Cryptopolitan

Numerous security issues and growing international tensions have put the crypto industry on edge.

Law enforcement agencies throughout the world are attempting to recover digital assets worth billions of dollars that have been stolen, while a major exchange is fighting an internal extortion effort.

Kraken, a cryptocurrency exchange based in San Francisco, has admitted that two of its support staff members were found to have obtained customer data without authorization, and that a criminal group then tried to use that information to shut down the company.

The attackers threatened to broadcast the films to news outlets and share them on social media if the exchange failed to provide money.

In a post on X, Nick Percoco, Chief Security Officer at Kraken, discussed the matter and described how both incidents were found and dealt with.

The first was discovered in February 2025 when a support team member’s access was promptly terminated after the company received a tip regarding a film that was making the rounds on a criminal online forum.

Another employee was fired after a second video appeared more recently.

Regarding the degree of exposure, Percoco stated on X:

“Across both incidents, only a very small number of client accounts were potentially viewed, approximately 2,000 in total (0.02% of clients).”

He also added

“Systems were never breached; funds were never at risk; we will not pay these criminals; we will not ever negotiate with bad actors.”

Kraken stated that in order to find the culprits, it is collaborating with cybersecurity experts and federal law enforcement in a number of nations.

The business reported that this type of operation, in which thieves attempt to recruit or coerce workers at telecoms, gaming platforms, and cryptocurrency companies, is becoming increasingly prevalent throughout the sector.

Global crackdown on crypto theft gains ground

Globally, law enforcement is making strides against bitcoin theft. Large-scale cryptocurrency fraud was the target of Operation Atlantic, a coordinated effort by US, UK, and Canadian agencies.

Over $45 million in stolen money was found during the operation, and about $12 million of it was frozen.

The week-long effort focused on a tactic known as approval phishing, which is used in so-called “pig butchering” scams.

In these schemes, victims are manipulated into handing over full control of their crypto wallets to scammers.

Investigators identified more than 20,000 compromised wallet addresses spread across 30 countries and took down over 120 fake websites used in the scams.

Separately, the US government announced the seizure of more than $14 billion in Bitcoin tied to a criminal network based in Cambodia.

Geopolitical tensions drag Bitcoin below $70,000

Even if those victories are noteworthy, events outside of the cryptocurrency space have been hurting the overall market.

Following the collapse of peace talks between the United States and Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan, Bitcoin plunged below $70,000. Investors were alarmed by the breakdown, which led to a sell-off that destroyed almost $350 million in long bets.

Tensions rose further when President Donald Trump threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a move that sent Bitcoin down 3% in just two hours.

Adding to the pressure, the US Consumer Price Index climbed to 3.3% in March.

Some analysts warn that if the conflict deepens, inflation could hit 4%, which would likely push the Federal Reserve to hold off on cutting interest rates.

Oil prices have also climbed to $84 per barrel, adding to the gloomy outlook. A recovery in crypto markets, experts say, will depend on a ceasefire, oil prices falling back below $80, and better economic figures coming through.

For now, big investors are sitting on their hands, with money flowing into Bitcoin exchange-traded funds largely stalled.

The combination of high-stakes geopolitics and insider exploitation shows that the biggest weaknesses in cryptocurrency are still human-centric rather than solely algorithmic.

Bitcoin’s price stability is now linked to both network security and international diplomacy as it increasingly resembles traditional macro assets.

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Saudi Arabia’s cryptocurrency market is estimated to hit nearly $50 billion USD by 2034. It was last valued at nearly $25 billion USD in 2025.

The valuation of Saudi Arabia’s cryptocurrency market is projected to nearly double over the next 8 years, according to a report by IMARC Group. Between 2026 and 2034, the firm expects the Saudi Arabian crypto market size to grow at a CAGR of 7.51% from $24.9 billion at the end of 2025 to $47.8 billion by 2034.

This rapid expansion reflects a larger shift towards digital assets, blockchain technology, and fintech adoption within the Kingdom. Increased institutional investment, rising youth interest in cryptocurrencies, and the emergence of DeFi and blockchain solutions in numerous industries have also contributed to this trend.

Regardless, as this growth accelerates, it is clear that Saudi Arabia is quickly positioning itself to become a global hub for cryptocurrency innovation.

A movement driven by a changing world financial order

At the heart of Saudi Arabia’s cryptocurrency market expansion is Vision 2030. This is a long-term plan for the Kingdom to transform its economy by diversifying away from its current reliance on oil. This initiative was launched by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in 2016 to modernize both the Saudi Arabian economy and society.

Cryptocurrency innovation has naturally begun to play a large role in this transformative movement. Saudi Arabia’s progressive approach to digital assets and blockchain technology has created a very welcoming environment for different financial institutions involved or interested in the crypto industry.

This new economic environment, fostered by Vision 2030, has created ideal conditions for these different businesses and start-ups to set up shop and grow within the country. This movement has also attracted significant foreign investment into cryptocurrency projects based in Saudi Arabia.

Outside of this, major financial institutions in the kingdom have begun diversifying their portfolios by exploring digital assets and blockchain technology. The ability to operate with minimal regulatory barriers makes Saudi Arabia an attractive destination for businesses in the crypto industry.

The Saudi Arabian Central Bank also joined the mBridge (Multiple CBDC Bridge) project in June 2024, in collaboration with countries such as the UAE, Thailand, and China. This project aims to create a shared platform where countries can use CBDCs to transact directly with each other, settling payments near-instantly on the blockchain. It improves the efficiency of financial transactions between nations and can be seen as a way for participating nations to reduce reliance on U.S.-Dollar-Dominated systems.

A further look into Saudi Arabia’s rapidly expanding crypto market

Under Vision 2030, the Saudi Arabian government now supports various blockchain initiatives in the country, which has greatly increased adoption of the technology. A number of different industries beyond finance have implemented blockchain technology in their business operations, notably supply chain management companies. Vision 2030 also encourages cashless transactions, which has naturally created a lane for cryptocurrency payments to be used in everyday transactions.

Recent reports from the Saudi Press Agency indicate that nearly 70% of Saudi Arabia’s population is under 35. The large younger demographic has been shown to naturally be more inclined to experiment with new technologies, adding another driving factor to the expansion of the country’s cryptocurrency market.

Additionally, the integration of cryptocurrency and gaming has become highly popular with younger demographics in Saudi Arabia. Vision 2030 emphasized government investment in online gaming and eSports. Play-to-earn models and in-game crypto transactions are rapidly growing in popularity amongst the country’s dominant younger demographic.

 

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Coinone exchange has received a three-month partial suspension from South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) for violating anti-money laundering regulations. 

Another regulatory body in the country, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is simultaneously cracking down on automated trading programs that are being used to manipulate markets and investors. 

The FIU sanctions Coinone

South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) confirmed a sanctions notice against the local exchange Coinone. The FIU imposed a three-month partial business suspension on the exchange starting April 29, alongside a fine of 5.2 billion won (approximately $3.49 million). 

The sanctions are due to an on-site inspection that was conducted between April and May 2025. The FIU identified that Coinone facilitated approximately 10,113 virtual asset transfer transactions with 16 overseas operators that were not registered or reported under the Specific Financial Information Act (Special Fund Act). 

Furthermore, the exchange was found guilty of systemic lapses in customer verification. The total violations amount to roughly 70,000 cases, including 40,000 instances of improper ID verification and 30,000 failures to restrict transactions for unverified users. 

During Coinone’s three-month suspension, new customers will be prohibited from depositing or withdrawing virtual assets. However, existing customers can continue trading and using fiat (KRW) services normally. 

The FIU also issued an official reprimand to Coinone CEO Cha Myung-hoon.

In response, Coinone stated that it is “strictly aware” of the decision and is pursuing improvements to address the deficiencies pointed out. The exchange added that it has not yet decided whether to file an administrative lawsuit against the FIU, stating it will “carefully review it through the board of directors.”

The sanction against Coinone is similar to the 6-month partial suspension that was imposed on its rival Bithumb in March for AML violations. The National Assembly passed amendments to the AML laws in January, expanding background checks to major shareholders of exchanges to prevent financial crimes.

Can South Korean users use API trading programs?

The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) revealed that it has launched a targeted investigation into unfair trading practices involving automated trading programs or application programming interfaces (APIs). 

APIs reportedly account for roughly 30% of all transaction volumes in the Korean virtual asset market currently, but authorities suspect they are being weaponized to defraud retail investors. 

The FSS shared specific cases of manipulation to warn the public, such as the “painting the tape” scheme, where a suspect used an API to repeatedly buy and sell small amounts between 5,000 to 10,000 won ($3.50 to $7.00) to create an illusion of high trading volume. 

Simultaneously, they manually placed high-priced buy orders to drive up the price, and once general investors followed the trend, the suspect sold their holdings for a profit.

Another suspect, Suspect B, used the API to automate high-priced purchases to push the market price to a pre-set target, allowing them to sell at inflated levels. 

The FSS has also warned about “spoofing” tactics where users place large fake orders via APIs and cancel them immediately to trick the market about supply and demand. 

The FSS has warned general investors to be wary of coins that see sudden, short-term spikes in volume and price without news. They also warned API users against sharing “high-frequency single-share sales codes” on social media, as regulators view these as abnormal orders. 

“If an excessive repeated sales account is confirmed, we will promptly conduct a planned investigation and take strict measures,” the FSS warned.

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Strategy acquired another 13,927 BTC, sticking to its recent approach of large-scale buying. The new purchase, valued at $1B, follows another week of successful STRC preferred stock sales. 

Strategy continued its weekly purchases, adding 13,927 more BTC at an average price of $71,902 per BTC. 

Strategy has acquired 13,927 BTC for ~$1.00 billion at ~$71,902 per bitcoin and has achieved BTC Yield of 5.6% YTD 2026. As of 4/12/2026, we hodl 780,897 $BTC acquired for ~$59.02 billion at ~$75,577 per bitcoin. $MSTR $STRChttps://t.co/7y8pwgdTdk

— Strategy (@Strategy) April 13, 2026

The recent purchase still leaves Strategy holdings underwater, but the bear market has not stopped the company from making large-scale purchases. 

Strategy remains among the few playbook companies to keep adding BTC rapidly and without pause. 

Strategy relies on STRC to expand the treasury

The recent raise of over $1B is unique, as it is the first one to rely entirely on STRC issuance, with no added MSTR minting. Usually, Strategy supplemented its preferred stock with more MSTR dilution. 

This time, Strategy sold enough STRC to fund its entire weekly purchase, as demand for preferred stock increased. STRC has been trading around the $100 target price for two months now, allowing Strategy to perform regular raises. The current interest rate for STRC is at 11.5%. 

The recent BTC expansion increased Strategy’s mNAV metric to 1.12, a healthier ratio. However, the company is now saddled with $1.2B in annual dividends, growing each time more STRC is sold. Strategy has spent over $59B to build its treasury, which is now valued at around $55.3B, as BTC traded below $71,000.

Michael Saylor still sees BTC as a long-term treasury bet

Strategy’s Executive Chairman, Michael Saylor, commented on signs that BTC adoption has stalled. Saylor explained that the initial BTC rally was boosted by equities and that the current period is driven by digital credit. 

Saylor stated he maxed out bonds but is now purely in the fixed-income stage, with greater legs to convert more fiat to BTC.

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Bitcoin to $21M. Strategy as a digital credit machine. An “8% bank account” for a billion people.

Michael @saylor joins Bankless for the first time to unpack:

– Bitcoin becomes digital capital
– Strategy’s… pic.twitter.com/SPG0ZPZQHl

— Bankless (@Bankless) April 13, 2026

Saylor also mentioned the BTC treasury is a less volatile asset, which may continue to attract STRC buyers. He also believes capital for BTC may come from too-big-to-fail banks. 

According to Saylor, the playbook may remain viable if BTC appreciates by just 2.02% annually. Even a relatively small bull market may put all of Strategy’s treasury in the green and invite more buying. 

Following the latest large purchase, Strategy’s common stock MSTR recovered above $130, its highest level for the past week. For now, despite Strategy’s buying up spare BTC supply, the company has not managed to spark a BTC rally, even as it claims to have entered a new type of financing cycle.

As of April, only Strive, Inc. follows the digital credit playbook with its SATA preferred stock, which offers an annualized yield of 13%. For now, preferred shares with high yields are performing as needed, but pressure from skeptics and short sellers can force companies to raise yields and make their playbook less viable. 

 

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American musician Garrett Dutton, also known as G. Love of G. Love & Special Sauce, has had all his Bitcoin stolen in a hack. According to reports, he has lost 5.92 BTC worth roughly $424,000 from his retirement savings. 

How? He entered his seed phrase into a fake Ledger Live app from Apple’s Mac App Store while setting up a new computer. “All my BTC gone in an instant,” he lamented on X.

G Love hacked in a fake Ledger app scam

According to G Love, the malicious app he downloaded prompted him to enter his 24-word seed phrase. Shortly after, hackers drained all his BTC. Garrett Dutton has since confirmed that only his Bitcoin holdings were affected, not anything else. 

According to on-chain detective ZachXBT, the stolen BTC was laundered through KuCoin. One X user asked ZachXBT about the possibility of recovering the stolen BTC, to which ZachXBT expressed uncertainty. 

He states, “Kucoin has an ongoing problem with illicit services abusing broker/personal accounts, which compliance does nothing to regulate. Given its numerous deposit addresses, it’s likely one of those instant exchanges.”

ZachXBT traces stolen Bitcoin to KuCoin.

According to ZachXBT, this is evidenced by the loss of an important Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license from the European Union that the exchange obtained only three months prior, and lost in February 2026.

Some investors have called G Love a liar, and some a not-so-wise trader. This is considering Ledger’s stance on its wallets. According to the firm, its wallet is only available through Ledger.com. In addition, the wallet is not listed on any app store. To that end, any Ledger app on any consumer store is a fake.

All notices requesting that traders upgrade or install a new version of Ledger Live or Trezor Suite must be considered a scam unless proven otherwise.

The hack has triggered urgent warnings from Beau, the head of security for the popular NFT project Pudgy Penguins. He asserts, “You will NEVER need to enter your hardware wallet seedphrase on an internet-connected device (laptop, phone, smart fridge, etc.). If you’re restoring a wallet, always do so by entering your seed phrase on a hardware wallet device directly.”

According to him, crypto fake apps are often distributed by email, fake ads, and snail mail. 

Ledger CEO issues a warning on AI coding agents getting hacked

According to Ledger, AI coding agents are now being hacked through the very tools they rely on. Data shows that private keys and seed phrases have been exposed at the software layer.

In the newest edition of their podcast entitled “AI Agent With a Wallet. What Could Go Wrong?”, Ledger engineers explain how it won’t be long before AI agents are entrusted with managing the money for the sake of their owners.

The conversation is based on Ledger’s involvement in the recent Circle USDC OpenClaw Hackathon, which took place on Moltbook, a website designed as a social networking platform for AI agents. 

Ledger’s engineering team, with Kio Matias (Head of Product) and engineer Philip Barald included, highlighted that this technology makes the human no longer a permanent operator but rather an “architect.”

Recently, researchers discovered 26 third-party AI LLM routers that secretly inject malicious tool calls and steal credentials. 

26 third-party AI LLM routers now injecting malicious tool calls and stealing credentials. 

Despite having plaintext access to all in-flight JSON payloads, none of these routers use any form of cryptography to ensure message integrity from client to upstream model server.

These attacks are classified into two fundamental categories: payload injection (AC-1) and secret exfiltration (AC-2). This is in addition to two adaptive evasion attack types: dependency-targeted injection (AC-1.a) and conditional delivery (AC-1.b). 

The 28 paid routers are from Taobao, Xianyu, and Shopify-based marketplaces, and 400 free routers were found online through public channels. 

Researchers have found that seemingly legitimate APIs attack at the surface: a leaked OpenAI credential was responsible for 100 million GPT-5.4 tokens and 7 Codex queries, and poorly configured decoys generated 2 billion billed tokens, 99 credentials across 440 Codex queries, and 401 autonomous YOLO queries.

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South Korea’s Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) has made a request to the Ministry of Health and Welfare to ensure fairness when reviewing who qualifies for basic pension. 

Meanwhile, the Bank of Korea (BoK) is pushing for strict new safety rules, including the introduction of “circuit breakers” for the crypto industry following the February Bithumb incident.

BAI demands fair pension payments 

South Korea’s Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) has officially requested that the Ministry of Health and Welfare amend its laws to allow virtual assets to be included in the property calculation for the country’s basic pension review.

The BAI released its report on the Actual Status of Monitoring the Operation and Management of the Senior Welfare System. In it, the agency explained that digital assets have clear economic value and that, because the Basic Pension Act does not list them as property, people who own large amounts of digital assets might still qualify for basic pension payments. 

The basic pension is a government subsidy provided to low-income elderly people in South Korea. The BAI argued that digital assets should be treated like any other asset. 

“Even if digital assets are a new form of financial assets that are different from existing financial assets, there is no reason to look at their property value differently,” the audit report stated.

Officials from the Ministry of Health and Welfare agreed with this finding, stating that it is necessary to prevent the payment of basic pensions to relatively high-income earners who do not fall under the lowest 70% of income brackets. 

Currently, there are no legal means for authorities to request information on digital asset holdings from exchanges, prompting the BAI to request that the Ministry revise the law to create a system where this data can be requested and verified.

Strict rules introduced, following Bithumb’s incident

Today, the Bank of Korea released its annual payment and settlement report. The report reviewed the February incident in which a Bithumb employee mistakenly paid out 620,000 Bitcoin (BTC), worth about $42 billion at the time, to customers as a prize, instead of 620,000 won (approximately $460).

The BoK identified a lack of internal controls as the main cause. Employees could pay out Bitcoin without approval from a superior or confirmation from the monitoring department. The exchange also only checked its internal ledger against the actual blockchain balance once a day. 

Cryptopolitan previously reported that a 5-minute reconciliation system to confirm that the balance on an exchange’s ledger is the same as the balance in its wallets is underway. 

The central bank is now requiring crypto exchanges to implement a double-verification system that automatically detects input errors. The BoK also wants IT systems that can check internal and blockchain balances in real-time to block erroneous payments caused by human error. 

The BoK also suggested that lawmakers consider introducing “circuit breakers” for crypto exchanges, similar to those on the Korean stock exchange (KRX) that halt trading when sudden price fluctuations or large, abnormal mass orders occur. 

Beyond introducing stricter regulations, the Bank of Korea is moving forward with plans to build a digital currency ecosystem. 

Shin Hyun-song, the nominee for the Governor of the Bank of Korea, submitted a written response to the National Assembly stating that a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and commercial bank deposit tokens should be the core of the digital currency ecosystem.

“I basically agree with the introduction of domestic won stable coins,” candidate Shin wrote. He went on to say that “maintaining trust in currency is still the most important.” 

Shin stated that, unlike the United States or Europe, South Korea is not a base currency. Therefore, compliance with regulations like customer confirmation and anti-money laundering is very important. He suggested that in the initial stages of issuing a won stablecoin, only a consortium of banks should be allowed before access is gradually expanded.

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London, United Kingdom, April 13, 2026 — Uquid, the leading global digital commerce infrastructure powered by stablecoin rails, today announced the launch of Uquid Tickets on the TRON network, designating TRON as the exclusive primary blockchain for purchasing verified event tickets with digital assets. The platform enables users to buy tickets for football matches, international tournaments, concerts, festivals, and live events worldwide using TRC-20 USDT and other digital assets on TRON.

The launch addresses a structural gap in the live events market, which is projected to surpass $900 billion by 2030, yet remains burdened by high fees, slow settlement, and fraud risk. TRON’s blockchain-based payment infrastructure offers immutable, verifiable transactions that settle in seconds, providing both ticketing operators and buyers with greater transparency and efficiency.

Uquid Tickets builds on TRON’s proven dominance within the Uquid ecosystem. According to Uquid’s Crypto Shopping Report 2025, TRON processed 48% of all crypto shopping transactions on the platform, up from 42.5% in 2024, peaking at 54% in the first half of the year. USDT on TRON accounted for 54% to 60% of all stablecoin transaction volume on the platform, with physical goods orders rising 64% year-on-year in Q3 2025, reinforcing TRON’s position as the leading network for everyday real-world crypto payments.

“TRON has consistently powered nearly half of our entire 2025 shopping volume and dominates stablecoin activity on our platform,” said Baobie Vo, Head of Business Development at Uquid. “Launching Uquid Tickets exclusively optimized for the TRON network was the obvious next step. We’re excited to give TRON users unmatched speed and near-zero fees to turn their crypto into unforgettable real-life experiences faster and cheaper than on any other chain.”

Tickets are delivered instantly upon blockchain confirmation, leveraging TRON’s high-speed block confirmation and throughput of up to 2,000 transactions per second. The integration also opens a direct spending pathway for stablecoin holders across emerging markets, where TRON commands its highest regional shares on the Uquid platform: 45% in Latin America, 35% in Africa, and 25% in Asia.

“Uquid Tickets highlights how TRON’s infrastructure enables seamless, real-world utility,” said Sam Elfarra, Community Spokesperson for the TRON DAO. “It brings users closer to spending digital assets on experiences that matter, with the efficiency and scale TRON is known for.”

Get Started on Uquid Tickets:

Browse: Visit Uquid Tickets to explore global events.

Select & Pay: Choose an event and seats, then purchase with USDT on TRON or other supported tokens. No account registration is required; users just have to connect their wallet and confirm payment to receive their verified ticket within seconds.

Receive Instantly: Verified tickets are delivered instantly upon on-chain confirmation. 

As Uquid and TRON continue to develop agentic payment capabilities, the Uquid Tickets platform is creating a strong foundation for AI-assisted and automated ticket purchasing. This integration enables smart, hands-free experiences such as automated ticket buying based on budget, and smart tracking for favorite teams, artists, and events. By combining TRON’s scalable infrastructure with AI intelligence, Uquid is making event ticketing simpler, faster, and more personalized than ever.

About Uquid

Uquid is a decentralized Web3 shopping and payment infrastructure enabling users to spend 100+ cryptocurrencies on millions of digital and physical products, services, and now live events. It bridges digital assets with real-world utility across leading blockchains.

Media Contact

Maeve Vu

pr@uquid.com

About TRON DAO

TRON DAO is a community-governed DAO dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and dApps.

Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON blockchain has experienced significant growth since its MainNet launch in May 2018. Until recently, TRON hosted the largest circulating supply of USD Tether (USDT) stablecoin, which currently exceeds $86 billion. As of April 2026, the TRON blockchain has recorded over 374 million in total user accounts, more than 13 billion in total transactions, and over $26 billion in total value locked (TVL), based on TRONSCAN. Recognized as the global settlement layer for stablecoin transactions and everyday purchases with proven success, TRON is “Moving Trillions, Empowering Billions.”

TRONNetwork | TRONDAO | X | YouTube | Telegram | Discord | Reddit | GitHub | Medium | Forum

Media Contact

Yeweon Park

press@tron.network

The crypto funding landscape entered a new paradoxical phase, with the number of venture capital firms leading capital-raising rounds dropping sharply from pre-2022 peaks, even as the dollars raised have steadily recovered from the depths of 2022, when major events shocked the markets and sent institutional-grade backers and participants running for the hills. 

According to funding data referenced by Tom Dunleavy, head of venture at Varys Capital, the balance of power has tilted heavily toward crypto venture capital firms, with investors now having their pick of the field, the polar opposite of the 2021-2022 period when firms had to actively court projects to accept their funds instead of the other offers on the table. 

However, despite the reduced level of activity, the deals being closed are now bigger, with the firms that have proven the viability of their business models still getting the big bucks, as Cryptopolitan previously reported.

The venture capital landscape has moved on from 2022 FOMO

John Nahas, who is listed as Chief Business Officer at Ava Labs, backed up Dunleavy, noting that only 377 unique investors were involved in deals over the last quarter (about 90 days), compared to nearly 5,500 participants for the whole of 2022. 

While the comparison puts one quarter against four, the numbers show that the roster has shrunk several sizes. The slowest month of 2022, December, still featured 361 unique investors, compared to the 414 in the 2026 data to date. 

For Dunleavy, the biggest thing is how “VCs basically have the pick of the deal they want,” compared to pre-2022, when they had to be constantly “networking/writing/podcasting/going on spaces/” to convince projects to say yes to their checks. 

Now, “most firms are either out of money or are having difficulties raising funds. Those who have money are no longer funding dreams; instead, they reserve their backing for funding Series A and other advanced rounds where projects have proven the viability of their products.

In that regard, pre-seed funding rounds have seen a steady decline over the last three years, accounting for 8.55% of deals to just 6.61% in the past year. 

Also, now that firms no longer have money burning holes in their pockets, the scrutiny has increased. According to Dunleavy, “Deals that used to close in 2-3 weeks now close in 2-3 months,” as VCs now have “more time to do DD.”

Why did the music stop?

The high-profile crashes of FTX and Terra Luna in 2022 prompted predictable overcorrections as market participants reassessed their risk profiles, prompting institutions and retail to pull out, as JP Richardson, CEO of Exodus (NYSE: EXOD), pointed out on X over the weekend. 

Big backers reserve funding dollars for high-performers

With 2022 as an inflection point, crypto funding stats endured lean years in 2023 and 2024 before staging a resurgence in 2025. In March 2025, firms raised $5.6 billion across 142 funding rounds, according to CryptoRank data. Funding rounds for the 2025 year peaked at 145 in February, while 2026’s 100-round peak came in March. 

Crypto fundraising is staging a recovery since 2025. Source: CryptoRank

According to Cryptopolitan, total funding in 2025 ranged between $40-50 billion, up from $9.33-13.5 billion in 2024. 

Research by Galaxy Digital confirms that funds are now being directed to proven projects, noting: “big dollars going to bigger, later-stage companies.” 

The 57% of capital that went to later-stage companies in 2025 was the largest on record, and that trend has persisted into 2026. 

Crypto VC capital is now reserved for later-stage companies. Source: Galaxy Research

As Cryptopolitan reported, VC funding staged a comeback in March, with Coinbase Ventures and Animoca Brands leading after consecutive slower months to start the year. Predictably, a healthy chunk of the activity went to late-stage projects in undisclosed rounds.  

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Circle’s CEO, Jeremy Allaire, warned that USDC will not be frozen outside legal cases. The decision comes amid warnings that Circle could be more active in preventing hacking losses. 

Circle will not freeze USDC without a court order, stated CEO Jeremy Allaire at a press conference in Seoul, South Korea. Circle still aims to remain among the most influential stablecoin issuers, but its position has exposed it to potential responsibility in the case of hacks. 

Since USDC is highly liquid and distributed in multiple pairs and lending vaults, it is often withdrawn in attacks and exploits. 

Circle has previously frozen multiple wallets, but only after a court order, as in the case of LIBRA tokens. Freezing or holding USDC now depends on specialized protocols that block withdrawals under their internal rules or smart contracts. 

Circle left Drift Protocol hack and swaps to continue

The news that USDC was freezeable sparked mixed reactions in the crypto community. Overall, the ability to claw back funds from hacks was seen as a positive development. Even censorship-free USDT tokens applied limited freezes. 

In the case of Drift Protocol, some of the exploit addresses were identified within the first hours of the hack, but Circle did nothing to freeze the funds. Immediate swaps through DeFi allowed the exploiter to disguise some of the funds. 

The Drift Protocol exploiter began spending portions of the available USDC to buy ETH, which could then be mixed to make tracing nearly impossible. 

Token freezes slowed down in 2026

Compared to previous years, token freezes declined in 2025 and early 2026. In the past quarter, most attacks targeted DeFi protocols, which operate under much weaker oversight. 

In some Web3 cases, Circle only blacklisted and froze addresses months after the exploit, after the funds were moved and laundered. 

Circle freezes peaked in 2025, but overall, the stablecoin issuer has been more reluctant to freeze funds compared to Tether. | Source: Dune Analytics

To date, USDC has frozen only 602 addresses, totaling 2,886 wallets for Tether’s USDT. In 2026, Circle froze 122 addresses, with 109 in February alone. Analysts noted that Circle’s indecision and long wait times may make USDC even more appealing to hackers. 

The solution to Circle refusing to freeze funds for anything other than a court order is not to carve out a bunch of exceptions, it’s to create a Chancery court that moves at the speed of the internet

— nic carter (@nic_carter) April 13, 2026

Scanning for suspicious addresses is not automated or facilitated by AI; it depends on ad hoc systems for notification and decision-making. As a result, researcher ZachXBT noted crypto has lost up to $420M in USDC since 2022 for failing to act when directed to known exploit addresses. 

USDC is not only stolen in major hacks. As more wallets adopt the stablecoin, they also become victims of address poisoning and dusting. USDC is among the tokens most often targeted for exploits due to its high adoption rate and liquidity through both DeFi and centralized exchanges.

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United Kingdom Member of Parliament Nigel Farage has added £2 million ($2.7 million) in Bitcoin to his wealth portfolio. According to reports, he made the purchase through Stack, a listed UK Bitcoin treasury firm. 

Per the April 13 announcement, Nigel Farage has become the first-ever MP and the first-ever UK political party leader to invest in Bitcoin for trade.

Nigel Farage goes heavy on Bitcoin

Farage’s Bitcoin purchase has been termed a landmark moment for BTC in the politics of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Praised by many, critics have also weighed in with questions about how politicians are investing in crypto coins and the effects it now has on normal day traders.

BREAKING: Nigel Farage has purchased £2m of Bitcoin for Stack BTC – becoming the first sitting MP and the first UK political party leader in history to publicly buy Bitcoin.

A landmark moment for Bitcoin in British politics.$STAK @Nigel_Farage @blockchain @kwasi_stackbtc… pic.twitter.com/O614kKe5TN

— Stack BTC (@stackbtc_) April 13, 2026

On the other hand, Frage has quite a relationship with Stack BTC. At the start of 2026, Nigel Farage made heavy investments in the Bitcoin company. According to reports, he invested £215,000, around $288,500, through his company, Thorn In The Side Ltd. 

With that purchase, Farage secured roughly 6% ownership in the Aquis-listed Bitcoin treasury firm chaired by former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng.

In the video released by Stack, the company hints at upcoming Bitcoin purchases, adding that the Farage BTC buy is but “the beginning of a great journey.”

In a different X post, Stack announced the purchase of 37 Bitcoins for £2 million, bringing total Bitcoin holdings to 68. According to CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin is presently trading at $70,963. At that price, Stack’s total BTC holdings stand at approximately $4.825 million.

Farage accused of playing Trump games with crypto

Today’s purchase has only amplified Farage’s behavioral tendencies that investors now tie to POTUS Donald J. Trump. 

Nigel Farage also receives crypto donations. Reports have it that Ben Delo, BitMEX’s co-founder, donated 4 million pounds (approximately $5.1 million) to Farage’s Reform UK party.

Farage acknowledges support from Ben Delo. Source: Nigel Farage via X

As reported by Cryptopolitan, Farage is already working on the deregulation of the crypto industry, hoping to breathe new life into the UK crypto industry should his party come to power. For Farage, the UK financial services industry has become anemic since its management by both the Conservatives and Labour parties.

According to the Electoral Commission’s guidelines, crypto donations are not illegal under electoral law, though they should be classified as non-cash donations and evaluated in pounds. In addition, parties have to confirm the donor’s identity, especially if the donation exceeds 500 pounds.

Secondly, the Reform UK party received a £9M ($12 million) donation from Christopher Harborne, a crypto investor. The Trump playbook has roots. According to Reuters, Farage is a friend of United States President Donald Trump.

Two-thirds of Reform’s funds in the last year have come from Harborne. He has stated in court filings that he owns 12% of Bitfinex, a crypto exchange that is a subsidiary of Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer.

Christopher Harborne had previously been one of the biggest individual donors in politics, donating over £10 million in installments to Farage’s Brexit Party for their 2019 campaign.

Nigel Farage also received £28,000 (around $37,609) from Harborne to attend the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

Nigel Farage’s crypto investments are “a scandal hiding in plain sight”

It has been reported that Farage’s political campaign is now starting to resemble a giveaway show, offering massive financial gains for everyone.

As long as investors become convinced that Nigel Farage will eventually take control of No 10 Downing Street – and that a Reform government will work to promote his crypto stakeholders – the positive outcome becomes self-fulfilling. 

This is not only an investment in Bitcoin; it is an investment in political influence and power. Should this new era of Bitcoin materialize in the United Kingdom, Stack BTC is well-positioned for strong business.

While Trump’s playbook may prove successful in the US, Farage sells Reform UK as a way to circumvent elites, support technological innovations, and give power back to “the people”.

To many investors, Trump has not held his end of the bargain, neither will Farage.

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Connex and Arbitrum top token unlocks in $221M week, with the sum coming from a combination of one-time cliff unlocks and linear vesting programs.

RAIN alone contributes more than a third of this week’s total, making it the biggest contribution from the linear unlocks category. There are also multiple other tokens involved in the linear unlock schedule, such as Solana, TRUMP, and Dogecoin.

Connex, Arbitrum lead $221M in token unlocks this week

For single one-time cliff unlocks, Connex (CONX) is the most valuable token with a total value of $15.95 million. The unlock comprises 1.32 million tokens and 1.52% of the project’s adjusted released supply. This is the largest value of all cliff unlocks that are due for release during the period from April 13th to April 20th.

Token unlock data. Source: Tokenomist

The second largest cliff unlock is ARB, with a total amount of 96 million tokens having a total valuation of $10.65 million, representing 1.81% of its adjusted released supply.

De.Fi (DBR) will have the biggest proportionate cliff release of 618.33 million tokens with a valuation of $9.08 million. The smallest one-time cliff release in terms of value is Yeezy (YZY), with a total of 20.83 million tokens and a valuation of $6.36 million.

RAIN and SOL lead linear unlocks

In the linear category, RAIN tops the list of token outflows, valued at $75.67 million per week. The total number of tokens released is 9.50 billion, representing 1.99% of the circulating supply of RAIN.

Solana (SOL) comes in second place in the linear unlock category, valued at $38.22 million from 467,970 tokens. The percentage of the circulating supply is 0.08%. CC ranks third in the linear unlock category, releasing 191.71 million tokens, worth $28.06 million.

TRUMP enters the week with a linear unlock of 6.33 million tokens valued at $17.72 million, or 2.72% of its circulating supply. This is the highest percentage of any linear unlock this week.

Worldcoin (WLD) schedules the release of 37.23 million tokens worth $10.78 million and is 1.14% of circulating supply. Dogecoin (DOGE) adds $8.66 million through a release of 95.06 million tokens, equal to 0.06% of its circulating supply.

Less popular token unlocks

Apart from the ones listed above, there are some other not-so-prominent token unlock events scheduled within the time frame. REVOX (REX) will unlock the next 34.38 million tokens, which is equal to 1.15% of the total locked tokens of the project. The unlock percentage of REVOX is 68.44%.

The next token unlock event of Blast Royale (NOOB) involves 16.94 million NOOB tokens, while the circulating supply is 512 million NOOB. Unlock percentage of Blast Royale (NOOB) is 80.41%. There is another token unlock event for Chainbase (C) where 11.45 million C tokens worth $767,589.48 will be released.

Bubble (BUBBLE) has its next unlock planned for 296.08 million BUBBLE. The circulating supply of Bubble is 3.86 billion BUBBLE, and the unlock percentage achieved so far is 73.02%. Cherry AI (AIBOT) plans to unlock 19.9 million AIBOT tokens as its next unlock event.

Unlock progress for Cherry AI is 36.08%. In summary, the coming events for the week cover projects of various sizes and different token types. The total amount exceeds $221 million, and both cliff and linear unlocking events are included from April 13 to April 20.

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Crypto funds attracted $1.118 billion in weekly inflows, their largest single-week total since early January 2026.

According to CoinShares data, Bitcoin dominated the $1.1B crypto inflows with an $871M share. Ethereum also posted a strong rebound even when trading volumes remained well below their year-to-date average.

Bitcoin dominates $1.1B crypto inflows

Bitcoin attracted $872 million in weekly inflows for the period ending April 10, 2026, and brought its year-to-date total to just under $2 billion. Total assets under management for Bitcoin products reached $115.182 billion.

Alongside the strong weekly figure, short-Bitcoin products recorded $20.2 million in weekly inflows. This was the highest total for that category since November 2024.

Crypto inflows by asset. Source: CoinShares

iShares leads provider rankings as Grayscale posts outflows

Among providers, iShares recorded the largest weekly inflows at $871 million. This lifted its month-to-date total to $719 million and year-to-date inflows to $1.722 billion. Total assets under management for iShares products reached $66.521 billion.

Next, Fidelity witnessed inflows amounting to $98 million during the week but lagged behind by having a negative year-to-date outflow value of $1.158 billion. ProFunds Group saw $57 million in flows during the week, whereas Bitwise attracted inflows of $35 million.

As per outflows, ARK 21Shares received an inflow of $20 million and had a year-to-date outflow of $236 million. Grayscale recorded negative weekly figures, with losses totaling $11 million for the week and $7 million month-to-date, and also had negative year-to-date figures of $445 million in outflows.

21Shares AG witnessed inflows worth $8 million while CoinShares witnessed inflows of $5 million.

Ethereum posts strong rebound as altcoin flows turn mixed

Ethereum recorded $196.5 million in weekly inflows, its strongest recent weekly performance. Month-to-date inflows reached $107.9 million, and total assets under management for Ethereum products stood at $17.692 billion. The asset’s year-to-date position remained negative at $130 million in net outflows.

XRP saw a $19.3 million weekly net inflow, a monthly net flow of $18.8 million, and a year-to-date net flow of $178 million. Total AUM (assets under management) is estimated at $2.466 billion. Multiasset products raised $3 million weekly but had a year-to-date net outflow of $106 million.

Solana saw a slight net outflow of $2.5 million on a weekly basis, but its year-to-date number was still a positive one ($218 million), along with total AUM of $2.284 billion. Chainlink had a net inflow of $1.3 million, whereas Litecoin and Sui registered small net outflows for the week.

Positive sentiment concentrated in the US

The United States accounted for $1.065 billion of the week’s total inflows, or 95% of the global figure. Month-to-date flows from US-listed products reached $827.7 million.

Germany came second in terms of weekly inflows and month-to-date contributions at $34.6 million and $47.4 million, respectively. Meanwhile, Canada and Switzerland invested $7.8 million and $6.9 million, respectively. Australia had a small weekly outflow of $0.6 million, and Sweden registered a weekly outflow of $0.7 million.

Weekly trading volumes in digital assets grew 13% week over week to $21 billion. The total AUM for all products surged to $144.618 billion.

According to CoinShares, the strong crypto inflows during the week were due to both macro and geopolitical drivers. Progress toward a potential ceasefire in Iran, along with lower-than-projected CPI and spending numbers in the United States, seemed to have driven renewed interest.

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RAVE showed a risky side of tokens, as it broke out in a record short squeeze. RAVE peaked above $9.20, as Binance trading liquidated short positions. 

RAVE revealed the risks of betting on the downside of tokens. The project, which launched its token at the end of 2025, was underperforming, driven by the general weakness of crypto markets. As Cryptopolitan reported earlier, RAVE was just emerging, with a Coinbase listing in February.

For months, RAVE hovered around $0.25, but in the past day peaked at $9.79, gaining over 224% in the past day. However, the token was not habitually shorted, with most of the liquidated positions opened in the past week.

$RAVE went up from $0.2 to $2 in 3 weeks

800% pump with no clear catalyst in this bear market

What's actually going on:

• Rave is the token of RaveDAO, which hosts crypto parties

• There is no major annoucement during the pump

• On-chain activity looks manipulated

•… pic.twitter.com/af18fSba56

— jussy (@jussy_world) April 11, 2026

RAVE broke out over the weekend, with the latest leg of the rally on April 13. The price spike to a much higher price range put RAVE among the top liquidations for the past day, even surpassing ETH. 

RAVE liquidated all short positions after its spike above $9. | Source: Coinglass

RAVE caused $37.63M in short liquidations in the past day, sparking discontent among the crypto community. 

RAVE open interest increased suddenly

RAVE trading is mostly concentrated on GATE and other centralized exchanges. At the same time, futures on Binance suddenly increased their open interest. 

The increased futures bets started from April 6, showing the current short squeeze was almost a week in preparation. 

According to the liquidation heatmap, the rally above $9 wiped out all short positions. After that, the price started to retreat, down to $8.67. The rapid price action and sudden peak volumes have led to suggestions of manipulation. 

Unlike other tokens, the RAVE short open interest appeared suddenly. Open interest increased by 76% in the past day, with the bulk of positions on Binance and OKX. 

According to analysts, the open interest on Binance and BingX had the most suspicious growth and was probably not organic. Recent data suggests up to 50% of open interest may be manipulated. 

RAVE has not attracted shorting from retail traders, who have seen other tokens cause short squeezes. Instead, RAVE traders reportedly built up long positions to entice whales and professional traders to attempt shorting RAVE.

In the end, the operation succeeded, and RAVE posted price records for three days, squeezing out short traders. 

RAVE is controlled by the team

One of the major risks for RAVE is the highly controlled supply. The top 10 wallets hold 98.16% of all tokens. Any retail holders control just 1.83% of the supply, corresponding with the generally low interest in new assets. 

The top RAVE wallet holds over 42% of all tokens, and the second-biggest, another 23%. The presence of large whales also makes the token suspicious for manipulation at scale. The sudden price rally may allow some of the holders to cash out quickly, avoiding the worst of a bear market. 

RAVE was popular on social media, though reception was muted due to the bear market. The project’s mindshare actually fell by over 14% just before the rally, which may have turned out to be a rug pull between whales and professional traders. 

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Amber Group, a Hong Kong-based digital asset company providing crypto financial services to both institutional and high-net-worth investors globally, with over $1 trillion in cumulative trading volume, under the trade name Amber Premium, has received its crypto brokerage license in the UAE through Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA).

A proprietary platform built for institutions and private wealth, Amber Premium combines crypto-native innovation with institutional-grade infrastructure.

In a letter on its UAE-based website, Amber notes that Amber Premium FZE is a fully licensed Virtual Asset Service Provider by the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) of Dubai. The website is provided solely for VARA regulatory compliance. It has been made available exclusively to satisfy VARA’s requirement for a dedicated local entity website (regulatory imprint) on the public register.

Amber also notes that client migration is still in progress. It notes, “We will only enable full operations and public access after migration is fully complete and we have formally notified VARA and approved by the same of the final URL.”

As per the VARA website, Amber is licensed to offer broker-dealer Services, lending and borrowing services, as well as management and investment services for qualified and institutional investors.

Back in December 2025, Amber International Holding Limited (Nasdaq: AMBR) was granted a preliminary approval. At the time, the company served 4,900 HNWI, UHNWI, and institutional clients.

Amber Group becomes the 45th VASP to be licensed by VARA.

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Polkadot was under attack, as DOT tokens were minted through an unauthorized bridge transaction. The exploit comes at a time of increased vigilance for hacks against decentralized protocols. 

Polkadot, a long-running decentralized protocol, suffered an unauthorized DOT mint attack. On-chain research shows the exploit is based on a flawed Hyperbridge smart contract, which allowed the unauthorized minting of DOT tokens on the Ethereum network. 

The HandlerV1 contract was exploited for $242K, which affected the market price of the DOT token. Hyperbridge is the officially accepted multi-chain hub for Polkadot, so while the main protocol remains safe, the bridge itself may pose more risks. The Polkadot DAO approved Hyperbridge as the main hub for DOT/vDOT swaps across multiple chains. 

Just before the attack, Hyperbridge was almost idle, with virtually no DOT swaps. The attacker minted 1B new DOT on Ethereum and sold them in a single transaction. The bridge itself did not hold significant liquidity, but was capable of minting DOT without limit, based on the supplied deposit data.

Polkadot’s Hyperbridge hit by proof replay attack

The contract flaw allowed an attacker to perform a proof replay attack. The bridge allowed the attacker to reuse a previously accepted proof and pair it with a new request, allowing multiple privileged actions such as changing admin permissions. The entire hack was performed on the Ethereum network, not interacting with other Polkadot chains.

According to researchers, the attacker gained admin rights to the bridge contract, allowing the authorization of DOT minting. Certik also confirmed the attacker’s forged message was used to gain admin rights. 

On-chain security research discovered several transactions originating with Hyperbridge. This is the third bridge attack against Polkadot, following the XCM bridge exploit in 2025 for $35M, and the Nomad bridge hack in 2022 for $200M. 

While the latest attack was the smallest in scale, it still revealed potential flaws with the protocol, adding to the general risk of bridges. The exploit follows the April 1 hack against Drift Protocol, showing an increased effort to grab crypto tokens or use unauthorized minting exploits. 

DOT crashed below $1.20

Following the exploit, DOT crashed to $1.19. The flash sale of 1B DOT only led to a 2.9% loss, as the rapid sale arrived with price slippage. The exploiter only managed to exchange the DOT for $237M. 

As Cryptopolitan reported, Polkadot decided to cap the DOT supply at 2.1B tokens, but the current hack did not crash the token as much as expected, despite minting more than half the tokens in circulation. All the DOT from the exploit was sold in a single transfer and swapped into ETH.

To sell the tokens, the attacker used a Railgun wallet, already moving the ETH in a series of transactions. Railgun has been rarely used for exploits. In the first hours after the attack, the mixer could not blacklist the addresses fast enough, allowing the attacker to still use the service and disguise the origins of ETH. 

The Hyperbridge contracts have been paused, with no reports of additional assets affected. The recent series of hacks happens despite the ongoing bear market, attempting to still extract any available liquidity from crypto tokens.

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The public feud between World Liberty Financial (WLFI) and Justin Sun now appears headed toward legal action. Both sides are accusing each other of misconduct in the dispute. In the fresh attack, WLFI accused Sun of “playing the victim” while making “baseless allegations” to cover up his own actions.

Trump-linked firm stated that “We have the contracts. We have the evidence. We have the truth. See you in court,” to Sun. However, the Tron founder fired back at the allegations. He challenged the team to identify themselves publicly. He also accused them of secretly embedding “backdoor controls” into the protocol.

The back and forth showed a minor effect on both linked crypto projects. TRON (TRX) printed a green index while Bitcoin price dropped by more than 3% over the last 24 hours. TRX is trading at an average price of $0.322 at the press time. On the other side, WLFI price dropped by around 2% in the same period.

Can WLFI freeze funds?

Justin Sun, in a X post, alleged that the system allows WLFI to freeze investor funds “without disclosure or due process.” He added that someone should be held personally accountable.

The dispute came to light when he claimed that WLFI introduced a blacklist function into its token contracts. This happened after investors had already committed capital. Sun claims that no such mechanism was disclosed upfront.

Whoever is hiding behind this official account, step forward and identify yourself. Every action taken by the WLFI team to secretly implant backdoor controls over user assets, to freeze investor funds without disclosure or due process, and to treat the crypto community as a… https://t.co/NkxYv20eVj

— H.E. Justin Sun 👨‍🚀 🌞 (@justinsuntron) April 12, 2026

According to reports, the original WLFI token contract launched in September 2024 did not include blacklisting or seizure features. The contract was later upgraded. A blacklist function was reportedly added in August 2025. This happened almost 11 months after Sun’s initial investment and just before trading began.

Another upgrade happened in November that introduced a “batch reallocation” mechanism. WLFI has justified it as a way to recover stolen or compromised funds.

Sun has invested around $75 million and was once the project’s largest external backer. He claims that he became a direct target of these controls after his wallet was frozen. The TRON founder described himself as the “first and single largest victim” of the system.

Sun reportedly transferred a portion of his unlocked WLFI tokens (approx 55 million). This was done shortly after the first token unlock. These tokens were reportedly moved to his exchange, HTX.

Did WLFI freeze Sun’s wallet?

The project alleges that while retail users were locking tokens, Sun may have been selling into the market through backend activity. WLFI claims it flagged this behavior internally and froze his wallet. This was done on the basis of breached contractual terms. Meanwhile, these terms still remain unclear.

The WLFI’s token distribution structure has also drawn attention. Data suggests that Sun was placed in a separate vesting category from other investors. While most participants were grouped together, he was reportedly assigned a unique category. It had 20% of his allocation unlocked upfront as a lump sum. 

However, the remaining 80% appears to have no clearly defined vesting schedule months. The claimable balances are still showing zero.

Adding to concerns, the wallet freeze itself may not have required a broad consensus. Reports indicate that a single guardian address was able to blacklist Sun’s wallet. Usually, more approvals are needed for asset seizure functions.

WLFI’s own treasury activity is being scrutinized. The project is reportedly using billions of WLFI tokens as collateral on lending platforms. It allows borrowing large amounts of stablecoins and cycling liquidity through internal structures.

WLFI price is on a constant decline. It dipped by more than 53% in the last 90 days. WLFI is trading at an average price of $0.078 at the press time. It is down by 83% from its all-time high of $0.46. TRX is among the few cryptos that seem to have survived the crash. TRX price is up by more than 15% in the last 60 days.

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Big US commodity houses got hit hard in oil after the US-Israel war in Iran smashed the market’s old bet, according to a new study by Oliver Wyman which said these major trading groups lost over $10 billion at the start of the conflict.

More than 100 fuel tankers were stuck in the Gulf, oil shot higher, and companies that normally make money in chaos were suddenly losing so much on both trades and cargoes.

How commodity traders got the oil call wrong and paid for it… in cash

The pain also spread through the physical oil business. Cargoes that had already been sold for delivery later could not move as planned once the war jammed shipping in the Gulf, which left traders and oil companies with a nasty problem of delivery promises to keep but original barrels bringing trapped, so replacement cargoes had to be bought at much higher prices. You following?

Anyway Alexander Franke, whose Oliver Wyman’s head of risk and trading, said the early losses ran into the “billions of dollars.”

“For most participants the situation was a surprise. Before the war started, there was a strong conviction in the market that prices would fall, and because of the war, they spiked.”

That is the whole mess right there. The trade was leaning one way, and war sent oil hard in the other direction.

The Financial Times had earlier reported that Vitol, Trafigura, and Mercuria all took losses in the first days of the war. Some of those losses have since been reversed, but the first hit was still severe.

Traders with cargoes already on the water also got slapped with large margin calls when Brent crude futures jumped. That happened because a short futures position is often used to hedge a physical cargo. A margin call is not the same as a final loss, but it still forces a trader to post a lot of cash very quickly. So when oil is rally, of course that cash demand gets ugly fast.

That blow landed on an industry that had already cooled from its monster years. Oliver Wyman said gross margins for trading houses slipped to $92 billion last year, the lowest level since 2021 and far below the $145 billion peak in 2022. The report said metals trading was the one bright spot, with profits up 20%, while profits from oil desks fell 15%.

The report also said the industry’s “seat cost” rose by more than 30% since 2021.

At the same time, Oliver Wyman estimated future baseline annual earnings for the industry at $90 billion to $110 billion, not counting the mountain of geopolitical issues we got.

Oil prices rally back above $100 as Gulf traffic dries up

By Sunday, the market was staring at a new leg higher in oil. US crude for May delivery jumped 8% to $104.40 a barrel by press time. Brent for June delivery climbed more than 7% to $102.51. Prices surged as the US Navy prepared to impose a blockade on Iran’s ports after peace talks broke down over the weekend.

US Central Command, or CENTCOM, said Sunday that the military would blockade all maritime traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports Monday morning. It also said the US would not block vessels going to or from non-Iranian ports. CENTCOM said:-

“The blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.”

Earlier that same day, President Donald Trump had threatened to blockade the Strait of Hormuz after the US and Iran failed to reach a deal to end the war during talks in Pakistan. Tehran then tied safe passage during the ceasefire to its own approval.

Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, said Sunday that the “key to the Strait of Hormuz” remained in the hands of the Islamic Republic, state news outlet Press TV reported.

Shipping data showed how thin traffic had become. LSEG data showed that only three supertankers made the journey on Saturday. Each vessel can carry up to 2 million barrels of oil. Before the war, more than 100 vessels a day were making that trip. On the diplomatic side, Vice President JD Vance, who led the US delegation, said the talks failed because Iran would not give an “affirmative commitment” that it would not seek a nuclear weapon. He told reporters in Islamabad, “The simple question is, do we see a fundamental commitment of will for the Iranians not to develop a nuclear weapon. We have not seen that yet, we hope that we will.” Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, said the US “failed to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations.”

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Inflation is staying hot for longer, and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva says the Iran war is a big reason why. Speaking Sunday on CBS’ Face the Nation, Kristalina said the economic pain is spreading well beyond the countries involved in the fighting.

Kristalina explained that countries close to the conflict are taking a hard hit. She also said oil-importing nations are getting squeezed, especially those with little protection against rising costs.

“It is global. Everybody uses energy. Everybody feels the pinch of prices going up. And it is asymmetric. It affects different countries differently. If you are in the vicinity of the conflict, it’s a big hit on you. If you are an oil importer, it is a big hit on you. If you have no reserves to protect yourself, you are in a very tough situation,” Kristalina said.

IMF says poorer economies absorb the hardest blow from higher energy costs

Kristalina then said some of the worst pain is now being felt across Asia, where many economies rely heavily on imported energy.

“Poor, vulnerable countries, whether they’re in Asia or in Sub-Saharan Africa, they’re being hammered dramatically, and when we discuss our response, we will zero in on these highly vulnerable countries,” said Kristalina.

We know that last week brought a cease-fire, but it was shaky, and the future of the conflict is still unclear. That leaves a lot of uncertainty for workers, shoppers, and businesses in the United States and elsewhere. A regular Wall Street Journal survey of economists now shows a weaker outlook for the year ahead than earlier estimates this year.

Even so, most of those economists do not think the war will fully knock down an economy that has already lived through sharp inflation and major policy changes in trade and immigration. They now put the chance of a recession in the next 12 months at 33%, up from 27% in January.

The same survey, taken from April 3 through April 9, cut its 2026 growth forecast to 2% from 2.2%. It also raised its estimate for year-end consumer inflation to 3.2% from 2.6%. The outlook for hiring got weaker too. Economists now expect net job growth of 45,000 a month, down from the earlier estimate of 64,500.

Oil market damage keeps inflation pressure alive in America’s economy

Kristalina also said there will be no quick repair job, even if the fighting cools in the coming days or weeks. She told Margaret Brennan that the war has damaged infrastructure, and that damage will take time to undo.

“We have hopes for peace that would improve the conditions for everybody, but we are also looking at impact on infrastructure. A lot has been damaged, and it would take time to bring back to full operation,” she said.

That means even if the battlefield goes quieter, the economic mess can keep going.

Kristalina said the current crisis could push more governments toward greener energy plans, even though those plans will not help overnight.

“The one good thing that we need to remember is that whenever we have an energy shock, we improve,” she said. “Every energy shock in the past would lead to two things: more energy efficiency and more diversification of energy.”

Cryptopolitan reported on Friday that America’s latest inflation report said economists think those oil disruptions can keep lifting prices in the months ahead even if the cease-fire holds.

The survey expects West Texas Intermediate crude, the main U.S. oil benchmark, to fall to $79.66 a barrel by the end of the year.

That would still be about 18% below Friday’s closing price of $96.57. But economists still raised their year-end forecast for core inflation, which strips out food and energy, to 2.9% from 2.6%.

That measure is based on the personal consumption expenditures index, which the Federal Reserve watches closely. They were also asked how high crude would need to go for recession odds to climb above 50%.

Answers ranged from $95 to $225 a barrel, with an average of $146. Estimates for how long oil would need to stay high ranged from four weeks to 55 weeks, with an average of 12 weeks.

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UK regulators are racing to assess the danger posed by Anthropic’s latest AI model, after officials decided its ability to find hidden software flaws could become a direct risk for banks, insurers, exchanges, and the wider financial system.

According to the Financial Times, the talks involve the Bank of England, the Financial Conduct Authority, HM Treasury, and the National Cyber Security Centre, which are reviewing vulnerabilities in IT systems across British finance.

British banks, insurers, and exchanges will be warned within the next fortnight about risks linked to Claude Mythos Preview, the latest release from Anthropic, which was previously reported by Cryptopolitan. The British response follows a summons from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who called leaders from major Wall Street banks to discuss the same issue.

Last week, when Anthropic released Mythos to select customers, the $380 billion San Francisco start-up said the system had already found “thousands of high-severity vulnerabilities, including some in every major operating system and web browser,” including some that had gone unnoticed for decades.

Regulators prepare bank warnings as Anthropic’s cyber model drags old system flaws into view

The issue is set for the next meeting of the Cross Market Operational Resilience Group, or CMORG, where British regulators and finance companies discuss threats to the sector. CMORG is co-chaired by Duncan Mackinnon, the Bank of England’s executive director for supervisory risk, and David Postings, head of UK Finance.

The group includes senior representatives from eight of the biggest UK banks, four financial infrastructure providers, two insurers, plus the NCSC, the FCA, and HM Treasury. The Telegraph first reported the agenda. The Bank of England declined to comment.

Anthropic said, “It would not be long before such capabilities proliferate, potentially beyond actors who are committed to deploying them safely.” It also warned that “the fallout for economies, public safety, and national security could be severe.”

Officials are examining whether tools like this could expose weak spots across payment systems, trading venues, insurance networks, and other core parts of the market. David Raw, managing director for resilience at UK Finance, said, “We are aware of the press reports on the Anthropic AI development and the risks highlighted.”

He added, “UK Finance engages with our members and through our public/private partnerships on any significant operational risks that could affect the resilience of the UK financial services sector.”

The Bank of England can also call the separate Cross Market Business Continuity Group within one to two hours during an urgent threat, but it has not done that here.

OpenAI pauses Stargate UK while Britain wrestles with power costs and AI rule uncertainty

The wider AI backdrop is rough at the same time. OpenAI, a rival to Anthropic, is pausing its multibillion-pound UK data center project, Stargate UK. The plan included a large site in northeast England and access to powerful chips through partnerships with Nvidia and Nscale.

It was part of a wider £31 billion UK tech investment package. On Thursday, an OpenAI spokesperson said the company would move ahead only when the “right conditions” could “enable long-term infrastructure investment.”

The spokesperson said, “We see huge potential for the UK’s AI future. London is home to our largest international research hub, and we support the government’s ambition to be an AI leader.” They added:-

“AI compute is foundational to that goal. We continue to explore Stargate UK and will move forward when the right conditions such as regulation and the cost of energy enable long-term infrastructure investment.”

When OpenAI announced the project in September, it said it would strengthen the UK’s “sovereign compute capabilities” and bolster native AI development. It also said the project would help power the future economy, boost competitiveness, and support the national AI Opportunities Action Plan.

But Britain’s energy prices were already far above those in the US before the Iran war drove costs higher, and uncertainty remains over whether the law will change to let AI firms train models on copyrighted works through an “opt out” system for creators.

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