Cryptopolitan

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.

Media contact

Maghan Lusk

PR@dsaf.org 

Bursa de criptomonede din Coreea de Sud, Bithumb, și-a amânat oficial mult așteptatul ofertă publică inițială (IPO) pentru o dată ulterioară anului 2028, marcând o altă întârziere în planurile care inițial vizau o listare în 2025. Această dezvoltare vine după un incident în valoare de 43 miliarde de dolari.

Anunțul a venit în timpul întâlnirii anuale a acționarilor companiei în Seul. CFO Jeong Sang-gyun a spus că compania continuă să se pregătească pentru IPO-ul său și a semnat un acord de consultanță cu Samjong KPMG.

Bithumb amână IPO-ul său pentru a remedia sistemele interne și regulile.

Boom-ul piețelor de predicție atrage unele dintre cele mai mari nume de pe Wall Street și captează atenția autorităților federale de aplicare a legii.

Regulatorul de top al mărfurilor din America, Comisia pentru Comerțul cu Futures pe Mărfuri (CFTC), printr-un discurs al directorului său de aplicare, a atenționat marți industria că legile privind tranzacțiile de insider se aplică în piețele de predicție, contestând direct o presupunere în creștere în sector.

Avertismentul vine în timp ce JPMorgan Chase a sugerat că analizează o posibilă intrare în acest domeniu, cu firma de investiții în criptomonede Paradigm raportând că construiește un terminal de tranzacționare dedicat pentru profesioniștii din piețele de predicție.

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 și-a ratat termenul limită. Orașul promisese să aprobe prima rundă de emitenți de stablecoin autorizați până la sfârșitul lunii martie 2026, dar acest lucru nu s-a întâmplat.

La câteva luni după ce o nouă lege a intrat în vigoare, lista oficială a emitenților aprobați este încă goală.

Pe 1 august 2025, Autoritatea Monetară din Hong Kong, sau HKMA, a implementat Ordinul Stablecoin. Autoritățile superioare au declarat de mai multe ori că orașul va fi pregătit să emită primul lot de permise până în martie.

Eddie Yue, șeful HKMA, a declarat la începutul lunii februarie. În Bugetul Fiscal 2026/27, Secretarul Financiar Paul Chan Mo-po a mers mai departe, afirmând că un "număr mic" de emitenți conformi vor primi licențele în acea lună, permițând orașului să înceapă testarea aplicațiilor de stablecoin în lume reală în condiții controlate.

SpaceX a depus în tăcere o cerere pentru un IPO la Comisia pentru Valori Mobiliare și Burse din SUA și vizează o lansare în iunie.

Listarea ar putea evalua compania la peste 1,75 trilione de dolari, punând-o pe drumul de a deveni cel mai mare IPO din toate timpurile.

Compania plănuiește o structură care oferă insiderilor mai mult control și ar putea rezerva până la 30% din acțiuni pentru investitorii de retail.

În ciuda numărului în creștere de investitori care își mută discret fondurile în tokenuri de aur bazate pe blockchain, aurul a crescut din nou peste 4.700 $ miercuri, pe măsură ce cumpărătorii s-au întors pe piață după o vânzare severă în martie.

Aurul la vedere a fost tranzacționat la 4.719 $ pe uncie pe 1 aprilie 2026, în creștere cu aproximativ 1% în acea zi. Mai devreme în sesiune, prețurile au atins 4.750 $ înainte de a se retrage ușor.

Miercuri a marcat a patra zi consecutivă de câștiguri, construind pe o creștere bruscă de 3,5% de marțea trecută, cea mai mare creștere într-o singură zi din ianuarie.

Finanțarea VC în crypto a revenit în martie, sporind brusc la niveluri nesemnificative din 2022. În total, rundele de finanțare au depășit 5,9 miliarde de dolari după câteva luni lente.

Finanțarea VC în crypto în martie a închis 107 runde, totalizând 5,95 miliarde de dolari. Acest salt urmează cinci luni de investiții relativ mai slabe din octombrie 2025.

Finanțarea VC în crypto a crescut în martie, revenind la niveluri nesemnificative din începutul anului 2022. | Sursa: Cryptorank

Rundele de finanțare VC reflectă adesea sentimentul de pe piață. De data aceasta, luna de oferte active coincide cu slăbiciuni mai ample pe piață. Cu toate acestea, rundele de finanțare indică o revenire la construirea și susținerea de noi proiecte.

Everything happening around AI right now is a lot to keep up with, so Cryptopolitan is pulling it all together in one place.

First up, Nvidia, now the biggest company in the world, is putting about $2 billion into chip maker Marvell to improve how data moves inside AI data centers. The focus is on silicon photonics, which means using light instead of electricity to move data faster and carry more of it at the same time.

Big tech companies are designing custom AI chips instead of relying only on Nvidia GPUs, and Marvell already works with companies like Amazon to create those chips.

Iran is once again listing major tech companies as targets and sets attack timeline

As that was happening, Iran’s IRGC named 18 tech companies as targets in its defense against the US and Israel’s war, and the list includes Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, and Google.

The warning came after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. The group said attacks would begin at 8 p.m. on April 1 in Tehran, which is 12:30 p.m. Eastern time. They also told employees at those companies to leave their workplaces to stay safe.

The list goes further. It includes Cisco, HP, Intel, Oracle, IBM, Dell, Palantir, JP Morgan, Tesla, GE, Spire Solutions, Boeing, and UAE-based AI company G42.

This follows earlier strikes on AWS data centers in the Middle East. Those strikes caused outages in apps and digital services in the United Arab Emirates.

At the same time, U.S. tech firms have been investing heavily in the region. The Middle East offers cheap energy and land, which makes it attractive for AI infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Trump is on Truth Social saying, “Iran’s New Regime President, much less Radicalized and far more intelligent than his predecessors, has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE! We will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear. Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!”

Zhipu jumps on earnings while Oracle cuts jobs and Anthropic faces code leak

Chinese AI company Zhipu saw its stock jump sharply. Shares rose as much as 35% before closing 31.94% higher.

Zhipu listed in Hong Kong in January and raised $558 million in its IPO. It is one of the first pure-play AI model companies to go public.

The company reported revenue of about 724 million yuan for 2025. That is a 132% increase from the previous year. Still, it missed expectations of 760 million yuan.

Losses increased. Net adjusted loss reached 3.18 billion yuan, up 29.1%, driven by higher spending on research and development.

In the U.S., Oracle is dealing with a 25% drop in its stock price this year, thanks to spending heavily on AI infrastructure.

Oracle had 162,000 employees as of May 2025, and has not made a public statement about the cuts.

Oracle also reported that its remaining performance obligations rose 359% to $455 billion. This followed a deal with OpenAI worth over $300 billion.

After that, Oracle named Mike Sicilia and Clay Magouyrk to replace Safra Catz as CEO.

Meanwhile, Anthropic confirmed that part of its Claude Code source code was exposed.

The company said, “No sensitive customer data or credentials were involved or exposed. This was a release packaging issue caused by human error, not a security breach. We’re rolling out measures to prevent this from happening again.”

The leak still matters. It gives developers and competitors insight into how the tool works. A post sharing the code link reached over 21 million views on X after being posted early Tuesday.

Earlier, documents about an upcoming AI model were found in a public data cache, according to a report by Fortune.

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Crypto whales and large funds have split on their oil predictions. As Brent oil hovered around $102, crypto traders used their 24/7 market to place bets on a directional move. 

Crypto whales moved into oil in March, as commodities became one of the hottest markets on Hyperliquid. Arkham identified several large-scale wallets, setting up two major camps with long and short positions on oil. 

Those positions may reflect short-term sentiment or the possibility of the market reacting to immediate news about supply shocks or the normalization of deliveries. Hyperliquid allows traders to benefit even from those short-term price moves. 

Which crypto whales are going long on oil? 

Cumberland, one of the long-running crypto market makers, has built a $15.56M Brent long position and a $12.5M long on the WTI contract on Trade[.]XYZ. 

Rune Christensen has longed Brent for $6.65M, with $1M for WTI. Flow Traders hold a $3M long position on WTI, and Cookerflips has opened a $1.9M long position on WTI. 

In total, Brent open interest is over $475M, with $323M for the WTI CL contract. For the past two weeks, the contracts have taken up the lead in terms of open interest on HIP-3. Commodities have slowed down their trading activity in the past few days from the peak on March 23, with $4.5B in volumes, but the market remains responsive to changing oil supply conditions. 

Which whales are shorting oil?

As Cryptopolitan reported earlier, Abraxas Capital built one of the biggest short positions on both Brent and WTI oil in the past week. Abraxas Capital retained $130M in open positions, shorting the two most active contracts. 

The second-biggest position belongs to CBB0FE, with $14.7M short on Brent and $12.8M on WTI. Yixie has a $5M short position on WTI, and Locarle shorted Brent for $4.86M.

Overall, HIP-3 makes 22.8% of Hyperliquid activity, down from a recent spike to 47.7%. HIP-3 is no longer growing exponentially after the initial hype, but remains a key arena of directional bets.

For now, the bets on an oil downturn are the more active positions, potentially expecting a resolution of the Strait of Hormuz situation.

The Brent and WTI markets rallied recently, and have not caught up with the cumulative volumes of silver and gold. To date, silver is the most successful HIP-3 contract, with over $39B in cumulative trades. 

Gold comes in second with $27.9B. WTI oil recently broke above $16B, after becoming the first contract to rally. Brent has so far traded $6B on HIP-3, as traders switched to the benchmark oil brand only in the past week or two. The presence of some of the biggest crypto funds and market makers shows HIP-3 had a lasting effect on the market, with the potential for copy-trading and compensating for the slower token trading. 

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Rusia a încercat să restricționeze accesul la Telegram de câteva săptămâni și comunitatea crypto a țării se luptă să găsească un substitut decent.

După o încetinire inițială, încercările de a bloca messengerul au început înainte de un termen limită raportat de 1 aprilie pentru conformarea messengerului cu cerințele Moscovei.

Utilizatorii Telegram din Rusia raportează probleme cu serviciul

Autoritățile ruse au intensificat presiunea asupra Telegram de luni de zile sub pretextul că aplicația de mesagerie nu respectă regulile locale, în special în ceea ce privește eliminarea conținutului interzis în țară.