Key takeaways:

• Negative Bitcoin funding rates indicate bearishness, yet whales maintain steady long-to-short ratios at major exchanges.
• Inflation concerns and tech corporate earnings remain the biggest drivers for Bitcoin traders’ sentiment.

Bitcoin (BTC) faced rejection at $77,800 on Wednesday, then retested the $76,000 level. This movement followed a correction in the S&P 500 Index as the war in Iran reached its 60-day mark, driving crude oil prices toward $118. While demand for leveraged bearish Bitcoin futures positions increased, the long-to-short ratio of whales at major exchanges indicates a different trend.

S&P 500 Index futures (left) vs. Bitcoin/USD (right). Source: TradingView

Bitcoin’s lack of bullish momentum above $78,000 mirrors the S&P 500 Index’s struggle near 7,200. Trader skepticism stems in part from the inflationary impact of high energy prices, which diminishes consumer spending and corporate earnings through higher logistics costs. Additionally, investors are questioning the profitability of technology companies’ investments in AI, according to Yahoo Finance.

Bitcoin futures show bulls lacking confidence

Setting aside the specific reasons for investor caution, the Bitcoin perpetual futures funding rate turned negative on Wednesday. This followed a brief neutral-to-bullish period on Tuesday. In a healthy market, this rate usually stays between 6% and 12% to cover capital costs, which means buyers typically pay a fee to maintain their positions. A negative rate suggests a shift toward sellers.

Bitcoin perpetual futures annualized funding rate. Source: Laevitas

The Bitcoin perpetual futures funding rate has remained mostly negative over the past two weeks, indicating increased demand for leveraged short positions. While this data initially suggests a lack of confidence among buyers, a closer examination of whale positioning is necessary. The top traders’ long-to-short ratio across exchanges includes spot, margin, and futures data, offering a more comprehensive perspective.

Top traders’ long-to-short ratio and Binance and OKX. Source: Coinglass

The long-to-short ratio for professional traders on Binance was 0.80, showing a minor improvement from the 0.75 level recorded on Tuesday, though it remains slightly bearish. At OKX, top traders have briefly signaled bullish sentiment several times since Friday, but these shifts have been temporary. Nevertheless, there is no evidence that whales are turning increasingly bearish, as the long-to-short ratio has held steady throughout the past week.

The latest US Federal Reserve statement after Wednesday’s meeting observed that “inflation is elevated, in part reflecting the recent increase in global energy prices.” The FOMC chose to keep interest rates at their late 2025 levels, even though four members supported a 0.25% cut. According to CNBC, this marks the first time four FOMC members have dissented since October 1992.

Related: Bitcoin’s recent rally is largely fueled by Strategy purchases: Bitwise’s Hougan

Bitcoin bulls’ lack of conviction should not be mistaken for bearishness, particularly as Strategy (MSTR US) continues its accumulation. Over the last four weeks, Strategy acquired 56,235 BTC, a move supported by the issuance of its perpetual preferred security, STRC. The company currently holds 818,334 BTC, exceeding the position of BlackRock’s IBIT exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Professional traders remained unmoved by Bitcoin’s decline to $75,000 on Wednesday, as indicated by exchange long-to-short ratios. However, the persistent negative funding rate in Bitcoin futures suggests that sentiment remains cautious. Macroeconomic and tech corporate earnings remain the biggest driver for Bitcoin traders’ sentiment.

This article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. All investments and trades carry risk; readers are encouraged to conduct independent research.

Fence netted $20 million from Galaxy Digital to tokenize a $6 trillion asset‑backed finance market that still runs on manual, legacy rails.

Fence has secured a $20 million investment led by Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital to bring blockchain infrastructure to the roughly $6 trillion U.S. asset‑backed finance market, in one of the clearest recent bets on tokenizing legacy credit plumbing.

According to Galaxy Digital’s investment disclosure, Fence “leverages blockchain behind the scenes to automate and improve” asset‑backed lending workflows that today remain “labor‑intensive and highly manual,” positioning the firm as a back‑office rails provider rather than a consumer‑facing crypto platform.

Fence says its system can tokenize lenders’ positions in financing instruments and, in some cases, the underlying loans and invoices themselves, effectively turning traditionally illiquid receivables into programmable, tradable claims.

Galaxy’s RWA push meets credit market automation

Fence reports that it currently manages approximately $1.5 billion in assets on its platform, working with marquee institutions including BlackRock, where it helps streamline the administration of complex structured‑credit deals.

The company said in a statement that the fresh $20 million will support “growth and product development” as it looks to deepen integrations with banks, asset managers and specialty finance shops searching for operational efficiency and faster settlement in private credit.

Galaxy Digital framed the deal as part of its broader push into tokenized real‑world assets, following moves such as its planned multi‑chain tokenized money market fund, designed to sit alongside products like BlackRock’s roughly $2.2 billion BUIDL fund and Franklin Templeton’s BENJI in the emerging on‑chain yield stack.

The Fence funding also lands as tokenization narratives accelerate across private markets that total more than $270 trillion globally, with research cited by RWA tracking platform RWA.xyz projecting over $16 trillion in assets could be tokenized by 2030 if adoption continues to compound.

For crypto‑native investors, Galaxy’s role as lead backer signals that large digital asset firms continue to see value not only in tokenized funds and treasuries but also in the infrastructure that quietly turns real‑world exposures—leases, invoices, auto loans—into on‑chain primitives, a thesis echoed in a recent crypto.news story on how institutional flows are gravitating toward yield‑bearing, real‑world‑linked instruments.

In previous crypto.news coverage, stories on Middle East‑driven energy shocks and stories on risk sentiment have highlighted how macro and credit conditions are bleeding into digital asset markets, a backdrop that makes Galaxy’s bet on tokenized asset‑backed finance—quiet, regulated and yield‑focused—look less like hype and more like infrastructure for the next cycle of on‑chain credit.

BNB Chain has surpassed 150,000 on-chain AI agent deployments as of April 2026, a 43,750% increase since January, while Binance simultaneously launched its Agentic Wallet, a keyless wallet allowing AI bots to trade and transfer tokens on behalf of its 250 million users without accessing their primary accounts.

BNB Chain became the leading blockchain for autonomous AI agent deployments by April 2026, with Bitget News confirming over 150,000 on-chain agents operating across the network, a 43,750% increase since January 2026. The same period saw Binance launch its Agentic Wallet, a keyless wallet infrastructure designed to let AI bots execute trades and token transfers on behalf of users without requiring access to the user’s primary account credentials.

BNB Chain AI Agent Growth Represents the Fastest Ecosystem Expansion on Any Layer-1

As crypto.news reported, BNB Chain surpassed all other blockchains in AI agent deployments earlier in April 2026, driven by three structural advantages: transaction fees averaging under one cent, a block time of 250 milliseconds following the Fermi hard fork in January, and a developer ecosystem that includes pre-built agent frameworks and access to BNB Chain’s AI hackathon programs. The 43,750% growth rate since January represents a jump from approximately 340 agents in late January to over 150,000 by April, a trajectory that reflects the broader acceleration of autonomous on-chain AI infrastructure across the industry. A recent pilot with OpenMind AGI confirmed that Pi Network’s distributed node network can support decentralized AI tasks, but BNB Chain’s AI agent deployments operate at a scale and transaction throughput that no competing network has matched.

The Agentic Wallet and What It Means for AI-Driven Trading at Scale

The Agentic Wallet launched by Binance represents a distinct infrastructure advancement from the AI agent deployment count alone. Where AI agents on BNB Chain typically execute on-chain actions within smart contract environments, the Agentic Wallet gives those agents access to Binance’s centralized exchange liquidity and 250 million user base without requiring the agent to hold the user’s primary account credentials. The keyless architecture uses a permissioned sub-wallet structure, allowing AI bots to trade within user-defined parameters and transfer tokens between wallets without exposing the main account to security risk. As crypto.news documented, BNB Chain’s 2026 roadmap targets 20,000 transactions per second and sub-second finality, a performance profile designed specifically to handle the high-frequency, low-latency execution that autonomous AI agents require to function at institutional scale rather than as retail curiosities.

BNB Price Performance in the Context of AI Agent Leadership

As crypto.news tracked, BNB demonstrated relative price resilience during the broader April 28 to 29 market decline, holding above $625 while Bitcoin fell 1.6% and Ethereum hit a week low. Analysts observing BNB’s outperformance during macro-driven selloffs have pointed to the structural demand from BNB Chain’s transaction fee burn mechanism and the growing utility base from AI agent deployments as factors that insulate BNB from pure macro risk-off selling pressure, since gas fee demand from 150,000 AI agents generates continuous real-time BNB demand that is independent of speculative sentiment.

The 35th quarterly BNB burn executed on April 15 removed 2.14 million BNB worth approximately $1.32 billion from circulation. With over 150,000 AI agents generating ongoing gas fee demand, each quarterly burn calculation now incorporates AI-driven transaction volume as a growing component of the supply destruction formula.

April 29, 2026 – Changelly, a leading instant cryptocurrency exchange and trusted blockchain API provider, is marking its 11th anniversary with a new company milestone. More than 12 million users worldwide now rely on the platform’s web and app alone for seamless digital asset swaps, purchases, and cash-outs—with API integrations driving an even greater volume of users beyond that count. After more than a decade on the market, the platform has grown to support 1,200 cryptocurrencies across 200 blockchains for instant crypto swaps.

To celebrate, the company is launching Changelly’s 11th Birthday Mystery Boxes—a limited-time in-app game available starting April 28, 2026, featuring prizes from Changelly and its partners, including Topper by Uphold, SafePal, OneKey, SecuX, and MyTonWallet.

“Congratulations to Changelly on 11 years of making crypto accessible to millions worldwide. At SecuX, we believe great security starts with great partners, and Changelly has always stood for ease, trust, and innovation. Here’s to many more years of building a more secure and open financial future together!” — Wendy Chen, Head of PR at SecuX.

1,200 coins, 1b+ assets on DeFi, 840 integrations, scaling user and business demand

Asset availability on Changelly has continued to expand. The platform now supports 1,200 cryptocurrencies, with 200 new coins added over the past year—a selection built around users’ preferences and market demand. Include Changelly DeFi, a recently launched cross-chain swap product accessible directly on the web platform and as a standalone app, and that figure grows to over 1 billion supported assets.

Meanwhile, Changelly significantly broadened its business collaborations and blockchain API reach. Its partner network has grown to 840 Web3 companies, with 240 new partnerships signed over the last 12 months. Through embedded instant exchange and fiat on/off-ramp APIs, Changelly’s infrastructure now powers a growing share of crypto purchase and swap flows across wallets, apps, and digital finance products. Additionally, Changelly expanded its blockchain API offering for crypto businesses with the launch of Changelly DeFi, which brings decentralized trading infrastructure to business partners.

“We’re proud of our long-term partnership with Changelly—a progressive team that shares our vision of making crypto simple, easy, and more accessible to people around the world. On behalf of MyTonWallet, we warmly congratulate Changelly on its 11th anniversary. This is an impressive milestone for the entire industry, and we’re excited to support this campaign together. Here’s to many more years of growth, innovation, and shared success.” — Irina Arons, CMO at MyTonWallet.

Where first-time users became long-term traders

Besides bringing in new users, Changelly has remained the preferred platform for its user base for years—and the anniversary data suggests the platform has managed to do both. Users who joined Changelly five or more years ago have returned to use the platform again and again, making thousands of crypto swaps and purchases. One customer alone completed more than 16,000 transactions across eight years—the kind of number that speaks volumes about habits, trust, and routine use.

“Reaching 12 million users is a milestone we’re proud of, but it’s the depth of engagement that tells the real story,” said John Adam Khandjian, Chief Growth Officer at Changelly. “Our longest-standing users have made millions of secure and fast crypto transactions. That’s a real relationship built over the years. It reflects what we’ve tried to build from the start: a service people can rely on regardless of what the market is doing.”

The 2 million new users added over the past year have largely followed market movements, with registration spikes consistent within weeks of significant price action. On the platform, the most-traded assets included BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, and TRON, alongside altcoins like VIRTUAL, AIXBT, PENGU, GRASS, HYPE, and CC, indicating growing user interest in AI-adjacent and community-driven assets. 

Security is another reason why users remain loyal to the veteran crypto platform:

“At OneKey, our mission is to make advanced security feel effortless, pairing certified hardware with an app anyone can use. Partnering with Changelly helps us share that mission and remind users that strong security doesn’t have to be scary.” — The OneKey Team.

The anniversary celebration moves in-app

Starting April 28, 2026, Changelly is bringing its 11th birthday celebration directly into the app—and users get to unwrap gifts from Changelly and ecosystem partners.

Prizes include a Crypto Terminal (Mac Mini & espressoDisplay Pro), SafePal x Changelly limited edition hardware wallets, Topper-branded exclusive hardware wallets, OneKey Classic 1S Pure BTC-only hardware wallets, OneKey Keytags, SecuX Neo wallets, MyTonWallet NFT cards, USDT prizes of up to 200 USDT, VIP status, 0% fees, and exclusive crypto guides.

“Changelly sets the bar for what a crypto partnership should look like—collaborative, high-performing, and always thinking about the user. Proud to be part of this campaign.” — Robin O’Connell, CEO Enterprise, Uphold.

How to get your birthday surprise

1. Download the Changelly app or log in if you already have an account
2. Navigate to the in-app stories to play the game
3. Open your Mystery Box and discover your reward
4. To unlock more boxes and more chances to win, complete any transaction and get one more try

The two-week anniversary campaign will run through May 11, with the final results and prize announcements scheduled for May 12. Read the Terms & Conditions and enter the game. 

About Changelly

Changelly is an instant crypto exchange trusted by over 12 million users worldwide. Founded in 2015, the platform offers secure and fast crypto-to-crypto swaps for over 1,200 cryptocurrencies and 24/7 live customer support. Changelly also features a built-in smart fiat on-ramp aggregator, giving users access to 220+ competitive offers from verified providers, enabling seamless purchases of 350+ cryptocurrencies using 20+ global payment methods.

Changelly is available on desktop (website), iOS (App Store), and Android (Google Play).

This publication is provided by the client. The text below is a paid press release that is not part of Cointelegraph.com independent editorial content. The text has undergone editorial review to ensure quality and relevance, it may not reflect the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.com. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research before taking any actions related to the company. Disclosure.

MoonPay is establishing a dedicated institutional unit by acquiring Sodot, an Israeli provider of crypto security infrastructure, and plans to use Sodot’s key-management technology as the backbone for services tailored to banks, asset managers, trading firms, and exchanges entering digital asset markets.

In a press release, MoonPay said the move will extend its network beyond consumer crypto payments into enterprise-grade infrastructure. Bloomberg reported that the deal closed in April in an all-stock transaction valued at around $100 million, though MoonPay did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph for comment on the specifics.

“We built MoonPay to be the world’s leading crypto payments network,” MoonPay co-founder and CEO Ivan Soto-Wright said in a press release, adding that its institutional arm is the next stage for the company.

Key takeaways

• MoonPay is launching an institutional division by acquiring Sodot, leveraging its key-management technology to serve traditional finance players entering crypto markets.
• The deal, disclosed as an all-stock transaction valued at about $100 million, reportedly closed in April, according to Bloomberg.
• Caroline D. Pham will lead the new unit, bringing regulatory and capital markets acumen to shepherd institutional adoption.
• The move underscores a broader trend of custody and wallet infrastructure becoming central to crypto adoption by institutions.

MoonPay’s institutional push takes shape

The newly formed MoonPay Institutional unit is designed to cater to major traditional financial firms across several domains, including trading, tokenized securities, payments, wallet management, and stablecoin issuance. The strategy signals a shift from MoonPay’s established retail-payments footprint toward essential infrastructure that incumbents require to operate in digital asset markets at scale.

Caroline Pham will helm the division, having joined MoonPay as chief legal officer and chief administrative officer in December after serving as acting chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. MoonPay’s leadership highlighted her regulatory experience and capital markets background as a critical asset for navigating complex crypto markets at an institutional level. “There is no one better suited to lead this business than Caroline, who brings decades of experience at the highest levels of financial regulation and capital markets,” Soto-Wright said.

Pham’s leadership appointment and the strategic focus on institutional clients come as the industry sees a growing appetite among banks, asset managers, and trading desks for robust custody, secure wallet technology, and compliant on-ramps into digital asset markets. The new unit will pursue relationships that require high assurance around key management, secure settlement rails, and scalable custody solutions—areas that have historically been the preserve of specialized custody providers, but are increasingly embedded in mainstream financial workflows.

Key technology: MPC and Sodot’s security framework

Sodot, founded in 2023, specializes in crypto key management infrastructure and is known for its self-hosted multi-party computation (MPC) approach. MPC is a cryptographic method that splits a private key into multiple shares distributed across independent parties, enabling signatures and access controls without exposing a single point of failure. This architecture is particularly attractive to institutions that demand stringent controls and resilience for large digital asset holdings.

By integrating Sodot’s MPC-based framework, MoonPay aims to offer enterprise-grade custody and wallet-management capabilities that can be deployed within traditional financial environments. The emphasis on secure key management aligns with a broader market push toward formalizing crypto custody as a core service for institutions, rather than a niche feature for crypto-native players.

Industry context and implications for institutional crypto adoption

The MoonPay-Sodot move sits within a broader industry trajectory in which custody and security infrastructure are increasingly essential to institutional participation. In recent weeks, major exchanges have accelerated their own institutional onboarding through partnerships and off-exchange settlement arrangements with custody providers. For example, OKX recently integrated off-exchange settlement via BitGo, a publicly traded digital asset custodian, underscoring demand for regulated, secure settlement rails as institutions enter crypto markets.

Cross-industry collaborations between trading venues and custody specialists have become a recurring theme. Earlier, BitMEX announced a partnership with Zodia Custody to enable institutional crypto derivatives trading with collateral held in segregated custody off-exchange. These developments illustrate how the market is maturing from consumer-focused payments to a suite of reliability-focused services that institutions require to operate confidently in digital assets.

The MoonPay–Sodot announcement also highlights the ongoing competition to deliver secure, scalable infrastructure that can support not just custody, but also tokenized securities, regulated wallet services, and compliant stablecoin ecosystems. As traditional finance players seek to extend their footprint in digital assets, the emphasis on robust key management, governance, and regulatory alignment will be a key differentiator among service providers.

Looking ahead, investors and market participants will want to watch several dimensions: how MoonPay’s institutional unit signs its first major clients and which product lines prove most compelling for different segments (trading desks vs. asset managers), how smoothly Carline Pham’s regulatory expertise translates into practical governance and compliance outcomes, and how the partnership with Sodot scales in real-world deployments across jurisdictions with varying regulatory regimes.

MoonPay’s latest move reflects a broader shift in the crypto ecosystem—from retail-focused payments to institutional-grade infrastructure that enables secure, regulated participation. As the market continues to evolve, the integration of advanced key-management tech and formalized custody offerings will likely become a baseline expectation for any platform seeking to attract and retain institutional users.

Readers should stay tuned for updates on client onboarding milestones, product rollouts, and any financial or strategic details the company elects to disclose as the institutional arm begins its first full operating cycle.

TLDR:

• • Ondo Finance holds roughly 70% of the tokenized stock market share, with over $825M in total value locked.
    
  • Holders of 250+ tokenized stocks and ETFs can now participate in proxy voting through Broadridge’s network.
    
  • Voting recommendations are weighted proportionately based on each token holder’s onchain ownership stake.
  • Ondo tokenized stocks are live on Solana, Ethereum, and BNB Chain, backed by Binance, MetaMask, and Ledger.

---

Ondo Finance has announced a partnership with Broadridge to bring proxy voting to holders of tokenized stocks and ETFs.

Through this integration, holders of over 250 tokenized products can now access corporate governance tools. Broadridge serves more than 10,000 public companies and connects issuers with investors globally.

The collaboration adds a meaningful layer of functionality to Ondo’s growing platform for onchain securities. This development comes as tokenized asset markets continue to expand.

Connecting Onchain Holders to Corporate Governance

Ondo Finance will allow token holders to participate in proxy voting for underlying securities. Holders can also access prospectuses, regulatory filings, and issuer communications through Broadridge’s established infrastructure.

Voting recommendations will be weighted proportionately based on each holder’s token ownership. This structure ensures governance participation reflects actual onchain holdings accurately.

Broadridge will aggregate token holder preferences alongside votes from traditional market participants. This aggregation requires consent from Ondo Global Markets before any votes are consolidated.

As a result, onchain investors gain access to governance tools previously available only to conventional shareholders. The integration also preserves blockchain benefits such as 24/7 trading and free token transferability.

Ondo Finance announced the development through its official channels, writing: “Ondo is partnering with Broadridge to enable holders of tokenized stocks and ETFs to participate in proxy voting and access regulatory filings and issuer communications for underlying securities.”

Matthieu de Vergnes, MD and Global Head of Institutional at Ondo Finance, addressed the announcement directly.

He stated that the partnership enables onchain tokenized stock holders to access governance and voting capabilities.

He added that corporate governance participation is another step toward delivering institutional-quality products onchain. The firm views this as a natural extension of its core design goals.

Doug DeSchutter, President of Investor Communication Solutions at Broadridge, also commented on the collaboration.

He said the partnership helps define the next generation of market infrastructure. He described it as a bridge between investor protections in traditional finance and the programmability of public blockchains. Both parties anticipate further developments as the integration progresses.

Ondo’s Position in the Tokenized Stock Market

Ondo Finance currently holds roughly 70% of total tokenized stock market share. At its peak, the platform recorded over $825 million in total value locked.

This spans more than 250 tokenized stocks and ETFs across the platform. Tens of thousands of asset holders use Ondo’s onchain securities products today.

The platform operates across Solana, Ethereum, and BNB Chain. It is supported by leading wallets, exchanges, custodians, and protocols.

Binance, Bitget, MetaMask, Ledger, and Blockchain.com are among the key supporting partners. This broad ecosystem support reflects the platform’s reach across the broader crypto market.

The Broadridge partnership builds directly on this existing infrastructure. It adds governance access that was previously unavailable to onchain investors.

As tokenized assets gain wider adoption, proxy voting becomes an increasingly relevant feature. This collaboration reinforces Ondo’s ongoing goal of matching traditional market standards on the blockchain.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel told the Bitcoin 2026 Conference in Las Vegas on April 27 that Bitcoin developers who write code without knowingly helping third parties commit crimes will not be investigated or charged, marking the clearest public statement on developer liability from the nation’s top law enforcement officials since the Tornado Cash prosecutions began.

Bitcoin developers received the clearest federal reassurance in years when Acting AG Blanche and FBI Director Patel addressed the Bitcoin 2026 Conference on April 27 via videoconference, moderated by Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal. Bitcoin Magazine reported that Blanche told the audience: “If you are developing software, if you are a coder, if you are part of that process and you are not the third-party user and you are not helping and knowing the third party is using what you develop to commit crimes, you are not going to be investigated and not going to be charged.” Patel said Bitcoin “isn’t going anywhere” and framed it as economic infrastructure alongside other assets that power everyday life.

Bitcoin Developers Get a Federal Assurance Built on a Specific April 2025 Memo

The policy Blanche described at the conference is grounded in a memo he issued in April 2025 as Deputy Attorney General, which directed the DOJ to end “regulation by prosecution” in crypto cases and disbanded the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team. As crypto.news reported, that memo explicitly directed prosecutors away from cases targeting developers who create neutral tools later used by third parties, and the DOJ cited it when narrowing the charges against Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm ahead of his trial. Blanche was careful to draw the line precisely: writing code is protected, but knowingly facilitating money laundering or sanctions violations is not. “The mere fact that you happen to be a coder doesn’t excuse you from criminal liability,” he said. He added that developers who receive subpoenas should feel comfortable having their lawyers communicate directly with prosecutors and with him personally if they believe the case is inconsistent with his memo.

What the Blanche Remarks Mean for the Samourai Wallet and Roman Storm Cases

The clearest test of whether Blanche’s statement translates into changed outcomes will be the Roman Storm retrial. As crypto.news documented, Storm was convicted in August 2025 of operating an unlicensed money transmitter but the jury deadlocked on the two more serious charges of money laundering and sanctions violations, which carry up to 40 years in federal prison. SDNY prosecutors subsequently filed for an October retrial on those two unresolved counts. Blanche acknowledged “lingering” and “procedurally complicated” cases at the conference without naming them specifically, saying “we’re continuing to deal with” such cases while emphasizing the policy shift is real. As crypto.news tracked, the trial demonstrated that even within the existing prosecution framework, jurors struggled with the technical distinction between writing code and criminally conspiring to facilitate its misuse.

What Patel’s Enforcement Redirect Means for Crypto Fraud Victims

Patel’s message was distinct from Blanche’s developer-focused framing. Patel described pig-butchering scam networks operated out of Southeast Asia as the FBI’s primary crypto enforcement priority, saying he plans to travel to Cambodia, Myanmar, and Thailand this summer to coordinate enforcement with local authorities. As crypto.news noted, the DeFi Education Fund sent a letter to White House crypto czar David Sacks on April 28, 2025, asking Trump to discontinue what it called the “Biden-era DOJ’s lawless campaign to criminalize open-source software development,” and the industry has been watching whether Blanche’s April 2025 memo would actually change outcomes rather than just rhetoric. Grewal summarized the combined message from both officials as “crime is criminal; code alone shouldn’t be,” a framing the industry has sought from federal law enforcement for three years.

Peter Van Valkenburgh of Coin Center said the message is a step forward but that the key question remains unanswered: exactly how the DOJ draws the line between publishing open-source code and actionable knowledge of wrongdoing. The Roman Storm retrial in October will be the first real test of whether the policy shift Blanche described changes the outcome of a case already in the system.