Bitcoin DeFi surge may boost BTC demand and adoption — Binance

The value locked in Bitcoin-based decentralized finance (BTCFi) has surged by more than 2,700% over the past year, potentially transforming Bitcoin from a passive store of value into a productive, yield-bearing asset, according to new research from Binance.

BTCFi is a new technological paradigm that aims to bring decentralized finance capabilities to Bitcoin’s base layer. It is one of the fastest-growing crypto sectors, reaching a total value locked (TVL) of over $8.6 billion.

The growing value of BTCFi, “along with potential interest rate cuts, may reinforce positive sentiment for Bitcoin in the medium and long term,” Binance Research wrote in a report shared with Cointelegraph.

Bitcoin DeFi, total value locked, 2025 chart. Source: Binance Research

If the BTCFi sector’s growth trajectory continues, it could open up “new opportunities for Bitcoin holders to generate yield through lending, liquidity provision, and other DeFi mechanisms,” a Binance spokesperson told Cointelegraph, adding:

“This may

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Babylon users unstake $21M in Bitcoin following token airdrop

More than $21 million worth of Bitcoin was unstaked from the Babylon protocol in the 24 hours after the platform’s token airdrop, according to blockchain data shared by a developer.

On April 4, Bitfeed developer Mononaut shared that in the previous 24 hours, 256 Bitcoin (BTC) had been unstaked from the staking protocol. Mononaut said that the unstaking transactions paid 1.35 BTC in fees and consumed 1.318 Megavirtualbytes (MvB) of blockspace. This means the transactions generated high fees and occupied roughly a third of an entire Bitcoin block. 

The activity followed Babylon’s 600 million airdrop of its native token, BABY, which was distributed to early users and contributors.

Related: Bitcoin L2 ’honeymoon phase’ is over, most projects will fail — Muneeb Ali

Babylon airdrops 600 million tokens to early adopters

In a previous Cointelegraph interview, Babylon co-founder Fisher Yu said

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Zero-click attacks: How your wallet can be hacked without a click

What are zero-click attacks?

Zero-click attacks allow bad actors to access your cryptocurrencies without any input from you.

Imagine opening your crypto wallet one day and discovering that it’s all gone. You didn’t download any viruses or click on suspicious links. The funds just aren’t there. It’s possible you have fallen victim to a zero-click attack.

A zero-click attack is a digital threat that allows hackers to access your wallet without any interaction from you.

While having your wallet hacked without clicking anything sounds impossible, these threats are the latest to watch out for if you want to protect your crypto wallet.

How zero-click attacks work

Zero-click attacks are the latest in an endless variety of crypto wallet hacks.

Typically, hackers gain access to your wallet when you accidentally download malicious software or click on a suspicious link,

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AI and blockchain — A match made in heaven

Opinion by: Merav Ozair, PhD

Tech moguls cannot stop heralding the artificial intelligence revolution — from Bill Gates to Sundar Pichai to Jensen Huang — signaling that agentic AI and robotics will claim our jobs and act as our autonomous assistants performing on our behalf in our professional and personal lives.

Whether these scenarios happen in a few years or are decades away, we will most likely evolve into that future in some manner, and technology, once again, will reshape our lives. Without the support of blockchain technology, however, it would be quite difficult, and potentially impossible, for agentic AI and robotics to evolve to what its proponents expect them to.

If we expect these services and devices to act autonomously, security, privacy, transparency and accountability will be at the top of our minds. These areas are where blockchain shines and can support AI weaknesses to facilitate the scaling and evolution of this

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Arthur Hayes loves tariffs as printed money pain is good for Bitcoin

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes says US President Donald Trump’s tariffs may rattle the global economy in some ways, but that same disruption could be exactly what Bitcoin needs to rally.

“Global imbalances will be corrected, and the pain papered over with printed money, which is good for BTC,” Hayes said in an April 3 X post.

Several factors contribute to Bitcoin’s potential pump

“Some of y’all are running scurred, but I LOVE TARIFFS,” Hayes said. 

His comments come just a day after it was announced that the Trump administration will hit all countries with a 10% tariff starting April 5, with some countries facing even larger rates, such as China facing a 34% tariff, the European Union 20%, and Japan 24%. 

Hayes explained that tariffs positively impact Bitcoin’s (BTC) price for several reasons. 

Bitcoin is trading at $83,150 at the time

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Fortnite doubles down on crypto joke with another secret ‘Dill Bits’ location

Online battle royale shooter Fortnite has just added a new secret “Dill Bits” server mine location to its latest map update — prompting a small spike in an otherwise obscure memecoin.

Videos on social media show a new “Dill Bit” server farm location in the game — made to look like a cryptocurrency mining operation. There are other locations on the map where it has appeared.

Fortnite added a Bitcoin mine to the new map pic.twitter.com/z8ABokLG2b

— Documenting ₿itcoin 📄 (@DocumentingBTC) April 3, 2025

Players in the game can collect Dill Bits by destroying the equipment. It’s a unique resource that is typically hard to obtain.

Dill Bits memecoin spikes

Solana-based memecoin Dill Bits, inspired by the Fortnite in-game currency, spiked 200% to $0.0005 on April 4 as the crypto community also took notice of the latest addition.

Fortnite introduced Dill Bits as an in-game currency in February as a jest toward crypto. However,

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EU could fine Elon Musk’s X $1B over illicit content, disinformation

European Union regulators are reportedly mulling a $1 billion fine against Elon Musk’s X, taking into account revenue from his other ventures, including Tesla and SpaceX, according to The New York Times.

EU regulators allege that X has violated the Digital Services Act and will use a section of the act to calculate a fine based on revenue that includes other companies Musk controls, according to an April 3 report by the newspaper, which cited four people with knowledge of the plan.

Under the Digital Services Act, which came into law in October 2022 to police social media companies and “prevent illegal and harmful activities online,” companies can be fined up to 6% of global revenue for violations.

A spokesman for the European Commission, the bloc’s executive branch, declined to comment on this case to The New York

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Coinbase Institutional files for XRP futures trading with CFTC

US crypto exchange Coinbase has filed with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to launch futures contracts for Ripple’s XRP token.

“We’re excited to announce that Coinbase Derivatives has filed with the CFTC to self-certify XRP futures — bringing a regulated, capital-efficient way to gain exposure to one of the most liquid digital assets,” stated Coinbase Institutional on April 3. 

The firm added that it anticipates the contract going live on April 21.

According to the certification filing, the XRP (XRP) futures contract will be a monthly cash-settled and margined contract trading under the symbol XRL.

The contract tracks XRP’s price and is settled in US dollars. Each contract represents 10,000 XRP, currently worth about $20,000 at $2 per token.

Contracts can be traded for the current month and two months ahead, and trading will be paused as a

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Altcoins are set for one last big rally, but just a few will benefit — Analyst

Altcoins may have just one last rally this cycle, but only those with real utility and strong network activity will see price gains, according to an analyst. 

“I think there will be one more breadth thrust from altcoins. The question is, is it a sustained rally that we will see for six to twelve months,” Real Vision chief crypto analyst Jamie Coutts told Real Vision co-founder Raoul Pal on an April 3 X livestream.

Network activity will be the ‘north star’ for how to trade crypto

“At this stage, I am not too sure, but I do believe that quality altcoins where activity returns, activity drives prices …we will definitely see a recovery in some of these more high-quality names,” Coutts said.

Cointelegraph reported in January that there were over 36 million altcoins in existence. However, Ethereum still holds the majority share of total

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Genius Group says it’s been banned from buying more Bitcoin

Singapore-based artificial intelligence firm Genius Group says it’s temporarily barred from expanding its Bitcoin treasury after a US court order has banned it from selling shares, raising funds and using investor funds to buy more Bitcoin.

A New York District court issued the preliminary injunction (PI) and temporary restraining order (TRO) on March 13 in connection with a broader dispute surrounding its merger with Fatbrain AI, the Genius Group said in an April 3 statement.

Fatbrain AI and Genius Group completed a merger and purchase agreement in March 2024, but by Oct. 30, Genius initiated arbitration procedures to terminate, alleging fraud by Fatbrain AI executives connected to the deal.

Source: Roger James Hamilton

In February, Fatbrain AI executives Michael Moe and Peter Ritz filed for the TRO and permanent injunction, blocking Genius Group from selling its shares, raising funds

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