XRP is quietly outperforming the market, but it still hasn’t done enough to break out. The move higher looks steady rather than aggressive, which points to accumulation, but without stronger volume, it’s not a convincing shift yet.

News Background

• XRP is the top weekly performer among major cryptocurrencies, gaining around 6.4% and outperforming bitcoin, ethereum, and BNB over the same period.

• The move comes as broader crypto markets remain mixed, with capital rotating selectively into higher-beta assets rather than driving a full market-wide rally.

Price Action Summary

• XRP climbed to around $1.43, holding a steady upward structure across the week.
• The move developed gradually, with no sharp spikes, indicating controlled accumulation rather than speculative momentum.
• Price remains capped below the $1.44 resistance zone despite multiple attempts to break higher.

Technical Analysis

• The key signal is relative strength. XRP is outperforming peers even without strong volume support.
• Volume remains subdued at roughly 70% of its weekly average, which limits conviction behind the move.
• The structure shows higher lows, but resistance continues to absorb upside near $1.44.
• This combination typically signals consolidation rather than a confirmed breakout.

What traders should watch

• $1.44 remains the key resistance. A clean break is needed to validate upside continuation.
• $1.40 acts as near-term support. Holding above it keeps the structure intact.
• Continued low volume risks a pullback, especially if broader market momentum fades.

TLDR:

• Class action alleges Circle allowed USDC flows after Drift Protocol $280M exploit on Solana
• Filing claims attackers moved $230M via USDC and CCTP bridge without intervention for hours
• Drift Protocol halted trading after exploit while ecosystem actors froze portions of stolen assets
• Hackers routed funds from Solana to Ethereum, using bridges and swaps to obscure transaction trails

A class action lawsuit filed in Oakland has targeted Circle Internet Financial over its role in a major crypto exploit. 

The case stems from the April 1, 2026 Drift Protocol hack that drained roughly $280 million in digital assets. Plaintiffs claim attackers moved about $230 million through USDC and Circle’s CCTP bridge without any effective intervention. 

The filing seeks damages for affected investors and raises questions about whether frozen funds could have limited losses.

Circle Sued Over Drift Protocol Hack Allegations Over USDC Freeze Response

Gibbs Mura, A Law Group, filed the class action on April 14, 2026 representing Drift Protocol investors. 

The complaint positions Circle Internet Financial and Circle Internet Group as defendants in a case tied to one of the largest crypto exploits recorded in 2026 on the Solana network. Moreover, the filing focuses on how stablecoin infrastructure handled transaction flows during the aftermath of the breach.

The lawsuit states that within an hour of the hack, crypto users on X flagged the incident widely. Several market participants urged immediate intervention as stolen funds began moving across chains. 

According to the filing, some ecosystem operators froze portions of the assets while activity continued through Circle’s USDC infrastructure.

Investigators referenced in the complaint describe the attackers as potentially linked to North Korea. The assets were routed from Solana to Ethereum in an effort to reduce traceability. 

Once on Ethereum, funds were converted into Ether and moved through multiple decentralized applications.

Plaintiffs argue Circle had visibility into the ongoing movement of stolen assets. 

The complaint claims the company retained the technical ability to restrict or freeze USDC-related flows. Despite that capability, the filing alleges no effective disruption occurred during the key offloading window.

Drift Protocol $280M Exploit and CCTP Bridge Scrutiny

On April 1, attackers reportedly seized control of Drift Protocol’s asset transfer systems in roughly 12 minutes. 

The breach enabled rapid draining of funds across multiple wallets. It marked one of the most significant DeFi security incidents of the year on Solana.

After the initial theft, attackers shifted assets from Solana to Ethereum. 

The move aimed to complicate tracking and delay recovery efforts. On Ethereum, funds were converted into Ether and distributed through multiple applications.

The complaint highlights an eight-hour offloading phase involving USDC and Circle’s Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol. 

Roughly $230 million moved during this window, according to the filing. Plaintiffs argue monitoring systems should have flagged or restricted the flows during active exploitation.

Drift Protocol halted all trading immediately after detecting the breach. The team also issued alerts to users and froze platform activity. 

Some ecosystem participants also restricted portions of the stolen funds, but Circle allegedly continued processing related transactions.

Polkadot price rebounded over 10% on Thursday as it recovered from a sharp drop earlier this week.

According to data from crypto.news, Polkadot (DOT) price rose 10.4% to an intraday high of $1.29 on April 16, while bringing its market cap back above $2.16 billion. The bounce follows after the token fell nearly 13% this week.

Polkadot price bounced after rumors of a systemic network failure triggered a sell-off earlier this week. Notably, a security breach on the Hyperbridge gateway allowed an attacker to mint 1 billion bridged DOT tokens on the Ethereum network.

Despite an immediate knee-jerk reaction from the market, the panic-driven selloff subsided once investors realized the exploit did not compromise Polkadot’s native Relay Chain or its core security architecture. This clarity allowed the community to view the incident as an isolated bridge issue rather than a fundamental flaw in the Polkadot ecosystem.

Consequently, major exchanges like Upbit and Bithumb are moving back towards resuming normal services after a temporary suspension to protect users from potential volatility. This has significantly reduced the immediate liquidity bottleneck and restored a sense of normalcy to the trading environment.

Meanwhile, following the 27% drop over the past month, Polkadot price has reached a critical psychological bottom at $1.15 yesterday.

The Relative Strength Index, an indicator used to measure the speed and change of price movements, fell to 33.80, signaling that the token had entered a deeply oversold territory and was due for a relief bounce.

As of now, intraday price action has been strong, with DOT testing immediate resistance at $1.31. A successful close above this level could trigger bulls to target the $1.42 zone as the next logical destination for this recovery.

A Solana (SOL) trader has turned just $8.50 into $9,928 by buying and staking the memecoin BELIEF, locking in a 1,169x return that underscores the ferocity of risk-taking on the network.

On-chain tracker Lookonchain said the wallet, labeled “7Be6hv,” spent 0.1 SOL worth $8.50 to acquire 6,636 BELIEF before compounding the position through staking.

According to Lookonchain, the address “spent 0.1 $SOL ($8.5) to buy 6,636 $BELIEF and staked it, earning 25.06 $SOL ($2,160) and 2.9M $BELIEF ($7,768 now) in staking rewards.”

The BELIEF trade is tied to Printr, a Solana-based token-launching protocol whose supporters have branded the token “printr” money and praised “proof of belief” staking in replies to the viral post. One user joked “they weren’t joking when they called it printr,” while another said “proof of belief can be so rewarding,” capturing the speculative mood around the ecosystem.

Solana remains one of crypto’s most actively staked networks, with more than two-thirds of SOL supply locked and yields often in the mid-single digits, according to the Solana Foundation and exchanges such as OKX. As staking has scaled, network activity has surged, with Solana recently processing around $650 billion in monthly stablecoin volume and overtaking Ethereum and Tron in that metric, as reported by crypto.news.

Episodes like the BELIEF windfall come against a backdrop of debate over whether Solana’s current staking rewards, near 6% annually for many delegators, are “needlessly high” and should be reduced to curb token inflation, according to a recent proposal highlighted by DL News. At the same time, crypto.news has noted that SOL’s price remains trapped around the $80–$100 range even as on-chain usage climbs, underscoring the gap between speculative wins on long-tail tokens and broader market performance.

The crypto news today turned bullish fast. Solana posted $1.1 trillion in on-chain activity during Q1 2026, a 6,500% jump from the prior quarter per Artemis data, yet SOL still trades near $83.83 while sitting 71% below its all-time high. Zcash gained 45% in seven days as privacy coin demand exploded after Foundry Digital launched an institutional mining pool.

But the name pulling the most capital is Pepeto, where a live exchange runs with a Binance listing confirmed and more than $9.04 million in presale funds keeps climbing. Analysts point to 100x once trading opens, and every tool on the platform already works for the wallets that got in early.

Solana’s total economic value crossed $1.1 trillion for Q1 2026 according to Artemis, the highest quarterly figure any Layer 1 outside Ethereum has ever posted.

When a blockchain moves more value in three months than most nations do in a year, the bullish case writes itself. Capital keeps rotating toward projects with working products, and presale pricing is where the biggest cycle gains get locked in.

Top Crypto News Today Tokens: Pepeto, Solana, and Zcash Compared

Pepeto: The Live Exchange Behind the 100x Target in the Crypto News Today

Solana just proved that real usage brings real capital, and the projects already running tools are the ones that ride the wave. Pepeto operates a full exchange where users swap, bridge, and screen tokens without paying a single fee, and that daily utility is exactly why analysts call it a 100x play and the hottest presale of the entire cycle. This is the entry that changes portfolios.

Every swap on PepetoSwap costs nothing, every cross-chain transfer lands at full value across Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Solana, and the contract screener grades each token before your wallet goes near it, blocking traps that wipe portfolios during wild swings.

The cofounder behind Pepe, a token that hit $11 billion with zero tools behind it, built this exchange alongside a Binance veteran, and SolidProof cleared every contract before the presale went live. Staking at 183% APY compounds holdings each day as the listing date gets closer.

At $0.0000001862 with $9.04 million raised during extreme fear, analysts target 100x because a working exchange from the Pepe founder with a confirmed Binance listing is a setup this cycle has only delivered once. Every wallet inside before listing day owns the entry that latecomers will never get. After the listing, this price dies and the 100x belongs to the addresses already in.

Solana (SOL) Price at $83.83 as Q1 Economic Activity Hits $1.1 Trillion

Solana (SOL) trades at $83.83 per CoinMarketCap, down 2.4% in the last 24 hours and sitting 71% below its $293 all-time high. The $1.1 trillion in Q1 activity and Solana ETF assets crossing $1 billion show adoption is accelerating fast. Support holds near $80 with resistance at $97, and Changelly targets $107 by the end of 2026.

Even that optimistic Solana forecast gives roughly 1.3x from here, a number that disappears next to what a token priced under one millionth of a dollar can deliver at listing.

Zcash (ZEC) Price at $353 as Privacy Coin Demand Sends ZEC Up 45% in One Week

Zcash (ZEC) trades near $353 per CoinMarketCap, up over 45% in seven days after Foundry Digital launched its compliance-ready mining pool and shielded pool value hit a record $5.18 billion. Grayscale’s spot Zcash ETF filing adds fuel, and targets reach $500, a solid 1.4x from here.

Strong momentum for Zcash, but presale distance is where the real returns get made. Pepeto carries the math that a $6 billion cap Zcash will not produce from this price.

Conclusion

Solana just recorded $1.1 trillion in quarterly activity, Zcash posted a 45% weekly rally on institutional mining demand, and the crypto news today is running hot. But the wallets that turned $1,000 into six figures on early Pepe all did the same thing: they spotted a working product at presale price and moved before the listing changed everything.

The Pepeto official website is where the presale stays open. Once the Binance listing hits, this price is dead and every wallet that sat out pays a massive premium for the same token. The 100x target only works for addresses that got in at presale. Miss this, and you spend the rest of 2026 watching the profits you left on the table.

Click To Visit Pepeto Website To Enter The Presale

FAQs

What is the best crypto news today pick for 100x potential in 2026?

Pepeto stands out as the top 100x candidate in the crypto news today because it runs a zero-fee exchange with a contract screener, cross-chain bridge, and confirmed Binance listing, all cleared by SolidProof. The presale price is $0.0000001862 with $9.04 million raised while Solana and Zcash offer under 2x from current levels.

How does the Zcash price rally compare to what Pepeto offers right now?

Zcash (ZEC) gained 45% in one week and trades near $353, but targets cap around $500 for roughly 1.4x. Pepeto at presale price with 183% APY staking and a confirmed Binance listing carries 100x distance that large caps cannot match at their current size.

Disclaimer: This is a Press Release provided by a third party who is responsible for the content. Please conduct your own research before taking any action based on the content.

A new Cato Institute paper argues that U.S. capital gains rules make “bitcoin taxes make no sense,” burying everyday BTC payments in paperwork and locking the asset into a hoarding role instead of money.

The Cato Institute is calling for a reset of how the United States taxes bitcoin, arguing that current rules make it almost impossible to use the asset as everyday money. In a new blog post, research fellow Nicholas Anthony writes that “bitcoin taxes make no sense,” because every transaction is treated as a taxable event under capital gains rules.

Anthony notes that under existing guidance, bitcoin is treated as property, not currency, meaning users must calculate gains or losses each time they spend BTC (BTC), no matter how small the purchase. “It’s never been easier to use bitcoin as money,” he said, “yet, at the same time, the tax code puts an incredible burden on law‑abiding citizens.”

In his analysis, Anthony describes how something as trivial as buying a cup of coffee with bitcoin every day can snowball into “over 100 pages of tax filings” over time. For each transaction, users must record the date they acquired the BTC, the price paid (cost basis), the date they spent it, and the dollar value at the time of the purchase, then report it all on Form 8949 and Schedule D.

Beyond sheer paperwork, Anthony argues the structure “discourages real‑world use” and nudges people to hoard BTC rather than spend it, because capital gains rules are designed to reward long‑term holding. In his words, current policy has “effectively paralyzed Bitcoin’s use as a currency” even as wallet infrastructure and merchant tools make payments technically straightforward.

The think tank sketches several policy fixes, ranging from eliminating capital gains on cryptocurrency payments entirely to carving out exemptions for day‑to‑day spending. Anthony points to the long‑running Virtual Currency Tax Fairness Act proposal, which would exempt gains under $200 per transaction, but calls that threshold “too low” to match typical consumer behavior in a high‑inflation environment.

Cato’s intervention lands in the middle of U.S. tax season, as the Internal Revenue Service rolls out expanded crypto reporting rules that will see broker‑reported digital asset sales matched against Form 8949 entries and new 1099‑DA disclosures. At the same time, lawmakers are still debating de minimis exemptions, with some revised bills shifting relief toward regulated stablecoins, prompting criticism from bitcoin advocates who say Washington is “picking winners and losers” in the crypto market.

In previous crypto.news reporting on U.S. crypto tax bills and de minimis proposals, coverage has highlighted similar tensions between encouraging innovation and maintaining oversight, as well as concerns that complex filing rules could push retail users offshore or into non‑compliance.

Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has urged US authorities to prepare a contingency plan for a potential future collapse in demand for US Treasurys, warning that the fallout would be “vicious.”

“We need an emergency break-the-glass plan, which is targeted and short-term, on the shelf, so it’s ready to go when we hit the wall,” Paulson told Bloomberg in an interview on Thursday.

“People say, when are you going to hit the wall? I obviously don’t know, it’s impossible to know. When we hit it, it will be vicious, so we have to prepare for that eventuality.”

The US Treasury market acts as the bedrock of the global financial system, serving as a “risk-free” benchmark with other assets, such as corporate bonds, mortgages, and stocks, being priced relative to Treasurys. Instability could cause ripple effects in the global economy.

For years, economists have warned of a potential “doom loop” where investors start demanding higher yields on Treasurys due to risks tied to the government’s burgeoning debts, which are currently more than $39 trillion. 

This could cause an increase in interest payments, currently 4.3% on 10-year notes, which would widen the deficit. But if the Treasury cannot raise what it needs to pay interest, many assume the Federal Reserve would become the principal buyer, Bloomberg reported. 

A double-edged sword for crypto

There could be several potential impacts on crypto markets if the $31 trillion US Treasury market were to melt down.

A Treasury market crisis could potentially trigger a flight to alternative stores of value such as Bitcoin (BTC) or gold. This may happen if the Fed is forced to monetize debt, stoking inflation fears and undermining confidence in the dollar.

However, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, Tether, is predominantly backed by Treasurys, with 63% of its total reserves comprising US Treasury bills and 10% overnight reverse repurchase agreements, according to the Tether transparency report. 

Related: Ethereum stablecoin supply hits $180B all-time high: Token Terminal

Research lead at the Bitrue trading platform, Andri Fauzan Adziima, told Cointelegraph that this remains a “watch-list macro tail risk,” but if it happens, there could be short-term pain via “spiking yields, tighter global liquidity, and risk-off selling that hits BTC and altcoins hard while amplifying stablecoin risks.” 

“Tether alone holds over $120 billion in Treasurys, making it vulnerable to redemption runs or depegs if confidence erodes and it faces fire-sale pressure.”

However, in the longer-term, it might “accelerate a flight to non-sovereign stores of value, positioning Bitcoin as ‘digital gold’ amid eroding trust in US debt/dollar dominance,”

It is potentially bullish if the crisis highlights fiat vulnerabilities without an immediate systemic meltdown, he said. 

US Treasury conducts largest debt buyback

The US Treasury conducted its largest single debt buyback on Thursday, accepting $15 billion worth of older securities maturing from 2026 to 2028.

Such buybacks enhance Treasury market liquidity by retiring less-traded bonds and providing liquidity and cash to holders who may redeploy it elsewhere in the financial system.

Magazine: Forget stablecoin yield, how does the CLARITY Act treat DeFi?