Bitget’s $12B VOXEL frenzy fizzled fast, but questions remain

A little-known VOXEL trading pair on cryptocurrency exchange Bitget suddenly clocked over $12 billion in volume on April 20, dwarfing the metrics of the same contract on Binance. The activity centered on VOXEL/USDT perpetual futures, where traders reported instant order fills — an anomaly many described as a bug that allowed savvy traders to rack …

Bitcoin longs cut $106M — Are Bitfinex BTC whales turning bearish above $86K?

Despite Bitcoin’s (BTC) price reaching its highest level in over three weeks, traders on Bitfinex reduced their leveraged long (bullish) positions on margin contracts by more than $100 million between April 17 and April 19. This reduction has led to speculation that Bitcoin whales may be anticipating a price correction or, at the very least, …

El Salvador works with Nvidia to develop sovereign AI infrastructure

El Salvador, the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, is working with the computer chip giant Nvidia to implement artificial intelligence for national development. El Salvador signed a letter of intent to collaborate with Nvidia on “sovereign AI to drive innovation and economic growth,” the National Bitcoin Office (ONBTC) of …

CZ receives fake ‘Grok’ coins amid new wave of Elon Musk scam tokens

Scammers are once again capitalizing on the popularity of Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok, with fake tokens again emerging as part of potential phishing attacks. A wallet linked to former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao received 90 million fake Grok (GROK) tokens on April 21, according to blockchain security firm PeckShield. The tokens are …

Gold-backed vs USD-backed stablecoins: Key differences

What are gold-backed stablecoins, and how do they work? Gold-backed stablecoins are digital currencies pegged to physical gold reserves and designed to maintain a stable value. The concept of gold-backed digital currencies dates back to the early days of cryptocurrency, with developers aiming to create a reliable store of value.  Each gold-backed stablecoin represents a …

Circle, BitGo about to apply for bank charter, others may follow: WSJ

Major cryptocurrency firms, including stablecoin issuer Circle and crypto custodian BitGo, are reportedly considering applying for bank charters or licenses. According to an April 21 Wall Street Journal report citing people familiar with the matter, Circle, BitGo and other firms are considering applying for some form of banking license. Other firms cited include the publicly …

Michael Saylor’s Strategy bagged 6,556 Bitcoin for $555.8M last week

Michael Saylor’s Strategy, one of the world’s largest publicly listed corporate Bitcoin holders, added another major purchase to its growing portfolio as the cryptocurrency trades near $85,000. Strategy acquired 6,556 Bitcoin for $555.8 million from April 14–20, at an average price of $84,785 per coin, the firm announced in its latest Form 8-K filing with …

Pavel Durov says Telegram would exit markets before betraying users

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has expressed concerns over the growing threat to private messaging in France and other European Union countries, warning that Telegram would rather exit certain markets than implement encryption backdoors that undermine user privacy. In an April 21 post to his “Du Rove’s channel” on Telegram, he posted an alarming message about the EU’s …

Crypto casino revenue hit $81B in 2024 despite global restrictions

Crypto casinos generated more than $81 billion in revenue in 2024, even as regulators in key jurisdictions continued to block access to the platforms, according to a new report. Citing data from the anti-online-crime platform Yield Sec, the Financial Times reported that wagers paid in crypto in 2024 generated $81.4 billion in gross gaming revenue …

Bitcoin rally above $100K may follow US Treasury buybacks — Arthur Hayes

Investors seeking Bitcoin exposure may be running out of time to purchase below a six-figure price, as US Treasury buybacks may signal the next leg up for the world’s first cryptocurrency. This might be the “last chance” to buy Bitcoin (BTC) below the $100,000 mark, according to Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and chief investment …