Tag: CRYPTOS FoxBusiness.

As diplomatic talks continue regarding a possible agreement in the ongoing conflict between Iran and the US, noteworthy new statements have emerged from Tehran.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf strongly criticized the US administration’s rhetoric and sent clear messages regarding the ongoing disputes over the Strait of Hormuz.

Ghalibaf intensified his criticism of Washington, arguing that all seven claims made by US President Trump in a short period of time were “false.” The Iranian official explicitly stated that the Strait of Hormuz would not remain open if the current naval blockade continued.

Ghalibaf also stated that passage through the strait would not be entirely free, arguing that ship traffic would only take place via “designated routes” and “with Iran’s permission.”

On the other hand, developments throughout the day increased uncertainty on the ground. Although Iranian Foreign Ministry officials stated that the strait was open, it was reported that 10 to 20 ships attempted to pass through, but the vast majority turned back. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reportedly maintained that the strait was still closed.

According to diplomatic sources, the Tehran administration informed mediators that it would restrict ship passage and impose certain fees during the ceasefire process. Iran also categorically denied allegations that it would transfer enriched uranium to the United States.

Another development regarding the negotiations has emerged from Tehran. According to information based on sources close to Iran, the Iranian government has not yet reached an agreement with the US on the next planned round of talks.

*This is not investment advice.

On-chain investigator ZachXBT is offering a $25,000 bounty for information related to alleged irregularities in $RAVE, the native utility and governance token of RaveDAO, a web3 entertainment project that links music festivals with blockchain-based community participation.

In a statement on X on Saturday, ZachXBT alleged the project is tied to a pump-and-dump scheme, with insiders controlling the majority of supply. The blockchain sleuth urged crypto exchanges Binance, Bitget, and Gate.io to review the activity and take action.

Pump and dump activity for $RAVE originated on @bitget @binance @Gate

Call to action for both @heyibinance @GracyBitget to do better and launch internal investigation offboarding the responsible actors.

Offering up to $10K bounty of my personal funds for whistleblowers to… pic.twitter.com/NhZDubdU9R

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) April 18, 2026

Update: I am increasing the $RAVE bounty to $25K due to contributions from other community members.

Keep applying pressure to exchanges so they address the market manipulation. pic.twitter.com/UChKYuZvYK

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) April 18, 2026

ZachXBT said he expects exchanges to conduct internal reviews and publish transparent findings on those responsible. He noted that crime-associated tokens harm the industry’s credibility.

Responding to ZachXBT’s call, Bitget CEO Gracy Chen said the team had initiated an investigation into the token.

Price action

$RAVE trended sharply higher over the month. Data from CoinMarketCap shows that the token ballooned from $0.25 to $18 between April 1 and April 15 before easing and later resurging.

During the first rally, the project’s official account posted a muted warning during the volatility, encouraging users to “remain mindful of the associated risks” and exercise caution with leverage.

In the past week, $RAVE rallied 1,200%, rising from $2.1 to approximately $28.

At one point on Saturday, the token’s market capitalization reached as high as $6.7 billion, briefly surpassing Litecoin (LTC) and Avalanche (AVAX) in the rankings.

Following ZachXBT’s statements, $RAVE crashed 24% to under $13.

Project’s background

Founded in late 2023, RaveDAO has grown from a small 200-person crypto afterparty and to an initiative linking live music events with blockchain-based participation.

The project’s MiCAR White Paper lists Wildwood Xu as its director and Ronald Yung as one of the key leaders.

Some members of the crypto community have pointed to possible links between RaveDAO and ZX Capital and individuals associated with Bella Protocol. These claims remain unverified.

The project reports tens of thousands of community members and over 70,000 NFT tickets issued on-chain, alongside more than 100,000 total participants across 20-plus events in cities including Singapore, Dubai, Amsterdam, and Hong Kong. Its events feature major electronic music artists and use a proof-of-attendance model to track engagement and rewards.

RaveDAO also operates “Rave for Light,” a charitable program allocating a portion of event proceeds to social initiatives. In 2025, it funded cataract surgery in Nepal and supported education-focused programs through Nalanda West.

Polish cryptocurrency exchange Zondacrypto’s problems just keep mounting.

Already under fire following reports of frozen or delayed customer withdrawals, the company on Friday drew the ire of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who told parliament the company had sponsored some politicians who opposed crypto market regulation.

Blocking the legislation by some politicians showed they were toeing Zondacrypto’s line, Tusk said before a vote to overturn President Karol Nawrocki’s veto of the law, according to a report by AP. The exchange has links to Russia and had previously provided the lawmakers with financial support, he said.

Tusk’s comments came a day after Zondacrypto CEO Przemysław Kral turned to X to defuse allegations the company was helping itself to investors’ funds to bulk up its declining reserves.

In a statement and video published on the platform, Kral said the exchange had sufficient reserves, and owns a bitcoin wallet holding about 4,500 BTC, about $330 million. There is a problem, though: It can’t access the funds because the previous owner didn’t hand over the private key and has now disappeared.

Delayed withdrawals

Kral said he revealed the wallet address to “cut short the unfounded accusations of alleged misappropriation of funds.” The key was not handed over by former CEO Sylwester Suszek in 2021, when ownership of the exchange, then known as BitBay, transferred and Kral took over. Suszek has been missing for four years.

Zondacrypto has faced reports of frozen or delayed customer withdrawals since late March, according to local news reports. Kral denied any misuse of client funds and said the exchange remains profitable. He publicized the inaccessible wallet to prove the exchange has reserves, he said.

Kral framed the situation as part of a broader campaign against the company, according to an AI translation of his Polish video. He pointed to supposed political pressure, regulatory interference and coordinated media coverage that contributed to a surge in withdrawal requests.

Analysis conducted by blockchain intelligence firm Recoveris and cited by local news outlets found that bitcoin balances in hot wallets tied to Zonda have dropped by about 99% since mid-2024. At one point, Kral threatened legal action against Polish news outlets covering the situation.

The furor revives the long-running controversy surrounding the company.

Polish investigative reporting, led by broadcaster TVN, in 2024 identified shareholder Marek K., who held a 35% stake, as a criminal sentenced to eight years in prison for complicity in a 1995 gangland murder and fined 45 million zlotys ($12.5 million) for VAT fraud.

In 2019, Poland’s Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) placed BitBay on its public warning list for unauthorized financial activities.

In January 2025, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, Poland’s consumer protection agency, started an investigation — still in progress — into BB Trade Estonia, Zonda’s owner, for “violating the collective interests of consumers,” Fakt reported earlier this month.

“Fundamental error”

In an April 6 post on X, Kral said reports of the reported decline in reserves stemmed from a “fundamental analytical error” by focusing solely on hot wallets. At the time, Zonda stood as a “stable, solvent, and secure entity.”

As for withdrawal delays, he said that at one point the platform processed tens of thousands of requests in a short period, far above normal levels. That, plus “the implementation of new, advanced security and transaction monitoring systems,” forced manual withdrawal verifications.

The wallet presented as proof of reserves following customer demand has seen little recent activity. Onchain data shows no outgoing movements whatsoever, and a total of 32 receiving transactions.

As for the veto vote, 191 MPs voted in favor of Nawrocki’s veto and 243 against it, 20 mandates too few to overturn the block, TVP World reported.

Crypto’s next major inflection point is coming from artificial intelligence (AI).

That’s according to Consensys CEO and Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin. He told CoinDesk that autonomous or semi-autonomous agents can transact, coordinate and verify one another on decentralized networks, using crypto rails as a foundation for machine-driven activity.

Lubin, who will be speaking at Consensus Miami 2026 next month, said he is “sympathetic to the idea that blockchain is for machine intelligences,” but does not see humans being displaced. Instead, increasingly intelligent interfaces will abstract away complexity, allowing users to interact with crypto systems through intent rather than manual inputs. In that model, AI becomes the intermediary layer between people and protocols.

That vision comes with risks. If AI infrastructure remains concentrated among large technology firms, “we could be in trouble,” Lubin warned. He argued that decentralized systems and cryptography will be essential in ensuring accountability, enabling machines to “check on one another” in transparent, verifiable environments.

Within that broader shift, products like MetaMask — a Consensys product — are evolving to reflect the change. Lubin said the wallet is being rebuilt as “a new kind of neobank that you own and control,” part of a transition toward what he described as a “personal money operating system.” AI-powered agents could act on behalf of users, managing assets, executing transactions and navigating a growing decentralized economy. “You can walk around with your personal financial system in your pocket,” he said.

The rise of corporate chains on Ethereum

Beyond interfaces, Lubin pointed to structural changes across the Ethereum ecosystem. The architecture of the blockchain is also shaping how institutions approach adoption. Lubin expects “corporate chains” to become more common as companies seek higher throughput and greater control over their infrastructure. Still, he argued that assets are best issued on Ethereum’s base layer, saying “the best way to ensure that an asset is durable… is to mint it on Ethereum layer one,” even if the asset is later used across other networks.

Stablecoins, one of crypto’s fastest-growing sectors, are part of that transition, but not the endpoint. Lubin described them as a “stepping stone” toward more fully decentralized financial systems, noting that current models remain heavily reliant on centralized issuers. Over time, he expects growth in decentralized collateral to enable more robust, crypto-native forms of money.

On tokenization more broadly, Lubin suggested that traditional finance and decentralized finance are entering a period of convergence, combining centuries of financial innovation with newer blockchain-based systems. The result, he said, will be a more granular and programmable global economy.

Even as these shifts accelerate, Lubin struck a measured tone on longer-term technical risks like quantum computing. While not an immediate concern, he said Ethereum developers have been preparing for years.

“A lot of us just see it as being folded into the natural evolution of Ethereum,” Lubin said.

Read more: Joe Lubin claims DeFi is as safe as traditional finance, adding that bitcoin is in crisis

Wrapped $XRP went live on Solana on Friday, issued by custodian Hex Trust and bridged through LayerZero, making the token available inside Solana’s DeFi apps for the first time.

$XRP holders can now use the wrapped asset on Jupiter, Phantom, Titan Exchange, and Meteora without selling their underlying position.

Each wXRP is backed 1:1 by native $XRP held in segregated custody accounts and is redeemable at any time, according to Hex Trust.

The Solana launch is one leg of a broader rollout Hex Trust disclosed in December 2025, which also targets Ethereum, Optimism, and HyperEVM. The move fits a pattern that has accelerated through 2025 and 2026, where tokens that started their life on one chain are being bridged to others to capture yield and liquidity that did not exist at launch.

$XRP has historically functioned as a payment-rail token settled directly on the $XRP Ledger. Solana has built the opposite use case, a throughput-optimized smart contract platform where the DeFi and memecoin activity actually lives.

The piece of infrastructure underneath this deal is LayerZero, the cross-chain messaging protocol that has quietly won most of the bridge volume that used to flow through Wormhole, Nomad, and Ronin before those protocols were exploited for more than $1 billion combined between 2022 and 2024.

Whether $XRP generates meaningful DeFi volume on Solana is a separate question. The wrapped asset is live, but the test is whether holders actually use it.

The Hyperbridge exploit caused Polkadot [$DOT] to lose a significant portion of its market cap, but it has since fully recovered.

The altcoin’s price crashed after a hacker minted 1 billion $DOT tokens on Ethereum [$ETH] but only sold them for $237K due to lack of liquidity. The team clarified that the actual loss had ballooned to $2.5 million as the team made efforts to recover the funds.

However, the assurance that Polkadot’s core network security remained intact fueled a 17% price recovery.

What drove $DOT’s price recovery?

A statement released by the team after the exploit assured users of security, as the core network had not been affected. It’s the bridged $DOT tokens on Ethereum.

As a result, the community sentiment returned to 82% bullish from 954.1K voters, as per CoinMarketCap. Consequently, the price of the altcoin rallied from $1.146 to $1.354.

The relief brought about a rebound in network activity. As per Artemis data, the number of transactions increased by 1,400, from 10.5K to 11.9K, in just a day.

Additionally, daily active users (DAU) increased by 1.67x even though the figures remained relatively low. DAU rose from 3,000 to 5,000, indicating users were gradually returning to the network.

The Total Value Locked (TVL) also experienced a surge of about 11.29% in a day, while the stablecoin market cap grew to $77.83 million after the massive drop.

Moreover, the altcoin commanded a significant amount of daily trading volume of about $403 million. However, the revenue of the network remained low as it attempted to get back on its feet.

Can Polkadot break past key resistance levels?

On the charts, Polkadot price action had invalidated the breakdown below the sideways consolidation. Initially, before the exploit, $DOT had been bouncing between $1.20 and $1.35 levels since late March.

While the altcoin fully recovered and even surged to the range’s high, it failed to surpass the $1.35 zone. It briefly broke above the resistance due to a cool-off in buying activity after the price failed to stay above the sideways channel.

Surpassing this resistance level would put $DOT on course to $1.50, while failure may take the altcoin back to $1.20 or lower.

The Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD) confirmed this as it declined from a daily peak of 1.60 million $DOT tokens to 60K when writing.

Notably, the security compromise on bridged $DOT on the $ETH network made the altcoin lose its correlation to Ethereum. In fact, their correlation coefficient (CC) fell from a peak value of 0.86 to negative 0.55.

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Final Summary

• Polkadot fully recovers after the Hyperbridge exploit, with network activity rebounding.
• $DOT is facing resistance at $1.35, which suggests the price may fall back to $1.20 or head to $1.50 if the level is breached.

Liz Truss, the U.K.’s shortest-serving prime minister, said the country’s economy has been stagnating for decades and many of the problems result from a lack of sound money and the debasement of the currency, an erosion in the value of sterling caused by inflation and the printing of new banknotes.

Truss, who led a Conservative government for 45 days in 2022, said the financial situation strengthened her interest in bitcoin , which some observers see as a tool against debasement. She said she’s “very interested” in the cryptocurrency, which she first encountered when working at the Treasury and mentioned it there “to shake things up.” Truss was Chief Secretary to the Treasury for about two years until July 2019.

“A lot of the problems we have are due to debasement of our currency and lack of sound money,” Truss said in an interview with CoinDesk. The absence of serious debate around money in academia and government had become “quite sinister,” and discussions about monetary policy had become “a taboo” within government, despite its central role in driving economic outcomes.

For Truss, bitcoin sits alongside a wider concern about centralization and control. She warned the current system is geared toward increasing “centralized control” and limiting financial independence, particularly through regulation and taxation, and positioned bitcoin as part of a pushback against that trend.

The economy is on a “very negative trajectory,” she said, warning the country faces long-term decline driven by weak growth, rising state control and what she sees as a failure of monetary policy.

“We are getting relatively poorer, very quickly,” she said, pointing to high taxes, regulation and energy costs that make “the risk often not worth the reward” for entrepreneurs. “There’s a massive disincentive to work in this country.”

Reflecting on the fallout from Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s 2022 mini-budget that characterized her premiership, she maintained the resulting market turmoil exposed hidden fragilities rather than caused them. “There was a tinderbox in the system that people didn’t know about,” she said, pointing to leveraged pension strategies.

CPAC UK

Now outside government, Truss is focused on building a political movement, including CPAC UK, a three-day conference aimed at bringing together activists, entrepreneurs and voices from across the “sovereignty and liberty” movement. “We need a movement of people who understand what the problem is,” she said.

Framing the stakes bluntly, she added: “There are two choices, either we’re finished or we change it.”

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson contrasts Midnight ($NIGHT) with Ripple and $XRP, arguing that the two models differ fundamentally in how value is created and distributed.

Hoskinson made this known during a recent interview with Wendy O on “The O Show.” His commentary centers on ownership, token utility, and whether network growth directly benefits token holders.

Key Points

• Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson argues that Midnight ($NIGHT) and $XRP differ fundamentally in value creation and distribution.
• He argues Ripple uses $XRP sales to generate capital for external investments and acquisitions, but $XRP holders never benefit from this model.
• Hoskinson compares Ripple’s model to Tether’s, where value accrues mainly to a central entity.
• His comments have reignited tensions with the $XRP community, raising the prospect of renewed disputes with figures like Brad Garlinghouse.

$XRP Holders Don’t Benefit From Ripple’s Value Creation Model

Speaking in response to questions about $XRP’s recent momentum, Hoskinson acknowledged the token’s visibility but challenged the underlying structure supporting its growth.

He claimed that Ripple retains significant control over $XRP supply and uses the token as a mechanism to generate capital, which it then deploys into external ventures such as acquisitions and new business lines.

According to him, this model creates a disconnect between $XRP holders and Ripple’s broader financial success. While the company expands its footprint through moves like acquiring firms such as Hidden Road or launching new products, he argues that $XRP holders do not gain ownership rights or direct financial exposure to those developments.

He further pointed to the absence of staking or yield mechanisms as evidence that $XRP’s value proposition is not designed to redistribute returns to holders. Instead, he likened the structure to Tether, in which a centralized entity captures most of the economic upside while users primarily benefit from access to the network.

WATCH: Charles Hoskinson explains how Midnight and $NIGHT are “radically different” from Ripple and $XRP pic.twitter.com/i5H1Z8xDbF

— Wendy O (@CryptoWendyO) April 17, 2026

Midnight Is Radically Different

In contrast, Hoskinson described Midnight and its $NIGHT token as “radically different,” suggesting a model where tokenomics are more closely aligned with user participation.

For context, the Midnight Foundation allocated the total supply to users across eight blockchains, including Cardano and $XRP. However, only a few of these tokens were claimed by eligible beneficiaries who held at least $100 of the supported tokens on the snapshot date.

This differs from $XRP, where around 80% of the pre-mined 100 billion supply was distributed to Ripple.

Fresh Hostility Between Hoskinson and $XRP Community Looms

His recent commentary has reignited criticisms from some $XRP proponents who suggest that Hoskinson is merely obsessed with Ripple and $XRP. Both have been at loggerheads for several years, particularly during the peak of the Ripple lawsuit, but only resolved the differences after Donald Trump’s re-election.

Following the reconciliation, Hoskinson suggested several initiatives to mend fences, including supporting $XRP on the Lace wallet and $XRP DeFi.

However, the relationship between him and $XRP proponents began to deteriorate again after he accused Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse of supporting the Clarity bill that makes $XRP and other established tokens winners, while newer projects are automatically classed as securities.

His recent commentary about how $NIGHT differs from $XRP has reignited discussions that another lengthy dispute might be around the corner.