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DOJ Emails show Coinbase founder tried to meet with Epstein to finalize his investment pledge

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DOJ Emails show Coinbase founder tried to meet with Epstein to finalize his investment pledge

The U.S. Treasury Department is investigating if cryptocurrency platforms have enabled Iran officials to evade Western-imposed sanctions, Ari Redbord, global head of policy at blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs, told CoinDesk.

Redbord said investigators are shifting enforcement away from individual digital wallets and toward crypto infrastructure,

“The concern is not simply that sanctioned actors used crypto, which is expected in a comprehensively sanctioned economy,” Redbord said. “The concern is that the activity appears concentrated through exchange-linked systems that function as repeatable financial access points for sanctioned networks.”

Redbord said U.S. authorities focus most closely when sanctions evasion efforts move from isolated wallet activity to what he described as service-layer infrastructure, including exchanges, stablecoin corridors, liquidity hubs and payment rails.

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One Iranian-linked example identified by TRM Labs is Zedcex, a cryptocurrency exchange that the firm says operated as infrastructure controlled by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to TRM, the exchange processed approximately $1 billion in funds linked to the IRGC, accounting for roughly 56% of its total transaction volume, with that share peaking at 87% in 2024.

“This is direct evidence of a nation state actor turning not to laundering crypto proceeds through a series of wallet addresses, but to using crypto infrastructure,” Redbord said.

Iran’s crypto transactions grew to up to $10 billion

The comments add detail to growing concern in Washington over Iran’s expanding use of digital assets. Iran’s crypto transaction volumes reached roughly $8–10 billion last year, based on on-chain activity identified by TRM Labs and Chainalysis, as both state-linked groups and retail users turned to digital currencies, Reuters reported.

Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned cryptocurrency exchanges for operating in Iran’s financial sector for the first time. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against Zedcex and Zedxion both registered in the U.K. According to the Treasury’s statement, the exchanges facilitated transactions for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which the U.S. and its allies in the European Union designate as a terrorist organization. Since their registration in 2022, just one of these processed over $94 billion in transactions, the Treasury said.

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The United Nations imposed sanctions on Iran in 2025, reinstating those related to the country’s nuclear program that had been lifted in 2015. It’s not the only country to resort to crypto to circumvent restrictions. In early 2025, blockchain analytics provider Chainalysis reported that U.S.-sanctioned countries had received nearly $16 billion in digital assets the year before.

Chainalysis estimates that Iranian wallets received a record $7.8 billion in 2025, up from $7.4 billion in 2024 and $3.17 billion in 2023. The firm estimates that about half of Iran’s crypto volumes last year were linked to the IRGC, a powerful military, political and economic force closely tied to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

By contrast, TRM Labs estimated that most Iran-linked crypto flows originate from retail users, reflecting efforts by ordinary Iranians to preserve savings, access dollars and maintain connectivity to the global financial system as the rial continues to weaken.

Government officials go beyond opportunistic use

“For most people in Iran, crypto remains primarily about access,” Redbord said. But he said the threshold is crossed when state-linked actors move beyond opportunistic use and begin relying on crypto-native infrastructure designed to sustain sanctioned finance at scale.

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Cryptocurrency wallets are pseudonymous and easy to create, limiting the effectiveness of sanctions that target individual addresses, Redbord said.

“By the time an address is sanctioned it has very little operational value,” he said. “Rebuilding functioning financial infrastructure is much harder.”

Sanctions enforcement in crypto, he added, is most effective when it disrupts liquidity and access rather than targeting single wallets. That includes identifying clusters of activity, mapping counterparties and exposing service providers that repeatedly facilitate the movement of funds.

As blockchain networks increasingly function as payment and settlement rails, Redbord said their use by sanctioned states will continue to evolve.

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“Lawful usage will continue to dominate,” he said. “But sophisticated state actors and professional sanctions evaders will increasingly operate through specialized infrastructure built on top of those same rails.”

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XRP Ledger Gets Native ZK Proof Verification Via Boundless Integration

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XRP Ledger Gets Native ZK Proof Verification Via Boundless Integration

The integration lays the groundwork for private, compliant financial applications on Ripple’s Layer 1 blockchain.

Boundless, a zero-knowledge (ZK) proving network originally launched by RISC Zero, has integrated with the XRP Ledger (XRPL), bringing native ZK proof verification to the Layer 1 blockchain for the first time.

The integration is designed to enable institutions to build financial applications on XRPL that can execute privately while maintaining regulatory compliance, according to the announcement.

XRPL is a public, open-source blockchain built for payments and tokenized finance. The network has attracted more than $550 million in ecosystem funding and counts SBI Holdings, Zand Bank, Archax, and Guggenheim Treasury Services among its institutional users.

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Despite the institutional foothold, on-chain transparency has remained a barrier to deeper adoption. Transaction flows, treasury strategies, and counterparty relationships are visible by default on public ledgers, creating competitive risks and compliance friction. Ripple CTO David Schwartz acknowledged as much last year, noting that even Ripple itself could not use the XRPL DEX for payments due to compliance constraints around anonymous liquidity providers.

Emiliano Bonassi, VP of Engineering at Boundless, said the integration covers use cases from stablecoin payments to DeFi flows.

“Boundless brings scalable confidential compute directly to the XRPL ecosystem,” Bonassi told The Defiant. “Institutions can settle on XRPL with ZK proofs and cryptographic attestations for compliance and privacy-preserving logic, such as sanction screening to KYC/KYT/KYB. No trust assumptions, no data exposure, and full control over what gets disclosed and to whom.”

The privacy layer arrives as XRPL continues to expand its institutional network. Ripple teased major XRPL upgrades in February aimed at broadening XRP’s utility beyond payments into stablecoin settlement, tokenized assets, and lending. In November, Ripple partnered with Mastercard and WebBank to test RLUSD stablecoin card settlements on XRPL. And the network’s real-world asset push has accelerated, with Argentina’s YPF Luz launching an energy tokenization platform carrying over $800 million in tokenized assets on the ledger.

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“XRPL has always been built for institutional finance. With Boundless, we are making confidential, compliant execution native infrastructure on XRPL, unlocking a new category of enterprise use cases,” said Odelia Torteman, Director of Corporate Adoption at XRPL Commons.

The integration reflects a broader industry shift toward privacy-first architecture powered by zero-knowledge proofs. At Ethereum’s DevConnect conference in Buenos Aires last November, ZK tooling emerged as a dominant theme, with Boundless among the projects highlighted for its work on ZK-powered cross-chain infrastructure. Proof systems have matured from experimental cryptography to what builders now consider core infrastructure for the next phase of institutional DeFi.

This article was written with the assistance of AI workflows. All our stories are curated, edited and fact-checked by a human.

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Billionaire Tim Draper Predicts Bitcoin Will Reach This Price in 18 Months

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Billionaire Tim Draper Predicts Bitcoin Will Reach This Price in 18 Months

Venture capitalist Tim Draper recounted his Bitcoin (BTC) history, renewing his call for a $250,000 price target.

The billionaire said his BTC journey began with a failed attempt to buy at $4 per coin. He had arranged for Peter Vessenes to mine Bitcoin using Butterfly Labs chips. However, the manufacturer allegedly used the chips for its own mining before shipping them.

A Series of Losses Led to a Defining Bet

By the time Vessenes received the equipment, BTC had already climbed above $30. The mined coins were stored on Mt. Gox, the dominant exchange at the time.

When Mt. Gox collapsed in 2014, Draper lost his entire position.

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The loss prompted deeper research. Draper found that BTC was being used for remittances and paying unbanked workers. That conviction led him to the US Marshals Service auction in July 2014. He bid $632 per BTC and won all nine lots, totaling roughly 29,656 coins.

He then appeared on Fox Business and predicted BTC would hit $10,000 in three years.

That forecast proved accurate almost to the day in November 2017.

Draper Eyes $250,000 Within 18 Months

Draper now suggests BTC could reach $250,000 within 18 months. He cited inflationary pressures and a weakening dollar as tailwinds.

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“I have reason to believe that Bitcoin will reach $250k in 18 months… and eventually I expect the number to be higher as Bitcoin rises and the dollar falls to inflationary pressures,” he wrote in his latest post.

However, it is worth noting that Draper has issued a Bitcoin price target of $250,000 in the past, yet BTC has gotten nowhere close in six years.

Bitcoin Price Performance. Source: BeInCrypto

BTC traded near $74,205 at the time of writing. Other prominent voices, including Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson, have also targeted $250,000. That level remains more than three times the current price.

The post Billionaire Tim Draper Predicts Bitcoin Will Reach This Price in 18 Months appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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BTC completes rebound from Feb. 5 crash

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BTC completes rebound from Feb. 5 crash

Bitcoin touched $75,900 in mid-morning U.S. trading hours on Tuesday, marking its highest level since before February 5, when the price crashed down to $60,000.

Optimism about developments in the Iran war is sparking solid gains across risk assets and continued declines in oil prices. The Nasdaq was ahead 1.2% and WTI crude was lower by 6% to $93 per barrel.

Crypto-related stocks were higher across the board as well. Strategy (MSTR) was up 7.6, Coinbase (COIN) 6.2%, Circle (CRCL) 11% and Galaxy Digital (GLXY) 8.3%.

Bitcoin miners — most of which have altered their business plans to focus on AI-related data center buildouts — were also making large upside moves, led by the former Bitfarms, now Keel Infrastructure (KEEL), which was up 20.5%. MARA Holdings (MARA) was ahead 5.8% and Hut 8 (HUT) 4.8%.

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The broader macro backdrop has also turned more supportive. With the Nasdaq reaching its highest level since early February, ether (ETH) also outperformed bitcoin, underscoring the risk-on tone across markets, said Joel Kruger, market strategist at LMAX Group.

“Overall, the past 24 hours reflect a market that is beginning to show signs of re-engagement,” Kruger said, pointing to improving technicals and broader participation.

The next test for the crypto rally comes at current levels. Kruger said the $76,000 level for bitcoin, where the mid-March rebound rolled over, is a key resistance.

A decisive move above — alongside sustained strength in ether (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency — would be key in determining whether the rebound can evolve into a more durable bullish trend, he said.

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Foundation unveils $1M audit subsidy program

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Why cautious TradFi firms love staked ether

The Ethereum Foundation is doubling down on one of the ecosystem’s most critical needs: security.

On Tuesday, the organization unveiled a new initiative aimed at tackling a persistent challenge in crypto development—the high cost of smart contract security audits.

Through its “Audit Subsidy Program,” the foundation is partnering with leading audit providers and ecosystem firms to make professional security reviews more accessible to builders.

Backed by a $1 million subsidy pool, the program is designed to lower financial barriers that have historically prevented many teams from undergoing comprehensive audits, despite their importance as an industry best practice.

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The initiative is part of the foundation’s broader Trillion Dollar Security Initiative, which focuses on strengthening Ethereum as it scales to support increasingly complex applications and larger amounts of value on-chain.

The program includes partners such as Nethermind, Chainlink Labs and Areta, and connects builders with more than 20 top-tier audit firms, helping streamline access to trusted security expertise across the ecosystem.

Alongside the rollout, the foundation also introduced a new framework it calls the “CROPS principles,” short for censorship resistance, open source, privacy and security. The framework is intended to guide how applications are built and evaluated across the Ethereum ecosystem.

Builders can submit their projects for consideration, after which an expert committee reviews applications. Selected teams receive subsidies that can be applied directly to audit services through Areta’s platform. The program is open to all Ethereum mainnet builders, regardless of size or stage.

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“The subsidy program makes audits accessible and strengthens the Ethereum ecosystem,” the foundation wrote on X.

Read more: Ethereum Foundation publishes new mandate defining its role, core principles

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Coinbase Reportedly Courts Anthropic to Bolster Exchange Security Infrastructure

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Coinbase Reportedly Courts Anthropic to Bolster Exchange Security Infrastructure

Coinbase is reportedly in talks with Anthropic to gain access to Claude Mythos Preview, the AI company’s restricted frontier model with advanced cybersecurity capabilities.

The outreach, first reported by The Information, reflects growing urgency among crypto exchanges to defend against increasingly sophisticated AI-driven threats.

Project Glasswing Raises the Stakes for Crypto

Anthropic launched Project Glasswing in early April 2026, a defensive cybersecurity initiative giving select partners limited access to Mythos.

The model identified thousands of previously unknown zero-day vulnerabilities during testing, including a 27-year-old flaw in OpenBSD and a 16-year-old bug in FFmpeg.

Founding partners include Amazon Web Services, Apple, Google, JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, and Palo Alto Networks. Over 40 additional organizations maintaining critical software also received access.

Anthropic committed $100 million in compute credits and $4 million to open-source security groups for the program.

For Coinbase, the largest US crypto exchange, the timing is significant. The platform dealt with a major insider breach in 2025 that exposed personal data of roughly 70,000 users after overseas support agents were bribed by criminals.

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Coinbase refused a $20 million ransom demand and instead posted a matching bounty for information leading to arrests.

Anthropic’s own research has shown that AI agents can autonomously exploit smart contract vulnerabilities, generating millions in simulated stolen funds.

That finding indicates why exchanges may view Mythos access as essential rather than optional.

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Mythos will not reach general availability. Anthropic plans to integrate its capabilities into future Claude releases with strengthened safeguards.

Post-preview pricing sits at $25 per million input tokens and $125 per million output tokens.

Whether Coinbase secures formal partnership status or broader Glasswing access remains unclear.

The exchange already uses Claude for customer support operations across more than 100 regions.

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The post Coinbase Reportedly Courts Anthropic to Bolster Exchange Security Infrastructure appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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SEC Approves Elimination of Pattern Day Trader Rule and $25,000 Minimum: FINRA

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SEC Approves Elimination of Pattern Day Trader Rule and $25,000 Minimum: FINRA

The SEC granted accelerated approval to FINRA’s rule change eliminating the Pattern Day Trader designation and its $25,000 minimum equity requirement for day traders.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday approved FINRA’s proposed rule change eliminating the Pattern Day Trader designation, the $25,000 minimum equity requirement, and all related day-trading buying power provisions under FINRA Rule 4210. The accelerated approval removes longstanding restrictions that have governed retail day trading for decades.

The SEC simultaneously approved new intraday margin standards requiring broker-dealers to monitor and address real-time risk exposure in customer margin accounts. The regulatory shift represents a substantial change to day-trading accessibility and compliance frameworks for retail investors in U.S. equity markets.

Sources: WatcherGuru | WatcherGuru

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This article was generated automatically by The Defiant’s AI news system from publicly available sources.

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Global recession inevitable if Strait of Hormuz stays shut

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Global recession inevitable if Strait of Hormuz stays shut

Ken Griffin, chief executive officer of Citadel Advisors LLC, at the Semafor World Economy Summit during the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Spring meetings in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, April 14, 2026.

Aaron Schwartz | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Citadel CEO Ken Griffin said Tuesday that the global economy is headed toward a recession if the Strait of Hormuz stays shut for much longer.

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“Let’s assume [the strait is] shut down for the next six to 12 months — the world’s going to end up in a recession,” Griffin said on stage at the Semafor World Economy conference in Washington, D.C. “There’s no way to avoid that.”

As a result, the world is going to see a massive shift toward alternative fuel sources, including wind, solar and nuclear, he added. To be sure, the hedge fund leader thinks the consequences of the war would have been worse if the U.S. delayed any strikes until Iran’s military capabilities had grown.

Stocks have managed to rebound back to where they were before the U.S. first attacked Iran in February, but the optimistic sentiment among investors is contingent on the duration of the war in the Middle East. Many expect risks of an escalation in tensions between the two countries are not at all priced into the market.

Global economies especially in Asia remain vulnerable to spikes in oil prices, which remain elevated at around $100 a barrel. That’s off their highs during the conflict, but remain far above where they were before the war, at just below $70 a barrel.

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Paxos Labs Raises $12M to Launch Crypto Yield and Lending Platform

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Paxos Labs Raises $12M to Launch Crypto Yield and Lending Platform

Paxos Labs has raised $12 million in a strategic funding round led by Blockchain Capital to expand its Amplify platform, a suite of tools that lets companies offer crypto yield, lending and stablecoin issuance through a single integration.

The Amplify suite includes three modules — Earn, Borrow and Mint — allowing platforms to generate yield on digital assets, enable crypto-backed loans and issue branded stablecoins with a single integration designed to unlock additional features over time.

According to Tuesday’s announcement, the platform provides a single SDK with configurable controls, while Paxos Labs manages liquidity, counterparty vetting and backend operations, and shares a portion of generated revenue with integrating partners.

The company said partners including Aleo, Hyperbeat and Toku are already using the platform, with Hyperbeat reporting more than $510,000 in assets under management since launching on April 9. The raise also included participation from Robot Ventures, Maelstrom and Uniswap.

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