Decentral Block Post

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group, which operates the largest financial derivatives exchanges worldwide, recently announced that XRP (XRP) futures contracts will go live on May 19.

According to the April 24 announcement, investors have the option of choosing between micro-sized contracts, featuring 2,500 XRP, or standard contract sizes of 50,000 XRP. All XRP futures contracts will be cash-settled.

In January 2025, the CME Group signaled an impending launch of XRP futures before quietly pulling the related page from its website.

CME’s announcement is the latest in a growing wave of crypto-focused financial products entering the market or awaiting regulatory approval in the US, a sign that cryptocurrencies have reached a new level of institutional acceptance.

The XRP ticker symbol displayed on the CME Group website. Source: CME Group

Related: CME Group taps Google Cloud for pilot asset tokenization program

Bitcoin reserves on cryptocurrency exchanges have dropped to their lowest level in more than six years, as publicly traded companies ramp up their accumulation of the digital asset following the US presidential election, according to Fidelity Digital Assets. 

“We have seen Bitcoin supply on exchanges dropping due to public company purchases — something we anticipate accelerating in the near future,” Fidelity reported on the X social media platform.

Source: Fidelity Digital Assets

Fidelity said the supply of Bitcoin (BTC) on exchanges had fallen to roughly 2.6 million BTC, the lowest since November 2018. More than 425,000 BTC have moved off exchanges since November, a trend often viewed as a signal of long-term investment rather than short-term trading.

Over the same period, publicly-traded companies acquired nearly 350,000 BTC, Fidelity said.

Fidelity Digital Assets is a subsidiary of Fidelity Investments, the $5.8 trillion asset manager headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The Fidelity Digital subsidiary was established in 2018, long before cryptocurrency was considered an institutional asset class. 

Key points:

Bitcoin is setting up a showdown with leveraged shorts immediately above its yearly open price.

That key level near $93,500 is the main target for traders hoping that BTC/USD will cement its latest breakout.

The next support retest could involve $87,000, analysis suggests.

Bitcoin (BTC) consolidated below a key resistance target on April 24 as a BTC price forecast brought sub-$90,000 levels into play.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Analyst: BTC price correction “fairly normal”

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD retesting $92,000 as support overnight.

Opinion by: Igor Zemtsov, chief technology officer at TBCC

Crypto security is a ticking time bomb. Updatable firmware might just be the match that lights the fuse.

Hardware wallets have become the holy grail of self-custody, the ultimate safeguard against hackers, scammers and even government overreach. There’s an inconvenient truth, however, that most people ignore: Firmware updates aren’t just security patches. 

They’re potential backdoors, waiting for someone — whether a hacker, a rogue developer or a shady third party — to kick them wide open.

Every time a hardware wallet manufacturer pushes an update, users are forced to make a choice. Hit that update button and hope for the best, or refuse to update and risk using outdated software with unknown vulnerabilities. Either way, it’s a gamble. 

Theo, a provider of onchain trading infrastructure, has raised $20 million from 17 investors to enhance its institutional-grade trading platform aimed at retail investors.

The funding round was co-led by Hack VC and Anthos Capital, with additional participation from venture capital firms Manifold Trading, Miranda Ventures, Flowdesk, MEXC and Amber Group, Theo disclosed on April 24. 

Citadel, Jane Street, IMC and JPMorgan were listed as angel investors in the deal.

Created by former quant traders, Theo gives retail investors access to advanced strategies like high-frequency trading and market making, which are tools typically used by professional trading firms.

Theo’s infrastructure can be used across centralized exchanges and decentralized financing protocols, the company said. 

Tether Investments — the investment arm of leading stablecoin issuer Tether — acquired additional shares in Juventus Football Club.

According to an April 24 announcement, with its latest investment, Tether brought its total participation in Juventus to over 10.12% of the issued share capital, representing 6.18% of the voting rights. The investment follows the firm’s initial acquisition of 8.2% of the issued shares.

Tether's second Juventus investment announcement’s image. Source: Tether

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said that the investment is not only a short-term financial maneuver but “a commitment to innovation and long-term collaboration.” He added:

“We believe Juventus is uniquely positioned to lead both on the field and in embracing technology that can elevate fan engagement, digital experiences, and financial resilience. We’re excited about the opportunities ahead.”

Founder of Obchakevich Research, Alex Obchakevich, told Cointelegraph that Tether’s Juventus stake increase is an “attempt to prove to non-crypto investors and users that the company is much more than just a stablecoin.” Investors may also not be the only target:

“It is also a way to improve your image with regulators (especially in the European Union) by demonstrating transparency and stability.“

Obchakevich added that he believes “Tether is trying to return to the European market” after losing access due to compliance issues with the local Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). Leading crypto exchange Binance delisted Tether’s stablecoin, USDt (USDT), in the European Economic Area (EEA) earlier this month, and now a “stake in Juventus is one of the options for returning to the EU market.”

Key takeaways

AI-powered crypto trading bots use machine learning to make smarter, faster trading decisions — without emotions.

Setting up a bot involves choosing a platform, connecting your exchange, configuring strategies and running backtests.

Bots can run 24/7, react to data instantly and are ideal for passive income seekers and active traders.

While powerful, they’re not “set-it-and-forget-it” tools. You’ll need to monitor performance and tweak strategies over time.

Understanding your goals (long-term investing, day trading, etc.) helps you choose the right bot and strategy.

Bitcoin’s price trajectory may be suppressed ahead of its upcoming “omega candle” rally, according to Prince Filip Karađorđević, the hereditary prince of Serbia and Yugoslavia.

In an April 24 interview with Simply Bitcoin, Filip said some market participants may be limiting Bitcoin (BTC) price action.

“People are able to control the market to some extent,” he said. “Maybe that’s what acted on the 2021 market that suppressed its price from jumping high up. We could get that again in 2025, but there will be one point where [Bitcoin price] will run away.”

Filip added that Bitcoin remains a fundamentally deflationary asset and said its value is “always going to rise over time.”

Source: Simply Bitcoin

He referenced the concept of the “omega candle,” made popular by Bitcoin advocate and Jan3 CEO Samson Mow. The theory predicts Bitcoin’s growth trajectory will explode after it hits the $100,000 mark.

What if paying with crypto was as easy and as fun as sending a meme on X?

In the latest episode of The Clear Crypto Podcast, StarkWare’s Nathan Jeffay and Cointelegraph’s Gareth Jenkinson sit down with Stefana Banciu, growth lead at Pulsar Money, to explore how blockchain is bringing payments into the digital age, with speed, transparency and a dash of playfulness.

Transforming Web3 payments

Banciu lays out how Pulsar is pushing the frontier of Web3 payments with features like social transfers that allow users to send crypto directly through X, simply by tagging a handle. 

“You can actually have super seamless, easy and convenient payments, and it can also be super fun.”

The episode cuts through the crypto jargon to tackle a question with mainstream resonance: Why aren’t we using crypto for everyday transactions yet?

“I wish I could say yes, but that wouldn’t be a true reflection of the state of affairs,” Jenkinson admits when asked if crypto is widely used for payments. He points to Mastercard-linked crypto cards as a stopgap, but says the real revolution hasn’t yet reached the coffee shop counter.

A bill that would allow New Hampshire to invest a portion of its state funds in digital assets and precious metals has advanced to a full Senate vote after passing a second committee.

On April 23, House Bill 302 (HB 302) was reviewed in the second Senate committee and passed in a 4-1 vote.

The legislation, introduced in January, cleared the New Hampshire House earlier this month in a 192–179 vote. It now faces a vote by the full Senate and, if approved, will require the governor’s signature to become law.

Once enacted, it would allow the New Hampshire treasury to use 10% of the state’s general funds to invest in crypto with a market cap of over $500 billion — a threshold currently met only by Bitcoin (BTC).

Source: Bitcoin Laws

Democratic representative opposes New Hampshire’s crypto reserve bill  

During a debate before the full House vote, Democratic Representative Terry Spahr argued that the bill is unnecessary. 

The telecommunications decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) project, Helium, partnered with US telcom giant AT&T to bring WiFi to its users.

According to an April 24 announcement shared with Cointelegraph, as part of the partnership, AT&T customers can now connect to Helium’s community-built WiFi network. Helium Mobile data shows that the network includes over 93,500 hotspots, most of which are in the United States.

Helium Network nodes map. Source: Helium World

The Helium Network is run by individuals and businesses that acquire and operate small cell towers that act as hotspots. Those individuals are rewarded with digital assets for their help in developing the network and providing coverage.

Related: VC Roundup: Investors continue to back DePIN, Web3 gaming, layer-1 RWAs

Helium Mobile (Helium’s mobile network division) co-founder and CEO Amir Haleem said that partnering with an industry leader such as AT&T will “rapidly accelerate the adoption of Helium and provide real-world value” to both network participants and the partner’s customers. He also hinted that “this is only the beginning” and that more announcements are to come.

Asian investment firms are stepping up their Bitcoin accumulation strategies, with Japan’s Metaplanet and Hong Kong’s HK Asia Holdings leading the way.

Tokyo-based Metaplanet disclosed on April 24 that it acquired an additional 145 Bitcoin (BTC) for 1.9 billion Japanese yen (around $13.4 million), boosting its total holdings to 5,000 BTC.

Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich confirmed the company had reached 50% of its initial goal of amassing 10,000 BTC by the end of 2025.

Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich announcing Bitcoin purchase. Source: Simon Gerovich

The firm has been aggressive in its Bitcoin treasury operations, using bond issuances and Bitcoin income strategies such as selling cash-secured BTC put options to finance its acquisitions.

Since initiating its Bitcoin strategy, Metaplanet’s stock has surged over 3,000%. The company aims to hold 21,000 BTC by the close of 2026.

Key takeaways:

Spot Bitcoin ETF inflows are at their highest since January 2025.

Inflows to exchanges down to levels last seen in December 2016.

Bitcoin’s negative funding rates could set up a short squeeze.

BTC price is above major moving averages, which can now provide support.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) price rose to a new range high at $94,700 on April 23, its highest value since March 2.

Analysts are criticizing the financial implications of US President Donald Trump’s import tariffs, a development that some say highlights Bitcoin’s unique economic properties during times of global uncertainty.

Trump’s 90-day pause on higher reciprocal tariffs, reverting them to a 10% baseline for most countries except China, has exposed vulnerabilities in the US bond market, according to critics.

Economist and author of The Bitcoin Standard, Saifedean Ammous, said Trump’s decision to reverse the higher tariffs was likely a reaction to rising bond yields, suggesting the administration’s hand was forced.

“Trump fought the bond market and the bond market won,” Ammous said in an April 23 X post. “The gambit seemed to work for the first day, and the huge crash in the stock market was presented as a small price to pay for fiscal sustainability.

“But then the bonds began to crash, and it became clear how disastrous the tariffs were, and how wrong it was to expect that deliberately crashing the stock market would boost the bond market,” he added.

South Korean exchanges Upbit and Bithumb have suspended deposits for Synthetix (SNX) tokens after it was flagged by the Digital Asset Exchange Alliance (DAXA) for potential risks.

DAXA, the self-regulatory organization establishing industry standards for South Korean exchanges, designated SNX as a cautionary item. 

Assets receiving this designation typically undergo rigorous evaluations to determine whether trading can continue or if delisting is necessary.

Exchanges may take action, such as adding a warning tag to the asset and urging investors to take caution when engaging with it. Trading platforms can also perform additional measures, like blocking deposits or suspending trading support temporarily. 

Upbit and Bithumb block SNX deposits

In response to the designation, the biggest exchanges in South Korea said they are blocking deposits for SNX tokens on their platforms. 

Key points:

Bitcoin exchange 100-day average netflows are at their most negative since the start of the current bull market in 2023.

Exchange balances continue to plumb new multiyear lows.

Whales are particularly active buyers this month, while retail shows classic “panic selling.”

Bitcoin (BTC) exchanges are evoking the end of the 2022 crypto bear market as user inflows dry up this year.

Shaquille O’Neal has settled with investors who claim losses from the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, according to an April 23 filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

The settlement amount remains confidential, with terms expected to be disclosed after investors formally request preliminary court approval, according to court documents.

O’Neal and other celebrities and athletes were accused of promoting FTX and allegedly contributing to investor losses by endorsing the now-bankrupt exchange.

Source: Court Listener

The case is part of a broader multidistrict litigation effort, where investors are seeking up to $21 billion in damages from FTX insiders, advisers and promoters, far exceeding the $9.2 billion available through bankruptcy proceedings.

Other celebrities embroiled in similar legal troubles for their roles in FTX include NFL quarterback Tom Brady, supermodel Gisele Bündchen, billionaire investor Kevin O’Leary, former NBA player Udonis Haslem, David Ortiz, Naomi Osaka and others. 

Decentralized exchange (DEX) KiloEx said it will compensate traders and stakers hurt by a $7.5 million exploit that temporarily shut down the platform earlier in April.

In an April 24 announcement, KiloEx said traders who had positions open while the platform was suspended would get full compensation if their losses increased or profits decreased. The platform said it would pay the difference. 

KiloEx urged traders to close their positions immediately once the platform resumes operations, as delaying could affect their profit and losses, which may then impact the compensation amount.

“Please close your position as soon as possible after the platform resumes. Compensation will be calculated based on the platform’s resume time,” KiloEx stated. 

Source: KiloEx

Stakers’ principal and earnings remain unaffected

For the platform’s Hybrid Vault stakers, KiloEx said that the stolen funds were fully reinjected into the vault. As a result, staker earnings and principal will remain unaffected. However, KiloEx said it will still provide an additional 10% annual percentage yield (APY) as a bonus for eligible stakers.

Fintech giant Revolut reported a record-breaking year, doubling its pre-tax profit to 1 billion British pounds ($1.3 billion) in 2024, driven by rapid customer growth and a resurgence in cryptocurrency trading.

According to its annual report published on Thursday, April 24, Revolut’s profit soared from 438 million pounds in 2023, while revenue jumped to 3.1 billion pounds from 1.8 billion pounds.

A key contributor to Revolut’s strong performance was its wealth division, which includes stock and digital asset trading. The segment generated 506 million pounds in revenue — nearly four times higher than in 2023 — as crypto trading activity rebounded.

Revolut’s increasing profit. Source: Revolut

Revolut added nearly 15 million new users in 2024, pushing its total customer base past 50 million. This expansion boosted revenue from card payment fees and interest on deposits, the fintech’s two largest income streams.

Founder and CEO Nik Storonsky said in the report that “2024 was another landmark year for Revolut, with continued growth across all key business areas.”

BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund has been named the best new ETF product by etf.com, as it recorded its highest inflows since Jan. 21. 

On April 23, BlackRock’s iShare Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) was awarded the “Best New ETF” at the annual etf.com ETF awards. In an X post shortly after, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said it “feels right to me.”

IBIT clocks highest inflows in three months

“I’m pretty sure this is how I voted. Both of them did things no one has seen [before],” Balchunas said, also referencing the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) winning the “ETF of the Year” award. Over the past 5 years, VOO is up 89%, according to Google Finance data.

IBIT was also the recipient of the Crypto ETP of the year.

IBIT’s two awards came on the same day IBIT recorded $643.2 million in inflows, according to Farside data. It was the highest inflow day since Jan. 21, when it saw $661.9 million, just a day after US President Donald Trump’s inauguration, when Bitcoin’s spot price hit an all-time high of $109,000.

US federal prosecutors have asked a district judge to sentence Avraham “Avi” Eisenberg, the crypto user convicted of the $110 million exploit of the decentralized exchange Mango Markets in 2022, to at least six and a half years behind bars.

Ahead of Eisenberg’s May 1 sentencing hearing, US prosecutors are petitioning US District Judge Arun Subramanian for Eisenberg to face between 78 and 97 months in prison, according to an April 22 filing in a New York district court.

Prosecutors argue it’s an appropriate sentence for Eisenberg’s April 2024 conviction for committing wire fraud, commodities fraud and commodities manipulation in connection with the Mango Markets exploit and separate charges that he possessed child pornography.

“This sentence is necessary to, among other things, appropriately reflect the gravity of the defendant’s crimes, promote respect for the law, deter the defendant from future criminal activity, and protect the public,” the prosecutors said.

“Fraud that takes over $100 million from investors and effectively shuts down a business is a shocking violation of criminal law, and it necessitates a sentence commensurate with the crime.”

US federal prosecutors have filed statements from hundreds of victims in their case against Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of the defunct crypto lender Celsius Network.

The recently sworn-in interim US Attorney for Manhattan, Jay Clayton, said in an April 23 letter to a Manhattan federal court that he was sharing “more than 200 victim impact statements” collected by his office.

The statements span 418 pages of Celsius users, some named and some only using their initials, detailing the impact that the collapse of the firm had on their lives and how much money they had lost as a result.

Some of the statements detailed victims who said they entrusted their life savings to Celsius, believing Mashinsky’s assurances that the platform was safe.

Others wrote they were dismayed at the amount returned to them as a result of the company’s bankruptcy proceedings, which many said was less than the amount they put into the platform.

The ZKsync Association has confirmed the recovery of $5 million worth of stolen tokens from an April 15 ZKsync security incident involving its airdrop distribution contract.

The hacker agreed to accept a 10% bounty and return 90% of the remaining stolen tokens, transferring the ZKsync Security Council almost $5.7 million across three transfers on April 23.

“We’re pleased to share that the hacker has cooperated and returned the funds within the safe harbor deadline,” ZKsync Association posted to X on April 23, which was later reposted by ZKsync’s X account.

Matter Labs, the company behind the ZKsync protocol, also reposted the news shared on X.

The ZKsync X account previously confirmed that no user funds were compromised.

Russia’s finance ministry and central bank are reportedly planning to launch a crypto exchange for qualified investors under an experimental legal regime.

The platform will be aimed at “super-qualified investors,” Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said during a ministry meeting, according to April 23 reports from Russian media group RBC and Russian news agency Interfax.

“Together with the central bank, we will launch a crypto exchange for super-qualified investors. Crypto assets will be legalized, and crypto operations will be brought out of the shadows,” he said in a statement translated from Russian.

“Naturally, this will not happen domestically, but as part of the operations permitted under the experimental legal regime.”

Anton Siluanov (left) said the Kremlin-backed crypto exchange is only for Russian investors who meet certain income and wealth thresholds. Source: Mehmet Simsek

The Russian central bank announced a proposal on March 12 to allow a limited number of Russian investors with a certain amount of assets to buy and sell cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) under a three-year experimental regime.

Bitcoin has shown resilience compared to the broader financial market amid macroeconomic uncertainty, but analysts caution it’s still too early to know whether the trend will last.

“We’re not quite there yet, but if Bitcoin holds strength through the upcoming CPI, as well as ongoing Powell-related and equity earnings volatility, the decoupling narrative could evolve from “temporary divergence” to “regime change,” Bitfinex analysts said in an April 23 markets note viewed by Cointelegraph.

Bitcoin’s relative strength yet to be proven as structural

The analysts said that while Bitcoin’s (BTC) relative strength against US equities “appears real,” it is yet to be confirmed as structural. The analysts warned that Bitcoin has previously seen short periods of outperformance, only to eventually fall back in line with the broader market.

Cointelegraph recently reported that Bitcoin is increasingly abandoning its stock correlation to copy gold’s upside. At the time of publication, Bitcoin’s price has posted gains of 7.68% over the past 30 days. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are down 6.79% and 8.14%, respectively, as per Google Finance data.

Bitcoin is trading at $93,290 at the time of publication. Source: CoinMarketCap

Over the same period, Nvidia (NVDA), which has outperformed Bitcoin over the past decade, fell 15.4%. The analysts attributed the decline to the “effective ban on advanced chip exports to China and tariff-driven volatility.” In May 2024, Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten said there is a “near zero chance of Nvidia outperforming Bitcoin over the next 10 years.”

Cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin is set to branch further into Southeast Asia, targeting the growing crypto market in Thailand. 

KuCoin is planning to launch a crypto exchange platform offering digital assets and related products in the country, according to an April 23 announcement. 

ERX Company Ltd, Thailand’s first Securities and Exchange Commission-supervised digital token exchange, has rebranded as KuCoin Thailand effective April 22, it stated. 

The crypto exchange will operate under ERX, which recently received a crypto exchange license from the Thai financial regulator. 

“We’re strengthening our ability to offer localized solutions tailored to the Thai market,” said ERX chief executive Att Tongyai Asavanund.

A majority of crypto users are willing to allow artificial intelligence agents to manage part of their investment portfolios, according to the results of a recent CoinGecko survey.

Among the 2,632 crypto participants surveyed, 87% said they would let AI agents manage at least a tenth of their crypto portfolio, CoinGecko’s April 23 report shows.

Around half the respondents said they were willing to let an AI agent manage half their portfolio or less.

“This suggests that despite having doubts as to how safe or secure AI agents are, crypto users are still mainly curious about the technology and want to try using them for trading or investing,” CoinGecko research analyst Yuqian Lim said.

At the same time, around 36% of survey participants said they would allow AI agents to manage the majority of their holdings. A smaller group, roughly 14.5%, were willing to leave their entire crypto portfolio in the digital hands of an AI agent.

The host of The Wolf Of All Streets podcast, Scott Melker, says he’s received word that his face and name are being impersonated by scammers, with at least one victim duped out of $4 million. 

On April 23, the crypto investor said, “I’m sick,” reporting that he’d been contacted by a private investigator revealing that a client of his was scammed for $4 million by a Nigerian group using his name and face as bait. 

“They’ve apparently scammed a number of people,” Melker said, adding, “They sent him a fake driver’s license to prove it was me,” and used his X avatar as the photo.

The scammers used AI to generate the fake ID and used a fake but convincing-looking email account. 

“They do zoom calls with AI,” which are “apparently sophisticated,” said Melker, who added that the scammers have also spoofed accounts of his wife and kids to support identity confirmation. 

The Los Angeles Police Department has recovered $2.7 million worth of Bitcoin mining machines it alleges were stolen by a crime ring in a heist at the city’s airport.

The LAPD said on April 22 that detectives from its Cargo Theft Unit, along with the city’s Port Police, the railroad-based Union Pacific Police, and the city’s Airport Police, arrested Oscar David Borrero-Manchola and Yonaiker Rafael Martinez-Ramos over the thefts.

Authorities claimed the pair are “prominent members” of a South American crime ring tied to the theft and sale of stolen goods in and around Los Angeles.

The LAPD said searches of storage unit facilities in the San Fernando Valley, northeast of downtown Los Angeles, recovered $4 million worth of stolen goods, including the Bitcoin (BTC) mining rigs taken from Los Angeles International Airport “as the shipment was about to be loaded onto a plane headed to Hong Kong.”

Detectives also found and seized over $1.2 million in allegedly stolen tequila, clothing, shoes, speakers, coffee, body wash, and pet food.