$330M Bitcoin Binge: When Others Pause, Strategy Pounces
MarketBeat’s analyst rankings spotlight five top‑rated stocks, leaving the Strategy fund off the list despite its Moderate Buy rating. The piece pivots to promote seven obscure AI‑focused micro‑cap stocks, touting low share prices and lofty growth forecasts. One highlighted company trades at $3 and holds 98 patents, while another is priced at $6 with a $19.20 price target. The article frames the AI sector as a $15.7 trillion market poised for a historic boom.
Bessent Ramps up Pressure on Congress to Pass CLARITY Act
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged Congress to swiftly pass the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, warning that Senate floor time is limited. The bill, already cleared by the House, aims to establish clear rules for cryptocurrencies, tokenized assets...
Strategy’s STRC Sees One of Its Highest Volume Days, with Just One Penny of Volatility
Strategy’s perpetual preferred stock STRC logged $333 million in trading volume on April 9, marking its seventh‑highest daily volume since its July 2025 debut. Despite the heavy flow, the security stayed anchored at its $100 par value, delivering just one penny of price...
Solflare & Snowdrop Solutions Team Up to Make Crypto Card Transactions Less Mystic
Solflare, a leading wallet on the Solana blockchain, has announced a strategic partnership with Snowdrop Solutions to upgrade its crypto‑linked debit card experience. The collaboration will embed Snowdrop’s transaction‑enrichment engine, translating raw blockchain data into clear, neobank‑style summaries. By surfacing...
Dubai Clarifies Token Issuance Rules for RWAs and Stablecoins
Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) released detailed guidance clarifying how stablecoins and real‑world asset (RWA) tokens should be issued, disclosed, and distributed. The rulebook defines three issuance pathways—Category 1 fiat‑referenced and asset‑referenced tokens, Category 2 tokens that must use VARA‑licensed intermediaries,...
Ctrl Alt Secures FCA Authorisation to Expand UK Tokenisation Capabilities
Ctrl Alt, a tokenisation infrastructure provider, has secured direct authorisation from the UK Financial Conduct Authority, moving from an appointed representative to an independently regulated investment firm. The FCA licence allows the company to expand its end‑to‑end tokenised‑asset services across...
Denis Beau: Stablecoins - What Strategic Choices for Europe?
Denis Beau, senior official at Banque de France, outlined the EU’s strategic response to the rise of USD‑denominated stablecoins. He warned that unchecked “stablecoinisation” and “dollarisation” could threaten Europe’s monetary sovereignty and advocated preserving the two‑tier system of central‑bank money...
Michael S Barr: Brief Remarks on Stablecoins
In his remarks, Michael S. Barr highlighted the bipartisan GENIUS Act, which mandates that stablecoin issuers hold only high‑quality, highly liquid reserve assets. He noted that clearer rules could speed stablecoin adoption for crypto trading, cross‑border remittances, and corporate treasury...
PODCAST: Stablecoins Are Moving Real Money, Just Not That Much of It Yet
Despite headlines touting massive market caps, stablecoins account for only single‑digit percent of real‑world payment volume. CFOs view them as risk‑reducing, point‑solution tools for slow, costly corridors rather than a wholesale banking replacement. Citi’s Token Services and startups like Stable...
Piero Cipollone: Building the Rails for Europe's Tokenised Financial Markets
Europe’s tokenised capital markets have moved from pilot projects to real‑world issuance, with issuers placing roughly €4 bn (about $4.3 bn) in DLT‑based bonds since 2021 and €1.6 bn ($1.7 bn) in cross‑border trials this year. The Eurosystem is addressing two core bottlenecks—platform fragmentation...
Bithumb Launches Legal Action to Recover 7 Bitcoin From Payout Error
South Korean exchange Bithumb has filed for a provisional attachment to freeze assets of users who have not returned 7 Bitcoin after a February payout glitch that mistakenly sent 620,000 BTC—about $42 billion—rather than a 620,000‑won prize. The exchange reversed most of the...
Bitcoin Depot Discloses $3.6 Million Crypto Theft Following System Breach
Bitcoin Depot disclosed that on March 23, 2026 attackers siphoned 50.903 Bitcoin, roughly $3.665 million, from its internal settlement wallets after breaching corporate IT systems. The breach was limited to internal credentials and did not affect customer‑facing platforms or data. Bitcoin...
$3.6 Million Stolen in Bitcoin Depot Hack
Bitcoin Depot, the largest U.S. Bitcoin ATM operator, disclosed that hackers stole roughly 50.903 BTC, valued at about $3.6 million, after breaching its corporate IT systems on March 23. The company says the intrusion was limited to internal wallets and did not affect...
Yuga Labs Settles Lawsuit Against Artists Accused of Copying Its NFTs
Yuga Labs, the creator of the Bored Ape Yacht Club, has settled its four‑year lawsuit with artists Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen, who were accused of minting and selling look‑alike NFTs. Under the agreement, the artists are permanently barred from using Yuga’s...
US Treasury Tightens Grip: New AML Rules for Stablecoin Issuers
The U.S. Treasury, via FinCEN and OFAC, has proposed a rule that reclassifies stablecoin issuers as Permitted Payment Stablecoin Issuers (PPSIs), subjecting them to full AML and sanctions compliance. Issuers must implement standalone AML programs, file SARs for transactions of...
Swyftx Cofounder Takes Helm After CEO Punted, Jobs Cut by 15%
Swyftx has dismissed CEO Jason Titman and cut roughly 15% of its workforce after two major acquisitions totaling about $133 million. Cofounders Alex Harper and CFO Andrea Yuen were named acting co‑CEOs, while director Cathryn Lyall stepped in as acting chair. The...
Bhutan Transfers Over $20M in Bitcoin, Total BTC Reserves Decline by 70%, Onchain Data Reveals
The Royal Government of Bhutan transferred roughly 319.7 BTC, valued at about $23 million, to two separate crypto addresses on April 9, 2026. Combined on‑chain data shows the nation moved $216 million in Bitcoin this year, including $163 million to unidentified wallets. After the transfers,...
How Does a Blockchain Work?
Blockchain is a decentralized digital ledger where each block contains transaction data, a cryptographic hash, and a link to the previous block. Nodes maintain full copies of the chain and validate new blocks through consensus mechanisms, ensuring immutability and resistance...
European Digital Banking Platform CaixaBank Introduces Digital Assets Investment Services
Spain’s CaixaBank has obtained EU‑wide authorization under the MiCA framework to operate as a crypto‑asset service provider. The bank will roll out regulated custody, order execution and transfer services for digital assets, building on its 2025 launch of bitcoin‑linked exchange‑traded...
The Attraction of Cryptocurrencies and NFTs to Money Launderers
Cryptocurrencies and NFTs are increasingly exploited by money launderers because they offer perceived anonymity, easy access and limited regulatory oversight. Criminals leverage unregulated exchanges, prepaid cards, cash deposits and privacy‑focused coins to obscure illicit proceeds. Law‑enforcement investigations have uncovered platforms...
Crypto Embraces Regulator-in-the-Loop Strategy as Federal Rules Roll Out
U.S. regulators are moving from a fragmented, adversarial approach to a coordinated, iterative framework for crypto, anchored by the GENIUS Act’s stablecoin-specific rules and the SEC’s upcoming CLARITY Act. The White House’s stablecoin report and FDIC‑OCC prudential framework further cement...
What Is a Blockchain?
A blockchain is a distributed, tamper‑resistant ledger first introduced in 2009 to power Bitcoin. While its origin was a proof‑of‑concept cryptocurrency, developers quickly recognized broader applications across finance, supply chains, NFTs, and digital royalties. Blockchains fall into two categories: permissionless...
Paysafe’s MoonPay Deal Brings Stablecoin Rails to a Payments Platform That Handled $167B Last Year
Paysafe announced a partnership with MoonPay to embed crypto payment capabilities into its global payments platform. The new “Pay with Crypto” product lets merchants accept USDC, other stablecoins and major cryptocurrencies, converting deposits into U.S. dollars. The service targets e‑commerce,...
White House Says Stablecoin Yield Won't Hurt Bank Deposits
The White House Council of Economic Advisers released a report showing that prohibiting stablecoin issuers from paying yield would raise bank lending by about $2.1 billion – just 0.02% of total loans – contradicting banking industry warnings of massive deposit outflows....
#58734
On April 1, 2026 the Board of Trustees of ETF Opportunities Trust announced the closure and liquidation of the REX Bitcoin Corporate Treasury Convertible Bond ETF (ticker BMAX). Trading will cease on April 13, 2026 and the fund will be liquidated by...
Treasury Proposes AML Rules for Stablecoin Issuers
The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued a proposal that subjects stablecoin issuers to bank‑like anti‑money‑laundering (AML) and counter‑terrorist‑financing rules. The draft mirrors recent FDIC and OCC guidance, demanding risk‑based AML programs, SAR filing at the $5,000...
Crypto Option Income ETFs Post March Distributions
Amplify ETFs announced March income distributions for its six crypto option income ETFs, delivering annualized yields from 27.90% to 50.52%. The funds employ weekly covered‑call strategies on digital‑asset exchange‑traded products rather than holding the underlying cryptocurrencies directly. Two funds—EHY and...
Iran Demands Bitcoin For Ships Passing Hormuz During Ceasefire
Iran's Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters' Union announced that any oil tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz during a two‑week cease‑fire must pay a toll of $1 per barrel in Bitcoin. Ship owners must email cargo details, receive a...
Crypto Markets Surge as US-Iran Ceasefire Triggers Short Squeeze
Crypto markets rallied on Wednesday after a surprise two‑week US‑Iran ceasefire, pushing Bitcoin to a three‑week high above $72,700. The surge triggered a short squeeze that liquidated roughly $470 million in bearish positions, while the broader market cap rose to $2.51 trillion....
Fireblocks and Dynamic Bring Enterprise-Grade Wallet Infrastructure to TON and Telegram
Fireblocks and its embedded‑wallet arm Dynamic have added support for The Open Network (TON) on Telegram Mini Apps. The integration automatically provisions TON wallets and couples them with Fireblocks’ custody, governance and compliance stack, letting developers launch payment, trading and...
1 in 6 Iranians Turn to Bitcoin Amid Crisis
CoinShares research shows that roughly 14 million Iranians – about one in six of the population – now rely on Bitcoin to sidestep sanctions and a collapsing rial. Bitcoin transaction volume grew 11.8% year‑over‑year and now represents 2.2% of Iran’s GDP....
The New York Times Says It Found Satoshi Nakamoto, the Inventor of Bitcoin. Not so Fast.
The New York Times published a 12,000‑word investigation by journalist John Carreyrou claiming British cryptographer Adam Back is the real Satoshi Nakamoto. Carreyrou’s case leans on linguistic quirks, libertarian ties, and Back’s Hashcash legacy, but offers no definitive proof. The piece repeats the pattern of...
Biconomy, Ethereum Foundation Unveil Execution Standard for AI Agents
Biconomy and the Ethereum Foundation have released ERC‑8211, a new execution standard that enables dynamic "smart batching" for on‑chain AI agents. The protocol introduces fetchers, constraints, and predicate entries so agents can read live state, validate values, and conditionally execute...
Noah Becomes Hyperbeat On-Chain Banking Partner to Help Move $300B in Monthly DeFi Volume
Noah has become the default settlement provider for Hyperbeat’s on‑chain banking layer, enabling fiat transfers in EUR, USD and other major currencies across the Hyperliquid ecosystem. The partnership links traditional bank accounts to HyperEVM, allowing users to fund wallets, convert...
ComfyUI Instances Hijacked for Cryptomining and Proxy Botnet
A new campaign is hijacking publicly exposed ComfyUI instances—an open‑source UI for stable diffusion models—to run illicit cryptocurrency mining and proxy botnet operations. Threat actors scan cloud IP ranges with a custom Python tool, exploiting unauthenticated deployments to execute malicious...
FDIC Floats AML Revamp, Stablecoin Guidelines
The FDIC, together with the OCC and NCUA, released a joint proposal to revamp AML/CFT regulations, shifting focus toward higher‑risk customers and granting FinCEN a formal consultative role in supervision. Simultaneously, the FDIC issued a proposed rule under the Genius...
Bitcoin Enters the War as Iran Wants Ships to Pay in BTC to Get Through Hormuz
Iran’s Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Union announced a $1‑per‑barrel toll payable in Bitcoin for tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Vessels must email cargo details, receive an assessment and settle the fee within seconds using Bitcoin before being...
British Cryptographer Adam Back Is the Secret Creator of Bitcoin, Claims New Report — Back Refutes Investigation, Says Parallels to...
A new New York Times investigation by John Carreyrou suggests British cryptographer Adam Back may be the elusive Satoshi Nakamoto, citing decades‑old email exchanges, his creation of Hashcash, and linguistic AI analysis. The 40‑page report links Back’s cypherpunk activity and his role in co‑founding...
Latest $285M Crypto Hack Suggests Next Major Exploit Could Come From ‘Compromised’ Developers
On April 1, Drift Protocol halted deposits after a coordinated attack that siphoned roughly $285 million in a 12‑minute drain. investigators linked the breach to the same actors behind the October 2024 Radiant Capital hack, identifying a social‑engineering campaign that compromised multisig signers...
Stablecoins to Infiltrate Market, Investors Say
Venture capital firm QED Investors hosted a panel asserting that stablecoins will augment, not replace, existing payment rails, creating a hybrid model that leverages the speed and low cost of crypto alongside the reliability of traditional systems. The discussion highlighted...
Circle Launches CPN Managed Payments
Circle Internet Group has launched Circle Payments Network (CPN) Managed Payments, a fully managed stablecoin settlement platform. The service lets payment service providers, fintechs, banks and enterprises settle in USDC while interacting only in fiat, as Circle handles minting, burning,...
Arkham Intel Removes TON Blockchain Support
Arkham Intelligence announced that its Arkham Intel platform will cease support for the TON blockchain on Wednesday, April 8, 2026 at 12 pm EST. The move follows a routine review of chain integrations, with the firm citing user demand and the blockchain’s overall ecosystem...
Securitize Partners with Currenc Group to Tokenize Shares on Ethereum and Solana: Securitize
Securitize has teamed up with publicly listed Currenc Group to issue tokenized ordinary shares on both Ethereum and Solana. The partnership follows Securitize’s recent designation as the NYSE’s first digital transfer agent for on‑chain securities, underscoring growing institutional confidence in...
Deposit Flight Concerns Over Stablecoin Yield Are 'Quantitatively Small': White House Report
The White House Council of Economic Advisers released a study showing that banning stablecoin yield would boost bank lending by only 0.02%, roughly $2.1 billion, while eroding consumer welfare. The report characterizes deposit‑flight worries as “quantitatively small,” noting that most stablecoin...
Morgan Stanley Debuts Bitcoin ETF as Price Slump Rattles Holders
Morgan Stanley will become the first Wall Street bank to launch its own spot Bitcoin ETF, the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT), on NYSE Arca. The fund, priced at a 14‑basis‑point expense ratio, is the cheapest in a market of...
Morgan Stanley Investment Management Launches Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust
Morgan Stanley Investment Management has introduced the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT), an exchange‑traded product listed on NYSE Arca that aims to mirror Bitcoin’s performance. The trust uses the CoinDesk Bitcoin Benchmark 4 PM NY Settlement Rate as its pricing reference...
Brit Says He Is Not Elusive Bitcoin Creator Named by New York Times
British Bitcoin developer Adam Back publicly refuted a New York Times investigation that named him as Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious creator of Bitcoin. Back described the report as a case of confirmation bias, arguing that similarities in language and timing are coincidental....
MEMRI Cyber & Jihad Lab Continues to Monitor Uptick in ISIS-K Use of Cryptocurrency
The MEMRI Cyber & Jihad Lab reports a sharp rise in ISIS‑K’s use of cryptocurrency for fundraising, highlighted by recent propaganda urging donors to switch Monero wallets. On April 2, the U.S. Department of Justice sentenced Colorado resident Humzah Mashkoor...
Swiss Banking Alliance Tests Digital Franc
Swiss banking giants UBS, PostFinance, Sygnum, Raiffeisen, Zürcher Kantonalbank, BCV and Swiss Stablecoin AG announced a CHF stablecoin sandbox slated for 2026. The controlled live environment will test digital franc use cases such as programmable payments while imposing participation limits...
IMF Warns Crypto Risks Could Trigger Financial Instability
The International Monetary Fund warned that integrating crypto assets into mainstream finance represents a structural shift that could erode the friction‑based safeguards preventing crises from spiraling. Recent research from the New York Fed and other central banks shows stablecoins can...