Cointelegraph

At least 88 people, including ten minors, have been indicted in connection with alleged wrench attacks against crypto owners in France, according to Vanessa Perrée, the country’s national prosecutor for organized crime.

Perrée said in a statement on Friday that 75 of the alleged offenders are being held in pre-trial detention, with the arrests related to 12 cases currently under investigation by specialized investigating judges of the Paris Judicial Court and monitored by the National Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime (PNACO).

Wrench attacks involve the use of physical force to gain access to a victim’s crypto wallet and have taken the form of home invasions, kidnappings and other extortion attempts. 

PNACO has recorded 18 incidents in 2024, 67 in 2025, and 47 so far in 2026. 

Blockchain security company CertiK reported a 75% increase in attacks worldwide in 2025 compared with the previous year.

“The acts in question, particularly under the legal classifications of arrest, abduction, organized group sequestration, extortion, and attempts of organized group extortion, are of particular seriousness, both due to the harm caused to individuals and the methods used to obtain transfers of crypto-assets under duress,” Perrée added.

Structured networks conducting attacks

French law enforcement agencies investigating the incidents have merged several cases after discovering that some of the alleged offenders were involved in multiple incidents.

“These consolidations were made possible notably through the identification of individuals recurrently involved in multiple cases, thus revealing the existence of structured networks,” Perrée said.

“Investigations are actively ongoing, under the authority of investigating magistrates, to identify all perpetrators and instigators, clarify financial channels and dismantle the networks involved,” she added.

Casa chief security officer Jameson Lopp has maintained a list of recorded wrench attacks worldwide dating to 2014 and has recorded 29 so far this year.

There have been five recorded wrench attacks so far in April. Source: GitHub

Crypto users shouldn’t brag about their stash on social media

Perrée said the rise in cases means crypto holders and their relatives should be more vigilant and avoid “overexposure on social networks that could make them targets” while also remaining wary of scammers posing as an investigative service or judicial institution to obtain information.

Blockchain intelligence company TRM Labs reported in May last year that wrench attacks have been on the rise because of the perceived pseudonymity of crypto transactions, the public visibility of wealth, and the ease with which bad actors can gather personal data online.

Meanwhile, Telegram founder Pavel Durov suggested Friday that the rise in attacks in France was due to the alleged misuse of crypto investors’ tax data by a former tax official.

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Prediction market platforms’ ability to accurately predict events is driven by a small set of highly informed traders rather than crowd-sourced wisdom, according to researchers from London Business School and Yale University.

About 3.5% of these accounts “generate the bulk of price discovery” on prediction markets like Polymarket, according to a paper by Roberto Gomez-Cram, Yunhan Guo, Theis Ingerslev Jensen and Howard Kung, which was revised April 25. 

“The remaining majority does not produce accuracy; rather, it funds it,” the authors said.

“Their trades generate most of the volume, but little of the information, and their losses flow as profits to the informed minority. Prediction market accuracy thus reflects the wisdom of an informed minority, not the wisdom of the crowd.”

The findings are based on Polymarket trades between 2023 and 2025. The authors used a sign-randomization test that repeated each account’s past trades 10,000 times to simulate profit-and-loss distributions.

Prediction markets became one of crypto’s hottest use cases last year and now consistently record more than $15 billion in monthly trading volume across markets covering everything from sports and elections to financial results and cultural events.

However, that rise has been accompanied by increased regulatory scrutiny, driven by concerns that insider traders may be using prediction markets to turn confidential information into profits.

The authors acknowledged that insider trading is a “particular concern” in prediction markets, noting that the platforms face less regulatory oversight than securities markets because many users are pseudonymous and contracts are narrowly defined around specific events. 

“These features make prediction markets an attractive venue for trading on private information.”

The ‘informed minority’ makes outsized profits

The authors said the informed minority comprises market makers and “skilled takers,” which collectively take home “over 30% of total gains” on prediction markets.

The study also found that market maker accounts earned about $11,830 on average per account.

The other 69% of profit-takers are the “lucky winners,” who account for 29% of all accounts.

The remaining accounts are the “unlucky losers” who “absorb the entirety of aggregate losses,” the authors added.

Earlier this month, a research study by crypto analyst Andrey Sergeenkov found that just 0.015% of traders make profits large and consistent enough to entertain walking away from their day job.

That conclusion was based on the number of Polymarket users who sustained a profit of $5,000 or more over four consecutive months between April 2024 and April 1, 2026.

Magazine: How to fix suspected insider trading on Polymarket and Kalshi

Financial services giant Western Union is targeting May for the rollout of its new stablecoin as part of a crypto plan that includes its digital asset network and US dollar stable card. 

“Over the last few months, we've crossed an important threshold. It is no longer a question of if Western Union will be active in digital assets, it is now how fast can we scale,” said Western Union president and CEO Devin McGranahan during the company’s first-quarter earnings call on Friday. 

“At the foundation of our strategy is USDPT, our US dollar-backed stablecoin. USDPT is now in its final stages of readiness and is expected to go live next month,” he added. 

A growing number of traditional financial institutions have been adopting stablecoins. Lamine Brahimi, co-founder of crypto custody provider Taurus, told Cointelegraph earlier this month that banks and corporations across Europe are actively selecting infrastructure partners to support stablecoin adoption.

Other banks and financial institutions onboard

Western Union first announced the stablecoin in October, and said it would be built on Solana and issued by Anchorage Digital Bank. It plans to combine it with the digital asset network to allow users to use the token seamlessly.

McGranahan said exchange partners will support access, conversion and distribution of USDPT and banking and financial institution partners in priority corridors will facilitate direct settlement and treasury use cases.

“Together, these relationships position USDPT as a foundational asset for scaling digital payments and settlement across our platform,” he added.

Currently, US dollar-denominated stablecoins account for the lion’s share of the $320 billion stablecoin market capitalization. 

Tether's USDt (USDT) leads with a market cap of more than $189.7 billion, followed by Circle's USDC (USDC) at $77.7 billion and Sky Dollar at $8.2 billion, according to DeFi analytics platform DefiLlama.

Tether's USDT is the leading US dollar-denominated stablecoin. Source: DeFiLlama

Digital asset network launching with first partner

McGranahan added that Western Union’s digital asset network (DAN), which aims to allow stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies to move across its global payment system and link to real-world cash access, will add its first partner this week. 

“Our partner pipeline represents tens of millions of crypto wallets globally, creating a powerful distribution channel that brings digital asset users directly into Western Union's retail and digital network, solving an industry-wide issue of ramping from crypto to cash as a safe and effective utility,” he added.

Western Union’s digital asset network adds its first partner this week. Source: Western Union

Last month, Western Union announced DAN would allow users to convert digital dollars into local currency at more than 360,000 collection points worldwide.

Stable card launch later this year

Meanwhile, Western Union is also planning to launch a US dollar stable card, which will allow users to hold and spend stablecoins later this year.

McGranahan added that going forward, Western Union plans to make digital assets a core part of its platforms.

“The focus ahead is scaling, expanding adoption, increasing velocity, and embedding digital assets more deeply into Western Union's core money movement platform.”

Magazine: AI-driven hacks could kill DeFi — unless projects act now

Aave Labs has proposed that the decentralized autonomous organization behind Arbitrum unfreeze $73.5 million in Ether tied to the Kelp DAO attack and to direct those funds to “DeFi United,” a fund aimed at restoring rsETH and compensating its holders.

Last week, the Arbitrum Security Council moved to freeze 30,765 Ether (ETH) held in a wallet connected to the $293 million Kelp exploit. 

In a proposal posted Saturday on the Arbitrum governance forum, Aave Labs said directing those funds to a planned remediation effort would “restore normal conditions for Arbitrum users” and the wider ecosystem and that the Ether on Arbitrum “represents a material contribution” toward restoring the Kelp DAO restaked ETH (rsETH) token.

The submission was made with the support of Kelp DAO, LayerZero, Ether.fi and Compound, four of the several crypto protocols affected by the hack.

DeFi United sees $21 million in contributions

The proposal comes days after Aave Labs and others set up the “DeFi United” on Friday in an effort to fully restore the backing of rsETH.

Dune Analytics data shows that about $21 million in contributions has already been made, with contributions including those from Aave Labs CEO Stani Kulechov, Aave Labs head of contracts Emilio Frangella, Kelp DAO, Golem Foundation, Web3 development platform BGD Labs and Babylon, a Bitcoin-native DeFi protocol.

Another $215 million has been pledged by Arbitrum, Mantle, Ether.fi and Lido to assist the recovery effort, which are subject to governance votes.

LayerZero, Ethena, Ink Foundation and Frax Finance have also signaled their intention to help.

Source: Aave

Aave was hit hard by the Kelp DAO exploit, with its total value locked falling nearly $12 billion in a week after the hacker put the stolen rsETH tokens up as collateral on its lending platform to borrow wrapped Ether, leaving more than $190 million in bad debt and triggering a wave of withdrawals. 

Aave sets a seven-week timeline for the recovery plan

In the Arbitrum proposal, Aave Labs said a full recovery would not only restore rsETH’s backing but also normalize conditions for its holders, liquidity providers and borrowers on Arbitrum and across the broader DeFi ecosystem.

Even a “partial recovery would still meaningfully reduce the shortfall,” Aave Labs added.

Aave Labs has specifically asked for the 30,765 Ether to be sent to a recovery address controlled by Aave, Kelp DAO and blockchain security platform Certora. 

Aave Labs said it expects the effort to restore rsETH and compensate its holders to take about 49 days and that it would return the funds if the recovery effort falls through.

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The price of Bitcoin (BTC) could bottom out at the $57,000 level in October 2026, despite rallying by more than 29% since the low of about $60,000 in February, according to Bitcoin investor and author Michael Terpin.

Terpin told Cointelegraph that his forecast is based on the “historical average” drawdown of about one year from a market cycle top, which was reached in October 2025 when BTC surged to an all-time high above $126,000, to the cycle bottom.

Bitcoin’s price needs to reclaim the $100,000 level for the bull market to resume, which will likely occur when the price falls below the 200-week moving average, a dynamic and critical support level, he said. Terpin added: 

“There’s certainly a chance of $100,000 this year, but unlikely. It would need to combine strong exchange-traded fund (ETF) buying with what Michael Saylor is already doing at Strategy, combined with an absence of liquidations from a sharp move down.”Michael Terpin expects Bitcoin to bottom out around the $57,000 level. Source: TradingView

The forecast comes as Bitcoin’s price hovers at about $77,987, and crypto assets continue to be pressured by volatile oil prices, the war in Iran and a lack of liquidity, as interest rates in the US remain unchanged. 

Current Bitcoin rally might be a fake out, says analyst

Ahead of this week's Federal Open Market Committee meeting (FOMC), 99.5% of traders expect no interest rate cut, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

The target rate probabilities ahead of the April FOMC meeting. Source: CME

“Wednesday is (Jerome) Powell's almost certain last FOMC meeting as Fed Chair. The Rate decision is almost certainly a hold flat,” market analyst Nic Puckrin said. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell's term as head of the central bank ends next month.

The lack of “euphoria or interest” from crypto market investors amid the Bitcoin rally since February signals that investors view it as a limited rally, with a return to the downside expected, according to crypto market analyst Matthew Hyland.

“It does appear to me the larger expected consensus outcome for BTC is another leg lower by October,” he said on Saturday. Bitcoin’s price could also fall to the $73,000 level in the short term, according to Cointelegraph analysts.

If the 21-week exponential moving average (EMA) continues to be a resistance zone for Bitcoin’s price, this could also force prices to retrace to about $65,710, according to Rekt Capital.

Magazine: Bitcoin will not hit $1M by 2030, says veteran trader Peter Brandt

Michael Saylor, the co-founder of Strategy, the largest Bitcoin treasury company, as measured by total BTC holdings, signaled that the company will be boosting those holdings in the coming days.

Saylor shared a chart of the company’s Bitcoin purchase history, showing 107 BTC transactions since 2020, which has previously signaled an impending purchase.

Less than a week ago, Strategy completed its most recent BTC buy, purchasing 34,164 coins for more than $2.5 billion, bringing its total holdings to 815,061 BTC, valued at about $63.6 billion using spot market prices at the time of publication, according to the company.

Strategy's BTC purchase history. Source: Strategy Tracker

To be sure, Strategy's treasury far outpaces others pursuing a similar plan. Twenty One Capital, the second-largest publicly traded BTC treasury company, holds only 43,514 BTC, according to BitcoinTreasuries.

The company continues accumulating BTC, acting as an anchor buyer. Strategy’s BTC demand is outpacing the newly mined supply threefold, a rate that could potentially cause a supply shock if the number of coins left on exchanges continues to dwindle, according to BTC advocate Samson Mow.

As unrealized losses top $14.5B, still on track for 1M BTC treasury

The Tysons Corner, Virginia company reported an unrealized loss of $14.5 billion for the first quarter of 2026 after the price of Bitcoin plummeted from a high of more than $126,000 in October 2025 to a low of about $60,000 in February 2026.

Strategy’s average cost of acquisition is about $75,528 per BTC, according to the company. However, its BTC treasury is back above water, as the spot BTC market price at the time of publication has surged to more than $78,000.

End-of-year projections for Strategy's corporate BTC treasury. Source: Adam Livingston

Bitcoin advocate and Strategy investor Adam Livingston forecast that the company is on track to accumulate a total of 1.2 million BTC by the end of 2026.

The company’s Bitcoin purchases will be fueled by capital raised from its Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock (STRC), a yield-producing credit instrument, Livingston said, adding, “Bitcoin's price will be driven to $1 million via this mechanism.”

Sounding a note of caution on Strategy's plan, however, is Seeking Alpha blogger Rida Morwa. "MSTR is issuing preferred equity like it is going out of style, and its plan is to either keep issuing equity or to sell its assets to pay the dividends," he said last week. "This would be a wonderful plan if you knew that Bitcoin is going to be $100,000 next year."

Magazine: Bitcoin’s ‘biggest bull catalyst’ would be Saylor’s liquidation: Santiment founder

Litecoin, a layer-1 proof-of-work (PoW) blockchain network, was hit by a “zero-day” vulnerability on Saturday, which caused a 13-block reorganization of the chain, according to the Litecoin team, while other developers say the bug may have been previously known.

The bug caused a denial of service (DoS) attack on mining pools with newly updated software, suppressing their hashing power, according to an update from the Litecoin team.

This allowed older nodes to “peg out” coins to decentralized exchanges and cross-chain swap protocols, resulting in invalid transactions being posted to the network’s MimbleWimble Extension Blocks (MWEB) privacy layer, according to the team.

The updated nodes eventually regained control of the network’s hashing power, executing a 13-block reorganization that reversed the invalid transactions, which will not appear on the main chain. The bug has now been fully patched, the Litecoin team said.

Source: Litecoin on X

The incident comes amid an uptick in zero-day vulnerabilities -- that is, potential code exploits that are unknown to the software developers launching the product -- as AI systems like Anthropic’s Claude Mythos outperform human beings at identifying such attack surfaces.

Some may have had advanced knowledge of software bug

A Binance address funded the attacker earlier in the week, suggesting that they had pre-planned the attack and had knowledge of the code exploit beforehand, according to Alex Shevchenko, co-founder of Aurora, a layer-2 scaling network. He said:

“The fact that protocol automatically handled the reorg once DoS stopped, which is great, means that some portion of the hashrate was actually running an updated code. Thus, this bug was known, and it's not a zero-day.”

“The timing and targeting suggest this wasn't a random opportunity,” blockchain developer Vadim said in response, adding, “Low hashrate layer 1’s are not safe collateral for cross-chain value anymore.” 

Source: Vadim (@zacodil on X)

Cross-chain bridges, which transfer digital assets between different blockchain protocols, have long been a major attack surface in crypto, causing billions of dollars in losses over the years.

The most recent high-profile example of a bridge exploit was the April 18 attack on the Kelp restaking protocol, which earlier this month left the platform drained of about $293 million.

Magazine: AI-driven hacks could kill DeFi — unless projects act now

The recent crypto market downturn has forced more than one in three crypto traders to cut everyday spending, according to a new survey by CEX.IO.

The survey, conducted among 1,100 US-based active CEX.IO users, shows the current market slump is straining household finances, though it remains less severe than 2022, when Bitcoin fell by roughly 75% from its peak. Bitcoin is still about 40% below its October 2025 high, leaving many retail investors sitting on unrealised losses.

36% of respondents said they reduced everyday spending as a direct result of market conditions, with 10% describing those cuts as significant sacrifices made to maintain their positions. 37% also reported delaying or cancelling purchases due to crypto losses, including 21% who postponed major financial commitments such as buying a home, car or undertaking renovations.

Source: CEX.IO

“The 2025–2026 bear market has not produced the kind of systemic shock seen in past cycles (at least for now), but its effects appear to be showing up in quieter ways at the household level,” CEX.IO wrote.

Crypto traders navigate downturn alone

The survey revealed that many traders are managing the downturn in relative isolation. Only 5% said someone else knows the full extent and value of their holdings, while the majority either share limited information or keep their positions entirely private.

Financial strain is also evident in cash flow trends. While 77% said they did not take on debt tied to crypto, 38% reported some form of financial disruption since October 2025. A quarter said they relied on savings to maintain stability, and 12% admitted to missing or delaying payments.

Source: CEX.IO

Even so, most respondents have not changed plans dramatically. Nearly half reported that crypto makes up more than 30% of their investable assets, yet 73% said their approach to earning income remains unchanged.

Looking ahead, a combined 79% said they plan to either hold or increase their positions over the next six months.

Crypto offerings shape bank choice

Another survey by Börse Stuttgart Digital earlier this week found that cryptocurrency services are starting to influence how European investors choose their banks, with 35% saying they would consider switching institutions for better crypto offerings.

The poll of around 6,000 investors across Germany, Italy, Spain and France also found that nearly one in five expects their primary bank to provide crypto access within three years, pointing to a gradual shift toward integrating digital assets into mainstream banking.

Magazine: How to fix suspected insider trading on Polymarket and Kalshi

The Ethereum Foundation has moved to unwind part of its staking position shortly after nearing its stated goal of 70,000 staked ETH.

On Saturday, the Ethereum Foundation unstaked 17,035.326 ETH, worth roughly $40 million, according to Arkham data. The move involved depositing wrapped staked ETH (wstETH) into Lido’s unstETH contract, with ETH expected to be returned once the withdrawal queue completes.

In Ethereum, unstaking is the process of withdrawing ETH that was previously locked to help secure the network through validators. When ETH is staked, it’s deposited into the Ethereum Beacon Chain, where it remains locked while earning rewards. To unstake, a withdrawal request is initiated, and the funds enter a queue period after which the funds are released.

Source: Arkham

The Ethereum Foundation has not yet revealed why it unstaked 17,000 ETH, prompting some users to speculate it could be preparing to sell. “The biggest seller of ETH continues to be the people who created ETH,” one user wrote.

Ethereum Foundation nears 70K staked ETH goal

The EF started staking ETH after updating its policy in June 2025. At the time, the foundation said that staking and decentralized finance participation would help fund protocol research, development and ecosystem grants.

Since February, the foundation has steadily expanded its position, staking 2,016 ETH initially, followed by 22,517 ETH in March. Earlier this month, the foundation staked more than 45,000 ETH in a series of transactions, bringing the total to around 69,500 ETH, just shy of its internal 70,000 ETH staking target.

However, concerns remain over governance risks. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has cautioned that large-scale staking by the foundation could complicate neutrality during potential contentious hard forks, where competing chains may emerge.

DeFi protocols unite to back rsETH

As Cointelegraph reported, decentralized finance protocols have joined forces to stabilize rsETH after a $293 million exploit on the Kelp restaking platform triggered market disruption. The incident involved hackers stealing over 116,000 restaked ETH tokens and using them as collateral to borrow funds, leaving roughly $195 million in bad debt on Aave and straining the broader DeFi lending market.

Backers have pledged over 43,500 ETH (around $101 million) in a coordinated “DeFi United” effort led by Aave, with participation from Lido DAO, Golem Foundation and major contributions from EtherFi Foundation and Mantle.

Magazine: Ethereum’s Fusaka fork explained for dummies: What the hell is PeerDAS?

Donald Trump’s official TRUMP memecoin extended its decline on Saturday, even as he hosted a closed-door gathering for top holders of the cryptocurrency at Mar-a-Lago.

The token is currently trading at around $2.67, down by nearly 10% over the past day, according to data from CoinMarketCap. It is also down by more than 96% compared to its all-time high of $75.35 registered in early 2025.

The downturn comes despite efforts to maintain visibility through high-profile events. The Saturday event brought together 297 of the largest TRUMP investors for what was billed as the “most exclusive” crypto and business conference, with a smaller group of 29 attending a VIP reception and champagne toast, according to The Independent.

A previous event tied to TRUMP holders took place in May last year, when Donald Trump organized an earlier contest-style gathering at the Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, Virginia, for the top 220 holders of his memecoin.

Trump family crypto ventures generate millions

In a report last year, Reuters claimed that the Donald Trump family generated more than $800 million from crypto asset sales in the first half of 2025, with total income reaching about $864 million. Crypto ventures made up over 90% of that revenue, per the report.

A large portion came from World Liberty Financial, which delivered roughly $463 million in token sales. The family also earned about $336 million from the TRUMP memecoin.

Source: Simon Dedic

Beyond realized income, the Trump family holds potentially billions more in unrealized gains, with total crypto-related earnings potentially exceeding $1 billion, Reuters estimated.

US Senators raise conflict concerns over Trump memecoin event

Earlier this month, Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal and Adam Schiff reportedly sent a letter to Bill Zanker, the figure behind the TRUMP memecoin, questioning whether the conference is being used to imply access to Donald Trump. The lawmakers raised concerns that promotion of the event may be tied to boosting purchases of the token.

“[O]rganizers are promoting a conference by dangling access to President Trump to potential attendees (and in doing so, are encouraging purchases of his meme coin that will generate transaction fees for the President and his family) on a day he may not actually be able to attend,” the letter said.

Magazine: Quitting Trump’s top crypto job wasn’t easy: Bo Hines

Evan Tangeman, a 22-year-old resident of California, was sentenced on Friday to 70 months in prison for his role in a criminal enterprise that stole about $263 million in cryptocurrencies from victims through social engineering scams and burglary.

Tangeman pleaded guilty to the charges in December 2025 and admitted to helping members of the criminal organization launder at least $3.5 million in illicit funds, according to the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) announcement.

He also received three years of supervised release in addition to his prison sentence for his role in the scheme, the DOJ said. 

“This criminal enterprise was built on greed so brazen it borders on the cartoonish. They stole millions, spent it on half-million-dollar nightclub tabs, Lamborghinis, and Rolexes,” Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia (DC), said. She added:

“Evan Tangeman didn't just launder the money that fueled that lifestyle. When his co-conspirators were arrested, he moved to destroy the evidence. That is consciousness of guilt, and this office and the court have treated that accordingly."

Source: US Attorney for Washington, DC

The sentence comes as losses from crypto scams and hacks reached $482 million in Q1 2026 amid an uptick in criminal organizations targeting crypto users through online social engineering scams and violent physical attacks.

France grapples with rise in violent wrench attacks

France has experienced a sharp rise in wrench attacks, which are violent physical assaults and burglaries targeting crypto users, in 2026, according to Pavel Durov, co-founder of the Telegram messaging platform.

There have been 41 kidnappings of French crypto holders in the first quarter of 2026 alone, Durov said in an X post.

He attributed the rise in violent theft to tax data leaks that expose the holdings and identities of crypto holders in the country and accused French officials of selling this tax data to organized criminals.

Source: Pavel Durov

Speaking at Paris Blockchain Week in April, Jean-Didier Berger, minister delegate to the interior minister of France, said the government would roll out “preventative measures” to mitigate the number of wrench attacks in the country.

Magazine: How to fix suspected insider trading on Polymarket and Kalshi

Several members of the Bitcoin community cast doubt on the US government’s understanding of the Bitcoin network after a high-ranking military official told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that the US government runs a Bitcoin node.

“Our research into Bitcoin is as a computer science tool. It's the combination of cryptography, a blockchain, and a proof of work,” US Navy Admiral Samuel Paparo told the Senate Armed Services Committee. 

Bitcoin educator and advocate Matthew Kratter said that it sounded like the admiral was reading from the Bitcoin “Wikipedia page,” casting doubt on Paparo and US Senator Tommy Tuberville’s knowledge of the protocol. Kratter added:

“This is actually pretty embarrassing. These two guys are talking about something they don't understand. And when he says that, it's a way of ‘projecting power,’ or that it's a ‘computer science tool,’ he never really talks about what he means.”

“All I could think is they're saying absolutely nothing,” Kratter continued. Lola Leetz, a journalist at The Rage, said that Paparo’s Senate testimony was “babbling.” 

Samuel Paparo testifies before the US Senate Armed Services Committee. Source: US Senate Armed Services Committee

The testimony followed the Iranian government's announcement that it would accept Bitcoin for shipping tolls through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway through which about 20% of the global oil supply passes, strengthening BTC’s case as a strategic asset. 

Current geopolitical tensions highlight the role of Bitcoin as a strategic asset

Iran’s government is accepting oil tolls in Chinese Yuan, US dollar-pegged stablecoins and Bitcoin, but prefers dollar-pegged stablecoins, Sam Lyman, head of research at digital asset advocacy organization Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI), told Cointelegraph. 

However, stablecoins can still be frozen at the smart-contract level by the issuer, Lyman said, whereas Bitcoin cannot be frozen because there is no central issuer. 

Transactions carried out by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps account for nearly half of the total crypto market volume in Iran. Source: BPI

“This is one of the most significant situations where Bitcoin is very clearly a strategic asset,” he told Cointelegraph.

“The reason why Iran wants to use Bitcoin for these transactions is that no one can freeze Bitcoin. No one can shut down the Bitcoin network,” he added. 

Magazine: Is China hoarding gold so yuan becomes global reserve instead of USD?

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed a lawsuit against New York to stop the state from applying its gambling laws to federally regulated prediction market platforms, escalating a growing clash over who has authority to oversee these products.

In a complaint lodged in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, the CFTC argued that federal law gives it exclusive authority over these markets, asking the court for a declaratory judgment and a permanent injunction against New York’s enforcement actions.

“CFTC-registered exchanges have faced an onslaught of state lawsuits seeking to limit Americans’ access to event contracts and undermine the CFTC’s sole regulatory jurisdiction over prediction markets,” CFTC Chair Michael Selig said.

Earlier this week, New York filed suits against Coinbase and Gemini, claiming their offerings violated state gambling rules. The state had also previously targeted Kalshi, ordering it to halt parts of its sports-related contracts.

States say federal law doesn’t legalize sports betting

On Friday, a coalition of 37 states and Washington, D.C. filed an amicus brief supporting Massachusetts in its case against Kalshi, urging Massachusetts’ highest court to reject Kalshi’s argument that federal law allows it to offer sports betting nationwide without following state rules.

Kalshi argues its betting products are “swaps” regulated by a federal agency under a 2010 financial law. The states say that law was never meant to legalize or control sports betting and does not clearly override state authority, which has historically governed gambling.

37 states back Massachusetts in amicus brief. Source: New York Gov

The states also argue that removing state oversight would weaken protections. State laws currently handle licensing, age limits, fraud prevention, and gambling addiction, which are areas not covered by federal financial regulation.

States ramp up crackdown on prediction markets

State officials have taken a more aggressive stance against prediction markets in recent months, issuing cease-and-desist letters and pursuing legal action against firms offering prediction contracts.

States like Arizona, Connecticut and Illinois are seeking to enforce gambling laws against prediction platforms. Earlier this month, a Nevada judge extended a ban preventing Kalshi from offering event-based contracts in the state, siding with regulators who argue the products amount to unlicensed gambling.

Magazine: How to fix suspected insider trading on Polymarket and Kalshi

Bitcoin (BTC) risked a return to $73,000 as the weekend began after bulls failed to reclaim a key trend line.

Key points:

Bitcoin price analysis increasingly sees $73,000 getting retested in the short term.

A weekly trend line has stayed in place as resistance since October 2025.

Bearish BTC price forecasts keep sub-$60,000 in play — even with a weekly close above resistance.

$73,000 in focus as BTC price retracement zone

Data from TradingView showed Bitcoin’s 21-week exponential moving average (EMA) refusing to give up control of BTC price resistance.

The moving average, which BTC/USD has traded below since October 2025, sat at $78,400 on the day.

BTC/USD one-week chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Commenting, trader and analyst Rekt Capital warned that continued rejection at the 21-week EMA would result in a reversal to retest local lows.

“Bitcoin continues to resist from the 21-week EMA (green),” he wrote in an X post alongside an explanatory chart, repeating earlier concerns. 

“Unless BTC is able to reclaim the 21-week EMA as support... Then this EMA could indeed force BTC into a post-breakout retest of the top of the Double Bottom price broke out from last week.”

BTC/USD one-week chart. Source: Rekt Capital/X

As Cointelegraph reported, the resistance forms one side of Bitcoin’s bull market support band.

Bitcoin still risks a sub-$60,000 comedown

Continuing, trader Killa, long bearish on the BTC price outlook, had fresh bad news for bulls.

Even a close above resistance at $80,000 or higher, they argued, might not be enough to save BTC/USD from new macro lows under $60,000.

“With the monthly close next week, volatility and fakeouts are likely. If May opens strong and pushes higher early in the month, there’s a good chance that move could mark the pivot high before a bearish May follows,” an X post on Friday read. 

“Either way, a close above resistance does not always mean true acceptance. In a broader macro downtrend, breaks above key levels can often be used to trap late positions.”

BTC/USD chart with key nearby levels. Source: Killa/X

Killa added that there was a “strong chance” of price revisiting $73,000. 

Brazilian authorities have moved to shut down 27 prediction market platforms, including Kalshi and Polymarket.

The decision, announced Friday, follows a directive from the Ministry of Finance and enforcement by the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), according to state-owned news outlet Agência Brasil. Authorities claimed that such services fall outside Brazil’s current legal framework and therefore operate illegally.

“We have been monitoring the evolution of this sector in Brazil, which suffered a period of anarchy because there were no rules, no oversight, from 2018 to 2022,” Finance Ministry executive secretary Dario Durigan reportedly said during a press conference at the Palácio do Planalto.

The crackdown follows Resolution 5.298 issued by Brazil’s National Monetary Council (CMN) on Friday, which takes effect in early May and sharply limits what prediction market platforms can offer. Under the new rules, contracts tied to sports, politics, entertainment, or social events are banned, as authorities consider them closer to gambling than financial investments.

Only contracts linked to economic indicators, such as inflation, interest rates, exchange rates, or commodity prices, will remain allowed and fall under financial market oversight.

Brazil flags prediction platforms as debt risk

Durigan claimed that prediction markets could deepen household debt and expose users to financial harm. “At a time when we are working to reduce debt levels among families, small businesses, and students, we must also prevent new forms of harmful indebtedness,” he said.

The blocked platforms include a mix of international and Brazil-focused services, with major names including Kalshi, Polymarket, PredictIt, Robinhood (via its forecasting feature) and Fanatics Markets.

Banned prediction markets in Brazil. Source: Agência Brasil

Other affected platforms include ProphetX, Hedgehog Markets, Novig, Polyswipe, PRED Exchange and Stride, alongside several Brazil-focused services such as Palpita, Cravei, Previsao, and MercadoPred.

More countries ban prediction markets

A growing number of jurisdictions have moved to ban prediction markets, often folding them into gambling or financial regulations. Several European nations, including France, Belgium and the Netherlands, have blocked or penalized platforms operating without authorization.

In the United States, the situation is more fragmented, with an ongoing tug-of-war between federal regulators and individual states over prediction markets.

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XRP (XRP) has rallied more than 30% in the last three months, and fresh technical and on-chain signals suggest the XRP/USD pair may have more upside ahead.

XRP/USD daily chart. Source: TradingView

Key takeaways:

Exchange outflows, positive whale flows and strong ETF demand raise XRP’s bullish outlook.

A wedge setup sees the price rising roughly 30% by June.

Nearly 35 million XRP in exchange outflows boost upside case

As of Saturday, XRP Ledger (XRPL) had recorded nearly 35 million XRP in exchange outflows in the last 24 hours, logging its sixth-largest daily outflow of the year, according to Santiment.

Large exchange outflows typically suggest investors are moving tokens into private wallets or custody, reducing the amount of XRP immediately available for sale. Earlier this year, these spikes preceded modest rallies in the XRP price.

XRP Ledger exchange outflows versus XRP price. Source: Santiment

In March, a similar spike in exchange outflows preceded a roughly 20% rebound in XRP. February’s outflow surge was followed by an even stronger move, with XRP rising about 48&–50%.

Those precedents strengthen the view that the latest withdrawal spike may lead to higher XRP prices in May.

Also, US-based spot XRP ETFs have witnessed three consecutive weeks of net inflows, totalling about $82.88 million as of Saturday, according to SoSoValue data. The streak pushed the total assets under management to $1.1 billion.

XRP ETF weekly net flows. Source: SoSoValue

This indicates an increased institutional appetite for XRP products.

Positive whale flows reinforce upside sentiment

XRP whale flows have also flipped positive, according to CryptoQuant data, suggesting larger wallets are now accumulating rather than distributing.

The 90-day moving average of XRPL whale flows has moved back above zero after spending much of early 2026 in negative territory.

XRP whale flow 30DMA. Source: CryptoQuant

Historically, positive whale-flow regimes have preceded stronger XRP price trends, including the May–July 2025 rally.

The shift supports the broader accumulation narrative already visible in exchange outflows and ETF inflows.

XRP wedge setup hints at 30% rally next

XRP’s technical structure supports the upside case.

The XRP/USD pair has spent the past two years inside a falling wedge, defined by two downward-sloping, converging trend lines. Its April rebound from the lower trend line support now raises the odds of a move toward the upper boundary.

XRP/USD weekly chart. Source: TradingView

That target zone aligns with the 50-week EMA and the 0.5 Fibonacci retracement near $1.87–$1.89, about 30% above current levels, by June.

Conversely, a decisive break below the wedge’s lower trend line risks invalidating the bullish narrative altogether.

It may instead raise the odds of the price declining toward the $0.98 mark, aligning with the wedge’s apex point and the 0.786 Fib line.

US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have extended their inflow momentum through late April, notching a nine-day streak amid growing investor conviction.

During the period, which spanned April 14 and April 24, total net inflows reached roughly $2.12 billion, with the strongest single-day performance on April 17, when funds attracted $663.91 million. April 14 and April 22 also posted robust gains of $411.50 million and $335.82 million, respectively.

The weakest day came on Friday, with a more modest $14.45 million in net inflows. BlackRock’s IBIT led the day with $22.88 million in inflows. In contrast, Fidelity’s FBTC recorded outflows of $1.69 million, while Bitwise’s BITB and ARK 21Shares’ ARKB saw withdrawals of $8.85 million and $9.02 million, respectively. Other funds, including Grayscale’s GBTC and smaller products, reported largely flat flows.

The April streak is the first nine-day run for spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs since a similar run in October, when inflows surged, including $1.21 billion on Oct. 6 and $875.6 million on Oct. 7.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs see 9-day inflow streak. Source: SoSoValue

The sustained inflows also come alongside a strengthening Bitcoin market, with BTC currently trading at $77,516.55, up 10.73% over the past month, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Bitcoin ETF investors hold firm

The recent steady stream of capital has pushed flows back into positive territory for 2026, with cumulative total net inflows reaching $58.23 billion.

This trend comes even as Bitcoin remains about 35% below its record high reached in early October, ETF analyst Nate Geraci wrote in a recent post on X. He said this pattern suggests that ETF investors are taking a longer-term approach rather than reacting to short-term volatility. The continued inflows during a market drawdown point to a more resilient investor base, often described as “diamond hands” in crypto circles.

“ETF investors proving to be longer-term allocators,” he wrote.

Ether ETFs see strong inflows

US spot Ether (ETH) ETFs also maintained a strong inflow streak from April 14 through April 22, posting nine consecutive days of net positive flows. However, the streak was broken on April 23, when funds recorded net outflows of $75.94 million.

During the nine-day run from April 14 to April 22, total inflows were consistently solid, with the strongest single-day performance on April 17, when Ether ETFs attracted $127.49 million. Other standout sessions included April 22 with $96.44 million and April 20 with $67.77 million.

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Key takeaways:

A whale linked to asset manager Fasanara Capital holds a $38 million crypto short position, but will it impact Bitcoin’s price?

Negative futures funding rates at Binance and Bybit point to unusual demand for bearish positioning despite BTC’s recent price gains.

Bitcoin (BTC) struggled to trade above $78,000 on Friday, but the overall setup remains bullish. BTC gained 29% since the $60,100 yearly low on Feb. 6, and many analysts believe it is on the verge of a longer-term breakout. At the same time, a bearish Bitcoin whale on Hyperliquid exchange has maintained a large short position. The whale has made $159 million in profits over the past seven months. Does its positioning provide any signal that the market should pay attention to? 

Hyperliquid whale profit and loss data. Source: CoinGlass

The entity behind address 0x7fda…c517d1 (also known as BobbyBigSize) on Hyperliquid exchange excelled during the market crash between October to November 2025 by placing leveraged short bets on Ether (ETH), Hyperliquid (HYPE), Avalanche (AVAX), and Fartcoin, among others. The account has failed to sustain its gains, resulting in a $561,000 loss over the past 30 days.

The whale is bullish on ETH, but bearish on BTC and altcoins

Using algorithmic trading, the whale opened short-duration long positions in Bitcoin and Solana (SOL) in the past, resulting in a staggering $11 billion in trades on Hyperliquid exchange. BobbyBigSize currently holds $19.4 million in assets deposited on the platform. 63% of its trades result in positive outcomes, which is considered highly successful.

BobbyBigSize’s current positions, USD. Source: Hyperdash

Currently, BobbyBigSize holds a $38 million short position in BTC and multiple altcoins. The trader also opened a $21 million leveraged long ETH position last week, indicating short-term confidence. Generally, the portfolio positioning is bearish, suggesting an expectation of a short-term correction.

The average trade duration for BobbyBigSize has been slightly longer than two weeks, while the median position has lasted for less than four days, according to Hyperdash data. Arkham data previously linked this address to Fasanara Capital, a London-based institutional asset manager. The company reportedly manages over $5 billion in assets.

Source: X/Arkham

According to Fasanara Digital’s website, it launched in 2018 and manages $400 million across market-neutral strategies and venture investments. In parallel, a quantitative multi-manager approach in various liquid markets manages $150 million. However, the strategy behind the fund’s approach to cryptocurrency was not clearly specified.

Hyperliquid DEX annualized funding rates. Source: Hyperliquid.xyz

Funding rates for BTC and ETH stood slightly positive on Hyperliquid, indicating moderate demand for leveraged long positions. Under neutral circumstances, longs pay 6% to 12% annualized rates to maintain their positions. Currently, funding rates are negative on Binance and Bybit, signaling unusually high demand for bearish leverage.

Algorithmic traders are erratic and unpredictable, and losses by “BobbyBigSize” over the past couple of months evidence that no single trading strategy lasts indefinitely. However, this whale’s bearish positioning aligns with the increased demand for leveraged short positions; therefore, Bitcoin traders should not discard the possibility of a retest of the $75,000 level.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned several wallets tied to Iran, resulting in authorities freezing $344 million in cryptocurrency.

In a Friday X post, Bessent said that the move by OFAC was part of the US’ efforts to “systematically degrade Tehran’s ability to generate, move, and repatriate funds.” The US and Israel launched joint airstrikes on Iran in late February.

“We will follow the money that Tehran is desperately attempting to move outside of the country and target all financial lifelines tied to the regime,” said Bessent.

Source: Scott Bessent

The Treasury Secretary’s announcement came just one day after stablecoin issuer Tether said it had frozen more than $344 million of its USDt (USDT) at the request of US authorities for “activity tied to unlawful conduct.” The company did not explicitly mention Iran at the time.

As part of a Friday notice on OFAC’s list of Specially Designated Nationals, the government agency sanctioned two crypto addresses on Tron with a

combined $344 million. Treasury officials claimed that the wallets were tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Islamist political group Hizballah. 

Iran reportedly pocketing crypto tolls for Strait of Hormuz passage

The sanctions announcement followed reports that Iran was planning to charge ships in Bitcoin (BTC) for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for transporting oil and other supplies. Forbes reported on Thursday that Iran had banked revenue from the crypto tolls.

Although US President Donald Trump said that the US was under a ceasefire agreement with Iran as of this week, tensions continue to escalate over the Strait. Iran reportedly attacked three ships using the waterway, while US naval forces have set up a blockade.

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Bitcoin developer Paul Sztorc announced on Friday that a new hard fork of the Bitcoin network called eCash will be deployed in August.

Bitcoin holders will be able to exchange their BTC for eCash at a 1:1 ratio once the hard fork is live, Sztorc said in an X post.

He added that the layer-1 node software for the chain will be a “near-copy” of the BTC Core client software and will use the SHA-256 hashing algorithm used by the Bitcoin blockchain, with a reduced initial mining difficulty to make it easier for participants to mine blocks.

Source: Paul Sztorc

The new layer-1 hard fork will also have seven layer-2 scaling networks called “drivechains,” for increased transaction throughput and optional onchain privacy, he said.

Sztorc distanced the eCash hard fork from previous attempts to hard fork the Bitcoin protocol, including Bitcoin Cash (BCH), which was created in 2017 but failed to become the dominant chain. However, the announcement drew mixed reactions.

Bitcoin community reacts to Sztorc’s announcement

“Unlike BCH, the 2017 fork, there is no ‘Bitcoin’ in the name,” Sztorc said, adding, “This is a permanent and sustainable fix to Bitcoin's problems.”

He added that the forked chain would “manually” reassign a portion of Satoshi Nakamoto’s 1.1 million BTC stash to early investors.

“Taking Satoshi coins is theft and disrespectful, and eCash is already used for Lightning payments with Cashu and Fedi. Those are poor choices,” Bitcoin advocate Peter McCormack said in response.

Source: Paul Sztorc

“I give you two or three years to fold completely,” Bitcoin advocate PakoVM said about the planned hard fork.

The announcement came amid a growing debate about Bitcoin’s tech stack and whether the protocol should introduce privacy-preserving features and post-quantum resistance.

“Back in 2017, the Bitcoin tech stack was strong, and expectations for Lightning were strong. Today, it is the reverse,” Sztorc said.

The Bitcoin Lightning Network is a layer-2 scaling solution for BTC that allows transactions to be processed within seconds, instead of waiting 10-minutes for transactions to settle to the main Bitcoin ledger.

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