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Crypto And Financial Industry Giants Reveal What X Money Launch Means

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Crypto And Financial Industry Giants Reveal What X Money Launch Means

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Crypto and financial industry leaders have raised concerns over Elon Musk’s proposed X Money. This includes Senator Elizabeth Warren, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, who warned that the move will threaten financial stability. 

Senator Elizabeth Warren Questions Elon Musk’s X Money

Senator Warren wrote a letter to Elon Musk in which she raised concerns about the proposed April launch for the payments platform, X Money. She stated that developments around the launch of the payments platform raise significant consumer, financial stability, and national security concerns. 

As part of these concerns, the senator noted that X Money may partner with Cross River Bank, which was subject to a serious enforcement action by the FDIC in 2023 for unsafe and unsound practices. She also highlighted X Money’s preview materials, which suggest that users can earn up to 6% APY on deposit accounts. Warren said it is unclear what risky investments they plan to pursue to earn this yield when the Federal funds rate is at 3.75%. 

Senator Warren also raised concerns over X’s record of allowing sanctioned individuals like Hezbollah and the Houthis to purchase verified accounts and raise funds through the platform. She added that there have also been systemic failures to address child sexual abuse material, data privacy violations, and widespread fraud by verified users. 

Meanwhile, the senator warned about Musk’s potential role in shaping the regulatory environment for his own financial product, as X Money may include stablecoin issuance. She alluded to the GENIUS Act, which Warren noted includes a “suspicious carveout” that enables companies like X to issue a stablecoin without some of the required approvals and guardrails that apply to companies like X. 

Senator Warren requested a written response detailing Musk’s plans for the launch of X Money and the risks that the product may pose to consumers, financial stability, and national security. X has a deadline of April 21 to submit this written response. 

Threat To Other Competitors

Crypto pundit Tat Thang noted in an X post that X Money and other financial offerings from the social media platform pose a huge threat to fintechs. The crypto pundit highlighted X’s financial stack, including Smart Cashtags, which went live earlier this week. With this feature, users will be able to search for any asset’s ticker and view real-time data about the asset without leaving the X app. 

Thang also noted that X has launched Brokerage routing via Wealthsimple, which is already live. At the same time, X Money is in beta, with Musk revealing that the payments platform could launch publicly as soon as this month. The pundit stated that fintechs like Robinhood cannot compete with X because the social media platform has 550 million monthly users. He added that X doesn’t need the best product, but simply a good-enough one within the app people already live in.

Crypto
Overall crypto market cap at $2.52 trillion | Source: TOTAL on Tradingview.com

Featured image from X, chart from Tradingview.com

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BTC price ceasefire boost is fizzling out as investors look for results: Crypto Daily

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BTC price ceasefire boost is fizzling out as investors look for results: Crypto Daily

Bitcoin’s BTC$77,465.41 price action signals the momentum from U.S.–Iran ceasefire headlines is fading and markets are looking for substantive progress that could unwind war-driven stress across the global economy.

The largest cryptocurrency briefly topped $76,000 early today, only to fall back in a repeat of Tuesday’s choppy pattern. The stall follows a 10% climb, predominantly driven by news of the Iran-U.S. ceasefire from a week ago.

However, while optimism persists and President Donald Trump suggests the conflict is nearing an end, progress in negotiations to restore oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint that accounted for 20% of global flows before the war began, remains limited.

“A ceasefire extension alone is no longer enough. Markets need tangible progress such as restored energy flows, compression in crude premia, and clearer disinflation,” QCP Capital, one of the largest digital asset market makers in the world, said in an email.

“Until then, this remains a story of partial normalization rather than full repair. Constructive, but not yet comfortable.”

Traders should keep an eye on oil prices, as signs of normalization are likely to be evident in energy markets first. WTI recently traded near the weekly low of $87.50 and Brent around $90, a level it has held since April 8.

The continued decline in bitcoin and ether’s 30-day implied volatility indexes suggests traders expect material progress soon.

In the meantime, solana (SOL) and DOGE$0.1004 could see increased volatility as open futures contracts tied to these tokens have climbed to multiweek highs. The increases point to rising demand for leveraged exposure, which often amplifies price swings through liquidations and heightened market turbulence.

“Solana has significantly outperformed the market over the last day, attempting to bounce off an important long-term support line, but failing to do so for over two months now,” Alex Kuptsikevich, the chief market analyst at the FxPro, said in an email. “We will only be able to declare a victory for the bulls once it has consolidated above the $105 level, at which point we can talk about a return above the 200-week moving average.”

In traditional markets, the MOVE index, which measures the volatility in U.S. Treasury notes, has declined to 65%, reversing the war-led spike to 115% in March. This is bullish for risk assets as stability in the U.S. bond market, which underpins global finance, helps ease credit and financial conditions. Stay alert!

Read more: For analysis of today’s activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today . For a comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead.”

What’s trending

Today’s signal

BTC’s hourly price swings in candlestick format since March 31. (TradingView)

The chart shows bitcoin’s hourly price action in candlestick format since March 31, highlighting a steady upward trajectory that has carried the asset from roughly $65,700 to around $76,000. The chart looks bullish with consistently higher lows, but there is a catch.

Within this uptrend, the price has briefly topped $76,000 at least twice, and both attempts have failed to produce a decisive breakout. From a technical analysis perspective, this indicates a developing double-top pattern, where two peaks form near the same level, signaling potential exhaustion in bullish momentum.

If the price dips below $73,300, the low formed between the two peaks, the double top pattern would be confirmed, suggesting scope for a deeper decline to $70,000.

Conversely, a sustained move above $76,000 could draw in more traders and strengthen the case for a rally to $88,000.

Dubai Becomes World’s First Jurisdiction to Codify Virtual Asset Issuance With new VARA Guidance

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Dubai Becomes World’s First Jurisdiction to Codify Virtual Asset Issuance With new VARA Guidance

The Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) has officially issued its Guidance on the Virtual Assets Issuance Rulebook. This regulatory milestone makes Dubai the first jurisdiction globally to codify exactly how digital assets must be created, disclosed, and distributed within a fully licensed environment.

The newly published Guidance complements VARA’s existing Issuance Rulebook. It serves as a practical, authoritative reference for market participants, explaining how Dubai’s issuance regime applies to different types of issuers and various categories of virtual assets.

Three distinct issuance pathways

To help issuers and Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) navigate the regulatory landscape, the framework draws clear lines between three specific issuance pathways:

  • Category 1 Virtual Asset Issuances: This pathway applies to fiat-referenced and asset-referenced Virtual Assets, and requires direct licensing.

  • Category 2 Issuances: These issuances must be facilitated strictly through Licensed Distributors. The Guidance clarifies that these distributors are required to conduct due diligence and ongoing validation to ensure compliance with the Rulebook.

  • Exempt Virtual Assets: Due to their restricted functionality, these assets are subject to limited regulatory requirements.

Anchoring investor protection through disclosure
Ruben Bombardi, general counsel at VARA

A central pillar of the new Guidance is VARA’s commitment to disclosure-led regulation. Issuers are now explicitly required to provide comprehensive Whitepapers and Risk Disclosure Statements. These documents must be accurate, clear, and easily accessible to prospective users to promote informed decision-making across the digital asset ecosystem.

Ruben Bombardi, general counsel at VARA, emphasised the necessity of transparent communication in the evolving market.

“Trust is built through clarity, and clarity begins with disclosure,” Bombardi stated. “By strengthening the standards around how virtual assets are issued and communicated to the market, this Guidance reinforces Dubai’s position as a jurisdiction that enables responsible innovation while safeguarding market integrity.”

Setting a global benchmark for governance
Matthew White, CEO of VARA
Matthew White, CEO of VARA

The framework goes beyond initial disclosures to outline strict expectations regarding ongoing governance and the specific treatment of Asset-Referenced Virtual Assets. This includes clear mandates around Reserve Assets, redemption rights, and legal structuring.

Matthew White, chief executive officer of VARA, noted that these standards are essential for the industry’s long-term viability.

“Clear issuance standards are fundamental to building resilient and transparent Virtual Asset markets,” White explained. “This Guidance provides practical clarity on how VARA’s framework applies across different issuance models, ensuring that innovation is supported by strong governance, robust disclosures, and accountable market practices.”

Despite the rigorous new standards, VARA clarified that compliance with the issuance requirements does not automatically constitute a regulatory endorsement of any specific virtual asset, issuer, or distribution activity. Market participants remain ultimately responsible for assessing the inherent risks associated with digital assets.

Michael Saylor’s Strategy (MSTR) moves to pay STRC dividends twice per month

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Michael Saylor’s Strategy (MSTR) moves to pay STRC dividends twice per month

Leading bitcoin treasury company Strategy (MSTR) has filed a proxy that, if approved, would allow for semi-monthly dividends on its STRC “Stretch” series of preferred stock.

The move would have no effect on STRC’s annual dividend obligations or dividend rate (currently 11.5%), noted Executive Chairman Michael Saylor. Instead, he said, “[the] proposed changes are intended to stabilize price, dampen cyclicality, drive liquidity, and grow demand.”

The high-yielding stock has been exceptionally popular, with outstanding notional value rising to $6.4 billion as of this afternoon’s filing, according to a presentation.

Volatility has dropped to just 2.1% over the past two months versus 13% in the first eight months after the series’ launch. But Saylor and team argue that volatility could be further dampened with semi-monthly payments.

Voting on the amendment will close on June 8, with July 15 as the expected first payment date under the new plan.

MSTR shares rose 11.8% on Friday alongside bitcoin’s BTC$77,368.47 3% rise to $77,400.

Ethereum Foundation Program Identifies 100 DPRK-Linked Crypto Workers

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Ethereum Foundation Program Identifies 100 DPRK-Linked Crypto Workers

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An open-source detection tool and an industry-standard identification framework — those were among the outputs of a single researcher working on a six-month stipend.

The findings, published by the Ethereum Foundation, came out of a program called ETH Rangers, which was set up in late 2024 to fund security work that benefits the broader crypto ecosystem.

One Researcher, One Stipend, 100 Operatives

One of the grant recipients used the funding to build the Ketman Project, an investigation focused on fake developer identities inside crypto companies.

Over six months, the project tracked down 100 North Korean IT workers embedded in Web3 organizations. About 53 projects were contacted and warned that they may have hired active operatives linked to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The Ethereum Foundation described the threat as “one of the most pressing operational security threats facing the Ethereum ecosystem today.”

The Ketman Project’s website lays out the tactics these workers use — behavioral patterns, technical habits, and identity tricks that allow them to pass as legitimate developers.

Some of the red flags are surprisingly basic. Workers were caught reusing the same profile photos and metadata across different GitHub accounts.

During screen-sharing sessions, unlinked email addresses were accidentally exposed. In some cases, device language settings — set to Russian — gave away identities that contradicted the nationalities being claimed.

ETHUSD trading at $2,348 on the 24-hour chart: TradingView

How Operatives Were Caught

The Ketman Project did not just identify individuals. It built infrastructure. An open-source tool was developed to flag unusual GitHub activity tied to suspicious accounts.

A separate framework for identifying DPRK-linked workers was co-authored with the Security Alliance, a nonprofit focused on blockchain security. Both resources are now available for other organizations to use.

Reports indicate the Ethereum Foundation did not disclose the specific methods used to unmask the operatives beyond what the Ketman Project’s own publications describe. The project’s website, however, offers detailed write-ups on the operational patterns that gave workers away.

A Threat Measured In Billions

North Korea’s presence in crypto is not new. State-linked hacking groups, including the well-known Lazarus Group, have been tied to some of the largest thefts in the industry’s history.

According to reports, billions of dollars in digital assets have been stolen by North Korean actors over the years.

The ETH Rangers program was created specifically to address security gaps through stipend-funded individuals doing public-interest work.

The Ketman Project represents one of its first publicly documented results. Whether other grant recipients have produced similar findings has not been disclosed.

Featured image from Chief Learning Officer, chart from TradingView

Editorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our readers.

OpenAI GPT-5.4-Cyber is More Open Than Claude Mythos

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OpenAI GPT-5.4-Cyber is More Open Than Claude Mythos

OpenAI’s GPT-5.4-Cyber further underscores the need for the cybersecurity community to rethink its strategy and bolster its defenses against bad actors, even as the model responds to rival Anthropic’s controversial Mythos platform.

OpenAI rolled out GPT-5.4-Cyber on April 14, a few days after the Mythos limited release. The model is an expansion of OpenAI’s Trusted Access for Cyber (TAC) program, which provides cybersecurity professionals access to advanced AI models for defense security tasks. It is a fine-tuned version of GPT-5.4 that enables capabilities such as binary reverse engineering that cyber experts can use to analyze compiled software for potential malware and vulnerabilities. Cyber is only available to vetted security vendors, organizations, and researchers, according to OpenAI.

The model is notably a response to Anthropic’s release of Claude Mythos, which the Claude maker said is too powerful to release widely and is accessible only to select large companies. It is also evidence that cybersecurity experts need to be vigilant in finding ways to ensure they are prepared to defend against attacks by malicious users. 

Related:The Real AI Shift Isn’t New Models. It’s Control.

“The fact that they’re potentially opening it more broadly is going to be more helpful for the community because more people are going to have a chance to look at it,” said Lionel Litty, CISO at Menlo Security. 

A Chance to Prepare

GPT-5.4-Cyber’s release through TAC could provide cybersecurity experts and researchers with further insights into how to prepare for cyberattacks, because, unlike Mythos, more people have access to it, Litty said. The AI-powered security platform protects organizations against cyber threats, including malware, ransomware, and phishing.

However, those with bad intent could also take advantage of that opportunity.

“There’s more chances of it being misused,” Litty said. He added that even with OpenAI’s security model being more open, “it remains to be seen where things fall in terms of how useful it’s going to be for us that are on the defensive side versus attackers.”

Despite uncertainty about who will use the capabilities, the message is clear: it is time for cybersecurity experts to prepare for the misuse of this iteration of generative AI technology.

“Most people knew this was coming, but it has become more urgent,” Litty said. 

Enterprises need a clear understanding and visibility into what is happening in their organizations, and to assess whether components such as IT infrastructure need updating due to the organization’s new ability to rapidly discover new vulnerabilities, he added. On the other hand, bad actors’ ability to exploit security holes is accelerating, underscoring the need for enterprises to remediate security issues.

Related:Anthropic Releases Good but not Great Claude Opus 4.7

“This is where having a pretty good understanding of what you have in place, what needs to be secured and how a good process is in place, taking advantage of AI yourself is going to be important,” Litty said.

Beyond automation, enterprises need to be ready for software to be compromised and prepared with effective countermeasures, Litty added. 

“You want to make sure that you can limit the damage,” he said. “Make sure you have a containment strategy in place.”

Rethinking the Strategy

Not only is the release of Cyber and Mythos a chance for cybersecurity experts to prepare for malicious attacks, but it might also signal that it is time to reconsider their overall defense strategy.

“They have to rethink how to do more autonomous reliability management or even more zero-cost oriented,” said Gartner analyst Arun Chandrasekaran. Enterprises should use AI to bolster their cybersecurity measures.

“The usage of AI, hopefully in cybersecurity, will significantly increase, with the improvements in capabilities that we’re seeing with these AI models,” Chandrasekaran said.

Related:Stellantis Ramps Up AI Strategy With Microsoft Deal

 

 

ETH Accumulation Wallet Balances Rise By 33%: Will ETH Price Follow?

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ETH Accumulation Wallet Balances Rise By 33%: Will ETH Price Follow?

Ether’s (ETH) rally to $2,400 is nearly 38% above its swing low at $1,750, but is ETH’s price move simply a momentum trade, or do longer-term data points suggest a paradigm shift at play?

ETH accumulation addresses absorb 6.5 million Ether

Ether’s recent rally was preceded by an 89% surge in daily active addresses (DAA), which jumped to 730,278 from 384,763 on April 5.

The increase in Ethereum’s active addresses indicates increased user interaction with the network, which is generally a positive.

The chart below shows that activity increased significantly as Ether price rose to $2,300. 

Ethereum daily active addresses. Source: CryptoQuant

Similar activity has been consistently observed near macro bottoms since 2022, preceding significant ETH price rallies.

Daily inflows into accumulation addresses have also increased since mid-2025, reaching an all-time high of 1.14 million ETH in November 2025. The inflows have continued to climb in 2026, averaging 200,000 ETH per day, with a spike to over 358,000 on Thursday.

Related: ETH/BTC ratio hits 10-week high as Ether outpaces Bitcoin: Are new price highs next?

The amount of ETH held in accumulation wallets, or holders with no history of selling, has increased by 6.5 million to 26.16 million from 19.64 million on Jan. 1, representing a 33% increase.

The ETH supply held in accumulation addresses is a key indicator for traders and market participants, as it reflects overall confidence in Ether’s long-term outlook.

ETH inflows into and balance in accumulation addresses. Source: CryptoQuant

The total value of ETH staked further reinforces this outlook. The metric now stands at 39.2 million ETH, signaling growing investor confidence.

Staked ETH supply. Source: Dune

As Cointelegraph reported, Ether supply held on exchanges has fallen to multi-year lows, further tightening liquidity on order books. 

Ether cup-and-handle chart breakout targets $3,150

The ETH/USD pair may resume its prevailing bullish trend after breaking out of a cup-and-handle (C&H) chart pattern, as shown in the chart below. A 12-hour candlestick close above the cup’s neckline at $2,400 may signal the start of a stronger uptrend.

The target is set by adding the cup’s depth to the breakout point, which comes to around $2,960, an approximately 22% increase from the current price.

ETH/USD 12-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The relative strength index has risen to 68, suggesting that ETH bulls are back in control. 

Trader TheSkayeth spotted a larger C&H pattern forming over the last two months on the daily time frame, saying ETH was “setting up for a massive move.”

“If the cup and handle pattern continues, I think we get to the golden zone next.”

ETH/USD daily chart. Source: X/TheSkayeth

The measured target of this larger formation is $3,150, which is 30% above the current level.

Applying this framework, ETH bulls will need to hold above the $2,350-$2,400 zone to confirm a sustained upward breakout.

As Cointelegraph reported, a close above the $2,400 level would increase the prospects of the ETH/USDT pair rising to $2,800 and later to $3,050.