Cryptopolitan

Reports of Telegram outages are mounting in Russia, with difficulties using the messenger reaching rarely seen levels, according to service status tracking websites.

Russian authorities have been slowing down traffic to the platform since February, but attempts to completely restrict access to the app escalated in late March and April.

Telegram down across Russia before the weekend

Russia is now trying to fully block the popular messaging service Telegram on its territory, local and regional media reported Friday.

“Anomalies” affecting access reached 95% on the morning of April 10, jumping from 79% on Thursday, the independent Russian investigative media outlet Agentstvo found out first.

Referring to data from the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), a global platform monitoring online censorship, it noted in a post:

“This is the highest anomaly rate ever recorded since the new restrictions on the messaging app began in Russia on March 20.”

Russia’s telecom watchdog, Roskomnadzor (RKN), started throttling Telegram in early February, citing non-compliance with requests to remove prohibited information.

Attempts to interrupt traffic started the following month, ahead of a reported April 1 deadline for the messenger to meet Moscow’s requirements regarding content moderation.

Since then, they have intensified periodically, usually towards the end of the working week, Agentstvo pointed out and commented:

“These figures may indicate that Pavel Durov’s messaging app is already being blocked more severely than WhatsApp and Signal.”

“For comparison, the officially blocked Signal and the effectively blocked WhatsApp on Friday morning had an anomaly rate of 89%,” the outlet added.

Long before the current crackdown, Russian regulators had already banned Signal, Discord, and Viber by the end of 2024.

Besides going after Telegram, the RKN practically banned WhatsApp when it deleted its domain this past February. Each had over 90 million users in Russia.

Voice calls through both were limited in August 2025, with Roskmonadzor claiming they had become a favorite tool for fraudsters, extremists, and cybercriminals.

User reports of outages on sites like Downdetector also rose sharply overnight between Thursday and Friday, the report further detailed.

Detector404.ru has registered over 5,000 complaints in 24 hours, as of the time of writing. Reports have also increased on another Russia-focused tracker, Сбой.рф, with over half of them coming from the capital Moscow and Russia’s second-largest city, St. Petersburg.

Putin hits Telegram ahead of unpopular decisions, says Zelenskyy

Discussing the blocking of Telegram in Russia, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attributed the ban to Moscow preparing to make “unpopular decisions.” In a post on Friday, he suggested:

“Perhaps this is the end of the war in one format or another. Or, conversely, an escalation.”

In the first case, he pondered, the Kremlin would have to deal with part of the Russian society that has been radicalized by propaganda and is not ready for an end to the war.

And the second means even greater mobilization, this time sending people from the large cities to the front, Zelenskyy commented at a press conference, quoted by Ukrainian media.

“In my opinion, these are two main scenarios, but, of course, there may be other motivations. And soon we will see which of the scenarios Putin chose,” he concluded.

Telegram has been under pressure over content moderation lately, not just in Russia, but also in Ukraine, as previously reported by Cryptopolitan.

The messenger is widely used by soldiers on both sides in the conflict. Moscow and Kyiv have now committed to a truce for the Orthodox Easter this weekend.

Reacting to the RKN’s crackdown on Telegram, founder Pavel Durov recently urged Russians for “digital resistance,” highlighting that 65 million of them still use it, bypassing the blockade via VPNs.

His call came after a recent report revealed that Russian authorities have foiled a number of protests in defense of the messenger in various parts of the vast country.

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While significant investors pour money into a new regulated cryptocurrency market springing up in Vietnam, France is trying to tighten regulations on foreign-backed digital currencies.

Stablecoins are digital tokens whose value is linked to actual currencies, particularly those that are not backed by the euro. A senior Bank of France official has urged European regulators to impose more restrictions on stablecoins.

The drive comes as European officials become increasingly concerned about the increasing use of digital currencies backed by dollars in daily transactions.

Denis Beau, the Bank of France official leading the charge, said that the existing European crypto rulebook, known as the Markets in Crypto-Assets framework or MiCA, does not go far enough.

In an official report, Beau wrote: “we are pressing for a strengthening of MiCA, particularly to restrict the use of stablecoins for everyday payments, all-the-more when they are backed by a currency other than the euro.”

The Bank of France has been building this case for some time.

As cryptopolitan reported earlier in 2025, the Bank of France had already urged the European Securities and Markets Authority, known as ESMA, to gain direct oversight powers over large crypto issuers.

It also pushed for stricter rules on what is called multi-issuance, when the same stablecoin is issued across several platforms, warning that current rules leave Europe open to regulatory loopholes and too dependent on dollar-backed tokens.

Beau’s report also noted that stablecoins issued by banks or licensed electronic money institutions carry less financial risk than those put out by firms with no banking background.

A rule requiring individuals to report cryptocurrencies held in private digital wallets if the total value exceeds 5,000 euros was passed by the nation’s National Assembly.

Although the initiative has not yet become a full law, it shows that France intends to monitor its citizens’ use and storage of digital assets more closely.

Vietnam opens up for business

While Europe tightens its grip, the picture looks very different on the other side of the world.

On April 10, Vietnam Prosperity Crypto Asset Exchange JSC, known as CAEX, announced that two major investment firms, OKX Ventures and HashKey Capital, have agreed to back the company financially and become strategic partners.

The two firms will contribute funds in April to help CAEX meet a minimum capital requirement of 10 trillion Vietnamese dong, which works out to around $380 million.

That figure is the entry bar set by Vietnam’s government for any exchange looking to join its new pilot program for regulated crypto trading.

This five-year trial program was started by Vietnam in an effort to move local traders from unregulated offshore platforms to venues under government supervision that are licensed. An exchange must reach the 10 trillion dong barrier in order to be eligible, and institutional investors like banks or securities firms must provide at least 65% of the necessary capital.

Five domestic companies, CAEX, associated with VPBank; TCEX, associated with Techcombank; and LPEX, associated with LPBank, passed an early assessment stage.

Netero Dai, vice president of OKX Global Markets, said: “Vietnam is one of the most dynamic markets for digital assets, with strong user adoption and a clear move towards a regulated framework. Our partnership with CAEX reflects our mission to create a safe, trusted environment for people to transact with crypto.”

Two regions, two very different bets

Later in 2026, Vietnam intends to impose a tax of about 0.1 percent on cryptocurrency transactions and legally recognize digital assets in legislation.

This divergence underscores Europe’s defensive approach to protect monetary sovereignty versus Asia’s pragmatic push for regulated growth and adoption.

While France tightens MiCA to limit non-euro stablecoins in daily payments, Vietnam and similar Asian hubs are attracting capital and infrastructure through clear licensing and institutional partnerships.

The result is an emerging crypto decoupling, where stablecoins increasingly function as independent payment infrastructure rather than purely speculative assets tied to market cycles.

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As the near-blockage of the Strait of Hormuz drives the price of physical oil to very high levels, traders, governments, and shipping firms are finding it difficult to react to the intense strain on the world’s oil markets.

Analysts say the price of dated Brent crude has hit a record $144, showing how scarce actual oil supplies have become. Meanwhile, Brent futures for June were trading much lower at $96.51 per barrel on Friday morning.

Experts explain that this large gap between the two prices shows that the shortage of oil is far worse than what the financial market prices suggest.

Martijn Rats of Morgan Stanley clarified that whereas ICE Brent futures are merely financial contracts, Dated Brent displays the actual price of oil that is currently ready to ship.

Dynamix Corporation III’s founder and CEO, Andrejka Bernatova, stated that the $144 pricing should be viewed as a warning rather than an exception.

“Dated Brent at $144 is not just a price record. It’s the physical market telling you that real barrels are becoming scarce,” she said. “The Strait of Hormuz remains almost entirely blocked. Until those flows are actually moving again, the $144 print is less of a historical anomaly and more of a preview.”

Strait of Hormuz transit falls to a trickle

Approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments typically pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow canal that links the Persian Gulf to the larger ocean.

The strait handled between 120 and 140 vessel transits every day prior to the start of attacks on February 28. That number has fallen dramatically.

According to shipping intelligence firms Kpler and Lloyd’s List Intelligence, only five vessels crossed on Wednesday and seven on Thursday.

More than 600 ships, including 325 tankers, are currently stranded in the Gulf. Even if a ceasefire holds, analysts expect the strait to handle no more than 10 to 15 safe passages per day.

Tensions between the United States and Iran are adding to the uncertainty. Iran has insisted that all vessels passing through must coordinate with its naval forces.

President Donald Trump has said Iran is not holding up its end of the “safe passage” agreement reached in the ceasefire, while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has countered that the U.S. is the one failing to honor the deal. Further talks aimed at reaching a permanent ceasefire are scheduled to take place in Islamabad.

Countries move to secure alternative supply lines

Faced with an unstable spot market, countries are moving quickly to lock in alternative supply arrangements.

Singapore and Australia said Friday they are working toward a formal, legally binding agreement on energy and critical supplies.

Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese agreed to speed up negotiations covering those sectors.

The two nations have a close energy relationship. Australia supplies more than one-third of Singapore’s LNG, while Singapore provides 26% of Australia’s refined fuel imports.

According to Wong, in order to better control risk and explore longer-term supply agreements, Singapore has combined its gas purchases under a single organization.

Japan is also taking measures to reduce the pressure.

Plans to release more oil from national reserves in May of next year, roughly 20 days’ worth of domestic consumption, were revealed by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Last month, a comparable release was made.

Additionally, Japan is attempting to get oil via routes that completely avoid the Strait of Hormuz. The nation has enough oil on hand to last 230 days as of April 6, with government stocks alone providing 143 days.

Shipping industry leaders still don’t believe the situation will improve soon, even though U.S. Vice President JD Vance says the strait could slowly reopen.

Janiv Shah from Rystad Energy warned that tanker prices will likely stay high and oil supply will remain limited for a while. He added that even if countries make progress in talks, it doesn’t always lead to real, on-the-ground improvements.

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Strive, Inc. points to a revival for BTC treasury companies. Recently, the ASST common stock received a ‘buy’ rating from TD Cowen analyst Lance Vitanza. 

Strive, Inc. (Nasdaq:ASST), one of the leading BTC treasury companies, is pointing to a revival of interest in treasury company stocks. Attention to Strive increased after the latest addition of 113 BTC to its treasury. 

The main source of interest was the ASST common stock and its potential for a significant recovery. ASST traded at $10.57, after a recent short-term recovery. The DAT company stock is down from a peak of over $260 in the summer of 2025, when treasury companies got a significant boost and were still a novelty. 

Strive, Inc. trades near its one-year lows, but may see a recovery on renewed interest in DAT company stocks. | Source: Google Finance

ASST also rallied following a temporary relief for the stock market, while awaiting its own recovery. Strive expects to release its Q1 report on May 15, giving more clarity on the effect of its treasury.

Strive seen as capable of a market recovery

Despite the long-term drawdown caused by the BTC bear market, ASST is seen as capable of a breakout. Recently, TD Cowen analyst Lance Vitanza gave a cautious ‘buy’ recommendation for ASST, with a price target of $26. 

Strive is a Bitcoin playbook company, using raises and preferred stock to build up its treasury. As of April 2026, Strive held 13,741 BTC, with an unknown average price. A recovery of ASST may boost the ability of Strive to add more BTC. Traditionally, Strive uses OTC deals to source BTC, though its fundraising is public. 

Another boost to Strive is the recent filing by Fidelity for a large-scale beneficial ownership of ASST shares. In a 13G filing, FMR LLC revealed it expanded its share to 12.1% of the total ASST supply. The high share of ownership may mean trust on the side of Fidelity, which has supported other digital asset projects. Currently, ASST has a relatively low short open interest, so Fidelity’s buying is not seen as a backing for an eventual short position. 

The activity and hype around Strive, a top 10 BTC treasury company, may revive the sector and increase interest in ASST shares. 

Strive aims to expand the role of SATA

Strive has recently attempted to expand the role of its SATA preferred shares. SATA is the second most actively traded preferred stock from a DAT company after Strategy’s STRC. 

For now, SATA has only $17M in monthly volumes, but Strive aims for a more predictable price range. SATA is mostly attractive for its 13.03% effective annualized yield. 

As Cryptopolitan reported earlier, Strive has improved its balance and retired most of its debt. The company has completed the merger with Semler Scientific and may expand its appeal to investors for both ASST and SATA.

There’s a middle ground between leaving money in the bank and rolling the dice in crypto. Start with this free video on decentralized finance.

Trump‑backed WLFI token dropped over 10% after the team defended a $75 million stablecoin loan deal that relied on WLFI as collateral, emptying Dolomite’s lending pool. The move is drawing scrutiny over both the price impact and the ethics of borrowing from a platform tied to its own advisor.

The World Liberty Financial team said it supplied 5 billion WLFI tokens, nominally valued at $440 million, as collateral and borrowed stablecoins to act as an anchor borrower on WLFI Markets. It also argued that there is “no liquidation risk” because it would simply supply more collateral. However, the deal left DeFi lending protocol Dolomite potentially exposed to bad debt because any instance of forced liquidation would probably crash WLFI’s thinly traded price.

Notably, the executed series of transactions raised questions about circular token economics, concentrated risk to other depositors, and insider access. On-chain records from Arkham and Etherscan show that transactions began on February 8. The company’s treasury deposited nearly $14 million in its USD1 stablecoin, pegged to the US dollar, into Dolomite as collateral to borrow 11.4 million USDC.

WLFI token continues to face downside pressure

Let's talk about the FUD going around our WLFI Markets lending position.
It's wrong. Here's what's actually happening — and why the real story is a lot more interesting.

— WLFI (@worldlibertyfi) April 9, 2026

As the situation escalates, the center of the issue is that WLFI is likely to face continued downside pressure unless key resistance levels are reclaimed. However, ongoing distribution, bearish indicators, and negative sentiment show that sellers remain in control.

Meanwhile, whether the anchor borrower strategy generates sustainable yield or concentrates system risk in a single insider position also remains another central question for depositors still locked in the pool. The borrowing pushed Dolomite’s USD1 pool utilization above 93%, making timely withdrawals difficult for ordinary depositors.

On the other hand, this issue arises alongside separate scrutiny after an investigation found that WLFI had integrated its USD1 stablecoin with a Southeast Asia blockchain project linked to a founder sanctioned by UK and U.S. authorities. The investigations also uncovered that WLFI’s advisor, Corey Caplan, is a co-founder at Dolomite. 

Notably, a related-party transaction of this scale in traditional finance typically requires disclosure and independent board approval. However, WLFI has dismissed market concerns about its collateral position in Dolomite as FUD, despite the token losing nearly 17% weekly and up to 16% monthly.

WLFI transfers over $40M to Coinbase Prime

On-chain data also shows that the WLFI project sent more than $40 million of the $75 million loan directly to Coinbase Prime. The $40 million will typically be used for institutional OTC conversions. However, $15 million was subsequently repaid.

Meanwhile, Arkham’s data previously showed that WLFI moved 11.45 million USDC to a deposit address linked to Coinbase Prime. The project further sent another 12.5 million USD1 directly from its treasury to a separate Coinbase Prime deposit address. However, that 12.5 million USD1 was not part of the loan borrowed from Dolomite. That means WLFI sent its own stablecoin straight to a fiat off-ramp.

The World Liberty Finance treasury also previously deposited 890 million WLFI tokens into Dolomite and received a loan of 20 million USD1 against it. Another 1.1 billion WLFI followed almost a month later, bringing the total WLFI tokens sitting in Dolomite as collateral to 1.99 billion WLFI tokens. The project’s treasury received approximately 31.4 million in stablecoins from Dolomite across both instances.

Activity escalated in April through a different route when the treasury sent 2 billion WLFI to a Gnosis Safe proxy wallet address. It sent an additional 1 billion WLFI five days later. 

However, neither transfer went directly to Dolomite, and on-chain data does not yet show where those tokens ended up. As of publication, the 3 billion WLFI tokens are worth approximately $266 million at the current price of $0.08195 per WLFI.

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Two AI rivals are fighting over who has more computing muscle as they prepare to sell shares to the public. OpenAI told its investors this week that it has more data center capacity than Anthropic, while Anthropic fired back with news about major deals and fast-growing sales numbers.

OpenAI shared a document with investors saying it currently has 1.9 gigawatts of computing capacity for 2025, which is three times what it had last year. The company said Anthropic has 1.4 gigawatts. OpenAI expects to reach somewhere in the low-double-digit gigawatts within twelve months and hit 30 gigawatts by 2030. The company predicted Anthropic would max out between seven and eight gigawatts before 2027 ends.

OpenAI’s document, which CNBC wrote about, argued that bigger infrastructure spending creates a cycle where better technology leads to lower costs, which then pays for improvements that bring in more customers.

The company also pointed to comments from Anthropic’s chief executive Dario Amodei, who last year said some competitors were “YOLO-ing” while his company took a careful approach. OpenAI suggested that caution was a mistake.

Anthropic responded by pointing reporters to statements from its chief financial officer, Krishna Rao, about a deal announced with Google and Broadcom earlier this week. That partnership will give Anthropic roughly 3.5 gigawatts of computing power starting in 2027. Rao said the company is making its biggest computing commitment yet to keep up with growth.

CoreWeave agreement adds more capacity

On Friday, Anthropic announced another deal with CoreWeave, a cloud infrastructure company, to get more computing capacity later this year. CoreWeave’s stock went up more than 5% before markets opened. The company has signed similar deals recently, including an $11.9 billion agreement with OpenAI last year, a $6.3 billion order with Nvidia in September, and a $21 billion deal with Meta on Thursday.

Anthropic also shared that its revenue has jumped to $30 billion per year, up from around $9 billion at the end of 2025. The company said more than 1,000 businesses now spend over $1 million each year on its services, double the 500 it reported in February. The company expects to reach positive cash flow by 2027.

Meanwhile, Anthropic has gained ground in business sales, as reported by Cryptopolitan previously. Its share of enterprise spending on artificial intelligence in the United States climbed to 40%, while OpenAI’s dropped from 50% to 27% during the same time. OpenAI has responded by focusing more on business customers and coding tools.

OpenAI has bigger plans for spending

OpenAI wants to put about $600 billion into chips and data centers through 2030, partly funded by a $122 billion fundraise. The company expects to lose $14 billion in 2026 and won’t break even until 2030.

Anthropic committed $50 billion to building computing infrastructure in the United States last November. The company runs its Claude models on different types of chips from Amazon, Google, and Nvidia, making it available on all three major cloud platforms.

The timing of OpenAI’s memo may raise questions as both companies prepare to go public. While OpenAI highlighted its larger infrastructure footprint, Anthropic is bringing in more money and spending far less to do it. Public market investors typically favor companies that can show a clear path to making a profit.

Anthropic projects it will reach that milestone by 2027, three years ahead of OpenAI’s 2030 target. The memo arrived just as Anthropic reported rapid growth in business customers, suggesting the competition between the two companies is heating up ahead of their stock market debuts.

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Too soon to move on from Adam Back as Satoshi Nakamoto? 17 years later, BitMEX research identified Amy Jade Winehouse as the anonymous creator of Bitcoin. After the New York Times publication, this research appears to be a mockery or a theatre to anyone who has been in the Bitcoin space for a while.

Who is Amy Jade Winehouse? Born on September 14, 1983, and died on July 23, 2011, Amy was a British singer, songwriter, and musician known for her powerful contralto voice, raw autobiographical lyrics, and a unique blend of soul, jazz, R&B, and retro influences.

In the last couple of years, many people have been publicly speculated upon, accused, or named as possible Satoshis in media reports, documentaries, books, forum discussions, and investigations. What makes Amy Jade Winehouse the one? BitMEX makes it clear, “The case is finally closed. I have removed any lingering doubt in my mind that I have found the right woman.”

British enough to be Satoshi Nakamoto?

According to BitMEX’s research, their first piece of evidence is a British connection. Per on-chain data, Bitcoin’s first block had an embedded text from a newspaper headline: “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.” 

The specific headline under discussion was published in the British edition of The Times of London, not its international or web edition, since it mentioned the name of the chancellor, “Alistair Darling.” According to BitMEX, anyone of British origin meets the first criterion to be Satoshi Nakamoto – that’s around 68 million Satoshi’s.

Adam Back gets behind BitMEX’s Satoshi joke

The second Brit clue is that Amy Jade Winehouse was also a British national living in London, Camden. Her death is of great concern. Three months prior to her death, on 26 April 2011, Satoshi sent the last on-chain communication.

I wish you wouldn’t keep talking about me as a mysterious, shadowy figure; the press just turns it into a pirate-currency angle.

Satoshi Nakamoto

According to the exposee, this explains why Satoshi never spent any of the coins mined in 2009.

Amy Jade Winehouse tied to Adam Back

According to BitMEX, Amy released her last studio album, “Back to Black,” on 27 October 2006 as a tribute to Adam Back, who developed the Proof of Work concept used in Bitcoin through HashCash.

It is also interesting to note that, just slightly less than two years later, Satoshi published the Bitcoin whitepaper, once more referring to Adam Back, just as Amy did in naming her album.

It took Satoshi 18 months to develop Bitcoin. This is an exact match for BitMEX, considering that the period elapsed between Amy’s final album and the launch of the Bitcoin White Paper.

Satoshi Nakamoto’s 24th email while developing Bitcoin.

And then the UK Spectator Magazine ran an article claiming that Satoshi was none other than “Adam Black,” whereas Adam’s last name is actually “Back” and not “Black”. Now, was it a coincidence? 

The Spectator Magazine is owned by the billionaire hedge fund manager Sir Paul Marshal of Marshall Wace, who knows his onions. There is simply no way that Sir Paul would allow such a thing to slip into the magazine.

Celebrity album timelines have also made it to identifying Satoshi Nakamoto. Mixing “Back” with “Black” so we would think of “Back to Black,” Amy’s final album.

BitMEX stands by their Satoshi

This is not the first time BitMEX has pinned Amy Winehouse as Satoshi Nakamoto. Their ‘exposee’ comes on the back of many years of satirical data and small clues.

Amy Jade Winehouse was a smart Libertarian

According to Juliette Ashby, who had been Amy’s lifelong friend since she was four years old, speaking in an interview in 2025, Winehouse was considered to be “highly intelligent.” 

Winehouse had used drugs illegally for her enjoyment. In this sense, it would be quite logical to deduce that Winehouse disagreed with laws that prohibited the use of drugs and that she had been violating those laws. 

The legalization of drugs is a typical stance for libertarians. Libertarians usually believe that everyone is entitled to do what he or she wants, provided it harms no one else.

Satoshi was also a libertarian, and she even knew that the Bitcoin system would appeal to people who had a “libertarian perspective”. To that end, all liberals are marked as Satoshi Nakamoto. In the end, we are all Satoshi.

Your bank is using your money. You’re getting the scraps. Watch our free video on becoming your own bank

Too soon to move on from Adam Back as Satoshi Nakamoto? 17 years later, BitMEX research identified Amy Jade Winehouse as the anonymous creator of Bitcoin. After the New York Times publication, this research appears to be a mockery or a theatre to anyone who has been in the Bitcoin space for a while.

Who is Amy Jade Winehouse? Born on September 14, 1983, and died on July 23, 2011, Amy was a British singer, songwriter, and musician known for her powerful contralto voice, raw autobiographical lyrics, and a unique blend of soul, jazz, R&B, and retro influences.

In the last couple of years, many people have been publicly speculated upon, accused, or named as possible Satoshis in media reports, documentaries, books, forum discussions, and investigations. What makes Amy Jade Winehouse the one? BitMEX makes it clear, “The case is finally closed. I have removed any lingering doubt in my mind that I have found the right woman.”

British enough to be Satoshi Nakamoto?

According to BitMEX’s research, their first piece of evidence is a British connection. Per on-chain data, Bitcoin’s first block had an embedded text from a newspaper headline: “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.” 

The specific headline under discussion was published in the British edition of The Times of London, not its international or web edition, since it mentioned the name of the chancellor, “Alistair Darling.” According to BitMEX, anyone of British origin meets the first criterion to be Satoshi Nakamoto – that’s around 68 million Satoshi’s.

Adam Back gets behind BitMEX’s Satoshi joke

The second Brit clue is that Amy Jade Winehouse was also a British national living in London, Camden. Her death is of great concern. Three months prior to her death, on 26 April 2011, Satoshi sent the last on-chain communication.

I wish you wouldn’t keep talking about me as a mysterious, shadowy figure; the press just turns it into a pirate-currency angle.

Satoshi Nakamoto

According to the exposee, this explains why Satoshi never spent any of the coins mined in 2009.

Amy Jade Winehouse tied to Adam Back

According to BitMEX, Amy released her last studio album, “Back to Black,” on 27 October 2006 as a tribute to Adam Back, who developed the Proof of Work concept used in Bitcoin through HashCash.

It is also interesting to note that, just slightly less than two years later, Satoshi published the Bitcoin whitepaper, once more referring to Adam Back, just as Amy did in naming her album.

It took Satoshi 18 months to develop Bitcoin. This is an exact match for BitMEX, considering that the period elapsed between Amy’s final album and the launch of the Bitcoin White Paper.

Satoshi Nakamoto’s 24th email while developing Bitcoin.

And then the UK Spectator Magazine ran an article claiming that Satoshi was none other than “Adam Black,” whereas Adam’s last name is actually “Back” and not “Black”. Now, was it a coincidence? 

The Spectator Magazine is owned by the billionaire hedge fund manager Sir Paul Marshal of Marshall Wace, who knows his onions. There is simply no way that Sir Paul would allow such a thing to slip into the magazine.

Celebrity album timelines have also made it to identifying Satoshi Nakamoto. Mixing “Back” with “Black” so we would think of “Back to Black,” Amy’s final album.

BitMEX stands by their Satoshi

This is not the first time BitMEX has pinned Amy Winehouse as Satoshi Nakamoto. Their ‘exposee’ comes on the back of many years of satirical data and small clues.

Amy Jade Winehouse was a smart Libertarian

According to Juliette Ashby, who had been Amy’s lifelong friend since she was four years old, speaking in an interview in 2025, Winehouse was considered to be “highly intelligent.” 

Winehouse had used drugs illegally for her enjoyment. In this sense, it would be quite logical to deduce that Winehouse disagreed with laws that prohibited the use of drugs and that she had been violating those laws. 

The legalization of drugs is a typical stance for libertarians. Libertarians usually believe that everyone is entitled to do what he or she wants, provided it harms no one else.

Satoshi was also a libertarian, and she even knew that the Bitcoin system would appeal to people who had a “libertarian perspective”. To that end, all liberals are marked as Satoshi Nakamoto. In the end, we are all Satoshi.

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Matterhorn will introduce a new vibecoding tool for Web3, in partnership with the AI infrastructure project ASI Alliance. Matterhorn also aims to increase security and avoid smart contract mistakes. 

Matterhorn, the producer of an integrated development environment (IDE) for vibecoding, will partner with ASI Alliance, a group of top AI infrastructure projects like SingularityNET, Fetch.ai, and CUDOS. The announcement arrived just as Fetch.ai prepares to join the SoCal Startup Week, a hub of AI development ideas. 

Coming up: @Fetch_ai Innovation Lab x SoCal Startup Week 🚀

Join our https://t.co/qzg3riI6Y0 Innovation Lab team, @AnthropicAI and thousands of builders during SoCal Startup Week for the @claudeai Hackathon + @nexussocal Horizons Conference 🔥

All powered by the futuristic… pic.twitter.com/rLTNLXL7rh

— Fetch.ai Innovation Lab (@fetch_ai_IL) April 9, 2026

The main goal of Matterhorn is to bring safe vibecoding with additional safety for on-chain environments. As vibecoding spread, the software built through natural language prompts became mainstream. 

In the Web3 space, however, AI-generated smart contract code carries real financial risk, with few viable protection tools. 

Matterhorn and the ASI Alliance are building infrastructure to allow vibecoding while bridging the security gap. Developers can build and ship dApps, with built-in audits, using a fully decentralized stack. 

Web3 already hosts vibecoded projects

Generating dApps with prompts is widespread, with Matterhorn estimating that dozens of tools are available. The downside is the need for protection and audits that come after the app is produced. 

Additionally, there aren’t many AI platforms that specialize in generating viable smart contract code. This is where Matterhorn comes with specialization, DePIN infrastructure, and launching apps in the environment of ASI Alliance. 

Matterhorn will enable Vibe-Audit, its proprietary system with custom-trained AI models and a human-in-the-loop review. The project will offer pre-vetted app templates and additional specialized guardrails. The Web3 vibecoding possibilities will use the MeTTa native programming language of the ASI chain. 

“We’re at the beginning of a world where dApps become ‘just Apps’, commonplace like the websites and apps we use today,” said Abhinav, Founder of Matterhorn. 

“Every other tool in this space is racing to ship code faster. We think that’s the wrong race. The builders who build dApps that handle real money and real users need a platform they can trust, and this partnership is how we build it.”

Khellar Crawford of SingularityNET added that Web3 would always be open to AI in the end as the ultimate power user. He believes in the AGI-era software stack, integrating the security, ownership and transparency of on-chain activity, with the added convenience of consumer-grade functions. 

“In this world, payment APIs like Stripe sit next to smart contracts, explicit reasoning systems, decentralized compute, and agentic workflows. On ASI:Chain via Matterhorn, with AGI inference as a first-class citizen, we’re opening the floodgates to building applications that are fundamentally more intelligent, more composable, and more sovereign,” said Crawford.

Matterhorn targets 20,000 builders by year’s end

Matterhorn has set the goal of 20,000 builders onboarded by the end of 2026. The project’s roadmap includes a fine-tuning pipeline based on real developer usage data, built into the models of the ASI Alliance. This will allow for more specialized blockchain development over time. 

The end goal is to build a unified environment to build and audit apps using the existing DePIN infrastructure. 

The integration is already live on ASI Chain devnet for testing. Matterhorn expects 1 million model calls and 500 active compute instances in the first quarter.

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Investigative journalists, investors, historians, crypto supporters, and critics have not rested the issue of who Satoshi Nakamoto truly is. Currently, many scholars have taken on the task of discrediting the notion that longtime cypherpunk Adam Back is the anonymous creator of Bitcoin following an eye-opening New York Times report.

While they are at that, Ripple Chief Technology Officer David “JoelKatz” Schwartz is focused on Satoshi’s private keys. JoelKatz believes that the keys to Satoshi Nakamoto’s $70 billion Bitcoin fortune are lost forever.

Are Satoshi Nakamoto’s private keys lost?

According to Ripple CTO Emeritus, accessing those early holdings may no longer be possible. To this date, crypto’s greatest mystery remains unsolved.

The latest conversation began after a recent article written by the well-known investigative journalist John Carreyrou. After an 18-month investigation, Carreyrou pointed to a 55-year-old computer scientist as Satoshi Nakamoto.

As of now, Satoshi’s Genesis wallets are estimated to hold around 1.1 million Bitcoins. This is over over 5% of the total 21 million supply. Bitcoin fanatics argue that Adam Back’s current financial status does not match that of a crypto billionaire.

Political commentator Josh Barro argues his financial status is probably due to lost private keys. “What if he is Satoshi Nakamoto but also lost the keys?”

This argument caught the interest of David Schwartz. He says, “It does seem likely that whoever Satoshi Nakamoto is or was, nobody alive today has access to the keys.”

David Schwartz was once thought to be Nakamoto. However, although the claim could very well be true owing to Schwartz’s expertise in the field, it is ultimately false. Speaking to an X user, Schwartz revealed that he only came across Bitcoin in 2011. JoelKatz argues that almost all that Satoshi did is within his capabilities.

As reported by Cryptopolitan, Adam Back has since refuted those claims. In an X reply, Adam states, “I’m not Satoshi, but I was early in laser focus on the positive societal implications of cryptography, online privacy and electronic cash.”

Adam Back believes that Satoshi Nakamoto’s anonymity is of great benefit to Bitcoin.” According to him, Bitcoin should continue to be viewed as an asset class.

Mt. Gox’s ex-CEO calls on the crypto community to protect Satoshi

Mark Karpelès, the former CEO of Mt. Gox, has expressed that there is a responsibility on the part of the community to safeguard the anonymity of Satoshi Nakamoto.

Mt. Gox ex-CEO asks crypto community to defend Satoshi. Source: @magicaltux via X/Twitter

One user challenges this responsibility. “‘Satoshi chose to stay hidden’ assumes that Satoshi is one person who made one choice. What if the reality is messier than that? You call it ‘duty.’ You might as well call it: narrative management in service of a trillion-dollar ecosystem.” 

Karpelès asserts that Bitcoin’s worth depends on Satoshi Nakamoto remaining a secret. “A mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto is the perfect entity,” he explained.

There’s a middle ground between leaving money in the bank and rolling the dice in crypto. Start with this free video on decentralized finance.

Japan’s cabinet has approved a bill to amend the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act to classify crypto as “financial products” to protect investors. The country has also introduced new tax rules for crypto to replace the previous progressive system, under which taxes reached 55%, and set a flat 20% rate on profits.

According to the new amendments, the recognition of crypto as a financial asset at a cabinet meeting on April 10 is only the tip of the iceberg. The new act also applies insider trading controls that already apply to stocks to crypto transactions.

Japan is looking to regulate crypto assets as financial instruments to prohibit insider trading based on non-public information.

The Japanese government will require crypto issuers to disclose information at least once a year to create a healthy market environment. The bill is expected to be implemented in fiscal year 2027 if it is passed during the current Diet session. 

Finance minister says bill will ensure fairness and protect investors

Satsuki Katayama, Japan’s Finance Minister, emphasized that the country will boost the supply of growth capital to counter the effects of ever-evolving financial and capital markets. The bill, which reclassifies nearly 105 crypto assets, is also set to ensure markets remain fair and transparent, protecting investors.

Meanwhile, investor protection will include increasing the prison sentence from 3 years to up to 10 years to strengthen penalties. More stringent penalties, such as raising fines from the current 3 million yen to up to 10 million yen, further demonstrate Japan’s strong commitment to protecting investors.

“We will expand the supply of growth capital in response to changes in financial and capital markets, and ensure fairness and transparency in the market and investor protection.”

–Satsuki Katayama, Finance Minister of Japan

To achieve these objectives, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), which previously regulated crypto under the Payment Services Act, will shift regulation to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act. Registered businesses will also be collectively renamed from the previous “crypto asset exchange businesses” to “crypto asset trading businesses.”

FSA shifts crypto policy to allow banks to hold digital assets

The FSA is shifting its crypto policy by submitting an amendment to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, allowing local banks and other institutions to hold crypto for investment purposes. The move will effectively integrate crypto into the country’s financial system.

Japan was already the first major economy to regulate crypto post-Mt. Gox, and this move takes it a step further. The bill will shift the legal framing of crypto assets from digital payment tools to investible financial instruments. 

Meanwhile, the use of crypto assets for investment purposes has increased in Japan, representing a significant strengthening of regulations. The country’s over 12 million verified crypto users and $34 billion in assets under local custody now have a real runway to grow with these institutional-grade rules in place.

On the other hand, Japan signaled in January that it was bringing crypto under the same umbrella as traditional finance, when Katayama said that the role of exchanges and market infrastructure will be essential to ensure that citizens benefit from crypto assets. The country also plans to legalize crypto ETFs by 2028, marking a significant shift toward mainstream crypto adoption.

Local media reported that major financial groups in Japan, including SBI Holdings and Nomura Holdings, are among the first companies to develop crypto-linked exchange-traded products (ETPs).

The country is moving crypto out of the experimental payments category and into the same league as its stock market by reclassifying crypto assets, marking a major step toward domestic mainstream institutional adoption. 

Additionally, Katayama highlights 2026 as a pivotal year for bringing crypto under traditional financial regulation. She adds that the framework under the proposed bill prioritizes the use of Japan’s established digital asset infrastructure. The bill fits into a wider overhaul, according to the Japanese finance minister.

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The March CPI report drops today at 8:30 AM Eastern Time (ET) and the number markets are bracing for is 3.7% year-over-year, up from 2.4% in February. A 130 basis-point jump would mean that this would mark the biggest monthly rise in years caused almost entirely by the conflict in Iran and the resultant oil shock filtering into gas prices, transportation and food costs. The February print was already a relic of the pre-war economy by the time it was published. This one won’t be. The oil shock is about to be printed in the data. The Fed already saw it coming. As reported by Yahoo Finance, it raised its inflation forecast from 2.4% to 2.7% at the March meeting and seven of 19 FOMC participants are pencilling in zero rate cuts this year. 

Despite the macro narrative highlighting one of the most hostile inflation backdrops since the pandemic, institutional behaviour is telling a completely different story. Morgan Stanley has rolled out the first bank issued Bitcoin Spot ETF with the lowest fee in the market and drew in $34 million on day one while the broader BTC spot ETF market has seen total net inflows this week of over $545 million. At the same time, Strategy continues to accumulate Bitcoin at a relentless pace, adding another 4,871 BTC to its balance sheet.  

What the March CPI Shows: the Iran War’s Inflation Tax Arrives

Economists have been bracing for this print for weeks. FactSet’s median estimate for March CPI sits at 3.4% YoY, while the broader FactSet consensus puts the number at 3.7% on an annual basis, with headline inflation rising 0.93% month-over-month, the biggest single month jump in years. Meanwhile the Cleveland Fed’s Inflation Nowcasting model is in the lower bound of the range and has it at 3.16%. As Morningstar reported, this CPI report is going to be the first real data set to reflect the surge in energy prices from the Iran war. Oil has shot up from around $70 before the war began to over $110. An over 70% rise that wasn’t limited to the pump. It moved into jet fuel, shipping costs, food transportation and eventually, the price of almost everything that gets trucked, railed or shipped across the country.  

The Fed saw this coming and still could not get ahead of it. At the March 18 meeting, policymakers raised their 2026 inflation projections from 2.4% to 2.7%, a 30 basis point jump making the steepest single year upward revision in recent cycles, with core inflation revised up to the same level. The dot plot still shows one cut later this year, but seven of 19 FOMC participants now see zero cuts this year, and the longer-run neutral rate estimate edged higher. 

If March CPI lands at or above 3.7%, the Fed’s forecast will already be obsolete on the day it prints. That’s before tariff passthrough, the San Francisco Fed has flagged that tariff-driven price pressures are expected to peak in Q2 2026, meaning the energy inflation from the war is now stacking directly on top of an already building cost base. 

Morgan Stanley Just Bet on Bitcoin With a Bank-Issued ETF and It’s Not Alone

Just as the worst inflation print since the pandemic is expected to drop, Morgan Stanley, one of the largest banks in the world managing roughly $8 trillion in assets, launched the first bank-issued spot Bitcoin ETF. MSBT drew in $34 million in day one with over 1.6 million shares traded, and Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas placed the debut in the top 1% of all ETF launches as reported by Fortune.  At the same, the largest corporate bitcoin treasury company, Strategy, added another $330 million on BTC. The reason we are seeing this divergence isn’t actually a contradiction but more to do with timeframe. CPI is a backward-looking, monthly data point. Institutional moves like ETF launches and platform integrations are multi-year capital allocation decisions that are designed to outlive any single inflation cycle.

Trading day is half over and $MSBT is at $27m in volume so it's def going to clear my $30m estimate. Prob end up around $50m, which is huge, Top 1% of ETF launches, only two I can recall that were in this range in past year are $BSOL, $XRPC and $DRAM (all around $60m) pic.twitter.com/RylAwtAVz9

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) April 8, 2026

The Divergence: Why Institutions Don’t Flinch at 3.7% CPI

There’s precedent for this exact setup. In June 2022, when inflation peaked at 9.1% and macro conditions looked outright hostile, BlackRock moved forward with its initial Bitcoin ETF push, an infrastructure bet that has since scaled into one of the largest funds in the market. Today’s environment rhymes. 

For traders, the March CPI matters immediately: a hotter-than-expected print reinforces rate hike risk and short-term pressure on BTC, while a softer number opens the door for relief rallies. But for institutions, the calculus is different. The regulatory backdrop is structurally improving, access points are expanding, and capital rails are being built out regardless of monthly volatility. Both views are rational, they’re just operating on entirely different clocks. 

What to Watch: CPI Market Reaction, Islamabad Talks, and the ETF Race

The first number to watch today is the CPI print at 8:30 AM ET. BTC’s reaction in the two hours that follow will set the short-term tone. A reading above 3.7% likely pushes bitcoin toward the $69K support level as rate hike odds spike and any ceasefire-driven oil relief gets treated as temporary. A reading below 3.4% and this opens up the door to a retest of $72K and potentially the $73 to 75K range. 

The second number to watch is oil, and that one hinges on Islamabad. VP Vance leads the US delegation into talks today alongside Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, with Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi leading the Iranian side, the highest-level meeting between Washington and Tehran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. 

Markets have already shown how delicate the setup is and how the price of oil has been reacting to every piece of news filtering in. If talks produce a credible framework, easing supply constraints, inflation expectations could cool and risk assets benefit. If they stall, oil likely rebounds and reinforces the inflation spike narrative. At the same time, watch the Strait of Hormuz, still operating far below normal capacity after one of the largest supply disruptions in history, as any increase in vessel traffic would signal de-escalation. Layered on top is the ETF race: early MSBT inflows will indicate whether Morgan Stanley’s distribution engine is activating, especially given its fee advantage. Finally, all roads lead to the April 28–29 FOMC meeting, where this CPI print will shape the tone. If inflation confirms the spike, expect the Fed’s posture to harden further, potentially shifting the conversation from “higher for longer” to simply “higher.”

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Cryptocurrency exchange in Russia will be carried out only through non-cash transactions, according to a high-ranking executive of its monetary authority.

This will strengthen controls over financial flows involving digital assets, the official emphasized while clarifying various aspects of the upcoming regulations.

Russians will not be allowed to sell crypto for paper rubles

Cashing out Bitcoin for banknotes won’t be an option for Russian citizens under their country’s new regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies.

This was made clear by Vladimir Chistyukhin, First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of Russia (CBR), who answered questions about the legislation set to be adopted this spring.

In a broad interview for RBC Radio, the banker said the ban on trading coins for cash is needed to strengthen control over financial flows involving decentralized digital money.

The measure will prevent dubious transactions, Chistyukhin further insisted, also quoted by the leading Russian crypto news outlet Bits.media.

Converting crypto into cash “won’t work in Russia,” he emphasized, noting that all fiat payments will be cashless, just like with securities trading.

The restriction will be introduced as part of a package of draft laws recently submitted to the State Duma, the lower house of Russian parliament.

The legislative set includes the bill on “On Digital Currency and Digital Rights,” which is designed to comprehensively regulate crypto-related activities.

The legal document was developed jointly by the CBR and the Ministry of Finance. It aims to build the domestic Russian crypto infrastructure, including exchanges and depositories.

This and the other laws must be passed and enforced by July 1, 2026, as part of a broader effort to bring more of Russia’s economy out of the shadows.

According to official estimates, the daily crypto transactions of Russian residents reach 50 billion rubles (over $600 million), and Moscow wants to make them legal and visible.

Illegal crypto exchange services will be ‘severely punished’

The upcoming rules will introduce a licensing regime for participants in Russia’s regulated crypto market. Chistyukhin promised the requirements will not be difficult to meet.

“In my opinion, this is a very simple license, and I think all participants who want to obtain it will receive it,” he noted, while acknowledging the process will entail additional costs.

A transitional period will give existing crypto platforms time to legalize their activities, and those who fail to do so will be forced out of business.

“All companies that conduct transactions in violation of or without a license will be severely punished.”

These platforms will initially work with the most liquid currencies, such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Tether (USDT), but the central bank will be able to expand the list of approved assets.

Digital depositories, exclusively Russian entities registered with the central bank, will maintain records of clients’ rights to cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.

Cryptocurrency payments to remain prohibited in Russia

Financial authorities intend to permit most cryptocurrency transactions, except payments, Vladimir Chistyukhin also indicated, stating:

“It’s obvious that cryptocurrencies cannot be used as a means of payment.”

Despite restrictions causing criticism that Moscow is dropping an iron curtain on the crypto market, it will still be possible to send coins abroad or repatriate them.

The key condition is to make the transfer between custodial wallets on both ends, the CBR official explained. Depositing from a custodial to a non-custodial wallet will not be permitted.

Russian citizens will be able to legally keep all cryptocurrency they currently hold, regardless of the type of wallet, Chistyukhin assured. The only requirement is to notify the Federal Tax Service, he noted.

Asked whether the Bank of Russia intends to add digital assets to its reserves, the deputy governor said the authority is not currently considering this option.

“But the world is changing so rapidly that perhaps in the future, cryptocurrencies will become such a highly liquid instrument, low in volatility … that this issue will also be on the agenda,” he commented.

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Bittensor’s TAO token crashed by over 20% as the project lost one of its busiest subnets. The Templar subnet team has announced it will abandon its position with Bittensor. 

Bittensor lost Templar, its busiest subnet, losing a substantial part of its liquidity. Following the news, the TAO native token lost over 20% to $264.05, down from recent local highs above $340. At the peak, the loss extended to 27%, a significant crash for one of the few remaining tokenized projects in the green.

Bittensor’s TAO crashed after the Covenant AI founder sold 37,000 tokens, leading to an additional $9M in long liquidations. | Source: CoinGecko.

TAO was one of the surviving narrative tokens, still preserving some of its gains from the 2024-2025 bull market. The project was also supported by investor interest, and TAO still has a relatively high mindshare of 0.8% on social media.

Will Bittensor survive the loss of a major subnet?

The TAO crash arrived after the Covenant AI project announced it would leave Bittensor, and several of Covenant’s subnets stopped receiving reward emissions. 

The Templar subnet also sold 37,000 TAO, enough to affect the market. The sale also translated into losses for anyone who invested and locked TAO into the Grail, Basilica, and Templar subnets. The 37,000 TAO tokens originated from the wallet of Sam Dare, Covenant’s co-founder.

Covenant AI came up with a statement explaining its position and claimed Bittensor was not truly decentralized. 

“When a single actor can suspend a subnet’s emissions, override an owner’s authority over their own community spaces, publicly deprecate projects without process, and use token sales as a coercive mechanism to compel compliance, that is not decentralization. It is centralized control with decentralized branding,” stated Covenant AI on X.

Covenant claimed the Bittensor team suspended emissions on its subnets, froze its community channels, and destroyed its subnet infrastructure. 

According to Covenant AI, Bittensor was also not decentralized, and the co-founder had full control of the multisig wallet controlling the project.

Bittensor stated it would survive and expand with other subnets not headed by a specific project. According to Steeves, the event will lead to subnets running as true commodities. 

This will prove to birth the first subnets on Bittensor that run headless and as true commodities.

— const (@const_reborn) April 10, 2026

The Covenant AI project was significant, but according to Bittensor, it was running subnets mostly for emission rewards. The rift between Bittensor and Covenant AI may have lasting implications and split the community. For some, Bittensor will survive without Covenant, while others still seek true decentralization. 

TAO crash leads to liquidations

In the short term, the TAO price swing caused additional liquidations in the past 24 hours. Over $9.44M in long positions were liquidated, with a total of $11.36M in liquidations for the past 24 hours. 

TAO is 53.13% unlocked and will continue with new emissions over the next few years. This is the main reason investors are staking and flocking to subnets for extra rewards. TAO is also a highly liquid token with a Binance listing, allowing for the sale of some of the rewards. 

The coming days will reveal whether TAO will keep crashing or it will be seen as a buying opportunity. As Cryptopolitan reported earlier, TAO is one of the tokens included in a Grayscele ETP, exposing the asset to external investors. 

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The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection (OCCIP) announced that it is working on a new strategy to protect the digital asset ecosystem. 

Its program aims to provide eligible U.S. crypto companies and organizations with real-time security data to stop hacker attacks and protect user accounts. The announcement, however, doesn’t fully explain what makes a company “eligible,” but those that fit the bill can tap into the same security resources that traditional banks use. Companies interested in the service were asked to contact the office directly.

Under the initiative, crypto firms will gain access to government-led threat intelligence-sharing programs. The move aims to help digital asset platforms better defend against a growing wave of cyberattacks while also strengthening the broader financial system’s resilience.

The policy change comes amid a sharp rise in crypto-related hacks and fraud. In 2025 alone, illicit actors stole nearly $2.9 billion across roughly 150 incidents, with attackers increasingly targeting wallets, private keys, and operational infrastructure rather than just smart contracts. Recent events underscore the urgency. A major exploit in 2026 involved the Drift protocol, highlighting the scale and sophistication of modern attacks. Meanwhile, global cybercrime losses hit $17.6 billion last year, with crypto-related investment scams accounting for a significant share.

Treasury officials expect the initiative to boost cybersecurity significantly

Treasury officials increasingly view the crypto sector as a critical component of the financial system. The inclusion of digital asset firms in intelligence-sharing networks reflects concerns that vulnerabilities in crypto infrastructure could spill over into traditional markets.

In the OCCIP press release, Cory Wilson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity, noted that attacks on digital asset platforms have become more common and more sophisticated. That said, even in its earliest stages, the digital asset industry has struggled with frequent security breaches. Major cyberattacks occur almost monthly, resulting in heavy losses of capital and sensitive data.

Just last week, cybercriminals tied to North Korea drained more than $280 million from the decentralized exchange Drift. Moreover, in late March, over $3.6 million was taken from the crypto ATM firm Bitcoin Depot in a cyberattack. Chainalysis’s annual report also showed that crypto platforms lost more than $3.4 billion to theft in the past year.

Nonetheless, Wilson anticipates that the new program will reduce cybersecurity threats, opening a stream of useful cyber intelligence that will help digital asset businesses lock down their systems and respond more quickly to attacks.

Tyler Williams, Counselor to the Secretary for Digital Assets, also commented, “As digital assets become more integrated into the financial system, access to timely and actionable cyber threat information is essential to protecting consumers and safeguarding the stability of U.S. financial markets.”

He added that the new initiative aligns with the GENIUS Act by encouraging safe innovation that prioritizes strong digital defenses and business continuity. Ideally, the initiative fulfills a recommendation from the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets report published last year to support the responsible growth and use of digital assets.

Luke Pettit, Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions, also shared: “Digital asset firms are an increasingly important part of the U.S. financial sector, and their resilience is critical to the health of the broader system. By extending access to the same high-quality cybersecurity information used by traditional financial institutions, Treasury is helping promote a more secure and responsible digital asset ecosystem.”

The U.S. Treasury agreed to partner with the UAE on cybersecurity

This is not the first time the U.S. Department of the Treasury has tried to curb cyber attacks. Back in 2023, under the Biden administration, it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Cyber Security Council of the United Arab Emirates on Cybersecurity Cooperation.

At the time, U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo noted that joint action is critical to protecting the global economy from cyber threats, adding that he looks forward to building a broader alliance with the UAE. The bilateral partnership guaranteed data sharing on active threats, joint staff training programs, and collaborative cross-border cyber exercises.

Prior to this, the two nations established a partnership in 2021 to protect critical financial infrastructure and agreed that closer cyber cooperation was vital to securing global markets.

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Securitize appointed former SEC Trading and Markets Director Brett Redfearn as its new President and Board member at a time when real-world asset tokenization and institutional demand for blockchain-based financial infrastructure are expanding.

Previously, Redfear led the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets. He will now oversee strategy, regulatory engagement, and market structure development at the digital asset firm.

His appointment comes at a pivotal moment for the tokenization sector, which has crossed the $3 billion mark in on-chain assets, driven by growing institutional participation and regulatory clarity.

Former SEC market chief joins Securitize to help grow safe and regulated token systems

Securitize wants Redfearn’s regulatory experience to shape both short-term action and future planning, so the company named him to both an executive and a board role. Redfearn will help the team expand its platform for digital securities that follow financial laws.

Redfearn’s past experience made him a better fit for the role, as he helped guide the laws and systems that keep financial markets stable while serving as the Director of the Division of Trading and Markets at the U.S. SEC from 2017 to 2020.

He also worked on modernizing the National Market System and on reforms that improved transparency and enabled markets to respond more effectively during periods of high volatility.

Additionally, Redfearn spent 14 years at JPMorgan, achieving the role of Global Head of Market Structure, and focused on how trading systems connect with exchanges and how large financial institutions move money and assets through global markets.

He later joined Coinbase as Head of Capital Markets, connecting traditional financial ideas with blockchain-based systems and expanding access for large institutions seeking to enter crypto markets safely.

Redfearn also founded Panorama Financial Markets Advisory and served on the boards of several major brands, including BATS Global Markets, BATS Exchange, the Chicago Stock Exchange, and BIDS Trading.

His appointment shows just how much Securitize wants to be seen as a regulated infrastructure provider linked to traditional finance systems.

CEO Carlos Domingo even said Redfearn had already built a close working relationship with Securitize while serving on his advisory board for several years.

RWA tokenization grows past $3B as Securitize builds global systems

The real-world asset (RWA) tokenization market is now worth over $3B in value recorded on blockchain systems, and reports suggest the real scale is much larger than the onchain figure. 

Asset managers like BlackRock, KKR, Apollo, VanEck, and Hamilton Lane have also adopted tokenization, proving it is no longer limited to crypto-native firms. 

These institutions will use tokenization to accelerate trade settlement, reduce operational costs, improve transparency in ownership and transactions, and enable 24-hour market access without waiting for traditional market opening hours.

When it comes to infrastructure, Securitize now manages more than $4B in tokenized assets and supports issuance, trading, and administration of digital securities across different regions with its regulated systems.

However, the company still operates through SEC-registered entities in the United States, including a broker-dealer, transfer agent, and alternative trading system operator. Additionally, Securitize operates in Europe under the EU DLT Pilot Regime, which governs licensed investment firms.

The company’s structure has made it one of the few firms that can operate regulated digital currencies across both the U.S. and Europe simultaneously, with a fully compliant tokenized stock trading platform

The financial technology company also wants to venture into tokenized equities and a fully compliant tokenized stock trading platform that uses digital tokens to represent real company shares with real rights, such as dividends and voting rights. 

Similarly, Securitize aims to make financial processes faster and more efficient by using blockchain as the official record of ownership, reducing the need for traditional middlemen during trading and settlement.

Since institutional investors and regulators often require clear laws before trusting or adopting new financial systems at scale, Securitize’s compliance-first strategy gives it an edge over many offshore or less-regulated tokenized platforms.

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Supposed rivals Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell pulled the heads of the biggest U.S. banks into an urgent meeting in Washington over concerns inside government circles over what Anthropic’s newest AI system could mean for cyber risk.

According to claims from Bloomberg, the meeting allegedly happened on Tuesday at Treasury headquarters and discussed locking things down before tools like Anthropic’s Mythos get used against critical financial systems.

The executives called in were running banks that regulators treat as essential to the financial system. Those invited included Jane Fraser of Citigroup, Ted Pick of Morgan Stanley, Brian Moynihan of Bank of America, Charlie Scharf of Wells Fargo, and David Solomon of Goldman Sachs. Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan was unable to attend.

Crypto community’s Arthur Hayes reacted on X with a jab at the moment, writing, “Powell and Bessent provided the cancerous soft drink to go with the Trump taco.” He added a screenshot of the USD liquidity index covering a one-year period.

Source: Arthur Hayes/X

Moving on, Scott and Powell reportedly wanted the banks to understand the possible danger tied to Anthropic’s Mythos and to similar models that may come after it. They also wanted the companies to take steps now to protect their systems, because it seems that’s what matters most, and not the general public.

Earlier, Cryptopolitan reported that Anthropic has said Mythos can find weak points in every major operating system and web browser and then use those weak points when a user tells it to do so.

Anthropic chases more chips while OpenAI readies a cyber product for select partners

Meanwhile, Reuters reported earlier that Anthropic is looking at whether it should design its own chips. Three sources said the company is exploring that option as AI companies deal with a shortage of the chips needed to train and run more advanced models.

Those plans are still early. Two people with knowledge of the matter and one person briefed on Anthropic’s plans said the company could still decide not to build its own chips at all and just keep buying them.

The backdrop is a surge in demand for Claude. Anthropic said earlier this week that its run-rate revenue is now above $30 billion in 2026, up from about $9 billion at the end of 2025.

To build and run Claude, Anthropic uses several kinds of chips, including TPUs made by Google and chips from Amazon.

Earlier this week, Anthropic also signed a long-term deal with Google and Broadcom, which helps design those TPUs. That deal adds to the company’s commitment to spend $50 billion on stronger U.S. computing infrastructure.

Anthropic’s rivals, Meta and OpenAI, are both pursuing their own chip efforts as well. Industry sources said building an advanced AI chip can cost around $500 million because companies need top engineers and heavy spending to reduce manufacturing defects.

At the same time, OpenAI is working on its own cyber product. A source familiar told Axios that OpenAI is finishing a product with advanced cybersecurity features and plans to release it to a small group of partners. Back in February, after launching GPT-5.3-Codex, OpenAI introduced its Trusted Access for Cyber pilot. The company said in a blog post that groups in the invite-only program would get access to “even more cyber capable or permissive models to accelerate legitimate defensive work.” At that time, OpenAI also set aside $10 million in API credits for participants.

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For years, stablecoins were seen as the backbone for traders, useful but pretty much largely invisible. A way to move in and out of volatile assets without touching fiat. A liquidity bridge, not a destination.

That perception is now, well, outdated. 

Stablecoins are slowly becoming one of crypto’s most practical and scalable contributions to modern finance. The numbers are telling. Average stablecoin market capitalization jumped from just over $150 billion in 2024 to around $220 billion in 2025, according to TRM Labs.

They accounted for 30% of crypto transaction volume between January and July 2025. Stablecoins are moving away from trading pairs and toward real-world payments, settlement, and corporate treasury operations, areas where traditional financial rails are seen as slow, fragmented, and very expensive.

This isn’t speculative adoption. It’s operational adoption.

What’s driving the move is utility. Stablecoins solve real problems, and institutions are using them because they work better, not because they’re new.

In payments, the appeal is straightforward. Stablecoins settle near-instantly, operate 24/7, and move across borders without the friction of correspondent banking networks. 

In reality, it’s the other benefits that make stablecoins more than just a cheaper option. A recent Fireblocks survey found faster settlement topped the list at 48%, followed by improved liquidity and integrated flows at 33% each, with cost savings trailing at 30%.

For businesses operating across multiple jurisdictions, that alone is a game-changer. Payment finality doesn’t need to wait for business hours, intermediaries, or time-zone alignment.

As a result, stablecoins are being pulled into real commerce. From B2B payments to payroll, remittances, and merchant settlement, they’re functioning less like crypto assets and more like digital cash with global reach.

The impact is even clearer in treasury operations.

Corporates and fintechs are increasingly using stablecoins to manage cross-border liquidity, internal funding, and settlement between subsidiaries. Traditional treasury rails, such as SWIFT transfers, nostro accounts, and delayed reconciliation, were never designed for a global, always-on digital economy. 

Stablecoins bypass much of that friction. Funds move faster. Costs are lower. Transparency improves.

Instead of waiting days for cross-border transfers to clear, treasury teams can move value in a matter of minutes. Instead of pre-funding accounts in multiple jurisdictions, liquidity can be held centrally and deployed on demand. For businesses managing cash across regions, that efficiency compounds quickly.

Stablecoins also offer something legacy systems struggle to match: on-demand digital liquidity.

Because stablecoins live on programmable networks, access to capital isn’t constrained by banking cut-off times or settlement windows. Intercompany transfers, margin top-ups, or working capital movements can happen in real time. That reduces idle balances and improves capital efficiency, two things treasury teams care deeply about.

This is where programmable money moves from theory to practice.

Smart contracts allow stablecoins to be embedded directly into treasury workflows. Payments can be triggered automatically when conditions are met. 

Reconciliation can happen in real time. Reporting becomes cleaner because transaction data is native, structured, and auditable.

Legacy systems attempt to approximate this with layers of middleware, batch processing, and reconciliation processes bolted on after the fact. Stablecoins do it at the base layer.

That doesn’t mean the transition is frictionless. Regulatory scrutiny is increasing, and rightly so. Governments and central banks are paying close attention as stablecoins move closer to the core of financial infrastructure.

But importantly, regulation isn’t slowing adoption. It’s shaping it.

Compliant, well-structured stablecoins, backed transparently, governed properly, and issued within clear legal frameworks, are gaining credibility as legitimate payment and treasury instruments. Rather than being sidelined, they’re being evaluated alongside existing financial tools, especially in jurisdictions that recognise their efficiency gains.

This is less about replacing banks and more about upgrading the rails they run on.

The real innovation in stablecoins isn’t speculative yield, trading volume, or market cycles. It’s their ability to function as a neutral, programmable layer for moving value across the internet, reliably, cheaply, and instantly.

As adoption deepens, stablecoins are likely to fade into the background. 

They won’t need hype because they’ll be embedded into workflows, APIs, and balance sheets. That’s how real financial infrastructure behaves.

What began as a tool for traders is evolving into a backbone for digital commerce and enterprise finance. And that may end up being crypto’s most lasting contribution of all.

Star Xu, the founder of OKCoin and the current CEO of its successor platform, OKX, publicly expressed his doubts over the founder of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, Changpeng Zhao’s claim that he decided to sell his apartment worth $900,000 to make a $400 investment in Bitcoin, igniting debates about both ownership and finances.

Interestingly, OKX’s CEO made these remarks shortly after reports revealed the launch of CZ’s book, highlighting the story’s lack of key information and reviving previous arguments linked to OKCoin. 

Xu and Zhao’s conflict ignites tension among cryptocurrency investors 

Regarding Xu’s doubts about CZ’s earlier statement, the Chinese entrepreneur questioned the source of the initial down payment and the apartment’s true ownership. Based on his argument, there is a high likelihood that Zhao’s in-laws own the apartment in question rather than the industry leader himself. Xu also raised concerns about the persistent framing of this story to the public.

Afterward, the CEO of OKX shared a post on the social media platform X, noting that the narrative failed to acknowledge the support CZ’s family provided during that period, and added that this portrayal could be hurtful to his elderly in-laws.

When reporters asked Xu why he decided to challenge Zhao’s statement publicly, he had previously avoided discussing such issues, but the current situation forced him to break his silence to address inaccuracies about Binance founder of Binance’s past published in the new book. Hence, prompting him to disclose previously omitted details.

In his efforts to address the spread of false information, OKX’s CEO revisited a 2015 contract dispute involving prominent Bitcoin figure Roger Ver. At this particular moment, CZ faced allegations of contract forgery during his time at OKCoin.

In response to this accusation, Zhao dismissed all the allegations as false in his new book. According to him, this situation demonstrated a difference in leadership vision, not a behavioral violation. Nonetheless, even with this assertion in place, Xu still maintained that the previous evidence remains valid, citing old materials and a notarized video shared online years ago. He also recalled CZ’s prior assertion regarding potential unauthorized access to his QQ account by another employee.

As the ongoing conflict intensified, Zhao called Xu a liar and alleged that Xu had reported Huobi’s founder, Leon Li, to Chinese officials. In response to these assertions, the OKX founder publicly stated that the claims were untrue. 

Regarding the accusation that Li was detained by Chinese police in November 2020, Xu detailed Asian crypto platform operations, noting that major Asian crypto platforms are overwhelmed by the volume of annual reports retrieved from various sources. According to him, relying solely on those reports would threaten the industry’s survival, highlighting intense regulatory and competitive pressures.

Several analysts weighed in on the situation. They contended that the recent confrontation on X underscores the complex web of personal and professional rivalries shaping top Asian crypto exchanges. In the meantime, it is worth noting that the conflict stems from allegations in CZ’s autobiography, indicating a major falling-out between two people once seen as allies in the early crypto industry.

Analysts outline challenges encountered in the crypto industry 

Regarding the present dispute, analysts argued that the conflict stems from the long-standing professional histories of Xu, Zhao, and Li. To break this argument down, they noted that CZ was a former employee of OKCoin, which OKX directly succeeded. Zhao publicly cited disagreements over company operations as the reason for his departure.

Shortly after leaving, he founded Binance, which quickly became the leading cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, sparking a rivalry between the two. 

At this point, sources explained that the persistent accusations between the prominent figures in the crypto industry outline how personal rivalries among Chinese crypto pioneers continue to shape public opinion.

CZ, Xu, Li Lin, the founder of Huobi Group, and Justin Sun, the founder of the TRON blockchain,  were responsible for creating four of the most powerful platforms in crypto. They faced intense pressure from Beijing, leading to the arrests of founders and the forced relocation of operations abroad between 2017 and 2022. 

Meanwhile, none of the main claims in this dispute is independently verified. The alleged screenshot implicating Li Lin, cited by CZ, remains unpublished. Reports highlighted that the evidentiary basis for a 2014 contract remains the subject of debate after more than 10 years. 

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