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Circle Explains Why It Didn’t Freeze Stolen USDC in the $275 Million Drift Hack

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Clarity Act Fails March 1 Deadline as Stablecoin Yield Dispute Stalls Progress

Circle’s Chief Strategy Officer Dante Disparte published a direct defense of the company’s authority to freeze USDC (USDC), naming the $270 million Drift Protocol exploit as the catalyst.

The blog post and a separate X statement followed weeks of criticism from onchain investigator ZachXBT, who accused Circle of inaction while stolen funds moved through its Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol.

Circle Responds to Freeze Criticism

Circle framed its freeze capability as a compliance obligation rather than a discretionary tool. He wrote that USDC freezes happen only when the law compels action through a formal process.

When Circle freezes USDC, it is not because we have decided, unilaterally or arbitrarily, that someone’s assets should be taken from them. It is because the law requires us to act,” wrote Disparte in a blog.

The statement appeared to address ZachXBT’s earlier accusation that Circle failed to freeze stolen USDC during the April 1 exploit.

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The investigator had noted that hundreds of millions in USDC moved from Solana (SOL) to Ethereum (ETH) via CCTP during U.S. business hours without intervention.

Disparte also acknowledged a tension familiar to the crypto industry. He argued that the same framework protecting holders from arbitrary interference also limits how fast an issuer can act during an active exploit.

Beyond defending existing policies, Disparte called for new legal structures that would allow issuers and exchanges to respond more quickly to theft without creating overreach risks.

He said the tools to intervene exist, but the legal authorization for rapid, coordinated action does not.

He pointed to the GENIUS Act and the CLARITY Act as vehicles for codifying those standards. The U.S. Treasury Department is already advancing rulemaking to implement the GENIUS Act, with the FDIC approving a proposed rule on April 7.

In a parallel move, Disparte published an op-ed urging the UK to claim a second-mover advantage in stablecoin regulation.

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He argued that combining elements of Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) with the GENIUS Act framework could position London as a competitive hub.

The contrast between aggressive civil enforcement and perceived inaction in the face of a confirmed exploit remains a focal point for critics questioning how regulated issuers exercise their freeze authority.

The post Circle Explains Why It Didn’t Freeze Stolen USDC in the $275 Million Drift Hack appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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Crypto World

XRP Price Flashes Multiple Bottom Signals As Bulls Defend $1.30.

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XRP Price Flashes Multiple Bottom Signals As Bulls Defend $1.30.

XRP (XRP) has been in an eight-month downtrend, with momentum and onchain indicators at levels that previously coincided with macro bottoms.

Data from TradingView reveals that the relative strength index (RSI) of the XRP/BTC ratio is at 24, the most oversold level since October 2025. 

Such low levels in the daily RSI have marked market bottoms for the ratio, ultimately leading to 65% to 345% XRP price breakouts against Bitcoin as seen late 2024 and 2025.

XRP/BTC daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The chart above also shows that the XRP/BTC pair is trading within a long consolidation range, which has previously acted as a strong launching pad for the ratio.

The last time XRP bottomed against Bitcoin around this zone was in June 2025. It marked the beginning of a 61% increase in the XRP/BTC ratio, accompanying a 92% XRP price rally to a multi-year high of $3.66.

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Other instances shown by the yellow bars in the chart reinforce the reliability of this level in marking macro bottoms for XRP/BTC. 

MVRV Z-Score suggests XRP price is bottoming

XRP’s MVRV Z-score is hovering near zero, a level that historically aligns with accumulation zones and market bottoms.

This indicates that most holders are close to breakeven, reducing sell pressure and signalling potential downside exhaustion. Similar patterns appeared in 2021, 2022 and 2024 before major rallies.

XRP MVRV Z-score vs. price. Source: Glassnode

Note that the last time XRP’s MVRV Z-score fell to similar levels in late 2024 coincided with a macro market bottom at $0.30 and preceded a multi-month rally, with the XRP/USD pair rising 500% to a multi-year high above $3. 

Meanwhile, the 0.80 MVRV pricing band, which has historically marked cycle bottoms, is currently at $1.14, coinciding with a 15-month low reached on Feb. 6.

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XRP: MVRV pricing bands. Source: Glassnode

These onchain metrics suggest that XRP is undervalued and may continue the ongoing recovery, potentially rising toward $1.70 or higher

XRP price must hold above $1.30 

Meanwhile, XRP/USD remains cautiously bullish as long as it holds the $1.25-$1.30 support zone. 

“$XRP is sustaining the major support zone between $1.30-$1.25 levels since early Feb’26,” trader ChiefraT said in an X post on Friday, adding:

“If this zone continues to hold, then a short-term bounce towards $1.45 can’t be ruled out.”

XRP/USD daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The importance of this support level is reinforced by cost basis distribution. The heatmap below shows that nearly 1.73 billion XRP were acquired around this price.

XRP cost-basis distribution heatmap. Source: Glassnode

Below that, the next line of defence is the $1.15 demand zone, where the 200-week simple moving average is. 

If XRP/USD drops below this level, it would be in a free-fall toward the measured target of the bear flag at $0.80, or 41% below the current price.

As Cointelegraph reported, holding $1.27-$1.30 would be a sign of strength among the bulls who must push the XRP/USD pair toward the $1.61 range high to regain control. 

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