Cryptopolitan

Metaplanet has disclosed the acquisition of over 5,000 BTC during the first quarter of 2026, pushing its overall holdings to over 40,000 BTC. The announcement proved that the Japanese firm had stayed active in the market after what many thought was a prolonged buying hiatus. 

The purchases, made during a period of great fear and uncertainty across markets, have enabled it to leapfrog MARA Holdings and become the third-largest corporate Bitcoin treasury among publicly traded companies. 

Metaplanet bought at an average price of $79,898 per BTC for the quarter. 

Metaplanet was buying while MARA trimmed holdings 

According to a post shared by Metaplanet’s CEO, Simon Gerovich, the company’s holdings are now at 40,177 BTC, achieving a BTC Yield of 2.8% YTD 2026. 

Metaplanet was discrete, but it is now within two spots of Strategy, the leading BTC treasury company that stayed consistent with its purchases during the first quarter. 

MARA Holdings, which Metaplanet knocked out of its spot, was selling. According to reports, it started the year with about 53,822 BTC, but as of late March, it had fallen to 38,689 BTC. 

Its largest sales occurred between March 4 and March 25, 2026, when it sold 15,133 BTC for roughly $1.1 billion. A portion of the proceeds from the sale was used to fund a $1 billion repurchase of convertible senior notes, cutting its debt by 30%, and the rest was earmarked for general corporate purposes and balance-sheet strengthening. 

BTC treasury companies readjusted positions in the first quarter 

Aside from Metaplanet, the only other notable buyer of BTC in the first quarter was Michael Saylor’s Strategy, aggressively adding about 89,000 BTC during the period. 

It currently holds 762,099 BTC at an average cost of $75,699, and buying does not seem to be ending soon. Its acquisitions in the first quarter account for the majority of net corporate accumulation, lending credibility to critics who point to the one-buyer market and see red flags. 

Other notable BTC buyers in Q1 included Strive and Semler Scientific. Strive had increased its treasury holdings to 13,628 BTC as of mid-March via PIPE proceeds, and most notably, the all-stock acquisition of Semler Scientific, which added 5,048 BTC to its holdings. 

Before it was acquired by Strive, Semler Scientific’s steady purchases had tapered as the merger progressed. 

Those were the standouts. Most of the other Bitcoin treasury companies, including miner-linked ones like MARA, were selling in Q1 or staying neutral. Experts have linked their decision to sell or remain neutral to factors such as BTC’s recent volatility, NAV discounts, and shareholder caution amid unrealized losses. 

Empery Digital and Genius Group fall in that final category, according to recent Cryptopolitan reports.

Adam Back’s $1.5B BTC war chest excites Bitcoiners

In February of this year, Adam Back, co-founder and CEO of Blockstream, during an appearance at a CNBC interview, spoke about the company’s pivot into a dedicated Bitcoin treasury company called Bitcoin Standard Treasuries (BSTR).

In the clip, he emphasized that the currently low BTC price is advantageous for the company; after all, a lower entry means they can acquire more BTC per dollar deployed. 

The clip also sees Back reveal they are awaiting SPAC approval this April, and BSTR’s ambition is to climb to the top three position among treasury companies. 

As part of its pivot, Back stated in February that he will reportedly invest $1.5 billion into BTC within weeks of getting SPAC approval, news that got Bitcoiners excited. 

As of April 2, the deal is still in the works, and no purchases have been recorded other than the initial 30,021 BTC purchase from 2025. Shareholder votes are still pending, but the approval and closing of the deal are slated to happen this April, as Back claimed in February.

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Grayscale noted the crypto market showed surprising resilience in March, despite peak uncertainty. In the past month, oil futures on HIP-3 have emerged as the newest liquidity hot spot, rising from near zero to new records each day. 

The crypto market held up in March, but it is still a long way from recovery, according to Grayscale’s analysis. BTC had a small 1.81% net monthly return in March, rallying at the last moment to avoid a six-month losing streak. 

In the background, the market achieved new regulatory milestones as the US Securities and Exchange Commission issued rulings on the status of multiple crypto assets under securities law. 

The past month was marked by the rise of oil markets on Hyperliquid, which accelerated from near-zero activity. 

Crypto markets are pressured by the war in Iran

According to Grayscale, the war in Iran was the main market development for crypto and other assets. The main factor was the secondary oil price shock, which led to a 63% rise in oil prices per barrel. Higher oil prices sparked concerns about inflation and predictions of a more hawkish interest rate policy across major economies. 

Gold, equity indexes, bonds, and silver all moved lower. In this climate, BTC was still not a convincing alternative, as the coin hovered below $70,000. 

As a result, crypto assets held within their usual range, without dramatic recoveries. BTC got a boost from Strategy’s purchases, adding 44.4K to its treasury. ETH held above $2,000, but remained shaky as open interest was low. Grayscale’s crypto index had a minimal net gain in March. 

Perpetual futures turned into the best performer in the past month

The best-performing sector in March was traditional assets with on-chain representation, led by Hyperliquid’s perpetual futures. The platform’s growth was driven by HIP-3 contracts, as Trade.XYZ added an S&P 500 contract in partnership with S&P Dow Jones Indices. 

Oil futures peaked on March 23, but Brent and WTI CL remain the busiest contracts on HIP-3. Hyperliquid also awaits increased open interest and trading with the HIP-4 upgrade. 

Oil also attracted a notable short position from Abraxas Capital. The fund retains its main short positions, despite the recent oil spike above $100.

The perpetual futures oil market closely tracks developments in the Strait of Hormuz for signs of relief from the oil supply disruptions. As a result, HIP-3 makes up to 40% of Hyperliquid activity, displacing other crypto markets. 

Brent open interest reached a peak of $1.5B in March, later retreating to around $400M after liquidations and closed positions. WTI oil held around $400M in open interest. The two contracts emerged from a top 10 asset to the most actively traded on HIP-3 in March.

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The governor of the state of Alabama signed SB277 into law, giving decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) legal status in the Yellowhammer State from October 1, 2026. That announcement comes as two of the most prominent voices in crypto debate what it takes to be called a DeFi project these days, and to be governed by DAOs, after the $285 million exploit that rocked Drift Protocol.

The debate between Uniswap’s founder Hayden Adams and Solana Labs co-founder Anatoly “Toly” Yakovenko flips the script on the stereotype of the historical inability of lawmakers to agree on anything, as Alabama legislators found common ground to push through the DAO bill sponsored by Republican Senator Lance Bell, while Adams and Toly publicly disagreed on decentralization ideals and standards. 

Why are Uniswap and Solana Labs founders arguing on X?

Uniswap’s Hayden Adams triggered a pointed response from Solana Labs’ Toly when he responded to an analysis of the Drift Protocol $285 million exploit by Omer Goldberg, the founder of Chaos Labs

As reported by Cryptopolitan, hackers gained access to Drift Protocol because its governance process appeared to prioritize speed at the expense of certain failsafe mechanisms, including a timelock . 

Omer’s analysis reported the same thing, noting that the Drift Protocol exploiter could create a new collateral market, instruct the oracle to an account they control, and turn off withdrawal guards on major vaults in a single transaction after gaining admin key access. 

Despite not “grave dancing” according to Adams, he used the Drift exploit as an opportunity to call to draw the line between CeFi and DeFi, “otherwise DeFi means nothing, and its brand is destroyed.”

People might accuse me of grave dancing for saying it

But we have to stop letting centralized things call themselves DeFi

Admin key can drain all funds? CeFi

Otherwise DeFi means nothing and it’s brand is destroyed

No admin key can drain any version of Uniswap for a reason https://t.co/HSZuDk238f

— Hayden Adams 🦄 (@haydenzadams) April 2, 2026

Toly promptly replied with screengrabs from a ChatGPT conversation to dispute Adam’s claims that “no admin key can drain any version of Uniswap for a reason.” 

Anatoly’s pushback was based on the argument that “Technically, any fork of Uniswap that is on any L2 has an admin key that can drain the Uniswap contract because of the L2 emergency upgrade path, since it can override the state of that contract in the upgrade.”

Adams fought back against Toly’s implication of Uniswap’s centralization due to a 15-of-18-signer requirement, insisting that “15 keys across 3 independent orgs is way more decentralized than 1.” 

Allow me to clarify. I meant the Uniswap AMM smart contracts are immutable and don’t have admin keys and have the exact level of decentralization of the chain they live on

— Hayden Adams 🦄 (@haydenzadams) April 2, 2026

The back-and-forth between the cofounders only ended after Adams clarified that the “Uniswap AMM smart contracts are immutable and don’t have admin keys.” The Uniswap founder then doubled down on the fact that the DEX’s smart contracts have the
“exact level of decentralization on the chain they live on,” referring to the Ethereum blockchain, which is often referred to as the gold standard in DeFi quarters. 

The Solana Labs co-founder is not the only one to question Uniswap’s decentralization lately. 

Cryptopolitan reported on a European Central Bank (ECB) paper published in March 2026 based on data collected between two periods in November 2022 and May 2023, where the apex bank questioned the decentralization level of Uniswap, along with others such as MakerDAO and Aave, due to the concentration of protocol-level control among small groups.  

Alabama moves ahead with DAO legislation

While stakeholders and the ECB struggle to reach a common definition of DeFi and DAOs, the state of Alabama has cleared the hurdle to fully recognize DAOs as legal entities under state law, joining Wyoming as the only US state to have reached that stage. 

The Decentralized Unincorporated Nonprofit Association Law approved by the state senate defines a “decentralized unincorporated nonprofit association or nonprofit association” as an unincorporated nonprofit association that has at least 100 members aligned in digital activity under an agreement (written or inferred from conduct) for a common nonprofit purpose, “including, but not limited to, administering the affairs of a distrubted ledger technology or network of smart contracts”. 

The full text of the Alabama DAO law allows DAOs to “pay reasonable compensation or reimburse reasonable expenses to its members, administrators, and persons outside of the nonprofit association for services rendered.”

It also allows DAOs to offer membership and administrative perks, buy back tokens, and distribute assets in the event of a project wind-down.

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Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, says the negotiations on stablecoin yields are pretty much done. In a recent Fox Business interview, he mentioned the bill is moving forward and added, “I think we’re very close to a deal.”

He pointed out that even amid the ongoing controversy over stablecoin rewards, progress isn’t lost. Grewal also noted that policymakers are starting to realize they need to find the right balance between encouraging innovation and providing clear regulations.

Coinbase challenges bank concerns

The biggest point of debate right now is whether stablecoin yields could cause money to flow out of traditional bank deposits. Banks have been pressing lawmakers to put crypto platforms under the same rules they follow.

Grewal pushed back on that fear, saying there’s simply no real-world evidence to back it up. He admitted the theory might sound reasonable on paper, but stressed that the actual data doesn’t show any deposit flight happening. “I can understand why people worry that stablecoins might pull deposits away from banks, especially community banks,” he said.

He also cautioned that policymakers should not make significant decisions on hypotheticals and what-ifs. Grewal argues that the issues with the banking industry cannot be attributed to the innovation of stablecoins. He reiterated that the law must safeguard consumers but leave space for new technology to develop.

Even as things look like they’re moving ahead, there’s still plenty of friction. In a recent X video, Cardano founder Charles Hoskin heavily criticized Coinbase. He stated that the exchange is more concerned with stablecoin yield revenue than with increased regulatory transparency.

“Coinbase is the ONLY GROUP Blocking CLARITY Act,” Hoskinson noted. According to Hoskinson, Coinbase’s actions will delay the legislative process, including token classification under federal law.

Timeline pressure builds as Senate targets next steps

Senate leaders plan to hold a markup session of the Senate Banking Committee sometime in the second half of April. Senator Cynthia Lummis said that the debate over stablecoin yield is pretty much settled, “99% resolved.”

At the same time, Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks just put forward a compromise proposal. The proposal would ban passive yield on idle stablecoin balances.

Meanwhile, Tim Scott is expected to announce the exact schedule for markup soon, once everyone’s back from the Easter break.

The Clarity Act is on a very strict legislative timetable. Once a committee markup is successful, the bill must go to the Senate floor, iron out some differences with the House version, and finally pass before it reaches the president’s desk.

Notably, back in July 2025, the House of Representatives passed its version of the Clarity Act with a solid 294–134 vote.

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Vitalik Buterin says that the only secure way to move forward is to keep artificial intelligence on your personal devices. He points out new “agent” systems that present considerable security threats.

The Ethereum founder has stopped using cloud-based artificial intelligence. He runs everything on his own machines now. And he wants other people to do the same.

He put out a long post on April 2, 2026. In it, he said he has been building an AI setup that he calls “self-sovereign, local, private, and secure.” He says his worry is real.

“I come from a position of deep fear of feeding our entire personal lives to cloud AI,” he wrote. “Just when end-to-end encryption and local-first software are finally becoming mainstream… we may be taking ten steps back.”

Since the beginning of 2026, he has been advising people to switch to this. He sees it as a means of resisting the longstanding move toward centralized tech services.

Why AI agents worry Vitalik Buterin

A significant factor in his change of heart is that AI is no longer what it once was. It is more than just a chatbot that provides answers.

AI systems can now act as “agents,” which means they use hundreds of tools to finish tasks on their own. However, Buterin believes people aren’t taking the security risks of this shift seriously enough.

To support this, he pointed to research on tools like OpenClaw. These studies found that AI agents can change important computer settings or messaging channels without asking you first.

For example, a hacked website could trick an AI agent into downloading and running a harmful script, giving a stranger complete control over your computer. The research also showed that about 15% of the “skills” these agents use contain hidden commands. Those commands quietly send user data to outside servers.

Shahaf Bar-Geffen runs a crypto company called COTI. He put the privacy problem this way: “Without privacy, Web3 is doomed to be a kind of castle in the sky that sounds great in theory, but in practice simply doesn’t work.”

How he built his local setup

Buterin’s solution is to keep everything local for better privacy and security. He tested different hardware setups using a model called Qwen3.5:35B. These tests showed that anything under 50 tokens per second is too slow to be useful and just “too annoying.”

For his own work, he found that 90 tokens per second is the ideal speed.

Of the machines he tested, the NVIDIA 5090 Laptop was the top performer, reaching 90 tokens per second. On the other hand, the DGX Spark, which is marketed as a personal supercomputer, only managed 60 tokens per second.

Buterin called it “lame,” pointing out that a high-end laptop offered a superior experience.

A comparison of processing speeds across different hardware setups for running local AI models. Source: Vitalik Buterin

He uses NixOS for software and runs llama-server in the background. He also employed a tool named bubblewrap, which generates isolated environments to restrict the AI’s access to specific files. He said he sees artificial intelligence as something useful, but not fully trustworthy, similar to how Ethereum developers treat smart contracts.

As the local models are not as good as the cloud ones when it comes to harder reasoning tasks, he has built in some practical workarounds. One is a 2-of-2 confirmation approach where the AI drafts something, for example, an email or a transaction, but nothing goes out until a person signs off on it.

He also keeps a 1 TB folder of Wikipedia data locally so he can look things up without sending queries out to the internet.

When he needs to use a remote model, he passes the request through a local model so that it can filter out any sensitive information. Some people cannot afford their own setup. For them, Buterin suggested that they work together with a small group to buy a shared computer with a stable internet and access it remotely.

Since artificial intelligence is everywhere now, he thinks being cautious is just common sense. He believes that keeping things local, using sandboxes, and not trusting the system are just practical ways to stay in control of your own digital life.

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Bitget introduced a new account structure that allows its GetClaw AI trading agent to execute trades autonomously within a dedicated environment. 

The exchange is expanding AI agent capabilities to adapt to the demand for direct participation under live market conditions.

Bitget’s Agent Hub allows AI agents to access real-time data, analytical tools, and execution capabilities without fragmented workflows.

Bitget, the world’s largest Universal Exchange (UEX), has introduced a new account structure that allows its AI trading agent, GetClaw, to execute trades autonomously within a dedicated account environment, marking a new stage in the evolution of AI-driven trading. 

Within this account, the agent can autonomously execute real trades based on natural language instructions, monitor markets continuously, and manage positions in real time without requiring manual intervention.

Bitget expands trading agent capabilities 

The development builds on Bitget’s earlier launch of GetClaw, a zero-installation AI agent designed to operate as a persistent trading partner, as well as the recent expansion of Agent Hub, which introduced analytical AI Skills and integrated data tools that connect market analysis directly with execution. 

Together, these developments reflect a progression from access to intelligence, and now to independent execution.

The introduction of agent accounts reflects a shift in how AI is being applied within trading. The beginning saw systems focused on assisting users through analysis or recommendations, but recent models are capable of observing markets continuously and acting on defined strategies. 

By assigning dedicated accounts to AI agents, Bitget extends this capability into direct participation under live market conditions.

“Sooner or later emerging financial markets are going to be filled with AI agents trading on behalf of users. We’re preparing the infrastructure to run this on scale,” said Gracy Chen, CEO at Bitget.

Bitget integrates AI directly into its trading environment

The use of dedicated sub-accounts provides clear separation between user-controlled assets and agent-driven activity, allowing strategies to be deployed with greater transparency and control. Users can define strategies in simple terms, while GetClaw executes, monitors, and adjusts positions within predefined parameters.

This approach reflects a broader architectural direction. Rather than treating AI as an external layer, Bitget is integrating AI directly into its trading environment, allowing both human users and automated systems to operate within the same infrastructure. 

Through Agent Hub, AI agents can access real-time data, analytical tools, and execution capabilities without relying on fragmented workflows.

As AI-driven participation grows, trading environments are evolving to support both human and machine-driven activity. This transition is shaping what is increasingly described as agentic trading, where systems move from supporting decisions to actively participating in markets.

Within Bitget’s Universal Exchange model, where crypto assets and tokenized traditional instruments operate within a unified account structure, the addition of agent accounts extends the platform’s functionality beyond manual trading. 

As automation becomes more integrated across markets, trading systems are evolving toward environments where analysis and execution operate together in real time.

Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Tether US, Jesse Spiro, is now the chairman of the Fellowship PAC, a $100 million crypto-backed group that will support leaders who champion new ideas and grow USAT beyond Ethereum.

The Fellowship PAC said it will invest in increasing USAT adoption and expand its market on many blockchains. The move comes amid a broader wave of political spending by crypto firms ahead of the 2026 U.S. midterm elections.

Tether executive leads PAC to drive USAT expansion

Jesse Spiro previously led government and regulatory affairs at Tether US and will now guide the PAC’s strategy to support initiatives that expand USAT activity beyond Ethereum.

Anonymous donors raised over $100 million to ensure the PAC has sufficient resources to promote innovation, educate the public about digital assets, and increase USAT adoption across different blockchains.

Tether’s USAT is structured to comply with the recently enacted GENIUS Act, which introduced clearer rules for stablecoin issuers, including requirements for reserve transparency and asset backing.

The leadership of USAT by former U.S. official Bo Hines emphasizes Tether’s strategy of becoming involved in the U.S. regulatory and political landscape.

Hines has said the company’s goal is “to participate in the U.S economy in a big way” and now says he expects more growth in the next two years.

The PAC’s mission is to support transparent, secure, and trustworthy systems, thereby protecting and strengthening U.S. leadership in digital assets. Similarly, the initiative will assist builders, developers, and technology companies in accessing the tools and networks they need to advance entrepreneurship and support innovation in financial infrastructure.

Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Tether US said, “We have an opportunity to ensure the United States remains the global hub for builders, entrepreneurs, and technological progress. Fellowship PAC is committed to supporting leaders who understand what’s at stake and are willing to act.”

Fellowship PAC uses crypto funds to grow innovation and USAT adoption

The PAC will announce its first slate of candidate endorsements, focusing on individuals and groups that recognize the value of open markets. Other crypto-backed PACs, including Fairshake PAC, took a similar initiative by spending more than $130 million in the 2024 election cycle and recording $193 million in resources heading into the 2026 midterms.

According to reports, the Fellowship PAC collects funds from multiple backers in the crypto industry, though the details remain hidden. In addition to financial support, the PAC will work with crypto industry stakeholders to provide a platform for builders, developers, and companies to partner on projects that improve USAT.

Similarly, the committee is responsible for educating leaders and stakeholders on topics like blockchain platforms, stablecoins, and the use of USAT. This way, users and businesses will easily integrate the stablecoin into their day-to-day activities.

What’s more, Fellowship PAC will run visibility campaigns that demonstrate USAT’s capabilities, help new users discover the stablecoin, encourage developers to build applications, and guide businesses in using the platform effectively.

The PAC also monitors other crypto-backed committees, observes adoption patterns, and analyzes technical challenges to reduce errors and implement best practices that accelerate USAT adoption across multiple networks.

With easy access to resources, guidance, and awareness campaigns, retail users will better understand the program, while institutions will get the support they need to integrate USAT into their daily operations.

According to Jesse Spiro, Fellowship PAC aims to create a structured, long-term ecosystem in which USAT and similar platforms can expand safely and effectively. Instead of focusing on the immediate influence, the PAC will build a foundation for multi-chain growth and technological adoption. 

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Drift Protocol, exploited for up to $285M, may have lasting repercussions on Solana DeFi and lending as a whole. The incident exposed significant whale funds, showing the ongoing weakness in Web3 infrastructure. 

Drift Protocol exposed the weakness of Web3 lending and decentralized trading. The protocol discovered the main cause of the exploit, which was the loss of two private keys to the multisig wallet. This allowed the hacker to change the rules, lock the team out of the admin account, and drain valuable assets against a fake token collateral. 

Drift Protocol was not exploited through a smart contract, but its governance process was too fast and without failsafe mechanisms. This allowed the hacker to withdraw funds continuously for more than an hour, mimicking borrowing against the posted token collateral. 

According to OShield Protocol, the compromised wallets allowed the hacker to change the admin key with an on-chain transaction on Solana. Another multisig member, presumably the second compromised key, approved the change. 

The hacker then created a vault based on a falsely valued token with an inflated oracle price. After that, the hacker was free to use Drift Protocol’s own features for cross-margin and swapping to drain multiple vaults.  

After the hack, the funds were consolidated on Ethereum addresses in the form of ETH. The hacker used Phantom Wallet, Wormhole bridge and Jupiter’s bridging service to take the funds out of Solana, later using other DEXs to swap out of freezable USDC tokens. The ETH can become hard to trace if mixed through Tornado Cash. 

On-chain researcher ZachXBT noted Circle did not react to over $230M in USDC while it moved in the early hours after the hack. 

Update: $230M+ USDC bridged via CCTP from Solana to Ethereum across 100+ txns.

6 hours is how long Circle had to freeze stolen funds from the $280M+ Drift hack.

Circle is a centralized stablecoin issuer headquartered in New York and the attack began around 12 pm ET.

Why does… pic.twitter.com/v9OKxeOJHN

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) April 2, 2026

In theory, Circle can freeze tokens, but rarely does so, and only if there are legal concerns against a known entity. 

Which protocols were affected by the Drift Protocol hack? 

One of the biggest concerns was which other DeFi hubs would be affected by Drift Protocol. The DEX and lending vaults advertised themselves as reliable sources of yield for USDC, just as Solana lending was growing. 

DeFi Dev Corp., one of the biggest Solana treasury companies, stated it did not get exposure to Drift Protocol. Previously, the DAT company stated it may put some of its funds to use within Solana DeFi vaults, but did not build a direct exposure to Drift. The company still allocates some of its assets to on-chain yield strategies, but has a high standard of risk management. 

Several smaller DeFi protocols, however, reported indirect losses. In DeFi, vault curation has turned into a tool that sometimes consolidates funds into the largest and presumably, most stable protocols. Before the exploit, Drift Protocol held around $550M in liquidity and was linked to smaller Solana DeFi apps. 

Protocols include Trade Neutral, Elemental DeFi, SynatraXYZ, Project0, Ranger Finance, and Reflect Money. Carrot Protocol also reported direct losses from funds locked in Drift vaults, an estimated 50% of value locked. 

After further investigation – Carrot has been impacted by the recent exploit on the Drift protocol.

We have paused mint/redeem functions at this time until we can gain more clarity and will update with information when we have it.

All Boost and Turbo products are unaffected

— Carrot (@DeFiCarrot) April 1, 2026

All user funds were also affected for Pyra Protocol, which was just a storefront for using Drift. The app cannot honor user withdrawals, as all funds were locked with Drift and are completely inaccessible. 

The exposure of private keys also raises questions about the wider DeFi lending market. Recently, the rise in stablecoin supply and search for yield presented lending as an activity suitable even for institutions.

This recent exposure of private keys and admin access hijack showed that Web3 security still has weak spots, which could expose institutional-grade capital to major risks. 

Following the hack, the overall Solana DeFi value fell from $6.1B to $5.4B, as reported by Defillama. DRIFT tokens also incurred losses, wiping out 37% to a price of $0.04. SOL also lost 5.7% in the past day, sinking below $80.

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Popular trading platform eToro has officially entered the New York market, nearly three years after securing a BitLicense in February 2023. However, authorization to begin operations was only granted recently, highlighting the regulatory and operational hurdles companies face in New York’s crypto sector.

BitLicense is among the strictest cryptocurrency policies in the US. It was established in 2015 and is issued by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). 

Fewer than 40 companies have received approval, but only a portion actually launch services. Due to this regulatory challenge, several firms, such as eToro, have established separate legal entities to operate in New York, while others avoid the state entirely.

Andrew McCormick, Head of eToro US, when asked whether the company anticipated such a lengthy delay, McCormick stated that it certainly was not the case, further elaborating that they knew it would not be an instant transition but hoped to launch within that year.

On the other hand, the timeline outlined the necessary steps for compliance, operational readiness, and regulatory approval to obtain a license, particularly in light of heightened regulatory scrutiny following the FTX collapse.

eToro achieves a significant milestone in its operation 

In February of this year, eToro shared better-than-expected fourth-quarter results driven by increased capital markets activity and a corresponding boost in trading income.

At this particular moment, investor confidence in the United States had skyrocketed after the country’s interest rate cut; all stocks were positive throughout the quarter. However, some market participants remained anxious due to cryptocurrency volatility. This was after Bitcoin suffered a significant loss in November 2025, following a period of gains since mid-2021.

Reports noted that several individuals allocated significant funds to specific AI-related stocks, resulting in unprecedented valuation spikes and sparking fears of a potential market bubble.

Yoni Assia, founder and CEO of eToro, shared his view on the matter. He noted an unusual client’s behavior pattern, alleging that digital asset traders illustrated heightened interest in commodities for the first time in history.

Even so, the firm’s fourth-quarter net trading income, driven by equities, commodities, and currencies, rose 43% to $115.6 million. Analysts attributed this rise to investors shifting capital from traditional assets into cryptocurrency, a trend fueled by high returns in the commodity market.

eToro received authorization to list twenty tokens under the existing state’s regulatory regime, with intentions to seek a higher limit later, citing information retrieved from individuals with knowledge of the matter who wished to remain anonymous due to the confidential nature of the situation.

McCormick described this move as a game-changer to their operation, stressing that the company was the first to be granted a BitLicense after the FTX bankruptcy.

“We were close to finishing our application when that incident occurred. It definitely increased scrutiny and diligence,” he said, adding that, “We take pride in meeting those tough standards because of our strong history focused on compliance and customer protection.” 

Analysts call for the urgency of a clear cryptocurrency framework 

Following eToro’s recent move, analysts noted the heightened scrutiny or support for crypto businesses extends beyond New York. At this time, McCormick noted that the company’s crypto services are unavailable in Hawaii and Nevada.

This factor drives his support for the potential passage of the US House’s Clarity Act, which would establish federal guidelines for the crypto market while assigning specific oversight roles to the SEC and the CFTC.

In the meantime, recent reports indicate that the Clarity Act and similar federal market structure regulations are deadlocked over disputes on how to divide authority among regulators. Analysts warn that a fractured state-by-state regulatory landscape will continue to disrupt US business growth, compliance, and product launches.

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Washington, D.C., April 1, 2026 — The Digital Sovereignty Alliance (DSA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing clear and ethical public policy, research and education surrounding emerging technologies, today announced the successful conclusion of its participation in the 6th Penn Blockchain Conference as a Platinum Sponsor, held on March 27–28 at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia.

The conference and hackathon, organized by the University of Pennsylvania’s Blockchain Club, brought together students, developers, and industry leaders to explore the evolving role of decentralized technologies. Designed to bridge academia and industry, the event fosters interdisciplinary collaboration and supports the development of research-driven, real-world applications of blockchain systems.

On the second day of the conference, Adrian Wall, Managing Director of DSA, participated in a panel titled “Where Tokenization Actually Makes Sense,” moderated by Hannah Fang, President of the Penn Blockchain Club. He was joined by speakers Yuki Yuminaga, CEO of Tenbin Labs; Franklin Bi, General Partner at Pantera Capital; George Calle, Research Partner at Inversion; and Orest Gavryliak, Chief Legal Officer at 1inch.

The discussion focused on examining how global economies are adapting to digital assets and where real-world applications are beginning to take hold. Panelists explored practical use cases, regulatory considerations, and the conditions required for tokenized systems to move beyond experimentation and achieve meaningful adoption.

“Anyone can digitize an asset, but tokenization only works when it’s backed by liquidity, distribution, collateral utility, and real settlement. Otherwise, it’s just a wrapper,” said Adrian Wall. “In the near term, tokenized Treasuries are leading, but the market will ultimately decide what scales.” 

DSA’s presence at the Penn Blockchain Conference underscores its commitment to engaging with emerging talent and supporting informed dialogue at the intersection of technology and public policy. The organization continues to collaborate with students, researchers, and industry stakeholders to advance education and policy frameworks that promote responsible innovation and digital sovereignty.

About Digital Sovereignty Alliance

The Digital Sovereignty Alliance (DSA) is a nonprofit social welfare organization committed to advocating for public policies that support ethical innovation in decentralized technologies, blockchain, cryptocurrency, Web3, and artificial intelligence. DSA conducts research, organizes educational events, and promotes policies that prioritize public welfare and digital sovereignty.

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South Korea’s cryptocurrency exchange, Bithumb, has officially pushed back its long‑awaited initial public offering (IPO) to sometime after 2028, marking yet another delay in plans that were originally aiming for a 2025 listing. This development comes after a mishap worth $43 billion.

The announcement came during the company’s annual shareholders meeting in Seoul. CFO Jeong Sang-gyun said the company continues to prepare for its IPO and has signed an advisory deal with Samjong KPMG.

Bithumb delays its IPO to fix internal systems and rules.

Bithumb is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea, so users were excited when the company first announced plans to list on the stock market in 2025. However, the exchange later pushed the IPO to 2027, but now they say it will likely happen after 2028. 

Contrary to rumors of its failure, the company earned about 651 billion won ($430 million) in 2025, specifically 163.5 billion won ($108 million) after deducting sorting operation costs. Similarly, the recorded net profit was 78 billion won ($51.5 million), and the company even increased its market share to above 30%.

Moreover, Bithumb added about 1.74 million new subscribers and made major changes, including switching bank partners from NH Nonghyup Bank to KB Kookmin Bank, which has the largest customer base in South Korea.

Even though Bithumb is financially strong, the company still wants to work on its accounting policies, internal controls, and other rules to create a safe environment for public investors. It even signed a contract with Samjong KPMG to help Bithumb prepare for its 2028 IPO and ensure it avoids mistakes before listing on the stock market.

The delay could also mean the company wants to maximize its value and attract the highest possible price and the strongest market reputation when it finally goes public. 

Similarly, the IPO postponement stems from internal reviews following a $43 billion Bitcoin mispayment earlier this year, so the company must work to improve its systems. 

Bitcoin mistake and regulator actions slow listing plans.

During a promotional campaign in 2026, a Bithumb staff member accidentally sent excess BTC to users beyond the amount the company had in its reserve. The staff sent about 620,000 Bitcoin ($43 billion) instead of 620,000 won worth of BTC, while the company only held about 46,000 BTC in total. 

This mistake lowered BTC price on Bithumb by 15%, and even though the company recovered 99.7% of the funds, many users had already panicked after the sudden drop and sold off their BTC. The company then later recovered 93% of the Bitcoin sold.

However, Bithumb still couldn’t recover about 125 BTC and has promised to compensate everyone who suffered losses with around 110% to try to restore trust and in a show of responsibility.

Bithumb established a special task force to review transactions, assess the approval process, and ensure that no employee can make large transactions without confirmation. The company also set up a user protection fund worth 100 billion won ($68 million) to compensate users in the event of a similar incident in the future. 

The Financial Supervisory Service learned of the incident and launched a full investigation into Bithumb, focusing on the company’s internal controls and risk management. Regulators wanted to know whether the company holds the same amount of virtual assets as users deposit, as required by the Virtual Asset User Protection Act.

Regulators also checked Bithumb’s systems to see how the ledger works and monitor the system that tracks deposits and trades. Furthermore, they checked the approval process for large transactions because the fact that an employee could send hundreds of thousands of BTC at once was a serious problem.

Finally, the regulator fined Bithumb about 36 billion won (roughly $27 million) and temporarily suspended some of its services. Bithumb is considering challenging the fines in court, but the company cannot go public at the moment due to these regulatory issues. 

Similarly, Bithumb is now implementing reforms to ensure compliance with upcoming digital asset laws in South Korea and to avoid further delaying the IPO.

The company has also made plans to partner with other companies to diversify its revenue and reduce its dependence on commission income, which accounts for almost 98% of its current income.

Bithumb wants to ensure that no weaknesses remain by the time they go public, and that Bitcoin mispayment was a big wake-up call that shows even the biggest and strongest companies in the market can make mistakes.

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The prediction markets boom is drawing in some of the biggest names on Wall Street, and it is catching the eye of federal enforcers. 

America’s top commodities regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), through a speech by its director of enforcement, put the industry on notice on Tuesday that insider trading laws apply in prediction markets, directly rebuking a growing assumption in the sector. 

The warning comes as JPMorgan Chase hinted that it was weighing a potential entry into the space, with crypto venture firm Paradigm reportedly building a dedicated trading terminal for prediction market professionals.

Why is the CFTC putting prediction markets on notice?

David Miller, the CFTC’s director of enforcement, used a speech at New York University School of Law on Tuesday to deliver a pointed message to the industry.

Miller said, “Unfortunately there’s a myth in mainstream media and social media that insider trading doesn’t apply in the prediction markets.” To which he added, “That is wrong.”

Miller laid out in clear terms that the Commodity Exchange Act’s anti-fraud provisions apply with full force to prediction market event contracts, which the CFTC classifies as swaps. The misappropriation theory of insider trading, under which liability attaches when a trader uses material non-public information in breach of a duty of trust or confidence, is the operative framework.

The CFTC’s posture follows a February enforcement advisory issued after two cases on Kalshi involving the misuse of nonpublic information, one involving a political candidate who traded on his own candidacy and a second where a staff member of MrBeast’s YouTube channel traded on inside knowledge about the channel’s performance. 

Miller flagged injury contracts in sports, trades by government employees using nonpublic information, and conduct by anyone subject to a workplace confidentiality agreement as areas of heightened concern.

Are JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs entering prediction markets?

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon shared insights on what the bank is working on in an interview with CBS News. He spoke on how prediction markets have moved from the fringes of finance to the attention of the industry’s most senior executives. 

The JPMorgan chief said it was “possible one day we’ll do something like that,” while carving out sports and politics as categories the bank would not enter. “There’s a bunch of stuff we won’t do,” he said. “And obviously, we have strict rules around insider information.”

When asked if he felt prediction markets were more about gambling or if they were an investment, Dimon said, “I think for the most part, it’s more like gambling. But there are areas where you could say, ‘No, it’s investing.’ You are deeply knowledgeable. You’re taking the other side of a bet. And you think you know better than the other person.” 

JPMorgan is also reviewing internal guidelines governing how its staff interacts with existing platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket.

In January, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said that they are exploring prediction markets for opportunities, adding that they were in talks with the leadership of the two major prediction market firms to learn more.

Paradigm’s trading terminal could change the competitive picture

Crypto venture firm Paradigm is taking a more hands-on approach. The firm is developing a prediction markets trading terminal aimed at professional traders and market makers, led by partner Arjun Balaji, who has been working on the project since late 2025.

Paradigm, a major investor in Kalshi, reportedly joined three successive funding rounds in 2025.

However, what it said it was working on was to create an internal market-making desk in prediction markets. It said that it is working with researchers on the feasibility of constructing prediction market indices, instruments that would bundle multiple event contracts into a single tradeable package, much as the S&P 500 aggregates the stocks of 500 companies. 

Paradigm has already begun assembling prediction market data into a public dashboard. Fortune cited sources close to the matter, saying Paradigm’s startup is not in competition with Kalshi’s platform.

Paradigm’s terminal project sits within the venture capital firm’s pivot beyond crypto. The firm is reportedly raising up to $1.5 billion for a new fund spanning artificial intelligence and robotics.

The CFTC issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on March 12, seeking public comment on how to regulate event contract derivatives. Clearer rules may be on the way, but for now, both firms mulling entry and traders already active in the market have been left in little doubt that the era of regulatory ambiguity is drawing to a close.

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Intel’s stock climbed 9% on Wednesday after the company said it would buy back the 49% share of its Irish chip factory that it sold two years ago, paying $14.2 billion for a stake it originally offloaded for $11.2 billion.

The semiconductor maker sold nearly half of its Fab 34 facility in Ireland to investment firm Apollo Global Management in 2024. Now, with a healthier financial position and growing demand for its products, Intel is taking full ownership again.

“Our 2024 agreement was the right structure at the right time and provided Intel with meaningful flexibility, enabling us to accelerate critical initiatives,” Intel’s chief financial officer David Zinsner said in a statement. “Today, we have a stronger balance sheet, improved financial discipline and an evolved business strategy.”

The buyback signals that Intel has regained its footing and feels more confident about its future. When the company first sold the stake in 2024, it was struggling to keep up with rivals and pouring $100 billion into expanding its U.S. manufacturing operations, including a major new plant in Arizona that opened last year.

After falling behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s top contract chipmaker, Intel’s previous chief executive Pat Gelsinger pushed hard to rebuild the company’s manufacturing capabilities. Though Gelsinger left at the end of 2024, the Arizona factory project continued moving forward.

Different business model

Intel says the repurchase deal reflects “the growing and essential role CPUs play in the era of AI.” The company builds central processing units for computers and servers, but operates differently from most chip companies. While competitors like Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia farm out their manufacturing to other companies, Intel designs and makes its own chips and wants to produce them for others too.

At the Irish facility, Intel makes computer and server processors using older technology than what it produces in Arizona. Still, demand for these chips is rising across the board. The company told reporters that server processors, including its newest Xeon 6 model made in Ireland, are seeing the strongest demand right now.

Nvidia recently said that processors are “becoming the bottleneck” as artificial intelligence systems that can act on their own change what kind of computing power is needed. Research firm Futurum Group called it a “quiet supply crisis” and predicted that the market for central processors could grow faster than the graphics processor market by 2028.

Graphics processors work well for building and running AI models because they can do many tasks at once. Central processors have fewer but more powerful parts that handle regular computing jobs one after another. AI systems that work like independent agents need lots of general computing power to move large amounts of information between different tasks.

Recent signs point to a comeback for central processors. Nvidia’s chief executive Jensen Huang showed off a rack filled only with Vera processors earlier this month, and British chip design company Arm Holdings revealed its first chip, also a central processor.

Intel now makes chips using its most advanced technology, called 18A, in Arizona, but hasn’t landed any major outside customers yet. For now, the company mainly makes its own Core Ultra series 3 computer processors at that plant. In Ireland, it produces older versions of its computer chips and makes its latest server processors using Intel 3 technology, which came just before 18A.

Future production plans

Intel 3 is the company’s second generation, using ASML’s extreme ultraviolet machines for making chips. These same machines are used for 18A production, which means Intel could eventually make more advanced chips in Ireland. However, the company said it has no plans to do that anytime soon at Fab 34.

The Irish factory also handles an important step called advanced packaging, which connects individual chips to larger systems like circuit boards. Intel said it does some of the advanced packaging for its 18A chips at the Ireland location.

Intel plans to release its first-quarter financial results on April 23, 2026, after markets close. The company will hold a call at 2 p.m. Pacific time that day to discuss the numbers. People can watch online through Intel’s investor relations website.

Since Lip-Bu Tan became chief executive about a year ago, Intel has seen investment from the U.S. government, Nvidia, and Softbank. The company also started making large volumes of chips using 18A technology, finishing the “five nodes in four years” plan that Gelsinger started to catch up with Taiwan Semiconductor. Intel’s stock rose 84% in 2025 and gained 26% in January after the company showed off its first 18A chip for laptops.

At a recent conference, Tan said customers are asking for more products because demand is so high. He mentioned that processing power needs are increasing much faster than before. Intel will raise server processor prices by 10% for Chinese customers, according to a Friday report.

On March 9 at Embedded World 2026, Intel launched new industrial processors designed for critical edge computing applications and announced tools for healthcare AI solutions.

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Two publicly listed Bitcoin treasury companies, Empery Digital and Genius Group, have sold portions or all of their BTC holdings to repay outstanding debt, joining an increasing list of companies that are retreating from the corporate accumulation model, outside of Strategy.

All fingers point to the current market realities of BTC, as most of these firms accumulated the cryptocurrency when it was trading above $100,000. However, BTC now trades below $70,000, and it has left the balance sheets of these treasuries severely strained.

According to BitcoinTreasuries.net, nine public companies have reduced their Bitcoin holdings in March alone. The reported net sector growth has shrunk to 25,000 BTC after sales were factored in, and the share of new purchases from all treasury companies outside of Strategy has collapsed to 2% of monthly volume, down from 95% in October 2025.

Who is selling, and what is driving the disposals?

Empery Digital stated that it had fully repaid its outstanding term loan using proceeds from a recent registered direct offering and the sale of a portion of its bitcoin holdings. 

The company sold 370 BTC at an average price of $66,632 per coin, generating about $24.7 million in gross proceeds. The repayment released around 1,800 Bitcoins that were previously pledged as collateral. 

Empery Digital now holds 2,989 BTC in its treasury, with Ryan Lane, the company’s co-CEO, stating that “this transaction enhances our financial position and ability to manage risk in an environment of heightened bitcoin volatility.” 

In early March, Empery Digital sold 102 BTC to fund shareholder buybacks as it faced heat from its boardroom, with some shareholders, ATG Capital, and Tice P. Brown to be specific, sharing notices of their intention to nominate directors to the company’s board.

Unlike Empery Digital, Genius Group sold its entire remaining Bitcoin treasury and used the proceeds to repay $8.5 million in debt in full. 

The company management said it would resume Bitcoin accumulation when market conditions are more favorable.

In MARA Holdings’ case, the Bitcoin miner liquidated 15,133 BTC for approximately $1.1 billion in March, and this was about a quarter of its holdings.

How did the corporate Bitcoin model unravel so quickly?

Around mid-2025, a wave of companies, both big and small, ranging from education and healthcare firms to miners and blank-check vehicles, adopted Bitcoin treasury strategies modeled on Strategy’s template, thanks to BTC’s boom. 

Most of these companies issued equity at a premium to net asset value (NAV), then used the proceeds to buy Bitcoin, with the aim of allowing the NAV premium to fund further accumulation in a self-reinforcing loop.

Galaxy Digital warned in a July 2025 report that the model was structurally fragile, a liquidity derivative that functioned only while equities traded above their underlying Bitcoin holdings, and unfortunately, the worst is already happening, and the companies are letting go of their BTC.

Bitcoin’s decline from above $110,000 to below $70,000 has left many of these firms underwater on their positions. Firms that funded accumulation with conventional debt, that is, term loans, convertible notes, and credit facilities, are now caught between an asset trading well below their cost basis and creditors whose claims do not compress with the Bitcoin price. 

CNBC reported that corporate Bitcoin buying outside Strategy has registered its weakest monthly figures on record.

Which firms are still buying?

Strategy still continues to lead the frontline, buying up to 44,377 BTC in March, and this is 94% of all monthly additions across the sector. These acquisitions were funded mainly through at-the-market sales of its STRC perpetual preferred shares and common stock. 

The company’s total holdings now stand at around 762,099 BTC, acquired for roughly $57.7 billion, and it holds a cash reserve of approximately $2.25 billion. Strategy’s latest weekly purchase of 1,031 BTC for $76.6 million suggested a moderation in pace after two consecutive billion-dollar weeks.

Japan’s Metaplanet raised 40.8 billion yen ($255 million) from global institutional investors in March through a share placement pairing new equity with fixed-strike warrants. This structure is said to have the potential to provide up to $531 million in total capital for more Bitcoin purchases. 

The company holds 35,102 BTC and is targeting a treasury of 210,000 BTC. American Bitcoin Corp (ABTC) added 961 BTC across three purchases in March and now holds 7,000 BTC, climbing to sixteenth place among corporate holders.

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Earlier today, Liquity Protocol ruffled some feathers after publishing an announcement stating that Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, had acquired the project. The post made on its official X account quickly caught the eye of many, triggering market action among traders who missed the April Fool’s Day spirit of the post.

Within hours of the post going up, Liquity’s token recorded an approximately 11% spike according to CoinMarketCap, before dropping back to its usual activity once users realized the intent of the post.

Liquity saw a brief spike after its April Fool’s Day joke about Circle. Source: CoinMarketCap

Liquity makes a habit of trolling Circle

The recent attack on Circle follows a series of posts put up by Liquity to take subtle and sometimes, overt jabs at Circle and USDC. Its earlier posts include digs at the centralized stablecoin model and place Liquity’s system as a much better alternative due to its resilience.

Anyone who has noticed the theme might have raised an eyebrow at the announcement. However, the market manipulation risk is not non-existent either, despite the April 1 announcement seeming harmless at first glance. 

Authorities might not see the humor in it, though. Elon Musk is in court over his 2022 takeover of X, which used to be Twitter at the time. The prolific social media user chronicled his purchase of the platform, but some of those posts are now being recalled in class action lawsuits. 

Just one day earlier, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) extradited and indicted Gotbit executives over market manipulation charges.  

So, the logic of making a joke where the punchline is a takeover that ultimately led to a price “pump and dump” is definitely questionable, even though it is on brand with Liquity’s aggressiveness in proclaiming itself as a better alternative to Circle in the stablecoin space.

How did markets react to the Circle takeover news?

While most understood the joke, the accompanying rise to $0.2935 from $0.2713 says otherwise. The April 1 stunt triggered immediate price action, suggesting that attention, even when rooted in humor, can lead to short-term market action. 

Additionally, Liquity’s stunt and recent spike emphasize the trend in the crypto ecosystem, where viral posts, memes, and tweets are able to influence price action and control markets.

This further raises questions on how quickly markets react to headlines, regardless of how ambiguous or misleading they might be, all because of the fear of missing out (FOMO).

Liquity is back to trading at $0.2774 after almost touching $0.3 at the height of the Circle takeover bit. The token also saw a 165% spike in trading volume to almost $10.5 million, reflecting the action that followed the April Fool’s Day post. 

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Drift Protocol shows on-chain data of suspicious transactions of around $200M. The latest Web3 attack arrives after several slow weeks with smaller exploits. 

Solana on-chain data showed large-scale outflows from Drift Protocol, one of the leading decentralized exchanges on Solana. The losses spanned multiple tokens, for an estimated loss of over $200M. 

Solana influencer Mert Mumtaz noticed the exploit, calling for further research and possible cooperation in intercepting the assets. 

hello someone from circle reach out asap, seeing high likelihood of a potentially large exploit

— mert (@mert) April 1, 2026

Since Drift Protocol is a DEX, multiple assets may be affected. About an hour after the attack, Drift Protocol had lost nearly 50% of its liquidity, or around $270M. 

What caused the Drift Protocol loss? 

The exploit was intercepted within the first hour, showing a series of suspicious transactions. The latest transfer was for 10,000 SOL sent to a new wallet. Drift protocol confirmed the exploit, calling users not to deposit funds and to stop trading. The team did not explain how it would stop the attack, but for now, Phantom Wallet has stopped access to the protocol.  

We are observing unusual activity on the protocol. We are currently investigating. Please do not deposit funds into the protocol while we investigate. This is not an April Fools joke. Proceed with caution until further notice. We’ll provide additional updates from this account.

— Drift (@DriftProtocol) April 1, 2026

The losses came in a series of transactions originating from a single Drift Protocol account, potentially signaling that a user had full control of assets. The outgoing transactions included SOL, JitoSOL, WETH, FARTCOIN, USDC, SyrupUSDC, and other assets. Some of the stolen assets, like cbBTC, may be frozen by the issuer if intercepted on time before swapping. 

The attack was ongoing, constantly adding new assets supported by Drift, including JLP, over $2M in mSOL, INF, dSOL, and other tokens. The exploiter also took a little over 282 BTC and minted a new token to taunt Drift Protocol.

Some of the funds were sent to ChainFlip and swapped into USDC, a token that could hypothetically be frozen if Circle reacted on time. Some of the funds were sent to Ethereum wallets, potentially ready to be mixed and obscure their tracks. Funds are also moving to Raydium, Orca, Meteora, and other intermediary wallets.

Drift Protocol may be the biggest Web3 attack of this crypto cycle

The DEX hack is even bigger than the $60M exploit of Cetus Protocol in the summer of 2025. Cetus Protocol ended up losing over $223M. Before the exploit, Drift Protocol held over $550M in total value locked, becoming an attractive target for Web3 hackers. The protocol also carried nearly $70M in daily perpetual futures trading. 

The attack has the potential to become the most serious Web3 event in the past two years, surpassing other similar exploits. The exploit follows the usual practice of moving and swapping assets quickly, instead of leaving them in intermediary wallets. The exploiter was prepared eight days before the exploit, using multiple Web3 assets, including the Wormhole bridge. 

so, drift protocol vault was drained and I found some interesting things onchain:

drainer [ HkG…ZES ] was funded 8 days ago via near intents, but was inactive and suddenly received huge amounts from drift vault (a)

drainer transferred/swapped the amount to launderer [… pic.twitter.com/aheY3PHx3t

— aryan | 🐂 (@_0xaryan) April 1, 2026

The attack targeted Solana just as it emerged as the leading DEX destination for token trading and perpetual futures. The event also resolved a Polymarket pair predicting another large-scale crypto hack above $100M by the end of the year. 

After the hack, the protocol turned out to lack a Certik audit and to have some governance vulnerabilities. While the audit is not a guarantee, it may remove obvious exploit points. On-chain researchers noticed a test transaction a week before the true exploit, signaling the attacker was aware of the protocol’s weak points. 

Drift Protocol’s native DRIFT token fell by 10% in the first hours after the hack, down to $0.059. The attacker controls 2.5% of the FARTCOIN supply and may also crash the price of other assets. The wrapped BTC and ETH may also cause disparities with the main asset, affecting other protocols as well.

Despite the slower Web3 activity, protocols remain attractive for exploits, with multiple techniques, including supply chain attacks. In the initial stage of the exploit, the exact cause of the hack and the ability of the exploiter to empty multiple liquidity vaults remain without a clear explanation. 

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The Russian government is now seriously going after thousands of people and companies mining cryptocurrency without registration.

A bill bringing fines and prison sentences for the violators, or the majority of those currently involved in the industry, has just been filed in parliament.

The push to punish them comes as Russia returns to expanding a mining ban to cover another two regions where the activity is now fully prohibited.

Russia to prosecute illegal crypto miners under new law

The Russian government has submitted a draft law criminalizing illegal cryptocurrency mining to the State Duma, the lower house of parliament.

The document amends Russia’s Criminal Code, adding an article that also targets the unauthorized provision of services by operators of mining infrastructure.

The penalties introduced with the new provisions come in the form of stiff fines of up to 2 million rubles (nearly $25,000) and prison sentences of up to five years, RBC reported.

If the financial damages caused exceed 13 million rubles, the responsible person would face a fine that can reach 2.5 million rubles, besides imprisonment and forced labor, Gazeta.ru added.

Even harsher penalties have been proposed for illegal mining operations carried out by an organized group, causing significant losses to individuals, other organizations, or the state, or generating large-scale income.

Mining was legalized and regulated in late 2024, and both companies and sole proprietors are free to mint coins as long as they register with the Federal Tax Service (FNS) and pay their taxes.

According to the agency, up to 50,000 individuals and legal entities are currently engaged in the crypto activity, but less than 1,500 have so far registered with it.

The mining legislation complements a package of bills designed to regulate digital currencies and rights in Russia, recently approved by the executive power in Moscow.

The draft laws legalize cryptocurrencies but prohibit any crypto transactions outside licensed intermediaries such as exchanges, brokers and depositories.

Both qualified and non-qualified investors will be allowed to buy the digital assets, but purchases will be capped at 300,000 rubles (less than $3,700) for the latter category.

Russian government bans mining in two Siberian regions

Russian authorities are again expanding a mining ban that’s already covering a number of territories from occupied Eastern Ukraine to the Far East.

Seasonal restrictions to save energy during the winter in two regions in Siberia, which expired in mid-March, have been replaced with a year-round ban.

Starting April 1, the minting of digital currencies in parts of the Republic of Buryatia and Zabaykalsky Krai has been prohibited for the next five years, until March 15, 2031, according to a decree issued by the federal government on March 18.

Mining is now fully banned in 13 Russian regions, including Buryatia and Transbaikal, the adjacent Irkutsk region, the Ukrainian oblasts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, as well as Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, North Ossetia, and Chechnya in the Caucasus.

Meanwhile, the Energy Minister of Moscow Oblast Sergei Voropanov proposed banning cryptocurrency mining in the region and the Russian capital city.

Quoted by the TASS news agency, the official indicated that local authorities are ready to take “extreme measures” to reduce the load on the power distribution network.

“According to our estimates, about 1 GW is currently engaged in mining, half of which is in Moscow and the Oblast, which has no positive effect on the regional economy,” he said during an energy forum.

According to a recent report, Russia is in the world’s top three Bitcoin mining destinations, behind the United States and ahead of China, which together account for approximately 68% of the global hashrate.

The country offers the appropriate conditions for the industry, including abundant energy resources and cool climates in various corners of its vast territory.

However, Moscow’s decision to prioritize the use of computing power for artificial intelligence (AI) applications may repurpose many Russian data centers, threatening to undermine crypto mining.

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Hong Kong missed its own deadline. The city had promised to approve its first round of licensed stablecoin issuers by the end of March 2026, but that did not happen.

Months after a new law came into force, the official list of approved issuers is still blank.

On August 1, 2025, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, or HKMA, implemented the Stablecoin Ordinance. Senior authorities have since stated time and time again that the city will be prepared to issue the first batch of permits by March.

Eddie Yue, the head of the HKMA, stated as much in early February. In the 2026/27 Fiscal Budget, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po went one step further, stating that a “small number” of compliant issuers will receive their licenses that month, allowing the city to start testing stablecoin applications in the real world under controlled conditions.

An HKMA representative responded to a question about the hold-up, saying, “The Authority is actively taking forward the licensing matter and would announce further details in due course.”

There was no updated date provided.

Sandbox participants are still waiting

A number of well-known businesses were considered the most likely initial beneficiaries.

They all participated in the stablecoin sandbox program offered by the HKMA, which let them to test their business strategies in a safe environment.

JINGDONG Coinlink Technology Hong Kong Limited, RD InnoTech Limited, and a joint group consisting of Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, Animoca Brands Limited, and Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT) Limited were among the participants.

None of them has been given the all-clear.

Anyone applying for a license must meet strict conditions outlined by the HKMA. To ensure that their stablecoins are always fully supported, issuers must adhere to stringent regulations on capital reserves and redemption processes.

People close to the industry say the holdup seems to be administrative rather than a sign of deeper problems.

Jack Poon, a professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and a member of the task force on promoting Hong Kong Web3 development, played down the significance of the delay.

“Likely, it is more administrative to ensure all the items are checked, or perhaps, the narrative of how the new issuer will position itself for the future,” he said.

Livio Weng, CEO of Bitfire, took a similar view. He said the pause reflects a deliberate choice to get things right before moving fast.

“Hong Kong’s approach to digital finance leadership has consistently been ‘strict first, flexible later.’ This careful compliance review ensures Hong Kong’s stablecoin ecosystem is built on a secure foundation from the start,” Weng said.

Bitfire CEO on Hong Kong’s “strict first” Stablecoin approach.
Source: @_BitfireGroup

Broader goals are seen as intact

The hold-up has real consequences. Without licensed HKD stablecoins, a key component of the city’s payment and cross-border settlement infrastructure remains missing.

Richard Portes, an economics professor at London Business School, said the caution is understandable.

He pointed out that the core danger with any stablecoin is the possibility of a sudden rush by holders to cash out, much like a bank run.

Despite the stumble, most observers believe Hong Kong’s broader goals remain on track.

Kenny Tang Sing-hing, chairman of the Hong Kong Institute of Financial Analysts and Professional Commentators, said the delay should not be read as a change in direction.

“Even if it is not announced in March, I believe the overall plan will not be affected,” Tang said. He added that the push is tied to policy priorities coming from Beijing.

The Hong Kong government says it wants to welcome new technology while maintaining financial system stability. Its guiding principle is that the same activity, carrying the same risk, should be subject to the same rules regardless of the technology involved.

Alongside the stablecoin work, the HKMA is also drawing up a licensing framework for digital asset dealers and custodian service providers.

For now, the market waits. Nobody knows when the first HKD stablecoin will actually go live.

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SpaceX has quietly filed for an IPO with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and it is targeting a June debut.

The listing could value the company at over $1.75 trillion, putting it on track to become the biggest IPO ever.

The company is planning a structure that gives insiders more control and may reserve up to 30% of shares for retail investors.