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Law Firm Files Restraining Notice for Kelp Exploit ETH

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Law Firm Files Restraining Notice for Kelp Exploit ETH

A US law firm has filed a restraining notice to block the transfer of frozen Ether from the Kelp exploit, arguing that its clients are owed over $877 million in compensation and damages by North Korea. 

Charlie Gerstein, a lawyer for US law firm Gerstein Harrow LLP, said in a post on the Arbitrum DAO forum on Friday that a New York district court signed off on a restraining notice and three writs of execution preventing the DAO from moving the Ether under threat of contempt of court.

The law firm argued that its clients, who were not affected by the Kelp exploit, won default judgments against North Korea in three separate US court cases in 2010, 2015 and 2016 and are owed a collective $877 million in compensatory and punitive damages, plus interest. It also argued that its clients have a claim to DPRK property. Gerstein said in the restraining notice that the stolen Ether is “property” in which the DPRK has a stake because the hacker group is affiliated with the country.

The freeze could mean those affected by the Kelp exploit would need to wait longer to see their funds recovered. This isn’t the first time the firm has attempted to claim stolen cryptocurrency.

Kelp DAO suffered a $292 million hack on April 18, which is believed to have been carried out by TraderTraitor, a subgroup of North Korea’s state-backed hacking unit, Lazarus Group. 

Days later, Arbitrum Security Council took emergency action to freeze 30,766 Ether (ETH), worth over $73 million, held in a wallet linked to the Kelp exploit.

Charlie Gerstein, a lawyer for Gerstein Harrow, posted a restraining notice seeking to prevent the Arbitrum DAO from moving the frozen Ether. Source: Arbitrum DAO

Funds were proposed for Kelp victims

Aave Labs proposed on April 25 that the Arbitrum DAO unfreeze the $73 million in Ether tied to the Kelp DAO attack and direct those funds to “DeFi United,” a fund aimed at restoring rsETH and compensating its holders.

An Arbitrum DAO member under the handle Zeptimus said that if the law firm’s action is successful, the DPRK debt will not be transferred to the Kelp DAO victims.

“Your clients’ losses are real and the DPRK should answer for them. But the remedy the restraining notice asks for, blocking the return of stolen funds to their actual owners shifts the cost of the DPRK’s debt onto a different set of victims who were themselves robbed. That compounds the original harm; it doesn’t redress it,” they said.

Gerstein Harrow filed similar claims before

Gerstein Harrow has filed similar cases in the past, arguing its clients have a claim to funds stolen by the DPRK and frozen by crypto firms. In February, the firm filed a claim against funds frozen by Tether that were stolen in the 2023 Heco Bridge hack.

Related: North Korean hackers used AI-enabled social engineering in Zerion attack

It has also filed class-action suits against multiple DAOs. At the same time, onchain sleuth ZachXBT accused the law firm of using his research in court documents to stake a claim on funds from the $1.5 billion Bybit hack.

The law firm has three live cases against DAOs on its website. Source: Gerstein Harrow

North Korea-affiliated actors have been accused of stealing at least $578 million across major incidents throughout April and have been linked to many of the industry’s largest hacks, including the Bybit exploit.

Magazine: DeFi’s billion-dollar secret: The insiders responsible for hacks 

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Ripple Confirms 13,000 Banks And $12.5 Trillion in Payments, One Analyst Says It Points To $625 XRP

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Ripple Confirms 13,000 Banks And $12.5 Trillion in Payments, One Analyst Says It Points To $625 XRP

Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure

Ripple placed its treasury business at the center of a new XRP price prediction after promoting Ripple Treasury as a platform with full cash visibility with notable numbers. An analyst on X has since noted that those numbers, when run through a valuation model, point to an average price of at least $625 for XRP.

Ripple Treasury Puts A Massive Banking Network In View

During the SEC v. Ripple case, it surfaced that there were 1,700 NDAs between Ripple and other companies. These led to speculations among members of the XRP community as to the nature of these companies. However, Ripple has now publicly confirmed that its treasury platform is now connected to 13,000 banks and facilitates $12.5 trillion in payment volume. 

The announcement, which was posted by Ripple on the social media platform X, described Ripple Treasury as the world’s most adaptable treasury platform, capable of delivering 100% cash visibility to institutions. Ripple acquired GTreasury in 2025 for $1 billion, and rather than trying to convince banks to adopt an entirely new system, it acquired an existing enterprise treasury platform and rebranded it as Ripple Treasury.

XRPUSD currently trading at $1.39. Chart: TradingView

Analyst Patrick L. Riley, posting on X, pointed out the significance of that number of banks connected to Ripple Treasury relative to the global banking industry. There are roughly 4,336 registered banks and savings institutions in the United States and approximately 4,287 credit unions, many of which operate across Western economies. That means Ripple’s operation has expanded well outside the United States. 

According to Riley, a network of 13,000 connected institutions, therefore, represents substantial penetration across the Anglosphere financial system.

How Does This Play Into A $625 Price For XRP?

Riley’s main takeaway is that investors may be underestimating the significance of Ripple’s treasury footprint. He pointed to the $12.5 trillion payments figure and connected it to XRP’s utility thesis with the possibility of the cryptocurrency being the conduit through which these payments move.

He then applied the Bakkes Pipeline, or stock-to-flow-style, model to the number. In his example, if 20 billion XRP were used to move $12.5 trillion annually, the implied average value would be $625 per XRP. The price projection is likely to appeal to many members of the XRP community, particularly those who believe large-scale bank adoption is going to eventually force a major repricing of XRP.

It is important to note that Ripple’s announcement only confirms the size of the treasury network and the payments volume tied to the platform. It does not say that $12.5 trillion is currently being settled through XRP. However, that caveat does not erase the importance of the announcement by Ripple, especially for the future outlook of the XRP price.

At the time of writing, XRP is trading at $1.39.

Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView

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Bitcoin reclaims $80,000 as flows build, but traders hedge and doubt a breakout

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Bitcoin reclaims $80,000 as flows build, but traders hedge and doubt a breakout

Bitcoin is trading above $80,000 as Asia begins its trading week, a level not seen since the end of January.

Analysts at CryptoQuant say that BTC’s return to $80,000 is being powered by buyers who don’t fully trust it, a dynamic reflected in both positioning data and on-chain signals.

ETF inflows and leveraged longs have driven a steady climb in recent weeks, but the underlying demand picture remains uneven. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs have pulled in roughly $2.7 billion over the past three weeks, helping lift total net assets above $100 billion and providing a clear source of real-money support.

Elsewhere, market maker FlowDesk reported last week in a Telegram note growing appetite to scale into levered long positions, particularly in majors like ether (ETH) and Near Protocol’s NEAR, reinforcing the idea that fast money is playing a central role in pushing prices higher.

Yet on-chain data suggests the rally is not being broadly confirmed. A CryptoQuant report published April 30 found that bitcoin’s April move was driven “entirely by growth in perpetual futures demand,” while spot demand remained in contraction throughout the rally.

That kind of divergence, where leverage expands but underlying buying does not, has historically been associated with fragile price gains that tend to reverse once positioning unwinds.

Prediction markets tell a similar story. On Polymarket, traders are pricing a 56% chance that bitcoin reaches $85,000 this month, but only a 23% probability of $90,000, suggesting expectations are skewed toward a gradual grind higher rather than a breakout.

Taken together, the signals point to a rally that is extending on flows and leverage, but lacks broad conviction. That does not preclude further upside, but it does mean the move remains sensitive to any slowdown in inflows or shift in positioning, conditions that have historically led to sharp reversals rather than sustained advances.

The bitcoin ETF recovery in flows is real. It is just not complete yet

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The bitcoin ETF recovery in flows is real. It is just not complete yet

The 11 U.S.-listed spot bitcoin BTC$79,707.35 exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have now recorded two consecutive months of net inflows in a sign of renewed institutional appetite for the leading cryptocurrency.

But zoom out, and the recovery looks more modest than the monthly headlines suggest.

ETFs have pulled in a total of $3.29 billion in investor funds over the past two months, according to data source SoSoValue. May began on a positive note, with ETFs registering a net inflow of $629 million on Friday.

That has lifted the cumulative net inflows since the launch in January 2024 to $58.72 billion, which is still shy of the record high of $61.19 billion in October. It’s also the month when bitcoin’s spot price hit its lifetime peak of over $126,000.

The gap shows that, though demand has recovered, it has yet to compensate for the outflows between November 2025 and February 2026. The four-month stretch saw investors yank $6.38 billion alongside a sharp slide in bitcoin to nearly $60,000 from over $100,000.

It’s not necessarily a reason for alarm, but a useful reality check on where things stand compared to the peak of October’s bullish sentiment. It tells us that the recovery in ETF flows is real but incomplete. Whether it gains enough momentum remains to be seen in the days ahead.

Bahrain’s ARP Digital yes Dubai Expansion with VARA Broker-Dealer Approval

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Bahrain’s ARP Digital yes Dubai Expansion with VARA Broker-Dealer Approval

As global digital asset firms continue to flock to Dubai, one homegrown platform is proving that regional players can successfully scale from within. Bahrain-based ARP Digital, a regulated digital capital infrastructure platform, has officially received in-principle approval from VARA to provide broker-dealer services in Dubai.

The expansion comes at a time of explosive growth for the local ecosystem; Dubai’s virtual asset market surpassed an impressive AED 2.5trillion in transactions in 2025 alone.

A homegrown GCC infrastructure player

While many global firms have recently entered Dubai to gain access to the broader Middle Eastern market, ARP Digital represents a different narrative: it is a firm built by GCC founders, scaling under regional regulation.

Co-founded by Abdulaziz and Abdulla Kanoo, who are fifth-generation members of the prominent Kanoo Group, ARP Digital focuses heavily on the critical infrastructure layer of the digital economy. The platform is specifically designed to connect digital asset liquidity with local fiat rails, corporate flows, capital markets, and real-world financial activity.

Dual-framework regulation and rapid growth

With its new VARA in-principle approval in the UAE, ARP Digital becomes one of the few GCC-born digital asset firms to actively build across multiple regional regulatory frameworks. The company already holds a Category 3 Capital Markets Crypto Asset Service Provider licence issued by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB).

This robust regulatory footing has supported significant operational success for the firm. To date, ARP Digital has processed more than $3.5billion in volume across over 450 institutional and corporate counterparties.

Furthermore, the company recorded a massive 4x year-on-year volume growth in 2025, all while maintaining a highly reliable 99.99 per cent platform uptime. As the next stage of the GCC’s digital asset market unfolds, locally founded firms like ARP Digital are strongly positioning themselves alongside the global players entering the region.

XRP Treasury Evernorth Adds OpenAI CFO To Board

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XRP Treasury Evernorth Adds OpenAI CFO To Board

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Evernorth Holdings has named Robert Kaiden, chief financial officer of the OpenAI Foundation, as a board nominee as the XRP-focused treasury company moves through its proposed business combination with Armada Acquisition Corp. II.

Evernorth Names OpenAI CFO To XRP Treasury Board

The latest SEC materials show Evernorth filed an amended Form S-4 tied to the transaction, with the filing detail page listing a Form S-4/A accepted on April 27 and filed on April 28. In a separate exhibit, Kaiden signed a consent dated April 27 to be named in Evernorth’s registration statement “as a nominee to the board of directors of the Registrant.” A parallel filing shows Derar Islim also signed the same director-nominee consent on the same date.

The board additions come as Evernorth seeks shareholder approval for a broader SPAC transaction. A proxy-card exhibit attached to the filing lists proposals for the business combination, a merger proposal, domestication, and related governance documents, underscoring that the transaction is still moving through the formal public-market approval process rather than representing a completed listing.

For XRP markets, the appointment matters less as a symbolic AI link than as part of Evernorth’s effort to professionalize a public treasury structure built around a single digital asset. Evernorth has described its model as a regulated corporate vehicle designed to provide transparent exposure to XRP while actively managing the asset within a treasury framework. In its March transaction update, the company said the filing disclosed its business plan, strategy, financials, leadership team and long-term vision for the first time.

CEO Asheesh Birla framed the strategy in broader capital-markets terms. “We believe global finance is entering a new era with digital assets playing a larger role in how capital is held, managed and deployed,” Birla said. “Evernorth is being built to participate in that evolution. Our focus is on combining public-market discipline with XRP blockchain-based financial infrastructure to help shape a more transparent, efficient and connected global financial system.”

The company’s treasury pitch is deliberately different from a passive fund structure. Evernorth has said it is designed to provide “simple, liquid, and transparent exposure to XRP” through a publicly listed vehicle, but also seeks to grow XRP per share over time through institutional lending, liquidity provisioning and DeFi yield opportunities.

That is where Kaiden’s profile is likely to draw attention. The OpenAI Foundation role places him inside one of the most watched firms on earth, while prior reports on the Foundation’s leadership expansion noted that Kaiden brought experience from Deloitte, Twitter and Inspirato. For Evernorth, his addition brings public-company finance and audit-adjacent experience to a board overseeing a crypto treasury strategy that will need to satisfy both digital-asset investors and traditional market expectations.

Evernorth has said the transaction is expected to raise more than $1 billion in gross proceeds, with institutional and strategic investors including Ripple, SBI Holdings, Pantera Capital, Kraken and Arrington Capital. Earlier transaction disclosures also said net proceeds would primarily fund open-market purchases of XRP, alongside working capital, general corporate purposes and transaction expenses.

Birla has described the active-treasury model as aligned with the XRP ecosystem itself. “Evernorth is built to provide investors more than just exposure to XRP’s price,” he said in the company’s launch announcement. “As we capitalize on existing TradFi yield generation strategies and deploy into DeFi yield opportunities, we also contribute to the growth and maturity of that ecosystem. This approach is designed to generate returns for shareholders while supporting XRP’s utility and adoption.”

At press time, XRP traded at $1.40.

XRP price chart
XRP remains above the 50-week EMA, 1-monthly chart | Source: XRPUSDT on TradingView.com

Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

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Jobs data, earnings calls: Crypto Week Ahead

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Jobs data, earnings calls: Crypto Week Ahead

Three tests land inside one week. The first is jobs data, with April payrolls print coming, the first read after a delay caused by the 2025 federal shutdown.

A weaker-than-expected print gives the Federal Reserve cover to cut sooner. A strong one delays it. The second is additional insight into the bitcoin treasury trade.

Strategy, Coinbase, MARA, CleanSpark, Hut 8 and Core Scientific all report Q1 earnings inside the week. Riot already sold 3,778 BTC last quarter at an average $76,626. MARA sold 15,133.

The third is the Fed itself. San Francisco Fed CEO and President Mary Daly and Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee speak on central bank independence at Hoover on Friday, the same week Jerome Powell exits his chair role (but not the Fed itself) under White House pressure.

“Investors aren’t heavily positioned and volatility remains low, creating an asymmetrical setup: markets appear stable on the surface but could react quickly to any catalyst that forces a repricing of risk,” Jennifer Hanny, a partner at Echo Base, told CoinDesk.

What to Watch

(All times ET)

  • Crypto
    • May 4: Coinbase to delist dai (DAI) and convert remaining tokens to USDS.
    • May 4: ZKsync Lite to be fully deprecated.
  • Macro
    • May 4, 11:30 p.m.: Reserve Bank of Australia Interest Rate Decision est. 4.35% (Prev. 4.1%)
    • May 5, 09:00 a.m.: U.S. JOLTs Job Openings for March(Prev. 6.882M)
    • May 5, 09:00 a.m.: U.S. ISM Services PMI April est. 54 (Prev. 54)
    • May 6, 4:00 a.m.: Euro Area Producer Price Index YoY for March (Prev. -3%); MoM (Prev. -0.7%)
    • May 6, 07:15 a.m.: U.S. ADP Employment Change for April (Prev. 62K)
    • May 6, 06:50 p.m.: Bank of Japan Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes
    • May 7, 07:30 a.m.: U.S. Initial Jobless Claims for period ending May 2 (Prev. 189K)
    • May 7, 03:30 p.m.: U.S. Fed Balance Sheet for period ending May 6 (Prev. $6.700T)
    • May 8, 7:30 a.m.: Canada Unemployment Rate for April (Prev. 6.7%)
    • May 8, 07:30 a.m.: U.S. Non Farm Payrolls for April est. 73K (Prev. 178K)
    • May 8, 07:30 a.m.: U.S. Unemployment Rate for April est. 4.3% (Prev. 4.3%)
    • May 8, 07:30 a.m.: U.S. Average Hourly Earnings MoM for April est. 0.3% (Prev. 0.2%); YoY (Prev. 3.5%)
    • May 8, 09:00 a.m.: U.S. Michigan Consumer Sentiment Prel for May (Prev. 49.8)
    • May 8, 06:30 p.m.: U.S. Fed Presidents Mary Daly and Austan Goolsbee to participate in a conference on “Independence, Structure, and Risks Ahead for Central Banks”
  • Earnings (Estimates based on FactSet data)
    • May 5: Strategy (MSTR), post-market, -$12.95
    • May 5: PayPal Holdings (PYPL), pre-market, $1.27
    • May 5: Cipher Digital (CIFR), pre-market, -$0.08
    • May 5: MARA Holdings (MARA), post-market, -$0.45
    • May 6: Hut 8 (HUT), pre-market, -$0.34
    • May 6: Core Scientific (CORZ), post-market, -$0.04
    • May 7: Coinbase Global (COIN), post-market, $0.26
    • May 7: Block (XYZ), post-market, $0.60
  • May 8: TeraWulf (WULF), pre-market, -$0.19
  • May 8: CleanSpark (CLSK), post-market, -$0.23

Token Events

  • Governance votes & calls
    • Lido DAO is voting on a time-sensitive proposal to temporarily lower the EarnETH first-loss protection trigger to below the standard 1% threshold, ensuring full compensation for users if the rsETH shortfall is resolved via DeFi United. Voting ends May 6.
    • Beefy DAO is voting to authorize its Treasury Council to conduct private, discretionary BIFI buybacks whenever the token’s price falls below its calculated “fair value.” Repurchased tokens will be held as non-circulating supply. Voting ends May 6.
    • World Liberty Financial is voting to restructure vesting for locked WLFI tokens. Early supporters will receive a 4-year vesting schedule, while insiders must burn 10% of their allocation and accept a 5-year vest. Voting ends May 6.
    • Arbitrum DAO is voting to release 30,766 ETH frozen by its Security Council after the Kelp DAO exploit to the DeFi United recovery fund. Voting ends May 7.
    • CoW DAO is voting on whether to use its Legal Defense Reserve to reimburse users who lost $1.2 million in the April 14 cow.fi domain hijack. Voting ends May 7.
    • Mantle DAO is voting to lend up to 30,000 ETH to Aave as a structured 36-month credit facility, benchmarked to Lido’s stETH staking return plus a 1% spread, as part of the DeFi United rsETH recovery. Voting ends May 8.
  • Unlocks
    • May 5: Ethena (ENA) to unlock 2.12% of its circulating supply worth $17.34 million.
    • May 6: Hyperliquid (HYPE) to unlock 0.18% of its circulating supply worth $17.5 million.
  • Token Launches
    • May 5: Virtual Protocols’ OPG airdrop snapshot expected to take place.
    • May 8: SoSoValue’s final testnet airdrop expected to complete.
    • May 4-10: BNB’s 35th quarterly burn expected to occur.

Conferences

MoneyGram and Stellar Mark Five-Year Partnership with Stablecoin Expansion Across LATAM

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MoneyGram and Stellar Mark Five-Year Partnership with Stablecoin Expansion Across LATAM


Digital Assets North America



MoneyGram and Stellar are celebrating five years of collaboration with a major expansion of their stablecoin offerings across the Latin American (LATAM) region.

The strategic move introduces stablecoin-backed remittance receiver features to new markets, including El Salvador. By rolling out these capabilities, the companies aim to provide millions of new customers with direct access to digital asset solutions.

Bridging the physical and digital divide

Over the past half-decade, the partnership between MoneyGram and Stellar has focused heavily on bridging the gap between digital and physical financial systems. By integrating blockchain technology with traditional financial infrastructure, the alliance has successfully brought stablecoin innovation to populations that heavily depend on cash-based services.

The newly expanded features empower receivers with greater financial autonomy. Customers in the newly supported LATAM markets now have the flexibility to:

  • Hold received funds as stablecoins.

  • Spend their digital assets.

  • Cash out their funds on their own terms.

Scaling across a global network

This stablecoin expansion taps into MoneyGram’s massive operational footprint. The money transfer operator boasts a network that spans over 200 countries and territories, featuring nearly 500,000 physical retail locations.

Powered by a digital ecosystem connecting billions of devices, the ongoing partnership between MoneyGram and Stellar is actively changing how millions of people send, receive, and hold money across international borders.


Dogecoin jumps 4% to lead gains among majors as bitcoin zooms higher

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Dogecoin jumps 4% to lead gains among majors as bitcoin zooms higher

Dogecoin cleared $0.109 in early Asia hours as bitcoin pushed through $80,000, with the break coming on a sharp volume surge that tends to signal real positioning rather than drift, leaving the level likely to act as near-term support if momentum holds.

News Background

• Bitcoin crossed $80,000 during early Asia trading, lifting broader risk appetite and pulling altcoins higher alongside the move.

• DOGE followed the broader market bid, with momentum returning after a quiet stretch of sideways trading.

Price Action Summary

• DOGE climbed from $0.1075 to $0.1119, building higher lows before breaking resistance at $0.109.
• The breakout came in a single high-volume burst rather than a gradual grind higher.
• Price is now holding near $0.111, consolidating just above the breakout zone.

Technical Analysis

• The key shift is the break above $0.109, which had capped price during recent sessions.
• Volume spiking into the move suggests concentrated buying rather than retail drift.
• The structure now depends on whether $0.109 holds as support after the breakout.
• Momentum is strong, but the move is getting stretched with RSI pushing higher and positioning building.

What traders should watch

• $0.109 is the pivot. Holding above it keeps the breakout intact.
• $0.114 is the next resistance level if momentum continues.
• A move back below $0.109 would signal a failed breakout and return to the prior range.

What next as Ripple-linked token breaks above $1.40

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What next as Ripple-linked token breaks above $1.40

XRP moved back above $1.40 in early Asia hours on broader move in crypto markets, with the push through resistance coming on a sharp pickup in volume that tends to signal real positioning and shifts the focus to whether that level now holds on any pullback.

News Background

• Bitcoin pushed higher during the same window, helping lift broader risk sentiment across crypto markets.

• XRP has been trading in a tight $1.35–$1.45 range, with the latest move marking another attempt to break out of that compression.

Price Action Summary

• XRP climbed from $1.3840 to $1.4065, breaking above resistance near $1.3990.
• The move accelerated during the final hour, with price pushing cleanly through $1.40.
• Price is now holding just above the breakout zone, consolidating near $1.4040–$1.4060.

Technical Analysis

• The key shift is the reclaim of $1.40, which had capped recent upside attempts.
• Volume expanding into the move confirms participation rather than a low-liquidity push.
• Structure shows higher lows into the breakout, suggesting underlying bid strength.
• The broader range remains intact, but pressure is building toward a directional move.

What traders should watch

• $1.40 is now the pivot. Holding above it keeps the breakout intact.
• $1.41–$1.42 is the next resistance zone that needs to clear for continuation.
• A move back below $1.40 would signal the breakout failed and return price to the range.

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