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Tether has frozen over $344 million in USDT held in two addresses, an action taken in cooperation with the U.S. government. According to Solid Intel, the addresses are linked to Iran.

Liam 'Akiba' Wright, an analyst at CryptoSlate, has analyzed that while the total value lost to hacks in DeFi and traditional finance (TradFi) was comparable last year, the loss rate relative to transaction volume was 85 times higher for DeFi. Citing IBM data, Wright noted that TradFi institutions lost $2.6 billion to hacks on a transaction volume of approximately $35 quadrillion, a loss rate of 0.00007%. In contrast, DeFi protocols lost $2.8 billion on a volume of $46 trillion, representing a loss rate of 0.006%. Wright warned that this disparity is a significant red flag for the reliability of the DeFi space.

Whale Alert reported that 2,770 BTC has been transferred from an unknown wallet to Kraken. The transaction is valued at about $216 million.

Tether has announced that it has frozen over $344 million in USDT held in two addresses in cooperation with the U.S. government. The action was taken immediately after the addresses were identified to prevent any further transfer of the funds. The freeze was based on information provided by several U.S. law enforcement agencies following the detection of fund flows linked to illicit activities.

The hacker behind the Balancer (BAL) exploit has swapped 13,191 ETH for 386.52 BTC over the past 15 hours, Onchain Lens reported. The transaction is valued at approximately $30.54 million. The hacker still holds 8,000 ETH, worth around $18.52 million, and may conduct additional swaps. Balancer previously suffered a loss of $137.4 million from an exploit last year.

According to CNN, U.S. Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are scheduled to participate in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi.

Iran's foreign minister is set to present the country's initiative for ending the war, Tasnim News Agency reported.

A spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry told Iranian state media that Foreign Minister Araghchi's regional tour will include consultations on the latest efforts by the U.S. and Israel to end the war against Iran.

Independent researcher Giancarlo Relli has successfully cracked a 15-bit Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) key using public quantum hardware, claiming a one BTC (approx. $78,000) bounty from Project Eleven, CoinDesk reported. The feat marks the largest quantum attack demonstration to date, representing a 512-fold increase in scale over a record set last September. While this does not pose an immediate threat to Bitcoin's 256-bit security system, experts have pointed out that quantum attacks are materializing faster than anticipated. The estimated number of physical qubits required to crack 256-bit encryption has recently fallen to under 500,000.

WLFI announced it has selected MovaLab as one of its first supernode operators to manage network operations. The project plans to collaborate with MovaChain to expand the use cases for the stablecoin USD1 into the AI and payment services sectors. WLFI is currently recruiting additional supernode operators to expand its network and stabilize its system as it continues to build out its ecosystem.

Whale Alert reported that 250 million USDC has been minted at the USDC Treasury.

Whale Alert reported that 250 million USDC has been minted at the USDC Treasury.

According to data from prediction market Polymarket, there is an 83% probability that Kevin Warsh will be appointed chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve before May 15. The probability of his appointment before June 30 stands at 98%.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Hegseth announced that the U.S. Navy's blockade of Iranian ports, in effect since April 13, will continue for as long as necessary. Speaking at a Pentagon press conference on April 24 alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Cain, Hegseth stated that 34 ships have been turned back by the U.S. Navy to date. He added that an aircraft carrier is scheduled to join the blockade operation within a few days. Hegseth also revealed that the U.S. military seized two vessels belonging to Iran's "shadow fleet" in the Indian Ocean, stressing that the expanding blockade is spreading globally. He warned that if Iran lays mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. would destroy them without hesitation, responding in a manner similar to how it deals with drug smuggling ships in the Caribbean. Hegseth concluded by stating that this should not be America's fight alone, adding that the era of Europe and Asia free-riding is over.

Nasdaq-listed Aurelion (AURE) announced that it holds 33,318 Tether Gold (XAUT), valued at approximately $157 million as of April 23. The company has staked 10,000 XAUT as yield-generating collateral, leaving the remaining 23,318 XAUT unstaked.

The Ethereum Foundation announced it has entered into an agreement to sell 10,000 ETH via an over-the-counter (OTC) deal at an average price of $2,378. The counterparty for the trade is BitMNR (Bitmine). According to the foundation, the funds raised will be used for its operations and activities.

The White House said it is confident the Senate will move quickly to confirm Kevin Warsh as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve.

South Africa's Ministry of Finance has released a draft regulation aimed at controlling cryptocurrency capital, Wu Blockchain reported. Under the proposed rules, crypto transactions over a certain amount must be processed through authorized financial institutions, and global remittances will require pre-approval. Additionally, any assets held overseas must be declared. Violators face potential penalties including the freezing or confiscation of their crypto assets, fines, or imprisonment for up to five years.

The U.S. Department of Justice is expected to conclude its criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Powell as early as today, ABC News reported, citing multiple sources.

A coalition of more than 20 crypto companies and organizations, led by the U.S. crypto lobbying group the DeFi Education Fund (DEF), has asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to formalize its guidance on DeFi interfaces into official regulations. According to Eleanor Terrett, host of "Crypto in America," the group stated that informal guidance is insufficient to ensure long-term regulatory clarity. The SEC previously issued guidance suggesting that some DeFi front-ends and wallets may not be subject to broker-dealer regulations. However, the industry is concerned that without formal rules, the SEC could later expand its definition of a broker to include software developers.

London-based asset management firm Abraxas Capital deposited 4,835 BTC, worth $378 million, to Kraken in the past hour, Lookonchain reported. The firm also deposited 6,000 XAUT ($28 million) across Binance, Bybit, OKX, and Bitfinex. Deposits to exchanges are typically interpreted as a precursor to selling.

The three major U.S. stock indices opened higher today. - S&P 500: +0.38% - Nasdaq: +0.6% - Dow Jones: +0.1%

The European Central Bank (ECB) is collaborating with the European Card Payments Cooperation (ECPC), Nexo, and the Berlin Group to reduce the costs associated with introducing the digital euro. According to Cointelegraph, the agreement will enable the ECB to leverage existing open payment standards to support a range of payment methods, including "tap-to-pay" transactions, connections between merchants and payment services, and phone number-based transfers.

Coinbase announced on April 24 that it will list BLEND for spot trading.

Tron (TRX) founder Justin Sun has deposited 120 million SPK, valued at $5.51 million, to HTX, according to a report from ai_9684xtpa. The tokens were acquired through Spark (SPK) airdrops and staking. Deposits to an exchange are often interpreted as an intention to sell.