Today's top news highlights:
Arbitrum Security Council freezes approximately 30,700 ETH related to the KelpDAO attackers.
Aave updates on the rsETH event: WETH reserves in the Ethereum Core V3 market have been unfrozen.
Regulation & Macro
Greek maritime risk management company MARISKS has warned that unidentified individuals impersonating Iranian authorities are sending messages to shipping companies demanding transit fees in cryptocurrency in exchange for permission to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz. These messages are scams and are not sent by Iranian authorities. At least one vessel has been attacked by artillery fire due to the scam. Currently, hundreds of vessels and approximately 20,000 seafarers are stranded in the Gulf region, unable to pass through.
The General Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government issued a notice on the "Implementation Plan for the National Digital Economy Innovation and Development Pilot Zone (Shanghai)," which mentions strengthening the high-quality supply of public data resources, relying on technologies such as blockchain and privacy computing to build infrastructure for the development and utilization of public data, and establishing mechanisms for on-chain storage and data traceability of key elements. It also emphasizes strengthening blockchain network capabilities, deepening the construction of the National Blockchain Network (Shanghai Hub), and enhancing basic capabilities such as distributed digital identity, privacy computing, and cross-chain services; and promoting the construction of on-chain trusted data service centers for customs, taxation, maritime affairs, and foreign exchange management. Furthermore, it calls for accelerating research on blockchain technologies such as heterogeneous fusion chips, homomorphic encryption, layered multi-chains, and cross-chain collaboration to form a new generation of open permissioned blockchain technology system and standards. The notice also emphasizes strengthening the application of blockchain infrastructure in cross-border RMB clearing and settlement scenarios and promoting the use of blockchain + AI to empower financial risk prevention and control. Finally, it calls for collaborative construction of an innovation-leading digital industry cluster in the Yangtze River Delta region, focusing on data, blockchain, and artificial intelligence industries. Finally, it recommends establishing blockchain colleges in relevant Shanghai universities and revising relevant regulations to promote the practice of data property rights systems.
White House: US and Iran are on the "edge" of reaching an agreement.
White House Press Secretary Janet Levitt stated in an interview with Fox News on the evening of the 20th that the United States and Iran are on the "edge" of reaching an agreement, and the United States has never been closer to achieving a truly good deal. Even if an agreement is not reached, President Trump still has multiple options and is not afraid to use these means.
Apple announces leadership change: Turners to become CEO, Cook to become executive chairman.
Apple announced that John Turners will succeed Tim Cook as CEO on September 1, with Cook transitioning to executive chairman. Turners, senior vice president of hardware engineering, will join Apple's board of directors after becoming CEO. Apple's non-executive chairman, Art Levinson, will become lead independent director on the same day. Cook will continue as CEO throughout the summer, working closely with Turners to ensure a smooth transition. This is the first CEO transition since Cook succeeded Steve Jobs in 2011. Under Cook's leadership, Apple's market capitalization has increased approximately 24-fold, reaching $4 trillion at Monday's close.
Project Updates
Aave updates on the rsETH event: WETH reserves in the Ethereum Core V3 market have been unfrozen.
Aave has updated its X platform regarding the rsETH situation. WETH reserves on the Ethereum Core V3 market have been unfrozen, and users can now supply WETH to Ethereum Core V3 again. However, the WETH loan-to-value (LTV) ratio remains 0. WETH reserves on Ethereum Prime, Arbitrum, Base, Mantle, and Linea remain frozen. Aave service providers will continue to follow up and provide timely updates.
Arbitrum Security Council freezes approximately 30,700 ETH related to the KelpDAO attackers.
The Arbitrum Security Council has taken immediate action to freeze approximately 30,766 ETH held in addresses linked to the KelpDAO attack. After identifying the attackers, the Security Council cooperated with law enforcement to transfer the funds to an intermediary frozen wallet using technical means, without affecting any Arbitrum users or applications. These funds are currently inaccessible from their original holding addresses and can only be transferred through further action by Arbitrum governance and coordination with relevant parties. Previously, PyShield monitoring showed that the KelpDAO attackers transferred 30,765.67 ETH to a special address starting with 0x0000.
Ripple unveils its XRP Ledger quantum-resistant roadmap, aiming for completion by 2028.
Ripple has announced a multi-phase roadmap to make its XRP Ledger quantum resistant by 2028. The plan includes a "Quantum-Day" contingency plan and early testing in partnership with Project Eleven.
Layer 1 blockchain Pharos has announced the tokenomics of its token PROS, with a total supply of 1 billion. The initial supply allocation is as follows: 16% to the foundation treasury, 9% to the Lab Co. treasury, 20% to the team, 20% to investors, 21% to the ecosystem and community (including a 6% community airdrop: 1% unlocked on TGE, and 5% for future community growth and airdrop incentives), and 14% for node and liquidity incentives. The core team and private investors have a 12-month lock-up period followed by a 36-month linear release, with some treasury and incentive allocations extended to 48-60 months. PROS will be used for transaction fees, PoS staking, validator participation, governance, ecosystem incentives, and potential RWA-specific uses. The staking issuance policy adopts a phased approach: a 0% inflation rate for the first six months after mainnet launch, and a 5% annual inflation rate from the seventh month onwards, which can be adjusted by the foundation thereafter.
Users holding 226 or more Binance Alpha Points can participate in the OpenGradient (OPG) exclusive TGE event through the Alpha event page. Participation will deduct 15 points.
Upbit will list its CHIP token on the Korean Won, BTC, and USDT markets.
South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit will list CHIP tokens on the Korean Won, BTC, and USDT markets.
Binance will remove the 1INCH/BTC, WIF/BTC, and XRP/MXN spot trading pairs.
Binance will remove and cease trading of the 1INCH/BTC, WIF/BTC, and XRP/MXN spot trading pairs on April 24, 2026 at 11:00 AM (UTC+8).
Sources familiar with the matter revealed that Coinbase is collaborating with Bybit to explore the tokenization, custody, and distribution of assets such as pre-IPO and listed stocks in the US. The discussions do not involve Bybit entering the US market through equity acquisitions or other means. Bybit plans to find a local partner to enter the US market, not Coinbase, but a new entity led by former Bybit co-CEO Helen Liu, responsible for licensing and compliance, while Bybit will provide technology, products, and liquidity. The collaboration between Coinbase and Bybit focuses more on a global scale, leveraging Bybit's global influence in Asia and other regions to bring US assets to a wider global user base.
Coinbase-incubated x402 protocol launches AI agent app store Agent.market
The x402 Protocol Foundation, incubated by Coinbase, has launched a unified platform called Agent.market, described as an "app store for AI agents." The platform brings together hundreds of tools and services accessible through internet-native payment protocols, covering seven categories: inference, data, media, search, social, infrastructure, and trading. Partners include OpenAI, Venice, Bloomberg, CoinGecko, LinkedIn, X, AgentMail, AWS Lambda, QuickNode, Alchemy, Bankr, and Coinbase RAT. Erik Reppel, founder of the x402 protocol, stated that x402 and the broader agent economy have opened up new business lines for online service providers. Most services on Agent.market operate on a paid model, with some charging agents a "proxy premium" per use.
SlowMist: Claude Desktop Exposed for Secretly Writing Backdoor Files into Browsers
23pds, Chief Information Security Officer of SlowMist, posted a warning on the X platform that Claude Desktop has been exposed for secretly writing browser backdoor files. When a user installs the Claude Desktop application, the application writes a special file to all Chromium-based browsers on the user's computer without the user's knowledge. This file is equivalent to a pre-authorized backdoor, which, when used in conjunction with certain browser extensions, can gain complete control over the user's browser.
Binance Wallet will launch its 46th exclusive TGE project: OpenGradient (OPG)
Binance Wallet will launch its 46th exclusive TGE project, OpenGradient (OPG). The subscription period is from 17:00 to 19:00 (UTC+8) on April 21st. Users need to use Binance Alpha Points and meet the corresponding qualifications to participate. OPG tokens will be available for collection and trading at 19:00 (UTC+8) on the same day. 23,000,000 OPG tokens will be reserved for future events.
Lido stated in a post on the X platform that the Kelp DAO cross-chain bridge attack resulted in the theft of approximately 116,500 rsETH, and the rsETH market on lending platforms such as Aave was subsequently frozen. Lido's EarnETH vault directly holds approximately 9% of the rsETH exposure (approximately $21.6 million) through an rsETH/ETH leveraged position on Aave. The EarnETH team is actively deleveraging and reducing the risk of various strategies; the final outcome of this rsETH position depends on the decisions of Kelp, LayerZero, and Aave. The $3 million "first-loss protection mechanism" provided by the Lido DAO vault will be used to cover vault losses if necessary. Currently, deposits and withdrawals on EarnETH are suspended to ensure fair processing. Lido's core staking protocols stETH and wstETH are unaffected.
Sonic Labs outlined its path to quantum-resistant PoS networks, claiming that its DAG-based SonicCS protocol can be upgraded to post-quantum signatures without redesigning the consensus mechanism.
Coinbase will list CHIP and Opengradient (OPG).
Coinbase will be listing CHIP and Opengradient (OPG). Users can now generate CHIP and OPG deposit addresses on the coinbase.com website, the Coinbase App, and the Coinbase exchange. CHIP and OPG deposit functionality will be available after the issuers enable transfer capabilities.
Investment and financing news
JPYC, the issuer of the Japanese yen-denominated stablecoin, announced that it has secured 2.8 billion yen (approximately US$17.62 million) in the second phase of its Series B funding round, bringing the total funding for this round to approximately 4.6 billion yen. New investors include NCB Venture Capital, MetaPlanet, TechMira Holdings, and Canal Ventures. The funds will be primarily used for system and application development, recruitment for business expansion, stablecoin issuance and settlement operations, and strategic investments. JPYC's cumulative issuance has exceeded 2.1 billion yen, representing a nearly 2.6-fold increase in the past three months. Its daily trading volume to circulating supply ratio exceeds 100%, and it supports three blockchains: Avalanche, Ethereum, and Polygon, with plans to integrate with Kaia and Arc. JPYC is expanding its partnerships with institutions such as Sony Bank and LINE NEXT, as well as its applications in cross-border payments and AI payment scenarios.
Opinions & Analysis
Analysis: Of the approximately 2,665 OApp contracts on LayerZero, 47% use a 1/1 DVN configuration.
Dune Analytics published an article on the X platform stating that, in response to the KelpDAO security incident, it has publicly analyzed the DVN security configurations of all active OApps on LayerZero over the past 90 days. Of approximately 2,665 individual OApp contracts, 47% used a 1-of-1 DVN security configuration (i.e., only one validator; KelpDAO's rsETH falls into this category), 45% used a 2-of-2 configuration, and approximately 5% used a 3-of-3 or higher configuration.
An incident report released by Aave reveals that a vulnerability in the Kelp DAO cross-chain bridge resulted in approximately $190 million in loans being used without collateral, exposing Aave to potential bad debt risks. Attackers released 116,500 rsETH from the Ethereum sidebridge by forging cross-chain messages, then deposited 89,600 rsETH into Aave as collateral, borrowing approximately $190 million in ETH and related assets. Aave froze the rsETH market for several hours and set the loan-to-value ratio to zero. The final loss depends on how Kelp DAO handles the gap: if the loss is distributed among all rsETH holders, rsETH is expected to de-peg by approximately 15%, resulting in approximately $123 million in bad debt for Aave; if the loss is concentrated on Layer 2 networks, the bad debt will rise to approximately $230 million, primarily concentrated on networks such as Arbitrum and Mantle. Following the incident, approximately $6 billion in total locked value was withdrawn from Aave. The Aave DAO treasury holds approximately $181 million in assets and is discussing with ecosystem participants to mitigate potential losses.
Curve founder Michael Egorov published an article on the X platform, commenting on the recent series of attacks in the DeFi space. He stated that these avoidable attacks stemmed from centralized points of failure, harming the entire industry. Using Aave as an example, users were unable to withdraw funds due to an attack on rsETH, but various parties shifted blame. Egorov emphasized that all such problems should be prevented before they occur, not remedied afterward; single points of failure should be reduced, not increased; and trust should be distributed when a point of failure is unavoidable. He called for collaborative efforts to develop DeFi security standards, including how to securely build and verify security, and suggested that the Ethereum Foundation and the Solana Foundation convene ecosystem projects to participate in developing principles, rules, and recommendations for secure construction.
Russell Thompson, chief investment officer of crypto asset management firm Hilbert Group, stated that global liquidity is expected to tighten by 20% to 25%, putting short-term pressure on Bitcoin. Even if the Iran issue is resolved quickly, risk assets will struggle to sustain a rally without external policy support. Thompson anticipates that US policymakers will take countermeasures, including reforms to supplement leverage, significant use of funds from the Treasury's total account, and a series of interest rate cuts under the new Federal Reserve chairman. He maintains a medium- to long-term bullish view, expecting Bitcoin to "significantly rise" by the end of the year and reach an all-time high around 2027 as liquidity bottoms out. He also expects progress in crypto regulation before the summer recess, and that the Federal Reserve's balance sheet will expand more rapidly due to deflationary pressures.
Important data
Yesterday, Bitcoin spot ETFs saw a total net inflow of $238 million. The BlackRock ETF (IBIT) saw the largest single-day net inflow at $256 million, with a historical total net inflow of $64.889 billion. The Morgan Stanley ETF (MSBT) saw a net inflow of $8.0977 million, with a historical total net inflow of $110 million. The Grayscale ETF (GBTC) saw a net outflow of $24.9358 million, with a historical total net outflow of $26.181 billion. The total net asset value of Bitcoin spot ETFs is $100.329 billion, representing an ETF net asset ratio of 6.57%, with a historical cumulative net inflow of $57.978 billion.
A wallet that was only four weeks old withdrew 80,000 ETH from Binance, worth $184.7 million.
A wallet created just four weeks ago withdrew 80,000 ETH from Binance, worth $184.7 million.
Multiple DeFi security incidents in the past three weeks have resulted in losses exceeding $600 million for the industry. The Kelp DAO vulnerability (which caused $292 million in losses) further exacerbated the downturn, bringing DeFi TVL down to approximately $82.4 billion, the lowest level in a year and a 25% decrease from $110 billion at the beginning of 2026. The day after the $292 million attack on Kelp DAO, DeFi experienced a single-day drawdown of approximately 5.6%; losses were most pronounced in the lending market, where TVL fell by about 13%, while liquidity staking decreased by about 3.4%. Decentralized exchanges and derivatives protocols also saw declines of 2% to 3%. Aave has frozen rsETH to limit risk exposure, leading to liquidity shortages in some stablecoin markets and locking up billions of dollars in deposits. If Kelp DAO cannot raise external funding, options include sharing approximately 16% of the losses among all rsETH holders, or prioritizing Ethereum mainnet holders while having L2 users bear the majority of the losses; the latter would expose Aave rsETH holders to approximately $267 million in losses. Kelp DAO, Aave, and LayerZero are shifting blame among themselves.
Bitmine Immersion Technologies added 101,627 Ethereum (ETH) in the past week, marking its fastest accumulation since the week of December 15, 2025. It currently holds 4,976,485 ETH, representing approximately 4.12% of the total Ethereum supply, of which 3,334,637 are staked, worth approximately $7.7 billion at $2,301 per ETH. The company's total crypto assets, cash, and "moonshots" amount to approximately $12.9 billion, including approximately $112 million in cash, 199 BTC, and a combined $307 million equity investment in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings. Bitmine stated that it will continue to advance the "Alchemy of 5%" through its proprietary MAVAN staking platform and partners to acquire 5% of the ETH supply.
Michael Saylor's Strategy Inc. acquired 34,164 bitcoins between April 13 and April 19, at a total cost of approximately $2.54 billion, with an average purchase price of approximately $74,395. As of April 19, the company held a total of 815,061 BTC, with a total cost of approximately $61.56 billion and an average cost of approximately $75,527; the funds primarily came from ATM stock issuance.
Justin Sun withdrew approximately 55.01 million USDC from HTX and subsequently deposited them all into the lending protocol Spark. Previously, after Aave was suspected of having bad debt risks, he had transferred 53,665 ETH that he had previously withdrawn to Spark, bringing his total deposits in the protocol to approximately $179 million.
Tether Treasury mints 1 billion new USDT on the Ethereum network.
KelpDAO attackers have transferred 75,700 ETH to two new addresses.
