Tether has introduced a Bitcoin faucet inside its self-custody wallet, offering small BTC payouts through the Lightning Network to bring new users into its ecosystem.

According to Paolo Ardoino, who announced the feature at Bitcoin 2026 in Lugano, the faucet forms part of the newly launched tether.wallet application, where users can claim Bitcoin by interacting with the firm’s official social channels and linking their tether.me usernames. 

A verified response tagged with @btc triggers an instant Lightning Network transfer to the user’s wallet, delivering funds without on-chain delays.

Lightning payouts positioned as entry point

Using the Lightning Network for distribution, Tether has tied the faucet directly to low-cost, near-instant transactions, allowing users to test Bitcoin transfers without handling traditional network fees or wait times.

The company has framed this approach as a practical introduction for users already familiar with stablecoin transactions but new to Bitcoin’s scaling layers.

Details shared at the event indicate that the faucet also highlights the wallet’s use of human-readable identifiers, where funds are sent to usernames instead of long wallet addresses, reducing friction during onboarding.

Tether has connected the rollout to its push for self-custody adoption, placing Bitcoin, USDT, and XAUT within a single wallet interface. The faucet serves as an initial incentive, giving users a small balance that can be managed alongside other assets without relying on third-party custodians.

Revival of an early Bitcoin distribution model

Earlier industry developments show similar attempts to revive faucet-based onboarding. On April 19, 2026, Jack Dorsey said Block planned to relaunch a Bitcoin faucet through btc.day, revisiting a concept first introduced in 2010 by Gavin Andresen, who distributed 5 BTC to users completing simple verification steps.

While Block has not yet disclosed how its new faucet will operate or how much BTC it will distribute, both initiatives draw from the same early model that helped users test wallets and understand Bitcoin transactions when the network was still in its early stages.

Canada has moved to tighten oversight of cryptocurrency use by proposing a nationwide ban on crypto ATMs while advancing legislation to block digital asset donations in federal elections.

According to CBC News, the federal government has outlined plans in its Spring Economic Update 2026 to ban crypto ATMs, describing them as a key tool used by scammers to extract funds from victims and process illicit cash. 

The report notes that officials have linked the machines to fraud activity across the country, with investigations identifying them as a primary channel through which victims are instructed to transfer money.

A months-long investigation by CBC News, which included input from law enforcement agencies, financial regulators, industry participants, and fraud victims, found that crypto ATMs have become a central mechanism in scam operations. Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada reached a similar conclusion in a February 2023 analysis of suspicious transaction reports, identifying these machines as a recurring route used in fraud schemes.

Across Canada, nearly 4,000 crypto ATMs are currently in operation, the highest number per capita globally, according to CBC News. 

These machines allow users to deposit cash and convert it into cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, which can then be sent to digital wallets with limited identity verification. 

Transactions under $1,000 often require only a phone number, while the absence of in-person oversight removes the chance for intervention during suspected fraud attempts.

Although crypto ATMs are regulated as money services businesses, CBC News reports that Canada does not yet have industry-specific rules governing their operation. Officials have pointed to this gap while outlining the proposed ban as part of a wider effort to address fraud risks tied to digital asset access points.

Lawmakers push ahead with crypto donation ban

Separately, lawmakers have continued to advance restrictions on the use of cryptocurrency in political financing through Bill C-25, known as the Strong and Free Elections Act. The proposed legislation has passed second reading in the House of Commons and would prohibit political parties, candidates, and associated entities from accepting crypto donations.

The bill extends the restriction to leadership campaigns, nomination contests, riding associations, and third-party advertisers, requiring any prohibited contributions to be returned or transferred to the Receiver General within 30 days. According to statements from government officials, the proposal addresses concerns over verifying donor identities and tracing the origin of funds when digital assets are used.

Aptos Labs founding engineer Sherry Xiao said Aptos’ newly introduced privacy coin could fix a long-standing trade-off between protecting user privacy and preserving transparency for compliance.

“Confidential APT” launched on the Aptos mainnet on Friday after a governance proposal to integrate the privacy feature passed in a near-unanimous vote. It uses zero-knowledge proofs to conceal token balances and transfer amounts while still enabling transactions to be verified.

Source: Aptos

While blockchains offer a level of transparency that most traditional ledgers do not, the lack of privacy has slowed individual and enterprise adoption due to the risk of exposing financially sensitive information.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Xiao said Confidential APT — which is pegged 1:1 to Aptos (APT) — reduces the risks of users being subjected to wallet profiling or targeted scams:

“Portfolio sniping, social pressure from visible holdings, personal safety — these are pain points people feel today.”

Confidential APT can conceal salaries, business strategies

Xiao said the Confidential APT token solves an active problem in the workplace, too.

“If a company runs payroll on-chain with visible amounts, every employee’s salary is permanently public — to coworkers, competitors, recruiters, everyone,” she said.

“Same with treasury moves, settlement flows, trading strategies,” Xiao said, noting that blockchain’s lack of privacy is an “operational dealbreaker” for many businesses.

Related: Dorsey’s Block unveils Bitcoin proof-of-reserves in transparency move 

However, “Confidential balances solve that directly,” Xiao said.

Backdoor function can be enabled for investigation purposes

Xiao said Confidential APT can still comply with know-your-customer and anti-money laundering checks in the event of an investigation or subpoena through the use of auditor keys.

Auditor keys may only be authorized following a successful onchain governance vote, she noted:

“This approach allows relevant parties to access information like transfer amounts for investigations, while preserving privacy as the default for users.”

While Confidential APT conceals token balances and transfer amounts, the wallet addresses involved and transaction verification remain visible, distinguishing it from other privacy-focused cryptocurrencies like Monero (XMR).

Xiao said she expects individuals to adopt Confidential APT faster than businesses, noting that integrating the privacy coin into the tax reporting pipeline and compliance will take some time.

That said, “If Confidential APT runs on mainnet for six months with solid volume and no issues, that’s the proof point that shortens the enterprise sales cycle,” Xiao added.

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Prediction markets platform Polymarket has denied recent reports that its customer data was breached after a hacker on the dark web posted what the person claimed was a trove of private user details.

Cybersecurity company Vecert Analyzer and several other X accounts that track dark web activity shared screenshots from DarkForums on Tuesday showing a hacker using the pseudonym “xorcat” claiming to have breached Polymarket.

In the post, xorcat said they had stolen over 300,000 records, including 10,000 unique user profiles with full names, profile images, proxy wallets and base addresses. 

Polymarket called the claims of a data breach “complete and utter nonsense” and said the information the hacker posted is already available online.

The crypto industry saw a sudden surge in crypto-related hacks and exploits in April, putting many in the space on high alert. Blockchain security company Hacken reported earlier this month that Web3 projects lost $482 million to hacks and scams in the first quarter of 2026 across 44 incidents.

“You compromised our platform by accessing publicly accessible API endpoints & on-chain data and *checks notes* are trying to sell the data we offer developers for free? Which VC paid you to post this?” Polymarket said.

In another post, the prediction market said: “Part of the beauty of being on chain is all our data is publicly auditable, this is a feature, not a bug. No data was leaked, it’s accessible via our public endpoints & on-chain data. Instead of paying for the data, you can access it for free via our APIs.”

Source: Polymarket 

Hacker claims over 300,000 records stolen 

The so-called hacker said the data was being posted because Polymarket didn’t have a bug bounty program. 

Related: Scammers use Gmail dot alias trick to spoof Robinhood in phishing scam

However, Polymarket has a live bug bounty program that started April 16 and has received 446 reports as of Wednesday.  

Source: Dark Web Informer 

Xorcat also said data was pulled via undocumented API endpoints, pagination bypass and CORS misconfiguration on Polymarket’s Gamma and CLOB APIs. The hacker claimed to have breached other prediction markets and planned to release the data over the next few days.

Several security experts have expressed doubt. Vladimir S, a threat researcher and chief security officer at Legalblock, said it appears “someone parsed data and is trying to present it as a [DB] leak. It does not seem probable to me.”

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Veteran trader Peter Brandt has pushed back against claims that Bitcoin could reach $250,000 in 2026. 

His latest chart review warned traders against treating recent price action as the start of a strong breakout. Brandt said Bitcoin has formed an ascending parallel channel over recent weeks. He said the structure can allow more gains, but it does not confirm a major bottom.

“This is called a channel,” Brandt said. “While it does not preclude further price gains, it is NOT a bullish bottoming pattern.”

Bitcoin remains inside rising channel

Bitcoin has been trading near the $76,000 to $78,000 range after recovering from a sharp decline earlier this year. The asset dropped toward the $60,000 support area in February before staging a slow rebound.

Brandt’s chart showed BTC moving higher inside a controlled channel. Such a pattern can show short-term strength, but it can also limit momentum if buyers fail to push price above resistance.

A stronger breakout would require Bitcoin to move above the channel with rising volume. Without that move, traders may continue watching the current range for direction.

Market data shows mixed signals

On-chain analyst Ali Martinez pointed to low short-term Bitcoin participation. He said the share of Bitcoin held by buyers from the past month has fallen below 7%.

According to Ali, this shows weak retail activity and a quieter market. He said past cycles have seen similar readings near areas where selling pressure started to fade.

Ali also said about $3 billion has entered the crypto market over the past 30 days. He described it as the first positive net capital inflow since December.

Additionally, the new inflows suggest market liquidity has started to improve after months of weaker activity. However, Bitcoin still needs stronger buying pressure to confirm a larger move.

For now, Brandt’s view places caution over the $250,000 Bitcoin price target. His analysis suggests the current structure does not yet support such an aggressive 2026 forecast.

A class action lawsuit has accused Believe founder Ben Pasternak of extracting $54 million in fees through token migrations tied to Launchcoin while leaving investors with losses.

According to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, plaintiffs Joshua Lee and Pierre Montmeas alleged that Pasternak and associated entities, including B24, Inc. and the Believe Foundation, carried out a series of token launches and migrations that generated significant revenue while reducing the value of investor holdings.

Court filings state that the Believe platform processed nearly $6 billion in trading volume and collected an estimated $54 million in fees across tokens such as $PASTERNAK, $LAUNCHCOIN, and $BELIEVE.

Migration terms and dilution claims

Details in the complaint identify an October 2025 migration from $LAUNCHCOIN to $BELIEVE as the central point of dispute. Plaintiffs claim the total token supply increased from 1 billion to over 1.33 billion during the process, introducing roughly 333 million new tokens and diluting existing holders by about 33.3%.

A two-week migration window required users to convert their holdings within a set deadline, after which any remaining tokens were permanently burned, according to the filing.

Further allegations state that newly created tokens were allocated to insider-linked wallets, while a portion of the foundation’s allocation, estimated at around 40 million tokens, was unlocked immediately.

In one of the cited claims, the complaint states, “Pasternak ran the same play three times, under three different token names: generate excitement, bring consumers in, collect fees, and let the token collapse.”

Criminal case unfolds alongside civil claims

Separately, court records from the New York State Unified Court System show that Pasternak was arrested on April 22 on one count of second-degree strangulation and two counts of third-degree assault linked to a March 31 incident at the Baccarat Hotel in New York.

Authorities allege the incident involved physical harm to a 27-year-old YouTube creator, Evelyn Ha, including neck injuries and bruising, while Pasternak has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to appear in court on June 11.

Statements from Pasternak’s legal team, reported in the filing, say he acted in self-defense, while a spokesperson close to him described the complainant as the aggressor during the altercation.

The civil complaint also claims that Pasternak failed to fulfill at least 12 publicly stated buyback commitments and continued to collect transaction-related fees despite earlier statements indicating “zero ownership” in the tokens.

Plaintiffs have asked the court to freeze on-chain assets tied to the project, including wallets and token reserves, while seeking recovery of what they describe as unlawfully obtained revenues.

Bitcoin treasury company Strategy and its perpetual preferred stock, STRC, have been the “single biggest factor” in the recent rally of Bitcoin, which has jumped 20% from its February low, according to Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan.

Over the past eight weeks, Strategy has added $7.2 billion in Bitcoin, Hougan said in a report published Tuesday. 

“Yes, there have been multiple drivers of the recent rally, including strong buying from ETFs, $3.8 billion since March 1, and renewed purchases by long-term holders. But Strategy has been the single biggest factor,” he said. 

Bitcoin has traded between $75,849 and $79,321 over the past seven days, according to CoinGecko. It was trading at about $76,486 as of Wednesday, up 21% from its Feb. 6 low of $62,822.

Strategy is the largest publicly listed corporate Bitcoin holder. It bought 3,273 Bitcoin for $255 million between April 20 and April 26, bringing total holdings to 818,334 BTC. 

Source: Lookonchain

Bitcoin buys are set to continue, analyst says

Strategy typically makes weekly Bitcoin purchases. Its latest buying spree pushed its total holdings past those of global asset manager BlackRock, which holds about 812,300 coins on behalf of its clients.

Hougan speculates that Strategy’s purchases will “continue for some time to come,” driven by the issuance of STRC, the company’s perpetual preferred stock, which pays a fixed dividend to investors for as long as the company operates. 

“Strategy issues STRC because it wants to buy more Bitcoin. Most of the capital raised by issuing STRC is used to purchase BTC on the open market,” he said.

Related: 80% of Strategy’s ‘Stretch’ buyers are mom-and-pop investors

“With junk bonds yielding less than 7% and investors fleeing private credit, STRC’s 11.5% yield — backed by a more than $40 billion bitcoin cushion — looks particularly attractive. I suspect Strategy will raise billions more through STRC,” Hougan added.

Saylor has previously claimed that the company can sustain dividend payments indefinitely if Bitcoin continues to grow. 

Hougan said that at current prices, Strategy could “hypothetically pay existing dividends for 42 years.” However, if Bitcoin rises by 20% a year, it could “pay the dividends forever.”

Strategy could surpass Satoshi soon

If Strategy continues at its current pace, its holdings may surpass those of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto within the next two years, according to Alex Thorn, head of research at crypto-focused financial services firm Galaxy Digital.

Source: Alex Thorn

Wallets believed to be owned by Nakamoto hold 1.1 million Bitcoin, representing about 5.5% of the total supply. Strategy would need to buy another 277,666 coins to match Nakamoto.

However, Strategy’s Bitcoin purchases have varied significantly. The smallest buy in 2026 was 855 Bitcoin in February, while the largest so far this year was on April 20 with 34,164 coins.

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Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.