Consensys and Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin have joined DeFi United, committing as much as 30,000 ETH to a recovery effort aimed at restoring rsETH backing after a $290 million bridge exploit triggered widespread disruptions across DeFi.

The initiative, led by participants in Aave DAO, aims to support affected users and stabilize rsETH markets, with governance approvals still pending across involved protocols.

The funding is intended to provide immediate liquidity while governance processes continue, with an eye on limiting disruption across DeFi protocols. Sharplink, a publicly traded Ethereum treasury company, has joined in an advisory role to help structure the recovery plan.

Source: Aave on X

DeFi United was announced April 23 by service providers to Aave DAO, with participants including Lido, EtherFi, Ethena, Mantle and Frax, among others.

The recovery effort follows an April 18 exploit that drained roughly 116,500 rsETH, worth about $290 million, from a LayerZero-based bridge operated by Kelp DAO.

The incident triggered disruptions across the DeFi ecosystem, with dozens of protocols pausing some functions. On Aave, the attacker used rsETH as collateral to borrow liquidity, contributing to as much as $200 million in bad debt and forcing the protocol to freeze rsETH markets.

According to LayerZero Labs, the exploit was linked to a configuration issue in Kelp’s setup that relied on a single verification path for cross-chain messages.

Separately, Circle said Monday that its venture arm is purchasing AAVE tokens to support the protocol and broader DeFi ecosystem.

Source: Circle on X

Related: Aave asks Arbitrum to send 30K ETH from Kelp exploiter to ‘DeFi United’

DeFi hacks surge in April

The incident comes amid a wave of recent attacks targeting DeFi protocols. According to DefiLlama, about $729 million has been lost to crypto hacks over the last 90 days, with roughly $623 million occurring in April alone.

The month began with a roughly $280 million exploit of Drift Protocol on April 1, carried out through a social engineering attack by an attacker suspected to have ties to North Korea.

DeFi hacks, February-April 2026. Source: DefiLlama

Two weeks later, Rhea Finance said an attacker exploited a vulnerability in its margin trading feature to manipulate liquidity pools, resulting in roughly $7.6 million in losses, according to CertiK. The protocol has since paused operations and is undergoing a phased recovery, with most funds recovered and some USDT still frozen pending release by Tether.

The string of attacks also includes smaller exploits earlier in the month, such as a $410,000 loss at Dango on April 13, a $392,000 oracle-related incident at Silo Finance on April 3 and a $423,000 access control exploit at Aethir on April 9.

While none of the recent attacks have been conclusively linked to artificial intelligence, researchers say advances in the technology are making it easier to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in DeFi systems. 

In late 2025, researchers at Anthropic found that AI models could identify more than half of known smart contract exploits, highlighting how the technology could accelerate future attacks.

Data from Polymarket shows traders are pricing in a high likelihood of another major crypto hack this year, with odds at 84% by the end of 2026.

Odds of another crypto hack over $100 million. Source: Polymarket

Magazine: AI-driven hacks could kill DeFi — unless projects act now

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

The European Commission announced a package of crypto-related sanctions against Russia in response to the country’s military actions against Ukraine.

In a Thursday notice, the commission said the sanctions targeted Russia’s energy and financial sectors, including a “total sectorial ban on carrying out exchanges with any Russian crypto asset service provider as well as any decentralised platforms enabling crypto trading” that could be used to circumvent the measures.

The EC, composed of 27 member states in the European Union, also prohibited the use of stablecoins pegged to the Russian ruble and the central bank digital currency (CBDC) under development by the Central Bank of Russia.

“This package puts further pressure on Russia to engage in negotiations and do so on terms acceptable for Ukraine,” said the commission. “Every day of further Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure is another day of suffering for the Ukrainian people.”

Source: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

The sanctions package came after a meeting between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussing the bloc’s support for Ukraine amid ongoing military attacks from Russian forces. 

According to the commission, Russia was becoming “increasing[ly] reliant on cryptocurrencies for international transactions” in reaction to global sanctions. This has led to measures targeting entities tied to the country using stablecoins like A7A5 and crypto operators linked to Belarus.

Related: Russia introduces bill to criminalize unregistered crypto services

Iran sanctions also under scrutiny in US

Amid the United States and Israeli military actions against Iran, many lawmakers have been questioning whether the Islamic Republic could be circumventing sanctions using digital assets.

Reports last month suggested that Binance fired individuals responsible for telling executives that that exchange facilitated $1 billion in transactions to entities tied to Iran.

Magazine: AI-driven hacks could kill DeFi — unless projects act now

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Bitcoin (BTC) whales holding between 1,000-10,000 BTC have increased their BTC exposure over the past five months, with the total balance reaching 3.09 million, a level last seen on November 11, 2025.

Short-term data suggest that Bitcoin traders may move toward existing liquidity at $73,700, but futures market activity and the longer-term market structure hint at higher levels above $80,000. 

Bitcoin whales and institutions rebuild BTC exposure

Bitcoin wallets holding between 1,000 and 10,000 BTC have been steadily accumulating since December, adding approximately 240,000 BTC to their balances.

This brings the cohort’s total holdings to around 3.09 million BTC, recovering to pre-correction levels last seen before Bitcoin’s 18% pullback in November 2025, when the price declined to $85,000 from $103,500.

Total BTC balance of large holders. Source: CryptoQuant

The long-term holders (LTHs) continue to absorb supply at a steady pace. LTHs’ balance has reached 14.57 million BTC, aligning with the prior accumulation peaks. The distribution activity was 42,100 BTC sold over the past 30 days, one of the lowest readings in 2026.

BTC long-term holder flow. Source: CryptoQuant

The Crypto Market Compass report from Bitwise highlights a similar trend across institutional flows. Over the last month, the institutional investors have added about 92,900 BTC.

The onchain realized cap flows show only 14,900 BTC in net selling during the same period. This report indicates that the demand from larger players has outpaced sell-side pressure, tightening the available BTC supply.

Rise in BTC institutional demand. Source: Bitwise

Related: First 21-week trend line reclaim since October 2025: Five things to know in Bitcoin this week

BTC double top pattern indicates a short-term liquidity sweep at $74K

The four-hour chart shows a potential double top forming near $79,400 after two quick rejections for BTC over the past week. The second pullback came late Sunday night, with weaker buy volumes, pointing to fading short-term momentum.

Currently at $77,731, the price may rotate toward liquidity pockets near $74,700 and $73,700.

BTC/USDT on the four-hour chart. Source: Coinelegraph/TradingView

The $74,700 level aligns with a prior consolidation range and sits just above the 100-period exponential moving average (EMA). A deeper move into $73,700 would test key higher-time-frame support and a prior higher-low range.

Holding above this zone keeps the broader trend intact and maintains room for a bullish continuation.

The derivatives market activity is adding short-term pressure to Bitcoin price. Crypto analyst Darkfost noted that over $1.2 billion in sell volume hit Binance within an hour, contributing to a sharp intraday decline on Sunday.

The funding rates have also stayed deeply negative, reaching -7% on a 30-day basis, one of the lowest readings ever recorded. 

Bitcoin: taker sell volume on Binance. Source: CryptoQuant

However, such positioning may create conditions for a short squeeze, in which crowded short positions unwind, driving the price higher. A move above $80,000 would invalidate the double-top signal and turn short-term momentum bullish again.

According to MN Capital founder Michaël van de Poppe, the price continues to hold key levels, with upside targets of $85,000-$88,000 still valid for May. The liquidity range between $74,700 and $73,700 now serves as a reset zone, where BTC demand could be tested ahead of another breakout attempt above $80,000. 

Related: Michael Saylor’s Strategy adds 3.2K Bitcoin at nearly $78K per BTC

The CFTC filed a lawsuit against New York on April 24 in the Southern District of New York, seeking a permanent injunction to stop the state from enforcing its gambling laws against federally registered prediction market exchanges.

CFTC New York lawsuit was filed on April 24 in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The CFTC announced that it is seeking a declaratory judgment that federal law gives it exclusive authority to regulate event contracts and a permanent injunction preventing New York from enforcing state gambling statutes against its registrants. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said that “CFTC-registered exchanges have faced an onslaught of state lawsuits seeking to limit Americans’ access to event contracts and undermine the CFTC’s sole regulatory jurisdiction over prediction markets,” adding that New York is “the latest state to ignore federal law and decades of precedent.”

CFTC New York Lawsuit Escalates a Fight Already Spanning Six States

As crypto.news reported, the New York action was triggered directly by the state attorney general suing Coinbase and Gemini earlier that week, alleging their prediction market platforms operated as unlicensed gambling without meeting state gaming licensing requirements or minimum age restrictions. Attorney General Letitia James and Governor Kathy Hochul responded to the CFTC lawsuit by stating that “New York’s gambling laws are designed to protect consumers, whether they are placing bets in a prediction market or a casino,” and vowed to continue defending state law in court. As crypto.news documented, the CFTC had already sued Arizona, Connecticut, and Illinois earlier in April, arguing those states were making “aggressive and overzealous attempts to overstep the CFTC,” with New York’s addition making it the fourth direct state defendant. The CFTC’s core legal argument is that event contracts are classified as swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act, giving the federal agency exclusive jurisdiction and preempting any state gambling statute.

The Third Circuit Ruling That Made New York’s Position Harder

The CFTC’s lawsuit against New York arrives shortly after a significant federal judicial precedent. As crypto.news tracked, the Third US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in April that New Jersey cannot bar Kalshi from offering sports-related event contracts, finding that the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC hold exclusive authority over those markets. That ruling strengthened the federal preemption argument the CFTC is now deploying against New York. Courts in Tennessee have similarly issued temporary restraining orders blocking state enforcement against Kalshi. New York’s case will now be decided in federal district court, where the Third Circuit’s reasoning, while not binding, carries significant persuasive weight. A loss for New York would likely cause other states to drop parallel enforcement actions, while a New York victory would almost certainly accelerate the conflict to the Supreme Court.

What a Resolution Means for Prediction Markets and Crypto

The stakes extend beyond the immediate parties. As crypto.news noted, New York’s lawsuit against Coinbase and Gemini sought at least $2.2 billion in fines from Coinbase and $1.2 billion from Gemini, making the financial exposure from state enforcement potentially existential for smaller prediction market operators. Wisconsin has also sued Polymarket, Kalshi, and Robinhood, seeking forfeiture of profits from Wisconsin residents. If the CFTC prevails across its state lawsuits, prediction markets would operate under a single federal regulatory framework with no state-by-state licensing requirements, a structure that would massively expand their addressable market. If states prevail, prediction markets would face a patchwork of 50 different regulatory environments, effectively operating only in states that permit them.

A bipartisan group of US senators has separately proposed legislation to ban sports and casino-style contracts on CFTC-regulated prediction markets entirely, meaning that even a CFTC victory in court could be reversed by Congress if the political will materializes.

Israel’s Capital Market, Insurance and Savings Authority has greenlit the launch of a shekel-pegged stablecoin by the virtual exchange exchange Bits of Gold.

In a Monday notice, the Israeli regulator said that it had granted approval of the BILS stablecoin after a two-year pilot program of the stablecoin on the Solana blockchain.

Source: LinkedIn

According to the announcement, the stablecoin’s reserve assets will be held in Israel in “designated and separate accounts.” The project was part of a larger effort by the Israel Tax Authority and the country’s Finance ministry to regulate the crypto industry, including by allowing certain stablecoin activities.

“BILS creates a direct bridge between the Israeli shekel and the global digital assets economy, enabling real-time payments, on-chain trading and programmable financial applications based on a regulated local currency,“ said Bits of Gold founder and CEO Youval Rouach.

Related: Zondacrypto CEO goes off radar as Poland probe deepens

As of Monday, the global stablecoin market capitalization was more than $320 billion, dominated by US dollar-pegged stablecoins like Tether’s USDt (USDT).

The launch of BILS, as one of the first Israeli shekel-pegged coins, came as the fiat currency was at a 30-year high against the US dollar, at 1 ILS to 0.34 USD at the time of publication.

Stablecoin yield under scrutiny in US amid market structure debate

In the United States, lawmakers continue to debate provisions within a digital asset market structure bill over stablecoin yield, tokenized equities, and ethics concerns related to US President Donald Trump’s potential conflicts of interest with the industry. The legislation, effectively stalled in the US Senate since July 2025, requires a markup by the chamber’s banking committee before a potential vote.

Magazine: Should users be allowed to bet on war and death in prediction markets?

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Western Union will launch its USDPT stablecoin in May as part of a broader digital assets strategy, CEO Devin McGranahan announced. The stablecoin rollout will integrate with a new network connecting digital wallets to Western Union’s existing retail infrastructure and a planned global Stable Card for payments.

Western Union is embedding digital assets into its core money movement platform, positioning stablecoin settlement as a central feature alongside its legacy remittance and payment services. The USDPT launch represents one of the largest traditional financial institutions moving into stablecoin issuance and crypto infrastructure integration.

Sources: Cointelegraph | The Block | Crypto.news

This article was generated automatically by The Defiant’s AI news system from publicly available sources.

Tether has rolled out an open-source development framework for Bitcoin mining, aiming to give operators and developers a unified control layer over both hardware and software across multiple mining sites. The company described the framework as a modular, scalable option designed to move mining operations away from fragmented, vendor-locked toolsets toward a cohesive stack that can monitor devices, automate workflows and host custom applications from a single interface.

Dubbed a development framework, the kit blends a backend software development kit with user interface tools to enable cross-site oversight. Its architecture exposes standardized functions from mining hardware, allowing independent modules to be added without rewriting the core system. Tether said the design supports a wide range of machines, services and locations, enabling operators to tailor dashboards and automation while preserving a common control layer.

Compatibility spans Windows, macOS and Linux, and the framework is pitched to scale from a single rig to large industrial deployments. In its release notes, Tether highlighted features for automation, continuous monitoring and coordinated hardware management, all aimed at simplifying operations in environments where interoperability has historically been a challenge and vendor lock-in has raised costs.

The MDK builds on Tether’s prior open-source work with Mining OS, expanding the stack with a development layer that makes it easier to build dashboards, workflows and analytics atop existing mining infrastructure. In short, the company frames the release as an evolution of openness in the Bitcoin-mining software ecosystem.

The timing aligns with broader industry activity and capital moves within the crypto mining sector. Last week, Tether disclosed an 8.2% stake in Antalpha, a Bitcoin-focused lender and financing platform with ties to Bitmain, a major hardware supplier. The move underscores a broader convergence between traditional finance-style capital and mining infrastructure developers.

Beyond the pure software story, the wider market context remains deeply linked to the stability and liquidity of crypto rails. Tether is the issuer of USDT, the largest stablecoin by market capitalization, accounting for about $190 billion of the roughly $320.7 billion global stablecoin market, according to DefiLlama data.

Key takeaways

• The Mining Development Kit (MDK) marks a shift toward vendor-agnostic control of mining fleets, offering a unified layer for monitoring, automation and custom building across sites.
• The modular approach lets operators add new hardware integrations and software modules without touching the core system, potentially reducing complexity in mixed-vendor environments.
• MDK extends Tether’s open-source mining stack, following Mining OS, and aims to empower dashboards, workflows and analytics on top of existing infrastructure.
• The development is taking place amid a broader trend of miners diversifying into AI and high-performance computing, supported by large-scale data-center expansions and new financing plans.

Modular control in a fragmented ecosystem

At the heart of MDK is a modular architecture designed to accommodate a wide array of mining hardware. By exposing standardized functions from machines and allowing independent modules to plug in, the framework seeks to reduce the friction that comes with assembling a heterogeneous fleet. Operators can add monitoring, automation and specialized tooling without retooling the entire software stack, which could lower operating costs and shorten deployment cycles for multi-site operations.

The planned cross-platform reach—covering Windows, macOS and Linux—addresses a long-standing pain point for mining operators who mix old and new rigs across geographies. With the framework, operators could potentially orchestrate firmware updates, thermal management, thermals, and energy-use optimization from a single cockpit, rather than juggling disparate tools from several vendors.

Open-source lineage and practical implications

By building on Mining OS, MDK represents a continuation of Tether’s push toward openness in the mining software stack. The company said the new framework is designed to let developers craft dashboards, workflows and analytics that sit atop existing hardware and software setups. For operators, this could translate into more transparent tooling, easier integration with third-party services and more room to customize operations without depending on a single vendor’s ecosystem.

Analysts and observers have long noted that open frameworks can help reduce total cost of ownership and accelerate innovation in mining operations that use diverse hardware from multiple suppliers. The MDK release therefore sits at the intersection of software tooling and strategic resilience—aimed at improving uptime, performance visibility and workflow automation across distributed deployments.

Industry momentum: miners expanding into AI and HPC

The MDK news arrives as a broader segment of the mining industry pursues artificial intelligence and high-performance computing workloads to diversify revenue and make use of power capacity beyond traditional mining. Early movers like CoreWeave have shifted from crypto mining toward cloud-based AI compute since 2019, signaling a broader recalibration of what mining infrastructure can power.

Publicly traded mining operators have followed suit, investing in AI-centric data centers and HPC capabilities. Companies such as Riot Platforms, HIVE Digital, MARA Holdings, TeraWulf and Cipher Mining have publicly signaled or pursued strategies to repurpose capacity toward AI and HPC workloads, aiming to monetize processing power in the AI era.

In recent weeks, financing moves have underscored this shift. Core Scientific signaled plans to raise about $3.3 billion through senior secured notes due in 2031 to fund data-center expansion and debt refinancing. Separately, Hut 8 announced plans to raise approximately $3.25 billion in senior secured notes to support a 245-megawatt AI data center in Louisiana, linked to a long-term lease with Fluidstack valued around $7 billion.

Analysts have also started to map how AI and cloud computing could reshape the profitability and strategic outlook of leading miners. Bernstein analysts recently suggested that IREN, the largest publicly traded Bitcoin miner by market capitalization, may gradually pivot away from mining and toward expanding its AI cloud business over time as the company scales its non-mining operations.

As the sector morphs, observers caution that the balance between traditional mining economics and the emerging AI-driven infrastructure model remains delicate. Open questions include how quickly operators can monetize AI workloads, how financing cycles will adapt to shifting capex needs, and how regulatory developments could influence cross-border data and energy strategies.

Broader market context and transmission effects

While MDK targets the operational layer of mining, the surrounding market environment remains closely tied to the health of stablecoins and digital-asset liquidity. USDT’s dominance—sitting at roughly two-fifths of the stablecoin market by market capitalization—helps underpin a range of on-ramps, liquidity pools and financing arrangements used by mining firms seeking working capital and equipment liquidity. DefiLlama’s data provides a snapshot of this ecosystem and highlights how stablecoins continue to factor into mining and crypto-finance activity.

Industry observers also flagged potential strategic implications for suppliers and operators. An open-source, interoperable framework could encourage more hardware compatibility and reduce the risk of vendor lock-in, potentially shifting negotiating leverage toward mining operators and away from a handful of dominant toolmakers. The Antalpha stake disclosure ties into the broader narrative of financial players deepening exposure to mining infrastructure and equipment financing, a trend that could accelerate collaboration between lenders, equipment providers and miners.

In terms of next steps, the market will be watching for early adopter deployments of the MDK, the breadth of hardware integrations that surface, and how dashboards and analytics built on top of the framework perform in real-world, multi-site environments. Adoption signals—such as new integrations, case studies, and community contributions—will be key indicators of whether MDK becomes a standard layer in the evolving open mining software stack.

Cointelegraph continues to monitor how these developments intersect with the industry’s broader diversification into AI compute and data-center capacity, as well as the financing dynamics that underpin major buildouts across North America and beyond.

Readers should watch for updates on MDK adoption, new partnerships with hardware vendors or service providers, and any regulatory considerations that could shape the adoption curve for open-source mining infrastructure in the months ahead.

Ether (ETH) fell 3.4% to $2,287 on Monday, after its fourth rejection at the $2,400 level since April 14. The price continues to trade below the 100-day moving average, with over $2.5 billion in liquidation risk concentrated near the $2,150 support zone.

Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe also flagged weakness in Ether relative to Bitcoin, raising doubts about the strength of any near-term uptrend. 

Repeat rejections at $2,400 cap ETH’s upside

Ether has failed to break $2,400 four times over the past two weeks, forming a clear triple top pattern on the daily chart. Each retest saw a loss of strength near that level, suggesting supply absorption by sellers.

The 100-day exponential moving average (EMA) near $2,350 continues to act as a dynamic resistance. The price has not held above it on the one-day chart, keeping upside attempts short-lived. 

ETH/USDT on the one-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The support at $2,150 now carries more weight. The level previously acted as resistance and could be tested as a base in the coming days. A move below it opens the door to deeper downside levels.

Liquidation data adds pressure to this zone, with $2.5 billion in leveraged longs sitting below $2,150. A break below this level could trigger forced selling into the $2,050 to $1,900 range.

Ether liquidation map. Source: CoinGlass

MN Capital founder Michaël van de Poppe noted weakness in the ETH/BTC pair. The ratio dropped below 0.032 BTC, removing a key support level tied to prior continuation attempts. 

The ETH/BTC ratio also slipped under the 21-period moving average, signaling fading relative strength against Bitcoin. The next higher-time frame level sits near 0.026 BTC, where buyers previously stepped in.

ETH/BTC chart analysis on Binance. Source: CryptoQuant

Related: BitMine acquires 101,000 ETH despite $6.5B in unrealized losses

ETH futures positions hint at a market reset

On Binance, Ether’s open interest (OI) has dropped to $2.58 billion, matching levels seen when ETH traded near $2,200 earlier this month. The decline points to a reset in leverage following the recent positioning buildup.

ETH: Binance cumulative net taker volume. Source: CryptoQuant

The funding rate offers a clearer signal, sitting near -0.013%, the lowest reading since February. The short positions dominate new activity while earlier long exposure has been reduced.

Crypto analyst Amr Taha noted that this combination places ETH in a shorts-heavy setup with lower leverage. If price holds near current levels, the imbalance between positioning and price could tighten, leading to a breakout sooner than later.

The key zone centers on $2,150, where liquidation risks and the current technical level converge on the daily chart.

Related: ETH price up 10% in April, so why is Ethereum Foundation selling?