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Bitcoin has climbed to around $71,500, its highest level in a week, rising 2.6% even as global equity markets weakened amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. The cryptocurrency has recovered some losses recorded after conflict involving Iran intensified in late February, while uncertainty surrounding potential disruptions to oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz has fuelled volatility in energy markets. Brent crude surged 9.2% to close above $100 per barrel for the first time since 2022, marking its biggest single-day gain since the early stages of the pandemic. Comments from U.S. President Donald Trump emphasising the priority of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons over stabilising oil prices further boosted crude markets.
Despite the broader macro uncertainty, Bitcoin has shown resilience while major U.S. stock indices declined, with the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq all posting losses as investors worried about energy supply disruptions and the possibility of a global recession. Analysts suggest Bitcoin’s strength may be driven more by crypto-specific demand than by a broader break from traditional market trends. Strong inflows linked to Strategy’s STRC product, which offers an 11.5% yield tied to Bitcoin exposure, have reportedly attracted hundreds of millions of dollars daily and led to large Bitcoin purchases. While these flows are helping lift prices across the crypto market, analysts warn that if the oil shock leads to tighter global liquidity, Bitcoin’s current resilience could quickly fade. Source
Tether’s investment arm has backed Ark Labs, the developer behind the programmable Bitcoin infrastructure Arkade, as part of a $5.2 million funding round aimed at expanding stablecoin capabilities on the Bitcoin network. The funding will help develop an execution layer designed to enable faster, programmable transactions, allowing stablecoins such as USDT to be issued, transferred and settled more efficiently on Bitcoin. The Lugano-based startup is working on technology that would allow developers and institutions to build applications such as payments and financial services on top of Bitcoin, providing more complex transaction functionality than the network’s base layer currently supports. With this latest round, Ark Labs has raised a total of $7.7 million, with additional backing from Sats Ventures, Contribution Capital and Anchorage Digital.
The move comes as companies increasingly attempt to extend Bitcoin’s role beyond simple transfers into broader financial infrastructure. Data shows most stablecoins currently exist on other blockchains, with about $161 billion on Ethereum and $86 billion on Tron out of a global stablecoin market capitalisation of roughly $315 billion. Developers have been working to close this gap through new technologies, including Taproot Assets from Lightning Labs, which allows stablecoins and other assets to be issued on Bitcoin and transferred through the Lightning Network. Other initiatives such as Rootstock and the Stacks blockchain are also expanding decentralised finance capabilities linked to Bitcoin, while recent partnerships involving companies like Fireblocks and Babylon Labs highlight growing institutional interest in building financial services around the network. Source
Illicitly mined gold from the Amazon Basin is increasingly being sold in Venezuela in exchange for the USDT stablecoin, according to a report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime. The research, titled Shifting Amazon Gold Flows, says Venezuela has become a regional destination for illegally traded Amazonian gold over the past two years, reversing earlier patterns that saw the metal moving out of the country toward Brazil and Guyana. Interviews with gold traders in Guyana suggest some of this gold is now being sold inside Venezuela in return for Tether’s stablecoin, reflecting new money laundering strategies that allow criminal networks and officials to bypass international sanctions.
The report notes that Venezuela’s gold mining sector generated just over $2.2 billion in revenue last year and has become an important income source for the Maduro government as oil revenues declined under sanctions and economic mismanagement. Researchers say the illicit gold trade has become deeply embedded in Venezuela’s criminal ecosystem, linking political figures, military officials and transnational criminal groups. Experts believe legislation currently moving through the U.S. Congress aimed at curbing illicit gold mining could help reduce these flows, but warn that any effective strategy will also need to address the growing role of cryptocurrencies in laundering proceeds from illegal mineral trading. Source
VeryAI has raised $10 million in a seed funding round led by Polychain Capital to develop a palm-scan identity verification system designed to distinguish real users from AI-generated accounts. The platform records identity attestations on the Solana blockchain and is aimed at helping crypto exchanges, fintech firms and online platforms manage growing threats from bots, deepfakes and synthetic identities. Using a smartphone camera, the system captures palm images and converts them into encrypted biometric signatures that confirm a user is human without storing identifiable personal data. The company says palm biometrics are highly distinctive and less publicly exposed than facial data, while the scans are transformed into irreversible feature representations that prevent reconstruction of the original biometric information.
The project seeks to address rising risks linked to artificial intelligence, including sybil attacks during onboarding, fake accounts farming token incentives and impersonation scams targeting users and online communities. Zero-knowledge proofs allow individuals to verify their status across platforms without revealing personal details, helping balance authentication with privacy. VeryAI is already working with organisations including MEXC, Colosseum, Clique and Talus, with more exchanges and wallets expected to integrate the system. Interest in proof-of-human technologies has grown as AI-generated content becomes more sophisticated, with developers increasingly exploring blockchain-based identity systems that can verify authenticity while protecting user privacy. Source
European and US authorities have dismantled a large malicious proxy network known as SocksEscort, freezing $3.5 million in cryptocurrency and seizing key infrastructure used in cybercrime operations. The action, called Operation Lightning and announced by Europol on 11 March, targeted a service that infected more than 369,000 routers and Internet of Things devices across 163 countries, offering over 35,000 proxy connections to users. Investigators seized 34 domains and 23 servers across seven countries, while authorities also froze cryptocurrency linked to the network and identified a payment platform tied to the service that had received more than $5.7 million in digital assets.
The investigation, launched in June 2025 by Europol’s Joint Cyberaction Task Force, found that the botnet mainly exploited residential routers to support criminal activities including ransomware attacks, distributed denial-of-service attacks and the distribution of child sexual abuse material. US prosecutors said criminals used the proxy network to hide their locations while committing fraud such as bank and cryptocurrency account takeovers and false unemployment claims. Authorities cited several victims, including a New York crypto exchange customer allegedly defrauded of $1 million, a Pennsylvania manufacturer that lost $700,000, and military personnel who collectively lost around $100,000. Source
Bitcoin has risen roughly 6 to 6.5 percent since the Iran conflict escalated at the end of February, outperforming traditional assets such as gold, which gained around 1 to 1.5 percent, while equities declined. The cryptocurrency was trading at 70,323 despite a small daily drop, highlighting resilience during geopolitical uncertainty. Analysts at CoinShares say this divergence is notable, pointing out that technical indicators had already suggested Bitcoin was near the bottom of its current cycle before the conflict began, helping position it for gains as global tensions increased.
Rising US Treasury yields indicate that investors may be losing confidence in traditional safe-haven assets, as higher yields typically reflect reduced demand for government bonds. At the same time, institutional interest in digital assets appears to be strengthening, with investment products recording three consecutive weeks of net inflows and about 500 million deposited so far this week. Analysts say this suggests large investors are increasingly willing to hold Bitcoin during geopolitical turbulence, although other parts of the crypto market, particularly speculative trading and meme coins, could face pressure if household spending weakens. Source
Anchorage Digital has integrated Puffer Finance into its custody platform, enabling institutional clients to access Ethereum liquid restaking directly from their custodial accounts. The integration allows institutions to stake Ether held with Anchorage and receive Puffer’s liquid restaking token, pufETH, which represents a restaked ETH position while continuing to earn both staking and restaking rewards. The token can be transferred or used across supported onchain applications, allowing institutions to participate in restaking without running validators or managing their own staking infrastructure.
The move forms part of Anchorage’s broader effort to expand institutional access to onchain services such as staking, governance and settlement while keeping assets within its custody framework. Restaking has become a growing segment of the Ethereum ecosystem, allowing already staked tokens to help secure additional decentralised services while generating extra yield. Liquid restaking protocols collectively hold about $7.2 billion in total value locked, with major platforms dominating the sector while Puffer Finance currently manages around $62 million in restaked Ether as institutional interest in yield strategies continues to increase. Source
Markethive Profile Pages introduce a redesigned approach to managing a digital identity within the platform, combining branding tools, content creation and social interaction in a single environment. Instead of a static profile, the system provides a dynamic hub where members can publish content, manage their presence and access key marketing utilities directly from their personal page. Every member receives a fully functional default profile from the moment they join, while upgraded users can choose from additional premium designs and use an AI assistant to customise their page. External visitors are presented with a streamlined introduction to the member and the platform, including a prominent call-to-action encouraging them to log in or join to access full features.
The profile page also functions as a centralised control centre for activity, branding and engagement. Members can post updates through an integrated HTML editor, update profile details, manage images and connect multiple social media accounts, while real-time metrics display information such as posts, connections, page visits and verified country. Status indicators like Hive Rank, KEY ownership and micropayment activation highlight credibility and participation within the community. Additional tools provide access to blogs, groups, media feeds and a personal newsfeed, while advertising placements and alert bars enable communication and promotion across the platform. Members can also control which features are visible to external visitors, allowing the profile to act as a flexible digital hub for both privacy management and entrepreneurial growth within the Markethive ecosystem. Source
Quantum computing could eventually challenge the cryptographic systems that secure Bitcoin, but a new report from Ark Invest and Unchained suggests the threat is long term rather than immediate. The research explores whether future quantum computers could use Shor’s algorithm to break the elliptic curve cryptography that protects Bitcoin wallets. Current machines are far below the capability needed, operating in what researchers call the Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum era with around 100 logical qubits, whereas breaking Bitcoin keys would require thousands of high-quality, error-corrected qubits and far more reliable operations than exist today. Experts believe advances in quantum computing will happen gradually rather than through a sudden breakthrough, giving the wider technology sector and the Bitcoin network time to respond.
Even so, the report warns that a large share of Bitcoin’s supply could become vulnerable if quantum computers eventually reach the required capabilities. Researchers estimate about 1.7 million Bitcoin are stored in older addresses believed to be lost and another 5.2 million are in addresses that could potentially be migrated, meaning roughly 35% of the total supply might be exposed under certain conditions. Developers are already exploring ways to prepare, including a proposal known as BIP 360 that introduces a new Pay-to-Merkle-Root output type and could support post-quantum signature schemes in the future. Any upgrade would require changes to Bitcoin’s consensus rules and coordination across wallets, hardware devices, exchanges and developers, a process that could take years due to the network’s cautious approach to major changes. Source
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce urged regulators to simplify corporate disclosure requirements and allow more flexibility for market experimentation, particularly in relation to tokenized securities. Speaking to the SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee, Peirce warned that overly detailed rules can distort capital flows and often lead public companies to produce disclosures that obscure rather than clarify information for investors. She suggested that a more streamlined approach could improve transparency and efficiency, drawing on the principle of regulatory restraint to avoid micromanaging markets.
Peirce also highlighted the growing discussion around tokenized securities and blockchain-based financial infrastructure, noting that SEC staff are exploring a potential “innovation exemption” to allow limited experimentation in this area. She questioned whether additional disclosure or intermediary requirements would be needed, given that blockchain could enable faster settlement and, in some cases, transactions without traditional intermediaries. The SEC has already signalled support for tokenization by permitting the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation to pilot a blockchain-based securities service, while broader policy debates in Washington continue to shape the future regulatory framework for digital assets. Source
Senate Majority Leader John Thune indicated that legislation to establish a digital asset market structure is unlikely to move forward before April, as the chamber plans to prioritise the SAVE America Act, which would require voters to provide proof of US citizenship in person to register. Thune said lawmakers would address the crypto market structure bill and other bipartisan legislation only after the vote on the SAVE America Act. This timeline contrasts with earlier remarks from Senator Bernie Moreno, who had hoped the market structure bill would pass by April. The Senate Banking Committee has yet to conduct a necessary markup to reconcile its version of the legislation with that already advanced by the Senate Agriculture Committee.
The market structure legislation, known as the CLARITY Act in the House, aims to give the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission greater authority over digital assets, including tokenised equities and stablecoin oversight. However, disagreements remain among senators on key provisions, and progress has been further complicated by political and industry tensions. In a related development, the Senate voted to include an amendment in a housing bill that would prevent the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency until December 2030. As discussions continue, it remains uncertain whether the market structure bill can advance amid these competing priorities and ongoing negotiations. Source
President Donald Trump’s Solana-based meme coin, TRUMP, experienced a brief surge of over 10% in one hour following the announcement of a new exclusive event for top holders at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on April 25. The event will invite the top 297 registered token holders, determined through a time-weighted points system, and will feature a luncheon gala with a keynote speech from the former president. Additionally, 18 high-profile guests are expected to attend, and the top 29 token holders will gain access to a VIP reception, though no private meetings or gifts will be provided. Attendees must pass background and security checks, and eligibility excludes individuals from certain countries and foreign government officials.
Despite the spike, the TRUMP token remains nearly 96% below its all-time high and has experienced recent declines amid falling approval ratings for President Trump and geopolitical uncertainties. Eligibility for the event is tracked via a public leaderboard, with holders required to connect Solana wallets or Robinhood accounts to verify token ownership. The upcoming event follows the first TRUMP gathering at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia, which drew criticism and protests over concerns of political influence and ethics. The token’s fluctuating value underscores the volatile nature of meme coins even as the event generates renewed attention from supporters. Source
Eightco Holdings has raised $125 million to support its investments in blockchain and artificial intelligence, causing its shares to jump by 12%. The funding round was led by crypto treasury firm Bitmine with a $75 million investment, while ARK Invest and Payward, Kraken’s parent company, contributed $25 million each. Bitmine chairman Tom Lee will join Eightco’s board, with ARK Invest’s chief futurist Brett Winton taking on a board advisory role. Eightco plans to use the new capital to expand into technology sectors shaping the future of AI, blockchain infrastructure, and global digital consumer platforms.
The company has also made a $50 million strategic investment in OpenAI and a $25 million stake in Beast Industries, owned by YouTuber MrBeast, positioning Eightco as a key player in frontier AI technologies and content creation. Despite Thursday’s surge, Eightco’s stock remains down over 90% in the past six months, reflecting the broader downturn in crypto-linked equities. The firm originally entered the crypto space in September with its purchase of Worldcoin, which temporarily boosted its share price by 3,000% in a single day. Source
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has issued a staff advisory and launched an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to clarify its oversight of prediction markets, particularly those tied to sports outcomes. Chairman Michael Selig emphasised that the agency will defend its jurisdiction as states increasingly challenge platforms that resemble unlicensed sports gambling. The advisory instructs registered exchanges on compliance and product listing requirements for event contracts, which are derivatives based on real-world outcomes such as elections or sports results. The ANPRM invites public comment on whether new rules are needed or existing ones should be amended, with feedback due within 45 days of Federal Register publication.
While the CFTC frames its actions as a firm assertion of authority, industry experts suggest the move largely restates existing regulations and seeks stakeholder input rather than introducing new policy. Legal disputes continue to challenge the classification of sports prediction markets as financial assets rather than gambling, with Nevada courts considering injunctions against exchanges like Kalshi. Analysts note that outside the U.S., such markets are typically treated as gambling, and state-level licencing in the U.S. has struggled due to high taxes and regulatory hurdles. The main risk to the sector is a potential negative Supreme Court ruling, which could effectively end the business model. Source
The Bitcoin Policy Institute is challenging the way Bitcoin is treated under the Basel framework, urging the US Federal Reserve to revise its approach as it prepares new rules on bank asset risk weighting. The institute argues that Bitcoin is classified as a “toxic asset” with a 1,250% risk weighting, far exceeding that of almost all other asset classes. This classification requires banks to hold approved collateral equal to the full value of any Bitcoin on their balance sheets, making it significantly more expensive to hold than assets like cash, gold, or government debt, which carry a 0% risk weight. BPI plans to submit public comments to ensure regulators implement more balanced standards.
Federal Reserve officials, including Vice Chair Michelle Bowman, emphasise that the upcoming rules aim to promote efficient regulation while ensuring banks remain capable of supporting economic growth safely. Critics, however, view the high capital requirement as excessively punitive, limiting banks’ ability to provide services to Bitcoin users and businesses. The Basel Committee’s prior classification of crypto in its high-risk Group 2 assets is seen by the Bitcoin Policy Institute as a fundamental mischaracterisation, creating substantial barriers for institutional engagement with the cryptocurrency. Source
Bitcoin miners are facing declining revenues and tighter margins, prompting market maker Wintermute to advise that miners treat their BTC holdings as active, yield-generating assets rather than passive reserves. Many miners have built large-scale power infrastructure in low-cost energy regions, giving them resources highly sought after by the artificial intelligence industry, but pivoting into AI is capital-intensive. Wintermute highlights that publicly listed miners, including MARA Holdings, have already begun selling Bitcoin to fund such transitions, while miners collectively hold close to 1% of the total BTC supply, reflecting legacy HODL-era strategies that have left treasury management largely untapped.
Wintermute suggests miners could leverage active balance sheet management to generate returns through derivatives strategies, covered calls, cash-secured puts, or lending protocols, which remains underutilised in the industry. The current cycle has failed to deliver the price increases needed to offset halving-driven revenue reductions, and transaction fees have not consistently filled the gap, leaving energy costs to further squeeze margins. This pressure, Wintermute argues, is a structural shakeup that could drive greater efficiency in the mining sector, giving an edge to those who deploy their Bitcoin strategically ahead of the next halving. Source
Disclaimer: These articles are provided for informational purposes only. They are not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or any other advice.
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