Bitcoin (BTC) failed to hold its move toward $80,000 after a sudden wave of selling hit the derivatives market. The price dropped about 2.5% within a few hours and moved back below $78,000.

CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost said there was no clear announcement behind the move. He linked the correction to strong sell activity in futures markets as BTC approached the $80,000 zone.

Darkfost said Binance recorded about $1.2 billion in sell volume within one hour. Across all exchanges, Bitcoin saw about $1.35 billion in selling pressure during the same period.

The analyst said the data shows Binance remains a key venue for Bitcoin derivatives activity. The sharp move forced BTC to reverse before breaking the $80,000 level.

Funding rates remain deeply negative

Darkfost also noted that Bitcoin funding rates have stayed highly negative for several weeks. He said the 30-day cumulative funding rate has reached -7%, one of the lowest readings on record.

Such negative funding can create short-term pressure when traders build aggressive short positions. However, late short entries can later turn into buying pressure if prices move against them.

On-chain data points to stronger holders

Another CryptoQuant analyst, GugaOnChain, said Bitcoin’s current cycle looks different from past panic phases. He argued that large holders did not sell heavily during the recent geopolitical shock.

The analyst said Bitcoin saw early de-risking after the 2025 top. He said weak hands sold during the decline, while stronger investors absorbed supply near lower price zones.

GugaOnChain also pointed to Bitcoin’s realized price and spot recovery as signs of stronger market structure. He said the spot price recovered toward $79,000 while realized price stayed near $54,100.

The analyst added that Binance reserves fell by about 44,000 BTC after the shock. He described this as evidence that coins moved away from exchanges and into longer-term storage.

Bitcoin now trades in a market split between short-term derivatives pressure and stronger spot behavior. Traders are watching whether negative funding will keep weighing on price or create conditions for a short squeeze.

Key Takeaways

• BTC climbed to a 12-week peak of $79,399 before retreating, representing its fourth unsuccessful attempt to surpass $80,000 recently
• The surge followed news that Iran proposed reopening the Strait of Hormuz, though momentum quickly faded
• April has seen Bitcoin gain 16%, with Strategy accumulating $3.9 billion in BTC during the month
• Equity futures declined Sunday evening as crude oil surged past $100 per barrel amid escalating Iran concerns
• Critical central bank meetings from the Fed and ECB coincide with major technology sector earnings releases this week

Bitcoin surged to $79,399 in overnight trading before encountering resistance and retreating during Monday’s Asian session. The digital asset stabilized near $77,705, representing a modest 0.4% decline over the previous 24-hour period.

This marked the fourth occasion in recent sessions that bitcoin encountered selling pressure below the $79,000 threshold. The pattern of rejections is establishing a defined resistance zone that traders are monitoring closely.

The upward movement was catalyzed by an Axios report indicating Iran had presented a fresh proposal to restore access to the Strait of Hormuz, connecting nuclear negotiations to the removal of a US naval blockade. The development sent risk-sensitive assets higher initially.

Asian stock markets demonstrated robust gains. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 1.7%, emerging market indices reached new peaks, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing jumped 6%. Bitcoin participated in the rally momentarily before momentum evaporated.

Rachael Lucas, an analyst at BTC Markets, noted that the $80,000 price zone represents a breakeven point for numerous recent purchasers. This technical level typically generates selling activity as traders who held losing positions seek to exit without further losses.

The Resistance at $80K Remains Stubborn

Perpetual swap funding rates continue showing negative territory at -0.13% on a seven-day average, data from Coinglass indicates. This dynamic means short position holders are compensating long holders, creating conditions that could produce a short squeeze if bitcoin maintains support above current levels.

Bitcoin is tracking toward its first monthly gain exceeding 10% since May 2025. Strategy executed its largest monthly acquisition in twelve months, purchasing $3.9 billion worth of bitcoin in April, Bloomberg data shows.

Alternative cryptocurrencies also experienced declines. Ether decreased 2.4% to $2,329, Solana retreated 1.9% to $86, while BNB slipped 1.2% to $630.

Equity index futures weakened during Sunday’s overnight session. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures declined approximately 0.2%, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 contracts each falling roughly 0.2%.

The futures weakness contrasted with last week’s strength, where both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite achieved fresh record closing levels. The S&P 500 advanced more than 9% throughout April while the Nasdaq jumped over 15%.

Critical Week Ahead for Markets

Oil prices extended their advance on geopolitical uncertainty. Brent crude increased approximately 2% to levels exceeding $100 per barrel, with West Texas Intermediate climbing above $96.

Both the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank have monetary policy announcements scheduled this week. This particular Fed meeting holds added significance as one of the final meetings likely chaired by Jerome Powell before Kevin Warsh assumes leadership.

Multiple Magnificent Seven technology companies will report quarterly results this week. Market participants view these earnings as a critical gauge of how mega-cap equities are performing amid current economic conditions.

For bitcoin holders, the focus remains on whether a Fed policy signal or strong corporate earnings can provide the momentum needed to finally breach the stubborn resistance range.

Current market data shows bitcoin trading at $77,705 with persistently negative funding rates and the $80,000 level remaining unconquered after multiple attempts.

South Korea’s internet-only lender KBank has entered into a strategic partnership with Ripple to test blockchain-based cross-border remittances.

According to multiple local media reports, the collaboration focuses on a proof-of-concept designed to measure improvements in transaction speed, cost efficiency, and transparency using Ripple’s global blockchain network.

Having completed an initial phase, the two firms verified a wallet-based remittance system through an app interface. In the ongoing second phase, reports state that testing has moved to a virtual environment where on-chain transfers are being assessed for stability across corridors, including the UAE and Thailand.

For this stage, KBank is using Ripple’s Palisade platform, a software-as-a-service wallet solution that, according to the same reports, meets international security standards.

Testing expands as regulatory backdrop evolves

Set against South Korea’s upcoming Digital Asset Basic Act, the partnership adds to a growing list of tie-ups between domestic financial institutions and blockchain firms. 

Earlier in April, Ripple partnered with Kyobo Life Insurance to support tokenized government bond transactions through its custody platform.

Beyond the proof-of-concept stage, local reports indicate that the KBank partnership could extend into live remittance services and other digital asset initiatives.

As the sole banking partner of Upbit, KBank plays a central role in enabling fiat-to-crypto access under local rules that require exchange users to hold verified bank accounts. 

The Upbit relationship has driven user growth, with KBank’s customer base rising from about 2 million in 2020 to 15 million by the end of last year, according to the reported figures.

As previously reported by crypto.news, Ripple recently outlined a four-phase roadmap to secure the XRP Ledger against future quantum computing risks, with Ayo Akinyele stating the threat has moved “from theoretical to credible” and now requires timely preparation.

The plan targets full post-quantum cryptography implementation by 2028, while Phase 2 testing is already underway in 2026, where Ripple’s cryptography team is evaluating NIST-standardised algorithms under live network conditions, including performance impacts on storage, bandwidth, and throughput.

Key Takeaways

• Scallop Protocol experienced a security breach resulting in approximately $142,000 (150,000 SUI tokens) stolen on April 26, 2026
• The vulnerability existed in an outdated V2 rewards contract originally deployed in November 2023
• A critical flaw involving an uninitialized “last_index” variable enabled the attacker to drain the entire rewards balance
• User deposits and primary protocol functions remained secure; normal operations continued within a two-hour window
• The perpetrator has proposed returning 80% of the stolen assets in return for a white-hat reward

A DeFi lending platform operating on Sui Network, Scallop Protocol, suffered a security breach that resulted in approximately $142,000 in SUI tokens being stolen on Sunday following an exploit of a legacy rewards smart contract.

The security incident occurred on April 26, 2026, with Scallop making the breach public at 12:50 UTC through an announcement on X (formerly Twitter).

Rather than compromising the primary protocol infrastructure, the perpetrator focused their attack on an obsolete auxiliary contract connected to Scallop’s sSUI spool—a rewards distribution mechanism designed for SUI token depositors.

The vulnerable smart contract was a V2 spool package that had been deployed in November 2023, making it over 17 months old at the time of exploitation.

On the Sui network, smart contracts become immutable once deployed. Previous versions remain active and accessible unless developers implement explicit version-based access restrictions. This architectural characteristic allowed the legacy contract to persist as an exploitable vulnerability.

The critical security weakness centered on an uninitialized variable named “last_index.” This parameter is designed to monitor accumulated rewards for participants in the staking system. Since this variable was never properly initialized during new account creation, the attacker could join the pool and extract rewards as though they had participated from inception.

The malicious actor staked approximately 136,000 sSUI tokens. Over the preceding 20 months, the spool index had accumulated to roughly 1.19 billion.

This discrepancy enabled the attacker to allocate themselves approximately 162 trillion reward points. Since the rewards distribution system operated on a one-to-one exchange ratio, the entire balance of 150,000 SUI was extracted in a single blockchain transaction.

Blockchain records show the transaction hash 6WNDjCX3W852hipq6yrHhpUaSFHSPWfTxuLKaQkgNfVL documenting the on-chain withdrawal.

Following the theft, the stolen assets were rapidly transferred through a privacy-focused mixing protocol on Sui, comparable to Tornado Cash, significantly complicating recovery efforts.

Team Response and Service Restoration

Scallop’s development team acted swiftly to freeze the compromised contract within minutes of detecting the exploit. Importantly, the core lending and borrowing infrastructure was not suspended. Customer deposits across all other Scallop markets remained fully protected.

The protocol’s leadership confirmed they would absorb 100% of the financial loss using treasury reserves. No reduction in user yield rates will occur as a result of this incident.

By 14:42 UTC, Scallop had reactivated the primary contracts. Standard withdrawal and deposit functionality was restored to normal operation in less than two hours from the initial breach.

Subsequently, the attacker initiated contact with the development team, proposing to return 80% of the stolen funds in exchange for recognition as a white-hat hacker with an associated bounty. The team is currently examining how this vulnerability evaded detection during previous security audits conducted by OtterSec and MoveBit.

DeFi Losses Continue Mounting in April 2026

This security breach comes on the heels of a comparable exploit targeting Volo Protocol earlier this month, which resulted in approximately $3.5 million in losses. Both incidents exploited peripheral contract infrastructure rather than core protocol mechanisms.

April 2026 has witnessed over $600 million in cryptocurrency thefts across 12 significant security incidents. By mid-April, cumulative losses for the month had surpassed $750 million.

Kelp DAO and Drift Protocol together represented approximately 95% of April’s total losses. The Kelp attack independently generated $177 million in bad debt on the Aave lending platform.

Scallop’s team has yet to release a comprehensive post-incident analysis. They have announced plans for an exhaustive security review of all remaining legacy contract packages.

As of this publication, neither the Sui Foundation nor Mysten Labs has issued an official statement regarding the security incident.

Cross-border B2B stablecoin payments have been projected to reach $5 trillion by 2035, according to a new report from Juniper Research.

The report published on April 27 has estimated that the total cross-border B2B stablecoin transaction value will climb from $13.4 billion in 2026, with enterprise payments expected to dominate usage over the next decade.

Looking at the data, business-to-business flows are set to account for 85% of all stablecoin transaction value by 2035. 

Usage is moving beyond retail trading activity, with companies integrating these tokens into treasury operations, supplier payments, and cross-border settlements where speed and cost remain critical factors.

Cross-border B2B use cases drive growth

Juniper’s findings point to inefficiencies in traditional correspondent banking as a key reason behind this rise. Conventional systems rely on multiple intermediaries, which often leads to delays, foreign exchange costs, and messaging fees.

Stablecoins, by contrast, settle on-chain almost instantly, cutting down both processing time and transaction costs. This makes them particularly useful for high-value corporate transfers, especially in corridors where dollar-backed tokens act as a neutral settlement layer.

“Stablecoins are not replacing payments infrastructure; they are being adopted where the advantages are most pronounced,” said Research Analyst Jawad Jahan. 

“Cross-border B2B is where those advantages are greatest, and where we expect the most sustained volume growth over the forecast period.”

Juniper added that payment providers and issuers looking to capture this growth will need to focus on enterprise integrations and partnerships tied to treasury management systems.

Stablecoin activity spans multiple segments, including person-to-person transfers, business payments, consumer transactions, and card-linked usage. Even so, corporate flows are expected to take a clear lead as adoption matures.

Growth narrative meets regulatory caution

Across global policy circles, the rapid rise of dollar-backed stablecoins has drawn closer scrutiny, with central bankers warning that these instruments, while efficient, may introduce risks if they continue to expand outside established financial safeguards.

At a recent seminar in Tokyo, Pablo Hernández de Cos warned that U.S. dollar stablecoins could carry “material consequences” for global economic policy, pointing to concerns around how these assets are structured and redeemed.

He noted that major tokens such as USDt and USDC operate in ways that resemble investment products rather than liquid cash, with redemption conditions and fees that differ from traditional money systems.

De Cos warned that a sudden surge in redemptions could force issuers to liquidate reserve assets such as government debt and bank deposits, potentially creating pressure in underlying markets.

European officials have moved to tighten oversight under frameworks such as MiCA, warning that regulatory gaps could allow issuers to shift operations across jurisdictions during periods stress.

Banks are also testing alternatives that keep digital money within regulated systems, with Swiss institutions including UBS launching pilot projects for franc-denominated stablecoins that combine blockchain efficiency with existing financial controls.

French authorities have indicted at least 88 people over alleged wrench attacks targeting crypto owners. 

The group includes ten minors, said Vanessa Perrée, France’s national prosecutor for organized crime. 

The cases relate to 12 investigations handled by specialized judges at the Paris Judicial Court. Prosecutors said 75 of the accused remain in pre-trial detention as law enforcement continues to examine the networks behind the attacks.

Crypto owners face physical extortion threats

Wrench attacks involve physical threats or violence used to force victims to transfer crypto assets. French authorities have linked such crimes to home invasions, kidnappings, extortion attempts and forced wallet access.

PNACO has recorded a sharp rise in these cases. The agency tracked 18 incidents in 2024, 67 in 2025 and 47 so far in 2026, showing how physical crypto-related crime has grown in France.

Perrée said the crimes carry serious legal weight because they involve abduction, detention, extortion and attempts to force crypto transfers. She said the acts were serious because of “the harm caused to individuals” and the methods used.

Investigators have merged several cases after finding repeated links between some suspects. Perrée said these links revealed “the existence of structured networks,” with authorities still working to identify the organizers and money flows.

Security warnings grow for crypto users

The rise in wrench attacks has renewed warnings for crypto holders. Perrée urged users and relatives to stay careful and avoid “overexposure on social networks” that may make them targets.

Security experts have also warned that public displays of crypto wealth can create personal risk. Blockchain security firm CertiK said physical crypto attacks worldwide rose 75% in 2025 from the previous year.

Casa chief security officer Jameson Lopp has tracked wrench attacks worldwide since 2014. His public list shows 29 incidents so far this year, including five cases recorded in April.

Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs said such attacks have increased because criminals can connect public wealth signals with personal data found online. The firm also cited the perceived privacy of crypto transfers as a factor behind the rise.

Telegram founder Pavel Durov also commented on the situation in France. He suggested that the rise in attacks may be linked to alleged misuse of crypto investor tax data by a former tax official.

French investigators said their work remains active. Authorities are trying to identify all attackers, trace financial routes and break up the groups involved in the crypto wrench attack cases.

Key Highlights

• Over 17,000 ETH valued at roughly $49 million was unstaked by the Ethereum Foundation last Saturday
• The withdrawal utilized Lido’s unstETH mechanism and will become tradable ETH following queue completion
• This action occurred mere steps away from the Foundation hitting its 70,000 ETH staking milestone
• Foundation has remained silent on rationale, fueling speculation about potential market sales
• Recent history includes a 10,000 ETH private sale transaction with Bitmine Immersion Technologies

Blockchain analytics from Arkham Intelligence revealed that the Ethereum Foundation withdrew 17,035 ETH, valued at approximately $49 million, during the past weekend. The operation involved converting wrapped staked ETH (wstETH) through Lido’s unstETH smart contract mechanism, processing approximately 811 wstETH per transaction batch.

Following completion of Lido’s withdrawal queue, these assets will transition back to standard liquid ETH format. To date, the Foundation has issued no official communication regarding the purpose of this withdrawal.

The sequence of events has attracted significant attention. This unstaking activity occurred precisely when the Foundation neared its self-imposed benchmark of 70,000 staked ETH. Prior to initiating the withdrawal, approximately 69,500 Ethereum tokens were staked, placing the organization tantalizingly close to achieving that threshold.

The Foundation’s aggressive staking campaign commenced in February 2026. Initial deposits included 2,016 ETH, followed by an additional 22,517 ETH throughout March, culminating in over 45,000 ETH staked during the early part of this month.

This staking strategy was formally implemented in June 2025. The declared objective centered on generating returns to support protocol advancement, development initiatives, and community grant programs.

Market Concerns About Potential Liquidation

The unstaking event has reignited apprehension regarding potential selling pressure. Several community observers have highlighted the Foundation’s recent engagement in private market transactions, notably including a 10,000 ETH transfer to Bitmine Immersion Technologies.

“The largest ETH distributor remains those who initially built ETH,” commented one market participant online.

Market watchers are closely monitoring the $2,300–$2,400 price zone for ETH, identified as a critical threshold that could determine immediate price trajectory.

Ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin has historically cautioned that significant staking positions held by the Foundation might introduce governance challenges during divisive protocol upgrades.

Parallel DeFi Crisis Unfolds

In a separate development, the wider Ethereum DeFi sector is navigating consequences from a $293 million security breach affecting the Kelp restaking protocol. Attackers extracted over 116,000 restaked ETH tokens and leveraged them as loan collateral, creating approximately $195 million in uncollateralized debt on Aave.

An emergency alliance dubbed “DeFi United,” spearheaded by Aave, has committed more than 43,500 ETH (valued around $101 million) toward stabilizing rsETH. Contributing organizations include Lido DAO, Golem Foundation, EtherFi Foundation, and Mantle.

The Ethereum Foundation’s latest verifiable blockchain activity remains the $49 million unstaking transaction executed on Saturday, April 26, 2026.

Quick Overview

• SOL maintains stability around $87–$88, positioned above its 50-day EMA with critical resistance forming at $90–$94
• Crypto analyst Ali Martinez identified a compressed Bollinger Band pattern spanning $77 to $94 on the 3-day timeframe
• SOL-focused ETFs attracted $9.44 million in weekly net inflows, contributing to a five-day streak totaling roughly $1.45 billion
• Goldman Sachs revealed exposure of approximately $108 million in SOL holdings
• Breaking decisively above $94 could trigger a rally toward $100; falling beneath $77 may signal extended downside

Solana (SOL) is currently exchanging hands around the $87–$88 range on Monday, maintaining ground above its 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) positioned at $87.04. Following a rebound from recent lows near $84.55, the asset is now challenging a significant resistance area.

The digital asset has pushed past the 50% Fibonacci retracement mark derived from its latest decline between $89.34 and $84.55. Technical charts reveal a developing bullish trend line providing support around $86.50 on the hourly timeframe.

Near-term resistance appears at $88.20, corresponding with the 76.4% Fibonacci threshold. Beyond this, major obstacles emerge at $90, with additional resistance waiting at $92.

Crypto market analyst Ali Martinez pointed out that SOL is currently confined within a compressed Bollinger Band corridor on the 3-day chart, spanning from $77 to $94. He characterized this region as a “no-trade zone,” cautioning that attempting to trade within this confined range often results in whipsaw losses. Martinez emphasized that traders should wait for a definitive 3-day candle closure beyond these bands before considering any directional move as legitimate.

Trading volume has declined by over 23% throughout this consolidation period. While reduced volume during lateral price movement is typical, any breakout attempt above $94 will require significantly stronger trading activity to validate a push toward the $100 milestone.

Technical Indicators Show Emerging Bullish Bias

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) currently stands at 55, climbing above the neutral 50 mark on the daily timeframe. Both the MACD and its corresponding signal line have crossed into positive territory, indicating that buying pressure is presently dominant.

SOL is testing the upper boundary of a symmetrical triangle formation near $89.00 on the daily chart. A convincing breakthrough above this threshold would open the door to the psychologically important $100 level, followed by the 200-day EMA stationed at $113.

Regarding downside scenarios, the 50-day EMA at $87.04 represents the initial support layer. A daily closure underneath the ascending trendline around $85.99 would compromise the current bullish framework.

Institutional Capital and ETF Activity

Solana-focused exchange-traded funds captured $9.44 million in net weekly inflows, down from $35.17 million during the previous week. Despite the weekly decline, five straight days of positive net inflows have accumulated to approximately $1.45 billion.

Goldman Sachs made headlines by revealing a stake valued at nearly $108 million in Solana, representing another significant institutional validation that market participants are monitoring closely.

SOL futures Open Interest climbed more than 2% within 24 hours to reach $5.23 billion. Meanwhile, the funding rate jumped to 0.0095%, demonstrating that traders are willing to pay elevated premiums to maintain long exposure.

Should SOL prove unable to penetrate the $90–$94 resistance band, immediate support levels lie at $86.50, followed by $85. A decisive close beneath $78 could accelerate selling pressure toward the $72 zone.