Connect with us
DAPA Banner

Crypto World

How Trump’s Iran Pause Fits Into His Market-Timed Playbook

Published

on


On Monday, March 23, President Trump announced a 5-Day pause on strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure. The decision added $1.7 trillion to US stocks, crashed oil prices by 15%, and sent Bitcoin above $70,000. That pause is now extended until April 6. 

But Tehran called these claims ‘fake news’, and Israel already violated Trump’s pause. Almost all of these financial gains vanished within a week.

So, did Donald Trump actually have productive talks with Iran, or was it just a ploy to benefit financial markets and have big players cash out?

How Trump’s Pause Lines Up With Market Hours

The sequence starts Saturday, March 22. Trump posted a 48-hour ultimatum on Truth Social demanding Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face strikes on its power plants.

Advertisement

That deadline was set to expire Monday evening, with traditional markets fully open and exposed.

Instead of following through, Trump posted at 7 a.m. ET Monday, claiming “very good and productive conversations” with Tehran. He announced a 5-day postponement of all energy infrastructure strikes.

The 5-day window expired Saturday, March 28. Not a random day.

Advertisement
  • Equity markets are closed
  • Futures liquidity is thin
  • Institutional desks are offline.

If escalation resumes, it lands in the same low-liquidity window that has preceded every major Trump-era market shock since mid-2025.

Timeline graphic showing Saturday ultimatum, Monday pause, Saturday expiry aligned against NYSE/CME trading hours
Timeline graphic showing the Saturday ultimatum, Monday pause, and Saturday expiry, aligned with NYSE/CME trading hours. Source: BeInCrypto

Someone Traded Before the Post

Markets moved before the announcement went live. Between 6:49 and 6:50 a.m. ET, roughly 6,200 Brent and WTI futures contracts changed hands with a notional value of $580 million.

The average for that same minute over the prior five trading days was approximately 700 contracts, according to Bloomberg data reported by the Financial Times.

At the same time, $1.5 billion in S&P 500 futures were purchased. That single order pushed the index 0.3% higher instantly. Fourteen minutes later, Trump’s post dropped. By 7:10 a.m. ET, the S&P 500 had gained roughly $2 trillion in value.

U.S. and UK regulators are reportedly reviewing the data. No charges have been filed.

Advertisement

“The massive spike in volume of trades right before that post is certainly enough to raise eyebrows, and I think to launch an investigation into what was behind that,” wrote CBS News, citing Stephen Piepgrass, a partner who specializes in futures trading at the law firm Troutman Pepper Locke.

Iran Says It Never Happened

Tehran’s response left no ambiguity. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf called it “fake news” intended to manipulate financial and oil markets.

The Foreign Ministry described it as psychological warfare aimed at lowering energy prices and buying time for more strikes. Officials acknowledged receiving messages through intermediaries but insisted no direct negotiations occurred.

The denial triggered an immediate reversal. Oil rebounded. Stocks gave back roughly half their gains. BTC pulled back after briefly reclaiming $70,000, leaving $265 million in crypto shorts liquidated within 15 minutes.

Advertisement
BTC, Gold, Oil, and SPX Performance since Monday
BTC, Gold, Oil, and SPX Performance since Monday. Source: TradingView

This Has Happened 11 Times Since November 2024

Monday was not the first time. BeInCrypto has tracked 11 market-moving Trump announcements since November 2024, each following what traders now call the TACO pattern, a cycle of action, crash, reversal, and recovery.

  • Liberation Day tariffs were announced on April 2, 2025, at 4:30 p.m. ET, after markets closed. Trump posted “BE COOL! THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!” the next morning, minutes after opening. A 90-day pause followed, producing a 9.5% rally in the S&P 500.
  • On October 10, 2025, a 100% tariff threat on China dropped on a Friday, 20 minutes after close. BTC fell 18.4%. Crypto liquidations hit $19.1 billion in 24 hours.
Table showing all 11 Trump market events with dates, BTC before/after, percentage moves, liquidations, and TACO outcomes
Table showing all 11 Trump market events with dates, BTC before/after, percentage moves, liquidations, and TACO outcomes. Source: BeInCrypto

Six confirmed Friday night strikes between June 2025 and February 2026 followed the same logic. BeInCrypto identified this as a repeatable 60-hour sequence across those events.

The Iran pause is the evolution. Instead of a Friday shock and a Monday walk-back, Monday itself became the vehicle. Ultimatum on Saturday. Relief on Monday. Next escalation window on Saturday again.

What the Experts See

Oxford-based political scientist Richard Heydarian warned on the BeInCrypto podcast that the economic damage from the conflict could run into trillions while Trump’s tactical moves remain impossible to anticipate.

“Trump is strategically predictable, but tactically impossible to predict. We know what his endgame is. American hegemony, beyond question. But how to achieve that in such a complex world? No one knows,” Richard Heydarian told BeInCrypto.

Stanford economist Mordecai Kurz, also speaking on the BeInCrypto podcast, placed the dynamics within a structural problem of concentrated private power that leaves ordinary people exposed.

“There are so many concentrations of private power in America that this cannot continue… young people have a chance only if technology is made to serve people and policy serves people,” Kurz explained.

The 5-day clock expires Saturday. If the pattern holds, the next headline lands when markets are closed, and liquidity is at its weakest.

Advertisement

Across 11 documented events and 16 months, the pattern has not broken once.

The post How Trump’s Iran Pause Fits Into His Market-Timed Playbook appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Crypto World

3 Meme Coins to Watch in the Fourth Week of April 2026

Published

on

Cup and RSI Setup

The meme coin sector enters the fourth week of April 2026 up roughly 8% over seven days.Yet, the largest token in the category has lagged.

The split suggests rotation is running below the surface, not led from the top. BeInCrypto analysts have identified three meme coins to watch this week, with technical structure, divergence, and one scheduled catalyst as the triggers.

Dogecoin (DOGE)

Dogecoin (DOGE), the largest meme coin, trades at $0.09482. It is up trading flat on the day but only 3.5% over the past seven days. That pace trails the wider meme coin sector.It also places the biggest token firmly among the meme coins to watch this week. The underperformance is the story.

It suggests the 8% sector-wide gain has come without DOGE participation. Therefore,any rotation back into the largest name would add fuel the rally has not yet tapped. The technical setup appears to be building the base for that catch-up trade.

Advertisement

The daily chart shows a cup and handle pattern forming, with a sloping-up neckline and the handle currently shaping as a descending channel. A bullish RSI divergence reinforces the setup. Between February 19 and April 19, DOGE printed progressively lower lows while the Relative Strength Index (RSI), a momentum oscillator, tracked higher lows.

Cup and RSI Setup
Cup and RSI Setup: TradingView

RSI has now crossed above the 50 line on the latest green candle.

Want more token insights like this? Sign up for Editor Harsh Notariya’s Daily Crypto Newsletter here.

A daily close above $0.095 opens the door to a handle breakout, validating a divergence-led bounce. Above $0.103, DOGE clears the 0.786 Fibonacci level at $0.103 and the cup neckline, potentially triggering a roughly 12% move toward $0.115 at the 1.618 extension.

DOGE Price Analysis
DOGE Price Analysis: TradingView

A loss of $0.092 weakens the entire pattern and reopens downside toward the cup’s base.

Official Trump (TRUMP)

Official Trump (TRUMP) trades at $2.83, up 1.47% on the day but hovering near the lower end of its multi-week range. The TRUMP token enters this week’s meme coin watchlist because of a scheduled catalyst.

Advertisement

A gala luncheon for the top 297 holders is planned for April 25 at Mar-a-Lago, an event that previously drove a price jump when first announced in March. Some uncertainty persists around the president’s attendance because he is also scheduled for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that evening.

A bullish RSI divergence supports the case for a rebound into the event. Between March 29 and April 19, TRUMP price registered a lower low while RSI printed a higher low. Price and momentum are drifting in opposite directions, which historically opens the door to a mean-reversion bounce.

TRUMP Price Analysis
TRUMP Price Analysis: TradingView

Key levels are stacked close overhead. A daily close above $2.94 clears the 0.236 Fibonacci first hurdle, with $3.04 at the 0.382 level as the next confirmation.

Beyond that, $3.21 at the 0.618 level is the strongest hurdle, and a push above $3.49 at the 1.0 retracement opens the path toward the March highs. Failure to reclaim $2.94 keeps the $2.77 base exposed.

Advertisement

Pepe (PEPE)

Pepe (PEPE) is trading at $0.000003740. This meme coin shows the cleanest momentum among this week’s meme coins to watch. PEPE is up 8.3% over the past 30 days and 7.3% over the past seven days. That alignment suggests buyers are stepping in on every dip rather than selling into strength, setting the stage for a potential technical breakout.

The daily chart shows a pattern-within-pattern structure.

PEPE has been trading inside a falling channel since late February, a bearish formation. Within that channel, a cup and handle pattern has taken shape, with the recent consolidation below resistance appearing to form the handle. The decisive feature is the overlap.

The upper trendline of the falling channel aligns with the neckline of the cup near $0.00000416. A breakout through that level would invalidate the bearish channel and confirm the bullish cup structure in one move.

Advertisement
PEPE Price Analysis
PEPE Price Analysis: TradingView

Near-term hurdles for this meme coin sit at $0.00000378, the 0.5 Fibonacci level, followed by $0.00000394 at the 0.618 level. Clearing $0.00000416 at the 0.786 level and the channel top opens a measured move toward $0.00000526. That’s roughly a 30% advance toward the 1.618 extension.

A drop back into the lower channel weakens the setup and reopens downside toward the $0.00000312 zone.

The post 3 Meme Coins to Watch in the Fourth Week of April 2026 appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Crypto World

The leading crypto to buy and hold for short-term ROI

Published

on

BFX vs KAS: The leading crypto to buy and hold for short-term ROI - 2

Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.

Kaspa gains steady traction as BlockchainFX draws attention ahead of launch.

Advertisement

Summary

  • BlockchainFX (BFX) gains momentum in presale as over $14.26M is raised ahead of its $0.05 launch price.
  • Investors are shifting attention to BFX, a multi-asset Super App offering trading across crypto, stocks, and forex.
  • BFX attracts 23,500+ participants with staking rewards and revenue-sharing tied to platform trading fees.

Ever looked at an empty wallet and wondered why someone skipped that one coin everyone joked about before it turned into a gold mine? Missing out on life-changing gains hurts more than a rug pull, but finding the top crypto to buy and hold for short-term returns fixes everything.

The crypto market moves fast as Kaspa (KAS) news shows steady growth while BlockchainFX (BFX) prepares for its big debut. Many search for the top crypto to buy and hold for short-term gains as these two projects dominate recent trends.

BFX vs KAS: The leading crypto to buy and hold for short-term ROI - 2

BlockchainFX: The licensed multi-asset powerhouse dominating the BFX crypto presale 2026

BlockchainFX (BFX) is not just another token; it is a licensed multi-asset Super App designed to bridge decentralized finance with traditional markets. While most platforms lock users into one niche, this ecosystem allows for trading over 500 assets, including crypto, stocks, gold, and EUR/USD from one web3 interface. The BFX crypto presale 2026 is currently the top crypto to buy and hold for short-term utility because it solves the fragmentation problem in modern trading.

The project is moving at light speed. With over $14.26 million raised and 23,500+ participants already on board, the energy is undeniable. Early buyers are grabbing tokens at the current price of $0.035 because the demand is skyrocketing as people realize the guaranteed upside. The launch price is set at $0.05, which means early adopters secure a massive value increase before trading even begins.

Advertisement

Why early adopters are swapping other bags for BFX

The math behind the platform is designed for long-term wealth. Instead of just holding a speculative asset, BFX stakers receive daily rewards in both BFX and USDT. This comes from 70% of the platform trading fees being sent back to the community.

Feature BlockchainFX benefit
Asset Variety 500+ Assets (Forex, Stocks, Gold, Crypto)
Passive Income Up to 70% Fee Redistribution to Stakers
Security Fully Audited by CertiK and Coinsult
Physical Utility Metal and 18-Karat Gold BFX Visa Cards

Massive financial upside and founder perks

The global market potential is staggering. Daily forex volume sits at $7.5T while crypto is only at $89B. This tiny 0.87% slice of the pie means BlockchainFX has massive room to expand. Participants who enter now can also unlock “Founder’s Club” perks, including up to $25,000 in trading credits and exclusive Visa cards that bridge crypto to real-world spending.

Huge $500,000 giveaway and launch news

The community is buzzing because a $500,000 giveaway is currently live. Ten lucky participants will split this massive pool of $BFX tokens. The top prize alone is $120,000. Additionally, the team has a major update: once the raise hits $15M, BlockchainFX will officially launch. Being so close to $14.2M means the clock is ticking. Use the bonus code CEX60 right now to secure 20% extra tokens on any purchase. This bonus turns a standard position into a powerhouse portfolio instantly.

The Kaspa price legacy: A lesson in speed

Kaspa news reminds everyone of what happens when a runner is caught early. Starting at an ICO price that was a fraction of a cent, Kaspa multiplied its value by hundreds of times. Early adopters who ignored the skeptics saw their small bags turn into massive fortunes.

Advertisement

Many people doubted the BlockDAG tech behind Kaspa early on, but those who held tight became wealthy. While that ship has sailed for those looking for 100x gains, the crypto world always provides a fresh start. Missing the Kaspa price explosion was a mistake, but not a final one.

BFX vs KAS: The leading crypto to buy and hold for short-term ROI - 3

Is BlockchainFX the top crypto to buy and hold for short-term gains?

The BlockchainFX presale is the clear answer for anyone tired of watching from the sidelines. With its $0.035 current price and the 20% extra tokens available via code CEX60, the potential for immediate ROI is massive. It captures the same energy that made early Kaspa buyers rich.

Do not let this be another story about the one that got away. Secure a spot in the BlockchainFX presale today to claim a share of the $500,000 giveaway and referral rewards. The move toward the $15M launch target is happening fast. This is the top crypto to buy and hold for short-term success in 2026.

Disclosure: This content is provided by a third party. Neither crypto.news nor the author of this article endorses any product mentioned on this page. Users should conduct their own research before taking any action related to the company.

Advertisement

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Crypto World

RaveDAO accused by ZachXBT of ties to ‘suspicious’ crypto exchange activity

Published

on

RaveDAO accused by ZachXBT of ties to ‘suspicious’ crypto exchange activity

Blockchain sleuth ZachXBT wrote on Sunday that the team behind RaveDAO is at least aware of who manipulated the price of its token, which saw an impossible 11,000% surge in price followed by a near immediate collapse.

“I found suspicious CEX (centralized crypto exchanges) activity on April 26 tied to RaveDAO team addresses onchain, which potentially contradicts their recent statements,” the blockchain investigator said.

In a separate post, ZachXBT flagged a transfer from a RAVE address used for “initial distribution” by RaveDAO from which roughly $23 million worth of tokens were transferred to two Bitget deposit addresses causing the price to drop 40% from $1 to $0.6.

RaveDAO posted a six-part X thread on Saturday, previously reported by CoinDesk, stating “we are aware of the rumors and accusations circulating regarding $RAVE and the RaveDAO team. We want to be clear: RaveDAO team is not engaged in, nor responsible for, recent price action.”

Advertisement

However, ZachXBT said, “given the supply concentration, the team at minimum knows who is responsible for this price action.”

In a separate X post, the investigator said, “you expect the community to believe RAVE went $60M -> $6B mkt cap organically in nine days with little to no utility? Considering your team handled the initial distribution with a low float it’s unlikely you do not know the party responsible for it.”

The RaveDAO token, which increased by nearly 11,000% in nine days from about $0.25 to $27.33, then plunged by over 90%, losing roughly $5.7 billion in market capitalization in just 48 hours. Its price currently hovers around $0.67.

The sleuth also said RAVE is not the only token with manipulation “we have seen on major centralized exchanges. It’s just the most blatant.” He also said it was highly unlikely the CEXs did not spot the massive $RAVE token price movements.

Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading

Crypto World

UK-based Reabold draws criticism for weighing gas-powered bitcoin mining operation

Published

on

UK-based Reabold draws criticism for weighing gas-powered bitcoin mining operation

Reabold Resources, an investment company focused on developing European gas projects, said it is considering establishing a gas-powered bitcoin mining station in northern England.

The London-based company is exploring the potential to deploy a small power plant as a pilot for future data-center developments that are “crucial to the future U.K. economy,” it said in a statement on Monday.

Bitcoin production from the company’s West Newton A well site will be used to demonstrate the ability to use the gas to fuel data-center developments, the firm said. The announcement follows publication of a Telegraph article criticizing the plan at a time when the country could face gas shortages because of the war between Iran and the U.S. and Israel.

Concerns of potential gas shortage are unfounded according to a U.K. government statement in late March, which said gas supply will not be affected.

Advertisement

“Only about 1% of the U.K.’s gas supply in 2025 came from Qatar. We have no reason to expect it would be significantly different in 2026,” it said.

The Telegraph’s article said Reabold’s West Newton gas field is so large it could theoretically power the creation of 50,000 bitcoin tokens.

“A private gas supply means we can run a data centre to mine bitcoin relatively cheaply,” said Sachin Oza, the co-CEO of Reabold Resources, which has a drilling license by the Environment Agency.

“Initially, this would help fund the further development of the gas field and prove the concept – meaning it could become the precursor to a far larger data center.”

Advertisement

But, the firm said, “the significant onshore natural gas resource at the West Newton site in Yorkshire has and will continue to be progressed for the benefit of U.K. energy security, which is particularly important at this time of significant geopolitical uncertainty.”

Reabold’s plan for a bitcoin mining operation to broaden into a data center comes bitcoin mining is undergoing a transformation, with many companies diverting into high-performance computing and support for the AI industry.

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Crypto World

Ethereum Price Prediction: ETH Memecoins Heating Up, Wojak 300% After 100,000% Asteroid Run

Published

on

ETH memecoin sector is producing new millionaires. Ethereum price prediction is getting bullish! Here's why.

ETH memecoin season is flashing early signals. Ethereum is dropping under at $2,300 amid cautious consolidation, but beneath the surface, the ETH memecoin sector is producing new millionaires. Ethereum price prediction is getting bullish!

A single trader converted $2,500 into nearly $500,000 in hours via the Elon Musk-linked ASTEROID token on Ethereum, a 100,000% return on entry. Wojak, another ETH-native memecoin, has since posted a 300% follow-through move, suggesting capital is rotating rapidly through the ecosystem’s speculative tier. Social feeds lit up. The pattern is familiar to anyone who survived 2021.

Discover: The best pre-launch token sales

Ethereum Price Prediction: $2,600 On The Horizon

ETH sits at under $2,300, pinned inside a symmetrical triangle pattern with resistance clustered between $2,200 and $2,400. The RSI reads neutral, with volatility running at 5.21%, and 17 of the past 30 days closing green. Ethereum is coiling.

Moving averages confirm the tension. The 50-Day SMA sits at $2,210, providing near-term support below the current price. The 200-Day SMA at $2,645 looms well overhead as a macro ceiling. Price is sandwiched, structurally constructive, but requires a catalyst to resolve direction.

Advertisement
ETH memecoin sector is producing new millionaires. Ethereum price prediction is getting bullish! Here's why.
ETH USD, TradingView

Short-term forecast models offer cautious optimism: CoinCheckup projects $2,750 within 30 days, with incremental step targets of $2,340.by April 20 and $2,600 by April 24. The Fear & Greed Index is getting better at 27 after hovering under 20 for more than a month. This zone usually precedes recoveries more often than collapses.

If ETH can break the triangle upward trend through $2,400, it could finally trigger a run toward $3,000 and align with community targets, especially with memecoins in its chain gaining traction.

Discover: The best crypto to diversify your portfolio with

LiquidChain Targets Early Mover Upside as Ethereum Tests Key Levels

For us who just watched a $2,500 ASTEROID position become $500,000, the opportunity from the same coin is just gone. But the memecoin spike demonstrates where asymmetric returns actually live in this cycle: early infrastructure and early-stage assets, not late-entry rotations into established large-caps.

Advertisement

Although holding memecoins is not easy, we know people can fumble big money if patience runs out.

LiquidChain ($LIQUID) is a Layer 3 memecoin infrastructure project built around a single, genuinely useful proposition: fusing Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana liquidity into one execution environment. Developers deploy once and access all three ecosystems. It requires no bridging, no fragmented liquidity pools, no redundant deployments.

The architecture centers on a Unified Liquidity Layer, Single-Step Execution, and Verifiable Settlement.

Advertisement

The presale is live at $0.01451 per $LIQUID, with almost $700K raised to date. Staking is available for presale participants with a huge 1500% APY bonus.

Research LiquidChain and review the full presale terms here.

The post Ethereum Price Prediction: ETH Memecoins Heating Up, Wojak 300% After 100,000% Asteroid Run appeared first on Cryptonews.

Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading

Crypto World

MicroStrategy Makes Biggest Bitcoin Buy Since 2024, Will It Move BTC Price?

Published

on

MicroStrategy Makes Biggest Bitcoin Buy Since 2024, Will It Move BTC Price?

MicroStrategy has made its largest Bitcoin purchase in over a year, adding 34,164 BTC for $2.54 billion at an average price of $74,395.

The move lifts its total holdings to 815,061 BTC, extending its lead as the largest corporate Bitcoin holder.

Executive Chairman Michael Saylor signaled the buy a day earlier with his usual chart post on X. Markets read it as another accumulation signal—and they were right.

MicroStrategy is Buying Near Breakout Levels

The timing stands out. Bitcoin has been trading close to Strategy’s average cost basis of roughly $75,500, placing the firm near breakeven.

Strategy has a pattern of stepping in around key levels rather than waiting for deep pullbacks. This latest purchase is also a step up in size. The company bought roughly $1 billion worth of BTC the week prior and $330 million the week before that.

The acceleration suggests growing conviction at current price levels.

Recent analysis from Coinbase shows that large, consistent buyers like Strategy reduce the liquid supply of Bitcoin. Coins move off the market and into long-term holdings, tightening available float.

Advertisement

That effect becomes more important when Bitcoin is already near a technical breakout level. At those points, even incremental buying can help push price higher, triggering momentum traders and systematic funds.

Strategy’s latest purchase absorbed more than 34,000 BTC in a single week. For context, miners produce roughly 450 BTC per day, meaning the company bought the equivalent of over two months of new supply in one move.

Bitcoin Supply Squeeze, With Limits

Still, the impact is not guaranteed.

Advertisement

Coinbase notes that the price effect of large buyers can be muted if the market already expects the purchases, or if flows from ETFs, derivatives, or macro conditions outweigh them.

In other words, Strategy’s buying tightens supply in the background. It matters most when market conditions are already leaning bullish.

Strategy continues to fund its purchases through its capital programs, including its STRC preferred stock. The company still has significant capacity to raise funds, giving it room to keep accumulating.

With over 815,000 BTC now on its balance sheet, Strategy is steadily moving toward its long-term goal of 1 million BTC.

Advertisement

The post MicroStrategy Makes Biggest Bitcoin Buy Since 2024, Will It Move BTC Price? appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Crypto World

Kelp DAO hits back at LayerZero for trying to shift the blame after a massive exploit

Published

on

Kelp DAO hits back at LayerZero for trying to shift the blame after a massive exploit

The popular Spiderman meme showing three identical superheroes pointing fingers at each other is having its crypto moment today.

Kelp DAO is set to push back on LayerZero’s post-mortem of Sunday’s $290 million exploit, which essentially blames Kelp, a L2 source familiar with the matter told CoinDesk. Kelp plans to dispute the cross-chain messaging firm’s claim that it ignored repeated warnings to move away from a single-verifier setup. CoinDesk has reviewed and verified the memo Kelp plans to publish.

Kelp is a liquid restaking protocol that takes user-deposited ether, routes it through a yield-generating system called EigenLayer, and issues a receipt token, rsETH, in exchange.

LayerZero is the cross-chain messaging infrastructure that moves rsETH between blockchains, using entities called DVNs (decentralized verifier networks) to verify whether a cross-chain transfer is valid.

Advertisement

On Saturday, attackers drained 116,500 rsETH, worth about $290 million, from Kelp’s LayerZero-powered bridge by poisoning the servers that LayerZero’s verifier relied on to check transactions.

Kelp, the source said, is planning on saying the DVN that was compromised via what it calls a “sophisticated state-sponsored attack” was LayerZero’s own infrastructure, not a third-party verifier.

Attackers compromised two of LayerZero’s own servers that check whether cross-chain transactions are legitimate, then flooded the backup servers with junk traffic to force LayerZero’s verifier onto the compromised ones.

All of that infrastructure was built and run by LayerZero, not Kelp, the source claimed.

Advertisement

The source contested LayerZero’s framing of the “1/1 configuration” as a fringe choice made against guidance. LayerZero’s post-mortem said KelpDAO chose a 1-of-1 DVN setup despite expressing recommendations to configure multi-DVN redundancy.

A “1/1 configuration” means only a single validator must sign off on a cross-chain message for the bridge to act on it, leaving the system with no second check to catch a compromised or forged instruction. A multi-validator configuration (such as 2/3, 3/5, etc.) ensures there is no single point of failure that can approve a forged message on its own.

They added that, through a direct communications channel with LayerZero, which has been open since July 2024, they produced no specific recommendation for Kelp to change the rsETH DVN configuration.

LayerZero’s own quickstart guide and default GitHub configuration point to a 1/1 DVN setup, the source told CoinDesk, adding 40% of protocols on LayerZero are currently using the same configuration.

Advertisement

The configuration Kelp ran also appears in LayerZero’s own V2 OApp Quickstart, where the sample layerzero.config.ts wires every pathway with one required DVN and no optional DVNs. That’s the same 1/1 structure.

Kelp’s core restaking contracts were not touched, and the exploit was isolated to the bridge layer, they added. Its emergency pause, 46 minutes after the drain, blocked two follow-up attempts that would have released an additional ~$200 million in rsETH.

CoinDesk reached out to LayerZero for comment on the story and didn’t hear back by the time of publication.

‘Deflecting responsibility’

Security researchers are also not buying LayerZero’s isolated framing, which pinned the blame on Kelp.

Advertisement

Kelp is a liquid restaking protocol. Its core competency is staking infrastructure, EigenLayer integration, and liquid staking token management. When integrating with LayerZero, Kelp relied on LayerZero’s documentation, their defaults, and their team’s guidance to make configuration decisions, the source claimed.

Yearn Finance core team developer Artem K, who is popularly known as @banteg on X, posted a technical review of LayerZero’s public deployment code and said that the reference setup ships with single-source verification defaults across every major chain, including Ethereum, BSC, Polygon, Arbitrum and Optimism.

That deployment also leaves a public endpoint exposed that leaks the list of configured servers to anyone who queries it.

Banteg flagged in his analysis that he can’t prove which configuration Kelp used, but noted that LayerZero usually asks new operators to use its default setup, which its post-mortem criticized.

Advertisement

Chainlink community manager Zach Rynes put it bluntly on X, alleging that LayerZero was “deflecting responsibility” for its own compromised infrastructure and accused the company of throwing Kelp under the bus for trusting a setup LayerZero itself supported.

As such, LayerZero has said it will no longer sign messages for any application running a single-verifier setup, forcing a protocol-wide migration.

Read more: ‘DeFi is dead’: crypto community scrambles after this year’s biggest hack exposes contagion risk

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Crypto World

Strategy boosts BTC stash to 800k with $2.5B for 34,164 BTC

Published

on

Crypto Breaking News

Strategy, Michael Saylor’s flagship vehicle and the largest public holder of Bitcoin, has surpassed 800,000 BTC in total holdings after its latest purchases. The company disclosed in an 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it bought 34,164 BTC for $2.54 billion between April 13 and 19, at an average price of $74,395 per coin.

The new purchase lifts Strategy’s total BTC under custody to 815,061 coins, purchased for $61.56 billion. The firm had about 780,897 BTC after a $1 billion buy just a week earlier. By coin count, the April tranche ranks as Strategy’s third-largest BTC acquisition, behind 55,500 BTC and 51,780 BTC purchases made in November 2024.

Key takeaways

  • New BTC haul: 34,164 BTC acquired for $2.54 billion (April 13–19), at an average price of $74,395 per coin.
  • Funding mix: Stretch (STRC), the perpetual preferred security, supplied about $2.18 billion (roughly 85.7% of the total proceeds); Class A common stock contributed about $366 million.
  • Record-pace activity via STRC ATM: The STRC at-the-market program delivered two consecutive days of heavy buying, with estimated BTC purchases rising to around 17,204 BTC across 11.9 million and 14.4 million shares sold, according to STRC Live—about a 518% surge versus the four-week average.
  • Cost basis and scale: The purchase price sits slightly below Strategy’s overall average cost basis, reinforcing the company’s long-standing commitment to accumulating BTC.
  • Future dividend signal: Strategy CEO Phong Le has signaled potential semi-monthly dividends for STRC, a unique feature among preferreds, a move the company says could be attractive.

Strategy expands its BTC stake with a mid-April buy

The363,164-BTC addition cements Strategy’s position as the world’s most prominent publicly traded Bitcoin holder. The deal, documented in an 8-K filing, shows the bulk of the purchase was executed through financing channels tied to STRC, the company’s perpetual preferred security. With the new BTC, Strategy’s total holdings stand at 815,061 BTC, a stake amassed for $61.56 billion to date.

For context, Strategy had been holding about 780,897 BTC after a $1 billion purchase a week prior, underscoring a rapid acceleration in accumulation over a short window. The new acquisition sits just below Strategy’s average cost of around $75,527 per BTC, illustrating a cautious approach to price levels over the course of the company’s investment program.

In a regulatory filing, Strategy confirmed the April purchases and reiterated that the company prioritizes a diversified approach to funding its Bitcoin stack, balancing debt-like instruments with equity capital. The size and cadence of the buys highlight how a very large corporate treasury can shape a single-asset narrative, particularly as BTC remains a focal point for corporate treasuries seeking to optimize risk/return over time.

Advertisement

STRC fuels the deal, underscoring the instrument’s role in Strategy’s strategy

The funding structure behind the latest BTC accumulation shows STRC playing a central role. The SEC filing indicates STRC generated $2.18 billion in proceeds from the sale of shares, accounting for roughly 85.7% of the total funding for the new purchase. By contrast, net proceeds from the sale of Class A common stock accounted for about $366 million.

Strategy’s leadership has repeatedly highlighted STRC as a key financing vehicle. Last week, co-founder and executive leadership signaled the potential for STRC to pay semi-monthly dividends, a rarity among preferred securities. In remarks cited by the filing, Strategy CEO Phong Le said, “If we were to move forward with paying STRC semi-monthly, we would be in category one, the only preferred in the world that pays semi-monthly dividends. We think this is unique and attractive.”

ATM program momentum and what it signals

The week’s activity also reflected STRC’s at-the-market program’s capacity to drive large, rapid purchases. STRC Live reported a new daily record on April 13 of about 7,741 BTC tied to the sale of 11.9 million STRC shares, generating more than $1 billion in trading volume. The following day, the program set another record with an estimated 9,364 BTC tied to the sale of 14.4 million shares. Combined, the two days accounted for roughly 17,204 BTC, marking a 518% increase versus the four-week average.

These figures illustrate how a perpetual preferred instrument can work in tandem with a strategic corporate treasury plan to widen exposure to Bitcoin quickly, leveraging market liquidity to scale holdings without committing to large, single-block equity raises.

Advertisement

Market implications and what investors should watch next

Strategy’s latest round of accumulation reinforces the company’s longstanding thesis: Bitcoin remains a core long-term asset, with corporate treasuries willing to deploy significant capital through diversified financing structures. For investors in Strategy and BTC, the coordination between STRC-based funding and large-scale purchases signals a sustained appetite for exposure to Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset rather than a speculative position.

Key questions moving forward include how STRC dividends will evolve, whether subsequent purchases will follow the same financing pattern, and how regulators might view semi-monthly dividend structures tied to a crypto-asset strategy. Market participants will want to monitor further SEC disclosures and STRC Live updates for new guidance on payout schedules and any shifts in the ATM program’s cadence.

As Strategy continues to expand its BTC stash, eyes will remain on the company’s next steps and the potential ripple effects on corporate treasury behavior, Bitcoin price discovery, and the broader crypto market’s adoption by public-market players.

Readers should watch for additional updates from Strategy and STRC in the coming weeks, including any new 8-K filings or official statements on dividend structure and future ATM activity.

Advertisement

Risk & affiliate notice: Crypto assets are volatile and capital is at risk. This article may contain affiliate links. Read full disclosure

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Crypto World

Saylor’s Strategy Boosts Bitcoin Holdings Past 815,000 BTC

Published

on

Saylor’s Strategy Boosts Bitcoin Holdings Past 815,000 BTC

Michael Saylor’s Strategy, the world’s largest public Bitcoin holder, has blasted past 800,000 BTC in total holdings after announcing its latest purchases.

Strategy acquired 34,164 Bitcoin (BTC) for $2.54 billion between April 13 and 19, according to an 8-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.

The buy ranks as Strategy’s third-largest Bitcoin acquisition on record by coin count, behind purchases of 55,500 BTC and 51,780 BTC in November 2024.

Holding around 780,897 BTC after a $1 billion purchase just a week ago, the company now holds 815,061 BTC, purchased for $61.56 billion.

Advertisement
Source: SEC

The new acquisition was made at an average price of $74,395 per coin, slightly below the company’s average acquisition price of $75,527.

Saylor had teased the purchase on Sunday, signaling another large Bitcoin acquisition ahead of the announcement. The company also disclosed on Friday plans to pay Stretch (STRC) dividends twice monthly. STRC is the company’s perpetual preferred security.

“If we were to move forward with paying STRC semi-monthly, we would be in category one, the only preferred in the world that pays semi-monthly dividends. We think this is unique and attractive,” Strategy CEO Phong Le said.

Related: Bitmine ramps up Ether buys, pushes holdings toward 5% of total supply

Strategy’s STRC funds more than 85% of the purchase

Similar to a few recent acquisitions, the majority of Strategy’s latest purchase has been funded through STRC.

Advertisement

According to the filing, STRC generated $2.18 billion, or about 85.7% of total proceeds, while sales of Class A common stock (MSTR) contributed $366 million.

Source: SEC

Last week marked several new records for STRC, including the company’s largest single-day buying spree through its at-the-market, or ATM, program.

On April 13, STRC set a new estimated daily record of about 7,741 BTC, based on the sale of 11.9 million shares through its at-the-market, or ATM, program, generating more than $1 billion in trading volume, according to STRC Live.

The stock set another record the following day, with an estimated 9,364 BTC tied to 14.4 million shares sold through its at-the-market, or ATM, program. The two days combined brought an estimated 17,204 BTC, marking a 518% surge versus the four-week average.

Magazine: Will the CLARITY Act be good — or bad — for DeFi?

Advertisement