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  • Menopause Estrogen Patches Are in Short Supply. What Are the Alternatives?

    The demand for estrogen patches has outpaced supply, and manufacturers are struggling to catch up.

    Prescriptions for estrogen-based HRT have surged, according to an analysis by health data company Truveta. Patch use specifically increased by more than triple between 2018 and early 2026.

    Among women ages 45–54, prescribing rates jumped 184%, and in February 2026, roughly 1 in 20 women in that age group had an estrogen-based HRT prescription, the Truveta data showed.

    Several forces drove that growth. In November 2025, the FDA began removing some of the strongest safety label warnings from certain HRT products.

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it initiated the labeling changes after a comprehensive review found the warnings overstated the risks for many women, particularly those who start therapy near the onset of menopause.

    “Demand for hormone replacement therapy has surged since our announcement,” Makary said.

    G. Thomas Ruiz, MD, an OB-GYN at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, said the shift has been dramatic in his own practice.

    “As soon as the FDA changed its black box warning… I got so many patients who are no longer fearful,” Ruiz told Healthline. He added that the biggest concern holding women back had been breast cancer risk — a fear rooted in the original Women’s Health Initiative findings.

    Sarah Prager, MD, an OB-GYN at University of Washington Medical Center, said that she’s seen the same trend.

    “I have seen a huge uptick in patients requesting estrogen as part of menopausal hormone therapy,” Prager told Healthline, adding that she has noted patients are having a difficult time accessing patches.

    “Our field is starting to catch up on how helpful estrogen can be, how safe it generally is, and how early we could/should be starting mHT for patients to help with symptoms,” she said.

  • Fluoride in Drinking Water Has No Effect on IQ or Brain Function, Study Finds

    Drinking water flows from kitchen sink tapShare on Pinterest
    A new study found no link between fluoride in drinking water and negative impacts on brain health. Aidana K/Stocksy
    • A new study finds no evidence that fluoridated drinking water affects children’s IQ or the cognitive abilities of older adults.
    • Experts say fluoride in drinking water helps prevent tooth decay and cavities.
    • They add that a person’s dental health directly affects their overall health.

    Fluoride in drinking water does not affect children’s IQ or decrease cognitive abilities in older adults, according to a new, large-scale study.

    “We find no evidence that [community water fluoridation] is negatively associated with adolescent IQ or adult cognitive functioning,” the study authors wrote.

    The findings are in contrast to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s announcement in April that he would require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to revise its long-standing recommendation that fluoride be added to drinking water.

    They also contradict previous research, including a January study, that has suggested a possible link between fluoride and children’s IQ levels. Researchers noted that the studies were conducted in China and other countries with higher fluoride concentrations than permitted in the United States.

    Scott Tomar, DMD, a spokesperson for the American Dental Association, said this research provides important information for the public at a critical time. Tomar wasn’t involved in the study.

    “Despite misinformation that is out there, the best available evidence indicates that community water fluoridation has no effect on IQ, cognition, or other measures of neurodevelopment,” said Tomar, who is also a professor and associate dean for Prevention and Public Sciences at the College of Dentistry at the University of Illinois Chicago.

    Danelle Fisher, MD, a pediatrician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, said the findings confirm previous research on fluoridated water. Fisher wasn’t involved in the study.

    “They reassure us that the use of fluoride in proper amounts does not have any definitive effects on IQ,” she told Healthline. “It makes a good case for having fluoride in our drinking water.”

    The new study was led by Rob Warren, PhD, a sociologist and population health expert at the University of Minnesota.

    Warren used data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, which has followed more than 10,000 people in that state since they graduated from high school in 1957. Participants took IQ tests at age 16, then had cognitive testing done at ages 53, 64, 72, and 80.

    The original purpose of the Wisconsin study wasn’t focused on fluoride so there was no data available on urine or blood tests that would have measured exact levels of fluoride. Warren’s team based their estimates on exposure from records of when community water fluoridation began in certain areas.

    The new findings follow a November 2025 study led by Warren that found no link between community water fluoridation in early life and brain function in people at age 60.

    Experts note that fluoridation at appropriate levels doesn’t appear to cause any negative health effects.

    “At the levels of fluoride that we use for community water fluoridation in the United States and other countries, there are no adverse health effects,” Tomar told Healthline.

    Graham Tse, MD, a pediatrician and chief medical officer of MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital in Long Beach, CA, agreed that the low levels of fluoride in U.S. drinking water pose no threat. Tse wasn’t involved in the study.

    “There is no evidence of any health impacts,” Tse told Healthline.

    He added that fluoride, like vitamins or other substances, can pose some issues if people are exposed to high levels. “That’s the case with many, many things,” Tse said.

    The health benefits of fluoride in drinking water were first studied in 1909 in Colorado.

    In 1945, Grand Rapids, Michigan, became the first state to add fluoride to its municipal water in an effort to help prevent tooth decay. Initial studies reported that tooth decay among Grand Rapids schoolchildren born after 1945 had declined by 60%.

    In 1962, the U.S. Public Health Service recommended fluoridation in drinking water.

    The CDC states that the optimal level of fluoride in drinking water to prevent cavities is 0.7 milligrams (mg) per liter (L). That amounts to 3 drops in a 55-gallon barrel. The legal limit for drinking water in the United States is 4 mg/L.

    Today, more than 70% of people in the United States on public water systems receive fluoridated water. That represents more than 200 million Americans.

    However, that number is shrinking. Two states — Utah and Florida — have enacted bans on fluoride in drinking water. Several other states, including Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma, have pending legislation to limit fluoride.

    Fluoride, a chemical found in nature as well as in toothpaste and drinking water, works by inhibiting the growth of bacteria that cause cavities, strengthening the hard outer enamel of teeth, reversing the damage caused by cavities, and supporting new bone formation.

    Excessive fluoride intake, however, may cause fluorosis, a condition that can result in white spots or brown stains on teeth.

    Experts say the benefits of fluoridated water are numerous and widespread.

    “We have extremely consistent evidence that water fluoridation helps to prevent tooth decay and reduces its severity,” said Tomar. “We also have very consistent evidence that community water fluoridation saves money for families, communities, and state governments by reducing dental costs and missed days of work or school due to dental problems.”

    “The primary danger of stopping fluoridation is that the levels of tooth decay, and its related treatment costs will increase,” he added. “The effects show up first – and most pronounced – among the youngest children in the community but ultimately affects everyone.”

    Among other issues, gum disease can affect blood sugar levels in people with diabetes and increase the risk of heart disease and respiratory infections.

    In addition, poor dental health can also lead to the development of diabetes and other chronic diseases later in life.

    Poor dental health can also affect people with chronic kidney disease.

    Fisher said that cavities can lead to abscesses and infections, which can affect any part of the body.

    “Cavities aren’t just little holes in your teeth,” she told Healthline. “Infections can spread and cause a wide variety of problems.”

    “Oral health isn’t limited to the mouth,” Tse noted. “It’s connected to overall health.”

    CDC officials say there are a number of ways you can promote good oral health. Among their suggestions:

    • Avoid foods and drinks with added sugars.
    • Drink fluoridated water and use fluoridated toothpaste.
    • Brush your teeth at least twice a day and floss regularly.
    • Visit the dentist at least once a year.

    Fisher agreed with these recommendations and added a few more suggestions for parents.

    She said adults should set a good example for children on regular brushing and flossing. She adds that parents should avoid giving children too many drinks and foods with added sugars.

    Fisher said babies should never fall asleep while drinking juice or soda from a bottle. That allows sugar to coat their tiny teeth. She added that gummy products can also stick to teeth and should be used sparingly.

    Tse agreed that good dental habits are important for children, as their teeth are still growing. He said that if everyone had access to quality dental care and adhered to healthy dental habits every day, then perhaps fluoridated water wouldn’t be necessary.

    “Maybe we wouldn’t need fluoridated drinking water under those circumstances, but that’s not the reality,” he said. “Fluoridation is a cheap, effective way to promote good dental care.”

  • Federal jury finds concert business Live Nation is a monopoly

    Live Nation, which operates the Ticketmaster platform, has been determined to be a monopoly. A federal jury handed down its decision today that the company violated federal and state antitrust rules. This finding won’t surprise anyone who has used Ticketmaster and been sticker-shocked by their final bill. However, it’s unclear what the jury’s decision will mean in practice.

    For starters, the judge overseeing the case hasn’t determined what remedies will be applied. The actions could go as far as requiring Live Nation to sell off Ticketmaster. There are also monetary damages to be awarded, which haven’t been set yet. And whatever the judge decides, it’s likely that Live Nation will appeal the decision. In a statement released by Live Nation today, the company noted that there are other motions still pending that could also impact the jury’s ruling. “Of course, Live Nation can and will appeal any unfavorable rulings on these motions,” it said.

    The Department of Justice and a group of state and district attorneys general sued Live Nation on monopoly claims in 2024. The government agency reached a settlement with Live Nation last month, but the other parties continued their action. There’s also a separate case being waged by the Federal Trade Commission questioning whether Live Nation colluded with ticket resellers.

    Update, April 15, 2025, 6:31PM ET: Added statement from Live Nation.

  • Microsoft’s new college deal is a half-hearted answer to the $500 MacBook Neo

    Apple’s MacBook Neo is a $600 (or $500 for students) shot across the bow at affordable Windows laptops, and it seems like Microsoft has ready its first response. The newly announced “Microsoft College Offer” is a bundle of Microsoft 365 Premium, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, custom Xbox controller and discounted laptop that the company thinks could woo students away from Apple’s new deal.

    With the purchase of a discounted machine directly from Microsoft, retailers like Amazon and Best Buy or PC makers like HP, ASUS and Acer, you can get what the company says is an extra $500 of value from its bundle. The laptop deals include a Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x with a Snapdragon X chip, 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for $500 from Best Buy, around $250 off the laptop’s usual $750 price. Or if you wanted something even cheaper, Walmart is selling an HP Omnibook 3 for $429, a discount of $270 off its usual $699 price. Microsoft is less generous with the deals on its own laptops and tablets, but you can even get a discount on a Surface Laptop as part of the offer.

    A discounted laptop is great, but where the value of the Microsoft College Offer gets harder to define is with the services the company is packing in. Getting what would normally be a $200 year-long subscription to Microsoft 365 Premium for free is a meaningful deal, but many colleges give their students access to Microsoft’s apps (and other software) with the cost of their tuition. A year of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which costs $30 per month as of October 2025, sounds like significant savings, but the offer is only valid for new subscribers. That leaves the free custom Xbox controller as the simplest bonus of the bunch, a value of around $76.

    Windows PC makers are expected to make more serious attempts to compete with the Neo over the next year. For now, though, the Microsoft College Offer isn’t exactly a bad deal, but it’s certainly not as straightforwardly appealing as an Apple-quality laptop for $500 with a college discount.

    The Microsoft College Offer is available to students starting April 15 and runs through June 30, 2026. Microsoft says redemption of the full bundle of services and accessories it’s offering needs to happen by July 31, 2026.

  • Arthur Hayes says crypto markets are crashing because the community can’t agree on why they’re crashing

    Arthur Hayes says crypto markets are crashing because the community can’t agree on why they’re crashing

    Arthur Hayes says the crypto crowd is getting hit while still fighting over the reason for the drop. In his latest essay, Arthur warns that: “I don’t know anything about war fighting,” and makes clear he has no inside line into what global leaders may do next.

    What he does say he has is public data, basic math, propaganda AI agents, and a portfolio to protect.

    He says there are really four possible outcomes, but one is useless for investors. Nuclear destruction is not something he thinks anyone can trade around, so he throws it out. That leaves three main paths, plus one middle case tied to a US blockade. Arthur says he is trying to find a portfolio setup that can beat hydrocarbons, food, and fuel prices in the best case, and in the worst case still do better than most major assets.

    Arthur Hayes says Bitcoin comeback is waiting for Fed liquidity injection

    In the first case, Arthur says the war stops and things go back to what they were before, but that still would not solve the deeper problem because the bigger threat is AI replacing white-collar workers across the US economy.

    “The American economy is the most exposed because its GDP is ~70% driven by consumer spending. Consumers finance their materialism using bank credit, and these loans become assets on banks’ balance sheets,” says Arthur.

    Arthur says the AI-led bust could be as serious as the 2008 subprime mess. He writes that rising consumer delinquencies are already showing up before the real layoff wave has even started.

    He also gives a story from a crypto gaming founder who tested the latest Claude model during Christmas 2025, built usable code fast, then brought top engineers together to rethink the company.

    After that, the firm built an agent workflow that coded all day and all night, including code review. He says that led the company to plan cuts to 50% of staff. He adds that top engineers may get 10x to 100x more productive, while average workers get pushed out. He says the median annual unemployment payout in US states is about $28,000, far below the $85,000 to $90,000 earned by many knowledge workers.

    That gap, according to Arthur, leads straight to missed debt payments. Even then, Arthur says Bitcoin may only get a limited bounce, maybe to $80,000 or $90,000, until the Fed steps in with real liquidity.

    Arthur tracks yuan tolls, oil stress, and money printing through Bitcoin, gold, and bonds

    In the second case, Arthur says Iran keeps control over the Strait of Hormuz and lets friendly ships pass after paying a $2 million toll in yuan, crypto, sanctioned dollars, or other deals.

    He says that would hit the petrodollar hard. Since most big economies run trade deficits with China, they would need to sell US Treasuries or tech stocks, buy physical gold, then swap that gold for yuan in Shanghai or Hong Kong. He notes only Brazil and Russia among the ten biggest economies run trade surpluses with China.

    Arthur pointed out that foreign securities holdings at the Fed dropped $63 billion after the war started, while non-monetary gold became the biggest US export in four of the last five months, up 342% from a year earlier. He also says Swiss refineries are recasting US gold for China and that rising CIPS volumes matter because Iran cannot use SWIFT. As Arthur puts it:

    “The yuan and gold will most likely become the two primary currencies of sovereign trade. If holding dollars cannot guarantee pirates won’t tank your stuff, why hold them at all?”

    In the third case, the US military reopens the strait by force. Arthur says that could briefly restore faith in the dollar, but it could also destroy Iran, wreck Gulf energy output, and force central banks to print into a commodity spike. He writes, “The spice definitely won’t flow.” He says some countries would face hyperinflation, while America and Russia would be the only big swing producers left.

    For Bitcoin, Arthur says, “If the blockade ultimately ends via a punitive bombing campaign of Iran followed by an Iranian destruction of all Persian Gulf energy production, this could lead to the destruction of the Iranian state. The rally in Bitcoin, inspired by money printing, might be short-lived because the destruction of the Iranian state materially raises the prospect of WW3.”

  • Bitcoin Price Targets $75K Break, Is a New Rally Incoming?

    Bitcoin Price Targets $75K Break, Is a New Rally Incoming?

    Bitcoin price started a fresh surge and cleared the $74,500 zone. $BTC is consolidating and might aim for more gains above the $75,000 level.

    • Bitcoin managed to stay above $73,500 and started a fresh increase.
    • The price is trading above $74,000 and the 100 hourly simple moving average.
    • There is a declining channel forming with resistance at $75,000 on the hourly chart of the $BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
    • The pair might extend gains if it stays above the $73,650 and $73,300 levels.

    Bitcoin Price Aims for Steady Gains

    Bitcoin price found support near $73,000 and started a fresh increase. $BTC gained pace for a move above the $73,500 and $73,650 resistance levels.

    The last swing high was formed at $76,088 before there was a downside correction. The price dipped below $74,000. It even spiked below the 38.2% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $70,518 swing low to the $76,088 high.

    Bitcoin is now trading above $74,000 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. There is also a declining channel forming with resistance at $75,000 on the hourly chart of the $BTC/USD pair.

    Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

    If the price remains stable above $73,650, it could attempt a fresh increase. Immediate resistance is near the $75,000 level. The first key resistance is near the $75,500 level. A close above the $75,500 resistance might send the price further higher. In the stated case, the price could rise and test the $76,000 resistance. Any more gains might send the price toward the $77,500 level. The next barrier for the bulls could be $78,000.

    Another Decline In $BTC?

    If Bitcoin fails to rise above the $75,500 resistance zone, it could start another decline. Immediate support is near the $74,250 level. The first major support is near the $73,650 level.

    The next support is now near the $73,300 zone or the 50% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $70,518 swing low to the $76,088 high. Any more losses might send the price toward the $72,650 support in the near term. The main support now sits at $72,000, below which $BTC might struggle to recover in the near term.

    Technical indicators:

    Hourly MACD – The MACD is now gaining pace in the bullish zone.

    Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for $BTC/USD is now above the 50 level.

    Major Support Levels – $73,650, followed by $73,300.

    Major Resistance Levels – $75,000 and $76,000.

  • Three kittens rescued from car engine in California

    Three kittens rescued from car engine in California

    Odd News // 4 weeks ago

    More than 1,050 people form human shamrock in Dublin, Ohio

    March 18 (UPI) — The city of Dublin, Ohio, unofficially broke a Guinness World Record by arranging more than 1,050 people into the shape of a massive shamrock.

  • Robert Eggers’ ‘Werwulf’ Brings Scares to CinemaCon

    Robert Eggers’ ‘Werwulf’ Brings Scares to CinemaCon

    Horror king Robert Eggers is back with another creature feature, which got a special sneak peek at CinemaCon on Wednesday.

    Following the success of vampire flick Nosferatu, Eggers has moved onto werewolves with Werwulf, which he co-wrote and directed. During Universal’s presentation to theater owners and distributors in Las Vegas, the first footage was shown with the declaration that it would be “his most terrifying motion picture yet.”

    The film is largely black and white, with hints of color; the clips showed Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Lily Rose Depp as a villager couple, trudging along in dirty clothes and dragging a few kids behind. “Do not dread the darkness,” says a husky voiceover, with a supercut of violent images and horses running the forest. The footage ended on a close-up of Taylor-Johnson’s face screaming in horror — and no reveal of the titular monster, much like how Nosferatu‘s monster was hidden in promotional materials.

    Taylor-Johnson, Depp and Willem Dafoe star in the movie, which like Nosferatu is set for a Christmas Day (2026) release in an act of counter-programming. It’s set in 13th-century England, where a mysterious creature stalks the foggy countryside, transforming local folklore into terrifying reality for its villagers.

    Eggers has a particularly affinity for medieval projects, having said around the release of Nosferatu that “the idea of having to photograph a car makes me ill. And the idea of photographing a cellphone is just death. And to make a contemporary story you have to photograph a cellphone — it’s just how life is” so he did not plan to make any modern-set movies.

    Both Eggers and co-writer Sjón are producing alongside Focus Features. Chris and Eleanor Columbus, who worked with Eggers on Nosferatu, serve as executive produce. Nosferatu brought in more than $180 million worldwide, becoming Eggers’ highest-grossing movie to date, and was nominated in four craft categories at the Oscars.

  • Steven Spielberg’s ‘Disclosure Day’ Reveals First Look at Alien in New Footage

    Steven Spielberg’s ‘Disclosure Day’ Reveals First Look at Alien in New Footage

    Steven Spielberg took the stage at CinemaCon for the first time in his career to promote his upcoming Universal release, Disclosure Day.

    After an introduction from star Colman Domingo, the filmmaker received rapturous applause from the annual convention of movie theater owners in Las Vegas on Wednesday. Spielberg accepted the Motion Picture Association’s America250 Award from the group’s chair, Charles Rivkin, in celebration of the director’s work that embraces the nation’s wonders.

    “I haven’t done a Western yet — that’s next,” the 79-year-old director said. He noted that his first CinemaCon stage appearance had been great: “This will not be my last, I promise.”

    He recalled his transformative first visit to the cinema: “Nothing could compete with sitting in the first three rows of a movie palace, watching a Cecil B. DeMille epic with color by Technicolor. Nothing would ever be the same.”

    Spielberg admitted, “Sometimes, it feels to me like a cage fight between the small screen and the big screen.” He noted that the theatergoing experience was “clobbered” by COVID but added, “There was reason for hope.” He went on to praise projects like Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet, which counted Spielberg as a producer.

    Then, the filmmaker sat down on stage with Domingo to discuss the exhibition business, with Spielberg recalling inviting his boyhood friends over to his parents’ home to screen popular titles. “I made money by charging 12 cents on popcorn,” he quipped.

    Turning to Disclosure Day, the director explained that he has long been fascinated by the potential for extraterrestrial life. “I’ve been curious ever since I was a little kid about what’s happening in the night sky, what’s happening in the sky during the daytime,” Spielberg said. He remembered his dad telling him about “advanced civilizations” that didn’t exist on Earth.

    Spielberg recalled a 2017 New York Times story about a Navy pilot spotting something via camera that could not be explained. “In 2017, I got very curious again,” he said, pointing out that his alien feature Close Encounters of the Third Kind was made 50 years ago. “Half a century later, I made Disclosure Day with certainty that there is a lot more truth than fiction to what you’re going to see on June 12.”

    He said of Disclosure Day, “I truly believe that this movie is going to answer questions and cause you to ask a lot of questions.” He also teased, “This movie is an experience, and all you need to get from the beginning to the end is a seatbelt.”

    Spielberg introduced new footage from the film, which stars Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor, chronicling what might happen if humanity were to receive proof of non-human intelligent life. Disclosure Day marks Spielberg’s first new movie since 2022’s The Fabelmans and also stars Domingo, Colin Firth, Wyatt Russell and Eve Hewson.

    The footage shows Blunt as a meteorologist who finds herself unable to speak during a live segment. In describing the viral footage of Blunt’s weather broadcast, O’Connor notes that he can understand the gibberish that she is saying: “It’s math.”

    Viewers see an emotional meeting between O’Connor and Blunt. “I know you,” he says, to which she replies, “I know you, too.” There was also plenty of action in store, as Blunt tries to jump from a car onto a moving train. The footage ends with the movie’s first glimpse at its alien life form.

    Disclosure Day represents Spielberg’s return to the UFO genre, and fans have speculated that it could be a closet sequel to 1977’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Blunt recently told Empire magazine, “There are definitely questions posed by Close Encounters that are answered in Disclosure Day.”

    When appearing at the South by Southwest Film & TV festival last month, Spielberg said, “I don’t know any more than any of you do, but I have a very strong suspicion that we are not alone here on Earth right now — and I made a movie about that.”

    The footage comes one day after Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna’s deadline came and went for the Pentagon to declassify and release several specific video files that she’s requested which purportedly show previously unseen instances of UAP/UFOs activity.

    On Tuesday, Luna posted the following update on X: “No one from the Pentagon had responded until we reached out, and it appears that someone did not pass the letter to the appropriate authorities. How convenient. Nonetheless, we will be getting the requested list. We are not waiting for a briefing at some unspecified future date. The Secretary of War is someone I consider a friend and someone who backs the President. The President has authorized the release, so whoever is trying to be cute at the Pentagon can take a hike.”

    Universal can only hope any such videos — which would doubtless help generate buzz for the film — will be released in time for the opening weekend of Disclosure Day, which comes out June 12.

  • Ethereum DeFi Exchange CoW Swap Pauses Protocol Following Website Compromise

    Ethereum DeFi Exchange CoW Swap Pauses Protocol Following Website Compromise

    In brief

    • CoW Swap, an Ethereum-based decentralized exchange aggregator, warned users to avoid interacting with its protocol after suffering a front-end compromise.
    • Although the scope of losses was initially unclear, one noted cybersecurity researcher estimated that $500,000 had been taken from unsuspecting users so far.
    • CoW Swap said the attack didn’t affect the protocol’s underlying smart contracts, but the decentralized exchange aggregator had been paused as a precaution.

    CoW Swap, an Ethereum-based decentralized exchange aggregator, warned users on Tuesday to avoid using the protocol, disclosing that its front-end interface had been compromised.

    “We are now actively working to resolve the situation,” the project frequently used by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said in a post to X. “The CoW Protocol backend and APIs were not impacted, but we have paused them temporarily as a precaution.”

    CoW Swap indicated that attackers had gained control of the website domain that users typically visit before engaging with the protocol. That gave bad actors the opportunity to direct users to a different website where funds could be stolen through the approval of malicious transfers.

    Although the compromise didn’t affect CoW Swap’s underlying smart contracts, the protocol appeared to remain frozen three hours after the attack was divulged. Meanwhile, users on Discord reported losses within the project’s official server.

    “I don’t know what to do anymore,” said one user who claimed that they lost more than $50,000 via CoW Swap’s compromised front end. “I have no money at all.”

    Despite apparent frustrations, the scope of losses sustained wasn’t immediately clear. 

    A pseudonymous member of the CoW Swap team who goes by MooKeeper told Decrypt that reports are actively being investigated and verified. They added that a more complete assessment would be released tomorrow or later this week.

    “We have evidence that a small number of users signed malicious approvals for very small amounts,” MooKeeper added.

    Still, a noted cybersecurity researcher who goes by Vladimir S. on X said that around $500,000 worth of digital assets had been “drained from a few addresses so far.”

    Martin Köppelmann, co-founder and CEO of decentralized infrastructure provider Gnosis, noted in a post to X that the attack’s scope appears limited. He said that users are potentially affected only if they approved interactions with CoW Swap within the past few hours.

    Websites that try to trick users by mimicking established DeFi projects aren’t entirely uncommon. Last year, for example, Curve Finance suffered its second DNS hijack. The first one, which took place in 2022, resulted in $570,000 in losses for users.

    Buterin, who has swapped notable amounts of Ethereum for stablecoins using CoW Swap this year, had engaged with the protocol as recently as a week ago, data from on-chain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence showed. In 2024, he also used the decentralized exchange aggregator to offload holdings of a meme coin modeled on a baby pygmy hippo from Thailand.

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