Live Feed

BitMEX Research has proposed a "canary fund" method to address the threat of quantum computing, Cointelegraph reported. The proposal involves a conditional approach that would only freeze vulnerable assets once a quantum attack is proven. BitMEX Research explained that the canary fund would be a special address where anyone could deposit BTC. While this address would have no private key, the funds could theoretically be moved using a quantum computer. If funds were ever moved from this address, it would serve as a signal that a quantum threat is active, automatically triggering the freeze. This method is presented as an alternative to the preemptive freezing of vulnerable BTC suggested in BIP-361, a plan that has faced criticism from the community for being overly interventionist.

South Korea's ruling Democratic Party will begin full-scale discussions on legislating a basic act on digital assets after the June 3 local elections, ZDNet Korea reported. The party's task force discussed the legislative direction for the bill during a meeting of the National Policy Committee's first subcommittee on bill review on March 27. The plan is to continue these discussions in a new standing committee that will be formed following the elections. The party is also in talks with Democratic Party lawmaker Kang Jun-hyeon and People Power Party lawmaker Kang Min-guk, both secretaries of the National Policy Committee, to place the bill on the agenda.

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded approximately $186 million (273.2 billion won) in net inflows on April 15, marking the second consecutive day of positive flows, according to data compiled by Trader T. BlackRock's IBIT led the inflows. -BlackRock (IBIT): +$291.85 million -Fidelity (FBTC): -$47.35 million -Bitwise (BITB): -$8.54 million -Ark Invest (ARKB): -$42.22 million -VanEck (HODL): -$3.7 million -Morgan Stanley (MSBT): +$19.32 million -Grayscale (GBTC): -$23.35 million

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb announced it will temporarily suspend deposits and withdrawals for Starknet (STRK) at 3:00 a.m. UTC on April 20 to support the network's mainnet upgrade.

The price of BLESS fell approximately 55% yesterday due to a token sale by the project's team, EmberCN reported, citing data from Arkham. On-chain data indicates that over the past nine hours, two addresses associated with the project moved a total of 300 million BLESS, valued at $3.83 million. Of this amount, 200 million BLESS ($2.15 million) was deposited into the Bitget exchange, while another 50 million BLESS ($500,000) was bridged to the BSC chain and is currently being sold. According to CoinMarketCap, BLESS is currently trading at $0.009844, down 57.09%.

24-hour crypto futures liquidations The following shows estimated liquidation volumes and position ratios for major crypto perpetual futures over the past 24 hours: - BTC: $68.76 million liquidated (70.37% shorts) - ETH: $48.76 million liquidated (70.93% shorts) - RAVE: $16.43 million liquidated (52.85% shorts)

Iran's political landscape has decisively shifted toward a hardline, confrontational stance following a recent conflict, dimming prospects for negotiated solutions and increasing the risk of long-term regional instability, according to Eamonn Sheridan, an analyst at the investment platform Investinglive. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the removal of high-level Iranian leaders early in the conflict accelerated the rise of more radical figures, with the new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba, being a key figure in this shift. Many members of the new leadership have long-standing ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a history of radical actions, and already occupy key positions within the political and security apparatus. Furthermore, the disruption of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz has become a key pressure tactic for Iran, increasing volatility in global energy markets and adding another layer of economic risk. Despite growing economic pressure and ongoing negotiations, significant differences remain between Iran and the U.S. Sheridan assessed that instead of leading to de-escalation, the war has strengthened the hardliners' grip, expanded their regional influence through the disruption of key energy transport routes, and increased the likelihood of a more entrenched and prolonged confrontation.

Cryptocurrency custody firm Fireblocks has launched an on-chain lending feature called 'Earn,' according to a PR Newswire press release. The feature allows users to generate yield by depositing stablecoins into lending protocols directly from the Fireblocks platform. It operates within the existing Fireblocks environment, enabling clients to utilize their established security and governance frameworks, such as approval workflows and transaction signing policies.

The Democratic Party's Digital Asset Task Force (TF) has welcomed a shift in the stance on stablecoins by Bank of Korea Governor nominee Shin Hyun-song, Etoday reported. The task force stated that the discussion should now move beyond unproductive debates over the necessity of stablecoins and instead focus on how to safely design them and establish a legal framework. The statement follows comments from nominee Shin at a confirmation hearing yesterday, where he signaled a change from his previously critical view. He suggested that won-denominated stablecoins could coexist alongside other currencies in both a complementary and competitive capacity within the future monetary ecosystem.

Aave (AAVE) Labs has announced the launch of Aave Checkpoint, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based governance security system. The system features a multi-layered review process that examines all proposals and payloads before they are executed on-chain. Checkpoint has been operational since last month and has been applied to all governance proposals processed during that period.

An address believed to be associated with Siren (SIREN) has withdrawn 30.07 million SIREN, worth approximately $25.09 million, from the Binance Alpha Wallet since April 5, EmberCN reported. The withdrawal comes amid allegations against the BNB Chain-based AI agent project concerning potential market maker intervention and centralization risks.

Bio Protocol (BIO) has experienced a rapid surge, climbing over 102% in a short period. According to CoinMarketCap, BIO is currently trading at $0.03995, up 102.65%.

Ether.fi announced via its official social media that it has completed the full migration of its native credit card to the OP Mainnet. According to the announcement, more than 70,000 active cards, over 300,000 accounts, and more than $220 million (approximately 300 billion won) in Total Value Locked (TVL) have now been officially onboarded to the Optimism network.

Binance has announced the listing of GENIUS perpetual futures.

South Korean financial authorities are set to strengthen financial education for military personnel amid a rising number of cases where soldiers have suffered significant losses from reckless, debt-fueled investments in stocks and cryptocurrencies, the Seoul Economic Daily reported. On April 16, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) announced plans to submit a revised enforcement decree of the Financial Consumer Protection Act to a Cabinet meeting scheduled for April 21. The amendment would add the Minister of National Defense to the list of officials authorized to nominate members to the Financial Education Council. The report noted that the trend coincides with the full allowance of smartphone use within military barracks and an increase in monthly salaries to between 750,000 won ($543) and 1.5 million won ($1,090) this year. Authorities anticipate that the move will lead to a more systematic educational approach. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) will cooperate with the Ministry of National Defense to provide training on the dangers of high-risk investments and asset management from enlistment through to discharge.

Circle has launched a new solution for high-frequency cross-chain USDC payments, Crowdfund Insider reported. The solution allows developers to leverage Circle's Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP). It works by having a local fulfiller front the funds on the recipient's designated chain, with the platform later completing the cross-chain settlement in a batch. This approach reduces the operational burden of individual cross-chain transfers, making it suitable for platforms that handle a large volume of payments.

Solv Protocol (SOLV) has launched a native Bitcoin yield model by integrating with the RGB protocol and Utexo, a Lightning Network-based settlement layer, according to a GlobeNewswire press release. The partnership aims to address the lack of settlement infrastructure for Bitcoin and Lightning-based stablecoins.

Adam Back, CEO of Bitcoin-focused financial infrastructure developer Blockstream, said that while the threat from quantum computers is unlikely to materialize immediately, the company is already taking proactive measures against potential quantum attacks. According to Cointelegraph, he stated that Blockstream is researching the implementation of hash-based signatures on its Bitcoin Layer 2, the Liquid Network. Back stressed that advance preparation is crucial, noting it is much safer to implement changes in a controlled manner than to react during a crisis. He also explained that the Taproot protocol enables the introduction of new signature methods without impacting existing users.

An Iranian official warned that a U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz could lead to the collapse of the ceasefire agreement between the two countries, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported on April 16. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Baghaei described a potential blockade as a "provocative act" that could nullify the truce, adding that the Iranian military is prepared to take necessary action.

Coinbase has announced the addition of DIEM and OPG to its listing roadmap.

Patrick Witt, Executive Director of the U.S. President's Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, stated that the United States will fall behind in the cryptocurrency competition if a sustainable market structure framework is not established, Cointelegraph reported.

Tether (USDT) has participated in a $134 million private investment in Stablecoin Development Corporation (SDEV), The Block reported. Other participants in the round include R01 Fund, Sky Frontier Foundation, and Framework Ventures. SDEV is a publicly traded company designed to offer structured investment opportunities within the stablecoin industry and is currently making strategic investments in the Sky (formerly MakerDAO) ecosystem. The company currently holds 9.15% of the total SKY supply, which amounts to approximately 2.15 billion SKY.

Investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald donated $10 million in January to Fellowship, a U.S. Super PAC supporting pro-crypto politicians, Bloomberg reported. According to a Federal Election Commission (FEC) disclosure, Fellowship's chairman, Jesse Spiro, is the head of government affairs at stablecoin issuer Tether (USDT). Fellowship has now joined other pro-crypto political groups, such as Fairshake—backed by Coinbase, Ripple, and Andreessen Horowitz—in competing to expand the industry's political influence.

CoinMarketCap's Altcoin Season Index is currently at 37, an increase of five points from yesterday. The index is calculated by comparing the price performance of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins and wrapped tokens, against that of Bitcoin over the past 90 days. An "altcoin season" is declared when 75% of these top 100 coins outperform Bitcoin over that period; otherwise, it is considered a "Bitcoin season." A score closer to 100 indicates a stronger altcoin season.

Blockchain infrastructure firm DSRV is set to enhance its USDC utilization framework and develop a concrete payment and settlement model for institutional adoption, the company announced on April 16, according to Newsis. The initiative, designed for real-world business environments, will be based on Circle's enterprise platform, "Circle Mint."