Spanish police arrest six over $20M AI-powered investment scam

Authorities in Spain have arrested six people who helped operate a global AI-powered investment scam that stole over $20 million from at least 208 victims. 

The scammers would swindle victims up to three times. After stealing an initial sum through the investment scam, the fraudsters contacted victims twice more, masquerading as investment managers and then as authorities, offering to recover the stolen funds for a fee, Spanish police said in an April 7 statement. 

The scammers used deepfake ads of “national personalities” promising high returns on crypto investments, and would occasionally pose as financial advisers or even feign romantic interest to lure in victims.  

Experts have been warning of a rise in AI-enhanced scams. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis said in its Feb. 13 Crypto Scam Revenue 2024 report that generative AI is making “scams more

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Lawyer sues US homeland dept to probe supposed Satoshi Nakamoto meeting

A crypto lawyer has sued the US Department of Homeland Security, alleging the agency may know who created Bitcoin — compelling the department to share what it knows. 

The Freedom of Information Act lawsuit was filed by James Murphy, who based his accusations on claims made by DHS Special Agent Rana Saoud at a conference in April 2019, where she said a few of her colleagues had previously met with four people involved in creating Bitcoin.

“My FOIA lawsuit simply asks for the notes, email and other documents relating to that alleged interview,” Murphy posted to X after announcing the April 7 suit.  

“IF the interview really happened as the DHS Agent claimed, there should be documentation of the substance of that meeting,” added Murphy, who goes by MetaLawMan on X.

Source: James Murphy

Speaking

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Former Kraken execs acquire real state firm Janover, disclose SOL treasury plans

A team of former Kraken executives has taken control of Janover, with Joseph Onorati, former chief strategy officer at Kraken, stepping in as chairman and CEO, following the group’s purchase of over 700,000 common shares and all Series A preferred stock.

Parker White, former director of engineering at Kraken, was appointed as the new chief investment officer and chief operating officer. The group bought 728,632 shares of Janover common stock and all 10,000 shares of Series A preferred stock. Marco Santori, former chief legal officer at Kraken, will join the board.

Janover is a real estate financing company that connects lenders and buyers of commercial properties. The company stock price saw an 840% rise on April 7 as part of the deal.

According to a statement, the company’s new leadership has plans to create a Solana (SOL) reserve treasury. The plans

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Corporate Bitcoin treasuries drop more than $4B on US tariff hike impact

Corporate Bitcoin (BTC) treasuries collectively shed more than $4 billion in value after US President Donald Trump’s tariffs triggered a global market sell-off, data shows. 

As of April 7, corporate Bitcoin holdings are worth approximately $54.5 billion in the aggregate, down from roughly $59 billion before April 2, according to data from BitcoinTreasuries.net.

The cryptocurrency’s volatility has also weighed on publicly traded Bitcoin holders’ share prices.

The Bitwise Bitcoin Standard Corporations ETF (OWNB) — an exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking a diverse basket of corporate Bitcoin holders — has lost more than 13% since Trump announced sweeping US import tariffs on April 2, according to Yahoo Finance.

Even shares of Strategy — the de facto Bitcoin hedge fund founded by Michael Saylor that pioneered corporate Bitcoin buying — are down, clocking losses of more

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Bitcoin on verge of largest ‘price drawdown’ of the bull market — Analyst

Bitcoin’s (BTC) 26.62% decline from its $109,500 all-time high is en route to becoming the deepest drawdown of the current bull market cycle, according to CryptoQuant head of research, Julio Moreno.

Bitcoin price drawdown analysis. Source: X

Bitcoin has experienced significant drawdowns in past cycles, with a notable 83% drop from its peak in 2018 and a 73% correction from all-time highs (ATH) in 2022. In comparison, the current decline of 26.62%, while substantial, remains less severe than previous bear markets.

This suggests that even though the current downturn is impactful, it has not yet reached the intensity of previous cycles. However, crypto and macro resource ‘ecoinometrics’ said that Bitcoin might struggle to stage an immediate turnaround. The analysts explained,

“Historically, when the NASDAQ 100 falls below its long-term year-on-year average return, Bitcoin tends

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Crypto bull market ‘hasn't started yet’ — LONGITUDE panel

Crypto’s worst quarter since the FTX crisis has many investors worried about the end of the bull market, but according to an industry panel, Bitcoin and altcoins’ parabolic moves haven’t even begun yet. 

In a panel discussion at the LONGITUDE by Cointelegraph event in Paris, France, MN Capital founder Michael van de Poppe said he thinks the bull market is “actually getting started from this point.” 

While it’s hard to believe that following Bitcoin’s (BTC) recent plunge below $80,000 on global tariff woes, “we know from history” that chaotic sell-offs create favorable conditions for a reversal, he said.

Van de Poppe drew parallels between the current market dump and the COVID-19 crash in 2020, when Bitcoin plunged by nearly 40% in a single day.

“That was the actual bottom, and since then, Bitcoin went 20x,” said van de Poppe. 

Cointelegraph Managing Editor Gareth Jenkinson, left,

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Bitcoin, showing 'signs of resilience', beats stocks, gold as equities fold — Binance

Bitcoin (BTC) is showing “signs of resilience” even as stocks and the broader cryptocurrency market plunge amid a global market sell-off after US President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on US imports last week, Binance Research said. 

As of mid-day trading on April 7, Bitcoin is up almost 1% to nearly $79,000. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 — an index of large US stocks — is essentially flat and front-month gold futures are down around 1.5%, according to Google Finance.

“Even in the wake of recent tariff announcements, BTC has shown some signs of resilience, holding steady or rebounding on days when traditional risk assets faltered,” Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, said in an April 7 research report.  

Notably, Bitcoin’s supply of long-term holders continues to rise, “reflecting conviction and limited capitulation during recent volatility,” Binance said.

On April 2, Trump said he was

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US govt. sets AI policies across agencies

The US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued two directives specifying policies and deadlines for deploying AI tools that enhance public services, providing a roadmap for implementing US President Donald Trump’s executive order advance US “dominance” in the use and development of artificial intelligence.

According to two memorandums from April 3, all government agencies “should invest in the AI marketplace and maximize the use of AI products and services that are developed and produced in the United States.” The memorandums list various deadlines for the adoption of AI, including a 270-day deadline to update policies and procedures.

In early 2025, Trump took significant steps to reshape US policy on emerging technologies by repealing former President Joe Biden’s 2023 executive order on AI safety — arguing it imposed excessive regulations that stifled innovation — and declaring his intention to make the US the “world capital”of AI and cryptocurrency.

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Ethereum price falls to 2-year low, but pro traders still have hope

Ether (ETH) price dropped to $1,410 on April 7, marking its lowest level since March 2023. This sharp decline triggered liquidations of leveraged ETH futures worth over $370 million in 2 days, according to CoinGlass data. However, the altcoin managed to recover above the $1,500 mark as the S&P 500 index reclaimed its psychological 5,000 support level.

Ether/USD (blue) vs. total crypto market capitalization (magenta). Source: TradingView / Cointelegraph

Over the past 30 days, Ether has underperformed the broader cryptocurrency market by 14%. Despite this, professional traders are not yet ready to turn bearish, as suggested by Ethereum’s derivatives data and onchain metrics. While this data does not guarantee that Ether’s price has reached its bottom, the reduced demand for bearish positions below $1,600 offers some reassurance for bullish investors.

Ether 2-month futures annualized premium. Source: laevitas.ch

On April 7, the Ether monthly futures

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Bloomberg analyst predicts Bitcoin could sink back to $10,000

Diving into the chaos of global markets, Bloomberg Senior Commodity Strategist Mike McGlone warns more turmoil could be on the way.

In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, McGlone points to deepening market sell-offs, intensified by US President Donald Trump’s ongoing tariff wars, and forecasts a sharp correction in crypto assets. He predicts Bitcoin could tumble to $10,000, citing excessive speculation and overvaluation within the digital asset space.

“Look at Dogecoin — it still has a $20 billion market cap. It should go to zero. The whole space needs purging, just like the dot-com bubble did.”

According to McGlone, Bitcoin’s current price could face significant downward pressure as part of the broader market resets. Despite the relatively supportive regulatory environment, he cautions that Bitcoin’s “digital gold” narrative is facing a stress test.

“Anybody who bought ETFs is learning the hard way. They did not buy digital gold. They bought more of a value of leveraged

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