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(Editor’s note: The future prices of benchmark tracking ETFs, the lede, and the headline were updated in the story.)

U.S. stock futures shed earlier losses to advance on Friday morning, following Thursday’s record advances following mega-cap earnings.

Meanwhile, the Donald Trump administration leveraged the three-week-old ceasefire to avoid a congressional 60-day deadline under the War Powers Resolution to withdraw troops from Iran.

Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.39%, and the two-year bond was at 3.89%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 94.8% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged during June’s meeting.

Index Performance (+/-)
Dow Jones 0.43%
S&P 500 0.30%
Nasdaq 100 0.01%
Russell 2000 0.24%

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were higher in premarket on Friday. The SPY was up 0.37% at $721.32, while the QQQ advanced 0.12% to $668.53.

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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) has sold off during every Fed chair transition since 2014, as Kevin Warsh takes over May 15 inheriting 3.50% rates with just one cut projected for 2026.

The Historical Pattern Is Consistent

When Janet Yellen became Fed Chair, Bitcoin dropped 86%. When Powell was first appointed, the crypto shed 73.56% of its value. 

At Jerome Powell’s second term confirmation in 2022, Bitcoin fell 60.72%.

Powell held his final FOMC meeting as Fed Chairman Thursday. Warsh inherits 3.50% rates and just one rate cut projected for the rest of 2026, setting up a potentially challenging environment for risk assets.

With Bitcoin currently trading around $77,367, analysts …

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New York City, NY, April 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Introduction – What Is Juvthorix?

Juvthorix is an advanced AI-powered trading platform designed to streamline market analysis and support efficient decision-making across multiple financial markets. Built around sophisticated algorithmic technology, the platform continuously monitors global market conditions, identifies emerging trends, and delivers actionable trading insights in real time. Its infrastructure combines artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automated execution tools to help optimize trading performance while maintaining speed and precision.

At its core, Juvthorix focuses on transforming complex market data into simplified, data-driven opportunities. The platform analyzes large volumes of historical and live market information, including price movements, momentum indicators, volatility metrics, and technical patterns. By processing this information instantly, Juvthorix can detect high-probability trading setups that may otherwise be difficult to identify manually.

One of Juvthorix’s defining strengths is its accessibility. The platform is designed with an intuitive interface that supports both desktop and mobile devices, ensuring seamless access from virtually anywhere. Users can monitor account activity, review trading signals, and manage positions through a streamlined dashboard that emphasizes clarity and efficiency.

Security is another central component of the Juvthorix ecosystem. The platform incorporates modern encryption protocols, secure payment gateways, and rigorous account verification procedures to protect sensitive data and financial transactions. This security-first approach helps maintain a reliable trading environment while supporting operational integrity.

By combining intelligent automation, real-time analytics, institutional-grade security, and multi-asset accessibility, Juvthorix positions itself as a comprehensive solution for modern digital trading. Its technology-driven framework is built to deliver speed, accuracy, and efficiency in today’s rapidly evolving financial markets.

Join Juvthorix Now – Visit Official Website Now

Top Core Features of Juvthorix

Juvthorix is built around a sophisticated suite of trading technologies designed to deliver speed, precision, and analytical depth. Every component of the platform is engineered to enhance market monitoring, streamline execution, and support efficient portfolio management across multiple asset classes. Its feature set reflects a strong emphasis on automation, data intelligence, and operational reliability.

At the center of Juvthorix is its artificial intelligence engine, which continuously scans live market conditions twenty-four hours a day. The system processes enormous volumes of price data, technical indicators, historical patterns, and volatility metrics in real time. This allows the platform to identify emerging trends, momentum shifts, and statistically favorable trading opportunities with remarkable speed.

The platform also integrates advanced algorithmic execution technology. Orders are processed rapidly, helping minimize latency and improve trade efficiency during fast-moving market conditions. Precision execution can be especially valuable when market volatility creates narrow entry and exit windows.

Juvthorix supports a wide selection of tradable assets, including cryptocurrencies, foreign exchange pairs, equities, and commodities. This broad market access enables diversified trading strategies while allowing the AI engine to detect opportunities across global financial sectors.

A highly intuitive dashboard simplifies complex trading operations. Real-time charts, portfolio summaries, market analytics, and account management tools are presented in a clean, professional interface optimized for both desktop and mobile devices. Users can easily monitor activity and adjust settings without navigating unnecessary complexity.

Additional standout features include automated risk management tools, customizable trading parameters, real-time market alerts, and secure fund management systems. These functions work together to support disciplined trading while maintaining operational control.

Juvthorix also utilizes cloud-based infrastructure, ensuring high uptime, rapid data synchronization, and consistent platform performance across international markets. This scalability allows the system to handle substantial market activity without sacrificing responsiveness.

Visit the Official Juvthorix Website Now

Juvthorix – Security Measures and Factual Performance Data

Juvthorix incorporates a multi-layered security architecture designed to safeguard account information, transaction data, and operational integrity across its entire trading environment. The platform utilizes advanced SSL encryption protocols to protect all communications between users and its servers, ensuring that sensitive personal and financial information remains secure during every session. This encryption standard aligns with widely accepted financial technology security practices.

Account protection is further enhanced through comprehensive identity verification procedures. Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols help maintain compliance standards while reducing the risk of unauthorized account access. Additional authentication layers, including secure login mechanisms and transaction verification systems, provide further protection against fraudulent activity.

Juvthorix’s infrastructure operates on secure cloud-based servers with continuous monitoring, redundancy systems, and proactive threat detection protocols. These systems help maintain platform uptime while defending against cyber threats, unauthorized intrusion attempts, and system vulnerabilities. Routine security audits and infrastructure updates further strengthen platform resilience.

From a performance standpoint, Juvthorix’s algorithmic framework processes market data in real time using advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning models. The system continuously evaluates thousands of data points, including price action, volatility patterns, historical trends, and technical indicators. This rapid analysis enables efficient identification of potential market opportunities.

Execution speed remains a critical component of Juvthorix’s operational design. Low-latency order processing helps reduce slippage and allows the platform to respond effectively during highly volatile trading conditions. Fast execution can be particularly valuable in markets where price fluctuations occur within fractions of a second.

The platform also provides transparent performance metrics through its dashboard, including trade history, account balances, transaction records, and portfolio analytics. These reporting tools allow for detailed performance monitoring and operational visibility.

Algorithmic Markets Operate 24/7 — Visit the Official Juvthorix AI Website

What Reddit, Podcasts, and TikTok Creators Are Highlighting

Across financial communities and digital media channels, Juvthorix has generated considerable discussion surrounding its technological framework, automation capabilities, and market analysis engine. Online conversations frequently focus on the platform’s advanced AI architecture, particularly its ability to process live market data and identify opportunities across multiple asset classes.

On Reddit, discussions often center around Juvthorix’s algorithmic infrastructure and its data-driven approach to market analysis. Contributors commonly highlight the platform’s streamlined interface, automated scanning systems, and multi-market coverage. Technical conversations frequently examine how the AI evaluates price movements, volatility, and momentum indicators in real time.

Financial podcasts have increasingly explored the growing role of AI-powered trading platforms, with Juvthorix often referenced in broader discussions about automation and modern market technology. Analysts frequently emphasize the importance of machine learning, low-latency execution, and real-time analytical capabilities—areas where Juvthorix demonstrates significant technical sophistication.

TikTok creators covering financial technology have highlighted Juvthorix’s intuitive dashboard, live market analytics, and seamless mobile accessibility. Short-form content often showcases the platform’s clean interface, automated features, and efficient account setup process. Educational creators frequently discuss the broader implications of AI-driven trading systems and the increasing adoption of automated financial technologies.

Another recurring topic across these platforms is Juvthorix’s support for diverse asset classes, including cryptocurrencies, forex, stocks, and commodities. This …

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XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) is seeing renewed attention, after a large token unlock from Ripple coincided with growing discussion around the network’s long-term cryptographic security and supply dynamics.

Quantum Exposure Raises Concerns

XRP Ledger validator Vet reviewed all 7.8 million XRP Ledger accounts and found that a large portion of supply is technically “quantum exposed.”

An account is considered exposed if it has ever made a transaction since that reveals its public key on chain. Accounts that have never transacted remain theoretically safer because their public keys are not yet visible.

About 76.8 billion XRP across 5.6 million accounts is held …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is increasingly seen as digital gold by institutional investors, but altcoins are losing appeal, according to industry insiders.

Bitcoin’s Strength Against Speculative Coins

In an Apr.28 CNBC interview, Mark Wong, Head of Trading at Independent Reserve, highlighted scarcity as Bitcoin’s core strength.

While Bitcoin’s case has strengthened over time, he noted that the broader crypto market, including Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) and XRP (CRYPTO: XRP), still follows more cyclical and narrative-driven patterns.

Wong explained that altcoins tend to move in cycles influenced by shifting themes …

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Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) surged 33% in April, ending eight consecutive months of declines despite Peter Schiff calling STRC “the largest Ponzi in the world.”

Four Catalysts Drove The April Rally

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) jumped from $69,000 in early April to $78,000 today helped by reports of a possible U.S.-Iran ceasefire plan that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz. This set the stage for Strategy’s massive accumulation spree.

Strategy made four separate Bitcoin purchases in April totaling 56,235 BTC for approximately $4.1 billion. 

The monster purchase came April 13 to 19 when Strategy bought 34,164 BTC for $2.54 billion at an average of $74,395, its largest acquisition since November 2024. 

Total holdings reached 818,334 BTC worth around $65 …

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Ripple CTO David Schwartz dismissed $10,000 XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) price predictions, arguing that if wealthy rational investors believed there was even a 1% chance of that outcome, XRP would already trade at $20 instead of $1.37.

The Market Efficiency Argument

The discussion started when an X user asked Schwartz to respond to theories suggesting XRP could reach $10,000 based on a valuation model popularized by Chris Burniske using the formula Price = PQ / (V × S).

“If there were a few very rich, very rational people who really believed that there was a 1% chance that XRP could hit $10K in 10 years, they’d bid XRP up to at least $20 today,” Schwartz posted. 

“Why aren’t they? Conspiracy?” he added.

With XRP currently trading …

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Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) rose 10% over the past week, supported by a sharp increase in on-chain activity and whale accumulation.

Network Activity Spike

Data from Santiment shows Dogecoin saw 739 large transactions (each over $100,000) in a single day, its highest level in six months.

At the same time, holdings among large wallets continue to concentrate. Wallets containing 100 million DOGE or more, totaling 149 addresses, now control approximately 108.52 billion DOGE, valued at about $11.6 billion.

Analysts say the recent price gain of roughly 14% over 10 days appears to be driven primarily by accumulation from large …

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Bitcoin trades above $77,000 on Friday morning as Bitcoin ETFs saw $14.8 million in net inflows on Thursday, while Ethereum ETFs reported $23.6 million in net outflows.    


Cryptocurrency
Ticker
Price
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) $77,805
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) $2,305
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) $84.38
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) $1.39
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) $0.1081
Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) $0.056303

Meme coin market capitalization is trading 1.3% higher to $36.6 billion over the past 24 hours.

Trader Commentary: 

Michael van de Poppe said Bitcoin typically starts the month with strength, supported by ETF inflows and …

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A leading cryptocurrency analyst anticipated a potential rally for Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) before a final leg down.

Will History Repeat?

In an X post on Thursday, Ali Martinez said that Bitcoin’s ongoing price action has “similarities” with the 2022 bottoming structure.

“If this holds, we could see another push higher before a final leg down,” he predicted.

The analyst shared a chart comparing the 2022 decline to $16,000 with the current 2026 consolidation in the $76,000$76,000–$77,000 range.

If the current structure replicates the 2022 pattern, Bitcoin might potentially reach a higher peak near $82,000 before plunging to lows around $56,000.

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April saw the highest number of cryptocurrency hacking incidents on record, compounding challenges for an industry grappling with a bear market.

Crypto Hacks Hit A 14-Month High

DeFiLlama, a decentralized finance analytics platform, posted an X chart highlighting a dramatic rise in monthly incidents during April, reaching nearly 30 and far above historical peaks.

Hackers stole $635.24 million in April, the highest monthly total since Bybit’s infamous $1.4 billion exchange heist in February 2025.

The Infamous Cases

The biggest hack of the month was the $290 million exploit of KelpDAO’s liquid restaking protocol, followed closely by Drift Protocol’s $285 million exploit. Both incidents were linked to North Korean state-sponsored hackers.

In the KelpDAO incident, the hacker targeted a cross-chain bridge, powered by interoperability protocol LayerZero, and robbed restaked Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH). …

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Riot Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:RIOT) leveraged its Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) holdings to finance its data center development, the company’s Executive Vice President Jason Chung said on Thursday.

RIOT Entirely Relying On Balance Sheet For CapEx Needs

During Riot’s first-quarter earnings call, Chung outlined the funding strategy for the data center business, emphasizing strong reliance on its existing balance sheet.

“During the quarter, we funded this CapEx through a disciplined sale of a portion of our Bitcoin holdings, the most capital-efficient source of funding currently available to us,” Chung said.

Chung added that Riot didn’t have to issue any common equity during the quarter.

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Elon Musk said most cryptocurrencies are “scams” during his Thursday testimony in the OpenAI trial, according to a reporter covering the case.

Musk’s Response To Initial Coin Offering Question

Mike Isaac, a tech reporter from The New York Times, quoted Musk explaining cryptocurrency to the jury in the Federal Courthouse in downtown Oakland.

“Some of them have merit, but most of them are scams,” Musk was quoted as saying.

The comment was in response to a question about OpenAI’s reported plans to raise funds through an initial coin offering—a cryptocurrency-based fundraising—in 2018, Issac said.

Full story available on Benzinga.com

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The Senate unanimously passed on Thursday a resolution introduced by Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) that bans Senators, Officers, and staff from participating in prediction markets.

Senate Says No To Prediction Market Wagering

The Senate agreed to pass the resolution “effective immediately,” according to an update on Moreno’s official Senate website.

The resolution alters the Senate’s standing rules, preventing lawmakers from entering financial agreements where the “outcome depends on whether a specific event does or does not happen.”

“Serving in Congress should never be about finding new ways to profit; it should be about delivering results for the American people,” said Moreno. “Senators have no business engaging in speculative activities like prediction markets while collecting a taxpayer-funded paycheck, period.”

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Leading cryptocurrencies moved sideways, while stocks rallied to record highs on Thursday as investors digested the U.S. economy’s first-quarter growth that fell short of forecasts.

Cryptocurrency 24-Hour Gains +/- Price (Recorded at 9:30 p.m. EDT)
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) +0.22% $76,501.45
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH)
               		 -0.51% $2,261.30
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP)                          -0.63% $1.36
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL)                          -0.56% $83.34
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE)              +1.09% $0.1080

Crypto Market Stuck

Bitcoin moved in a narrow band from the mid-$75,000s to mid-$76,000s, as volume dropped sharply in the past 24 hours.

Ethereum also wobbled in the $2,200 region amid a 47% drop in volume, while Dogecoin eked out a gain of 1.09%

Shares of Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) and Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) closed up 4.59% and 3.32%, respectively.

Over $130 million was liquidated in the past 24 hours, with $71 million in long positions wiped out, according to Coinglass data.

Open interest in Bitcoin futures fell marginally by 0.46% over the last 24 hours. Retail and whale Binance derivatives traders were positioned “Bearish” on the apex cryptocurrency, with more short positions vis-à-vis longs.

“Fear” sentiment prevailed in the market, according to the Crypto Fear & Greed Index.

Top Gainers (24 Hours) 

Cryptocurrency (Market Cap>$100 M) Gains +/- Price (Recorded at 9:30 p.m. EDT)
Block Street (BSB)       +39.70%     $0.6128
SKYAI (SKYAI)                    +29.80%     $0.3754
Orca (ORCA)             +22.63%     $2.00

The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at …

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Bitcoin trades near $76,000 as broader crypto markets traded flat following the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged. Sentiment has stabilized at neutral levels after recent volatility and ETF-driven flows.

Cryptocurrency Ticker Price
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) $76,261.27
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) $2,255.35
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) $83.05
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) $1.36
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) $0.1056
Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) $0.056291

Notable Statistics:

  • Coinglass data shows 71,062 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours for $176.54 million.
  • SoSoValue data shows net outflows of $137.8 million from spot Bitcoin ETFs on Wednesday. Spot Ethereum ETFs saw net outflows of $87.7 million.
  • In the past 24 hours, top gainers include Terra Classic, Zcash and Curve DAO Token.

Notable Developments:

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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is trading sideways near $76,000 as traders closely watch Federal Reserve policy and regulatory developments.

“Two Major Overhangs“

During an Apr. 30 crypto roundtable featuring Benjamin Cowen, analysts highlighted two key near-term risks: tightening global regulation and uncertainty around Federal Reserve policy.

Chair Jerome Powell is maintaining a cautious stance and persistent inflation, particularly tied to energy prices, continues to keep monetary policy tight.

Market sentiment has deteriorated, with crypto discussions fading across social platforms, often a sign of declining retail …

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21Shares has rolled out the 21Shares 2x Long HYPE ETF (NASDAQ:TXXH), offering investors a leveraged play on HYPE, the native token of Hyperliquid (CRYPTO: HYPE).

• 21Shares 2x Long HYPE ETF shares are showing limited movement. What’s next for TXXH stock?

The fund is designed to deliver twice (2x) the daily price performance of HYPE, giving traders amplified exposure through a familiar exchange-traded structure — without directly holding the underlying cryptocurrency. Notably, the launch puts 21Shares ahead of rivals racing to bring HYPE-linked products to market, even as several firms pursue spot offerings still awaiting regulatory approval.

The ETF uses derivatives such as swaps, futures and options to achieve its objective, allocating at least 80% of its assets to instruments aligned with its daily leverage goal. Like other leveraged ETFs, TXXH resets daily and is intended for short-term, actively managed strategies rather than long-term holding. …

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Bitwise Asset Management CEO Hunter Horsley says the crypto industry is entering a new phase in 2026, driven by rapid institutional adoption and improving regulatory clarity.

Banks Accelerate Crypto Initiatives

In an Apr. 30 interview, Horsley said banks, corporations and financial institutions are moving aggressively into digital assets, with some firms pushing teams to go “from zero to 500 miles an hour” on crypto strategies.

He attributed this acceleration to a combination of clearer regulations, more mature infrastructure and rising demand for assets such as Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and stablecoins.

Horsley also pushed back on concerns that …

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World Liberty Financial (CRYPTO: WLFI) has drawn new ire from Democratic lawmakers as the token plunged over 15% after a controversial governance vote.

The Southeast Asian Syndicate Connection

The Wall Street Journal recently linked WLFI to a Southeast Asian criminal syndicate. Last year, WLFI partnered with crypto firm AB, which was overseeing a blockchain-themed resort in East Timor led by two sanctioned men.

The resort’s controlling shareholder Yang Jian and General Manager Yang Yanming were sanctioned by the U.S. last October as part of a crackdown on the billion-dollar overseas crypto scam industry and the Prince Group conglomerate.

WLFI told The Wall Street Journal that it never held a relationship with the pair nor knew about the resort. 

Additionally, the company downplayed the partnership to a “limited non-exclusive technology integration” and claimed its due diligence was proportional to its arrangement.

Warren Calls For Legislation

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) responded that Congress needs to ensure digital asset legislation protects …

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XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) social sentiment has hit a two-year high, driven by renewed optimism around adoption and corporate integrations.

Sentiment Boost From Adoption Developments

Recent excitement has been fueled by XRP’s integration with Rakuten, which now allows users to convert loyalty points into XRP.

The development has strengthened market enthusiasm, particularly among retail traders, by expanding perceived real-world use cases for the asset, Santiment data shows.

Despite the increased attention, analysts note that such announcements do not typically lead to immediate price surges.

Instead, markets often react with a delay, with stronger price impact emerging once initial hype subsides …

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Baird market strategist Michael Antonelli declared crypto “irrelevant” this week, joining Peter Schiff, Michael Burry, and Mike McGlone in a growing chorus of bears that historically signals bottoms for Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC).

Antonelli: Crypto Became Irrelevant Fast

Antonelli wrote on X that it was “remarkable” how quickly crypto had become “irrelevant,” questioning whether the technology had delivered any meaningful real-world adoption beyond functioning as a payment system.

“No one built a single thing on it that gained widespread adoption,” Antonelli posted.

“Remember when it was going to replace the dollar? Laughable,” he added.

The post drew sharp backlash from Bitcoin supporters. Crypto investor Wendy O responded that traditional financial industry giants are excited about crypto and Bitcoin ETFs, patiently waiting on market structure before expanding further. 

Another user noted crypto’s 10-year compound annual growth rate of 80% to 120% depending on …

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ARK Invest bought $39.4 million of Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) shares Wednesday after HOOD crashed 13.2% on weak earnings, while simultaneously selling $6.1 million of its own spot Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) ETF.

ARK Bought The Dip At $71

ARK purchased 553,892 shares of Robinhood across its Innovation (BATS:ARKK), Next Generation Internet (BATS:ARKW), and Fintech Innovation (BATS:ARKF) ETFs according to the April 29 trading report. 

The firm also sold 243,147 shares of the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF from ARKW and ARKF.

HOOD is now the sixth-largest holding in ARKK with a 4.3% weighting worth $275.3 million, fourth in ARKW at 4.6% worth $75.6 million, and sixth in ARKF at 4.4% worth $36.1 million.

For perspective, Tesla, Advanced Micro Devices, and Shopify represent the top assets in those …

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Bitcoin trades near $76,000 following $137.8 million in net outflows from Bitcoin ETFs on Wednesday, while Ethereum ETFs reported $87.7 million in net outflows.    


Cryptocurrency
Ticker
Price
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) $76,025.76
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) $2,262.89
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) $82.96
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) $1.37
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) $0.1066
Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) $0.056269

Meme coin market capitalization is up 1.8% to $36.6 billion over the past 24 hours.

Trader Commentary: 

Lennaert Snyder said Bitcoin formed a new low following the FOMC decision, …

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Ripple opened a new Middle East and Africa regional headquarters in Dubai’s DIFC with capacity to double its local team as XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) sits at the bottom of its trading range.

Ripple’s Dubai Expansion Reflects Regional Growth

Ripple first established its MEA regional headquarters in Dubai in 2020. 

The Middle East now represents a significant share of Ripple’s global customer base, with clients including Zand Bank, Ctrl Alt, Garanti BBVA, Absa Bank, and Chipper Cash.

“In recent years the Middle East has become an increasingly vital driver of Ripple’s global growth,” Reece Merrick, Managing Director for Middle East and Africa at Ripple, stated. 

“Our new regional headquarters is a reflection of our ongoing commitment to playing our part in the region’s upward trajectory,” he added.

Regulatory Milestones Fuel Middle East Momentum

Ripple’s expansion follows landmark …

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Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) founder Jack Dorsey is helping arrange the Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC)-only premiere of an award-winning documentary on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Bitcoin Against Media Blackout

At the Bitcoin 2026 conference in Las Vegas, Dorsey and Eugene Jarecki, the director of “The Six Billion Dollar Man,” announced a private pay-per-view “just to people in the Bitcoin community.”

The documentary had its world premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the “Golden Eye” award and later won a Golden Globe.

However, Jarecki said that the film faced a “media blackout” soon after, adding, “No streamer will touch the film and no mainstream media outlet will go near it.”

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Tether (CRYPTO: USDT), the majority owner of Twenty One Capital (NYSE:XXI), suggested a three-way merger on Wednesday to strengthen the Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) treasury firm’s strategic outlook.

Merger Of Bitcoin-Native Entities

Tether said in a press release that it plans to vote in favor of a proposed merger between Twenty One Capital and Bitcoin payments firm Strike, followed by a merger of the combined entities with Elektron Energy, a large-scale Bitcoin mining platform.

“If consummated, the transactions would allow the combined entity to leverage a strong balance sheet, a large-scale profitable operating business, and a financial services division built to spearhead Bitcoin adoption,” Tether said.

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Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) has begun offering payouts in USDC (CRYPTO: USDC) to a select group of creators, according to the company’s website.

Crypto Payouts In These Countries

The technology giant, known for its ownership of Facebook and Instagram, stated on its support page that the feature is currently available to “select creators” in Colombia and the Philippines. Eligible users can connect a cryptocurrency wallet and receive payments in the dollar-pegged USDC token on Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) and Polygon (CRYPTO: POL).

Meta also added a detailed guide for receiving these payouts, including information about wallets, addresses, and the risks associated with cryptocurrency transfers.

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Eric Trump, co-founder of American Bitcoin Corp. (NASDAQ:ABTC), reiterated on Wednesday his strong belief in Bitcoin’s (CRYPTO: BTC) potential to reach a million dollars in the future

‘Best Days Are Ahead’

At the Bitcoin 2026 conference in Las Vegas, Trump declared his “absolute conviction” that Bitcoin will hit $1 million.

“I don’t know if it’s 2030. I don’t know if it’s 2031, but I absolutely believe it gets there. I believe we are in the infancy. I think our best days are ahead of us,” Trump said.

Trump Highlights Increasing BTC Treasuries

Trump mentioned that numerous companies, including those connected to his family, are growing their Bitcoin treasuries, indicating …

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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) raised concerns on Wednesday about the reported links between the Trump family’s cryptocurrency company, World Liberty Financial, and a venture allegedly linked to sanctioned individuals.

WLFI’s Links With AB Chain Under Scanner

In an X post, Warren pointed to a Wall Street Journal report highlighting World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin deployment on a little-known blockchain network called AB Chain back in November 2025.

The report subsequently highlighted how AB promoted a planned “blockchain theme resort in Timor-Leste, a Southeast Asian nation, to advance blockchain technology and philanthropic initiatives.

However, a subsequent investigation revealed that the planned resort involved individuals later sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury amid a crackdown on Cambodia’s Prince Group—a conglomerate accused of running one of the world’s largest online scam operations.

Notably, the investigation by the Guardian and Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project found no evidence directly connecting AB to the Prince Group or that illicit funds flowed into the resort project. The sanctioned individuals were also removed from the project.

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Leading cryptocurrencies stagnated, while stocks fell on Wednesday due to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and uncertainty surrounding U.S.-Iran peace talks.

Cryptocurrency 24-Hour Gains +/- Price (Recorded at 9:30 p.m. EDT)
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) +0.13% $76,338.11
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH)
               		 -0.29% $2,275.54
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP)                          +0.03% $1.37
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL)                          -0.01% $83.86
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE)              +7.62% $0.1072

Crypto Liquidations Surge

Bitcoin remained volatile, dropping from an intraday high of $77,884 in the early hours to below $75,000 by afternoon. Trading volume spiked nearly 30% over the last 24 hours.

Ethereum hovered between $2,200 and $2,300 amid strong trading volume, while Dogecoin jumped over 7%.

Shares of Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) and Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) closed down 4.54% and 6.37%, respectively.

Over $550 million was liquidated in the past 24 hours, with $345 million in long positions erased, according to Coinglass data.

Open interest in Bitcoin futures fell 0.88% over the last 24 hours, and more than 12% over a week. Binance derivatives traders, both retail and whale, stayed “Neutral” on the apex cryptocurrency.

Top Gainers (24 Hours) 

Cryptocurrency (Market Cap>$100 M) Gains +/- Price (Recorded at 9:30 p.m. EDT)
SKYAI (SKYAI)       +35.21%     $0.2861
Unibase (UB)                  +13.14%     $0.06655
Terra Classic (LUNC)             +10.45%     $0.00006967

The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.55 trillion, following a drop of 0.02% over the last 24 hours.

Stocks Drag On Fed Decision

Stocks retreated further on Wednesday. The …

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States’ maximum economic pressure campaign on Iran has sent the regime into “crisis” during an appearance Wednesday on “Kudlow.”

The effort, known as Operation Economic Fury, is aimed at crippling Tehran’s financial lifelines by seizing Iranian assets, freezing bank accounts and pressuring foreign governments to cut ties with the nation.

“We are freezing bank accounts everywhere. More importantly, we are making people less willing to deal with the regime,” Bessent said.

“We can see that every day, it is more pressure on the regime. The retirement funds that they thought that they had outside of Iran, we are freezing. We’re holding those for the Iranian people. Same with all their villas in the south of France and all over the world, and we are going to track them down.”

NEXT MOVE ON IRAN: SEIZE KHARG ISLAND, SECURE URANIUM OR RISK GROUND WAR ESCALATION

Bessent reported the Treasury Department has seized nearly $500 million in Iranian cryptocurrency assets, adding that the seizures are being carried out on behalf of the Iranian people.

The treasury secretary explained the United States’ aggressive economic campaign against Iran has been over a year in the making, but the United States is “sprinting” toward the finish line.

President Donald Trump ordered the Treasury Department to launch the campaign in March 2025, which Bessent said helped push Iran toward an economic standstill in December, when the nation’s largest bank collapsed.

THE IRAN CEASEFIRE WAS JUST EXTENDED. THE REAL TEST FOR WASHINGTON STARTS NOW

“That created massive inflation. Their currency is down about 60 or 70% versus the U.S. dollar, so they’re in the middle of a currency crisis,” he said.

Bessent said the Treasury Department recently received orders to intensify economic pressure on Iran, prompting the agency to send warnings to buyers of Iranian oil.

“President Trump told me three weeks ago to up the pressure again,” he told FOX Business. “We have gone to the buyers of Iranian oil and told them that… we are willing to do secondary sanctions on your industries, on your banks who tolerate Iranian oil in their system.”

SHADOW FLEET UNDER FIRE: IRAN’S STRAIT SHUTDOWN COULD SQUEEZE RUSSIA’S WAR CHEST, CHINA’S OIL LIFELINE

Bessent argued that the combination of Operation Economic Fury and the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz will inflict permanent damage on Tehran’s economy.

“The port at Kharg Island is at a virtual standstill in terms of loadings,” he said. “We think that the Iranian storage will be full soon. They’ll have to start capping in their wells, which will lead to permanent problems.”

He warned that the pressure campaign could leave Iran unable to fund its military and proxies.

“The regime won’t be able to pay their soldiers, and equally important, is they won’t be able to fund their proxies, whether it’s Hezbollah, Hamas, around the world. One of President Trump’s goals in this was to stop Iran’s ability to project terrorist power around the world.”

Bessent said the Treasury’s economic pressure campaign will continue as U.S.-Iran negotiations stall.

“We are going to continue this — the economic pressure as well as the block on the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.

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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) analysts are split three ways, with targets ranging from $100,000 by year-end to just 30% odds of breaking resistance.

21Shares: $100,000 By Year-End If Conditions Align

21Shares CIO Adrian Fritz pointed to spot Bitcoin ETFs absorbing nearly $2 billion year-to-date as evidence of renewed institutional confidence. 

Demand is coming from a mix of retail investors, institutions, and hedge funds using arbitrage and options strategies.

“Bitcoin now rivals mega-cap equities like Nvidia, with daily trading volumes exceeding $50 billion,” Fritz told CoinDesk’s Public Keys. 

“ETF structures provide both primary and secondary market liquidity, making the asset institutional ready,” he added.

Moreover, Fritz expects continued consolidation in the near term, with a move toward $100,000 by year-end if conditions align. 

He flagged several catalysts: improving geopolitical sentiment including any resolution tied …

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Bitcoin slipped to around $75,000 as traders reduced risk, with broader sentiment shifting from neutral to fear.

Cryptocurrency Ticker Price
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) $75,282
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) $2,225
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) $81.89
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) $1.35
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) $0.1017
Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) $0.056039

Notable Statistics:

  • Coinglass data shows 179,931 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours for $674.74 million.       
  • SoSoValue data shows net inflows of $440.7 million from spot Bitcoin ETFs on Wednesday. Spot Ethereum ET’Fs saw net inflows of $69.05 million.

Notable Developments:

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Bitcoin’s (CRYPTO: BTC) long-standing pitch as “digital gold” is facing a macro reality check. On Federal Reserve announcement days, the ETFs tracking it are behaving like high-growth tech proxies, moving in sync with interest rate expectations and liquidity signals.

Heading into the latest Fed policy decision and Jerome Powell’s press conference, trading patterns across major spot Bitcoin ETFs show a clear shift. Funds such as the iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ:IBIT), Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (BATS:FBTC), ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (BATS:ARKB), and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (NYSE:GBTC) are increasingly moving more or less alongside equity benchmarks rather than acting as diversifiers.

On Wednesday morning, all the funds were trading marginally lower at less than 1%, same as the S&P 500. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 index was not very far ahead, and was trading less than 1% higher.

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JP Morgan analyst Kenneth B. Worthington said Robinhood Markets, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:HOOD) first-quarter results fell short of expectations due to weaker revenue trends, while he lowered forecasts and trimmed his price forecast amid concerns about the durability of certain income streams.

Earnings Miss Driven By Revenue Weakness

Worthington noted that Robinhood reported first-quarter 2026 EPS of 38 cents, below the 43 cents consensus, as total revenue of $1.07 billion missed expectations of $1.14 billion. He attributed the shortfall to weaker transaction revenue and net interest revenue.

He highlighted pressure on transaction revenue, which came in at $623 million versus expectations of $661 million, as take rates declined across options and crypto.

He said options revenue fell short due to lower per-contract pricing, while crypto take rates also declined amid competitive pressure. Net interest revenue of $359 million also missed estimates, reflecting weaker securities lending activity in a softer IPO environment.

Costs, Deposits And Growth Trends

Worthington said Robinhood kept expenses well under control in the quarter, with adjusted operating expenses below prior guidance. However, the company raised its full-year expense outlook to account for investments tied to new initiatives, such as Trump Accounts.

He pointed to net deposits as a bright spot, with inflows of $17.7 billion exceeding expectations and tracking near the company’s 20% annual growth target. He added that April trends improved, with …

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Crypto still loves a price chart. The global conversation keeps circling ETFs, token cycles, and the next institutional allocation story. The lens is useful for traders, but it misses the more important product being built in plain sight.

In Latin America, stablecoins are not a side feature of crypto. They are becoming the account people actually use – a dollar-linked balance they can hold, move, receive, and spend. Especially if local money fails to carry enough trust.

In this context, the coming Stablecoin Conference LATAM in Mexico City feels like a preview of where consumer finance is heading. The event is scheduled for June 15-16, 2026, bringing together issuers, banks, policymakers, and infrastructure companies around digital money that people already treat as useful.

The Market Already Voted

The numbers now make the argument hard to dismiss. Latin America received $730 billion in crypto volume in 2025, with growth above 60% year on year. Monthly active crypto users in the region grew nearly 18%, three times faster than in the United States.

Between July 2022 and June 2025, Latin America recorded nearly $1.5 trillion in crypto transaction volume. Brazil alone received $318.8 billion, around one-third of the region’s activity, followed by Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, and Colombia. Stablecoin purchases made up over half of all exchange purchases involving the Colombian peso, Argentine peso, and Brazilian real between July 2024 and the end of June 2025. 

Looks like the behavior of users choosing a balance they trust.

LATAM Did Not Adopt Stablecoins for the Narrative

There is a tendency in developed markets to frame stablecoins as a technology story. Faster settlement, better rails, programmable money, cleaner treasury operations. All of that is true, but it is not where the habit began.

In Latin America, the first product-market fit was much simpler. People wanted a way to hold value in a currency that didn’t punish them for waiting until next month. Businesses wanted to pay suppliers, receive money, and manage cash across borders without …

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XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) has experienced subdued price action over the past year, even as activity on its network has accelerated sharply, driven by growth in tokenized real-world assets.  

Tokenized Treasury Supply Jumps 8x

According to EvernorthXRP, tokenized U.S. Treasuries on the XRP network have grown from roughly $50 million to about $418.5 million over the past year, an eightfold increase.

The expansion reflects a broader trend of traditional financial instruments being issued and managed on blockchain infrastructure.

Network usage has also risen significantly. Transfer volume totaled approximately $70.1 million …

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ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood maintains her $730,000 base case Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) target for 2030 and says the bull market is still intact despite a 50% drawdown from all-time highs.

Gold Leading Bitcoin, Just Like Last Cycle

Wood explained that Bitcoin’s correlation to gold since 2019 stands at just 0.14, but gold has historically rallied before Bitcoin in previous cycles. She thinks the same pattern is playing out now.

“Bitcoin relative to gold has had a significant drop, but if you look at the longer term, you’ll see higher lows in terms of the very long-term trend line,” Wood said on The Rollup podcast. “The Bitcoin bull market is still intact,” she added.

ARK’s bull case projects Bitcoin reaching $1.5 million by 2030. Wood acknowledged taking flack for saying stablecoins had usurped some of Bitcoin’s role in emerging markets, but noted gold rallying simultaneously impacts Bitcoin’s store of value …

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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is increasingly being framed by prominent investors as a macro-driven asset poised for a long-term bull cycle.

In an Apr. 29 podcast, Anthony Pompliano highlighted growing optimism among leading macro and crypto investors, who see Bitcoin as entering a structurally bullish phase rather than a speculative rally.

The bullish outlook is centered on four key drivers: expanding global liquidity, rising institutional participation, growing government engagement, and persistent inflation concerns. Collectively, these forces are seen as creating the foundation for a sustained upward trend in Bitcoin.

Arthur Hayes: Liquidity Is The Primary Driver

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes reiterated his view that Bitcoin’s next major move will be driven by “digital credit” expansion and global liquidity cycles rather than retail speculation.

He has …

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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) remains range-bound in the short term, but BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes says the broader trend is still firmly upward, with significant long-term upside driven primarily by global liquidity conditions.

$100,000 First, Then $125,000 In Focus

Hayes said Bitcoin could reach $100,000 after the northern hemisphere summer, with a potential move toward $125,000 by the end of 2026 if macro liquidity conditions continue to improve.

He argued that the primary driver is not regulation or political developments, but expanding dollar liquidity and global macroeconomic conditions.

According to Hayes, Bitcoin is already outperforming traditional markets such as the Nasdaq, and he expects that trend to continue into the fall …

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Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has labeled XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) the company’s “North Star” as the token faces a breakout decision in the next 24 to 48 hours.

Garlinghouse: All Roads Lead To XRP

Garlinghouse on Wednesday reposted Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who emphasized that a CEO’s daily responsibility is to “communicate and re-communicate the North Star. Again and again.”

“100% All roads lead back to Ripple’s North Star, XRP,” Garlinghouse said. 

The statement reaffirms XRP as central to Ripple’s strategy in cross-border payments and XRP Ledger development amid global adoption efforts.

Ripple, OKX Expand RLUSD To 280+ Trading Pairs

Ripple and OKX partnered Wednesday to make RLUSD (CRYPTO: RLUSD) available for spot trading across over 280 pairs. 

The partnership allows traders to …

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Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) is down to $73 Wednesday after Q1 crypto revenue plunged 47% to $134 million, yet Bernstein maintains its $130 target for the stock.

The Q1 Miss: Crypto Revenue Collapsed

Robinhood on Tuesday reported cryptocurrency revenues of $134 million and native-app notional trading volumes of $24 billion, year-over-year declines of 47% and 48% respectively. 

Crypto now accounts for just 13% of total revenue versus 17% in Q4 2025.

Q1 revenue hit $1.067 billion, a 7% miss versus estimates. Adjusted EBITDA of $534 million missed expectations by 9%. 

The company posted net income of $346 million, a 3% increase year-over-year, maintaining profitability despite the crypto collapse.

What Worked: Prediction Markets, Gold Subscribers

Prediction markets emerged as the primary growth driver with event contracts trading a record 8.8 billion units in Q1. 

This segment contributed $415 …

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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) tapped $77,000 early Wednesday as analysts debate how the change at the helm of the Federal Reserve will impact the apex crypto.

Powell Chairs His Last Meeting

In an Apr.29 podcast, Benjamin Cowen said Bitcoin has historically performed best under loose monetary conditions.

The upcoming Federal Open Market Committee meeting is notable as it is expected to be the final one led by Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chair, marking what Cowen described as the “end of an era.”

Despite market expectations that new leadership could introduce rate cuts, Cowen argued this is unlikely in the near term.

He pointed to persistent inflation, driven …

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(Editor’s note: The future prices of benchmark tracking ETFs, the lede, and the headline were updated in the story.)

Dow Jones and S&P 500 futures declined, while Nasdaq rose in premarket on Wednesday, following Tuesday’s lower close.

New orders for manufactured durable goods in March increased by 0.8% to $318.9 billion, bouncing back after three consecutive monthly declines. When excluding the transportation sector, new orders grew by 0.9%.

In trade data, the U.S. advanced international trade deficit for goods widened to $87.9 billion in March, up from $83.5 billion in February. Meanwhile, advance wholesale inventories rose 1.4% to $932.8 billion, and advance retail inventories increased 0.7% to $823.5 billion.

Investors will be closely watching the Federal Reserve’s decision to gauge how the central bank is navigating interest rates amid the ongoing U.S.-Iran war. Additionally, Jerome Powell‘s press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET is widely considered to be his last as Chair of the Fed.

The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 100% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged in today’s meeting.

Four out of seven ‘Magnificent 7’ heavyweights will announce their earnings results today after the bell, which include Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META).

Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.36%, and the two-year bond yield was at 3.85%.

Index Performance (+/-)
Dow Jones 0.09%
S&P 500 0.08%
Nasdaq 100 0.29%
Russell 2000 0.18%

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were mixed in premarket on Wednesday. The SPY was down 0.11% at $710.90, while the QQQ advanced 0.10% to $658.22.

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Bitcoin trades above $77,000 on Wednesday morning, supported by optimism following remarks from the SEC chair at the Bitcoin 2026 event.

Bitcoin ETFs saw $89.7 million in net outflows on Tuesday, while Ethereum ETFs reported $21.8 million in net outflows.  


Cryptocurrency
Ticker
Price
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) $77,620.71
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) $2,334.55
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) $85.32
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) $1.39
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) $0.1100
Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) $0.056473

Meme coin market capitalization is down 2.8% to …

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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is up roughly 20% from its February lows, and Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan says Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) chairman Michael Saylor is the single biggest factor behind the move.

Strategy Added $7.2 Billion In 8 Weeks

Strategy purchased $7.2 billion of Bitcoin over the past eight weeks, outpacing the $3.8 billion in ETF inflows since March 1. 

The purchases were financed entirely by issuing STRC, Strategy’s perpetual preferred stock currently yielding 11.5% annually.

Hougan explained that Strategy’s goal with STRC is to have it trade at $100 per share while offering high dividend yields. 

The company maintains that price by adjusting the yield up or down. If STRC trades below $100, Strategy can increase the interest rate to attract buyers. If it trades above $100, Strategy can issue more shares …

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Economist Peter Schiff questioned on Tuesday Bitcoin’s (CRYPTO: BTC) decline over the past year, despite Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) substantially boosting its BTC reserves during the same time.

Schiff Targets Saylor’s Strategy Again

In an X post, Schiff chose the 2025 Bitcoin Conference as the reference point. He noted that Michael Saylor’s firm increased its Bitcoin holdings from 2.76% of the total supply at that time to 3.9%—right as the key 2026 conference kicks off.

The 2025 Conference was held in Las Vegas from May 27 to May 29. At the time, Strategy held 580,250 BTC. Earlier this week, it reported its latest purchase, boosting the reserves to 818,334 BTC, suggesting a nearly 40% increase.

Moreover, BTC traded around $109,000 during the 2025 event. It has since declined by about 30%.

“A 40% increase in market share didn’t stop Bitcoin from falling by 30%. …

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Elon Musk labeled OpenAI founder Sam Altman “Scam Altman” on Monday as anonymous crypto investigator ZachXBT accused Worldcoin (CRYPTO: WLD) of launching with a “predatory low float” structure reminiscent of FTX tactics.

The Worldcoin Allegations

ZachXBT jumped into the conversation under Musk’s post, describing Worldcoin’s WLD token as targeting people in low-income countries by offering small amounts of WLD in exchange for iris scans. 

Instead of creating verified digital identities, the project spawned a black market for verified World IDs trading for as little as $5 to $15.

ZachXBT pointed to unsustainable token inflation and regular over-the-counter sales by insiders, calling the whole setup exploitative. 

He previously labeled WLD “the biggest scam token of the bull run” in July 2024, accusing the team and venture capital backers of complicity in price manipulation and misleading marketing.

The investigator framed Worldcoin as Altman’s “other company” which deserves the …

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Billionaire investor Michael Novogratz said Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) could struggle to reclaim the $100,000 level without a meaningful shift in macroeconomic conditions, particularly monetary policy.

Fed Policy Key To Next Move

Speaking on the broader crypto outlook to Bloomberg on Tuesday, Novogratz said a sustained move higher in Bitcoin would likely require central banks, especially the Federal Reserve, to ease policy.

However, he warned that persistent geopolitical tensions and inflation risks may keep policymakers cautious, limiting near-term upside.

At the time of his comments, Bitcoin was trading near $76,000, well below its prior peak around $126,000.

Meanwhile, Galaxy …

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Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) shares fell Tuesday as a risk-off market weighed on growth stocks, with traders focused on how a crypto downturn could impact transaction-driven results ahead of earnings.

What To Watch Ahead Of Robinhood’s Q1 Earnings

Robinhood is set to report first-quarter results after the close on Tuesday, with attention on how declining cryptocurrency prices may have affected trading activity and revenue.

Cryptocurrencies accounted for 28% of fourth-quarter transaction-based revenue, making the drop in Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) a key factor.

Investors are watching whether lower prices led to reduced user engagement and trading volumes.

Recent developments also shape sentiment. On April 22, Robinhood Ventures Fund I (NYSE:RVI) announced a $75 million investment in OpenAI, calling it one of its largest investments and signaling a push into frontier AI opportunities.

Robinhood Stock: …

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Three billionaire investors declared aggressive Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) targets at Bitcoin 2026 in Las Vegas on Monday, with price calls ranging from $125,000 to warnings of a massive supply shock.

Tim Draper: Companies Must Hold 5% to 15% in Bitcoin

Tim Draper said businesses should allocate 5% to 15% of treasury to Bitcoin to hedge against fiat currency erosion and prepare for potential financial system disruptions.

“It’s irresponsible now for a company to operate and have a big treasury and not have some portion of that in Bitcoin,” Draper said. 

“If you want to protect your family, you want to protect your company, you want to protect your country, you better have some Bitcoin,” he added.

Meanwhile, Draper warned that increasing merchant acceptance of Bitcoin could trigger a bank run as retailers shift to accepting only Bitcoin. 

He cited Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse as evidence the banking system nearly …

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Bitcoin held near $76,000 while major altcoins remained subdued, as traders positioned cautiously ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

Cryptocurrency Ticker Price
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) $76,200.02
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) $2,292.36
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) $83.66
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) $1.38
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) $0.09936
Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) $0.056116

Notable Statistics:

  • Coinglass data shows 67,855 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours for $192.38 million.       
  • SoSoValue data shows net outflows of $263.2 million from spot Bitcoin ETFs on Monday. Spot Ethereum ETFs saw net outflows of $50.5 million.
  • In the past 24 hours, top gainers include Humanity Protocol, siren and Terra Classic.

Notable Developments:

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American Bitcoin (NASDAQ:ABTC) has torched $500 million in shareholder value since September while Eric Trump’s personal fortune jumped from $190 million to $280 million, according to a Forbes report published Tuesday.

American Bitcoin Stock Down 92% From Peak

When American Bitcoin hit the Nasdaq on September 3, investors valued the company at $13.2 billion despite holding just $270 million of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC). 

The stock is now down 92% from its peak after the company dumped 149 million shares to buy more Bitcoin.

Eric Trump pitched the company as mining Bitcoin for roughly $57,000 per coin when it traded around $116,000. 

But the all-in cost including machines, marketing, and capital allocation hit about $92,000 per Bitcoin at the time, leaving slim margins that evaporated when prices fell.

How The Stock Dumping Worked?

American Bitcoin sold …

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GraniteShares is expanding its push into income-focused thematic ETFs with the launch of two new YieldBOOST strategies tied to crypto and fintech. The GraniteShares YieldBOOST CRCL ETF (NASDAQ:CRY) and GraniteShares YieldBOOST Ether ETF (NASDAQ:XEY) began trading today, offering investors a way to tap income opportunities linked to Circle Internet Group and Ether without directly holding the underlying assets.

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Baiya International Group Inc (NASDAQ:BIYA) shares are surging Tuesday afternoon, up over 100%, after the company laid out a crypto-focused “Ark Plan” that centers on a first digital-asset allocation target and a buyback framework.

Baiya International Targets ‘Token-Stock Synergy’

Baiya says public voting picked Binance Coin (CRYPTO: BNB) as the first “core digital asset allocation target,” with BNB winning 89.2% of votes versus 10.8% for TRUMP (CRYPTO: TRUMP). The plan’s first step calls for an initial $1 million purchase and four concurrent execution strategies built around Binance Coin.

Baiya intends to allocate 50% of realized revenue from these digital assets toward share buybacks, creating a “Token-Stock Synergy” designed to return value directly to shareholders.

To support this expansion, the company has filed for up to 30 million common shares to reserve capital for future phases of the Ark Plan. The execution framework utilizes four …

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Bitmine Immersion Technologies (NYSE:BMNR), a firm tied to Wall Street strategist Tom Lee, has just purchased roughly $233 million worth of Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH). That is more than 100,000 ETH added in a single move, and it stands as one of the largest corporate Ethereum buys we have seen this year.

When one of Wall Street’s most respected voices puts such a huge amount into a single asset in seven days, it’s a clear statement.

BitMine Just Cornered 4% of Ethereum’s Entire Supply

Since december, 2025, this is the largest weekly ethereum purchase. Right now, BitMine Immersion Technologies hold close to 4% of the entire ethereum supply with nearly 5 million ETH tokens sitting in its balance sheet. 

Bitmine is not jumping in and out of Ethereum with the aim to catch short-term price swings. The company has been building its position steadily, and this latest purchase is just another step in that direction.

The message behind this massive move is simple: tom lee believes ethereum will be worth a lot more over time, and investors shouldn’t take this signal likely.

While many believe the crypto winter may last through the fall of 2026, Lee’s view is slightly different. He believes that the next …

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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) has climbed about 15% over the past month, with technical analysts pointing to a classic three-period pattern that may indicate a shift toward stronger bullish momentum.

Three-Period “Morning Star” Pattern

In an Apr. 28 post on X, crypto analyst Ali Martinez highlighted the formation of a Morning Star pattern on Bitcoin’s chart, a signal often associated with trend reversals.

The pattern unfolds over three periods, transitioning from strong selling pressure to indecision and then to renewed buying strength. Martinez said this reflects a shift from fear-driven selling to what he described as “aggressive conviction” among buyers.

He …

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Robinhood Markets Inc (NASDAQ:HOOD) reported first-quarter financial results Tuesday after market close.

Here are the key highlights.

Robinhood Q1 Earnings

Robinhood reported first-quarter revenue of $1.07 billion, up 15% year-over-year. The revenue total missed a Street consensus estimate of $1.18 billion, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

The company reported earnings per share of 38 cents in the quarter, missing a Street consensus estimate of 46 cents per share.

Transaction-based revenues were $623 million for the first quarter, up 7% year-over-year, broken down as follows:

  • Other transaction revenue: $147 million, +320% year-over-year
  • Options revenue: $260 million, +8% year-over-year
  • Equities revenue: $82 million, +46% year-over-year
  • Cryptocurrencies revenue: $134 million, down 47% year-over-year

The other category includes event contracts revenue. Event contracts were a record 8.8 billion traded in the first quarter.

The decline in cryptocurrencies revenue comes with the price of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) down in the first quarter compared to the end of 2025.

Net deposits were $18 billion in the first quarter. Chief Financial Officer …

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Leading cryptocurrencies fell alongside stocks on Tuesday amid a report that AI giant OpenAI reportedly missed its key targets.

Cryptocurrency 24-Hour Gains +/- Price (Recorded at 9:35 p.m. EDT)
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) -1.12% $76,330.28
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH)
               		 -0.82% $2,283.76
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP)                          -1.41% $1.37
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL)                          -0.75% $83.88
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE)              +0.34% $0.09955

Crypto Market Drags Lower

Bitcoin fell to an intraday low of $75,673, with trading activity substantially falling over the last 24 hours. Ethereum wobbled in the tight range between $2,250 and $2,300, while XRP also traded in the red.

Shares of Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) and Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) closed down 2.06% and 1.33%, respectively.

Over $190 million was liquidated in the past 24 hours, predominantly affecting long traders, according to Coinglass data.

Open interest in Bitcoin futures fell further by 3.54% over the last 24 hours. Binance derivatives traders remained bearish on the asset, placing more short positions vis-à-vis longs.

“Fear” sentiment persisted in the market, according to the Crypto Fear & Greed Index.

Top Gainers (24 Hours) 

Cryptocurrency (Market Cap>$100 M) Gains +/- Price (Recorded at 9:35 p.m. EDT)
SKYAI (SKYAI)       +33.02%     $0.2187
Humanity Protocol (H)                  +24.07%     $0.1757
Unibase (UB)             +19.61%     $0.05871

The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.55 trillion, following a drop of 1.01% over the last 24 hours.

Stocks Retreat On …

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A judge dismissed on Tuesday rejected jailed cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried’s request for a new trial, labelling the new evidence brought by him as “wildly conspiratorial.”

Judge Questions SBF’s Key Arguments

Bankman-Fried, popularly known as SBF, filed a request for a new trial earlier in February, stating that Daniel Chapsky, former FTX head of partnerships, Ryan Salame, former FTX Digital Markets co-CEO, and Nishad Singh, former FTX engineering director, were “threatened” by the DOJ into silence or changing their statements.

Judge Lewis Kaplan, who sentenced Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison for the FTX scam, said that none of the witnesses were “newly discovered” and that SBF was aware of them before the trial.

“He could have obtained or at least sought to compel their testimony. But he did neither. His assertion that their absence [or, in one case, the decision of the witness to testify against him] …

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American Bitcoin Corp. (NASDAQ:ABTC) co-founder Eric Trump lashed out on Tuesday at an article painting the firm as an “arbitrage play” targeting MAGA supporters.

Trump Brings Out The ‘China’ Angle

In an X post, Trump attributed the critical coverage to Forbes’ ownership by Hong Kong-based Integrated Whale Media Investments.

“Since being acquired by China, Forbes has become a political weapon and an embarrassment to journalism,” he said. “Educate yourselves as to the source of your information — in this case, China!”

Trump compared the current narrative to Forbes’ past reporting on his St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital fundraising, with some funds allegedly diverted to other charities linked to his family.

Forbes didn’t immediately return Benzinga’s request for comment.

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LONDON, April 29, 2026 /CNW/ — iFOREX today announced its admission to the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) under the ticker IFRX, with a market valuation of approximately £43.3 million. This milestone represents a major step in the Company’s global growth strategy and supports its continued expansion across international markets, including cryptocurrency CFD trading for retail investors in Latin America (LATAM) and beyond.

The listing underscores iFOREX’s commitment to combining traditional financial instruments with the evolving opportunities presented by the cryptocurrency market. Over the past decade, iFOREX has offered retail traders access to a broad portfolio of crypto CFDs, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Litecoin (LTC), and a growing range of other digital assets, alongside forex, commodities, indices, equities, and ETFs. The Company’s proprietary online and …

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The U.S. Treasury Department has frozen more than $344 million in cryptocurrency tied to Iran and is ramping up efforts to choke off the regime’s access to global revenue streams as part of an ongoing pressure campaign, officials said.

The actions are part of Operation Economic Fury, a broader campaign aimed at squeezing Iran’s economy by limiting its ability to sell oil abroad. The campaign is part of the administration’s broader “maximum pressure” strategy targeting Iran’s economy and oil exports.

A Treasury official said the department has disrupted billions of dollars in projected oil revenue in recent days while freezing hundreds of millions in crypto assets linked to the regime.

In a statement to FOX Business, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that Iran’s key oil export hub is nearing a breaking point, with mounting financial losses expected to escalate.

CHEVRON CEO WARNS AVIATION STRAIN COULD WORSEN AS JET FUEL CRUNCH DEEPENS

“Kharg Island, Iran’s primary oil export terminal, is soon nearing storage capacity, which will force the regime to reduce oil production,” he said. 

He noted that the resulting logjam will drain an additional $170 million per day in lost revenue and cause “permanent damage to Iran’s oil infrastructure.”

“Treasury will continue to exert maximum pressure,” he added. “Any person, vessel, or entity facilitating illicit flows to Tehran risks exposure to U.S. sanctions.”

Officials say the pressure campaign is aimed at cutting off funding streams tied to terrorism and destabilizing activity in the region.

UAE EXITS OPEC AND OPEC+, SEEKING OUTPUT FLEXIBILITY AS GLOBAL ENERGY MARKETS TIGHTEN

Bessent said the Treasury has specifically targeted Iran’s international shadow banking infrastructure, weapons procurement networks, and the “shadow fleet” of tankers used to hide oil origins.

“These actions have disrupted tens of billions of dollars in revenue that would be used to fund terrorism,” he said, adding that the U.S. is also zeroing in on independent Chinese “teapot” refineries that support the trade.

A senior administration official said the U.S. is also increasing scrutiny on foreign entities and financial institutions accused of facilitating Iran’s illicit trade.

Treasury has shared information with governments, including China, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, identifying banks that have allegedly enabled Iranian activity and warning that continued cooperation could trigger secondary sanctions.

Officials also flagged independent “teapot” refineries in China, particularly in Shandong Province, as ongoing buyers of Iranian crude oil, raising the risk of further enforcement actions.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO 

The administration has signaled it is prepared to expand sanctions to airlines, shipping networks and financial institutions that continue to support Iran’s economy.

Officials say the campaign will continue targeting both traditional sanctions evasion networks and the growing use of digital assets to move funds globally.

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Block, Inc.‘s (NYSE:XYZ)Bitkey rolled out an updated version of its hardware Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) wallet on Tuesday, adding a larger display while keeping its core design centered on multi-signature self-custody.

What’s New?

Bitkey said that the new screen, apart from validating transactions, would also confirm wallet settings that govern what happens “when things go wrong.”

“Who gets notified if someone tries to recover the wallet, where those notifications go, who can help you recover if you lose everything, how much you can spend without the hardware, and who inherits your funds,” Bitkey said that all these decisions could be verified on the device now. 

Bitkey said the upgraded device, priced at $250, still defaults to a two-of-three multisignature setup and …

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Cryptocurrency punters are dialing back expectations for Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) hitting $150,000 this year.

Bitcoin To $150,000 Unlikely In 2026

Polygon (CRYPTO: POL)-based Polymarket currently assigns only a 10% chance of Bitcoin reaching the key milestone in 2026, down from 27% at the start of the year. The odds of it reaching $150,000 by June 30 were unsurprisingly at only 2%.

A whopping $18.36 million has been wagered on the outcome. The market resolves to “Yes” if any BTC/USDT 1-minute candle on Binance on the specified date has a final “High” price equal to or greater than $150,000.

…

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XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) scarcity on Binance has hit its highest level since July 2024, but XRP has broken below $1.40 support on high volume as rising Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) dominance draws capital away from altcoins.

The Scarcity Signal

The XRP scarcity index on Binance climbed to around 0.75 in recent days, reflecting a notable decline in available supply on the exchange, according to a CryptoQuant analyst.

The metric suggests an XRP supply shock is likely due to increased withdrawals or a slowdown in deposits.

Historically, such high levels are associated with investor accumulation as assets move to private wallets rather than staying on exchanges. 

This reduces the likelihood of …

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Bitcoin trades near $76,000 as institutional flows turned negative ahead of a closely watched Federal Reserve meeting.

Bitcoin ETFs saw $263.2 million in net outflows on Monday, while Ethereum ETFs reported $50.5 million in net outflows.  


Cryptocurrency
Ticker
Price
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) $76,365
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) $2,277
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) $83.62
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) $1.38
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) $0.09889
Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) $0.056065

Meme coin market capitalization is down 3.5% to $36.4 billion over the past 24 hours.

Trader Commentary: 

Crypto industry expert Quinten Francois said Bitcoin remains confined within a trading …

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Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA) founder Charles Hoskinson warned that the quantum threat to Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is arriving faster than anticipated as 11 major companies passed the first gate in DARPA’s quantum benchmarking initiative.

The Timeline Is Accelerating

DARPA brought together 11 companies from IBM to Quantinuum through a three-stage process to determine whether functional quantum computers arrive by 2033 and whether they can break encryption. 

Within the next 12 to 24 months, the industry will know if this is a near-horizon problem or something for the 2040s or 2050s.

Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) developer Justin Drake previously says there’s at least a 10% chance of quantum computers breaking crypto by 2032. 

He recently revised that estimate forward after observing progress in neutral atom computing.

“The quantum threat is …

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Block Inc. (NYSE:SQ) published its first proof-of-reserves report Monday, disclosing total Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) holdings of 28,355 BTC worth roughly $2.2 billion as of March 2026, confirmed by third-party auditors.

Block’s Bitcoin Holdings: Customer vs Corporate Split

Block’s Bitcoin reserves split into two categories: 19,357 BTC ($1.5 billion) held on behalf of customers and 8,997 BTC ($692.3 million) in corporate holdings. 

The report covers assets across Block’s corporate treasury, Square, and Cash App.

The company said users shouldn’t have to trust that their Bitcoin is there, they should be able to verify it. 

Using on-chain signatures, anyone can independently confirm Block’s holdings. Reserves are actively controlled, not just historically observed.

Block launched a proof-of-reserves dashboard that lets users verify wallet ownership …

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BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) is integrating its tokenized money market fund BUIDL with cryptocurrency exchange OKX as Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) spot ETFs continue to attract significant inflows.

Under the arrangement, the fund can be used as collateral while continuing to generate yield from low-risk assets such as U.S. Treasuries.

The underlying assets remain held in custody by Standard Chartered, ensuring regulated backing while allowing traders to deploy the tokenized units as margin, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

The structure is designed to address a long-standing inefficiency in …

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Veteran trader Peter Brandt on Monday urged Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) bulls who are predicting $250,000 in 2026 to tone down the hype and focus on more realistic price targets.

No Bullish Bottoming Pattern Yet

Brandt, a technical analyst with nearly 50 years of experience, attached a daily chart on X, showing Bitcoin trading in a defined channel pattern since late 2025

“While it does not preclude further price gains, it is NOT a bullish bottoming pattern,” Brandt stated. “Those of you predicting $250,000 in 2026 need to stop with the mushrooms.”

Last …

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Billionaire investor Mark Cuban proposed on Monday that states should allow anyone to incorporate businesses powered by AI agents and stablecoins, and charge a premium for the service.

Incorporation Using AI Agents?

In an X post, the “Shark Tank” personality said that if he were a state governor, he would “add the ability for anyone,” and slap premium fees to rake in revenue.

Cuban also recommended that the state register its incorporation agent on the popular AI agent marketplaces launched by leading companies.

“First to market makes a killing,” he added.

Not Everyone Is In Agreement

Thomas Unise, Head of AI consulting company eeko systems, questioned the value of AI agents for business incorporation, …

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Leading cryptocurrencies took a U-turn on Monday, while stocks closed at new records, as the White House confirmed that President Donald Trump discussed Iran’s new proposal to end the war.

Cryptocurrency 24-Hour Gains +/- Price (Recorded at 9:20 p.m. EDT)
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) -2.21% $77,290.59
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH)
               		 -3.24% $2,385.89
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP)                          -2.80% $1.39
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL)                          -3.04% $84.78
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE)              -0.44% $0.09923

Crypto Market Corrects

Bitcoin pulled back sharply after Sunday’s spike, facing intense selling pressure as 24-hour trading volumes surged 44%.

Ethereum fell to an intraday low of $2,267 after breaking $2,400 the day before. Dogecoin and XRP also retreated.

Shares of Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) and Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) closed down 1.06% and 1.53%, respectively.

Over $330 million was liquidated in the past 24 hours, predominantly in bullish long positions, according to Coinglass data.

Open interest in Bitcoin futures fell 1.03% over the last 24 hours. Sentiment among Binance derivatives traders remained bearish, with more short positions vis-à-vis longs.

Market sentiment flipped from “Neutral” back to “Fear,” according to the Crypto Fear & Greed Index.

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Strategy Buys 3,273 Bitcoin For $255 Million: MSTR Targets $205

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A new Federal Reserve Chairman has the potential to radically re-shape the way monetary policy is conducted in the U.S.- but, what’s the real story?

Revolution at the Fed?

A chorus of powerful men is calling for revolution at the Fed. David Malpas, former World Bank president being one of the most notable.

It’s not controversial anymore, the Fed is broken.

Jerome Powell’s time is up- a new Fed chair is coming soon. This past Tuesday, Kevin Warsh sat before the Senate Banking Committee for his confirmation hearing to become the next chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Outside of the typical political food fight, the most substantive part of the day was Warsh’s unusually blunt assessment of where the Fed has gone wrong and what he thinks needs to change.

Warsh called the ‘policy mistakes’ of 2021 and 2022 a “fatal policy error”. He said the kind of loose, reactive approach that oversaw M0 money supply increasing by over 85% and leaving inflation running red hot, left households and businesses still paying the price years later.

He criticized the Fed for enabling reckless fiscal policy from the Federal Government and its ridiculously large deficits.

M0 Money Supply (monetary base) – Percent Change from February 2020 to February 2022, and the end of balance sheet expansion.

His proposed fix?

A full “regime change” as he called it: a narrower focus on the core dual mandate of price stability and maximum employment, a fresh inflation framework (different metrics), far less reliance on unconventional tools, and a meaningfully smaller balance sheet.

“A SMALLER BALANCE SHEET?!”

The Reverse Money Printer

That last point matters. For more than a decade the Fed has leaned hard on quantitative easing (“QE”)- massive rounds of Fed money printing to buy financial assets from the banks that effectively printed trillions in new reserves to keep markets afloat and rates suppressed.

During the response to COVID, the Fed printed $3 trillion in bank reserves- just created out of thin air.

During the ongoing responses to the GFC, the Fed printed $3.2 trillion in bank reserves.

Remember, when the Fed …

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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is decoupling from software stocks as inflation heads above 4%, setting up the negative real yields that historically send the token higher.

The Inflation Setup

Jordi Visser, a veteran macro investor with 30-plus years of experience, told Anthony Pompliano on an episode of Pompliano’s podcast on Saturday that service and manufacturing PMIs hit their highest levels since 2022 last week. 

Manufacturing bottlenecks are spreading from memory to CPUs to chemicals because of AI buildouts and Iran War disruptions.

“There is really no doubt in my mind that inflation is going higher,” Visser said. 

“Headline CPI is the one that I have confidence in will be above 4% as we keep getting this data,” he added.

He clarified that traditional inflation beneficiaries like housing and wages won’t improve. Instead, commodity prices, memory chips, CPUs, and semiconductors are driving the move with …

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Former Binance (CRYPTO: BNB) CEO Changpeng Zhao released his memoir “Freedom of Money” globally, revealing he voluntarily faced DOJ charges to protect Binance and the crypto industry.

Why He Came To The U.S.

Zhao was living in the UAE, a non-extradition state, and could have stayed there indefinitely.

However, he chose to face charges because staying away would have severely damaged Binance, hurt BNB holders, and negatively impacted the broader crypto industry.

Zhao said he didn’t expect to go to jail. His lawyers couldn’t find a single case where a single BSA violation landed someone in prison. 

He expected home confinement at worst, similar to what former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes received.

The Sentencing Shock

The DOJ asked for 36 months just one week before Zhao’s April 30, 2024 sentencing hearing. 

His lawyer called the request outrageous—even under the most severe sentencing guidelines, his sentence should have been 10 to 16 months.

The judge …

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If you’ve been around crypto long enough, you’ve probably been conditioned to think in one way. Buy, hold, or sell.

Most times, it is usually about how high the asset can go or how much returns one can get if a token rallies. But that belief has begun to change, especially in the institutional sense.

Because there are more practical uses for crypto than the simple act of trading in and out of the market. It’s becoming a form of strategic capital.

And not in the retail sense. This is more of an offering that institutions and high-net-worth individuals are exploring. Let’s go more into this new move.

The Clear Shift in How Crypto Is Used

In today’s markets, smart investors understand that the focus should not be purely on generating a return. It should be rather on accessing liquidity and retaining upside while avoiding unnecessary friction such as taxes.

This is the reason why leveraging assets has been an important part of traditional finance.  Whether it’s real estate, equities, or even fine art, wealthy investors rarely sell outright unless they have to. They choose to borrow against them instead and retain ownership while generating capital.

Crypto is adopting this approach as well. Instead of liquidating Bitcoin or stablecoins to fund other investments or purchases, investors are turning to lending using these assets. The appeal is pretty simple.

  • You maintain exposure to the upside.
  • You have immediate access to liquidity.
  • You minimize capital gains tax obligations.

Additionally, the numbers in the market practically tell the same story. According to Research And Markets data, the crypto lending market is expected to reach $25.06 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 18.5%. Adoption is already widespread, with almost 9.3% of adults owning crypto assets in 2026.

And then there’s stablecoins. In the first seven months of 2025, the transaction value of stablecoins surpassed the $4 trillion mark, with several months exceeding the $1 trillion mark. This sort of scale cannot be attributed to a technology still in its experimental phase. This is a system that’s already being used globally.

Despite all that, most investors are caught between two options: selling the asset to cut their losses or waiting for better times. Crypto lending offers a solution to this dilemma.

The Moment Institutions Made It Real

Every market has a moment when things stop being theoretical and start becoming real. For crypto, that moment came in March 2026.

In …

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South Korea’s K-Bank signed a strategic partnership with Ripple to test blockchain-based cross-border remittances as XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) fails to break $1.45 for the fourth time in two months.

The K-Bank Partnership

K-Bank CEO Choi Woo-hyung and Ripple Asia Pacific Head Fiona Murray recently signed the deal at K-Bank’s headquarters in Seoul. 

The partnership will test on-chain cross-border remittances to countries including the United Arab Emirates and Thailand using Ripple’s Palisade wallet.

The two companies are now in phase two of testing, which evaluates how blockchain-based transfers can improve speed, cost, and transparency compared to traditional banking rails.

Traditional international bank transfers route through correspondent banking networks like SWIFT, which can take days to settle and charge fees at each intermediary along the way.

By contrast, on-chain remittances move funds directly across a blockchain …

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Bitmine Immersion Technologies (NYSE:BMNR) acquired 101,901 Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) last week, pushing total holdings to 5.078 million ETH worth $12 billion.

The 5% Target Within Reach

Bitmine now owns more than 4.21% of the total ETH supply of 120.7 million tokens and is 84% of the way to its goal of acquiring 5% in just 10 months. 

Total crypto and cash holdings stand at $13.3 billion, including 200 Bitcoin, $200 million in Beast Industries, $91 million in Eightco Holdings (NASDAQ:ORBS), and $940 million in cash.

Tom Lee, Chairman of Bitmine, called the pace of accumulation astonishing. 

Last week’s purchase marked the highest buying pace since December 15, 2025, as Bitmine accelerates toward its 5% target during what Lee describes as the final stages of the “mini-crypto winter.”

The War-Time Store Of Value

Lee highlighted that ETH …

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Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) acquired 3,273 Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) for approximately $255 million at an average price of $77,906 per coin during the week ended April 24.

The ATM Funding Shift

An SEC filing shows that Strategy funded the purchases entirely through the sale of common shares via its at-the-market equity offering program.

This marks a departure from recent purchases, as the company primarily financed those using proceeds from variable-rate preferred stock STRC.

Strategy now holds 818,334 BTC acquired for a cumulative $61.81 billion at an average cost basis of $75,537 per Bitcoin. 

Moreover, the company has bought Bitcoin every week in April, totalling over $6.4 billion in purchases this month alone.

Saylor Teased The Buy

Michael Saylor hinted at the …

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Stablecoins are steadily moving from the edges of crypto speculation into the core of everyday finance across Africa. What began as a tool for traders seeking dollar exposure is now evolving into a foundational layer for payments, remittances, and business operations across the continent.

The shift is less about hype and more about utility. In markets where cross-border transactions are slow, expensive, and often unreliable, stablecoins are offering an alternative that is faster, cheaper, and increasingly integrated into existing financial workflows. Between July 2024 and June 2025, Sub-Saharan Africa received more than $205 billion in on-chain value, a 52 percent year-over-year increase that placed the region among the world’s fastest-growing crypto markets. Stablecoins accounted for 43 percent of that activity.

Why Stablecoins Are Gaining Ground

Across Africa, traditional payment systems still face structural limitations. Cross-border transfers can take days to settle, often passing through multiple intermediaries outside the continent, each adding fees and delays. For individuals and businesses operating across borders, this friction is more than an inconvenience. It is a direct constraint on economic activity.

Stablecoins are addressing this gap by enabling near-instant transfers that operate around the clock. They are not bound by banking hours, geographic restrictions, or legacy infrastructure. More importantly, they allow users to hold and transact in dollar-denominated value without needing access to a foreign bank account.

Ezekiel Ojewunmi, Director of Marketing at Quidax, points to the practical appeal driving this momentum. “For an African in the diaspora sending money back home, remittances via stablecoins means more money ends up in the hands of the loved ones who need it most. In some cases, these savings can represent a week’s worth of groceries,” he said.

For businesses, the impact is equally pronounced. Cross-border payments that previously took days can now be completed in minutes, improving cash flow and operational efficiency across supply chains spanning multiple African markets.

Remittances and the Cost of Moving Money

Remittances remain one of the most significant financial flows into Africa, yet they are also among …

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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) hit a 12-week high of $79,488 on Monday morning as Iran offered a new proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, extending April’s rally to 16%.

The Iran Deal Catalyst

The rally marked the highest level since January 31 and the first monthly double-digit gain since May 2025.

Axios reported Iran’s proposal to the U.S. to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, sending Asian shares higher and pulling crude oil back from earlier gains.

Bitcoin has meanwhile pulled back below $78,000 as Rachael Lucas, an analyst at BTC Markets, notes that $80,000 is where many recent buyers approach breakeven, typically where selling pressure emerges.

Institutional Demand Returns

Digital asset investment products saw $1.2 billion of inflows last week, the fourth consecutive positive week, according to CoinShares. 

Total assets under management rose to $155 billion, the highest level since February 1.

Bitcoin …

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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is entering one of its most consequential weeks in months, with a convergence of macroeconomic policy, regulatory signaling, and industry catalysts that could shape near term price direction.

After briefly pushing toward the $80,000 level, Bitcoin has pulled back, with traders now shifting focus to a packed calendar that includes the Bitcoin 2026 Conference and an upcoming Federal Reserve rate decision.

The setup reflects a market that is no longer trading purely on crypto native narratives, but increasingly on macro liquidity, policy expectations, and institutional positioning.

Federal Reserve Decision Could Reset Risk Appetite

The biggest macro catalyst this week is the expected policy decision from the Federal Reserve.

Interest rates remain one of the most important drivers of crypto market behavior. Higher rates tend to tighten liquidity and pressure risk assets, while dovish signals often trigger rallies across equities and digital assets.

For Bitcoin, the stakes are elevated. The asset has shown a strong correlation with broader risk sentiment over the past year, particularly as institutional participation has increased through ETFs and structured products.

A hawkish tone from the Fed could reinforce the recent rejection near $80,000 and push Bitcoin into a consolidation phase. On the other hand, any संकेत of easing or future rate cuts could provide the liquidity tailwind needed for a breakout.

This dynamic has turned macro events into primary catalysts for crypto price action rather …

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Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) will release earnings for the first quarter after the closing bell on Tuesday. Here’s a quick rundown of what investors should watch in the stock and the business.

Revenue, Earnings Estimates

Analysts estimate the commission-free brokerage platform to announce earnings per share of $0.39, up 5.4% from the same quarter last year.

Robinhood is also expected to report quarterly revenue of $1.14 billion, up sharply from $927 million in the year-ago quarter, but down about 11% from the previous quarter.

Analysts Slash Price Targets

The HOOD stock has a consensus price target of $109.70 based on the ratings of 27 analysts, with the highest forecast of $170 set by JMP Securities in October. JPMorgan and KeyBanc’s latest ratings from earlier this month, however, sharply lowered price targets.

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Influential Wall Street investor Jordi Visser urged investors on Saturday to assess their outlook on the fiat system and adjust portfolios accordingly, favoring assets like Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC).

Pace Of Innovation Increasing, Says Visser

During an interview with entrepreneur and investor Anthony Pompliano, Visser stated that the pace of innovation is accelerating, with each year equating to a decade of progress.

He drew on economist Joseph Schumpeter’s concept of creative destruction to argue that in 20 years, the world could potentially see “two centuries’ worth of innovation.” 

“If I believe that in 20 years that world of abundance is here, then the only thing that I want to have as a kind of thought is well, I think Bitcoin and the crypto world, the exchange of velocity of services through this value thing is the way people should be,” he said.

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Telegram founder Pavel Durov made a bold allegation against French authorities on Friday, linking the wave of cryptocurrency-related kidnappings to tax officials “selling” data to criminals.

Allegations Focus on Tax Data and Criminal Targeting

In an X post, Durov stated that French tax officials are selling details of cryptocurrency holders to criminals, all while failing to fix “massive” breaches in their tax databases.

France has seen more than 40 cases of kidnappings or hostage takings linked to cryptocurrencies since the beginning of the year, according to Le Monde, one of France’s most widely read newspapers. Most incidents have targeted wealthy cryptocurrency individuals and their families.

Moreover, a French tax official, Ghalia C., was charged with illegally using government software to find addresses and assets of cryptocurrency investors, then selling that data to organized crime, according to Le Parisien.

Meanwhile, reports of data breaches have also been reported. Earlier this month, the National Agency for Secure Documents confirmed a security incident potentially exposing personal and professional account data on the …

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President Donald Trump hosted the largest holders of his Official Trump (CRYPTO: TRUMP) cryptocurrency at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday. However, reports highlighted the absence of cryptocurrency billionaire Justin Sun, a standout attendee at the previous such event in 2025.

Trump Reportedly Talked About Iran War, Biden

Only the top 297 TRUMP token holders who registered made it to the event at Trump’s Florida resort, while the top 29 qualifying holders got access to a VIP reception with him.

Sander Lutz, White House Correspondent from Decrypt, reported, citing sources, that Trump spoke for 45 minutes on the cryptocurrency industry, the Iran conflict, Joe Biden, among other topics.

Lutz added that Trump didn’t speak much about the Clarity Act, except to say he supports its passage and would sign it immediately.

Alongside Trump, boxing legend Mike Tyson, motivational coach Tony Robbins, and Tether (CRYPTO: USD) CEO Paolo Ardoino were scheduled to speak at the event.

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Leading cryptocurrencies lifted while stock futures ticked lower on Sunday, amid uncertainty from stalled Iran peace talks.

Cryptocurrency 24-Hour Gains +/- Price (Recorded at 9:35 p.m. EDT)
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) +1.90% $79,016.65
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH)
               		 +2.96% $2,385.89
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP)                          +1.24% $1.43
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL)                          +1.66% $87.48
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE)              +1.86% $0.09979

Crypto Sentiment Pivots From ‘Fear’ To ‘Neutral’

Bitcoin nearly broke $80,000 in the overnight spike, while trading volume surged 53% over the last 24 hours.

Ethereum bettered $2,400, supported by an 84% spike in 24-hour volumes, while Dogecoin and XRP also traded in the green.

Roughly $213  million was liquidated in the past 24 hours,with $177 million in short positions alone wiped out, according to Coinglass data.

Open interest in Bitcoin futures rose 2.66% over the last 24 hours. However, retail and whale derivatives traders on Binance turned “extremely bearish,” betting on BTC’s decline.

Market sentiment shifted from “Fear” to “Neutral,” according to the Crypto Fear & Greed Index.

Top Gainers (24 Hours) 

Cryptocurrency (Market Cap>$100 M) Gains +/- Price (Recorded at 9:35 p.m. EDT)
ETHGas (GWEI)       +25.35%     $0.1204
Lido DAO (LDO)                  +24.19%     $0.4590
Terra Classic (LUNC)             +18.85%     $0.00006149

The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.56 trillion, following a spike of 1.63% in the last 24 hours.

Stock Futures Dip

Stock …

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This week was a whirlwind of activity in the crypto world. From Blockchain Capital setting its sights on a hefty $700 million despite a struggling crypto market, to Senator Bernie Sanders blasting the Trump family’s crypto dealings, the news was buzzing.

Meanwhile, seasoned trader Peter Brandt made some bold predictions about Bitcoin’s future, Bitcoin ETFs saw a significant influx, and meme coins experienced a surprising rally. Let’s dive into the details.

Blockchain Capital’s Bold Move

Despite the broader downturn in the cryptocurrency market, Blockchain Capital is ambitiously aiming to raise $700 million for two new funds. The firm is targeting its seventh early-stage vehicle and a second growth fund, both of which are expected to close within the next five to six months. Interestingly, other crypto-focused VC firms have also managed to raise capital in recent months despite the market’s struggles.

Read the full article here.

Sanders Slams Trump Family’s Crypto Profiteering

Senator Bernie Sanders has sharply criticized the Trump family’s reported …

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Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong recently described how his early obsession with popular strategy-based video games later mapped into entrepreneurship and business.

Armstrong’s Love For Playing Video Games

In an X post dated April 19, Armstrong admitted to an “almost unhealthy” addiction to playing StarCraft and Civilization in his teens.

StarCraft focuses on managing resources, building bases, and commanding large armies in high-speed, tactical combat, and has been described as one of the greatest video games of all time.

“Harvesting resources, building things, and expanding was super addictive to my brain,” the cryptocurrency mogul said.

The ‘Ultimate Game’ Which Matters

But as he grew older, he realized the “ultimate game” was entrepreneurship and business.

“It scratches the same …

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Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) is testing $0.10 for the fifth time as Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) burns surged 673% in 24 hours, with both memecoins hitting make-or-break technical levels simultaneously.

DOGE’s Fifth Test At $0.10

Dogecoin is holding just below the $0.10 psychological level and the Supertrend at $0.10278 that has capped every rally for weeks. 

The ascending triangle remains intact with the rising lower trendline lifting the floor from $0.088 to current levels.

The MACD is firmly positive with the blue line well above signal and histogram staying green, confirming momentum favors buyers even during consolidation. 

Meanwhile, Open Interest ticked up 0.47% to $1.37 billion while Options Volume …

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The US Treasury sanctioned multiple crypto wallets tied to Iran today, one day after stablecoin issuer Tether froze roughly $344 million in (CRYPTO: USDT) linked to the same network.

The freeze hit two Tron (CRYPTO: TRX) addresses holding around $213 million and $131 million respectively, carried out in coordination with the Office of Foreign Assets Control and US law enforcement.

“We will follow the money that Tehran is desperately attempting to move outside of the country,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

A Shadow Economy In The Strait

The action fits a broader pattern of Iran leaning on crypto rails to sidestep sanctions.

Since mid-March, Tehran has been charging transit …

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Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA) founder Charles Hoskinson landed UK bank Monument with $250 million in tokenized deposits at launch for his new privacy blockchain Midnight alongside partnerships with Google Cloud, MoneyGram, and Vodafone.

The $250 Million Monument Deal

Hoskinson said the deal makes sense because compliance officers can write scripts defining what’s allowed and how assets interact with other chains while staying compliant with UK regulation.

He credited Fahmy Syed, who formed over 100 partnerships in nine months at the Midnight Foundation, with closing the deal. 

The partnership creates a direct path to syndicate similar deals with U.S. and European financial institutions and the Bank of England.

Monument wants to step into what Hoskinson calls the “Web 2.5 space”—one foot in traditional regulated business and one foot in crypto with rules and control. “There really isn’t a bespoke chain for that,” Hoskinson said.

Why Midnight Exists

Hoskinson built …

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After the $294 million hack at Kelp DAO last weekend, traders yanked over $15 billion from major protocols. It’s as close as DeFi’s ever come to an old-school bank run, sending shockwaves across DeFi markets. The twist? You didn’t have to use Kelp to feel it.

Aave (CRYPTO: AAVE) saw around $10 billion in outflows while Morpho (CRYPTO: MORPHO) and Sky (CRYPTO: SKY) saw $1.7 billion and $600 million in respective outflows. Even Kamino, a Solana-based lending platform with no direct link to Kelp DAO, saw roughly $280 million take flight.

Welcome to DeFi’s new reality. If you make a bet on one protocol, you need to reckon with every other chain it touches.

The Hidden Risk In Your Yield

DeFi’s core appeal hasn’t changed, but restaking protocols like Kelp DAO have broadened it. Instead of earning from just one source of yield, you can now stack multiple types of return atop the same underlying asset. Deposit ETH, receive a liquid token like rsETH, then deploy that token across lending markets, liquidity pools, or other strategies.

It sounds like a winner: Capital stays productive and your earning potential rises. But so does complexity.

That rsETH token was plugged into multiple major protocols as collateral. When 116,500 rsETH, roughly 18% of its circulating supply, was drained in the exploit, the problem mushroomed. Platforms that had integrated rsETH had to react quickly.

Some paused markets. Others saw users rush to withdraw funds or unwind positions, thinning out liquidity. If you were …

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U.S. spot Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) ETFs logged eight straight days of inflows totaling $2.1 billion through April 23—the longest streak since the nine-day October 2025 run that took Bitcoin to its $126,000 all-time high.

The ETF Momentum Is Back

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said every single rolling period they track is now positive for the first time in months. BlackRock’s IBIT (NASDAQ:IBIT) has pulled in $3 billion in one-year flows, putting it in the top 1% of all ETFs.

April 23 alone brought $223.21 million, with IBIT doing roughly 75% of the lifting at $167.49 million. Fidelity’s FBTC (BATS:FBTC) posted the one meaningful outflow at $16.93 million.

Bitcoin has climbed from $68,000 to $77,000 over the streak—a 12% move that has coincided almost perfectly with the ETF bid returning. Cumulative …

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President Donald Trump will speak at a Mar-a-Lago conference for top TRUMP (CRYPTO: TRUMP) meme coin holders on Saturday, even as the token crashed 95% from its January 2025 high and the price of VIP access plunges 84% from last year’s event.

VIP Tickets Drop 84%

The top 29 qualifying holders get access to a VIP reception with Trump. 

Analysis by the Financial Times shows winners of a VIP ticket held a median of $539,000 of $TRUMP at the end of the contest. 

That compares with approximately $3.28 million last year—an 84% drop.

“Mem ecoins have gotten wrecked,” said Austin Campbell, managing partner of crypto advisory firm Zero Knowledge Consulting. “The Trump brand is not enough of a carrot to elevate them.”

Trading Volume Collapses

Nansen shared data showing more than $12.9 billion traded hands in the token through decentralized crypto trading platforms in …

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BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes predicts Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) will hit $145,000 by year end as the Federal Reserve quietly expands its balance sheet by $40 billion per month and wartime spending forces commercial banks to print money.

The Fed Is Already Printing

Hayes said the Fed’s balance sheet is expanding at approximately $40 billion per month through reserve management purchases, despite all the inflation concerns.

He noted that people were freaking out after Federal Reserve Chair nominee Kevin Warsh testified to the Senate about how quantitative easing has harmed poor people, but the reality is different. 

When Warsh gets in, the impetus will be to continue the policies of his predecessor, which is balance sheet expansion.

Hayes added that he doesn’t believe the Fed balance sheet will shrink. It’s going to take a long time for them to agree about a framework that governs that shrinkage.

War …

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SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci sparked a conversation on Thursday about Bitcoin’s (CRYPTO: BTC) potential worth if it becomes critical infrastructure for cybersecurity, specifically to counter AI-driven threats.

Bitcoin’s Real Worth

In an X post, Scaramucci highlighted gold’s $30 trillion valuation and asked, “What is Bitcoin, being a potential global requirement for cybersecurity to fend off AI, worth?”

Bitcoin’s market value sits at about $1.50 trillion right now, after hitting a high of $2.42 trillion back in October 2025.

Users’ Question: What Exactly Is The Link

The replies ranged from projections of massive market growth to questions about the exact technical linkage between Bitcoin and AI defense.

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Cryptocurrency punters are growing less optimistic about XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) reaching new highs this year.

XRP To Miss All-Time High Bus Again?

Polygon (CRYPTO: POL)-based Polymarket currently assigns only a 13% chance of XRP bettering its all-time high of $3.84—set more than eight years ago—before Dec. 31. The odds at the beginning of the year were 41%.

Similarly, chances of XRP hitting all-time highs by Sept. 30 stood at 12%, down from 35% at the start of 2026.

Nearly $250,000 has been wagered on the outcome. The market resolves to “Yes” if any XRP/USDT 1-minute candle on Binance on the specified date has a final …

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Leading cryptocurrencies retreated alongside stocks on Thursday, amid lingering uncertainty over the Iran conflict.

Cryptocurrency 24-Hour Gains +/- Price (Recorded at 9:20 p.m. EDT)
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) -0.12% $78,092.54
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH)
               		 -1.78% $2,323.86
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP)                          -0.74% $1.43
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL)                          +0.49% $85.94
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE)              +1.30% $0.09717

Crypto Market Cools After Rally

Bitcoin wobbled in the $78,000 zone after teasing $80,000 the day before. Trading volume plunged 23% over the last 24 hours.

Ethereum also consolidated at $2,300, failing to sustain Wednesday’s momentum, while Dogecoin traded upward.

Shares of Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) and Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) closed down 3.84% and 4.03%, respectively.

Over $200 million was liquidated in the past 24 hours, with $126 million in bullish long positions erased, according to Coinglass data.

Open interest in Bitcoin futures fell 3.66% over the last 24 hours to $61.57 billion. Bitcoin’s Long/Short ratio on Binance remained below 1, indicating that derivatives traders were betting on price declines.

Top Gainers (24 Hours) 

Cryptocurrency (Market Cap>$100 M) Gains +/- Price (Recorded at 9:20 p.m. EDT)
Stable (STABLE)       +43.22%     $0.03742
Lab (LAB)                  +35.83%     $0.7669
Spark (SPK)             +34.25%     $0.05090

The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.51 trillion, following a drop of 1.62% in the last 24 hours.

Stocks Retreat, Oil Prices Spike

Stocks pulled back from record highs on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost …

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New York Attorney General Letitia James moved to shut down prediction-market offerings tied to Coinbase Financial Markets and Gemini, escalating a broader fight over whether event contracts belong under financial regulation or state gambling law. In statements released by the New York Attorney General’s Office on April 21, James said the platforms offered products that “allow users to wager on the outcome of future events” without the licenses New York requires for gambling activity, putting two prominent crypto-linked firms into a fresh legal and regulatory spotlight.

According to court petitions filed in New York state court by the Office of the Attorney General, the state argues that the companies’ so-called event contracts function like bets on real-world outcomes, including sports, elections and other public events. In the filings, cited by the attorney general’s office, James said New York law “prohibits risking something of value upon the outcome of a contest of chance or a future contingent event not under the actor’s control,” framing the products as unlawful gambling rather than permissible financial instruments.

The case lands at a sensitive moment for prediction markets, which have drawn rising interest from traders, crypto firms and political observers as platforms package binary contracts into an easy-to-use retail product. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has said in prior public orders and litigation involving other event-contract venues that certain contracts can fall under federal commodities law, while state officials continue to assert their own authority where products resemble wagering. That tension, legal experts told outlets including Reuters and Bloomberg in earlier coverage of the sector, has left the industry operating in a patchwork of overlapping rules.

In its petition against Coinbase Financial Markets, New York said the company offered contracts that let users buy “yes” or “no” positions priced to reflect implied odds and receive a payout if the event occurred, according to the filing. The state said that structure mirrors a wager because the result depends on an external event outside the customer’s control. Coinbase has not publicly embraced the gambling label; in prior public statements about derivatives and event contracts, the company has said it seeks to expand access to regulated markets and work with U.S. authorities, according to company materials and regulatory disclosures.

The petition involving Gemini Titan makes a similar argument, with the attorney general’s office saying the exchange operator enabled New York users to participate in event-based contracts without obtaining state gambling approvals. In the office’s public statement, James said companies “cannot evade the law simply by calling gambling something else,” underscoring the state’s position that branding the products as contracts or market instruments does not change their legal character under New York statutes. Gemini, founded by Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss, has frequently said in public communications that it supports rules for digital-asset markets and favors clear oversight.

The dispute matters beyond two companies because event contracts have become one of the fastest-growing corners of retail trading, attracting users who treat elections, sports and economic releases like investable outcomes. In public commentary on the sector, analysts cited by Bloomberg and CNBC have said the appeal lies in simple, binary pricing and the perception that prediction markets aggregate information efficiently. Critics, including some state regulators and anti-gambling advocates quoted in those reports, argue the products can sidestep consumer protections and invite speculation under the veneer of financial innovation.

New York’s action also adds to the compliance burden facing crypto firms that already contend with a dense state-by-state framework. The state’s financial regime, administered separately by the New York State Department of Financial Services, already ranks among the toughest in the U.S. for digital-asset businesses. While this case centers on gambling law rather than virtual-currency licensing, the message from James remains broad: companies serving New York residents need to match product design with local legal requirements, the attorney general’s office said in its release.

The legal theory could test how far states can go when products sit near the boundary between derivatives trading and gaming. The CFTC has faced its own battles over event contracts, including disputes over whether contracts tied to political outcomes or sports should trade on federally regulated venues. In prior public orders, the agency said certain event contracts may involve gaming or activity contrary to the public interest, while market operators have argued that properly structured contracts serve hedging and price-discovery functions. That unresolved federal debate gives New York’s case broader significance for exchanges, brokers and fintech firms exploring similar products.

What comes next likely turns on whether the companies fight the petitions, restrict access in New York, or seek a licensing or structural workaround. For executives across crypto, brokerage and online trading, the signal from Letitia James and the New York Attorney General’s Office looks clear: products tied to real-world outcomes face scrutiny not only from Washington but from aggressive state enforcers prepared to classify them as gambling. That matters because the outcome could shape where event contracts trade, who can offer them, and whether one of finance’s most talked-about new products scales nationally or fragments under local law.

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Crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen says Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) remains the strongest asset in the digital asset market, as he outlined expectations for the current bear cycle to follow historical patterns.

Cycle Timing Points To Potential Late-2026 Bottom

In an Apr. 22 discussion with Jacob from BeInCrypto, Cowen compared the current cycle to previous ones, noting that Bitcoin has historically bottomed roughly one year after its peak.

Based on that framework, he identified October 2026 as a base-case timeline for a market bottom. He added that an earlier bottom, potentially as soon as May 2026, would likely require a significant capitulation event, which …

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Bitcoin is holding around $78,000, suggesting resilience even as broader markets react to geopolitical risk-off sentiment.

Cryptocurrency Ticker Price
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) $77,912.47
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) $2,310.76
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) $85.45
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) $1.43
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) $0.09620
Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) $0.056095

Notable Statistics:

  • Coinglass data shows 100,758 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours for $221.37 million.       
  • SoSoValue data shows net inflows of $85.04 million from spot Bitcoin ETFs on Wednesday. Spot Ethereum ETFs saw net inflows of $42.8 million.
  • In the past 24 hours, top gainers include Stable, Humanity Protocol and MemeCore.

Notable Developments:

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There are moments in the history of any asset class that, in hindsight, everyone agrees were turning points. The problem is that most people do not recognize them as they happen.

April 21, 2026, may be one of those moments.

What a Four-Star Admiral Said About Bitcoin Under Oath

Admiral Samuel Paparo, the Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command, appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee to discuss the FY2027 defence budget. It was a routine hearing by Washington standards. 

He confirmed that the US military is actively running a live Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) node and conducting operational network security tests on the protocol. 

Then, he went on to describe Bitcoin as a “peer-to-peer, zero-trust transfer of value” and called it a meaningful computer science tool for American power projection. 

He stated, unambiguously, that anything which strengthens all instruments of US national power is, in his words, “to the good,” and he placed Bitcoin in that category.

The Signal Inside the Statement

It would be easy to read this story as simply another milestone in Bitcoin’s journey toward mainstream acceptance. But the way Admiral Paparo framed his remarks deserves careful attention, because it signals something deeper than institutional adoption.

He did not describe Bitcoin as an investment. He did not talk about price, market capitalisation, or portfolio diversification.

He spoke about Bitcoin the way military strategists speak about technologies that shape the balance of power – cryptography, decentralization, proof-of-work architecture. He was describing Bitcoin as infrastructure.

That distinction matters enormously. When an asset transitions from being viewed as a financial instrument to being viewed as strategic infrastructure, the rules of the game change. Demand becomes less discretionary and more structural. Governments do not sell their strategic infrastructure when markets get volatile.

The Geopolitical Race for Bitcoin Has Already Begun

To understand the full weight of this moment, you have to …

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Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ:HOOD) received in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to offer brokerage services.

The Singapore Milestone

The in-principle approval allows Robinhood to offer trading of securities, exchange-traded derivatives, custody, product financing, and collective investment funds through its local entity, Robinhood Singapore Pte. Ltd.

“Singapore’s world-class regulatory environment, high rates of digital adoption, and growing population of retail investors make it the ideal hub for our mission,” said Patrick Chan, Head of Asia for Robinhood.

Singapore will serve as Robinhood’s Asia-Pacific headquarters. The firm’s subsidiary Bitstamp Asia Pte. Ltd. already holds a Major Payment Institution license from MAS.

Not A Full License Yet

The in-principle approval is not a license at this stage. MAS said a license …

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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is entering a structurally different phase of market development, according to Matt Hougan and Ryan Rasmussen at Bitwise Asset Management.

Weak Q1, Strong Narrative Shift

In a Apr.22 interview with Milk Road, Hougan and Rasmussen described Q1 as the weakest crypto quarter in several years across price action and on-chain metrics. However, they emphasized a sharp divergence between weak data and strong fundamentals.

They noted that while market performance lagged, major developments, including ETF expansion, regulatory clarity, and institutional participation, remained strongly positive.

This disconnect, they argue, could set up a …

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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) has broken above the True Market Mean at $78,100 for the first time since mid-January, but Glassnode data shows profit-taking spiked to levels that marked every local top this year.

The $80,000 Resistance Wall

The Short-Term Holder Cost Basis at $80,100 represents the average acquisition price of investors who purchased within the last 155 days. 

A recovery toward $80,000 would push more than 54% of recent buyers into profit, historically the threshold where distribution pressure has exhausted bear market rallies.

“This is the second instance of this structure forming,” Glassnode analysts wrote. “Repeated encounters with this threshold reinforce its reliability as a local top indicator,” they added.

Short-Term Holder Realized Profit spiked to $4.4 million per hour. Every prior spike above $1.5 million per hour has coincided with a local top formation. The …

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Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary said investors only need to own Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) to capture 97% of crypto market volatility, dismissing thousands of altcoins that “collapsed last October and never came back.”

The Two-Coin Portfolio

O’Leary said he dumped all his altcoin holdings after the October 2025 crash and now holds only Bitcoin and Ethereum. 

“So what’s happened to the poo-poos is they collapsed last October, and all of them, thousands of them, never came back,” O’Leary said. “So I dumped all my coins, and I own those two.”

O’Leary cut his holdings from 27 cryptocurrencies down to just three: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDC (CRYPTO: USDC) stablecoin. As of April 2026, …

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XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) supply dynamics and accumulation trends are beginning to draw attention from traders watching for a potential shift in momentum.

Supply Shows Interesting Developments

In an X post on Apr.23, EvernorthXRP noted that a record 7 billion XRP were withdrawn from exchanges in February, marking the largest monthly outflow since November 2025.

Such movements are typically interpreted as a shift away from short-term selling pressure, as assets moved off exchanges are more often held in longer-term storage.

In early April, large holders reportedly resumed accumulation at a pace of around 11 million XRP per day, reversing a period of inactivity that lasted more than three months.

Spot XRP ETFs …

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Meme coins have rallied nearly 20% in the past month, but analysts warn the gains are concentrated in a few tokens and the sector remains down 75% from its December 2024 peak.

The Concentrated Rally Problem

Illia Otychenko, lead analyst at CEX.IO, told DL News the rally may “overstate the sector’s health” as much of the growth came from a few fast-rising assets that distort the real picture.

“The rise in the meme coin sector appears driven by a mix of improving risk sentiment, rising on-chain speculation, and sharp gains in a handful of outsized tokens,” Otychenko said.

Meanwhile, Charles Chong, vice president of strategy at BlockSpaceForce, said the spike reflects a tired pattern rather than fresh conviction. 

“What you’re seeing isn’t bullish community energy. It’s a dead market full of sidelined gamblers desperate for the next game of musical chairs,” he said.

Dogecoin Still Down 87% From 2021 …

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A coalition including Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), Ripple (CRYPTO: XRP), Andreessen Horowitz, Circle (NYSE:CRCL), and Kraken has urged the Senate Banking Committee to advance the Clarity Act, warning delays risk pushing crypto offshore.

The April 23 Letter

The Crypto Council for Innovation and the Blockchain Association led the letter dated April 23, addressed to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC), Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Digital Assets Subcommittee Chair Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), and Ranking Member Ruben Gallego (D-AZ).

“With thoughtful market structure legislation, Congress has the opportunity to extend that leadership into the next generation of financial technology,” the groups wrote.

The coalition also backed the committee’s work on stablecoin-linked consumer rewards and efforts to …

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Anthony Scaramucci said the current downturn in Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) reflects a typical market cycle rather than a structural issue, as he reiterated a long-term bullish outlook on the crypto sector.

Near-Term Weakness, Long-Term Optimism

Speaking at the Solana Policy Summit, Scaramucci said he expects continued market softness in the near term, with a more meaningful recovery likely toward late 2026 or early next year.

He attributed recent price declines to macroeconomic factors, including geopolitical tensions and profit-taking by large investors, rather than any deterioration in Bitcoin’s long-term fundamentals.

Scaramucci also emphasized the importance of regulatory clarity, arguing that clearer legislation would enable major banks …

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Bitcoin is trading sideways as Bitcoin ETFs saw $85.04 million in net inflows on Wednesday, while Ethereum ETFs reported $42.8 million in net inflows.  

Cryptocurrency Ticker Price
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) $77,793
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) $2,331
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) $85.46
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) $1.41
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) $0.09576
Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) $0.056065

Meme coin market capitalization is trading 4.5% lower over the past 24 hours.

Trader Commentary: 

Trader Alex Wacy said market sentiment appears overly bullish despite Bitcoin not yet confirming a breakout. A decisive move higher could push BTC toward …

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Fundstrat’s Tom Lee said the U.S. is entering “an 18-to-24-month period that might be one of the best we’ve ever seen” as retail investors begin chasing the stock rally.

Retail Finally Chasing The Rally

Lee told Bloomberg TV on Wednesday that retail investors initially sat out the war rally due to “policy puzzlement” and fears about gasoline prices causing a recession. 

Surveys showed many investors didn’t know how big the Iran war could become.

“I was quite surprised because I would have assumed if someone asked me in 2026, a war is going to start, what will retail do? I would assume that they’d buy the dip,” Lee said.

He now believes retail investors are beginning to take money off the sidelines and buy stocks. “I think the retail investor will end up …

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Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) lead ambassador Shytoshi Kusama alleged on Wednesday an attempt to erase Ryoshi’s foundational role in building the memecoin ecosystem.

Kusama’s Big Allegation

Kusama responded to an X post by “Oscar OG Shiba Inu,” an old community member, who pointed out that SHIB’s official website does not acknowledge Ryoshi and instead says the project had “no founders.”

“Erase the history so they can claim as their own. Ignore the lies,” Kusama said

SHIB’s Official Handle Responds

The official SHIB account stated that it was a minor footer error that was promptly fixed, and appreciated it being …

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Cryptocurrency punters betting on short-term moves of Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) are doubtful the memecoin will finish Thursday in the green.

Bookmakers Speculate On DOGE

Polygon (CRYPTO: POL)-based Polymarket currently assigns only a 14% chance that DOGE will finish higher by 12:00 p.m. ET on April 23.

The market resolves to “Up” if the 12:00 p.m. ET closing price of the DOGE/USDT 1-minute Binance candle exceeds its closing price at 12:00 p.m. ET on April 22. Otherwise, the market resolves to “Down.” If both prices are exactly equal, the market resolves 50-50, meaning participants can redeem their shares for half the potential $1 payout, i.e, at $0.50.

The closing price on April 22 was $0.097970, effectively …

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Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) held onto its Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) through the first quarter, but reported significant paper losses on the holdings on Wednesday.

Tesla’s BTC Hoard Suffers In Bear Market

The Elon Musk-led mobility giant reported $786 million in digital assets as of March 31, down 22% from the fourth quarter of 2025.

Tesla reported paper losses of $222 million on its cryptocurrency holdings, marking back-to-back quarters of red ink.

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Billionaire investor and television personality Mark Cuban praised on Wednesday the new documentary on the real identity of Bitcoin‘s (CRYPTO: BTC) mysterious creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.

New Documentary ‘Really Good,’ Says Cuban

In an X post, Cuban found the film “really good” and “entertaining,” and the kind that will get people to think.

Titled “Finding Satoshi: The Search Ends Here,” the documentary claims to be an “evidence-based investigation” to uncover one of the biggest, if not the biggest, mysteries in the cryptocurrency world.

It follows investigative journalist William D. Cohan and private investigator Tyler Maroney as they interview early adopters and key voices in the industry, including Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) co-founder Michael Saylor, along with influential security experts such as Jameson Lopp.

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Leading cryptocurrencies rallied, while stocks closed at new records on Wednesday on the Iran ceasefire extension, even as Strait of Hormuz tensions simmer.

Cryptocurrency 24-Hour Gains +/- Price (Recorded at 9:20 p.m. EDT)
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) +2.39% $78,191.58
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH)
               		 +1.77% $2,366.07
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP)                          -0.39% $1.42
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL)                          +0.11% $86.48
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE)              +0.81% $0.09597

Crypto Market Gains Momentum

Bitcoin nearly topped $80,000 before easing off to the low $78,000s. Trading volume spiked 36% over the last 24 hours.

Ethereum topped $2,400, also supported by strong buying pressure,  while XRP and Dogecoin moved sideways.

Shares of Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) and Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) closed up 9.39% and 5.25%, respectively.

Over $460 million was liquidated in the past 24 hours,with $350 million in bearish positions alone wiped out, according to Coinglass data.

Open interest in Bitcoin futures rose 8.64% over the last 24 hours to $61.57 billion. Whale and retail traders on Binance, however, were “extremely bearish” on BTC, placing more shorts than longs.

“Fear” sentiment persisted in the market, according to the Crypto Fear & Greed Index.

Top Gainers (24 Hours) 

Cryptocurrency (Market Cap>$100 M) Gains +/- Price (Recorded at 9:20 p.m. EDT)
USD.A1 (CHIP)       +137.06%     $0.1323
Spark (SPK)                  +32.76%     $0.03881
Unibase (UB)            +24.71%     $0.05752

The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.61 trillion, …

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Editor’s note: Updated to correct attribution and identify the cited source as a Treasury Department study.

Morgan Creek Capital CEO Mark Yusko said the CLARITY Act is “a horrible bill” written by big banks to delay the transition to better money, warning that if it passes, the crypto bear market could extend longer than expected.

The CLARITY Problem

Yusko told the Paul Barron Network that the CLARITY Act and GENIUS Act were written to forestall the inevitable transition to a system where people can be their own bank. 

He pointed to Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) CEO Brian Moynihan, who – on the company’s January earnings call – cited a recent Treasury Department study, which warned that upwards of $6 trillion in deposits could flow out of the banking system into the stablecoin environment.

“They’ve said the quiet part out loud,” Yusko said. “If you don’t pay people for their capital and they can get paid somewhere …

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Bitcoin is nearing $79,000, supported by fresh hopes about a settlement in the Iran war.

Cryptocurrency Ticker Price
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) $78,815
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) $2,392
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) $88.18
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) $1.45
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) $0.09735
Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) $0.056259

Notable Statistics:

  • Coinglass data shows 100,948 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours for $448.03 million.       
  • SoSoValue data shows net inflows of $11.8 million from spot Bitcoin ETFs on Tuesday. Spot Ethereum ETFs saw net inflows of $43.4 million.
  • In the past 24 hours, top gainers include SPX6900, Pudgy Penguins and Sei.

Notable Developments:

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Every week we are treated to news about new upgrades to agentic AI programs like Anthropic‘s Claude model, or the new products made by Austrian developer Peter Steinberger – OpenClaw – now owned by OpenAI. These products all stem from the traditional Web2 developer sphere. Their constant upgrades have overshadowed similar AI development in the Web3 universe. Within the financial press, blockchain AI startups are non-existent.

“Big Tech dominates today’s AI economy with its centralized infrastructure,”said Jacob Cantele,  Co-founder & CEO of CoinFello. Cantele was a key product leader at Consensys, where he oversaw MetaMask, the leading Ethereum wallet. CoinFello is an AI agent platform launched in March.

Blockchain based AI projects exist, of course, but that corner of the Web3 market is much smaller than the overall blockchain/cryptocurrency market. 

AI projects in Web3 represent a minority, roughly between 20% to 30%, of the overall money flow into Web3. According to India-based market research firm Market.Us, there were an estimated 17,000 AI agents operating on Web3 platforms by the end of 2025. Autonomous agents now cover 19% of all Web3 activity with billions in daily transaction volume.

The market’s largest AI-linked tokens mostly use blockchains for payments and identity. The strongest current examples are Cortex Labs for direct on-chain inference, and AI infrastructure plays ORA and Ritual. These are available to more sophisticated crypto traders on decentralized exchanges rather than on the big centralized ones like Kraken. 

For crypto traders who like the AI theme, Bittensor (CRYPTO: TAO) may be a way to play it without getting too focused.  Bittensor powers open-source, collective AI as a Web3 alternative to the centralized giants and can still be considered part of the AI/blockchain story. Investors who bought Bittensor in 2023 and held …

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Kalshi built its reputation letting users trade on elections, inflation prints, and Fed decisions. Now it wants to be where traders speculate on Bitcoin prices with leverage.

The prediction market platform plans to launch perpetual futures tied to the prices of cryptocurrencies in the coming weeks, according to a Bloomberg report, citing a person familiar with the plans.

The move marks the first time Kalshi will offer a product outside its core event contract business and it puts the company in direct competition with some of the biggest names in crypto.

What happens when a platform built for betting on outcomes starts offering leveraged crypto trades? The answer matters for prediction market users, crypto traders, and anyone watching the future of financial derivatives in the United States.

What Kalshi Actually Does

Kalshi is a federally regulated prediction market. Its core product is event contracts, binary yes/no markets on real-world outcomes. Users can trade on whether the Federal Reserve will cut rates, whether inflation will exceed a target, or who will win a presidential election. Unlike a traditional brokerage, Kalshi users are not buying assets. They are pricing probabilities.

That distinction matters. Kalshi’s users are already traders in a meaningful sense — they are assigning values to uncertain outcomes, managing positions, and taking on risk. The cognitive leap to crypto derivatives is shorter than it might appear.

Bernstein recently estimated that prediction market volumes will grow from approximately $51 billion in 2025 to $1 trillion by 2030.  Kalshi sits at the top of that market alongside Polymarket. The question its expansion answers is: what do you build when you’ve dominated a niche and the niche is about to go mainstream?

What Are Perpetual Futures?

A perpetual future or “perp”,  is a derivative contract that tracks the price of an underlying asset, typically a cryptocurrency, with no expiration date. Unlike a standard futures contract that settles on a fixed date, a perp stays open indefinitely. Traders pay or receive a funding rate — a …

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American Bitcoin Corp. (NASDAQ:ABTC), co-founded by Eric Trump, saw its shares rise about 10% in a single session on Wednesday after expanding its mining capacity and benefiting from a broader increase in Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) prices.

Mining Expansion Boosts Capacity

American Bitcoin said it has activated approximately 11,298 additional mining machines at its Drumheller facility, adding about 3.05 exahashes per second (EH/s) of computing power at an efficiency of roughly 13.5 joules per terahash (J/TH).

The deployment completes …

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XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) is testing a key breakout zone as two technical patterns converge at the same trigger point, setting up a potential move to $1.70 if price breaks above $1.47.

The 4H Cup And Handle

The 4H chart shows a perfect cup and handle formed from March 21 to present. 

The cup scoops from $1.42 down to the $1.28 lows in early April and curves back up. The handle is consolidating right at the $1.45 neckline.

The measured move from this cup projects directly to $1.70. Current price at $1.4519 is sitting on the neckline trigger. A 4H close above $1.46 with volume activates this pattern.

The Daily …

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French banking giant Société Générale (OTC:SCGLY) is expanding its crypto client base through its digital asset subsidiary, Société Générale-FORGE (SG-Forge), as it positions for a projected rise in stablecoin usage.

Building A Broader Crypto Client Base

The bank currently serves about 15 crypto-focused firms, including exchanges, brokers and wallet providers. It has increasingly begun offering traditional banking services to crypto-native companies as Europe’s regulatory framework continues to mature.

CEO Jean-Marc Stenger said the bank expects corporate use of stablecoins to grow, although adoption remains limited, according to a Reuters report.

At present, stablecoins are primarily used for trading …

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Peter Schiff called Strategy’s (NASDAQ:MSTR) preferred stock STRC “the largest Ponzi in the world” after the company claimed the security was backed by Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), warning the structure could collapse if new investors dry up.

The “Ponzi” Attack

Schiff responded to Strategy’s tweet claiming STRC was “backed by Bitcoin” on Tuesday, writing on X: “You mean it’s the largest Ponzi in the world. Investors don’t want Bitcoin. They want the 11.5% yield.”

He added that such returns were “financed by a pure Ponzi scheme,” warning that the structure could collapse if new investors dry up. “Then STRC crashes to zero,” Schiff wrote.

In an earlier response to Michael …

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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is moving closer to a decision that could fundamentally redraw the boundaries of American capital markets. Speaking at the Economic Club of Washington on April 21, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins announced that the agency is “on the cusp” of releasing what he called an “innovation exemption” — a framework that would allow tokenized securities to trade directly on blockchain networks for the first time under formal regulatory cover.

“We are on the cusp of releasing what I call an ‘innovation exemption,'” Atkins said, “which will provide market participants with a cabined framework to begin facilitating the trading of tokenized securities on-chain in a compliant fashion as the Commission works toward long-term rules of the road.”

If that exemption materializes, stocks may no longer need traditional exchanges to trade. The implications stretch far beyond crypto.

What Are Tokenized Securities?

A tokenized security is a traditional financial asset — a stock, bond, or fund share represented as a digital token on a blockchain. The token carries the same legal ownership rights as its conventional counterpart, but it is programmable, divisible, and capable of settling in near-real time without a clearinghouse standing in the middle.

The tokenized real-world asset market reached over $24 billion by June 2025. An 85% year-over-year expansion, driven largely by institutional players who have moved well beyond experimentation. BlackRock’s BUIDL fund reached nearly $3 billion in size and was accepted as collateral on Binance, while Franklin Templeton’s BENJI token represents over $800 million in a U.S.-registered government money-market fund, with its shareholder records maintained on seven different networks.

This is not a fringe technology anymore. The plumbing connecting Wall Street to blockchain rails is already in production.

What the SEC Is Actually Proposing

The proposed innovation exemption would give qualified firms a regulatory sandbox. A limited window to issue and trade tokenized securities onchain under lighter-touch compliance conditions, while still operating under SEC oversight.

Under the framework described in prior Project Crypto guidance, eligible issuers and trading venues would receive a 12- to 36-month grace window from full registration requirements, after which they must either demonstrate sufficient decentralization or come into full compliance.

Atkins has been explicit about what kind of trading he envisions. A specific example he outlined was the potential to trade tokenized securities on permissionless chains via DeFi automated market makers and other decentralized liquidity mechanisms. In plainer terms: tokenized Apple shares trading on a decentralized protocol, settling in seconds, with no broker required.

The …

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Admiral Samuel Paparo, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) “shows incredible potential” as a tool for U.S. national security in the competition against China.

The Power Projection Tool

Paparo testified before Congress on April 21 in response to Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AR), who asked how leadership in Bitcoin might affect U.S. leverage, resilience, and deterrence in competition with China.

“Our research into Bitcoin is as a computer science tool,” Paparo said. 

“It’s the combination of cryptography, a blockchain, and a proof of work. And Bitcoin shows incredible potential as a computer science tool,” he added.

Moreover, Paparo said Bitcoin’s proof-of-work system can impose real-world costs beyond traditional network security measures. 

Beyond The Economic Use Case

The admiral emphasized applications “outside …

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Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) has seen a 5% jump over the past week, with analysts pointing to a potential breakout in the near term.

Network Activity Spike

In a X post on Apr.22, Crypto chart analyst Ali Martinez noted Dogecoin has been consolidating in a tight range, but recent data suggests a potential breakout may be approaching.

A sharp spike in network activity on April 16, with nearly $800 million in transactions, indicates increased on-chain movement and possible repositioning …

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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) momentum is building toward the critical $80,000 supply zone as Donald Trump announced an extension of the ceasefire with Iran, easing immediate fears around its scheduled expiry and giving negotiators more time.

Ceasefire Extended, But Tensions Persist

However, the relief remains fragile.

Iranian officials pushed back, criticizing the U.S. for continuing its blockade of Iranian ports and maintaining pressure in the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump blamed the earlier breakdown in talks on what he described as a “seriously fractured” leadership structure in Tehran. 

He added that the U.S. would hold off on fresh attacks for now, but the maritime blockade will stay in place.

Markets Sniff Out Trump’s Endgame

Markets …

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The decentralized finance landscape, once a frontier for radical transparency and sovereign ownership, has increasingly begun to resemble the very labyrinthine financial systems it originally sought to replace. We find ourselves in an era where the metrics used to judge success, specifically Total Value Locked (TVL), have become distorted by layers of rehypothecation and recursive leverage. When we look at the dashboard of a major protocol and see billions of dollars in value, we are often looking at a digital mirage. This is a series of claims built upon claims, where the same dollar is counted four, five, or ten times over. This structural fragility is not merely a technical quirk. It is a systemic sickness that masks true risk and necessitates the very centralized interventions that the industry claims to have moved past.

To understand how $1,000 can effectively become $1 million in the eyes of a data aggregator, one must understand the modern DeFi loop. In a vacuum, decentralization implies a one-to-one relationship between an asset and its utility. But the hunger for yield has pushed developers and users to create a Matryoshka doll of financial instruments. You deposit $1,000 worth of ETH into a protocol; that is your base TVL. The story does not end there. You borrow $800 against that ETH and deposit it into a second protocol. Now, the aggregate TVL across the ecosystem is recorded at $1,800, despite only $1,000 in real capital. By the time you borrow $600 against that $800 and repeat the process three or four more times, the on-chain data suggests a thriving, multi-thousand-dollar economy. In reality, it is a precarious tower of debt where a minor price fluctuation in the underlying asset can trigger a cascading liquidation that wipes out the entire stack.

This phenomenon scales exponentially when we move from the retail level to the institutional level. The leap from $1 million to $1 billion in TVL is often achieved through the same smoke-and-mirrors tactics, just with more sophisticated wrappers. We are currently witnessing a cycle of yield juicing …

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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) has rebounded to $78,000, supported by growing evidence of tightening supply as institutional accumulation accelerates.

“Great Supply Drain”

Data from analytics platform CryptoQuant indicates that Bitcoin reserves on exchanges have been steadily declining since 2023–2024, reflecting a structural shift toward reduced available supply on trading platforms.

The trend raises a central question in the market that who is absorbing the available Bitcoin supply?

According to market data, large institutional players have become the dominant buyers.

Asset managers such as BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), through its iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ:IBIT), alongside financial institutions including Morgan Stanley

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Bitcoin climbed back above $78,000 after President Trump extended the Iran ceasefire.

Liquidations stand at $246.08 million over the past 24 hours while Bitcoin ETFs saw $11.8 million in net inflows on Tuesday, while Ethereum ETFs reported $43.4 million in net inflows.  

Cryptocurrency Ticker Price
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) $78,159.65
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) $2,393.33
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) $88.23
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) $1.45
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) $0.09806
Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) $0.056236

Meme coin market capitalization is trading relatively flat with a 0.2% gain over the past 24 hours at $37.6 billion.

Trader Commentary: 

Trader …

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Satoshi Nakamoto’s massive Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) stash has long been dormant, and prediction markets suggest that the status quo will hold through 2026

Punters Bet Dormancy To Continue

Odds that Bitcoin’s mysterious creator moves their BTC at any time this year stood at only 9% on Polygon (CRYPTO: POL)-based Polymarket. Kalshi bettors weren’t far off, assigning an 8% probability to the outcome.

Over $2.6 million has been wagered on the outcome on Polymarket. The market will resolve to “Yes” on-chain analytics firm Arkham verifies an “Outflow” or “Swaps” transaction from any wallet linked with Nakamoto.

The Richest Crypto …

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The official Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) X account on Tuesday amplified cryptocurrency payment company MoonPay’s announcement about a substantial donation dedicated to helping dogs.

‘Barking News’

MoonPay, Dogecoin Foundation, and House of Doge have partnered to collectively donate 1 million DOGE tokens, worth $96,720 at prevailing prices, to the AKC Humane Fund—a non-profit organization focused on dog welfare and animal support.

“To give dogs the support and safety they need, we’ve launched a fundraiser for the AKC Humane Fund that lets anyone donate Dogecoin and make a difference,” MoonPay said.

The announcement came in a funny animated video, with dog anchors reading out the latest “barking news.”

Dogecoin’s official X handle lauded the initiative, adding, “Do Only Good Everyday and help some good doggos with your DOGE.”

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Anthony Scaramucci, founder of global investment firm SkyBridge Capital, hailed the momentum in spot Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) exchange-traded funds on Tuesday as they pulled in more than $1 billion in year-to-date inflows.

Is Institutional Interest In Bitcoin Growing?

Scaramucci quoted Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas’ post on the strong growth of Wall Street-listed ETFs that track the spot price of Bitcoin, labeling it a “buying surge.”

Balchunas noted that the ETFs have attracted more than $1 billion in net inflows year-to-date, with total lifetime inflows reaching $58 billion, just $5 billion away from a new record.

Sign Of Resilience?

Inflows peaked at $62.8 billion in October 2025, with Balchunas pointing out their relative resilience amid the market slump.

“Half the battle with building a big …

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Leading cryptocurrencies held steady, while stock futures lifted Tuesday evening after President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire with Iran indefinitely.

Cryptocurrency 24-Hour Gains +/- Price (Recorded at 9:15 p.m. EDT)
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) +0.22% $76,357.94
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH)
               		 +0.06% $2,325.09
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP)                          +0.09% $1.43
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL)                          +0.72% $86.36
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE)              -0.49% $0.09521

Crypto Market Consolidates

Bitcoin oscillated between $74,800 and $76,800, while trading volume remained muted. Ethereum also wobbled in the $2,300 region, while XRP and Dogecoin saw subdued activity.

Shares of Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) and Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) closed down 4% and 7.41%, respectively.

Nearly $270 million was liquidated in the past 24 hours, nearly evenly split between long and shorts, according to Coinglass data. About $600 million in Bitcoin shorts were at risk of liquidation if the apex cryptocurrency reclaimed $80,000.

Open interest in Bitcoin futures fell 0.05% over the last 24 hours. Whale and retail traders on Binance continued to be bearish on BTC, evidenced by higher number of shorts vis-à-vis longs.

Top Gainers (24 Hours) 

Cryptocurrency (Market Cap>$100 M) Gains +/- Price (Recorded at 9:15 p.m. EDT)
RaveDAO (RAVE)       +35.62%     $1.47
Meteora (MET)                  +34.03%     $0.1977
MemeCore (M)            +22.93%     $4.29

The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.56 trillion, following a modest increase of 0.26% in the last 24 hours.

Stock Futures Spike

Stock futures rallied on Tuesday …

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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) has gained roughly 20% since its February lows, recovering to around $76,000 despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty. Analysts say the move is bringing the market to a critical inflection point.

Buyers Return To Breakeven

Zach Pandl noted in an Apr. 21 update that Bitcoin rebounded sharply after bottoming near $63,000 on Feb. 5.

On-chain data shows the “realized price” for coins moved in the past one to three months sits around $74,000. This means many recent buyers are now back at breakeven.

Historically, when short-term holders move from losses to breakeven and then into …

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The prediction market space is one of the fastest-growing in finance. Two years ago, Polymarket reportedly raised funds at a $350 million valuation. Today, the platform is in talks to raise funds at a valuation of $15 billion, The Information reported. But the windfall may be made a little less sweet by the success of Polymarket’s bitter rival, Kalshi, which was most recently valued at $22 billion.

The nearly one-third valuation discount for Polymarket could be explained by Kalshi’s stronger foothold in the U.S., where it currently holds roughly 90% market share, or by its stronger revenue figures, since Polymarket just recently started charging trading fees. But the reason for investors’ discounting of Polymarket could lie with a more idiosyncratic factor—the cryptocurrency token the company plans to launch, which makes it more difficult to gauge the stickiness of Polymarket’s current trading volume.

The recent divergence in how investors value Polymarket and Kalshi is noteworthy given that the two companies’ valuations have moved in lockstep for the past year. Polymarket and Kalshi offer nearly the same product, and if prediction markets turn into a winner-take-most sector, then the horse race between the two startups could have major stakes for investors. 

One key difference between the firms, though, is that Polymarket’s non-U.S. arm is built on blockchain rails, and the project has deep roots in the crypto space: Its 2020 seed round was backed by crypto venture capital firms Polychain, ParaFi, and 1confirmation. This is in contrast to Kalshi, which runs on traditional financial rails and is generally less ingrained in the crypto world.

What’s a token worth?

Polymarket has teased the idea of releasing a crypto token for years. The company’s chief marketing officer said in an October 2025 podcast appearance that “there will be a token, there will be an airdrop,” referring to a practice where crypto projects will distribute free tokens to power users in a bid to drive activity and reward loyal fans. Since crypto platforms often dole out token airdrops based on user activity, it’s common for customers to employ stunts to overstate their engagement on the platform, a practice known as “airdrop farming.”  In some cases, that can include so-called “wash trading” where users trade with themselves.

“Polymarket’s volume is being read as pure product demand. Airdrop farming is why that read is misleading,” Eric Chen, co-founder of the blockchain Injective, told Fortune. “Polymarket has real demand, and the honest question is what share of the reported number actually represents it.” 

Polymarket has surpassed $2 billion in weekly trading volume for eight consecutive weeks, according to data from Artemis, approaching but typically lagging just behind Kalshi’s weekly volume. Polymarket did not return a request for comment.

For some industry watchers, it will be difficult to separate Polymarket’s organic usage from users jockeying for an airdrop until after it releases its token.

“None of this takes away from the platform’s innovation or long term potential, but it does mean that volume and user growth should be viewed with context,” Digital Wealth Partners CEO Max Kahn said. “The key question over time will be whether engagement remains strong once incentives fade, as that’s a better indicator of durable usage and product market fit.”

Still, speculative activity surrounding a crypto token does not necessarily lead to a fall-off in user activity. Hyperliquid was once popular among airdrop farmers, but the crypto derivatives platform has only grown more popular in the time since its HYPE token debuted. Meanwhile, the launch of a Polymarket token could provide a financial windfall and boost the company’s valuation in the longer term.

“Looking back at HYPE, they were very [successful] and continued to be so afterwards,” Nansen research analyst Nicolai Sondergaard said. “So even if a lot of volume is happening due to airdrop farming, it is not cause for concern if the underlying ‘product’ is good enough and will keep people around.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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Bitcoin is holding above $75,000 as sentiment remains stable ahead of a possible U.S.-Iran meeting.

Cryptocurrency Ticker Price
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) $75,616.60
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) $2,307.95
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) $85.35
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) $1.42
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) $0.09440
Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) $0.056023

Notable Statistics:

  • Coinglass data shows 114,658 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours for $286.09 million.       
  • SoSoValue data shows net inflows of $238.4 million from spot Bitcoin ETFs on Monday. Spot Ethereum ETFs saw net inflows of $67.8 million.
  • In the past 24 hours, top gainers include RaveDAO, MemeCore and JUST.

Notable Developments:

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XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) may be setting up for a short-term rebound, but analysts caution that the broader trend remains bearish unless key resistance levels are reclaimed.

XRP’s Cyclical Structure

In an Apr. 20 podcast, technical analyst ChartNerd said XRP continues to follow a long-term cyclical pattern seen since 2020.

Historically, the asset has dropped to a rising support trendline, formed a base such as a double bottom, and then triggered a strong rally to new highs.

The current phase appears to be another correction following the July 2025 peak. Based on this structure, XRP may still need to …

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XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) may be setting up for a short-term rebound, but analysts caution that the broader trend remains bearish unless key resistance levels are reclaimed.

XRP’s Cyclical Structure

In an Apr. 20 podcast, technical analyst ChartNerd said XRP continues to follow a long-term cyclical pattern seen since 2020.

Historically, the asset has dropped to a rising support trendline, formed a base such as a double bottom, and then triggered a strong rally to new highs.

The current phase appears to be another correction following the July 2025 peak. Based on this structure, XRP may still need to …

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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) has stalled at $78,000 as Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) warns two resistance levels could cap the rally despite $1.4 billion in weekly ETF inflows.

The $78,000 Cost Basis Problem

The active investor cost basis sits at approximately $78,000, where last week’s rally stopped. This represents the average price investors paid for Bitcoin on secondary markets.

Jim Ferraioli, Director of Digital Currencies Research and Strategy at the Schwab Center for Financial Research, says both the $78,000 and $83,000 levels show that the average Bitcoin investor is currently sitting at a loss.

“These levels could serve as much stronger areas of resistance than moving averages,” Ferraioli told Decrypt.

Why $83,000 Is The Real Sell Zone

Around $83,000 is the average cost basis across all spot Bitcoin ETPs. This is where new crypto …

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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) has stalled at $78,000 as Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) warns two resistance levels could cap the rally despite $1.4 billion in weekly ETF inflows.

The $78,000 Cost Basis Problem

The active investor cost basis sits at approximately $78,000, where last week’s rally stopped. This represents the average price investors paid for Bitcoin on secondary markets.

Jim Ferraioli, Director of Digital Currencies Research and Strategy at the Schwab Center for Financial Research, says both the $78,000 and $83,000 levels show that the average Bitcoin investor is currently sitting at a loss.

“These levels could serve as much stronger areas of resistance than moving averages,” Ferraioli told Decrypt.

Why $83,000 Is The Real Sell Zone

Around $83,000 is the average cost basis across all spot Bitcoin ETPs. This is where new crypto …

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Bitcoin is approaching a critical technical level near $78,000, with market participants closely watching whether the world’s largest cryptocurrency can sustain a breakout or faces another rejection at a key resistance zone.

The move comes as Bitcoin trades near its 21-week exponential moving average (EMA)—a level widely followed by institutional and technical traders as a signal of broader trend direction. “This is a pivotal area that has historically defined momentum shifts,” said Benjamin Cowen, Founder of Into The Cryptoverse, noting that price action around this range remains inconclusive.

Cowen said Bitcoin briefly tested the resistance band before slipping slightly below it, raising questions about whether the move represents a failed breakout or simply short-term volatility. Similar patterns were observed in prior market cycles, particularly during 2023 and 2024, when Bitcoin oscillated around key moving averages before establishing a sustained trend.

“Markets often retest these levels multiple times before committing to a direction,” said Katie Stockton, Managing Partner at Fairlead Strategies, emphasizing that confirmation typically requires sustained trading above resistance with strong volume support.

The $78,000 level is being viewed by analysts as both a psychological and technical threshold, with a decisive move above it potentially opening the door for further upside. Conversely, a rejection could reinforce a consolidation phase or trigger a broader pullback.

“This is where conviction gets tested,” said Noelle Acheson, crypto market analyst and author of the Crypto Is Macro Now newsletter, adding that investor sentiment tends to shift rapidly around key resistance levels.

Beyond technicals, macroeconomic conditions are also influencing Bitcoin’s trajectory. Interest rate expectations, liquidity conditions, and broader risk appetite continue to play a role in shaping demand for digital assets.

“Bitcoin doesn’t trade in isolation—it’s increasingly tied to global liquidity,” said James Butterfill, Head of Research at CoinShares, noting that institutional flows have become a dominant factor in recent price movements.

Market participants are also watching on-chain activity and derivatives positioning for clues about the next move. Elevated open interest and options activity suggest that traders are positioning for increased volatility around current levels.

“Volatility tends to cluster around major resistance zones,” said Vetle Lunde, Senior Analyst at K33 Research, pointing to heightened activity in futures markets as a signal that a decisive move may be imminent.

Despite the uncertainty, longer-term sentiment remains constructive among many analysts, particularly as Bitcoin continues to attract institutional interest and broader adoption.

“The structural story hasn’t changed,” said Geoff Kendrick, Head of Digital Assets Research at Standard Chartered, noting that demand drivers remain intact even as short-term technical battles play out.

Looking ahead, Bitcoin’s ability to hold above or break through the $78,000 level will likely determine near-term direction. A confirmed breakout could signal renewed bullish momentum, while a rejection may extend the current consolidation phase.

For now, the market remains at an inflection point—one where technical signals, macro forces, and investor sentiment are converging to shape Bitcoin’s next move.

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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) has rallied into a key bear market resistance zone, but analyst Benjamin Cowen says the move does not yet confirm a rejection or a breakout.

Resistance Zone In Focus

Cowen noted that Bitcoin is testing a major resistance band while also interacting closely with the 21-week exponential moving average (EMA).

He said price briefly touched this level before slipping slightly below it, creating uncertainty over whether the move represents a failed breakout or a temporary wick.

He added that similar price behavior in past cycles, particularly in 2023 and 2024, often preceded either short-lived …

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U.S. crypto adoption rebounded in March, according to a new survey from Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE:DB) , even as investor sentiment toward Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) remains cautious.

Adoption Rises, With Bitcoin Still dominant

Deutsche Bank’s latest retail crypto survey showed U.S. adoption climbed to 12% in March, up from 7% in February, returning to levels last seen in mid-2025.

It still trails the historical peak of 14%.

The recovery has been supported in part by renewed institutional interest, with Bitcoin exchange-traded funds drawing roughly $1.3 billion in inflows.

Bitcoin continues to dominate …

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XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) is breaking above key moving averages and eyes the $2 level, but Binance exchange reserves remain steady near 2.7 billion XRP, signaling ongoing sell-side pressure that could cap the rally.

The Exchange Reserve Problem

XRP is showing a clear mismatch between price and exchange reserves. 

Price is climbing, but Binance reserves remain steady near 2.7 billion XRP, meaning sell-side supply is still sitting on exchanges ready to be sold.

This setup usually signals ongoing pressure. More available supply limits upside and weakens rebounds, as buyers have to absorb constant selling. 

Recent price moves also look driven by short-term trading rather than strong demand.

In past cases, XRP stayed weak with rallies failing to sustain until reserves dropped. That key bullish signal is still missing here. 

As a result, the market is likely to rebalance through price rather than supply, with equilibrium forming closer to the …

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Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) now holds 815,061 BTC, surpassing BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ:IBIT) at 802,824 BTC for the first time since Q2 2024.

How Strategy Pulled Ahead

Strategy held 189,150 BTC at the start of Q1 2024.

IBIT surpassed it by early Q2 with roughly 273,000 BTC compared to Strategy’s 214,400 BTC, a lead which IBIT consistently maintained until now.

Strategy pulled ahead by aggressively accumulating nearly 80,000 BTC in 2026 while Bitcoin fell over 50% from its October all-time high. 

The company’s recent purchase of 34,164 BTC—the third-largest on record, brought total holdings to 815,061 BTC, creating a gap of more than 12,000 BTC over IBIT.

The STRC Funding Engine

The perpetual preferred equity …

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Bitcoin trades around $76,000 as sentiment remained neutral amid hopes of a U.S.-Iran ceasefire extension.

Bitcoin ETFs saw $238.4 million in net inflows on Monday, while Ethereum ETFs reported $67.8 million in net inflows.  

Cryptocurrency Ticker Price
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) $76,616
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) $2,329.21
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) $85.98
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) $1.44
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) $0.09564
Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) $0.056100

Meme coin market capitalization is up 5.8% over the past 24 hours at $38.4 billion.

Trader Commentary: 

Michael van de …

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Renowned cryptocurrency analyst Willy Woo expressed skepticism on Monday over optimistic Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price predictions made by various institutions and individuals.

Woo Not Convinced

In an X post, Woo labeled the predictions as “all too bullish,” suggesting that they lack a basis in reality.

It’s worth noting that several of these targets have been lowered lately. For example, CitiGroup downgraded its 12-month Bitcoin price target to $112,000, while Standard Chartered cut its year-end forecast from $150,000 to $100,000.

Prominent voices, including venture capitalist Tim Draper, projected that Bitcoin would reach $250,000 in 18 months, targeting the end of 2027.

Anthony Scaramucci, founder of asset management firm SkyBridge Capital, set a $1 million price …

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AlphaTON Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:ATON) rebranded as Alpha Compute Corp. on Monday, with shares set to begin trading under the new ticker “ALP,” marking a strategic pivot to AI GPU-as-a-service and confidential computing amid surging enterprise demand for privacy-first AI infrastructure.

“We believe that AI should be privacy-centric,” CEO Brittany Kaiser said while speaking to Benzinga. “We are really declaring that making privacy-centric AI accessible should be a right.”

From Biotech To Blockchain To AI Infrastructure

Originally incorporated as Portage Biotech Inc., the company rebranded as AlphaTON Capital in September 2025, pivoting to a digital asset treasury strategy focused on the Telegram and The Open Network ecosystem. The latest rebrand to Alpha Compute marks the third and most consequential shift, one Kaiser says was always rooted in the same core mission of bringing privacy-centric tools to market.

The transition accelerated after Telegram introduced Cocoon AI, a confidential computing network available to over a billion users.

Privacy-First Compute As A Structural Play

To support this direction, Kaiser stated that Alpha Compute assembled a team capable of deploying NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) GPUs, including H200, B200, and B300 models, within confidential computing systems.

“We gathered a team that was able to put Nvidia GPUs on confidential computing, which encrypts all the way down to the hardware level so that no data can be taken by third parties,” Kaiser said.

She also noted that demand for GPUs is rising by more than 60% annually, citing NVIDIA’s latest reports.

According to the company’s press release, Alpha Compute runs NVIDIA Blackwell B200 and B300 GPU clusters inside trusted execution environments (TEEs), encrypting data in use, in transit and at rest, with operational infrastructure backed …

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Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong announced the launch of a new platform on Monday that will enable AI agents to discover, integrate and pay for services using the x402 standard.

The Marketplace For AI Agents

Armstrong took to X to share the news about the launch of Agentic(.)market, deeming it a “discovery layer” for AI agents.

“For the agentic economy to overtake the human economy, agents need a way to discover services,” Armstrong stated.

Important Details To Know

The platform’s website calls it “the home for tracking …

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Popular AI assistant Grok said on Monday that Bitcoin’s (CRYPTO: BTC) price would have been “noticeably lower” had Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) not bought billions worth of the cryptocurrency.

Grok Notes MSTR’s Influence On Bitcoin

When venture capitalist Jason Calacanis asked what Bitcoin’s price would be without Michael Saylor’s cryptocurrency treasury firm, Grok declined to provide an “exact” figure.

“But absent that consistent bid, we’d probably be $10,000–$20,000 lower based on volume and whale-effect analyses,” the AI chatbot said.

‘Narrative Of Institutional Adoption’

Grok stated that Strategy’s steady demand, coupled with the “narrative of institutional adoption,” created real upward pressure on Bitcoin. Without this backing, BTC’s current price would “likely be noticeably …

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Bitcoin is holding above $75,000 as crypto markets hope for a positive resolution of U.S.-Iran talks on Tuesday.

Cryptocurrency Ticker Price
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) $76,212
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) $2,328
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) $86.10
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) $1.43
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) $0.09543
Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) $0.056053

Notable Statistics:

  • Coinglass data shows 138,626 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours for $390.5 million.       
  • SoSoValue data shows net inflows of $663.9 million from spot Bitcoin ETFs on Friday. Spot Ethereum ETFs saw net inflows of $127.5 million.
  • In the past 24 hours, top gainers include Chiliz, edgeX and …

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Ripple has unveiled a multi-phase plan to prepare the XRP Ledger (CRYPTO: XRP) for potential risks posed by quantum computing, as concerns grow around future threats to blockchain security.

XRP Ledger’s Built-In Advantages

Ripple said there is no immediate danger to current cryptographic systems. However, it warned of a long-term risk known as “harvest now, decrypt later,” where attackers could store encrypted data today and decode it once quantum computing capabilities mature.

To address this, the XRP Ledger is adopting a phased approach rather than a single system-wide …

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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) analysts have identified $76,000 as the early warning level that determines whether the cryptocurrency runs to $95,000 or crashes back to $70,000.

The $76,000 Early Warning Signal

Prominent analyst DonAlt from Technical Roundup says $76,000 represents the previous month’s high and serves as the first test of whether the current breakout will hold. 

A move below $76,000 doesn’t kill the rally but signals early weakness.

“I think 76 is quite aggressive, but if you’re trading lower time frames, I think that does make sense,” Don said. 

“I’m just kind of looking at $70,000. If we start losing $70,000 again, I think then it’s truly over this time,” he added.

The weekly open sits at $70,000, which represents the origin of the entire impulse. Losing that …

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Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood, long known for her bullish stance on Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), has adjusted her long-term outlook while her firm also reduced exposure to select crypto-related equities.

Crypto-Linked Positions Reduced

According to Ark Invest tracking data shared on X on Apr. 17, the firm’s ARKW fund sold approximately 11,465 shares of Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL), valued at about $1.21 million, and 31,417 shares of Bullish (NYSE:BLSH), worth roughly $1.36 million.

The fund used the proceeds to increase its position in Netflix following the company’s …

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XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) bulls are eyeing an $8 target as SBI Ripple Asia secured regulatory approval to issue prepaid payment tokens on the XRP Ledger, targeting Japan’s $200 billion prepaid market.

SBI’s Tokyo Approval

SBI Ripple Asia, the Tokyo joint venture between Ripple and Japanese banking giant SBI Holdings, became a registered third-party prepaid payment instrument issuer under Japan’s Payment Services Act on March 26. The platform went live in early April.

The platform turns prepaid balances into blockchain tokens issued on the XRP Ledger and backed by Japanese yen. 

Meanwhile, Tobu Top Tours, a major travel arm of Tobu Railway, will issue tourism payment tokens that travelers can load and spend across hotels, transport, and attractions.

Japan’s prepaid payment instruments handle around 30 trillion yen, roughly $200 billion, in annual volume.

Goldman’s $154 Million Position

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) disclosed a $153.8 million position in spot XRP ETFs through its Q4 2025 13F …

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Bitmine Immersion Technologies (NYSE:BMNR) purchased 101,627 Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) in the past week, bringing total holdings to 4.976 million ETH worth $11.45 billion as the stock tests channel breakout near $23.

The Highest Pace Since December

The weekly purchase represents the highest pace of buys since December 15, 2025.

Bitmine now owns 4.12% of Ethereum’s total supply of 120.7 million, making the company 82% of the way to its goal of owning 5% of the total supply.

“We see growing signs that the ‘mini-crypto’ winter is coming to an end,” said Chairman Tom Lee. 

“As downside tail risks for the U.S.-Iran war diminish, ETH has risen 41% from its early February lows,” he added.

ETH has outperformed the S&P 500 by 2,280 basis points …

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XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) and Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) have risen 7% and 4%, respectively, over the past week as broader cryptocurrency markets continue to test key resistance levels.

Traders remain cautiously optimistic about near-term momentum, though both assets are approaching technical inflection points.

XRP Flashes Bullish Signal

Crypto chart analyst Ali Martinez said XRP’s SuperTrend indicator has turned bullish on the daily chart for the first time since Jan. 17, suggesting a potential shift away from sustained selling pressure.

He identified $1.55 as a critical resistance level. A decisive daily close above that mark …

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Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) has purchased of 34,164 Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) for $2.54 billion at an average price of $74,395 between April 13 and April 19.

The Third-Largest Purchase

Strategy’s latest acquisition brings total holdings to 815,061 BTC, acquired for approximately $61.56 billion at an average cost basis of $75,527. 

With Bitcoin trading around $75,000, the position sits roughly breakeven.

The purchase ranks as Strategy’s third-largest on record and the biggest weekly acquisition since November 2024. 

Michael Saylor gave his usual Sunday hint ahead of the announcement, sharing an update on Strategy’s Bitcoin acquisition tracker and stating “Think even bigger,” suggesting a more substantial purchase than the prior week’s 13,927 BTC.

How It Was Funded

The acquisitions were funded by $2.17 billion raised through sales of the company’s preferred stock STRC and $366 …

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Polymarket and Kalshi exploded on the scene just before the 2024 Presidential election. Since then, the firms have notched respective valuations of $15 billion and $22 billion, and prediction markets have emerged as a major new player in finance, gaming, and media. The upstart industry also has deep roots in crypto.

Crypto and prediction markets have a lot in common: Both industries operate at the regulatory frontier, and are looking to disrupt deeply entrenched incumbents. There is also a spiritual connection. Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan took part in Ethereum’s pre-sale when he was just 15, and he built his platform on blockchain rails. Kalshi is not crypto native but has spent the last two years trying to acquire bona fides in the industry.

All of this suggests crypto is a large and growing part of the prediction market landscape. Big blockchain players, including Coinbase and Robinhood, certainly view events contracts as their home turf. “The crypto world feels it is on their land,” Dustin Gouker, who writes a newsletter on prediction markets, recently told me.

The question now is where exactly crypto fits into this new industry. Kalshi is dabbling in USDC and Solana products, but crypto has mostly remained a sideshow for the company, especially while it is waging a legal fight across the country to preserve the sports betting that is its golden goose.

Polymarket, meanwhile, is facing regulatory and social media heat over the shadowy, crypto-based system it uses to address disputes related to the outcome of bets on its platform. But that hasn’t stopped the company from doubling down on its crypto-first approach.

Polymarket is moving ahead with its own version of Ethereum’s blockchain, and also plans to do an airdrop later this year—an event that would reward longtime customers with a chunk of crypto cash. The market is currently down on alt-coins, and rightfully so, but a POLY token could find decent traction as an in-house currency on Polymarket, similar to how Binance uses BNB.

Polymarket’s crypto calculations seem shrewd, and could give the company a financial and technological boost as it prepares to re-enter the U.S. market. History, however, shows that crypto-based initiatives are prone to over-promising and under-delivering, so it may be years until blockchain becomes an integral part of prediction markets. What are your thoughts? I am curious to know whether most readers view prediction markets, at least in part, as a crypto story.

Jeff John Roberts
jeff.roberts@fortune.com
@jeffjohnroberts

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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The debate over Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and corporate treasury strategies misses a larger development, according to Bitwise advisor Jeff Park: new financial instruments like (NASDAQ:STRC) may signal a structural shift in how corporate finance operates.

STRC Introduces Semi-Monthly Dividends

Park highlighted Strategy’s (NASDAQ:MSTR) proposed STRC structure, which would pay semi-monthly dividends instead of the traditional semi-annual or monthly schedules seen in most corporate debt instruments.

He said the change reflects a broader shift in investor behavior, where market participants increasingly prefer more frequent payouts. Faster distribution cycles, …

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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) spot ETFs posted $996.4 million in net inflows last week, the largest weekly total since mid-January, bringing positive flows to three consecutive weeks.

BlackRock And Morgan Stanley Lead Inflows

BlackRock’s IBIT (NASDAQ:IBIT) led weekly inflows with $906 million. Morgan Stanley’s MSBT (NYSE:MSBT) logged $71 million in its first full trading week since launching April 8.

Over the past three weeks, the funds have drawn in more than $1.8 billion. 

Meanwhile, spot Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) ETFs also posted their highest weekly net inflows since January 16, worth $275.8 million.

The Iran Peace Angle

Institutional investors believe a permanent de-escalation in tensions between the U.S. and Iran is imminent and are increasing their …

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Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) ETFs recorded $276 million in net inflows last week, yet prominent crypto trader Ansem warns the $300 billion asset could target $1,300 if the downtrend continues.

The Bear Case Building

Ansem laid out a multi-pronged case against Ethereum. Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) dominated retail activity this cycle, Hyperliquid (CRYPTO: HYPE) dominated perps activity, and rollups still lack significant  traction. 

Moreover, Vitalik Buterin publicly abandoned the general usage rollup thesis.

Ethereum’s main value proposition has been safety and security of DeFi and institutional interest. 

However, the current Aave (CRYPTO: AAVE) situation marks that value proposition and has the possibility to continue weakening confidence.

“ETH in 2026 is in worse spot than it was in 2023, amplified by AI doing extremely well and tech stocks being much more favorable investments with …

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Bitcoin is holding near $75,000, following $663.9 million in net inflows into Bitcoin ETFs on Friday, while Ethereum ETFs reported $127.5 million in net inflows.  

Cryptocurrency Ticker Price
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) $75,128
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) $2,306
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) $85.00
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) $1.42
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) $0.09468
Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) $0.056008

Meme coin market capitalization is trading relatively flat with a 0.5% drop over …

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Tron (CRYPTO: TRX) founder Justin Sun proposed on Sunday a negotiation with the hacker behind the $290 million exploit of KelpDAO’s liquid restaking protocol.

Sun Attempts Direct Communication With Hacker

Sun addressed the KelpDAO hacker directly on X, asking, “How much you want? Let’s just talk.”

The cryptocurrency billionaire contended that it’s unwise to let KelpDAO and other decentralized finance platforms, such as Aave (CRYPTO: AAVE), collapse from the hack. They also told the attacker it is not easy to spend or move loot on that kind of scale.

What Really Happened?

The hacker targeted a cross-chain bridge, powered …

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Renowned investor and media personality Kevin O’Leary said Sunday that investors only need Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) to capture the majority of the cryptocurrency market exposure, dismissing all other coins as “garbage.”

O’Leary Stresses On ‘Disciplined’ Crypto Strategy

O’Leary took to X, sharing a clip from his appearance on The Breakdown dated April 14, in which he said that BTC and ETH provide all the liquidity one needs and help capture 95%-97% of the volatility.

“The rest? Noise. No liquidity, no institutional interest, no future,”  O’Leary, also known as “Mr Wonderful,” stated. “I cut the garbage and kept what works.”

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Anthony Scaramucci, founder of global investment firm SkyBridge Capital, said on Sunday that Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) fulfills all the requirements of a proper money system, fueling his bullish outlook on the apex cryptocurrency.

‘Bitcoin Has Built Its Own Trust System’

In an X post,  Scaramucci emphasized the trustworthiness of Bitcoin, comparing it to the trust people have in fiat currencies.

“A dollar bill is made of linen and cotton. But we accept it because we trust it,” Scaramucci stated. “Over 16 years, Bitcoin has built its own trust system — decentralized, no central authority, no single point of failure.”

Scaramucci also pointed out the involvement of major financial institutions in the cryptocurrency market. He mentioned that Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) has entered the Bitcoin market and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) has filed for a Bitcoin ETF.

“It’s becoming part of the model portfolio for individuals and institutions worldwide,” the financier said.

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Leading cryptocurrencies fell alongside stock futures Sunday evening as tensions between the U.S. and Iran increased dramatically over the weekend.

Cryptocurrency 24-Hour Gains +/- Price (Recorded at 9:25 p.m. EDT)
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) -1.73% $74,293.96
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH)
               		 -2.82% $2,280.19
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP)                          -1.98% $1.40
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL)                          -2.04% $84.12
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE)              -1.08% $0.09384

Crypto Market In Red

Bitcoin sharply retreated from $76,000 as trading volume spiked 20% over the last 24 hours. Ethereum dipped below $2,300, while XRP and Dogecoin also traded in the red.

Over $415 million was liquidated in the past 24 hours, with $335 million in long positions alone wiped out, according to Coinglass data.

Open interest in Bitcoin futures fell 3.76% over the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, sentiment among whale and retail traders on Binance flipped “neutral.”

“Fear” sentiment persisted in the market, according to the Crypto Fear & Greed Index.

Top Gainers (24 Hours) 

Cryptocurrency (Market Cap>$100 M) Gains +/- Price (Recorded at 9:25 p.m. EDT)
Pieverse (PIEVERSE)       +72.15%     $1.03
Reserve Rights (RSR)                  +7.96%     $0.001800
Just (JST)            +7.37%     $0.07430

The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.51 trillion, following a decline of 1.62% increase in the last 24 hours.

Stock Futures Slide …

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Vlad Tenev, CEO of Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD), once stated that success, in his view, is creating “dramatically” more value for the world than for oneself.

Everyone Should Have Skin In the Game, Says Tenev

Appearing on The Knowledge Project Podcast on March 3, Tenev said that he would feel “good” if the aggregate impact on the rest of the world is “much bigger” than what happens to him.

“I think that’s what’s pushing me to further ownership so that everyone has skin in the game,” the technology entrepreneur said

The Legacy Tenev Is Chasing

Tenev envisioned a future where more people own the “great industries” of the U.S., creating a population that is smarter and …

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Trever Traina, Chief Business Officer of Tools For Humanity, said that the World Network faces not just regulatory hurdles but also logistical challenges in achieving widespread distribution.

‘We’re Working Quickly To Produce Them’

World was launched as a decentralized identity verification project in 2023 to tell real humans from the flood of AI bots online. To do this, they collect people’s biometrics, including irises, through a proprietary device called Orb.

In an exclusive Benzinga interview, Traina acknowledged that the Orb devices are hampered by limited supply.

He said that the devices use chips manufactured by AI giant Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) and are “incredibly sophisticated.”

“There are only so many in the world, even though we’re working quickly to produce them,” Traina said.

He added that it took a long time for the project to break into the U.S and is just starting to scale up now.

“So it’s not just a regulatory issue, it’s a logistics issue,” Traina …

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This week was a whirlwind of activity in the cryptocurrency world. From Binance matching the trading volume of major Asian commodities exchanges to predictions of Bitcoin hitting a million dollars, the crypto market was buzzing with news.

Here’s a quick recap of the top stories.

Binance Matches Major Asian Exchanges In Gold Perpetuals Trading

Co-CEO of Binance, Richard Teng, revealed that the platform’s gold perpetual trading volume is now on par with several national commodity exchanges. This information is based on Binance’s research, which underscored the swift growth of perpetual futures on cryptocurrency exchanges for traditional assets like stocks, gold, and silver. These are leveraged contracts, not physical ownership or spot trading.

Read the full article here.

Bitcoin Could Reach $1 Million By 2035, Says Bitwise’s Matt Hougan

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan predicts that Bitcoin could potentially reach $1 million by 2035, provided the store of value market continues to grow as it has for the past 20 years. Hougan believes Bitcoin is entering a long-term institutional adoption phase, driven by ETF growth, geopolitical instability, and …

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A crypto whale tracked as 0xeCE7 shifted $225 million in USDC onto Binance, Bybit, and Deribit and then pulled 32,007 Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH)—valued at about $77.52 million—off Binance after buying. The burst of activity arrives as a long-dormant Bitcoin whale has resurfaced, moving roughly $469.8 million in BTC after more than 14 years of silence and reminding traders how closely markets watch big wallets.

In a post on X, Lookonchain reported that the same address funneled the USDC to multiple venues over about 10 hours before withdrawing the 32,007 ETH from Binance. The post pegged the ETH haul at $77.52 million.

Mysterious Whale Activity Sparks Market Speculation

The Ethereum move stood out for its sequencing: stablecoins went in first, then ETH came out, a pattern that can signal planned execution across exchanges and derivatives venues. The inclusion of Deribit alongside spot-heavy platforms like Binance and Bybit also put options and hedging tools in focus.

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The trading activity of members of Congress continues to draw attention from retail investors, with potential conflicts of interest based on timing of trades and committee assignments signaling red flags around the transactions.

One member of Congress is drawing attention for the purchase of an ETF, not for a potential conflict, but for the size of the trade.

• iShares Bitcoin Trust stock is trading near recent lows. What should traders watch with IBIT?

Congresswoman Buys Bitcoin ETF Again

Congresswoman Sheri Biggs (R-S.C.) recently disclosed several transactions made in March, according to the Benzinga Government Trades page.

One of the transactions included buying $100,000 to $250,000 in shares of the iShares Bitcoin ETF (NASDAQ:IBIT) on March 4. The transaction is noted as being made by a spouse and is listed as coming from a “professionally managed account.”

This marks the second time Biggs has disclosed buying shares of this Bitcoin …

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Tether has used its hundreds of billions in assets to become many things, including social media investors, data center lenders, and one of the largest holders of U.S. T-bills. But this week, Tether became something else: A crypto startup’s lender of last resort. The stablecoin giant put up $127.5 million in funding—some in loans, some in grants—to aid the recovery of Drift, a Solana-based derivatives exchange that was pilfered for $285 million by North Korea-linked hackers earlier this month.

While the funds won’t cover the full amount that Drift lost in the hack, the money will provide additional stability as the exchange has said it will also begin contributing its own revenue in a bid to make users whole. 

Tether’s involvement in the recovery plan has won it plaudits from crypto fans, particularly users of the blockchain Solana, on which Drift is built. Meanwhile, that goodwill may come at the expense of Tether’s chief rival, Circle, whose USDC stablecoin has long been the most popular on Solana and Drift. Tether and Drift did not immediately return requests for comment. 

A ‘moral quandary’

While hacking is hardly uncommon in the crypto world, the Drift breach was particularly sophisticated. The hackers, thought to be working on behalf of the DPRK, approached Drift team members at a cryptocurrency conference in late 2025 and pretended to be from a trading firm looking to build on the blockchain protocol. Eventually, they won sufficient trust to gain deeper access to Drift’s systems, opening the door to steal funds, the company said in a statement. 

As part of the scheme, the hackers converted their stolen funds, which represented numerous cryptocurrencies, into USDC before whisking the tokens off the Solana blockchain altogether

Following the breach, many Drift customers have been pointing their fingers at Circle, claiming the firm saw the hack taking place, but failed to freeze the USDC, which could have prevented the hackers from making off with the stolen funds.

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire reportedly said a private company freezing user funds at its own discretion would create a “moral quandary,” adding that Circle only freezes assets at the direction of law enforcement or the courts. Reached for comment, Circle sent a blog post from one of its executives on the topic of asset freezing.

Tether, meanwhile, appears to have used the episode to gain goodwill at the expense of its rival. Nicky Scannella, lead for the Solana marketing group Superteam USA, swapped $45,000 of USDC for Tether’s USDT stablecoin following the news of Tether’s Drift gift. 

“The best way to reward [Tether’s] behavior and punish [Circle’s] behavior is to swap,” Scanella said in a text. “If we want to see more of this … we as users need to actually act. It’s sorta like voting.”

USDC and USDT showed a marginal loss and gain, respectively, in supply on the Solana blockchain in the day following Tether’s announcement, per DeFiLlama data. Still, USDC has around $8.1 billion in Solana stablecoin supply to USDT’s $3 billion—though Tether’s coin remains the dominant overall stablecoin with a market cap of $185 billion compared to Circle’s $78 billion.

Tether also gained a new client through the ordeal. Drift will use USDT, rather than USDC, for settlement when the exchange re-launches, the company said in a statement. 

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Editor’s note: the story has been updated with a comment by Binance.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) sent letters Friday to the Justice Department and Treasury demanding answers by April 24 on Binance’s (CRYPTO: BNB) compliance monitors after over $1.7 billion flowed through the exchange to Iran-linked wallets.

The Monitor Question

Blumenthal specifically asked about the status of monitors Binance had to install after the exchange pleaded guilty in November 2023 to failing to register as a money transmitting business and breaching sanctions. 

The exchange agreed to pay over $4 billion in penalties and retain an independent compliance monitor for three years.

“I am writing with concern over mounting allegations of dangerously lax anti-money laundering prevention by Binance,” Blumenthal said in the letters.

Frances McLeod, the Justice Department’s chosen monitor and a founding partner at consulting firm Forensic Risk Alliance, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Neither did Sharon Cohen …

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The release of Aave (CRYPTO: AAVE) V4 marks more than just another upgrade in decentralized finance. It represents a deliberate attempt to redesign how liquidity flows across the ecosystem, thereby reshaping how value is created and captured within the Aave protocol itself.

For years, DeFi has been dealing with a simple but important problem: liquidity fragmentation. 

Funds are spread out across different blockchains, platforms, and pools. Instead of moving freely to where they’re needed, much of it sits idle. So you end up with one part of the market having more than enough liquidity, while another part is struggling to keep up with demand.

Even on Aave, this has been the case. Liquidity is divided across different markets, which makes it harder to use that capital as efficiently as possible.

Aave V4 is designed to change that by making liquidity easier to share and better used across the system.

From Isolated Markets to a Unified Liquidity System

At the center of the upgrade is a shift away from the traditional model of siloed liquidity pools toward what Aave describes as a more unified architecture. Instead of maintaining separate reserves for each market, V4 introduces a central liquidity hub that can be accessed by multiple markets simultaneously.

By consolidating liquidity, Aave allows capital to be reused more efficiently across different borrowing environments. The same pool of assets can now serve multiple use cases without duplication, reducing idle capital and improving overall utilization.

What Aave is effectively doing is increasing the productivity of its existing capital base without requiring proportional inflows of new liquidity. In a market where growth is often dependent on attracting fresh capital, that kind of internal efficiency can become a powerful differentiator.

For investors, this matters because utilization is directly tied to yield generation. When capital is used more often and more efficiently, the protocol sees more activity and generates more fees, strengthening its revenue base and supporting the long-term value of the AAVE token.

Aave’s Transition From Application to Infrastructure

Beyond efficiency gains, V4 introduces a more profound strategic shift. Aave is positioning itself not just as a lending protocol, but as a foundational liquidity layer that other applications can build on top of.

The new modular design allows developers to create specialized markets, whether for real-world assets, higher-risk collateral types, or …

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Bitcoin climbed to $77,000 on Friday, coinciding with nearly $1 billion in liquidations of mostly shorts.

Cryptocurrency Ticker Price
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) $77,245.02
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) $2,422.90
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) $89.21
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) $1.47
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) $0.1003
Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) $0.056379

Notable Statistics:

  • Coinglass data shows 182,798 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours for $818.97 million.
  • SoSoValue data shows net inflows of $26.05 million from spot Bitcoin ETFs on Thursday. Spot Ethereum ETFs saw net inflows of $18.02 million.
  • In the past 24 hours, top gainers include RaveDAO, Ethena and …

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Bitcoin climbed to $77,000 on Friday, coinciding with nearly $1 billion in liquidations of mostly shorts.

Cryptocurrency Ticker Price
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) $77,245.02
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) $2,422.90
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) $89.21
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) $1.47
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) $0.1003
Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) $0.056379

Notable Statistics:

  • Coinglass data shows 182,798 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours for $818.97 million.
  • SoSoValue data shows net inflows of $26.05 million from spot Bitcoin ETFs on Thursday. Spot Ethereum ETFs saw net inflows of $18.02 million.
  • In the past 24 hours, top gainers include RaveDAO, Ethena and …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

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Galaxy Digital Inc (NASDAQ:GLXY) shares are surging on Friday. The stock is riding a wave of renewed optimism across the digital asset ecosystem.

The Nasdaq is up 1.38% while the S&P 500 has gained 1.40%.

Middle East Peace Fuels Risk-On Sentiment

The primary catalyst is a sector-wide crypto rally. Markets reacted to signs of progress toward a Middle East ceasefire. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared the Strait of Hormuz open to commercial vessels on Friday.

“In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open,” Araghchi posted on X.

Crypto Prices Bounce On Geopolitical Relief

Bitcoin

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The Chinese provider of data services for businesses has linked up with a state-run exchange with a joint mission to develop datasets as digital commodities

image credit: Bamboo Works

Key Takeaways:

  • Xunce and the Shenzhen Data Exchange will work together to expand a system in which data is traded as tokens and can be recognized on balance sheets
  • The company’s shares jumped after news of the partnership to trade at more than six times its IPO price 

As the fuel behind the explosive growth of AI, data is transforming itself from a business input into a financial asset.

That’s the assumption behind a strategic partnership between a Chinese provider of data solutions and a state-run platform that aims to promote the trading of datasets as a commodity within the digital economy.

Shenzhen Xunce Technology Co. Ltd. (3317.HK) supplies data systems and analytics to businesses, including AI-powered data agents that can act on the information they process. The company announced on April 12 it had linked up with the Shenzhen Data Exchange to develop what it called a service framework for “data assetization”, the process of turning data into marketable assets.

The partners also agreed to work on harnessing data and AI to drive growth across sectors, to push for data assets to be logged on balance sheets and to foster high-quality data standards and scenarios for robotics, autonomous driving and smart devices.

Investors welcomed the tie-up, sending Xunce’s shares 15.61% higher in the first session after the announcement. The closing price of HK$358.4 was more than six times the company’s IPO price from December last year, capping a steady rise in market enthusiasm.

Founded in 2016, …

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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) has the potential to reach $1 million by 2035, says Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan, but only if store of value market continues to grow the same manner for the past 20 years.

Path To $1 Million

In an Apr. 17 interview with CoinDesk, Hougan said Bitcoin is entering a long-term institutional adoption phase, driven by ETF growth, geopolitical instability and rising demand for “digital gold.”

He estimates Bitcoin could reach seven-figure valuations if it captures 15%–17% of the global store-of-value market, up from roughly 6% today.

Under that scenario, long-term price targets …

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The long discussed threat that quantum computing could one day break modern cryptography is no longer being treated as a distant, theoretical concern. Within the crypto industry, it is increasingly framed as a timing problem, not an if.

For holders of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), that distinction matters. If quantum capabilities arrive sooner than expected, the network’s current security assumptions could be tested before it has time to adapt. That possibility is beginning to reshape how institutional players think about custody, risk, and preparedness.

The Timeline Problem Is Getting Harder To Ignore

For years, the idea that quantum computers could crack cryptographic keys sat comfortably in the long term category. Estimates often placed meaningful breakthroughs decades away, giving networks ample time to upgrade.

That timeline is now being questioned.

Recent research and industry discussions suggest that advances in quantum computing could compress that window significantly. Some projections now place potential disruption within a single decade, with more aggressive estimates pointing even sooner.

Even if those forecasts prove optimistic, the shift is enough to trigger concern in markets where preparation cycles are measured in years. In crypto, that gap is particularly relevant.

Bitcoin’s Strength Is Also Its Constraint

Bitcoin’s design prioritizes stability over speed. Its decentralized governance and conservative approach to upgrades are widely seen as strengths, especially for an asset that secures hundreds of billions of dollars in value.

But that same conservatism creates friction when responding to emerging threats.

Protocol level changes on Bitcoin typically take years to propose, debate, and implement. The last major upgrade followed a multi year process before activation. Any meaningful shift to quantum resistant cryptography would likely face a similar timeline, if not longer.

That creates a mismatch. If quantum risks materialize within a comparable timeframe, the network may not be able to react quickly enough through traditional upgrade paths alone.

A Shift Toward User Level Protection

As a result, attention is starting to move …

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Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) is up 6% after closing above $0.10 for the first time in weeks as Dogecoin Cash Inc. announced it is developing Dogecoin Gold, a planned token that would link digital assets to physical gold reserves.

Dogecoin Cash Announces Gold-Backed Token Plan

Dogecoin Cash Inc. proposed a framework where one billion tokens would equal one gram of physical gold. 

The system would create tokens only when gold enters custody and remove them from circulation upon verified redemption.

“We are evaluating a framework that seeks to integrate verifiable ownership of physical gold with blockchain-based auditability and precision,” management said in a statement.

“The objective is to determine whether a system can be structured in which real-world assets, mathematically defined units, and transparent digital infrastructure operate within a disciplined and verifiable environment,” they added

The initiative remains in the development phase with no tokens issued or timeline …

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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is up 5% after breaking above the descending trendline that defined the entire bear trend from $128,000, setting up short-squeeze conditions.

The 46-Day Short Streak

The last time this squeeze happened was November to December 2022 during the FTX collapse.

“Traders are actively building short positions and betting against a breakout, creating conditions where a short squeeze becomes more likely if upward momentum persists,” said Vetle Lunde, head of research at K33.

If prices keep climbing, traders who bet against the rally face mounting losses that can force them to buy back positions all at once, sending prices sharply higher in a cascading short squeeze. The longer the standoff persists, the bigger the potential unwind.

The Wall Street Push

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) filed for a Bitcoin ETF this week, its first direct push …

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XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) has gained roughly 10% over the past week, with traders increasingly pointing to a potential breakout as price compression continues higher timeframes.

Price Structure Compressed

In a Apr.16 podcast, Trader Cryptoinsightuk said XRP is forming a “compressed” structure, a pattern that often precedes sharp volatility expansions. While short-term weakness in Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) remains a possibility, he argued that XRP’s broader setup is increasingly significant.

He says this compression, combined with several weekly indicators, is unusually significant.

Based on historical cycle behavior, he suggested XRP …

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Good morning. Fortune 500 companies are already experimenting with blockchain but many CFOs are still hesitant to move real money on-chain.

That topic came up in my conversation with Betsabe Botaitis, the new CFO of P2P.org, a company that helps large institutions earn returns from crypto assets.

P2P provides the behind-the-scenes technology, such as like servers and security systems, that lets institutions earn rewards from cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Solana. Normally, companies would need to run their own systems to do this, but P2P handles it for them. Founded in 2018, the company now supports more than 40 blockchain networks and works with banks, exchanges, digital wallets, and custodians.

Botaitis describes the company’s offering as “full-stack yield infrastructure.” This means helping institutions earn returns across different types of digital assets—not just one—while also giving them the tools they need for risk management, reporting, and compliance.

She explains that P2P started with basic infrastructure and is now expanding to serve institutions that want more complete solutions.

A CFO who speaks both Wall Street and Web3

Botaitis brings a mix of traditional finance and crypto experience. She started her career in retail banking, then held senior roles at Citigroup and LendingClub. Later, she moved into the crypto space, co-founding a blockchain company and serving as its CFO.

Most recently, she was CFO and treasurer at Hedera, a blockchain network designed for enterprise use. There, she managed large budgets and digital assets, led the organization’s first financial audit, and built systems to meet regulatory and institutional standards.

Botaitis told me that in her conversations with CFOs, many remain cautious about blockchain.

“The infrastructure exists,” she said. “The question is whether your organization is building the internal knowledge and partner relationships to move when your board is ready. The firms doing that work are already in conversations that others will have to catch up to.”

CFOs are looking for the same things they expect from any business partner: proven reliability, strong operations, and systems that fit into their existing risk frameworks, Botaitis said.

One major concern is regulation. P2P’s structure helps address this, she said.

“As CFO, my mandate is making sure our financial governance meets the standards institutional clients expect from any counterparty they put in a risk memo,” she added.

She frames the company not as a risky crypto bet, but as a reliable infrastructure provider—similar to a traditional vendor that would go through standard due diligence.

CEO Alex Esin also emphasized her experience, saying, in a statement, that it will help the company grow and work with large institutions. Botaitis highlighted the U.S. and Latin America as important growth markets.

In addition to her corporate role, she has been recognized in industry circles, including serving as an ambassador at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit and being named to CoinDesk’s Top 50 Women in Web3 and AI.

For CFOs still unsure about blockchain, her hiring sends a signal: the people building crypto infrastructure increasingly come from the same traditional finance backgrounds they trust.

Have a good weekend.

Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com

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XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) has surged 12.5% from its April low as U.S. spot ETFs recorded $41.64 million in net inflows for the week ending April 16, the largest single-week inflow in three months.

The ETF Acceleration

The weekly inflow represents a 254% jump from the prior week’s $11.75 million, the kind of acceleration that typically accompanies pattern breakouts rather than consolidation.

The last five days show consistent demand with inflows of $11.87 million, $17.11 million, $11.20 million, $1.46 million, and $9.09 million. 

Cumulative inflows have reached $1.26 billion, pushing total assets past $1.08 billion.

Bitwise and Franklin products continue to lead flows, while Grayscale shows mixed activity with earlier outflows still weighing on totals.

The Timing Difference

The current setup flips the …

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Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) and Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) saw notable price gains over the past month, rising 7% and 6% respectively, as broader market sentiment improved and large holders moved tokens off exchanges.

Large Outflows From Robinhood

According to Whale Alert data, both tokens recorded significant transfers from Robinhood into private wallets, a move typically interpreted as reduced near-term selling pressure.

Dogecoin holders moved more than 2.56 billion DOGE, worth roughly $245 million, across five transactions, marking one of the largest single-day liquidity withdrawals in the asset’s history.

Shiba Inu holders also transferred over 16 trillion SHIB, …

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Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA) CEO Frederik Gregaard said the network cut audit costs by 50% for institutions and listed a $100 million reinsurance product on the London Stock Exchange.

The Audit Cost Breakthrough

The Cardano Foundation posted 7,000 financial transactions using a product called Leccia on the blockchain.

Grant Thornton then used legal entity identifiers to download all transactions, compare them to the bookkeeping ledger, and sign the audit.

The process proved institutions can lower audit costs by nearly 50% while moving from spot checks to full architectural audits that examine all transactions, Gregaard told Cointelegraph at Paris Blockchain Week.

“Instead of a spot check of transactions, they can look at all the transactions,” Gregaard said. “We are the only blockchain who has enabled that using legal entity identifiers.”

The London Stock Exchange Play

Cardano partnered with Members Cap to tokenize exposure to Hannover Re, one of the …

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Macro investor Raoul Pal says the entire banking system will move to Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) as ETH tests the 100 exponential moving average at $2,355 for the first time since October.

The Banking System Thesis

Raoul Pal pushed back against the “ETH is dead” narrative from 1.5-2 years ago, arguing banks care about Lindy effects—things that survive, things you don’t get fired for, things that are proven.

“I find it hilarious that 1.5-2 years ago people were like, ‘ETH is dead.’ I’m like, ‘No, the entire banking system will go to ETH,’” Pal said. 

“That doesn’t mean it’s a mono-chain world, but I know how banks work. It’s really for them about Lindy effects because nobody wants to lose their jobs over new technology,” he added.

The Decentralization Customer

Etherealize co-founder Danny Ryan …

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Bitcoin remains above $75,000 while Bitcoin ETFs saw $26.05 million in net inflows on Thursday, while Ethereum ETFs reported $18 million in net inflows.  

Cryptocurrency Ticker Price
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) $75,517
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) $2,352
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) $87.67
XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) $1.43
Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) $0.09807
Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) $0.056200

Meme coin market capitalization is up 7.5% over the past 24 hours at $38.4 billion

Trader Commentary: 

Crypto chart analyst …

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Congress continues to probe Iran’s use of Binance. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) sent out letters on Friday asking for details on the status of two monitors assigned to oversee the world’s largest crypto exchange and its compliance operations.

“I am writing with concern over mounting allegations of dangerously lax anti-money laundering prevention by Binance,” said Blumenthal, in the letters sent to the Justice Department and the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

Spokespeople for the DOJ and FinCEN also did not immediately return requests for comment.

As part of a 2023 settlement with Binance over compliance shortcomings, the U.S. government installed two monitors, who separately report to the DOJ and FinCEN, to ensure the exchange put in place appropriate measures to overhaul its compliance program. The monitorships, which began in 2024, were part of a larger plea deal in which Binance paid a $4.3 billion fine related to its failure to impose proper money-laundering and sanctions oversight.

Binance has since sought to project an image of corporate responsibility, but recent reports over Iranian crypto flows have prompted Blumenthal—along with other Senate Democrats—to probe the crypto exchange and the Trump administration over whether the exchange’s internal operations match its public rhetoric. 

Amid the public back-and-forth, Binance’s two monitors, whose roles include flagging any misconduct, have remained quiet.

Frances McLeod, the Justice Department’s chosen monitor and a founding partner at the consulting firm Forensic Risk Alliance, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Neither did Sharon Cohen Levin, FinCEN’s monitor and a partner at the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell.

Monitorship on pause?

Blumenthal’s questioning comes after multiple outlets reported that Binance fired internal investigators who had warned top executives that over $1 billion had flowed through the exchange to Iran-linked wallets. Binance has said that the firings of the investigators were unrelated to their findings on Iranian flows, and that the crypto exchange maintains a rigorous compliance program. Spokespeople for the crypto exchange did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Blumenthal’s inquiry into the status of its monitors.

The Senator’s letters also follow a 2025 report from Reuters that stated that the Justice Department had paused its corporate monitorships as part of an informal review. In March 2025, a judge granted the DOJ’s request to end the monitorship of Glencore, the international mining company caught up in a foreign bribery scheme. Later that year, the DOJ also scrapped the requirement for the airplane manufacturer Boeing to have its own independent monitor.

Critics of monitorships, or when governments ask independent third parties to oversee a company that’s run afoul of the law, argue that they’re costly burdens for corporations or just not effective. 

In 2013, a U.S. court imposed an antitrust monitor onto Apple after ruling that the tech giant engaged in a price-fixing conspiracy. Other marquee companies to receive monitors include Deutsche Bank, Volkswagen, and Walmart. 

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(Editor’s note: The future prices of benchmark tracking ETFs, the economic data and the headline were updated in the story.)

Futures related to U.S. stocks ticked up in pre-market trading on Thursday, after the benchmark S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose to fresh records in the previous session, as investors weighed signs of easing tensions between Washington and Tehran.

Sentiment was supported by growing hopes of a possible diplomatic breakthrough after President Donald Trump said in an interview aired on Wednesday that the Iran war was “very close to over” and that Tehran was eager to strike a deal. He also said that talks between Israel and Lebanon will take place on Thursday.

A White House official also told CNBC that a second round of U.S.-Iran talks was under discussion, though no date has been set.

Investors are also pricing in earnings before the bell from PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP), Travelers (NYSE:TRV), and Charles Schwab Corp (NYSE:SCHW), alongside weekly jobless claims and March’s industrial production data.

In a speech on Thursday, New York Fed President John Williams said that the Middle East conflict has introduced substantial risks and heightened uncertainty. He said the war is driving “significant increases in energy prices, which are already lifting overall inflation.”

Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.283%, and the two-year bond was at 3.755%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 99.5% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged in its April meeting.

Index Performance (+/-)
Dow Jones 0.23%
S&P 500 0.13%
Nasdaq 100 0.19%
Russell 2000 0.30%

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were higher in premarket trading on Thursday. The SPY was up 0.16% at $701.07, while the …

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Signs of easing geopolitical tensions have lifted cryptocurrencies, including Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE), and whales have started loading up on the memecoin.

Whales Getting Ready For DOGE’s Leg Up?

Widely followed cryptocurrency analyst Ali Martinez highlighted in an X post on Thursday that large investors bought around 330 million DOGE tokens this week. At the prevailing prices, this amounted to $32.34 million

Exchange-traded funds rode the bullish wave, as the Grayscale Dogecoin Trust ETF (NYSE:GDOG), 21Shares Dogecoin ETF (NASDAQ:TDOG), and Bitwise Dogecoin ETF (NYSE:BWOW) attracted over $1.5 million in net inflows over the last week, per data from SoSo Value.

Hope Builds for Iran War Resolution

President Donald Trump’s …

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Pakistan has lately accelerated efforts to integrate cryptocurrencies into its financial system, while neighboring rival India continues to take a more cautious approach, with limited progress toward comprehensive regulation.

Pakistan’s Ambitious Crypto Push

In a notable shift, Pakistan’s central bank now allows banks to service licensed virtual asset providers, marking the end of an eight-year lull in regulated cryptocurrency activity.

Bilal Bin Saqib, Chairman of the country’s federal regulator for virtual assets, said that the country will now move from “restriction to regulation,” and “from ambiguity to institutional clarity.”

Pakistan Attracting Big Players

The move is part of Pakistan’s ongoing cryptocurrency pivot, as it works to attract global players and position the country as a global hub of digital assets.

It has roped in Binance (CRYPTO: BNB) co-founder Changpeng Zhao as strategic advisor of the Pakistan Crypto Council, …

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