CoW Swap, a decentralized trading interface, said Tuesday it temporarily halted its services after detecting a domain name system (DNS) hijacking incident affecting its website, underscoring ongoing security risks at the front-end layer of DeFi platforms.

In a post on X, the team said the attack occurred at 14:54 UTC and warned users to avoid interacting with its interface until further notice. While the protocol’s underlying infrastructure, including its backend and APIs, was not directly compromised, both were paused “as a precaution” as the team worked to resolve the issue.

DNS hijacking allows attackers to redirect users from a legitimate domain to a malicious lookalike site, often with the goal of draining crypto wallets or harvesting private data. The attack vector has become a persistent weak point in decentralized finance, where users typically rely on web-based interfaces to access otherwise secure smart contracts.

CoW Swap operates as a decentralized exchange aggregator, sourcing liquidity across venues and using a mechanism known as “Coincidence of Wants” to match trades directly between users or batch them for more efficient execution. Orders are handled by competing “solvers” that optimize trade outcomes, a design intended to reduce slippage and limit exposure to maximal extractable value (MEV).

MEV is a practice on the blockchain where bots reorder transactions to extract profit at users’ expense, making mitigation key to ensuring fair pricing and protecting traders.

The platform is governed by CoW DAO, a decentralized autonomous organization spun out of the Gnosis ecosystem. The project has positioned itself as a user-protective alternative in DeFi trading, emphasizing execution quality and fairer trading outcomes.

“We are now actively working to resolve the situation. Please continue to refrain from using swap dot cow dot fi until we confirm that it is safe to use,” the team wrote on X.

Read more: DEX Aggregator CoW Swap Targets 33% Trading Boost With Collaboration Feature, More Rewards

TLDR

• Tim Draper expects the Bitcoin price to reach $250,000 within the next 18 months.
• He links his forecast to growing global adoption and weakening fiat currencies.
• Draper first attempted to acquire Bitcoin when it traded at $4 through a mining partnership.
• He later lost his Bitcoin holdings during the collapse of Mt. Gox exchange.
• In 2014, he purchased Bitcoin at $632 per coin during a US Marshals auction.

Venture capitalist Tim Draper has renewed his projection that Bitcoin will reach $250,000 within 18 months. He shared the forecast in a recent public statement and linked it to rising adoption trends. He also cited the weakening of fiat currencies as a driver of future demand.

Bitcoin Price Outlook and Long-Term Target

Draper stated that he expects the Bitcoin price to climb to $250,000 within 18 months. He said growing usage will fuel the projected rise. He added that weakening fiat currencies will also boost demand.

He said, “I have reason to believe that Bitcoin will reach $250k in 18 months.” He linked his view to broader use cases across global markets. He maintained that expanding adoption will sustain the rally.

Draper acknowledged that some past forecasts did not meet timelines. However, he said he continues to stand by his current target. He stressed that he bases his outlook on adoption data and currency trends.

He previously predicted that Bitcoin would reach $10,000 within three years. He made that call shortly after buying confiscated coins in 2014. The asset later met that target within the projected period.

Early Bitcoin Mining and Mt. Gox Losses

Draper said he first attempted to acquire Bitcoin when it traded at $4. He partnered with Peter Viscenne to mine the cryptocurrency. They ordered mining chips from hardware maker Butterfly Labs.

However, Draper alleged that Butterfly Labs used the chips to mine for itself. He said the company delayed shipping the hardware. By the time they received the equipment, Bitcoin traded above $30.

Draper later lost his holdings during the collapse of Mt. Gox. The exchange served as the leading Bitcoin trading platform at that time. Despite the failure, the Bitcoin price remained resilient.

He said, “It turned out that Bitcoin was being used for remitting money.” He added that people used it to pay unbanked employees and create new economies. He said these use cases supported price stability.

In 2014, Draper purchased Bitcoin through a US Marshals auction. Authorities had seized the coins from the Silk Road marketplace. He paid $632 per coin during that auction process.

Shortly after the purchase, Draper predicted a $10,000 Bitcoin price within three years. A television host reacted with confusion during the interview. The asset later reached that level within the timeframe.

Draper admitted that later price targets were less accurate. However, he reiterated confidence in his current forecast. He again pointed to adoption growth and fiat currency erosion as key factors.

Japan’s e-commerce giant Rakuten is adding XRP to its Rakuten Pay app, allowing its 44 million users to use Ripple’s cryptocurrency as a payment method with more than 5 million merchant locations across the country.

In an announcement via X on Tuesday, Tatsuya Kohrogi, Ripple’s senior ecosystem growth manager, said Rakuten is also enabling its users to spot trade XRP via the app. He said they will also be able to purchase XRP with Rakuten points and hold it in their Rakuten Wallet.

The move ties XRP into one of Japan’s largest loyalty systems, where more than 3 trillion points—worth roughly $23 billion—are in circulation and can now be converted into XRP, Kohrogi said.

“Starting April 15, Rakuten Wallet will launch XRP as both a listed asset and a payment method, meaning users can buy XRP directly with Rakuten Points and charge their Rakuten Cash with XRP to spend it at over 5 million merchant locations across Japan,” Kohrogi said, calling the development “one of the most significant XRP milestones.”

The Ripple executive also said Rakuten is one of Japan’s most trusted consumer brands. “The fact that XRP is now embedded into its loyalty and payments infrastructure is a powerful signal of where digital asset adoption is heading,” he added.

Rakuten began allowing users to spend bitcoin, ether and bitcoin cash in 2023. In 2021, the Japanese e-commerce giant announced the launch of its own Rakuten Coin, a token it said would be used as part of its points-based loyalty rewards system.