DeepSeek released V4-Pro at $1.74 and $3.48 per million input and output tokens, which DeepSeek said is 98% below GPT 5.5 Pro pricing. DeepSeek said V4-Pro has 1.6 trillion parameters and that both new models support one million-token context windows.
AWS added Chainlink's data feeds, data streams, and proof-of-reserve services to AWS Marketplace, extending access to an oracle network that Chainlink said has secured $29 trillion in transaction value since 2019. AWS also published reference architectures for proof-of-reserve monitoring and real-time prediction market trading. Chainlink said its oracle networks connect smart contracts across more than 80 public and private blockchains.
U.S. Sanctions Iran-Linked Wallets After Tether Freezes $344M in USDT
The U.S. sanctioned multiple Iran-linked crypto wallets after Tether froze $344 million in USDT in coordination with OFAC and U.S. law enforcement. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the move is part of continued economic pressure on Iran. The frozen balances sat in two wallets that held about $213 million and $131 million in USDT. Tether blacklisted both addresses at the smart contract level.
U.S. Freezes $344M in Iran-Linked Crypto, Tether Assists
U.S. officials said the United States froze about $344 million in cryptocurrency tied to Iran. Tether assisted in freezing wallet addresses linked to the funds. U.S. officials said the assets had on-chain links to Iranian entities and were part of efforts to increase economic pressure on Tehran.
The White House said Vice President Vance is on standby for a possible trip to Pakistan. The White House said officials are ready to depart immediately if needed.
DOJ Ends Powell Probe, Clearing Path for Warsh as Bitcoin Traders Watch Fed
The Department of Justice ended its criminal probe into Jerome Powell over alleged cost overruns on the Fed’s $2.5 billion headquarters renovation, clearing a major obstacle to Kevin Warsh’s confirmation as the next Fed chair. Senator Thom Tillis had said he would block Warsh until the probe ended, and Senate leadership now expects a committee vote and floor confirmation before Powell’s term expires on May 15. Warsh told senators he would keep rate decisions independent from the White House, but he has also criticized the Fed’s post-pandemic rate response. Bitcoin has traded in the $70,000–$92,000 range this year as traders watched signals from the central bank.
Strategy Overtakes BlackRock's IBIT With 815,061 BTC Holdings
Strategy said it bought 34,164 BTC for about $2.54 billion, lifting its holdings to 815,061 BTC and putting it ahead of BlackRock's IBIT. The article said tracker tallies put IBIT at 802,823 BTC on April 20 and at a reported 806,700 BTC by April 24, leaving Strategy narrowly in front. Strategy also said it still has more than $26 billion of at-the-market capacity and $1.6 billion left on its STRF preferred vehicle for more purchases. JPMorgan's near-term bull case cited in the article puts Bitcoin at $170,000 over the next six to twelve months.
DOJ Charges Soldier Behind 'Burdensome-Mix' in First U.S. Polymarket Insider Trading Case
The Justice Department charged Master Sgt. Gannon Ken Van Dyke after prosecutors alleged he turned about $33,034 in Polymarket bets into about $409,881 by trading on classified information about the January raid that captured Nicolás Maduro. The indictment says Van Dyke placed 13 YES bets across four Venezuela-related contracts between December 27, 2025 and January 3, 2026. The case is the first criminal insider trading prosecution in U.S. history against a prediction market participant, and Van Dyke faces five federal counts.
Kalshi Blocked Soldier Later Charged Over Maduro Bets on Polymarket
A U.S. soldier who allegedly made more than $400,000 from 13 Polymarket bets on Nicolás Maduro's removal had earlier failed Kalshi's KYC checks. The DOJ alleged that Gannon Ken Van Dyke used a VPN from North Carolina to access Polymarket's international platform as a foreign user. Amanda Fischer of Better Markets questioned why the CFTC and DOJ did not charge Polymarket over U.S. bettors reaching the offshore venue.
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act may pass by the end of May and could set U.S. rules for classifying crypto assets. Clearer rules, along with spot XRP ETFs launched in late 2025, could support XRP adoption, while stricter rules could also reduce access.
Independent researcher Giancarlo Lelli broke a 15-bit ECC key on public quantum hardware and won a 1 BTC bounty. The demonstration was described as the largest public quantum attack demonstration to date. Estimates suggest breaking 256-bit ECC may require about 500,000 qubits and could leave around 6.9 million bitcoins exposed, highlighting the need for post-quantum upgrades.
Spark said first-quarter 2026 total protocol revenue reached $31.5 million. Net protocol revenue was $6.91 million, and net protocol surplus was $3.46 million.
Tether froze more than $344 million in USDT tied to Iran-linked addresses. The action was taken in cooperation with the U.S. government. Solid Intel linked the addresses to Iran.
DeFi Hack Loss Rate Was 85x Higher Than TradFi Relative to Volume
CryptoSlate analyst Liam Wright said DeFi lost $2.8 billion to hacks last year on $46 trillion of volume, implying a loss rate 85 times higher than traditional finance. Wright cited IBM data showing TradFi institutions lost $2.6 billion on about $35 quadrillion of transaction volume.
Paul Sztorc said his new Bitcoin hard fork, eCash, will manually reassign fewer than half of the 1.1 million Satoshi-pattern coins on the fork to investors. The project website lists a launch in approximately 119 days.
DOJ Drops Powell Probe, Easing Kevin Warsh Path to Fed Chair
The DOJ dropped its criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday, and Kalshi odds of Kevin Warsh's confirmation before May 15 jumped from about 30% to more than 80%. Republican Senator Thom Tillis had said he would block Warsh while the probe remained open, so the Senate may now move faster on Trump's nominee. Attorney General Jeanine Pirro said the Fed inspector general will review the renovation matter, and the DOJ could reopen the case if facts warrant.
XRP traded near $1.43 as a 4-hour cup-and-handle pattern pointed to a $1.6933 target if price breaks above $1.50. The analysis also highlighted a weekly golden cross and $1.30 support, while warning that a break below $1.30 would invalidate the bullish setup.
AWS Marketplace Adds Chainlink Services for Tokenized Asset Apps
AWS Marketplace added Chainlink data standards and services, giving developers and enterprises a way to connect AWS cloud infrastructure with smart contracts. The integration includes Data Feeds, Data Streams, and Proof of Reserve for market data and asset-backing attestations used in tokenized-asset applications.
Crypto groups urge SEC to formalize DeFi broker guidance
The DeFi Education Fund and 35 other crypto groups urged the SEC to turn its recent DeFi interface statement into formal rulemaking. The SEC staff statement said certain interfaces such as DeFi wallets would generally not need broker-dealer registration. The groups said informal guidance may not last and asked for clear criteria around the broker definition.
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