Crypto Industry News & Market Trends

Kraken sues Etana over $25m client fund theft

Krakens Etana fraud case alleges a Ponzi-like scheme diverted more than $25m in client funds.Kraken parent Payward filed a second amended complaint in Colorado federal court accusing Etana Custody and CEO Dion Russell of misappropriating over $25m in client funds.The complaint alleges Etana commingled custodial assets with operating funds, made risky bets totaling $16m through Seabury Trade Capital notes, and issued falsified account statements.Etana entered court-supervised liquidation in November 2025 with just $6.83m in cash against more than $26m in liabilities.　　Kraken‘s Etana fraud case alleges a Ponzi-like scheme diverted more than $25m in client funds. Kraken’s parent company Payward filed a second amended complaint on May 4 in the US District Court for the District of Colorado, accusing Etana Custody and its CEO Dion Brandon Russell of commingling custodial assets with operating funds, financing risky bets, and sending falsified account reports that showed balances as fully intact while a funding gap widened.　　Payward says Etana operated a “Ponzi-like enterprise” that recycled incoming client deposits to cover prior shortfalls. When Kraken attempted to withdraw roughly $25m in reserve funds in April 2025, Etana stalled with what the complaint calls fabricated reconciliation issues. At least $16m of the shortfall is tied to promissory

05-09Industry

Ethereum Faces Whale Pressure as Binance Deposits Hit $178 M

Ethereum　　Ethereum Faces Whale Pressure as Binance Deposits Hit $178 M　　Bitcoin Ethereum NewsOnchain Lens said that Garrett Jin deposited 78,077 ETH, worth about $177.92 million, into Binance.Crypto Rover called the latest Binance deposit bearish and cited the prior ETH drop.Lookonchain said a whale linked to Erik Voorhees bought 2,920 ETH for $6.67 million.　　Ethereum whale activity has intensified as ETH continues to struggle against Bitcoin, bringing fresh attention to large exchange deposits and private-wallet accumulation. On-chain data shared on X showed one OG whale sending 78,077 ETH, worth about $177.92 million, into Binance.　　The transfer added to a broader three-day flow from the same whale, while separate data showed another large wallet buying more ETH near $2,284. Meanwhile, traders are watching whether exchange inflows create near-term volatility as Ethereum tries to regain strength against BTC.　　OG Whale Sends ETH to Binance　　Onchain Lens reported that Garrett Jin, also known as the “Bitcoin OG 10/11,” deposited 78,077 ETH, worth $177.92 million, into Binance. The Arkham data showed the transfer landing in a Binance deposit wallet marked 0x326.　　Analyst Ai also tracked the same wallet and said the whale deposited another 78,076.87 ETH into Binance, worth about $178 million. According to that post, the wallet had already moved

05-09Industry

Kraken parent goes for the OCC charter in bid to become a federal crypto bank

Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, has applied for a national trust company charter with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), according to a Friday announcement shared with CoinDesk, as the company looks to expand its regulated digital-asset custody business.　　If approved, the charter would establish Payward National Trust Company (PNTC), a federally regulated entity focused on fiduciary custody and related services for digital assets. Kraken said the trust would primarily serve institutions and customers seeking bank-level custody protections under OCC oversight.　　The filing marks Paywards latest effort to expand its U.S. regulatory footprint as crypto firms increasingly pursue traditional financial charters to attract institutional clients and navigate a shifting regulatory environment.　　“A national trust company provides the certainty institutions require and establishes the infrastructure to build the next generation of custody,” Payward and Kraken Co-CEO Arjun Sethi said in the statement.　　The move comes as crypto firms increasingly seek federal charters, licenses and banking approvals under the Trump administrations more industry-friendly approach to digital-asset regulation.　　Krakens broader expansion strategy has included a string of acquisitions aimed at building regulated trading and payments infrastructure ahead of a potential IPO.　　In addition to its $1.5 billion acquisition of retail futures platform

05-09Industry

XRP Ledger Foundation Signals Public Collaboration Push Across Ecosystem

Tech　　XRP Ledger Foundation Signals Public Collaboration Push Across Ecosystem　　The Ledger Foundation, a nonprofit organization that contributes to, grows, and advocates for the Ledger and its community, said in a May 8 post on X that it is entering a more public phase of collaboration across the ecosystem. The update introduced the team managing daily operations, engineering coordination, and community engagement.　　“The Ledger Foundation exists to support the Ledger and everyone shaping it,” the Foundation said, adding:　　“Today we introduce the new team driving that work day-to-day — the people youll be hearing from, building with, and running into at events throughout the year.”　　Brett Mollin leads the organization as executive director, setting strategic direction, working with the board on long-term priorities, and coordinating engineering, community, operations, and partnerships. Denis Angell, one of the most active contributors to the XRPL codebase, is transitioning from XRPL Labs to become chief technology officer. He will lead engineering work, including technical direction, amendment development, standards, and production contributions.　　Rene Huijsen serves as director of operations, handling financial coordination and supporting the operating structure behind the teams work. He previously spent years at Ripple as director of payment operations and took part in the Bank for International Settlements Cross-border

05-09Industry

Block Shares Surge 8% After Q1 Earnings Beat, Bitcoin Loss

Block (formerly Square), Jack Dorseys payments firm, saw its shares climb 8% in after-hours trading on Thursday following a surprising Q1 earnings beat. The company reported earnings of 85 cents per share, significantly surpassing the Zacks consensus estimate of 68 cents per share — a 25.68% surprise. Shares closed at $75.70 in after-hours trading, reflecting investor confidence despite Block posting its first quarterly net loss in three years.　　The $309 million net loss for Q1 2026 was largely attributed to a $172.8 million revaluation loss on the company‘s Bitcoin holdings. Block held 8,883 BTC as of March 31. The loss aligns with Bitcoin’s 23.8% price drop over the quarter, as BTC slid from $106,712 at the start of January to $81,309 by the end of March. Revenue from Bitcoin-related services, including Cash App, fell to $1.8 billion, down from $2.33 billion in Q1 2025.　　However, Block‘s gross profit grew 27% year-over-year to $2.9 billion, driven by strong performance across its payment services. Bitcoin transactions contributed $63 million to the gross profit, with Cash App remaining a key growth driver. Dorsey’s vision of integrating Bitcoin into mainstream payments continues to reshape the company‘s offerings. As of late April, over 800,000 U.S. merchants have

05-09Industry

Stop Waiting For Your Wins: Discover The Best Online Casino Instant Payout in 2026 Before It Is Too Late

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05-09Industry

Iran closes Strait of Hormuz, impacting global oil supply amid tensions

Tech　　Iran closes Strait of Hormuz, impacting global oil supply amid tensions　　Bitcoin Ethereum News　　## Market Snapshot　　WTI Crude Oil prediction markets show YES pricing at 0.7% for the week of May 4, with a notable decline from 48% seven days ago. The market for WTI reaching $150 in May currently displays a 3.5% YES likelihood, down from 6% a week ago.　　## Key Takeaways　　– Market pricing suggests participants view recent geopolitical tensions as consistent with potential oil price increases. – The closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran appears to impact global oil supply, reflected in current market trends. – Ongoing US-Israel military actions against Iran may indicate heightened risks for further supply disruptions.　　## Article Body　　The NYMEX WTI June crude futures closed at $95.42 per barrel, marking a rise of 61 cents amid escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The recent closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran has been a significant factor in this price movement, as the strait is a crucial chokepoint for global oil trade. The International Energy Agency has reported disruptions in oil supply due to the closure, which comes amidst ongoing US-Israel military actions against Iran. Compounding the situation, Russias oil export capacity has decreased

05-09Industry

NATO allies question US leadership after Iran war

NATO allies are openly questioning whether the US should still lead the alliance following Trumps decision to launch strikes on Iran without consulting them.European leaders are seriously considering a future in which the US no longer leads NATO, following disputes over the Iran war.Trump left NATO in the dark before launching strikes on Iran and then demanded alliance support to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.Analysts say Germany, France, the UK, and Poland are the most likely bloc to assume collective NATO leadership if the US retreats.　　NATO allies are questioning US leadership after Trump launched strikes on Iran without consulting the alliance, with fresh disputes over the Middle East conflict pushing European leaders to consider a future in which the US no longer runs the alliance.　　Former US ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder told NPR that “something fundamental has broken,” arguing that Trump does not believe America‘s security depends on European security, a break from decades of foreign policy logic dating back to NATO’s founding.　　The tensions have been simmering since Trump began threatening to seize control of NATO-linked Greenland and annex Canada, but the Iran war has sharpened the dispute into a concrete institutional question.　　Trump launched strikes on Iran in late February

05-09Industry

Solv Protocol and Re Switch to Chainlink CCIP, Moving Nearly $1B Away From Layerzero

Tech　　Solv Protocol and Re Switch to Chainlink CCIP, Moving Nearly $1B Away From Layerzero　　Solv Protocol announced this week that it is migrating its entire tokenized portfolio, including SolvBTC and xSolvBTC, from Layerzero to Chainlink CCIP. The move covers roughly $700 million in assets and affects bridge deployments on Corn, Berachain, Rootstock, and TAC networks. Layerzero support on those chains is being deprecated as the migration proceeds in phases.　　“After an extensive security review, Solv is deprecating its Layerzero bridges and migrating to the most secure cross-chain solution in the industry, with SolvBTC and xSolvBTC now officially powered by Chainlink CCIP across all supported chains,” the team wrote.　　more independent operators, native rate-limit circuit breakers, and SOC 2 Type 2 compliance as the deciding factors. Protocol TVL stands above $475 million.　　Both decisions follow an April 18, 2026, exploit that drained approximately 116,500 rsETH, worth roughly $292 million at the time, from a Layerzero-powered bridge used by KelpDAO. Attackers reportedly used the stolen assets as collateral on Aave v3. KelpDAO attributed the breach to a 1-of-1 verifier configuration within Layerzeros infrastructure, which created a single point of failure.　　Layerzero disputed that framing. The company said KelpDAO had manually selected a non-recommended single-verifier model against Layerzero‘s

05-09Industry

Banking Industry Says Clarity Act Stablecoin Proposal Would Enable Evasion

In briefTop banking groups say the new Clarity Act language leaves loopholes regarding stablecoin yield.The compromise would ban direct yield on stablecoins but still allow some rewards tied to account balances.The banks statement comes as senators prepare for a long-delayed committee vote on the Clarity Act.　　A coalition of the nations top banking trade groups, representing Wall Street giants and community banks alike, issued a statement Friday expressing concern that new language in a major crypto bill would benefit digital assets companies and disrupt the traditional banking industry.　　For months, the banking industry and the crypto lobby have battled over key language in the Clarity Act, a bill that would formally legalize most crypto activity in the United States.　　Banks want to add language to the legislation banning crypto companies from offering yield on stablecoins, cryptocurrencies pegged to the value of the U.S. dollar. The banks say such programs could make traditional, low-yield savings accounts less attractive; crypto companies, including Coinbase, have argued they should be able to compete with traditional finance.　　For nearly four months, the skirmish over stablecoin yield has kept the Clarity Act from advancing in the Senate. Last week, two key lawmakers on the Senate Banking Committee finally revealed a

05-09Industry

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