Mainnet for OGM products.

• The filing keeps official books and records intact while adding a targeted tokenized layer for operational efficiency.

• BitGo will serve as custodian for tokenized securities entitlements under the proposed Ondo Global Markets model.

• Ondo aims to improve collateral monitoring, redemption workflows, and reconciliation without altering the core legal framework.

Ondo Finance has submitted a no-action letter request to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regarding its Ondo Global Markets platform.

The filing seeks confirmation that SEC staff would not recommend enforcement action for a specific operating model. This model involves recording certain securities entitlements in tokenized form on Ethereum Mainnet.

The structure is designed to improve operational processes without altering existing legal protections for investors.

A Narrow Request With a Practical Purpose

The no-action request does not ask the SEC to rewrite securities law. It also does not seek approval for all forms of tokenized securities. Instead, Ondo Finance is asking for clearance on one specific and bounded model.

Under this model, OGM products would remain tokenized notes for non-U.S. investors. These notes provide exposure to U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs through existing custody and recordkeeping frameworks.

The underlying securities would stay within the current legal structure. Official books and records would remain unchanged as well.

The only addition is that certain securities entitlements would also appear in tokenized form on the Ethereum mainnet. BitGo, acting as custodian, would hold these tokenized representations to support recordkeeping and operational workflows.

Ondo outlined three direct benefits for this approach. These are cleaner collateral monitoring, more efficient creation-and-redemption processes, and simpler reconciliation across the OGM product stack. The goal is to improve operations for an existing product, not to build an entirely new system.

Ondo Finance stated, X: “Public blockchain rails and serious securities regulation can be, and are being, designed to work together.”

Why Ethereum Mainnet and Why Now

Ondo chose the Ethereum Mainnet for practical reasons. OGM already operates within Ethereum and Ethereum-compatible environments.

Using the same blockchain rail reduces friction and keeps the broader system coherent. The choice also reflects a broader view that public blockchain infrastructure can function well in regulated markets when paired with proper controls.

A no-action position from the SEC staff does not create new rules or legal precedent. However, it can provide room for a specific model to move forward before a longer rulemaking process concludes.

That is precisely what Ondo Finance is seeking here. The company wants to proceed with a practical product improvement in a narrow and supervised way.

Getting regulatory clarity up front matters when numerous established market participants are involved. Ondo Finance noted that even when the legal case is strong, a no-action submission can be the right step before adopting a new operating model. The filing treats the tokenized layer as a recordkeeping innovation rather than a structural overhaul.

Ondo Finance added it looks forward to a thoughtful SEC review as part of the broader conversation about how public blockchain fits into regulated markets.

The post Ondo Finance Files SEC No-Action Request to Bring Tokenized Securities to Ethereum Mainnet appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Highlights

• Britain establishes October 2027 implementation date for comprehensive digital asset regulatory framework
• Financial watchdog broadens jurisdiction to include decentralised finance platforms with identifiable governance
• Regulatory expansion targets trading venues, staking services, and lending platforms under statutory authority
• Decentralised protocols with clear control mechanisms face same requirements as traditional crypto exchanges
• British framework aligns with international regulatory developments in digital asset supervision

Britain is moving forward with a significant expansion of its digital asset regulatory landscape as its financial watchdog prepares to assume broader supervisory responsibilities. The regulatory framework will encompass a substantially wider spectrum of crypto-related operations under enhanced statutory authority. The approach establishes clear parameters for how decentralised financial systems will function within Britain’s regulatory architecture.

Financial Watchdog Broadens Supervisory Authority Over Digital Assets

The UK government is advancing a robust digital asset regulatory structure under existing Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 provisions. Britain’s financial supervisor will assume oversight responsibilities for exchange platforms, intermediary services, token staking operations, and digital lending activities. This represents a significant expansion beyond current anti-money laundering registration mandates.

HM Treasury unveiled preliminary regulatory legislation in December 2025 to establish formal parameters for supervised crypto operations. The financial regulator will enforce a defined perimeter mandating firms to obtain proper authorisation for conducting business with British consumers. International entities may conduct limited operations without complete approval provided they exclude retail customer engagement.

This regulatory architecture positions Britain alongside evolving global standards in digital asset markets. The financial supervisor will enforce uniform requirements across both centralised platforms and decentralised services. The objective centres on guaranteeing operational stability and robust financial crime prevention measures throughout the industry.

Decentralised Finance Oversight Hinges on Governance Identification

The British regulatory model distinguishes between genuinely decentralised systems and those featuring recognisable operational or governance frameworks. The financial watchdog will examine whether controlling entities exist behind each decentralised finance protocol. Regulatory requirements will apply when such controlling influence becomes apparent.

Protocols functioning without discernible controlling parties may operate beyond direct regulatory jurisdiction. The financial supervisor will scrutinise governance mechanisms, revenue models, and operational authority on a case-by-case basis. The FCA will restrict exemptions to systems demonstrating authentic decentralisation characteristics.

Major decentralised finance platforms operating through foundations or formalised governance frameworks may fall under regulatory purview. The financial regulator will handle these organisations comparably to conventional exchanges and financial service providers. Consequently, prudential standards and conduct obligations will extend to these operations.

Britain’s Digital Asset Approach Mirrors International Regulatory Movement

The British methodology represents broader international initiatives to incorporate crypto into conventional financial supervision. The financial regulator will harmonise its framework with developing international standards in digital asset oversight. This coordination contributes toward establishing cohesive global regulatory direction.

Multiple jurisdictions are implementing comparable frameworks addressing digital asset market risks while fostering innovation. The financial supervisor will ensure compatibility with emerging international standards while addressing specific domestic market requirements. The FCA will promote cross-jurisdictional regulatory consistency in crypto supervision.

Britain intends to launch the complete regime by October 2027 following final rule publication in 2026. The financial watchdog will monitor compliance as industry participants adapt to the transformed regulatory landscape. The framework will fundamentally influence how digital asset businesses function within Britain’s financial ecosystem.

The post FCA to Implement Comprehensive Crypto Oversight Framework by October 2027 appeared first on Blockonomi.

The monero price prediction carries serious weight this cycle because XMR hit a new all time high of $798 in January and now trades 57% below that peak, leaving every trader asking whether this bounce means real recovery or another trap waiting to snap shut. Privacy demand keeps growing even as exchanges delist the token one by one.

While the XMR forecast plays out over months, Pepeto is the network that attracted more than $8.9 million with a confirmed Binance listing, working exchange tools already live, and a presale price that disappears permanently the moment trading begins and early holders start building wealth.

Monero Price Prediction Gains Attention as THORChain Integration and FCMP++ Upgrade Approach

Monero is set to launch on THORChain’s mainnet within two months, enabling private cross chain swaps without centralized exchanges according to CoinMarketCap.

The network also activated its FCMP+ upgrade expanding privacy coverage to the entire chain, and Coinpedia reported that XMR’s price structure shows a Wyckoff base building pattern with a breakout setup forming above key support.

When a privacy coin adds decentralized liquidity and quantum resistant upgrades at the same time, the monero price prediction shifts from hope to pure timing.

XMR at $339 and Pepeto at $8.9M: The Presale Where Timing Is Already Decided

Pepeto: The Network With Verified Tools and a Listing That Locks the Return

When ranking every presale drawing capital this cycle, Pepeto wins before the math even starts, because every other early token asks for blind trust in something that does not exist yet. Pepeto already runs a full network where every tool is live and your capital stays protected from the first second you enter.

PepetoSwap runs trades across tokens at zero cost, so returns stay whole instead of getting sliced apart by fees on every single position. The risk scorer reviews every contract before you buy, so tokens designed to empty wallets get flagged instantly and your money stays exactly where it belongs.

A developer from Binance directs the build, and SolidProof checked every contract with results locked on chain for anyone to verify. More than $8.9 million came in during extreme fear, proving that the wallets that always end up on the winning side of every cycle did their research and moved while everyone else sat paralyzed watching prices fall. Staking pays 185% APY, growing positions daily that gain real, compounding value once the Binance listing sets the opening price and the market discovers what these holders already own.

At $0.000000186 per token, analysts project 100x to 300x once trading starts. The 420 trillion supply matching the original Pepe coin sets a starting point that even the best monero price prediction cannot come close to touching from a $6 billion cap. The Binance listing marks a cutoff that ends this entry for good, and once that door closes there is no walking back through it.

Every day closer to that date is one less day you can get in at a price the open market will never offer again. Pepeto is the only play this cycle where the return comes from one listing and the tools already run today.

Monero Price Prediction: Levels, Targets, and What the Breakout Means

XMR trades near $339 with a $6.2 billion cap, sitting 57% below its January 2026 all time high of $798 per CoinMarketCap.

Changelly projects the monero price prediction for April between $310 and $365, with an average near $338. The $380 to $400 supply zone is the key resistance, and a clean break above it would confirm a shift from months of tight range into a fresh move higher.

The THORChain integration brings back the trading access that exchanges took away, and the bull case targets $555 by year end per Cryptopolitan. Even that aggressive target delivers roughly 63% from current levels, strong for a privacy token but months away from a $6 billion base.

Conclusion

XMR holds the privacy story and a THORChain integration that restores the liquidity exchanges stripped away, but 63% over months from a $6 billion cap is a trade, not a wealth event. Wealth events happen when you find the one entry that no one else has priced in yet and you commit before the listing forces the entire market to pay what you already hold. Pepeto is that entry.

The creator of the $11 billion Pepe token built a working exchange. SolidProof signed off on every line of code. A former Binance developer runs the build. And $8.9 million came in from wallets that recognize this setup because they have seen presale to listing events mint millionaires before and they are positioning to be on the right side again.

Entering through the Pepeto official website at this price is how a single decision made today turns into the financial turning point you look back on for the rest of your life. The monero price prediction asks for months of patience and gives you 63%.

The Binance listing asks for one entry and gives you a shot at returns that rewrite your entire financial future. The presale closes, the price vanishes, and the only people who win are the ones already inside.

Click To Visit Pepeto Website To Enter The Presale

FAQs

How does the THORChain integration affect the monero price prediction?

Decentralized swaps restore liquidity lost to delistings, and the monero price prediction improves, but Pepeto at presale pricing with a confirmed listing delivers returns XMR needs months to match.

Is XMR a strong buy at 57% below its all time high?

XMR targets $380 to $555 with strong privacy demand, but the gain takes months while a move from the Pepeto official website captures that return in one listing event.

Can a presale outperform the XMR forecast this cycle?

Pepeto with a developer from Binance, more than $8.9 million attracted, and a confirmed listing is how presale positions deliver the returns privacy token forecasts take years to reach.

The post The Monero Price Prediction Everyone Is Reading While Pepeto Quietly Fills the Presale Smart Money Found First appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Highlights

• ALPHA3 trial demonstrated 58.3% MRD negativity in cema-cel patients compared to just 16.7% in the observation group
• Zero instances of cytokine release syndrome or neurotoxicity reported among treated participants
• Baird analysts upgraded their price target from $7.00 to $9.00 while maintaining Outperform status
• Probability of success for the therapy program increased to 70% according to Baird’s assessment
• Shares climbed to $3.87 from $2.91, marking approximately 99% gains year-to-date

Shares of Allogene Therapeutics experienced a dramatic rally exceeding 41% on April 13, 2026, following the disclosure of encouraging interim results from the company’s crucial Phase 2 ALPHA3 clinical study examining cemacabtagene ansegedleucel (cema-cel) in patients diagnosed with high-risk large B-cell lymphoma.

Allogene Therapeutics, Inc., ALLO

The released information originated from an interim futility analysis conducted on the trial. Within the initial cohort of 24 randomized participants, 58.3% receiving cema-cel treatment successfully achieved minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity. By contrast, the observation group saw merely 16.7% achieve this benchmark — representing a substantial 41.6 percentage point advantage.

Researchers are utilizing Natera’s investigational CLARITY MRD assay to detect high-risk patients prior to observable clinical relapse. The study positions cema-cel as a first-line consolidation treatment option, which would represent an earlier intervention point than most existing CAR T therapeutic strategies.

Remarkable Safety Results Generate Buzz

The trial’s safety outcomes proved equally compelling as the effectiveness data. Remarkably, no treated participants developed cytokine release syndrome or immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome — two complications frequently linked with CAR T cellular therapies.

Additionally, zero treatment-related serious adverse events were documented. Such a clean safety profile stands out significantly within this therapeutic category, prompting Baird analysts to highlight it as a key distinguishing characteristic when evaluating cema-cel against second-line autologous CAR T alternatives.

The therapy’s potential for outpatient administration, coupled with these favorable safety metrics, contributes to what could be a distinctive competitive position. Current CAR T treatments typically mandate inpatient care and are associated with more substantial toxicity concerns.

Following the data announcement, Baird elevated its ALLO price objective from $7.00 to $9.00 while retaining its Outperform recommendation. The investment firm also boosted its probability of success projection for this therapeutic program to 70%.

“The limited dataset size of 12 treated patients should generate enthusiasm,” Baird wrote, acknowledging the early-stage nature of the readout while flagging the initial results as a positive signal for the commercial profile in the first-line setting.

Looking Forward

The ALPHA3 clinical study is recruiting approximately 220 participants across more than 60 clinical sites. Efficacy endpoints continue to remain blinded currently, and the available dataset remains relatively limited. These preliminary figures will require validation as additional trial data matures.

Scheduled interim event-free survival analyses are anticipated in 2027, with complete primary results projected for 2028. Favorable outcomes from these assessments could potentially support a future biologics license application submission.

Additional Wall Street analysts are monitoring developments closely. Jefferies recently launched coverage on ALLO with a Buy recommendation and a $6.00 price objective, while Citizens maintained its Market Outperform stance with a $5.00 target price.

ALLO shares reached $3.87 on April 13, advancing from the previous session’s close of $2.91. The equity has gained approximately 99% year-to-date and is currently trading near its 52-week peak. InvestingPro analysis indicates the stock is presently valued above its calculated fair value, though the biotechnology company maintains a balance sheet with cash holdings exceeding debt obligations.

The post Allogene Therapeutics (ALLO) Stock Soars 41% Following Breakthrough CAR T-Cell Trial Results appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Highlights

• ALMU stock soars 46% following announcement of $4M federal contract awards
• Share price reaches $15.75 amid quantum photonics funding announcement
• Government support accelerates AI semiconductor and photonics initiatives
• Federal funding exceeding $4M drives quantum technology commercialization plans
• ALMU experiences major breakout as federal partnerships strengthen tech roadmap

Shares of Aeluma, Inc. (ALMU) experienced a significant rally following the announcement of new federal contract awards focused on quantum and photonics innovation. The stock climbed to $15.75, representing a 46.29% gain in a single trading session. This sharp movement came after the company revealed it had secured over $4 million in non-dilutive federal funding to advance semiconductor scaling technologies.

Aeluma, Inc., ALMU

Federal Contracts Propel Stock Performance

The dramatic rise in Aeluma’s share price followed the company’s announcement of significant government contract wins supporting its commercialization strategy. These federal awards specifically target scalable semiconductor technology for quantum applications and high-speed data transmission platforms. The news boosted investor confidence in the company’s positioning within cutting-edge technology sectors.

These contract awards emphasize expanding wafer manufacturing and advanced fabrication capabilities through established industry partnerships. The company maintains ongoing collaborations with Tower Semiconductor and Sumitomo Chemical Advanced Technology. These strategic alliances are designed to enhance manufacturing capacity and create robust supply chain frameworks.

Aeluma positions these achievements to address growing demand in AI infrastructure, defense applications, and next-generation communications networks. The non-dilutive funding structure protects existing shareholders from equity dilution while enabling near-term operational objectives. Consequently, the company bolsters its operational foundation while pursuing strategic long-term expansion.

Advancing Quantum Dot Laser and Photonic Technologies

The company continues developing its quantum dot laser capabilities to meet the needs of emerging data center and telecommunications infrastructure. These advanced lasers deliver superior power efficiency, enhanced durability, and minimized signal degradation. Such characteristics prove critical for quantum computing architectures and AI-powered interconnect frameworks.

Aeluma employs metalorganic chemical vapor deposition techniques to facilitate mass production of quantum dot components. This manufacturing approach enables high-throughput fabrication while ensuring consistent performance specifications across diverse use cases. The company incorporates these laser systems into sophisticated multi-channel photonic arrays designed for advanced computational platforms.

The firm also progresses its aluminum gallium arsenide nonlinear photonics platform tailored for quantum technology deployments. This specialized material enables superior photon creation and control for communications and detection systems. Accordingly, the platform delivers enhanced capabilities versus conventional materials currently employed in photonic implementations.

Market Position in AI and Quantum Sectors

Aeluma solidifies its competitive standing by combining compound semiconductor advantages with conventional silicon fabrication methodologies. The organization previously validated successful material integration on CMOS-compatible 200mm silicon substrates. This technical achievement enables scalable manufacturing across both 200mm and 300mm production environments.

This integration capability ensures compatibility with silicon nitride waveguide technologies utilized in quantum photonic systems. Such an approach facilitates straightforward implementation within current semiconductor manufacturing infrastructure. Aeluma minimizes commercial deployment obstacles across high-growth market segments.

The newly awarded contracts fund specific demonstration projects and scaling operations at its California headquarters and partner manufacturing sites. These initiatives target accelerated preparation for volume manufacturing and commercial market penetration. Ultimately, Aeluma reinforces its leadership position in quantum technology, artificial intelligence, and high-performance communication solutions.

The post Aeluma (ALMU) Stock Rockets 46% on $4M Federal Quantum Tech Contracts appeared first on Blockonomi.

Bitcoin (BTC) entered the week with a fresh decline below $71,000 on Monday, and its next move remains uncertain.

But market players expect a final upside push before a major downturn unfolds in the coming weeks.

Final Pump Before Dump?

Crypto analyst Doctor Profit believes Bitcoin could see a limited upside move in the near term before entering a broader and more aggressive decline. According to his latest assessment, the probability of Bitcoin climbing toward the $76,000 level is high. While the price could still extend beyond that zone into the $79,000 to $84,000 range, uncertainty remains about how far the current upward momentum can stretch before a reversal begins.

In his latest tweet, Doctor Profit stated that the broader trend remains bearish despite the potential for short-term gains. He expects the market to experience a significant downward move in the coming weeks and argued that the current price action could be setting up a bull trap.

In this scenario, temporary upward momentum may draw in optimistic buyers before a sharp reversal leads to deeper losses. The analyst believes this type of setup is often driven by market makers aiming to create liquidity before pushing prices lower. As a result, he does not view the recent recovery as a sign of a confirmed bottom, but rather as part of a larger corrective structure that has yet to play out fully.

A major part of his outlook is tied to expectations in traditional financial markets. He predicts a major correction in the S&P 500 within the next two months, which could potentially exceed a 35% decline.

Such a drop would be larger than the fall recorded during the COVID-19 market crash, and he expects it to have a strong spillover effect on risk assets. Hence, Bitcoin is unlikely to remain insulated if equities experience a sharp downturn, and instead could follow with an accelerated decline of its own. This anticipated “domino effect” is central to his bearish thesis.

Doctor Profit reiterated his previous analysis that Bitcoin will eventually fall into the $50,000 range or even lower after completing its current upward phase.

Geopolitical Turmoil Persists

Bitcoin slipped as geopolitical tensions escalated following the breakdown of high-stakes negotiations between the United States and Iran in Islamabad. The talks failed to produce a resolution, as both sides blamed each other. The situation intensified after US officials stated that Iran was unwilling to accept terms, while Tehran described the demands as unreasonable.

Markets reacted more sharply to subsequent developments, particularly the warning of a potential US naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil route. The threat of intercepting vessels and escalating military action raised fears of supply disruptions and broader conflict.

The post Bitcoin Rally Could Be a Trap Before Major Collapse, Says Analyst appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Ethereum is trading below $2.2k to open the new week, holding above the critical $1.8k support zone but struggling to make any decisive move higher. The recovery from February’s lows has been frustratingly shallow, and with macro uncertainty still clouding the broader risk environment, ETH remains in a position where it needs to prove itself rather than simply hold ground.

Ethereum Price Analysis: The Daily Chart

The descending channel on the daily chart remains intact, with the 100-day MA (~$2.4k) and 200-day MA (~$2.9k) both declining overhead and forming a formidable resistance ceiling. The price has been oscillating below the $2.4k supply zone for weeks now, and every push into that area has met renewed selling pressure.

What is quietly improving, however, is the RSI. The momentum oscillator has been rising since the February capitulation and is now trending in the mid-to-high 50s. That kind of momentum divergence — the price struggling to break higher while RSI steadily rises — can often precede a more forceful breakout attempt.

Currently, holding the $1.8k support band remains non-negotiable for buyers. If the asset breaks below, it would expose ETH to $1.6k and $1.5k fairly quickly. Above, $2.4k is the level that matters most, as it is the convergence of the descending channel’s higher trendline, the $2.4k supply zone, and the 100-day moving average.

ETH/USDT 4-Hour Chart

On the 4-hour timeframe, ETH has been respecting a mildly ascending trendline from the February lows. The trendline is now providing support near $2k, with the price currently at just under $2.2k after getting rejected from the upper end of the recent range. However, the $2.4k resistance zone is still within striking distance after a solid recovery over the past week.

The RSI on the 4-hour has dropped rapidly from the high-70s seen during the early April push and is now hovering around 50, which shows momentum neutrality. Yet, there is room to build in either direction.

A clean breakout above $2.4k on this timeframe, ideally accompanied by RSI holding above 60, would be the most constructive short-term development ETH has seen in months. But failure to do so keeps the range-bound structure intact and brings the ascending trendline near $2k back into focus as the next test.

Sentiment Analysis

Ethereum’s exchange supply ratio has continued its relentless decline, now sitting at 0.126, which is a multi-year low that reflects an ongoing trend of holders withdrawing ETH from exchanges into self-custody. The drop from the mid-2025 peak near 0.18 has been steep and consistent, mirroring the price correction almost in lockstep.

What makes the current reading particularly notable is the growing divergence between supply availability and price. ETH is trading near $2.1k–$2.2k while exchange-held supply is at levels not seen in the entire dataset. This means that there is structurally less ETH available to sell on exchanges. In previous cycles, sustained declines in the exchange supply ratio have happened before price recoveries once demand returned.

So, with the supply-side foundation quietly being built, the missing ingredient remains a clear catalyst to bring buyers back in sufficient size to translate that tightness into upward price movement.

The post Ethereum Price Analysis: Has ETH’s Structure Shifted Fundamentally After Surge to $2.2K? appeared first on CryptoPotato.

The team behind the Pi Network project has introduced numerous updates, reward distributions, initiatives, and all sorts of positive announcements in the past few months, but the overall impact has been quite limited.

Aside from a brief spike propelled by the hype around the listing on Kraken, the native token’s price remains highly depressed, while the community continues to question the Core Team’s actions.

Investor Sentiment Still Low

CryptoPotato has repeatedly reported on Pi Network’s consecutive updates since the beginning of the year. They began with moving to protocol version 19.6, followed by v19.9 in early March, and the highly important v20.2, which was announced on Pi Day (March 14) 2026. It carried such significance as it laid out the fundamentals for the network to begin offering smart-contract features.

The next one, version 21, was promised to be successfully completed by April 6, and the team announced the migration around that date. In the meantime, they have also begun the second migration, allowing token holders to migrate their assets to Mainnet, and introduced an RPC server for Pi Testnet.

Last but not least, the Core Team highlighted another important aspect of its services: rewards distribution. In a post from last week, they said the first batch had been successfully delivered directly to eligible validators’ Mainnet wallets after the completion of more than 526 million validation tasks by more than a million such participants.

Despite all these positive developments, though, the majority of the comments below the Core Team’s posts on X are still criticizing the lack of actual progress, and they focus on two main topics: their inability to access their assets despite completing KYC requirements, and the native token’s consistent decline.

PI Keeps Dropping

The only development that managed to impact PI’s price performance in the past few months was the listing on Kraken in March. More precisely, the hype about the listing. The token skyrocketed before and after the announcement, surging from $0.18 to almost $0.30.

However, once the asset went live for trading, it became another classic ‘sell-the-news’ event. The hype quickly disappeared, and PI plunged by over 50% in 48 hours or so. Since then, it has failed to maintain the $0.20 support-turned-resistance. As of press time, it even trades below the pre-Kraken-listing level as it dipped to a 7-week low at $0.165 earlier today.

With over seven million tokens to be unlocked on average in the next month, the chances for a more profound correction are still quite high. Data from PiScan shows that April 15, 16, and 17 will see the highest amount of released tokens, with over 60 million PI in just these three days.

The post Pi Network’s PI Dumps to Local Lows as New Updates Fail to Boost Investor Sentiment appeared first on CryptoPotato.

BitMine Immersion Technologies has announced its latest Ethereum purchase, which has raised its total holdings to 4.875 million tokens.

Its entire stash, which includes a bitcoin position, total cash, and ‘moonshots’ holdings, is now worth $11.8 billion.

Tom Lee, the company’s Chairman and Ethereum champion, continues to praise the underlying asset despite its substantial correction since the 2025 all-time high. He believes ETH has performed impressively over the past month and a half, following the outbreak of the war in Iran.

“The Iran war enters its 7th week, and this war remains the most important driver of global markets. ETH is now the best-performing asset since the start of the war, with a 17.4% gain and outperforming the S&P 500 by 1,830 basis points. And we believe ETH beating gold by 2,743 basis points demonstrates ETH is the wartime store of value,” he said.

According to Lee, the Ethereum ecosystem continues to benefit from the “dual tailwinds of Wall Street tokenizing on the blockchain and from agentic AI systems increasingly needing public and neutral blockchains.”

Consequently, the company he chairs has continued to accumulate ETH tokens at an “increased pace” for the past month, since they still believe the asset is in the “final stages of the ‘mini-crypto winter.’ ”

The latest accumulation of 71,524 ETH is the most significant one since mid-December, Lee explained. With it, the firm now owns more than 4% of the total Ethereum token supply.

The post BitMine Owns Over 4% of ETH’s Total Supply After Latest Purchase: Details appeared first on CryptoPotato.

The world’s largest corporate holder of bitcoin has returned to its billion-dollar BTC purchases after a brief hiatus that included even an empty week.

Strategy has acquired 13,927 BTC for approximately $1 billion at an average price of $71,902 per unit. Its YTD yield has risen to 5.6%, while its total stash is up to 780,897 BTC bought for roughly $59 billion.

Nevertheless, its average accumulation price is still above BTC’s current, which means that the company sits on a paper loss of around $3.5 billion.

Strategy has acquired 13,927 BTC for ~$1.00 billion at ~$71,902 per bitcoin and has achieved BTC Yield of 5.6% YTD 2026. As of 4/12/2026, we hodl 780,897 $BTC acquired for ~$59.02 billion at ~$75,577 per bitcoin. $MSTR $STRC https://t.co/xVKjg2cEVP

— Michael Saylor (@saylor) April 13, 2026

This quite substantial purchase comes after Michael Saylor, the company’s co-founder and former CEO, hinted at a bigger purchase on Sunday, posting “think ₿igger.”

In a separate post, Saylor noted that Strategy’s BTC breakeven ARR is at just over 2%: “If Bitcoin grows faster than that over time, we can cover our dividends indefinitely without issuing new MSTR shares.”

It’s worth noting that MSTR’s price has dropped by over 18% since the start of the year, mirroring BTC’s performance to a large extent.

Last week, the NASDAQ-listed corporation outlined another impressive purchase of 4,871 BTC for about $330 million. The previous week, though, was a non-event as for the first time in months the firm failed to announce a bitcoin buy.

The post Strategy Splashes $1 Billion to Accumulate Almost 14,000 BTC appeared first on CryptoPotato.