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WalletConnect token expands to Solana with 5 million WCT set for airdrop WalletConnect, a protocol that connects crypto wallets to apps, has launched its WCT token on Solana — its third chain after Optimism's OP Mainnet and Ethereum — along with an airdrop of 5 million tokens set for active Solana users. The Solana expansion uses Wormhole's native token transfers (NTT) framework, allowing WCT to move natively — not as a wrapped token — across all three supported chains. The Solana launch comes less than a month after WCT went live on Ethereum, also via NTT, following its original debut on Optimism's OP Mainnet. To support the launch, the WalletConnect Foundation said it will airdrop 5 million WCT to active Solana users through partners including Phantom, Jupiter, Backpack, and Solflare. The 5 million tokens are part of the 185 million WCT the foundation earmarked for airdrops last September, founder and director Pedro Gomes told The Block. This will be the second major WCT airdrop, following the 50 million tokens distributed to the WalletConnect community in the first season last November, the foundation said. WCT is currently trading at around $0.60, valuing the airdrop for Solana users at about $3 million, according to The Block's WCT price page. Airdrop claims for Solana users will open this summer, with eligibility criteria, distribution timelines, and claiming instructions to be announced in the coming weeks, Gomes said. WCT launches on Solana Launching WCT on Solana gives users faster and cheaper transactions and makes WalletConnect easier to use across Solana apps, Gomes said. "It will eventually open new governance opportunities and further connect WalletConnect to one of the most vibrant onchain communities," he added. Currently, WCT staking and governance are available only on Optimism's OP Mainnet. WCT is expected to start trading on Solana decentralized exchanges soon, and users will be able to move tokens via Wormhole's Portal Bridge once support goes live, Gomes said. Notably, Solana apps like Backpack, Drift, Kamino, and Marinade already use Reown's AppKit — a software development kit built on top of the WalletConnect protocol. While many Solana projects have integrated the AppKit to enable WalletConnect connectivity, the Wormhole NTT integration now allows these apps to also support the WCT token directly, including listing, trading, and eventually staking and governance features, Gomes said. Reown, formerly known as WalletConnect Inc., is the core team behind both the protocol and its developer tools. The expansion to Ethereum and Solana does not affect WCT's total supply, which remains unchanged. Gomes said WalletConnect used Wormhole's "burn-and-mint" model for both deployments, where tokens are burned on the source chain and minted on the destination chain — keeping supply consistent across networks. WalletConnect is also planning to expand WCT to more chains in the future. Gomes said the team is actively working with several networks in the Optimism Superchain ecosystem and is prioritizing chains with a strong focus on wallet user experience and onchain content. "We want to go where the builders and users are," he said.
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Ledn to drop ETH support in favor of fully custodied bitcoin-only model amid rising BTC-backed lending competition Centralized crypto lender Ledn is discontinuing bitcoin yield generation and Ethereum support to double down on bitcoin-collateralized lending. From July 1, Ledn will stop lending client assets to earn interest, ensuring they are never exposed to third-party credit risk. Going forward, it will only offer its "Custodied Bitcoin" loan structure, where client collateral stays fully held in custody by Ledn or its trusted funding partners, the firm said in a statement shared with The Block. Ledn only expanded its crypto lending platform to support loans collateralized by ether in February 2024 — a move partly designed to assist victims of Celsius' 2022 bankruptcy with outstanding ether loans to refinance with "more digital assets proving their worth and resilience." However, just over a year later, support for ETH will be retired at the same time, reflecting Ledn's shift to focus exclusively on a BTC-only model. "With our new hyper-focus on bitcoin-only lending, we're going back to our roots and principles that inspired Bitcoin to begin with," Ledn co-founder and CEO Adam Reeds said. "Bitcoin was created as a direct response to the risks of fractional reserve banking and unchecked use of client assets to generate interest. Traditional finance relies on constantly reusing client assets to create leverage and, ultimately, inflation. Bitcoiners instinctively reject that model. That's why we've moved away from this approach entirely. With our Custodied loan structure, client assets stay where they belong and are held in a transparent manner." The move means Ledn is also retiring its BTC and ETH "Growth Accounts" — crypto savings products that offered annualized yields of up to 4% APY — to focus 100% on loans, the company confirmed. Users still wary of centralized crypto lending The crypto lending sector suffered significant setbacks following a tumultuous year for centralized services in 2022 — a period that saw the bankruptcy of firms like Celsius, BlockFi, Voyager Digital, and Genesis. Following those events, it remained unclear the extent to which users would trust such services going forward. Ledn co-founder and CSO Mauricio Di Bartolomeo previously told The Block the company survived the period because of its "sound risk management program" and "prioritization of the safety and security" of its clients' assets. However, the appetite for centralized bitcoin lending appears to growing again amid the foremost cryptocurrency's rise to fresh all-time highs, with users attracted by the opportunity to take some gains off the table without generating a taxable event or potentially lever up on their position. Earlier this month, Strike, the Bitcoin Lightning Network-based payments app founded by Jack Mallers, became the latest firm to unveil a bitcoin-backed lending program for individual and corporate accounts. Strike joins companies, including Xapo Bank, Unchained, and Coinbase, in offering bitcoin-collateralized loans, each with varying risk models. Ledn said it is taking these latest steps to further de-risk its product and enhance client security. Without specifically naming them, it argued many of the new lending products in the market are exposing consumers to risky and opaque structures once again — the exact dynamics that led to the meltdown of the lending sector in 2022. "As more new entrants push half-baked lending models back into the market, we're choosing the opposite path — eliminating lending risk entirely for our users and making it 100% clear how their assets are dealt with," Reeds added. "That clarity is what has helped us originate over $9.5 billion in loans and become the #1 retail CeFi lender in the Bitcoin space. We believe this approach should become the new standard for any serious digital asset lender." Improving regulatory clarity Ledn was the first crypto lender to introduce proof-of-reserves attestations in 2020, using third-party verification to demonstrate all assets were fully accounted for — a transparency-first approach that it says helped it stay stable as less transparent peers collapsed. With global regulators beginning to signal support for the industry as opposed to blanket restrictions, Ledn argues digital asset platforms have the opportunity and responsibility to build resilient systems and proactively manage risk. As for Ledn's strategy in this regard, the firm said it is "going all in on bitcoin, simplifying its product stack, and sharpening its focus around the most secure and proven digital asset."
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Wallet tied to Coinbase phishing campaigns launders funds, taunts ZachXBT after $42.5M Thorchain swap A wallet labeled “Fake_Phishing1158790” on Etherscan swapped $42.5 million worth of bitcoin for ether using the decentralized liquidity protocol Thorchain, in what may be an attempt to launder stolen funds. In a taunting twist, the wallet also sent an onchain message to blockchain investigator ZachXBT, reading simply: “L bozo.” The text included a YouTube link to a clip of NBA Hall of Famer James Worthy, likely to mock the onchain sleuth. ZachXBT has linked the wallet’s owner to large-scale phishing campaigns targeting Coinbase users. In a March Telegram post, he claimed the group stole over $65 million between December 2024 and January 2025 by posing as customer support agents — part of an estimated $300 million annual theft from Coinbase customers. This week, Coinbase disclosed that nearly 70,000 users were affected by a data breach from last December. A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing said some former employees abused internal privileges and exposed customer information to scammers for cash bribes. Passwords and wallet keys were not leaked in the incident, but the threat actors received sensitive KYC details, Coinbase wrote. People who claimed to control the stolen data threatened to publish the files online and demanded a $20 million ransom. Coinbase denied the request and put out a $20 million bounty to track the culprits. The crypto exchange has not confirmed whether the breach is connected to the phishing scheme outlined by ZachXBT. However, Coinbase expects it could spend between $180 million and $400 million on remediation and reimbursements related to the breach.
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SEC delays decisions on XRP and Dogecoin ETF proposals, asks for public input The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission pushed back deadlines for a few proposals on whether to approve exchange-traded funds tracking XRP and Dogecoin. The SEC asked for public comments for the 21Shares Core XRP Trust, the Grayscale XRP Trust, and the Grayscale Dogecoin Trust, according to filings posted on Tuesday. "Institution of proceedings is appropriate at this time in view of the legal and policy issues raised by the proposed rule change," the SEC said in one of the filings. "Institution of proceedings does not indicate that the Commission has reached any conclusions with respect to any of the issues involved. Rather, the Commission seeks and encourages interested persons to provide comments on the proposed rule change." The SEC also pushed back making a decision on whether to approve a proposal to allow Bitwise's Ethereum ETF to permit staking, according to a filing on Tuesday. The SEC has delayed and asked for comments for several crypto ETF proposals over the last few months as it weighs dozens of proposals. The agency under the Trump administration has taken a different approach to digital assets. During the Biden administration and following a pivotal court ruling, the SEC approved the listing and trading of spot bitcoin ETFs and later spot Ethereum ETFs. Since President Donald Trump took office in January, the SEC has dropped several lawsuits against crypto firms and has held public crypto roundtables to discuss how to regulate the industry. SEC delays on spot crypto ETFs are to be expected, said Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart on Tuesday in a post on X. "If we're gonna see early approvals from the SEC on any of these assets -- i wouldn't expect to see them until late June or early July at absolute earliest. More likely to be in early 4Q," Seyffart said. Seyffart also noted that no matter who is in charge at the SEC, the agency usually takes the full time allotted to respond. "Almost all of these filings have final due dates in October. Early decisions would the action that's out of the norm. No matter how 'Crypto-friendly; this SEC is," Seyffart said in a post on X.
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Solana Labs spinout Anza proposes Alpenglow, 'the biggest change to Solana’s core protocol' Anza, the developer studio spun out of Solana Labs, has unveiled what it calls “the biggest change to Solana’s core protocol” ever. According to an announcement, the high-throughput Layer 1 is getting a completely redesigned undercarriage called Alpenglow. “We believe that the release of Alpenglow will be a turning point for Solana. Alpenglow is not only a new consensus protocol, but the biggest change to Solana’s core protocol since, well, ever,” Anza’s Quentin Kniep, Kobi Sliwinski, and Roger Wattenhofer wrote in a white paper published on Monday. The upgrade replaces Solana’s existing TowerBFT proof-of-stake consensus mechanism and proof-of-history timestamping system with new components called Votor and Rotor. Votor — short for “Voting Component” — will handle consensus logic and replace TowerBFT. Rather than relying on the current node “gossip” model, it will run a “faster direct communication primitive” to vote on block finalization. Nodes vote to either notarize a block or skip it if it arrives late or is deemed untrustworthy. A block can be notarized in one round if 80% of stake approve it, or in two rounds if 60% approve, using parallel voting tracks for faster and more scalable processing. Anza claims this could bring block processing times down to 100–150 milliseconds. "I got nearly everything wrong about consensus, except the important parts: it can’t be in the way of block producers utilizing 100% of the bandwidth 100% of the time. users need some deterministic finality in one round (2-delta)," Solana founder Anatoly Yakovenko wrote on X. "Alpenglow nails both of these requirements with a simple and elegant design that’s really easy to intuit." Rotor, the second component, refines Solana’s existing block propagation protocol. It builds on Turbine — the current system that shreds blocks into smaller pieces and distributes them across the network — by using a single layer of relay nodes and optimizing bandwidth usage based on stake. Like Turbine, Rotor uses "erasure-coding" to ensure the block can be reconstructed from a subset of these shreds. Anza is also the team maintaining Solana’s Agave client, the network's original validator software.
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Vitalik Buterin suggests implementing ‘partially stateless nodes’ to help scale Ethereum Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin proposed a new roadmap on Monday to solve issues linked with scaling Ethereum Layer-1 through higher gas limits, including a new concept called "partially stateless nodes." "The most common criticism of increasing the L1 gas limit, beyond concerns about network safety, is that it makes it harder to run a full node," Buterin wrote in his recent post. Running a full node is valuable as it offers a "trustless, censorship-resistant and privacy-friendly way" for users in accessing the chain, the Ethereum co-founder added. To scale the L1 gas limit without sacrificing running full nodes, Buterin proposed short-term priorities, which include implementing EIP-4444 that limits nodes to contain only up to 36 days of historical data, reducing disk space for other participants. Running a full Ethereum node requires storing the entire blockchain state (~1TB for state, ~500GB for history). EIP-4444 would offload historical data storage, making nodes lighter. Other short-term proposals by Buterin were building a distributed history data storage solution and adjusting gas pricing to make storage more expensive and execution less expensive. Buterin's roadmap highlighted "stateless verification" as a medium-term change, which could allow nodes to interact with the blockchain without maintaining Merkle branches, which are used to verify data integrity. This could cut storage needs by roughly 50%, making nodes significantly lighter, Buterin said. In his latest proposal, the Ethereum co-founder unveiled a new concept called "partially stateless nodes." Buterin said these have the potential to increase the L1 gas limit by 10 to 100 times. According to Buterin, these nodes verify blocks and the entire chain without storing all the data by utilizing stateless verification or zkEVM. They will be programmed to store a selected subset of data instead of a full set, and are still able to perform requests pertaining to data in the selected portion.
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Hong Kong police arrest 12 suspected of laundering $15 million through crypto exchange shops Hong Kong police said a raid targeting a cross-border money laundering syndicated culminated in 12 arrests, dismantling a ring responsible for laundering HK$118 million ($15 million USD) through banks and crypto exchange shops. The police's commercial crime bureau arrested two local key members of the syndicate and ten mainland Chinese operatives, nine men and three women between the ages of 20 and 42, the police told local media. The local operatives had recruited the mainland citizens to open shell accounts in both traditional and digital banks in Hong Kong. "These people were also arranged to use other bank cards to withdraw cash and then transport the funds to some virtual asset exchange stores to convert them into cryptocurrency as a means of laundering money," police superintendent Shirley Kwok Ching-yee said. As many as 500 stooge accounts were set up. A portion of the funds, around $1.3 million, was linked to the proceeds of 58 scam operations. Hong Kong has seen a nearly 12% year-over-year increase in fraud cases, the police said, with more than 10,000 people arrested in connection to fraud operations. Hong Kong, which is seeking to accelerate digital asset development, is also cracking down harder on money laundering and fraud, the police said
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Binance, Kraken successfully thwart phishing attacks similar to Coinbase hack: Bloomberg Crypto exchanges Binance and Kraken were also reportedly targeted in the same style of phishing attacks that Coinbase disclosed on Thursday, according to a Bloomberg report. Neither Binance nor Kraken reported any loss of customer data, with internal safeguards helping thwart the attempts, the report said. On Thursday, Coinbase disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that cybercriminals had bribed offshore customer service representatives to gain access to user data and account management records. The security incident is estimated to cost Coinbase as much as $400 million in remediation expenses and voluntary customer reimbursements. The exchange also offered a $20 million bounty for information leading to the conviction of the blackmailers. It is unclear if the same scammers who struck Coinbase were the ones who attempted to bribe Binance and Kraken’s customer service agents. Bloomberg reported that the attackers attempted to lure the exchanges’ representatives on Telegram, requesting sensitive customer data like account balances and home addresses. Both exchanges’ AI security systems identified the attack vector and blocked the phishing attempts. Coinbase noted that customer passwords, private keys, and funds were not directly exposed.
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Cobie joins crypto investment firm Paradigm as advisor Jordan Fish, the popular crypto trader better known as Cobie, has joined crypto investment firm Paradigm as an advisor. "He’s always been one of my favorite people in crypto to chat with, so excited to make it official," Paradigm cofounder Matt Huang said Friday in a post on X. "Someday we can convince him to restart UpOnly." Cobie is the founder of Echo, a platform that allows retail investors and crypto community members access to early-stage funding rounds on similar terms to those offered to venture capitalists. It has been used for raises for projects such as MegaETH, Initia, Ethena, and Fogo, The Block previously reported. "We just want to make stuff so that people can fund decentralised projects without selling most of it to one or two entities," Cobie told The Block in February. "Fundraising happens at various stages of a projects lifecycle and we currently only cover the really early stages. There isn’t [in my opinion] a very good way to do a launch sale today." Onchain sleuth ZachXBT joined the firm in February as an incident response advisor. White hat crypto hacker "samczsun" previously joined Paradigm Fund in 2020 as a research partner. "About ten seconds ago, @paradigm have opened an Echo group, which I am pretty pleased about, and I have simultaneously agreed to advise Paradigm -- mostly helping with their public market/liquid fund," Cobie said Friday in a post on X. "I didn't even know Paradigm had a public market fund until yesterday. Will spend some time figuring out which coin I should try to make Matt topblast first." The research-driven Paradigm recently led a $50 million Series A round for decentralized AI project Nous Research.
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Ethereum stablecoin volume hits record $908 billion as institutions, tech giants, and Trump jump in Ethereum filtered onchain volume of stablecoins reached a new all-time high in April, hitting $908 billion. This milestone comes amid growing institutional adoption and several high-profile developments that have thrust stablecoins into the spotlight once more. USDC has shown particularly strong growth on Ethereum, with volume trending upward over the past six months and exceeding $500 billion in transactions. Other stablecoins gaining significant volume include DAI and Sky's USDS, reflecting a diversifying stablecoin landscape. Traditional companies continue to embrace stablecoins at an accelerating pace. During the week of May 4, Meta announced plans to explore stablecoin integrations to reduce transaction costs, while Stripe unveiled new stablecoin offerings to enhance its payment infrastructure. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump's World Liberty Financial project has seen its stablecoin, USD1, mint nearly $2 billion worth of tokens. This rapid growth has positioned USD1 as the seventh-largest stablecoin by market capitalization despite its relative newness. Fortune 100 companies are increasingly exploring stablecoins for cross-border payments and other product offerings, lending additional legitimacy to the sector. As more companies aim to issue their own stablecoins or adopt existing ones, competition for volume is likely to intensify. This competitive landscape could lead to decreased fees as issuers vie for market share, potentially benefiting end users while challenging profitability for stablecoin providers. The surge in stablecoin activity on Ethereum underscores the network's continued dominance as the preferred blockchain for dollar-denominated digital assets, despite challenges from alternative chains and Layer 2 solutions. While other chains have seen stablecoin usage grow, Ethereum remains the preferred venue for transacting stables. This is an excerpt from The Block's Data & Insights newsletter. Dig into the numbers making up the industry's most thought-provoking trends.
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MetaMask co-founder Dan Finlay says token is still a 'maybe' MetaMask co-founder Dan Finlay said the most popular Ethereum wallet is still considering a token launch. “Maybe,” Finlay said with a smirk when asked about the possibility of creating a native MetaMask token in an interview (about 42:00 minutes in) on The Block’s “Crypto Beat” podcast. “If we ever do it, it'll be advertised directly in the wallet. You'll be able to find a link directly in the wallet,” Finlay told the head of growth (HOG) at The Block, Tim Copeland, on Wednesday. While there doesn’t appear to be any concrete plans for a MetaMask token, Finlay noted that the changing regulatory regime, under a more permissive Trump administration, “there is safety for far more kinds of token launches.” “Hopefully people take this opportunity to push the boundaries and establish precedence for things that we can all be doing,” Finlay added. “Maybe that will unlock the next fun season.” MetaMask discussed plans to launch a token, tentatively named MASK, going back to at least 2021. During a developer community call, for instance, MetaMask engineer Erik Marks floated the idea of community ownership of the wallet through a token launch, which was bolstered by ConsenSys CEO Joseph Lubin tweeting a “Wen $MASK?” teaser later that year. In 2022, Lubin further explained MetaMask’s intent to launch a token and DAO as part of a plan to drive “progressive decentralization” of Consensys verticals. The DAO was described as a funding mechanism, not a governance body, and the token was explicitly not intended as a “cash grab,” including measures to prevent exploitation by airdrop farmers. “My understanding is that securities law is still securities law,” Finlay said, referring to the idea promulgated by former Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler that most token launches resembled securities offerings. He added that many projects could still be operating in “gray waters” despite recent regulatory advancements. Finlay, like many responsible crypto brands, appears to be particularly concerned about the possibility of scammers scamming a potential MASK token. “Speculation is almost the worst part of it because it gives fishers an opportunity to prey on users,” Finlay said. “You will not have to find some account on social media that you've never heard of giving you a link. It won't be a text message. We don't have your phone number. It won't be an email. We don't have your email address. It will be in the wallet. It'll be on our main website.” MetaMask is the largest crypto wallet, with an estimated 30 million monthly active users as of 2024. The project, under the umbrella of the Ethereum development company Consensys, employs approximately 500 workers, according to Finlay. Over the past year, MetaMask has been rolling out several UX improvements in an attempt to keep up with increasing competition from the likes of Rainbow and Rabby, Finlay said. “We’re competing in a permissionless space,” he said, noting the team realized “there would be very rapid, hot competition.”
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CFTC Commissioner Mersinger exits to lead Blockchain Association as CEO Commodity Futures Trading Commission member Summer Mersinger is stepping down to become CEO of the Blockchain Association, the crypto industry’s primary lobbying group in Washington. The Blockchain Association announced Wednesday that she will become CEO on June 2, with her last day at the CFTC being May 30. Mersinger is expected to resign from the CFTC on Wednesday. “We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Commissioner Mersinger as Blockchain Association’s new CEO,” said Marta Belcher, president of the board of the Blockchain Association, in a statement. “This is a pivotal moment for crypto policy, and we are confident that she is the ideal leader to take Blockchain Association, and the industry, to new heights.” Mersinger was nominated by former President Joe Biden to fill a Republican seat at the CFTC and was sworn in in March 2022. During her time at the agency, Mersinger spoke about cryptocurrency's popularity and said it was no longer a fad following interest from traditional finance. She also encouraged the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission to work together in 2023 to create a regulatory framework for digital assets. Democratic CFTC Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero previously said she planned to step down after Trump-pick Brian Quintenz is confirmed to lead the agency. Following his confirmation and both commissioners' departures, that leaves now acting CFTC Republican Chair Caroline Pham and Democratic Commissioner Kristin Johnson at the CFTC. Mersinger's incoming leadership at the Blockchain Association comes as lawmakers in Washington are working to pass bills to regulate stablecoins and another to regulate the crypto industry at large. Both have hit snags along the way as criticism mounts over Trump's involvement in digital assets through companies, his memecoin, and pricey galas. Before going to the CFTC, Mersinger held senior roles in both the Senate and the House and was also an advisor to current Senate Majority Leader John Thune, the Blockchain Association said. Thune sharply criticized Democrats on Tuesday for stalling a stablecoin bill last week. Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith will leave the group on May 19 to become president of the newly created Solana Policy Institute.
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SEC seeks feedback for in-kind redemptions on BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, delays Solana and Dogecoin proposals The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has pushed back its deadline for whether to allow in-kind redemptions for BlackRock's bitcoin exchange-traded fund. The SEC is now asking for public comments on that proposal, according to a filing made on Tuesday. Nasdaq posted an amended rule filing in January that would allow for redemptions and creations in kind for the iShares Bitcoin Trust. "The Commission is instituting proceedings pursuant to Section 19(b)(2)(B) of the Act9 to determine whether the proposed rule change should be approved or disapproved. Institution of proceedings is appropriate at this time in view of the legal and policy issues raised by the proposed rule change," the agency said on Tuesday. The SEC allowed BlackRock's bitcoin ETF, along with others, to begin trading in January 2024. Ahead of that approval, firms were hashing out technical details over how the redemption process would work for such a product. The SEC favored a cash model that required BlackRock to move bitcoin out of storage, sell it right away, and then give the cash back to the investor. If approved, ETFs could trade more efficiently, Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart said earlier this year in a post on X. The SEC is also weighing dozens of proposals for new crypto ETFs. On Tuesday, the agency also delayed proposals for the Grayscale Litecoin Trust and the Grayscale Solana Trust, and asked for public comments. The agency also asked for public comments for the 21Shares Dogecoin ETF on Tuesday. The agency is likely to take an overall friendlier approach to crypto ETFs than in the prior administration. Since President Donald Trump took office in January, the SEC has dropped several lawsuits against crypto firms and has held public crypto roundtables to discuss how to regulate the industry. New SEC Chair Paul Atkins unveiled his vision for crypto regulation on Monday at a crypto roundtable, while criticizing the agency's previous approach.
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Paris police hunt armed suspects after attempted kidnapping of crypto entrepreneur's daughter, grandchild Police in Paris are searching for a group of armed men who allegedly attempted to kidnap a cryptocurrency entrepreneur’s 34-year-old daughter and her two-year-old child on Tuesday, according to local media reports. The attempted kidnapping happened in broad daylight and appears to have been caught on camera. A video taken from a nearby security camera shows three masked men attempting to apprehend the victims at around 8:20 a.m. local time on the Rue Pache in the 11th arrondissement. The woman’s husband was able to scare away the assailants, who abandoned their vehicle a few streets away. Police told the French-language publication Le Parisien that the woman is the daughter of a crypto CEO. The move comes amid a rising trend of so-called "wrench attacks," a physical threat aimed at coercing someone into revealing their private keys or transferring their crypto assets. A GitHub repository maintained by Jameson Lopp, an OG Bitcoiner and founder of security firm Casa, shows dozens of physical attacks on crypto holders or their friends and family worldwide. According to Lopp, there have been nearly 25 attacks so far this year, compared to just over 30 last year. That said, many such attacks often go unreported. There have now been at least five wrench attacks in France alone this year, including the high-profile kidnapping of Ledger co-founder David Balland and his partner. According to reports, the couple were tortured and held for a multi-million dollar ransom. One of Balland’s fingers was cut off. Notably, popular streamer Amouranth was a victim of an armed home invasion in Houston, Texas, after she posted screenshots of her $20 million BTC fortune. She was able to successfully defend herself by shooting the attacker.
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Metaplanet's new 1,241 BTC purchase pushes holdings past El Salvador Japanese investment firm Metaplanet has purchased another $126.7 million worth of bitcoin, with its total holdings overtaking El Salvador's. Metaplanet, often dubbed Asia's Strategy for its continued bitcoin accumulation, announced Monday that it has purchased 1,241 BTC for roughly $126.7 million at an average price of $102,119 per bitcoin. The Tokyo-listed firm now holds 6,796 BTC, acquired for $608.2 million at an average price of $89,492, according to CEO Simon Gerovich's post on X. Based on current market prices, the company's total bitcoin holdings are worth about $706.7 million. "Metaplanet now holds more Bitcoin than El Salvador," said Gerovich in a separate post. "From humble beginnings to rivaling nation-states, we're just getting started." El Salvador, the Central American nation that embraced bitcoin in 2021, currently holds 6,174 BTC, according to its Bitcoin Office. Metaplanet began accumulating bitcoin in April 2024 as part of its crypto strategy and has steadily increased its holdings since. The company aims to reach 10,000 BTC by the end of 2025 and crossed the halfway mark last month. The company has financed its bitcoin acquisitions through a series of bond issuances. On Friday, it announced a new $21.25 million bond sale, marking its 14th issuance of ordinary bonds to date. Metaplanet remains the largest publicly listed corporate holder of bitcoin in Asia and ranks 11th worldwide, according to data from Bitcointreasuries.net. Strategy, led by Michael Saylor, remains on top of the global rankings with 555,450 BTC. Meanwhile, Metaplanet shares rose 3.82% in Monday trading in Japan, with markets still open.
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Two Floridian 16-year-olds face 22 felony counts after $4 million crypto kidnapping, theft Two teenagers face a combined 22 felony charges after allegedly abducting a man in Las Vegas in November, driving him an hour to a "remote desert," and stealing $4 million worth of cryptocurrency and NFTs from him. A third teenager, who also faces charges, is no longer believed to be in the United States, according to a prosecutor. The case was first reported by Las Vegas local news 8newsnow. Two 16-year-olds, both from Pasco County, Florida, are being tried as adults in the case and face 11 felony charges each. The three teens allegedly kidnapped a man at gunpoint after the man had hosted a crypto-related business event in Downtown Las Vegas, drove him an hour across the Arizona border to a "remote desert," and demanded he turn over his passwords to his financial accounts. The teenagers may have been helped by a person on speakerphone, the report said. The victim reportedly had to walk five miles alone in the desert until reaching a gas station and calling a friend to pick him up. One of the teens retained a high-profile defense attorney, Ross C. Goodman, Las Vegas court records show, while the other enlisted a public defender. Goodman's office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Uptick in violent crypto-related crime The incident is the latest in an apparent uptick in violent crime targeting the crypto-wealthy. In January, criminals kidnapped the co-founder of Ledger from his home in France and mutilated his hand while attempting to ransom him for a large sum of cryptocurrency. Last weekend, also in France, kidnappers demanded €5 million for the release of a crypto millionaire's father, before being apprehended and arrested by police. Sometimes faulty information leads to threats, as well. A Canadian man was reportedly forced into hiding after criminals targeted him for a kidnapping attempt, believing he possessed billions of dollars worth of bitcoin. He said his holdings valued only around $100,000. Twitch streamer Amouranth said she defended herself from a home invasion in March after intruders demanded access to her crypto. Other alleged attacks have occurred in recent weeks in the Philippines and Pakistan
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Ethereum jumps over 20% following Pectra upgrade, Wellgistics unveils $50 million XRP integration and treasury reserve plan, and more The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons. It's Friday! Crypto's latest price surge has wiped out at least $1 billion in shorts over the past 24 hours, with momentum building again as bitcoin climbs back toward all-time highs. In today's newsletter, Ethereum jumps 20% following its Pectra upgrade, Wellgistics unveils a $50 million XRP integration and treasury reserve plan, SEC Commissioner Crenshaw blasts the agency's settlement agreement with Ripple, and more. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats demand answers on President Trump's crypto ties and Binance dealings. Let's get started. Ethereum jumps over 20% following Pectra upgrade Ethereum soared over 20% on Thursday following the network's Pectra upgrade earlier in the week — marking its biggest single-day gain since May 2021. "ETH is finally catching up after lagging behind BTC for most of the year," Presto Research Analyst Min Jung said. "The recent Pectra upgrade has helped restore some confidence, and with ETH/BTC down nearly 40% year-to-date at 0.02, it's not surprising to see buyers stepping in at these levels." Pectra is Ethereum's biggest upgrade since The Merge in 2022, introducing improvements to staking efficiency, validator operations, and Layer 2 scalability. LVRG Research Director Nick Ruck told The Block that the upgrade triggered a bullish reaction, driving gains in altcoins. "In addition to positive macroeconomic news, traders believe the crypto industry may have finally found its second wind as a hedge against market uncertainty," Ruck said. "Investors are changing their perspectives on crypto now that altcoins have departed from a negative trend and found buying pressure from a renewed risk-on sentiment," he added. The broader crypto market rallied alongside Ethereum, supported by renewed U.S.-China trade negotiations, as bitcoin retook the $100,000 level. Wellgistics to adopt XRP for payments and treasury reserve with $50 million credit facility Pharmaceutical distribution company Wellgistics plans to use XRP as a real-time payment rail and treasury management asset, aiming to cut costs and settlement times across the healthcare supply chain.Wellgistics plans to use XRP as a real-time payment rail and treasury management asset, aiming to cut costs and settlement times across the healthcare supply chain. The Florida-based firm has secured a $50 million equity credit line to fund its XRP plan and explore programmable liquidity models. The company said XRP's sub-penny fees and 3 to 5 second transaction speeds can outperform standard wire transfers that typically take up to three days to complete and cost between $10 and $30. "We challenge the idea that healthcare has to be tethered to legacy systems, bloated intermediaries, and slow-moving money," Wellgistics CEO Brian Norton added. SEC Commissioner Crenshaw blasts agency's settlement with Ripple in public dissent Democrat SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw publicly dissented from the agency's settlement agreement with Ripple on Thursday, arguing it weakens investor protections. The $125 million deal would dissolve the injunction, send $50 million to the SEC, and return $75 million to Ripple — effectively ending the long-running legal battle. "This settlement, alongside the programmatic disassembly of the SEC's crypto enforcement program, does a tremendous disservice to the investing public and undermines the court’s role in interpreting our securities laws," Crenshaw wrote. The dissent comes amid broader SEC shifts under President Trump's second term, including multiple dropped cases and a rollback of Gensler-era crypto enforcement. German authorities seize $38 million worth of crypto from eXch German authorities seized around $38 million worth of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from eXch a day before its scheduled closure, alleging it operated as a criminal trading platform. Prosecutors said eXch enabled anonymous crypto swaps without implementing anti-money laundering protocols or know-your-customer measures, and was promoted on criminal underground forums. Authorities estimate eXch facilitated $1.9 billion in transactions since its inception in 2014, including a portion of the $1.4 billion Bybit hack linked to North Korea's Lazarus Group. eXch previously claimed its privacy-first mission was misunderstood and criticized traditional KYC/AML practices as ineffective. Doodles launches native DOOD token on Solana NFT project Doodles has launched its native token DOOD on Solana alongside DreamNet, a decentralized AI storytelling protocol, and a social survival game called "Lord of the Files." The token is already supported by centralized exchanges including Bybit, Binance Alpha, Gate, KuCoin, and MEXC, with an airdrop now live on the Doodles website. Initially announced in February, DOOD has a total supply of 10 billion, with 30% set aside for the community. Doodles also intends to launch DOOD on the Ethereum Layer 2 Base. Looking ahead to next week U.S. CPI inflation data are released on Tuesday. UK and Eurozone GDP figures are due Thursday, followed by U.S. jobless claims and PPI numbers. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey will speak on Tuesday. U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks on Thursday. 1inch, Solayer, Render, Axie Infinity, Aptos and EigenLayer are among the cryptocurrencies set for token unlocks.
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German authorities seize $38 million worth of crypto from eXch exchange German authorities have seized 34 million euros ($38.2 million) worth of crypto assets from the now-defunct crypto swapping platform eXch, the Frankfurt Prosecutor General's Office announced Friday. The cryptocurrency swapping service, which started in 2014, facilitated anonymous exchanges of crypto assets, operating without anti-money laundering protocols or know-your-customer measures. On April 30, authorities seized a variety of crypto assets, including Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and Dash. They also confiscated over 8 terabytes of data and the associated server infrastructure in Germany. German prosecutors said eXch explicitly advertised its lack of anti-money laundering measures on platforms of "criminal underground economy." Authorities estimate around $1.9 billion in crypto have been moved through eXch since its inception, part of which came from criminal origins. The statement also noted that a portion of the $1.4 billion in crypto stolen from Bybit, attributed to the North Korean hacker group Lazarus, was laundered through eXch. "The operators of eXch are therefore suspected of commercial money laundering and the operation of a criminal trading platform on the Internet," the authorities said in a translated version of the statement. While eXch announced mid-April that it would shut down on May 1, the German authorities said they anticipated the move and secured evidence before the closure, despite the short notice. In its April announcement, eXch said there was a "transatlantic operation" to close down its operations and prosecute the team for money laundering and terrorism-related charges. The platform's operators also lamented that their privacy-centered goals were being misinterpreted, and AML measures placed in other exchanges were not effective. "Any instant exchangers that screen their customer deposits using third-party APIs and appeal to nonsensical AML/KYC terms are far from preventing money laundering and terrorism," eXch said at the time. "Privacy is not a crime."
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Russia seen as largest Bitcoin mining beneficiary if Trump's tariffs hit in full, industry expert says Despite President Donald Trump's embrace of crypto and desire to make the U.S. a "Bitcoin mining powerhouse," companies in the industry have been rushing to adjust their short and long-term plans in an attempt to weather the impact of the president's tariff policies, with Russia potentially the main beneficiary. Trump's tariff announcements hit both traditional and crypto markets hard between February and early April, especially following "Liberation Day," when he laid out reciprocal import tariffs with a baseline of 10% and more than 50% in some cases. However, a 90-day tariff pause for most countries, except China, subsequently offered some relief that has continued into May. The trouble is, most Bitcoin mining hardware is still designed outside of the U.S. The industry has long been dominated by Antminer, a product line of China-based Bitmain Technologies with over 80% market share. Therefore, raising import tariffs on the required equipment severely impacts the industry's bottom line and the share prices of publicly listed Bitcoin mining firms in the country. The current environment is perhaps exemplified by Riot platforms selling bitcoin for the first time in 15 months this April to help finance operations — a break from its typical "hodl" strategy amid rising costs. "As of today, we are facing a 12.6% tariff from units shipping from Asia to the U.S.," Luxor Technology Chief Operating Officer Ethan Vera recently told The Block. "We expected this to increase in July from 26.6% to 38.6% depending on country of origin. There is of course a chance that these tariffs are re-negotiated ahead of the 90-day pause." Luxor is a Bitcoin mining technology and services company that operates mining pools, offers ASIC brokerage, custom firmware, and hashrate derivatives. Although the U.S. is its largest market, Luxor services mining companies in 32 countries. If the tariffs are implemented, the firm expects to see a reduction in demand from the U.S., and machines going to other countries. Vera warned that if tariffs are enacted on the industry's supply chains in full, he expected the largest beneficiary to be Russia as the global mining hashpower landscape begins to reshape and U.S. growth decelerates. This is principally as Russian mining firms will be able to procure machines for less, and China-based capital will increasingly flow in that direction, Vera explained, adding that capital providers from the U.S. and Europe would begin investing more heavily in Canada, Northern Europe, Ethiopia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Paraguay. BitFuFu, a bitcoin mining company that offers cloud mining services and mining hardware hosting, told The Block that while the U.S. remains one of the most important regions for Bitcoin mining, thanks to its abundant energy resources and relatively supportive regulatory environment, emerging markets with access to low-cost energy — particularly in regions like parts of Africa — could start to benefit as miners look to diversify their operations and manage costs. Contrasting short-term plans When the tariffs were first announced, Luxor "raced" to get as many deals moving as possible, according to Vera. Since the pause, it has still been helping miners procure machines and import them into the U.S., just with less urgency than before and with little sign of supply chain disruption so far. However, the firm expects to see a large increase in volume during the first week of July ahead of the 90-day expiry, amid uncertainty on whether or not the window will be extended or tariffs implemented. BitFuFu seems less concerned in the short term, confirming that its plan to increase investment in mining facilities and machines in the U.S. remains unchanged, despite the majority of its hardware being sourced from Southeast Asia, adding that the 90-day pause had no "material impact." However, the company procured thousands of Antminer's latest S21 series machines ahead of the tariff announcements, not all of which have been energized, easing any short-term pressure as it also seeks to acquire additional operational sites to support hashrate expansion. "While tariff levels can vary, we are closely monitoring the situation and evaluating potential impacts," a spokesperson said. "The cost of mining hardware, including tariffs, is just one component of the total mining costs," they added. "The cost of electricity is, by far, the largest cost for mining bitcoin, which is why we prioritize placing our machines at sites we control — so we can better manage returns. Currently, all our secured, self-operated U.S. sites are already running at full capacity. In addition, we generate the majority of our revenue from our cloud-mining business, where we lease hashrate to customers. This provides us with greater flexibility to manage our profitability across cycles." Meanwhile, Bitmain spin-off Bitdeer, a bitcoin mining company that offers cloud mining, hosting, and infrastructure services, said it continues to navigate the evolving tariff landscape, particularly the newly imposed tariffs on mining hardware from Southeast Asia. "During the 90-day pause, we are balancing short-term procurement strategies with long-term investments, including plans to introduce 'Made in USA' Sealminer machines in the latter half of this year," Bitdeer Head of Capital Markets and Strategic Initiatives Jeff LaBerge told The Block. He added that its global operations meant it can redirect machines to its self-mining facilities around the world to help mitigate any potential profitability risks. Long-term tariff impact Longer-term, Vera said Luxor was excited about the prospect of machines being produced in the U.S., but warned it could take years to fully onshore Bitcoin mining equipment manufacturing, echoing similar views to BitFuFu, who is seeing some manufacturers beginning to increase their U.S.-based production. "We think that final assembly in the U.S. is possible today, and many manufacturers are doing it," Vera said. "However, the raw materials and components largely come from Asia so the machines will still end up carrying a higher cost. For a machine to be produced mostly from components sourced from the U.S., we expect it will take at least a few years before that is at scale." "Tariff policies will inevitably raise the capital cost for purchasing mining rigs, which could temporarily curtail mining expansion in the U.S.," the BitFuFu spokesperson added. "However, mining economics are highly dynamic. If higher costs push less efficient miners out of the market, we could see a decrease in mining difficulty, which would help improve profit margins for the remaining operators." Regarding the course of action Luxor would like to see the Trump administration take next, it is pushing for Bitcoin mining ASICs to receive an exemption similar to HTSUS 8471 on certain imports of computers, laptops and servers. "We think it's important given the administration's campaign stance on helping the domestic industry and improving the mining industry in the U.S.," Vera said, adding that the firm is engaged with several groups advocating for fair treatment of Bitcoin miners in the U.S. "We hope to see progress toward easing tariff pressures to vitalize the industry and attract more investment into the U.S. mining ecosystem, ultimately creating more growth opportunities," the BitFuFu spokesperson said. "For the time being, we are observing the administration's actions." Meanwhile, Bitdeer's LaBerge argued that shifts in vendor preferences and sourcing strategies are already becoming evident. "Tariff policies are expected to accelerate domestic manufacturing efforts, reshape the distribution of global hashpower, and drive growth in emerging mining markets beyond North America," he said. 'No credible reports' of Bitcoin mining industry trying to game US Customs controls Tariffs are not the only disruption to the U.S. Bitcoin mining industry in recent months. In February, mining sector news publication Blockspace reported that U.S. Customs and Border Protection was ramping up seizures of Bitcoin mining machines at ports of entry, citing documents including a notice of seizure of $5 million worth of goods from the Federal Communications Commission requesting the CBP to requisition MicroBT and Canaan units. The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol began seizing Bitmain products last year because they contain chips from the now trade-restricted company, Sophgo. However, the exact motivation for expanding the order to include MicroBT and Canaan products, especially given that Canaan is a listed stock in the U.S. and MicroBT has a manufacturing pipeline in the country, was unclear. Meanwhile, amid recent allegations that some Bitcoin mining firms were increasingly underreporting ASIC shipment values to game U.S. customs following Trump's tariff announcements, Bitdeer's LaBerge played down the likelihood. "On CBP reporting, as a Nasdaq-listed company, Bitdeer has always maintained strict compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, including customs import and export requirements," he said. "To our knowledge, neither Bitdeer nor any of our partners have engaged in such practices. We have not encountered any credible reports of others doing so either."
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Metaplanet buys additional 555 BTC, issues another $25 million in bonds for more Metaplanet, often dubbed Asia’s Strategy for its continued bitcoin accumulation, has purchased additional bitcoin worth about $53.4 million. In its latest disclosure on Wednesday, the Japanese investment firm said that it acquired 555 BTC for roughly $53.4 million at an average price of about $96,134 per bitcoin. According to CEO Simon Gerovich’s post on X, the company now holds 5,555 BTC, purchased for $481.5 million at an average price of $86,672 per bitcoin. “In Japanese, the number 5 is pronounced ‘Go,’ so today we’re shouting: Go go go go — to the moon and beyond!” Gerovich said on X. Metaplanet has been steadily accumulating bitcoin since unveiling its crypto strategy in April 2024. It aims to grow its holdings to 10,000 BTC by the end of 2025 and reached half of that target last month. Also today, it issued another series of ordinary bonds worth $25 million for additional bitcoin purchases. This marks the 13th batch of bonds the company has issued, made just a week after the 12th series that raised the same amount. U.S. expansion Alongside its crypto ambition, the Japanese firm eyes U.S. expansion. Last week, it announced that its board of directors had resolved to establish a wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary in Miami, Florida. “We intend to accelerate this strategy by establishing Metaplanet Treasury Corp. in Florida, a rapidly emerging hub for Bitcoin-focused companies and financial innovation, recognized for its business-friendly policies and rising status as a global center of capital and technology,” the firm said last week. Metaplanet remains Asia’s largest public corporate bitcoin holder, and ranks 11th globally, according to Bitcointreasuries.net data. Michael Saylor’s Strategy remains on top of the list with 555,450 BTC. Metaplanet’s stock jumped 13.3% so far on Wednesday in Japan, though trading is still underway in the afternoon session.
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Florida indefinitely postpones two strategic bitcoin reserve bills Florida has postponed two bills that would have allowed investment in bitcoin from certain public funds in the state. According to the state legislature's website, on May 3, House Bill 487 and Senate Bill 550 were "indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration. " HB 487, filed in February, aimed to authorize the state's chief financial officer to invest certain public funds in bitcoin. SB 550, also introduced in February, proposed similar measures. "The legislature adjourned its 2025 session on May 2, without passage of the bills," Bitcoin Laws, a bitcoin legislation researcher, said in a post on X on Monday. With the withdrawal of the two bills, Florida appears to have stepped back from efforts to authorize state-level crypto asset investment legislation. Arizona’s SB 1374 and New Hampshire’s HB 302 have made the most progress among similar bills nationwide, according to data from Bitcoin Laws. Last week, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed SB 1025, a bill that would have allowed the state's treasurer and retirement systems to invest up to 10% of their funds in crypto such as bitcoin.
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Wemade's Wemix token plunges 60% after South Korean exchanges announce delisting Wemix, the cryptocurrency from South Korean Web3 game developer Wemade, dropped over 60% on Friday after local exchanges announced plans to delist the token for the second time. Starting around 3 p.m. Friday in South Korea, the price of Wemix plummeted from $0.7225 to a low of $0.2757 in a matter of 15 minutes. It has since recovered to around $0.36 as of publication time, though it remained down 50% compared to the same time yesterday, according to CoinMarketCap data. The plunge appears to have been triggered by a collective announcement from major local crypto exchanges regarding their decisions to delist the token from their platforms. South Korea's five major exchanges — Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax — are the only platforms where users can deposit fiat to trade crypto, effectively representing the country's entire crypto market. Major decisions on specific tokens are made through DAXA, the Digital Asset Exchange Association, whose members include these five platforms. Wemix trading is set to cease on these exchanges starting June 2, with token withdrawals ending on July 2, according to the announcement. $6.2 million exploit The token, originally developed for Wemade's Web3 gaming ecosystem, was placed on an investment caution list by the major exchanges earlier this year, following a February exploit that resulted in the theft of $6.2 million worth of Wemix tokens from the cross-chain protocol Play Bridge. However, the Wemix Foundation waited four days before alerting users to the exploit, later explaining the delay as a measure to "prevent market panic." The token's price fell 40% during the four-day period, dropping to $0.42. DAXA said today that the Wemix Foundation insufficiently addressed the issues that caused the designation as an investment caution cryptocurrency, according to Bithumb's announcement. "As a result of comprehensively reviewing the issuing entity's credibility and security, we determined that the asset does not meet the criteria for maintaining transaction support," DAXA said. Wemix token was previously delisted from DAXA member exchanges in December 2022 after the actual number of circulating tokens exceeded the amount stated in its disclosure statement. It became the first native token in South Korea to be suspended by trading platforms twice, local news agency Yonhap reported. Wemix responds Following Friday's delisting announcement, the Wemix team released a statement apologizing to its community for the token's removal from local exchanges. "We want to clearly state that the foundation and Wemade have unwavering commitment and belief in the growth of the WEMIX ecosystem, regardless of the domestic exchanges' decision to terminate trading support," Wemix said. "The team will dedicate all available capabilities and resources to swiftly overcome the impact of the trading support termination and return to a normal trajectory." The project added that it will continue with its buyback of 10 billion Korean won ($7.1 million) worth of Wemix tokens, which was announced in March with the aim of restoring its market value. Wemade's stock closed down 17.45% at 23,650 won ($16.77) on Friday in South Korea, according to Google Finance data. It is down 32.1% year-to-date.
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Kraken launches crypto derivatives trading for UK professional investors in latest expansion for the firm Crypto exchange Kraken has launched derivatives trading in the United Kingdom, the company’s second-largest market. The product is available only to "Professional Clients," as defined by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority. Kraken began "quietly" rolling out the offering in recent weeks, according to Alexia Theodorou, Kraken’s head of derivatives. "As a new product, we rolled it out gradually just to make sure that it reached a few specific clients first," she said. "Now it's open to 100% of our clients who need to go through a specific onboarding process for derivatives." Derivatives represent roughly 70% to 75% of total crypto trading volume, Theodorou said. While derivatives and spot volumes are "currently on par" on Kraken, she added that "crypto derivatives are growing at a faster pace than spot," in general. "That's why we are doubling down on derivatives, given the trends and ratios that we see as more and more institutional clients are entering the space," said Theodorou. "We see it as a big investment from our end in the UK, given how important the UK is for Kraken. Opening up our flagship derivatives product to eligible UK clients is a big thing for us." The derivatives will be offered through the Kraken Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF), a regulated platform operated by Crypto Facilities, which became the first crypto firm to secure an MTF license from the FCA in 2020. Access will be provided through Kraken’s futures broker in Bermuda. Kraken acquired Crypto Facilities in 2019 in a deal valued at over $100 million. The firm offers a number of exotic products, including multi-collateral perpetual contracts, which Kraken was the first to offer. These contracts are “a very capital efficient way of trading for institutional clients,” Theodorou said. “It gives them the ability to trade using many collaterals and leverage, but also gives them the ability to start trying out more strategies with their spot trading, be it hedging or any other market neutral strategies that they might want to execute.” Theodorou said that it’s early days for crypto derivatives and that in equities markets, derivatives often represent 10 to 15 times more trading volume than spot. A lot of this comes down to bespoke geographical regulations, which have so far prevented Kraken from expanding into major markets like the U.S., Korea, and even some European countries. “Even though the spot crypto market only now is starting to get regulated with MICA and other jurisdictions across the world, derivatives have always been regulated,” Theodorou said. “There are specific licenses that you need to hold to open up to specific countries.” Kraken has recently acquired a MiFID II entity in Cyprus and U.S.-based NinjaTrader, paving the way for future expansion of its derivatives offering in those regions. The firm has also moved beyond crypto by adding U.S. equities trading to its mobile and web platforms. “It's a matter of priority then on what other jurisdictions we want to start offering this regulated product through our licensing efforts,” Theodorou said. Kraken, which is reportedly looking to go public, generated $1.5 billion in revenue in 2024.
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Blockchain forensics firm Crystal Intelligence plans to acquire Scam Alerts, a web3 fraud notification platform currently operated by crypto transaction monitoring firm Whale Alert. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of May. Once completed, Scam Alerts will become a standalone, non-commercial entity within Crystal Intelligence, according to a release shared with The Block. "Too often, scam victims are left with no place to turn," Navin Gupta, CEO of Crystal Intelligence, said in an email to The Block. "Scam Alert is about giving them a way to speak up and be heard. Every report submitted contributes to a clearer picture of how these scams operate, where they’re spreading, and who they’re targeting. That kind of insight is incredibly valuable for prevention and for the investigators and enforcement agencies who are trying to keep up with an increasingly complex threat landscape.” Crystal Intelligence aims to streamline how crypto fraud victims report scams as well as to aggregate individual fraud reports, the release continues. More broadly, the company seeks to improve cryptocurrency adoption by lowering the prevalence of scams within the space. Whale Alert will act as an advisory partner following this acquisition. Crystal Intelligence intends to launch a comprehensive data collection that supports numerous languages and provides a better victim support structure. Additionally, Crystal plans to bolster collaboration with law enforcement worldwide, with Scam Alert set to work closely with local blockchain communities globally. "Localization for us means more than just language; it’s about cultural context, regional fraud patterns, and trusted community partners," said Crystal COO Marina Khaustova in an email to The Block. "Scam Alert is our direct response to the urgent need to address the growing issue of fraud." Navin Gupta joined Crystal as its CEO in February 2024 after previously serving as the managing director of the crypto firm Ripple. Crypto-related financial crimes appear to be on the rise, a recent report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's cybercrime arm shows. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center received around 150,000 complaints involving cryptocurrency and calculated losses to exceed $9.3 billion. This represented a 66% increase compared to 2o23, with individuals 60 years or older losing around $2.8 billion from crypto-related internet crime, The Block previously reported.
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Binance founder CZ wants crypto-AI agents to have real utility as 99.99% of their tokens are ‘useless’ Changpeng Zhao, founder and former CEO of Binance, says he wants crypto-AI agents with tokens to demonstrate real utility, stating that nearly all of them are useless. “Today there are so many different AI agents with a token but agents don’t have a utility. I want to see real agents that have real utility that can really help you, with tokens. There are AI token launchpads where you click a button, and you have an AI with your own name. That token is useless — 99.99% of them are useless,” said CZ in a fireside chat at Token2049 in Dubai. “What we want to see is real AI agents that can use things.” CZ said AI will completely revamp the crypto user experience and how people interact with blockchains. This could include the app experience, customer support and risk monitoring among other improvements. “It’s all going to change,” he said. Binance's founder said it was unfortunate that the crypto industry developed before AI did. He said that it needs to change to an AI industry — embracing the benefits of the technology. He noted that he’s using AI heavily in his educational platform, Giggle, particularly in translating text to other languages. However, the flip side is that AI can easily adopt cryptocurrency. “The currency for AI is crypto,” CZ said. “AI is not going to swipe a card, get an SMS code, that doesn’t work for AI. It’s going to be crypto.” CZ said the internet data that has been used to train AI agents has now been exhausted. Going ahead, this data could be captured in a privacy-preserving way using blockchain technology, he suggested. He added that users should be able to monetize the data that they create. On the speed of development, CZ noted that crypto companies exploded much faster than internet companies did back in the day — and that AI companies are going to rise at an even faster rate. But with blockchain tech, they can more easily monetize. Helping countries adopt crypto When it comes to broader adoption, CZ said he’s speaking with around a dozen countries on helping them understand how to encourage crypto’s growth in their regions. He said there was a big shift in the last six months or so, since around the time of the US election. He referenced the new administration’s pro-crypto stance and Elon Musk’s reported idea of using blockchain for government efficiency. He said other parts of the world are also exploring similar ideas, such as the UAE looking at decentralized IDs. Today, blockchain is a single dimension for trading/financials. We can expand blockchain to multiple dimensions,” he said. CZ specified that the countries reaching out to him are looking at how to regulate crypto. Typically, these are quite advanced conversations about specific issues on regional adoption. He said regulators generally want to manage everything locally, such as having local wallets and custody solutions and local order books. Only he argued that this approach doesn’t particularly work. “If you divide each country by their own order book, liquidity is gonna suck,” he noted. On crypto reserves, he said countries are incentivized to create them earlier because they may have to buy at higher prices if they are late to the table. He recommends using professional custody solutions if they’re starting with smaller amounts, with the notion of moving to their own cold storage solution if they grow to holding larger amounts. While he highlighted a few countries that are embracing crypto, such as Hong Kong and Bhutan, he noted that Europe doesn’t seem to be in the conversation (except for Montenegro). “It’s kind of missing on the map,” he said.
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SEC ends investigation into PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin without enforcement The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has dropped its investigation into stablecoin PayPal USD (PYUSD), the payment giant said in its latest disclosure. In a Form 10-Q filed on Tuesday, PayPal said that the SEC informed the company in February that the agency was closing the inquiry surrounding a 2023 subpoena related to PYUSD "without enforcement action." In November 2023, PayPal received a subpoena from the SEC requesting information about its PYUSD stablecoin. "The subpoena requests the production of documents," the company said at the time. Such subpoenas typically serve as a way for the SEC to gather information and do not necessarily result in legal action or enforcement. The latest disclosure comes on the heels of a partnership announcement between PayPal and Coinbase. The pair announced last week that they have partnered to eliminate trading fees for PYUSD, allowing users to buy, sell, and trade PYUSD on Coinbase without incurring platform fees, and to redeem PYUSD at a 1:1 ratio for USD directly on the exchange. PayPal launched the PYUSD in August 2023 through a third-party issuer. However, the stablecoin's market presence continues to be dwarfed by rivals Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC. PYUSD has a market capitalization of $879.9 million, compared to USDT’s $148.4 billion and USDC’s $62 billion, according to The Block's price page. To boost adoption, PayPal expanded PYUSD to Solana in May 2024 and later partnered with crypto custodian Anchorage Digital to help develop a stablecoin reward program. It has also partnered with MoonPay to expand payment options for purchasing PYUSD.
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South Korea's ruling party pledges spot crypto ETF trading, expanded bank access as election looms: report The People Power Party (PPP), a major right-wing political party in South Korea, has pledged to expand banking access for crypto exchanges and allow trading of spot crypto exchange-traded funds within this year, as it seeks to court the crypto sector ahead of the upcoming presidential election. In a Monday meeting at the National Assembly, the party unveiled seven initiatives to foster a crypto asset ecosystem, local news outlet Edaily reported. The party first pledged to scrap the "one exchange, one bank" rule, which financial authorities had enforced to curb money laundering and monitor suspicious transactions by requiring crypto exchanges to partner with a single bank for real-name verified accounts. The PPP also pledged to permit spot crypto ETF trading within this year. Park Soo-min, a lawmaker, said that U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs have attracted strong interest and large trading volumes, adding that South Korea "cannot afford to delay any longer," according to the report. Both the PPP and the Democratic Party have previously called for lifting the ban on spot crypto ETFs. The PPP’s crypto proposals come as South Korea prepares to elect its new president on June 3. Yoon Suk-yeol, the country’s 20th president, was removed from office on April 4 after the Constitutional Court unanimously upheld his impeachment over a controversial martial law declaration in December. As part of the crypto initiatives announced Monday, the PPP also plans to legalize security token offerings and introduce a regulatory framework for stablecoins in line with global standards. It also intends to propose a bill called the "Digital Asset Promotion Basic Act." To carry out its initiatives, the PPP intends to set up a special crypto committee under its presidential candidate. The committee is expected to lead efforts to promote crypto, support industry innovation and rebuild investor confidence, according to the local media report. South Korea’s financial authorities are moving to ease crypto restrictions. In January, the Financial Services Commission said it would gradually lift a ban that prevents institutional investors from investing in cryptocurrencies. The agency is also pursuing follow-up legislation to the country’s first crypto regulatory framework, focusing on stablecoin rules, token listings and disclosure requirements.
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US spot bitcoin ETFs see $591 million in net inflows as BTC holds above $94,000 Spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the U.S. experienced $591.3 million in net inflows on Monday, extending their streak of inflows to seven days. BlackRock's IBIT, the largest spot bitcoin ETF by net assets, was the only ETF of its kind to record net inflows, drawing in $970.9 million, according to SoSoValue data. Ark and 21Shares' ARKB saw net outflows of $226.3 million, while Fidelity's FBTC recorded $86.9 million in outflows. Grayscale's GBTC, Bitwise's BITB and VanEck's HODL also logged outflows. The total trading volume across the 12 ETFs shrank to $2.4 billion on Monday, down from $3.3 billion on Friday. Their cumulative net inflows reached $39.02 billion, the highest level since Feb. 24. The continued inflows into the ETFs coincided with a relatively steady bitcoin price. Bitcoin inched up 0.2% over the past 24 hours to trade at $94,359 at the time of writing, after briefly rising above the $95,000 level earlier on Monday, according to The Block's price page. Notably, spot bitcoin ETFs recorded $3 billion in weekly inflows last week, marking the highest such value since November 2024. Meanwhile, spot ether ETFs reported $64.1 million in net inflows, extending their inflow streak to three days. Ether edged down 0.02% to change hands at $1,793.
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Solana DeFi protocol Loopscale hit with $5.8 million exploit two weeks after launch Loopscale, a Solana-based decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, became 2025's latest hacking victim on Saturday, losing over $5.8 million, or 12% of its TVL, to an exploit affecting one of its markets. "The root cause of the exploit has been identified as an isolated issue with Loopscale’s pricing of RateX-based collateral," the protocol said on X. "There is an ongoing investigation into how this happened, who did this, and how we can most effectively recover funds." Loopscale, which launched on April 10, raised $4.25 million in VC funding from Solana Labs, Coinbase Ventures, and others in 2021. The protocol was known as Bridgesplit at the time, and originally proposed an NFT-based yield product. Loopscale's order book-based lending platform is different from pool-based lending protocols, such as Aave or Solend, offering more predictable terms and eliminating the rate volatility common in variable-rate lending protocols. The protocol was audited by OShield, which found several critical vulnerabilities when it conducted the audit between January and February of this year. "Loopscale has been audited and is currently undergoing additional audits. All critical and high-risk issues identified have been fixed," the protocol's FAQ reads. Another audit, by Sec3, is reportedly in progress. "Our team is fully mobilized to investigate, recover funds, and ensure users are protected," Loopscale co-founder Mary Gooneratne wrote on X. Loopscale did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Block. The exploit adds to a lengthening list of 2025 crypto hacks and exploits. Bybit's record $1.46 billion hack in February has been joined in recent weeks by a $7 million oracle exploit affecting KiloEX, a $49 million loss from stablecoin neoback Infini, and more. Loopscale initially restricted its platform's features, but re-enabled loan repayments, top-ups, and loop closing on Saturday evening. This is a developing story
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Ethereum public goods funding protocol Gitcoin winding down its software division Ethereum public goods funding protocol Gitcoin is shutting down its primary software development unit, Gitcoin Labs, according to an announcement on Friday. The decision was made in part because a “path to profitability” was unrealistic, Gitcoin co-founder Kevin Owocki said in a statement. “The financial overhead of Grants Lab has outpaced its financial runway in the current environment,” Owocki said on X. “This decision was made in consultation with the top stewards of Gitcoin and lead of Grants Lab … From the perspective of Gitcoin Governance, is for Grants Lab to not submit another budget to Gitcoin’s governance for H2 2025.” The remaining funds will go towards paying severance “to all whose employment is affected,” Owocki noted. Native token GIT is up around 4% at press time. Gitcoin is a platform that empowers communities to fund and support open-source projects and public goods in the web3 ecosystem, primarily through its Grants Program. The platform has distributed over $60 million using a mechanism co-created by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin called Quadratic Funding. The project is part of the wider “regen” movement, short for regenerative finance (a play on degen), which is focused on staying true to crypto’s founding cypherpunk ethos. It has backed notable projects, including Optimism, Polygon, Sei and Celo. “We're not retreating — we're refocusing,” Owocki said. “Gitcoin will continue, but with a leaner team aligned around a more focused Gitcoin Grants program and managing its portfolio of assets. And Gitcoin remains a vibrant, resilient community with many years of runway, and which is more than any one team or product.” The move comes about a year after a strategic overhaul of the community-led project, which saw it take a more streamlined and capitalistic approach. In February 2024, Gitcoin condensed several constituent DAOs, sunsetted its Layer 2 Public Goods Network, and invested in money-making opportunities like for-profit projects and yield strategies. As part of the latest shift, Gitcoin will shut down Grants Stack, a tool for managing grants programs, as well as wind down the Allo Protocol, its blockchain system for democratic capital allocation. The project, however, does intend to continue maintaining the Human Passport digital verification system. "To our partners and users: the tech you rely on isn’t disappearing overnight. We’re working to ensure a smooth transition, including evaluating tech handoffs and continuing support where we can," Gitcoin wrote. "Today marks a big shift for us at Gitcoin — and while it’s a tough day, I’m feeling incredibly hopeful about what’s ahead and the opportunities to build on the foundations we've laid and the momentum we've built," Gitcoin Grants Program lead Mathilda DV said on X. "The Grants Stack era is coming to a close, but the Gitcoin Grants Program isn’t going anywhere. In fact, we’re doubling down on it." Notably, the project has also announced that the Grants Program is funded until "2029ish"
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Lutnick's Cantor plans $3 billion bitcoin venture with SoftBank and Tether: FT Brokerage firm Cantor Fitzgerald is planning a $3 billion bitcoin investment project with SoftBank, Tether and Bitfinex, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Cantor is currently led by chair and CEO Brandon Lutnick, son of former CEO Howard Lutnick who resigned earlier this year to assume the role of U.S. Secretary of Commerce under the Trump administration. The reported bitcoin initiative involves Lutnick's special purpose acquisition company, Cantor Equity Partners, using the $200 million it raised in January to establish a new entity called 21 Capital. According to the FT report, Tether is set to contribute $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin to 21 Capital. Japanese investment giant SoftBank would contribute $900 million in bitcoin, while Bitfinex, the crypto exchange owned by the same company that owns Tether, reportedly plans to supply $600 million worth of the cryptocurrency. With crypto contributions worth billions of dollars, 21 Capital aims to emulate the success of Michael Saylor-led Strategy's bitcoin investment approach by creating a "publicly listed alternative," the FT report said. Strategy issued stocks and speculative debt to purchase bitcoin, with its current holdings standing at 538,200 BTC. Its stock price has risen 159% in the past year, according to Google Finance data. The reported investments would eventually see the three companies' bitcoin holdings converted into shares of 21 Capital at $10 per share, implying a valuation of $85,000 per bitcoin. Separately, Cantor's vehicle will raise a $350 million convertible bond and a $200 million private equity placement for additional bitcoin purchases, the report said. The FT report said the deal is scheduled to be officially announced in the coming weeks, while noting that it could still be revised or abandoned. The Block has reached out to Cantor, Tether, SoftBank and Bitfinex for comment. The report of Cantor's potential bitcoin foray comes as the U.S. administration under President Donald Trump has brought favorable changes for the crypto industry, promising friendlier crypto policies while rescinding enforcement actions against various companies.
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RAY token up 8% as Raydium rolls out Pump.fun competitor ‘LaunchLab’ Raydium, Solana’s biggest DEX by cumulative volume, unveiled an anticipated token launch tool to rival popular memecoin factory Pump.fun. Dubbed LaunchLab, the platform enables users to launch tokens and integrates directly with Raydium’s liquidity pools, while also allowing third-party platforms to set transaction fees. The move marks the latest phase of escalation between the two Solana-based products, which previously worked together in a strong mutual partnership. Reports of Raydium’s new platform first surfaced last month. Details on the project, apparently in development for months, came as Pump.fun launched its own DEX called PumpSwap. Pump.fun, previously a major contributor to Raydium’s revenue, had relied on Raydium for secondary market trading. Before PumpSwap, tokens created on Pump.fun automatically migrated to Raydium after crossing $69,000 in market capitalization. PumpSwap’s debut on March 20 changed this dynamic and directly competed with Raydium’s automated market maker (AMM). Within its first 10 days, PumpSwap accumulated $2.5 billion in trading volume and now, less than a month after launching, has garnered over $31.7 billion in all-time volume, according to DefiLlama data. Early reports suggested LaunchLab would closely resemble Pump.fun but with some twists. Among these changes is the allocation of 25% of transaction fees to repurchase RAY, Raydium’s native token. Following the LaunchLab announcement, RAY's price climbed about 8%, outperforming the broader cryptocurrency market, per price data from The Block. Pump.fun also plans to launch a native token after its AMM.
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OKX to officially expand in US following February's $500 million DOJ settlement Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange OKX announced today that it will launch a centralized crypto trading platform and its OKX wallet in the U.S. market. With the expansion, OKX established its regional headquarters in San Jose, California, and named Roshan Robert, who previously worked at Morgan Stanley and Barclays, as its U.S. CEO. "U.S. customers now have access to our high-performance platform, and we will be rolling out new features throughout the year as part of our vision to build a crypto Super App," Robert said in a statement. The release said users of OKCoin, a U.S.-based crypto exchange affiliated with OKX, will be migrated to the OKX platform. The exchange plans to gradually introduce its services to new U.S. customers through a phased rollout, with a nationwide launch planned for later in 2025. OKX’s expansion in the U.S. comes amid positive momentum in the country’s crypto industry, fueled by President Donald Trump's push for pro-crypto policies and regulations. $500 million settlement The company's U.S. expansion follows a $500 million settlement with the Department of Justice, under claims of servicing domestic customers without a proper license. In February, the DOJ announced that it has reached a settlement with OKX operator Aux Cayes FinTech Co. Ltd. The exchange, however, referred to Aux Cayes as "one of many" OKX affiliates. The Justice Department’s investigation involved Aux Cayes failing to obtain the proper license to operate a money transmitting business for U.S. customers, OKX said at the time. Despite having placed a policy preventing U.S. citizens from joining the platform, the DOJ claimed that OKX pursued U.S. customers, with one employee allegedly instructing them to provide false information to bypass restrictions. The company agreed to pay over $500 million, including $84 million in penalties and approximately $421 million in forfeited fees earned from U.S. customers. OKX said that the U.S. customers involved are no longer on the platform and that there were no allegations of customer harm.
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JPMorgan rolls out GBP blockchain payments, extending EUR and USD offerings JPMorgan's blockchain division, Kinexys (formerly Onyx), has rolled out British pound-denominated blockchain deposit accounts in the U.K., marking a key expansion of its real-time settlement infrastructure following earlier euro and dollar offerings. "The new GBP-denominated blockchain accounts enable clients to conduct seamless cross-border transactions, including 24/7 foreign exchange," JPMorgan said in a statement shared with The Block on Monday. "Clients can access funds on demand with weekend processing and extended same-day FX settlements, offering enhanced flexibility, speed and efficiency." With the GBP addition, JPMorgan's corporate clients can now move funds between pounds, euros and dollars around the clock — regardless of traditional market hours. The London Stock Exchange Group's (LSEG) SwapAgent and global commodities firm Trafigura are the first clients to open GBP accounts with Kinexys. The launch comes as Kinexys continues to grow its blockchain-based services. Since its debut in 2019, the platform has processed more than $1.5 trillion in total transaction volume, with average daily activity exceeding $2 billion and payments volume growing tenfold year over year, JPMorgan said. That's still just a small fraction of the roughly $10 trillion in daily transactions that JPMorgan's payments division handles. "This is one of the first blockchain offerings of its kind in the U.K. and the first to have clients actually live, opening GBP blockchain accounts in London," a JPMorgan spokesperson told The Block. SwapAgent, LSEG's post-trade unit, is incorporating the GBP blockchain accounts into a pilot for its digital settlement services. "Integrating the innovative Kinexys Digital Payments blockchain deposit accounts into our SwapAgent offerings could allow us to operate beyond traditional branch cut-off times and manage settlements in a programmable manner in the future," Nathan Ondyak, CEO at SwapAgent, said in a statement. Trafigura will use the GBP accounts to enable real-time payments across financial hubs in London, New York and Singapore. The firm also plans to adopt programmable payment tools to automate liquidity management and transaction execution. Kinexys' programmable payments feature allows clients to automate treasury actions through a self-serve "if-this-then-that" interface — designed to improve cash flow efficiency and control.
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SEC and Binance file joint motion for another 60-day pause in legal dispute The Securities and Exchange Commission and Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, have asked the judge overseeing their legal dispute to continue keeping the case on hold as lawyers on both sides hold "productive discussions." According to a joint court filing submitted Friday, the SEC requested the pause be extended "...In light of these continued discussions and the time required for the staff to seek authorization from the [SEC] as necessary to approve any resolution or changes to the scope of this litigation." Binance's lawyers agreed that "...continuing the stay is appropriate and in the interest of judicial economy." Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted the parties' original request to stay the case in February, following a similar joint motion. The approval of another 60-day pause would mean the next joint status report would land in mid-June. Though some of the SEC's claims against Binance were partially dismissed by Judge Jackson last June, the majority of the claims were upheld, though it remains unclear how the changing leadership of the SEC will affect the case. Friday's filing references "discussions concerning how the efforts of the crypto task force may impact the SEC’s claims." The SEC's crypto task force is headed by Republican Commissioner Hester Pierce and has been holding roundtables with industry figures in a move towards more transparent regulation of the crypto industry. "We invite builders, enthusiasts, and skeptics to engage with us to figure out what the final rules should be and what interim steps might help to foster innovation in the meantime," Pierce said in February, shortly after the task force's creation.
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US Senate Democrats condemn DOJ for dropping crypto unit, calling it 'nonsensical' U.S. Democratic Senators issued strong criticism toward U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in a letter on Thursday, for his decision to shift the Department of Justice away from crypto enforcement priorities and disband the crypto enforcement team. The six Democrats, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), said in the letter that the decisions giving "a free pass" to crypto money launderers are "grave mistakes" that would enable sanctions evasion, drug trafficking, scams and child sexual exploitation. Blanche, who served as President Donald Trump's defense lawyer in 2024, directed the immediate shutdown of the DOJ's crypto litigation division, in line with the current administration's friendlier approach to crypto regulation. The Thursday letter specifically took issue with Blanche's announcement that the DOJ would "no longer target" crypto exchanges and mixing services. It cited previous statements and rulings to argue that mixers are mainstays for cybercriminals, including North Korean hackers, in laundering stolen crypto assets. "Mixers are also a favorite tool of drug traffickers and those who trade child sexual abuse material," the letter said. "It makes no sense for DOJ to announce a hands-off approach to tools that are being used to support such terrible crimes." The lawmakers called Blanche's latest announcement to have the DOJ no longer prosecute digital asset crimes and Bank Secrecy Act violations "similarly nonsensical." "By abdicating DOJ’s responsibility to enforce federal criminal law when violations involve digital assets, you are suggesting that virtual currency exchanges, mixers, and other entities dealing in digital assets need not fulfill their AML/CFT obligations, creating a systemic vulnerability in the digital assets sector," the letter said. "Drug traffickers, terrorists, fraudsters, and adversaries will exploit this vulnerability on a large scale." The letter added that Blanche's decision to dismantle the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) can exacerbate the problem, as it was instrumental in leading a department-wide effort to tackle crypto crimes. "Further, NCET operates as a critical resource for state and local law enforcement who often lack the technical knowledge and skill to investigate cryptocurrency related crimes," the lawmakers wrote. "Disbanding NCET will make the work of these state and local law enforcement agents that much harder." Recently, U.S. crypto firm SafeMoon cited the DOJ's directive to deprioritize crypto enforcement in an attempt to have charges against the company and its CEO dropped, which include securities violations, wire fraud and money laundering. Among moves to deregulate crypto, earlier today, Trump signed a resolution to repeal the Internal Revenue Service rule, which required "decentralized finance industry participants" to operate like traditional securities brokers, mandating that they collect and report user trading data. On Thursday, New York Attorney General Letitia James also sent a letter to Congress urging lawmakers to pass legislation on crypto regulation, mentioning in particular that a framework is "all the more critical" following the disbanding of the NCET.
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Quantum Cats NFT floor price plunges 54% post-Taproot Wizards mint The floor price of Bitcoin NFT Quantum Cats halved in value last week, falling from 0.087 BTC on March 30 to 0.04 BTC as of Saturday, April 5. Meanwhile, the floor prices of other notable Bitcoin NFT collections remained relatively flat in comparison. For example, NodeMonkes and Bitcoin Puppets declined by just 5% and 8%, respectively, over the same period. The significant and isolated ~54% decline in Quantum Cats’ floor price is linked to the recent Taproot Wizards mint that began on March 25. Quantum Cats holders were given a discount for the Taproot Wizards mint, thus incentivizing people to buy and hold them prior to the mint. Specifically, collectors who owned pairs of "entangled" Quantum Cats were given a 50% discount on the mint price, from 0.2 BTC to 0.1 BTC. However, after the Taproot Wizards mint, those who bought and held Quantum Cats solely to access the discount no longer had the same incentive to keep the NFTs, thus prompting them to sell in a classic example of a "sell the news/event." This event has now brought Quantum Cats' floor price closer to its peers, such as NodeMonkes and Bitcoin Puppets, as opposed to the relatively significant premium it commanded from late December 2024 due to anticipation and hype of the aforementioned Taproot Wizards mint. This is an excerpt from The Block's Data & Insights newsletter. Dig into the numbers making up the industry's most thought-provoking trends.
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Taurus launches interbank digital asset network to streamline settlement, collateralization Swiss fintech firm and infrastructure provider Taurus on Wednesday launched Taurus-NETWORK, an interbank platform designed to connect financial institutions globally for seamless collaboration on digital assets. The network aims to unlock new use cases, such as collateralized lending, real-time settlement and operational automation, while reducing counterparty risk. Built for clients of Taurus-PROTECT, the company’s institutional-grade custody solution, the new network creates a permissioned ecosystem of regulated institutions, according to a release shared with The Block. It enables secure interaction between participants without relying on third parties to process or unwind transactions. "Network participants retain control of their assets and never rely on Taurus to enter or unwind transactions," Vassili Lavrov, Taurus head of product infrastructure, said in the release. The network currently includes over 35 institutions across 10 countries. It enables members to maintain full control over their digital assets while collaborating across jurisdictions in line with local regulatory requirements. Arab Bank Switzerland, Capital Union Bank, Flowdesk, ISP Group, Misyon Bank and Swissquote are joining the Taurus-NETWORK as founding members at launch. Taurus said more features and partnerships will be announced throughout 2025. The company, founded in April 2018, is a global provider of enterprise-grade digital asset infrastructure including custody, tokenization and trading services. It has relationships with institutions including Deutsche Bank, State Street and the entity formerly known as Credit Suisse, which led Taurus's $65 million Series B round before being acquired by UBS. "Taurus-NETWORK is a pivotal milestone in Taurus' mission to reshape the digital asset industry," Yann Isola, head of product financial services, said. "By bringing together institutions and facilitating secure, efficient and automated operations, we are unlocking new opportunities for growth and innovation. This is just the beginning as we are planning to release innovative solutions on a regular basis." Taurus-NETWORK introduces a collateral management system that allows members to pledge funds or assets for instant credit within the network. This enables banks to participate in syndicated loans, while exchanges can implement off-exchange trading processes without moving funds outside their Taurus-PROTECT setup. Settlement speed is optimized across both fiat and blockchain rails using an advanced orchestration engine. Compliance and regulatory checks are embedded into the platform. The Taurus-NETWORK supports automatic enforcement of the travel rule, proof-of-reserves and ownership verification, significantly reducing manual compliance workloads. The network also automates over 90% of typical operational burdens, such as identity management and address whitelisting, enabling instant transaction confirmation and cryptographic proof of identity. Participants interact directly from their own Taurus-PROTECT custody instances, regardless of infrastructure.
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Base and stablecoins set stage for Coinbase to become ‘mission-critical’ crypto infrastructure, Cantor Fitzgerald says Traders and investors are recovering from the market onslaught over the past week. The price of bitcoin is still trading under $80,000, but the world's largest cryptocurrency has held up relatively well compared to traditional equities. Institutional crypto adoption remains stalled due to regulatory uncertainty, leaving crypto markets largely driven by retail traders and hedge funds. Analysts suggest bitcoin may be evolving into a hedge against U.S. economic isolation and could rebound faster than other risk assets. One stock poised to benefit greatly from institutional adoption, according to Cantor Fitzgerald, is Coinbase. "We believe institutionalization of crypto, like the internet, is a decade- or multi-decade-long trend, with the first barrier to enabling this trend to take off being on the regulatory front," Cantor analysts Brett Knoblauch and Thomas Shinske wrote Tuesday in a note to clients. "We expect we will soon see a 'ChatGPT' moment when it comes to web3, and there is, in our view, no better way to play this dynamic than COIN given it has its hands in virtually every aspect of the crypto ecosystem." It is for this reason that Cantor expects Coinbase's business to be perceived less like a trading platform and more as "a mission-critical infrastructure layer of the crypto economy." In particular, the analysts said, Coinbase's Ethereum Layer 2 Base and relationship with stablecoin issuer Circle are instrumental in changing the narrative. Base positions Coinbase strongly by offering faster, cheaper transactions and seamless user onboarding into onchain ecosystems, the analysis said, helping it outpace other Ethereum L2 solutions. As user growth fuels developer interest and dapp creation, Base’s momentum could drive a long-term flywheel effect that significantly benefits COIN — an edge the market may be undervaluing. The L2 saw 4.15 million new unique addresses on March 30, its highest single-day jump in users following a parabolic increase that began in the preceding two weeks, according to Basescan. However, both the transaction count and active addresses on Base remained stagnant. "This discrepancy indicates that a significant portion of the new address growth may be inorganic or at least driven by short-term incentives or bot-generated activity," according to The Block's Research team. "In cases where address generation grows rapidly without a matching uptick in actual usage, it often suggests the creation of multiple addresses by a single user or bots." Meanwhile, the largest component of subscription and services revenue is stablecoins, which generated $910 million of revenue for Coinbase in 2024, up from $694 million in 2023. Cantor says Circle and Tether will maintain a similar share of the stablecoin market well into the future and predicts the stablecoin market can exceed $1 trillion by 2030. This could result in Coinbase's stablecoin revenue increasing by 5-10x, depending on where short-term yields go. As such, the firm initiated coverage on COIN with an "overweight" rating and $245 price target, suggesting about 53% upside from the stock's current levels. "We would note that our valuation multiple represents, in our view, a 'down year' in terms of volumes, revenue, and earnings," the Cantor analysts wrote in the note. "We believe if seasonality holds true, crypto markets will be down in 2026. As such, we believe we are applying a reasonable multiple on what could be trough earnings for COIN. Should 2026 divert from historical seasonality, we see significant upside to our 2026 estimates and thus valuation." Coinbase shares are trading higher by 4% to $163.76 in Tuesday's session. The stock is down about 36% in the year-to-date period. Of note, Secretary of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick previously served as CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald for nearly 35 years. "Under Lutnick's leadership, Cantor Fitzgerald began managing the reserves backing Tether's USDT stablecoin in late 2021. Lutnick has been a vocal supporter of Tether, frequently defending it against criticism," The Block's RT Watson reports. "Further strengthening these ties, Cantor Fitzgerald also acquired a 5% ownership stake in Tether." As President Donald Trump’s administration continues its friendlier approach to crypto, Coinbase's CFO expressed optimism last month about renewed discussions with the SEC to potentially allow the company to introduce a security token and international crypto products to the U.S. market.
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Crypto prices plummet, Strategy's $6 billion in Q1 unrealized losses, crypto attorney sues to uncover Satoshi Nakamoto's true identity and more It's Monday! The week started off with more of the crypto market in the red, with ether's price falling to lows not seen since 2023. It's not all looking bleak, though — we might be closer to finding out more information on Bitcoin's creator, and a high-profile crypto figure is guiding blockchain industry efforts abroad. In today's newsletter, $1.6 billion in leveraged bets evaporate as digital asset prices continue to fall, Michael Saylor's Strategy discloses around $6 billion in Q1 unrealized losses, a crypto attorney sues the Department of Homeland Security to find out more about Satoshi Nakamoto and more. Meanwhile, the stablecoin issuer Tether is deciding whether to launch a new stablecoin just for institutions. Let's get started. Crypto prices plummet as $1.6 billion in leveraged bets evaporate The crypto market experienced a sharp 10% drop on Monday, with ether falling to its lowest price point since 2023. At least $1.6 billion in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated in 24 hours, though the real figure may be higher due to incomplete exchange data. The selloff followed the announcement of historically high U.S. tariffs and related global macroeconomic uncertainty. DeFi users scrambled to protect ETH-backed loans as ether dipped below $1,500. A whale lost $106 million on a 67,570 ETH position, and even the alleged ZKasino scammer saw a $27.1 million loss on a leveraged bet. Despite the turmoil, analysts predict a potential short-term rebound driven by oversold conditions and upcoming U.S. economic data releases. Strategy discloses around $6 billion in Q1 unrealized losses Strategy reported $5.91 billion in unrealized losses on its bitcoin holdings in Q1 2025 due to a sharp market downturn driven by macroeconomic pressures. The firm paused bitcoin purchases between Mar. 31 and Apr. 4 amid zero demand for its equity offerings, MSTR and STRK. Strategy purchased 80,715 BTC at an average price of $94,922 per BTC in Q1, but the firm faced its steepest quarterly loss since 2018, when bitcoin fell 12% to $84,000. Strategy currently holds 528,185 BTC — nearly 3% of the total supply. Crypto attorney sues Homeland Security to uncover Satoshi Nakamoto's true identity Crypto lawyer James A. Murphy filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to seek documents that could reveal the identity of Bitcoin’s creator after his FOIA requests went unanswered. Murphy, known as 'MetaLawMan' online, argues the public deserves to know what the government might know about Satoshi Nakamoto. The lawsuit references a 2019 interview in which DHS Special Agent Rana Saoud allegedly claimed to have met four individuals involved in Bitcoin's creation, suggesting potential government knowledge of Nakamoto’s identity. Murphy emphasized the importance of transparency amid growing federal interest in bitcoin. CZ joins Pakistan Crypto Council as advisor Former Binance CEO Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao has been appointed as a strategic advisor to the Pakistan Crypto Council to support crypto education, infrastructure and adoption efforts in the nation. The Pakistan Crypto Council, established by the government in March 2025, aims to position the country as a leader in blockchain innovation amid global momentum driven by U.S. crypto policy shifts. CZ stated he advises several governments on crypto regulation and blockchain use, maintaining a non-political stance and solely on crypto. Despite legal troubles in the U.S., the world's largest crypto exchange Binance recently secured $2 billion in funding from Abu Dhabi's MGX. Franklin Templeton leads $8 million seed round for stablecoin startup Cap Cap, a blockchain startup building a yield-generating stablecoin and lending platform, raised $8 million in a seed round led by Franklin Templeton. The protocol leverages Ethereum’s EigenLayer and the MegaETH Layer 2 to enable users to mint cUSD using USDC or USDT, which can then be lent out to institutions for yield while being secured by restaked ETH. Cap's model involves institutions borrowing user-supplied stablecoins in exchange for interest, though borrowers must take out a kind of "loan insurance" to protect lenders amid potential loan defaults.
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Standard Chartered sees bitcoin as a hedge against tariff risks amid 'US isolationism' Bitcoin could benefit from rising tariff risks as signs of "U.S. isolationism" begin to shape market sentiment, according to Standard Chartered. "There is a lot of noise at the moment, but as per my Friday email, I think bitcoin will become a hedge against tariff risks this time around," Geoffrey Kendrick, global head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, said in a Sunday note emailed to The Block. "U.S. isolationism is akin to increased risks of holding fiat, which will ultimately benefit bitcoin," he added. The note followed bitcoin's drop below $80,000 over the weekend. Bitcoin is currently trading at around $77,000, according to The Block's bitcoin price page. Kendrick pointed to $76,500 — the top of the Nov. 6 daily candle, formed the day after the U.S. election — as a key support level. He acknowledged the market drawdown but noted that bitcoin continues to outperform most of the so-called Magnificent Seven or Mag7 tech stocks, trailing only Microsoft and Google since tariff-related headlines earlier this week. Mag7 index + bitcoin and ether percentage change since tariff announcement Source: Standard Chartered In last week's note, Kendrick said bitcoin could be viewed as a "U.S. isolation" hedge and called bitcoin the "strongman," noting it had held up better than most tech stocks during the recent selloff. The updated framing — from a general "U.S. isolation" hedge to a more specific "tariff risk" hedge — reflects Kendrick's interpretation of recent developments. He added that the recent crypto selloff would likely fade and that bitcoin could return to its Friday close of around $84,000, barring any broader risk-off moves in traditional markets. Kendrick has been among the more bullish voices on bitcoin, previously forecasting a price target of $200,000 by the end of 2025. He sees bitcoin reaching $300,000 by end-2026, $400,000 by end-2027, and $500,000 by end-2028 — a level he expects it to hold through 2029. Last week, Kendrick also initiated coverage on Layer 1 blockchain Avalanche, projecting that its native token AVAX could rise more than 10 times to $250 by the end of 2029 from its current price of around $15. The forecast was driven by Avalanche's recent Etna upgrade, which made the network cheaper and more attractive for developers. Kendrick is less bullish on Ethereum, having cut his 2025 ether price target by 60% last month to $4,000, citing factors such as Base's growing market share. Ether is currently trading at around $1,500, down more than 15% over the past 24 hours
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Bitcoin dips below $80,000 after dropping over 3% in two hours, dragging crypto market downward The crypto market experienced a significant dip on Sunday as international markets began to open to an uncertain macroeconomic environment, sending the price of bitcoin below $80,000 for the first time since early March. The world's largest cryptocurrency fell over 3% in just two hours on Sunday; it's currently down a total of 3.4% in the past 24hours, according to The Block's Bitcoin Price page. Its rival Ethereum has fared even worse, having fallen nearly 8% in the past 24 hours. The ETHBTC ratio of the two leading tokens' prices is currently near its five-year low, according to TradingView data. The Block's GMCI 30 Index performance since the start of the month. The top 30 cryptocurrencies in total are down over 6% over the past day, according to The Block's GMCI 30 index. Year to date, the index is down over 32%. Bucking the trend, Pi Network (PI) has gained about 1.52% over the past day, and ZCash is up 0.7%, according to The Block's price data. The significant dip comes as international markets begin to open after a weekend in which U.S. President Trump made no indication that he plans to ease up on the significant tariffs he imposed on most other nations last Wednesday, triggering the worst stock performances since 2020. Injective CEO Eric Chen previously told The Block that Bitcoin may be holding up better than altcoins "...because its market structure has fundamentally changed post-ETF, with demand now coming from retirement accounts, macro funds and corporate treasuries like MicroStrategy (MSTR) and GameStop (GME)."
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Blur’s decline fuels OpenSea’s market share surge amid broader NFT struggles At the beginning of 2022, OpenSea’s share of Ethereum NFT marketplace volume stood at a dominating around 97%. Just two years later, the platform seemed to have dwindled amid fierce competition as its market share fell to just under 20%, even falling as low as 13% in the summer of 2024. In the 10 months since, however, the OpenSea market share of Ethereum NFT marketplace volume has steadily climbed and is standing at over 51% as of the time of writing. As impressive as this comeback story looks at face value, it does not tell the whole story. OpenSea's "comeback" in terms of market share for marketplace volume is less about the OpenSea protocol itself doing well and more about its main competitor, Blur, underperforming on a relatively competitive basis. Since its latest peak in December 2024, Blur’s monthly NFT volume has declined consistently, with an average monthly rate of decline of 55%. Over the same period, OpenSea's monthly NFT volume has been more varied. It declined by 48% from December to January but then increased by 20% in February, likely due to the announcement of its SEA token. It is worth pointing out that both OpenSea and Blur saw similar month-over-month declines in March, with the former down 67% and the latter down 62%. The takeaway is that Ethereum NFT volumes have declined significantly over the last three months, with the entire sector performing horribly. OpenSea’s resurgence in terms of market share, while somewhat notable, is likely due to Blur’s competitive relative underperformance and should not mask either platform's woes or overemphasize their "wins." This is an excerpt from The Block's Data & Insights newsletter. Dig into the numbers making up the industry's most thought-provoking trends.
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Standard Chartered says ‘HODL’ bitcoin, sees $88,500 return this weekend as it becomes a 'US isolation' hedge Bitcoin could be heading back to $88,500 as early as this weekend from its current price of around $83,100, according to Standard Chartered. As the broader traditional finance market selloff continues, driven by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, bitcoin has shown strength and can now be viewed as a "U.S. isolation" hedge, according to Geoffrey Kendrick, global head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered. "I [previously] argued that bitcoin trades more like tech stocks than it does gold most of the time. At other times, and structurally, bitcoin is useful as a TradFi [traditional finance] hedge (e.g., March 2023 SVB [Silicon Valley Bank] collapse). Over the last 36 hours, I think we can also add 'U.S. isolation' hedge to the list of bitcoin uses," Kendrick wrote in an email to The Block on Friday. By calling bitcoin a "U.S. isolation" hedge, Kendrick is likely suggesting that the cryptocurrency could gain value in scenarios where the U.S. appears increasingly isolated from the global economy, such as recent moves to impose tariffs. Last week, Kendrick argued that bitcoin trades more like a tech stock than gold. At the time, he also introduced a hypothetical Mag7 index called Mag7B, which swapped Tesla for bitcoin. He said this revised basket delivered higher returns and lower volatility than the original lineup of seven mega-cap tech stocks. In today's note, Kendrick said that over the last 36 hours, as TradFi markets bled and Mag7 stocks tumbled, bitcoin and ether showed relative strength. "Strongest performers were MSFT [Microsoft] and BTC," he said. "Same again so far today in BTC spot and tech futures." Thursday's price action across the Mag7 index + bitcoin and ether Source: Standard Chartered The above chart shows that while big tech stocks like Apple and Meta dropped nearly 9% on Thursday, bitcoin and Microsoft held up better than the rest. "Bitcoin is proving itself to be the best of tech (upside when stocks go up) and a hedge in multiple scenarios," Kendrick said. "A break back above the critical $85,000 level looks likely today, post payrolls. That opens up a move back to the $88,500 pre-tariff level from Wednesday (likely this weekend)." Kendrick's note comes amid growing investor anxiety over renewed tariff risks and fears of a U.S. recession. Amid the chaos, Kendrick's closing recommendation is simple: "HODL."
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Analysts argue post-tariffs bitcoin market presents buying opportunity President Trump’s tariff announcement on April 2 hammered global equities and crypto markets alike — but the event may have dispelled looming uncertainty tied to bitcoin and digital assets to some degree — analysts told The Block on Thursday. S&P 500 futures slid over 2%, erasing over $2 trillion in market capitalization shortly after Trump unveiled some of the steepest tariffs in U.S. history, according to The Kobeissi Letter. Bitcoin rallied to about $88,000 before the news, fueled by rumors of a delay. BTC swiftly retraced these gains after the tariff news and dropped to $82,000. The top cryptocurrency costs around $83,00 per coin as the total digital asset market cap dipped over 4% in the last 24 hours, per The Block’s price page. Previous reporting noted that major altcoins like Ethereum and Solana fell by over 6% on Wednesday. These tokens remain at multi-month lows. While Trump’s large-scale tariffs rattled just nearly every financial market, much-anticipated clarity on U.S. commerce policy “creates buying opportunity as uncertainty fades,” wrote Valentin Fournier, Lead Analyst at BRN, in a Thursday email. “Despite near-term volatility, uncertainty is decreasing, and institutional buying pressure is returning. With key catalysts aligning, we expect Bitcoin to rebuild momentum and make another attempt at $90,000 in the near future," Fournier wrote. Fournier does not stand alone in this outlook. David Hernandez, Crypto Investment Specialist at 21Shares, told The Block that bitcoin’s resilience to tariffs relative to equities could reignite institutional demand and renew buying activity. “Although the tariff rates were slightly higher than expectations, the announcement provided much-needed clarity on the scope and scale of the policy. Markets thrive on certainty, and with speculation now largely removed, institutional investors may see an opportunity over the coming days to take advantage of compressed valuations.” U.S. spot BTC exchange-traded funds already notched an upbeat in netflows. The group, led by BlackRock, saw $218 million in inflows on Wednesday. The Block's data showed net outflows of $157 million the day before. “However, Ethereum continues to see outflows, reflecting investor skepticism. ETH remains 55% below its cycle high, with no clear signs of reversal,” Fournier said, pointing to lackluster demand for crypto’s second-largest asset by market cap. Embrace volatility As observers weighed how institutional adoption would impact crypto volatility and price changes, Thomas Perfumo, Global Economist at Kraken, challenged the idea that Wall Street’s entrance has large dulled digital asset price swings. Perfumo argued that the “crypto market’s pattern of boom-and-bust cycles is dead” narrative has “overlooked the asset class’ nascency in terms of adoption.” “Yes, Bitcoin's long-term trend of price volatility is in decline, but I believe the market cycle is here to stay for a while longer,” Perfumo said in a note shared with The Block. “People often prejudice high volatility as a negative signal. But volatility is just a number — it is neither "good" or "bad." In the case of crypto, price volatility is the manifestation of mainstream adoption of a digitally scarce asset class… An enormous amount of untapped demand chasing assets like Bitcoin with fixed supply will drive volatility until adoption matures and decelerates. That demand will not matriculate in a straight, orderly fashion. It will ebb and flow, showcasing what happens when enormous demand meets unmovable supply. I believe this pattern will persist until we've reached a critical mass in adoption, penetrating more deeply into the early majority of the technology adoption lifecycle,” Perfumo added.
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Crypto traders in 'wait-and-see' mode ahead of Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariff announcement Bitcoin price held above $83,000 late night Monday as investors brace for U.S. President Donald Trump's next tariff announcement, expected to be made later this week. The world's largest cryptocurrency is currently trading at $83,172, up 1.8% in the past 24 hours leading up to 11:27 p.m. ET on Monday, according to The Block's bitcoin price page. Ether gained 1.74% to trade at $1,837. Other major cryptocurrencies gained in price during the past day, though not significantly. XRP edged up 0.41% to $2.11 and Solana gained 0.2% to $126.4. BNB, Dogecoin and Cardano also rose. "Right now, the market is in a wait-and-see mode, as the details of the tariffs have yet to be disclosed," said Presto Research Analyst Min Jung. Trump is expected to make the announcement of several "massive tariffs" on April 2, also referred to as "Liberation Day," according to CNN. Trump's imminent unveiling of the reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trade partners may cause a chain reaction that could potentially trigger a global trade war, The Guardian recently reported. "There's a mix of sentiment — some investors believe the impact may be less severe than initially feared, viewing the recent dip as a potential 'buy the dip' opportunity," Jung said. "However, many traders are still opting to remain on the sidelines until there's greater clarity. The market's next move will largely hinge on the tone and substance of the actual announcement." BTC's worst Q1 since 2018 The crypto bull-run that started around Trump's election last November struck an impasse after the U.S. President announced sweeping tariffs to be imposed on foreign goods. Mirroring the equities market's downturn, crypto experienced a significant correction in the first quarter of 2025. This went largely against investor's expectations that the Trump administration's pro-crypto policy efforts would extend the bull cycle throughout the first quarter. "What we saw post November was a classic 'buy the rumor, sell the news' narrative," said Paul Howard, senior director at Wincent. "What has been announced in the U.S. post Jan. 20 sets a longer term stage for institutional adoption and a friendly regulatory environment. These changes are material over time and not in themselves influencing price and demand in the short term." Bitcoin, after peaking above $108,000 in January, plummeted to sub-$80,000 levels last month, coinciding with the implementation of substantial tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China. Moreover, the latest Consumer Price Index data came in hotter than expected, raising concerns surrounding the Federal Reserve withholding interest rate cuts for an extended period of time. According to Coinglass data, bitcoin price fell by 11.82% during the first quarter of 2025, making it the worst first-quarter performance since the first quarter of 2018. "Everyone expected Trump's pro-crypto stance to spark immediate results, but the reality is, policy rollout takes time," said Enmanuel Cardozo, market analyst at Brickken. "The global economic uncertainty fueled a risk-off vibe all around, plus the market had already priced in Trump's win by late 2024." However, Cardozo said a recovery in the second quarter is "definitely on the table," with the Federal Reserve largely expected to cut rates within the second quarter, while Trump's team delivers more concrete results in pro-crypto policies. "With institutional flows picking up, the momentum could build," Cardoza said. "Bitcoin could potentially test $100,000 again if we break past the $88,668 resistance, but a dip isn't off the table if macro factors stall."
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Metaplanet issues $13.3 million in new bonds to buy more bitcoin as Nikkei dips 4% Metaplanet issued ¥2 billion ($13.3 million) worth of zero-interest bonds to fund its bitcoin acquisition plan following a meeting of its board of directors, according to a disclosure filing. The debt security will be allocated via Metaplanet’s EVO FUND, allowing investors to redeem bonds at full face value by Sept. 30, 2025. Simon Gerovich, CEO of Metaplanet, said the firm was “buying the dip!” in a post on X. Bitcoin was down roughly 2%, trading under $81,800 per The Block’s price page. Metaplanet is Asia’s largest BTC holder, having spent an estimated $260 million on bitcoin since last year. Its most recent purchase, as of writing, increased the firm’s total reserve to some 3,200 BTC — ranking Metaplanet 10th in a cast of the world’s largest corporate BTC holders led by Michael Saylor's firm, Strategy, per BitcoinTreasuries data. The Tokyo-listed giant also added Eric Trump, son of U.S. President Donald Trump, to its advisory board. “It’s a positive story for BTC where Metaplanet sees the long-term value in owning bitcoin” said Paul Howard, Senior Director at crypto market maker Wincent, about the news. While Howard perceived Metaplanet’s expanded BTC buying power as bullish, the company’s stock dropped over 9% after the announcement, according to Google Finance data. Metaplanet stock fell amid a broader decline in Japan’s Nikkei 225, which dipped 4% in anticipation of fresh tariffs from President Trump on April 2. Howard expects other stock markets to follow suit. “Almost all global markets are seeing the impact of the tariffs from the U.S., so the Nikkei, one of the first large markets to open, will always reflect this position before other markets open. The expectation is other markets will follow suit on opening,” Wincent’s Senior Director told The Block. Aran Hawker, CoinPanel CEO, shared a similar outlook, adding that macroeconomic factors looked likely to kneecap bitcoin and risk-assets in the short term. “As for the Nikkei dip — whether it's being driven by the post-holiday catch-up (Liberation Day) or concerns about a new wave of Trump-era tariffs — it's clear that global macro signals are jittery right now. That sort of backdrop tends to pull capital toward lower-risk assets, at least in the short term,” Hawker opined.
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PumpSwap DEX crosses $10 billion in cumulative volume 10 days after launch PumpSwap, the new decentralized exchange (DEX) from the creators of memecoin launchpad Pump.fun, has processed $10 billion in cumulative volume in its first ten days since officially launching, according to a Dune Analytics dashboard tracking the exchange. Pump.fun launched the DEX on March 20 to allow successful memecoins to migrate directly to PumpSwap, bypassing Raydium, among the leading Solana-based exchanges and automated market makers (AMMs). Raydium, in January, processed a quarter of total DEX volume, according to The Block's data, more than any other exchange. PumpSwap's already established itself as a dominant player among Solana DEXs. Yet on Saturday, PumpSwap processed 67.4% of the volume processed by several major leading Solana DEXs, with Raydium claiming the second-largest market share at 18.2%. No other exchange claimed more than 5% of the market, according to the dashboard. PumpSwap has generated over $20 million in protocol fees and its liquidity providers have received over $5 million in fees, according to the dashboard. Nearly 700,000 wallets have already accessed the protocol. Despite the success of PumpSwap, Pump.fun has lately seen volume across its exchange fall as demand for memecoin trading cools. Pump.fun's team has previously teased plans for a native token launch. Meanwhile, Raydium is working on a memecoin launchpad of its own called LaunchLab, likely intended to compete with Pump.fun, The Block previously reported.
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Crypto markets slump as latest US inflation data weighs on sentiment Cryptocurrency markets extended this week's capital bleed as the global digital asset capitalization fell 5% to $2.84 trillion on Friday, following more macroeconomic data showing slightly higher inflation in the U.S. Numbers for the Core Personal Consumer Price Index — the Federal Reserve’s go-to inflation indicator — came in hotter than expected. U.S. Core PCE for February rose to 0.4% month-over-month, beating the 0.3% forecast from analysts. Yearly Core PCE also surpassed expectations, rising to 2.8% against an estimated 2.7% increase. Matt Mena, Crypto Research Strategist at 21Shares, told The Block that Friday’s PCE outcome was conservative despite the upbeat inflation data. "While this isn’t exactly bullish for risk assets, it’s also not overtly bearish — it lands slightly on the cautious side of neutral," Mena said. "Even so, markets are holding up well. S&P 500 futures are steady and continue to trade comfortably above the key psychological support level of 5700." Conversely, crypto leaders like ether, SOL and XRP fell further after an already difficult trading day. ETH dropped to $1,880, SOL dipped below $130, and XRP revisited $2.19, according to The Block’s price page. The GMCI 30 Index tracking crypto’s top 30 assets retraced 5.5%. Bitcoin, on the other hand, retraced modestly compared to altcoins. The price of bitcoin changed hands around $84,200 at time of writing, down 3.6%. "Bitcoin continues to demonstrate its resilience," Mena said. "This is precisely the type of macro environment it was built for: a non-sovereign, inflation-resistant asset that can weather all market cycles and protect portfolios through times of uncertainty." Q2 uncertain but bullish signs persist Crypto assets retained macro sensitivity heading into the year’s second quarter. Data shows that past cycles have delivered relief for Bitcoin in the second quarter, but analysts said changing trade and policy landscapes could mean this time is different. "Historically, Bitcoin has exhibited a higher degree of correlation with traditional risk assets during Q1 (where we peak in correlation) while in Q2, it can react more to geopolitical events and policy shifts," Bitfinex analysts wrote in a report. "While Q2 has often been a bullish period for Bitcoin, the present macroeconomic environment—characterized by trade tensions and inflationary concerns—suggests that heightened sensitivity may persist." Mena said incoming regulatory clarity represented by new leadership at the Securities and Exchange Commission and momentum with stablecoin rules may alter investor sentiment in the coming months. The White House publicly backing a U.S. Bitcoin reserve also paints a bullish picture. "Crypto is no longer a fringe issue — it’s a central part of the policy conversation," Mena said. "As the regulatory picture continues to improve and geopolitical risks begin to cool, the stage may be set for digital assets to reenter a period of sustained growth and broader adoption." Despite recent volatility and market turbulence, Mena expects Bitcoin to nearly double by the end of 2025. "Looking ahead, several key catalysts could reignite momentum across the digital asset space — potentially pushing Bitcoin out of its current consolidation zone and through major resistance levels at $90K, $95K, and $100K," Mena said. "A breakout above those levels could open the door for a run past its previous all-time high of $108.5K, with a potential move toward $150K by year-end."
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Sei Foundation explores takeover of bankrupt 23andMe in 'boldest DeSci bet yet' One day after 23andMe received clearance from a judge to put itself up for sale, the Sei Foundation said it is in "the process of placing its boldest DeSci bet yet" by exploring the acquisition of the genetic testing company. "We believe user data sovereignty is a matter of national security," the Sei Foundation, which supports the Layer 1 blockchain Sei, wrote Thursday in post on X. "When an American biotech pioneer faces bankruptcy, personal genomic data of millions becomes vulnerable to parties that may not share the same values of transparency and open access." The Sei Foundation says this is to "defend the genetic privacy of 15 million Americans and ensure their data is protected for generations to come." 23andMe announced on March 23 that it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. "Under bankruptcy rules, any sale would need to bring in more than the company owes creditors — at least $214 million — before anything could be paid to shareholders," Bloomberg reports. On Wednesday, the company won permission from a judge to try to sell its assets, the most valuable of which are information about customers’ medical and ancestry-related data. 23andMe launched in 2006, and since going public in 2021, the company has never turned a profit. DecSci is the use of web3 infrastructure in the scientific process. It aims to make scientific work more transparent, accessible and collaborative by placing data onchain or funding research pursuits with cryptocurrency. In January, the Sei Foundation launched Sapien Capital, a $65 million venture fund to back DeSci startups building on the Sei blockchain. What exactly would Sei do with 23andMe? The firm laid out three use cases for its vision: Deploy 23andMe on Sei blockchain, return data ownership to users through encrypted transfers, and allow users to choose how their data is monetized and share in the revenue. "This isn't just about saving a company, it's about building a future where your most personal data remains yours to control," the Sei Foundation said in its post on X. "We'll be sharing updates in the near future." 23andMe's stock jumped 45% to close at $0.77 a share on Thursday with a $21 million market cap. The price of the SEI token was up about 1.1% in the 24 hours before publication time to $0.21, according to The Block's price data. The token has a fully diluted value of $2.1 billion.
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