US sanctions 8 crypto wallets tied to Garantex, Houthis

The US Treasury Department sanctioned eight cryptocurrency wallet addresses linked to Russian crypto exchange Garantex and the Houthis. The United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned eight crypto addresses that data from blockchain forensic firms Chainalysis and TRM Labs had linked to the organizations. Two are deposit addresses at major crypto platforms, while …

Crypto donations top $1B in 2024, gain traction after Myanmar, Thailand quake

Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao donated over half a million dollars worth of crypto to the earthquake disaster relief effort in Thailand and Myanmar, in another testament to the growing utility of blockchain-based emergency charity efforts. Zhao donated 1,000 BNB (BNB) tokens worth almost $600,000 to the disaster relief funds for the region on March …

Alabama, Minnesota lawmakers join US states pushing for Bitcoin reserves

Lawmakers in the US states of Minnesota and Alabama filed companion bills to identical existing bills that if passed into law, would allow each state to buy Bitcoin. The Minnesota Bitcoin Act, or HF 2946, was introduced to the state’s House by Republican Representative Bernie Perryman on April 1, following an identical bill introduced on …

Bitcoin gets $71K target as tariffs deal rare US business outlook slump

Bitcoin (BTC) faces conditions similar to the 2022 bear market bottom as US business sees “very high risk” to come. In his latest analysis, Charles Edwards, the founder of quantitative Bitcoin and digital asset fund Capriole Investments, queried when the US would start printing money. ”Higher than expected” US tariffs pressure Bitcoin Bitcoin reacted noticeably …

Treasure DAO announces huge pivot in hopes of extending runway to February

Decentralized video game ecosystem Treasure DAO is restructuring as “a matter of survival” to extend its financial runway to at least February 2026. Treasure DAO’s chief contributor John Patten says in an April 2 video posted to X that he has resumed a leadership role and is taking a plan to the DAO to streamline …

Did ChatGPT come up with Trump’s tariff rate formula?

There’s a crazy theory on social media that US President Donald Trump’s newly announced reciprocal tariff plan — which hits all countries with a minimum 10% tariff — could have been designed by an artificial intelligence chatbot. Only a short period after Trump announced the tariffs at the White House Rose Garden on April 2, …

Bitcoiner speculates ‘massive’ bot spam briefly took down Bitcoin mailing list

One of Bitcoin’s key communication tools used to discuss potential protocol changes was knocked out for several hours starting on April 2, with one moderator speculating it may have been a targeted attack assisted by bots.  For several hours across April 2 and 3, Bitcoin core developers and researchers were unable to interact on Google …

Hackers are selling counterfeit phones with crypto-stealing malware

Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky says it has uncovered thousands of counterfeit Android smartphones sold online with preinstalled malware designed to steal crypto and other sensitive data.  The Android devices are sold at reduced prices, cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Labs said in an April 1 statement, but are riddled with a version of the Triada Trojan that infects …

US House committee passes stablecoin-regulating STABLE Act

The US House Financial Services Committee has passed a Republican-backed stablecoin framework bill, which will now head to the House floor for a full vote. The Committee passed the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy, or STABLE Act, with a 32-17 vote on April 2. The bill would provide rules around payment …

DDoS attacks now a dominant means of waging political cyber-warfare

Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks are outpacing many traditional cyber threats and are no longer just a tool but a “dominant geopolitical weapon,” according to network security firm Netscout. Global DDoS activity increased by 12.7% in the second half of 2024 compared to the first half, totaling almost 9 million attacks, according to the firm.  A …