Tag: CRYPTOS FoxBusiness.

While the quantum computing threat has long been considered a theoretical risk in the cryptocurrency sector, recent research has made it a more concrete issue, and Ripple has taken a significant step in this area.

The company announced on Monday a multi-stage roadmap aiming to build a quantum-resistant structure for the $XRP Ledger (XRPL) by 2028.

Ripple’s plan envisions a gradual transition rather than a sudden overhaul of existing systems. This involves first testing quantum-resistant cryptography solutions, then deploying a hybrid model to work alongside the existing infrastructure, and finally scaling these systems. The company is also collaborating with Project Eleven to accelerate the development process, which includes validator testing and the development of early-stage storage prototypes.

One of the notable elements of the quantum threat preparedness plan was the emergency scenario called “Quantum-Day” (Q-Day). This plan includes a transition mechanism that would allow users to securely move their assets to quantum-resistant accounts in the event that current cryptographic standards are compromised.

Behind these developments lies a recent study published by Google Quantum AI. This research revealed that sufficiently advanced quantum computers could break existing cryptographic algorithms used in blockchains by 2032. These algorithms are critical for the security of wallets, transaction signing processes, and the protection of digital assets.

Although there is no direct risk today, experts say the threat has moved from being theoretical to a “credible” level. Specifically, in the so-called “collect now, decrypt later” scenario, malicious actors could collect open cryptographic data on the blockchain today and decrypt it in the future using quantum computers.

Ripple points out that this risk could have significant consequences specifically for XRPL. Every account connected to the network makes its public key visible on the chain when signing a transaction, and this could create a potential security vulnerability in the quantum age. Protecting accounts that hold assets for the long term is among the primary objectives.

On the other hand, it is added that XRPL already has some advantages. Thanks to the network’s built-in key rotation feature, users can switch to more secure keys over time without changing their existing accounts. This feature provides significant flexibility not found in many blockchains, allowing users to adapt to security updates without having to move their assets to new addresses.

Ripple officials state that the quantum transition is not a one-off update, but a comprehensive transformation encompassing performance, storage, usability, and protocol design. Therefore, the company is pursuing a multi-stage strategy aimed at minimizing disruption to the transition in a potential “Q-Day” scenario, while preserving the strengths of the current system.

*This is not investment advice.

A chunk of the Kelp DAO haul is no longer going anywhere.

Arbitrum’s Security Council froze 30,766 $ETH worth roughly $71 million on Monday night, moving funds linked to Saturday’s $292 million rsETH exploit into an intermediary wallet that can only be accessed through further Arbitrum governance action.

The council said it acted on input from law enforcement regarding the exploiter’s identity and executed the freeze “without impacting any Arbitrum users or applications.”

The transfer completed at 11:26 p.m. ET on April 20, according to Arbitrum’s statement on X. The stolen funds are no longer controllable by the address that originally held them.

The move recovers about a quarter of the total amount drained from Kelp’s LayerZero-powered bridge on Saturday, when attackers pulled 116,500 rsETH by exploiting compromised verifier infrastructure. LayerZero attributed the attack with preliminary confidence to North Korea’s Lazarus Group.

Arbitrum is a layer-2 blockchain, meaning a network built on top of Ethereum that processes transactions more cheaply and settles them back to the main chain. Its Security Council is a group of elected signers with emergency powers to take protective action in exactly this kind of scenario, though governance-level interventions on user funds remain rare and controversial because they introduce a degree of discretionary control over an otherwise permissionless network.

The freeze leaves Kelp with a partial recovery option on top of whatever else law enforcement and chain-tracing firms can claw back.

It also escalates the ongoing dispute between Kelp and LayerZero over who bears responsibility for the exploit, since any broader socialization of remaining losses now has a $71 million offset to work with before legal coordination, insurance, or treasury contributions come into play.

Kelp has said it is coordinating with ecosystem partners on a recovery fund and weighing next steps on unpausing, loss socialization, and legal coordination with affected counterparties. LayerZero has not publicly commented on the Arbitrum freeze.

Whether more stolen funds can be frozen depends on where else the attacker moved rsETH or its derivatives before consolidation, and whether other chains with similar emergency powers choose to act on their portions of the flow.

While quantum computing remains a largely theoretical threat to blockchain for now, some projects are already preparing for that eventuality.

Fintech company Ripple has released a detailed four-phase roadmap to make the $XRP Ledger, a decentralized, layer-1 blockchain, quantum-resistant, aiming to reach full readiness by 2028. $XRP, the world’s fourth-largest digital asset by market capitalization, is the native token of the $XRP Ledger. Ripple’s solutions use $XRP Ledger, $XRP, and other digital assets. Ripple is also one of many developers building on and contributing to the $XRP Ledger (XRPL).

Ripple’s announcement comes weeks after Google warned that a quantum computer could potentially attack Bitcoin, the world’s largest blockchain, with less computational power than previously estimated—prompting some analysts to suggest 2029 as the Q-day, the so-called deadline to build defenses against such a machine. Bitcoin developers are also already working on measures to mitigate the risk.

Let’s first understand the threat to XRPL and then discuss the four-phase plan.

Quantum risks to XRPL

A quantum computer has three implications for the $XRP Ledger, and these apply equally to most other blockchains.

First, every time an XRPL account signs a transaction, its public key becomes visible on the blockchain. It’s like writing your mailing addresses on the outside of an envelope, allowing anyone to see where it came from, but they still can’t see what’s written inside without the private key.

However, a quantum computer can reverse-engineer the private key from the exposed public key, draining your coin holdings.

Second, accounts that have held coins for long periods of time are the highest risk. The longer the public key sits on-chain, the more time a future quantum attacker has to target it.

Lastly, the team added that building quantum-resistant systems is not just a technical challenge but an operational one, as it’s tied to every $XRP holder and every application built on the $XRP Ledger.

Collectively, these things warrant a structured response.

The four-phase plan

Phase 1, called Q-Day readiness, is an emergency measure designed to protect exposed public keys and long-held accounts if quantum computers arrive faster than expected.

In that case, Ripple will implement what it calls a hard shift: Classical public-key signatures will no longer be accepted by the network, requiring all funds to migrate to quantum-safe accounts.

This phase also looks into enabling safe recovery for all account owners via zero-knowledge proofs, a way of mathematically proving you own a key without revealing the key itself. This would allow holders to migrate funds even in a compromised scenario, ensuring no one is locked out.

Phase 2 is already underway and is targeted for completion in the first half of 2026. It involves Ripple’s applied cryptography team conducting a full assessment of quantum vulnerability across the XRPL network and testing defenses suggested by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the U.S. government’s global standards body for cybersecurity.

But those defenses aren’t without cost. For instance, post-quantum cryptography uses larger keys and signatures, which can strain the ledger. So the team is also working through the tradeoffs and what system changes might be needed.

To accelerate this phase, Ripple has teamed up with quantum security research firm Project Eleven for validator-level testing, developer networking benchmarking and early custody wallet prototypes.

Phase 3, targeted for completion in the second half of 2026, involves controlled integration of post quantum measures. In this phase, Ripple will begin integrating quantum-resistant signatures alongside existing ones on its developer test network. It will allow developers to test and build against the new cryptography without disrupting the live network and existing users.

This phase, therefore, directly addresses the third implication that migration, though a giant operational effort, must not break what already works.

At the same time, the work goes beyond just replacing today’s signing methods. The team is rethinking the broader cryptography underpinning XRPL and exploring quantum-resistant approaches to privacy and secure data processing, which are important for compliant tokenization and features such as confidential transfers.

“This phase is where experimentation meets system design. We’re not just asking “what works cryptographically?” We’re asking “what works for XRPL at scale?,” the team said.

Phase 4 marks the full transition from experiment to full deployment, targeting completion by 2028. “We’ll design, build and propose a new amendment to the XRPL ecosystem for native post-quantum cryptography and begin transitioning the network to PQC-based signatures at scale,” Ripple’s team said.

The four phases mean the migration path could be seamless and significantly less painful, which could be a material advantage as the clock ticks down to Q-day.

Bitcoin is back above $75,000, as markets price another diplomatic off-ramp.

The cryptocurrency was up 1.5% over 24 hours and 1.7% on the week, after Iran confirmed it will send a delegation to Pakistan for a second round of ceasefire talks. Ether (ETH) rose 1.2% to $2,310, $XRP ($XRP) gained 1.3% to $1.43, and BNB climbed 1.5% to $630. Solana (SOL) was the lone laggard in the top 10, up just 0.9% and down 1.1% on the week.

The MSCI All Country World Index resumed its rally after Monday’s pause, climbing 0.1% as Asian equities led the move higher, with the regional tech index advancing 2.4%. Brent crude fell 0.7% to $94.81 a barrel, gold slipped 0.6% to about $4,800, and silver dropped 1% to $78.90. Treasuries and the dollar were little changed.

The two-week ceasefire expires Wednesday evening Washington time, and Trump said on Monday he is not likely to extend it. That’s the deadline markets are now trading on.

Three vessels attempted transit through the Strait of Hormuz early Tuesday, with U.S. and Iranian blockades still in place, the first test of whether the waterway is opening before a deal is signed.

Bitcoin has lagged equities through this entire cycle. The MSCI ACWI is on an 11-day rally that stumbled only once since the conflict de-escalation began, while bitcoin has spent the same stretch rebuilding from below $74,000 to just above $75,000. Part of that lag is structural.

Funding rates on bitcoin perpetual futures have remained negative for about 46 consecutive days, according to Bloomberg data, the longest such run since the FTX collapse in late 2022.

Net inflows into spot bitcoin ETFs rose to $996.4 million last week, per SoSoValue, and Ethereum spot ETFs took in $275.8 million.

Research firm Kaiko said in a weekend note that a break above $76,000 would open a path toward $85,000.

The mining side adds a different signal. Public mining companies sold a record 32,000 $BTC in the first quarter, according to TheEnergyMag, more than in all of 2025 and above the 20,000 $BTC miners dumped after the Terra collapse in Q2 2022.

Bitcoin’s mining difficulty fell 2.43% to 135.59 trillion at the latest adjustment, while network hashrate recovered from roughly 978 exahashes per second to 992 EH/s this month per Glassnode.

Traders looking for the shorter-term signal will watch whether Bitcoin breaks $76,000 on a Pakistan talks progress headline, which would trigger the short squeeze K33 flagged, or slides back below $74,000 if Trump’s Wednesday deadline expires without a deal. A deeper signal sits in the mining data.

Miners selling at a record pace through a difficulty drop suggests production economics remain compressed despite the price recovery, and any sustained rally above $80,000 would need to absorb continued treasury selling from the same cohort.

• The Solana ecosystem suffers a liquidity crisis after the security breach at KelpDAO on April 20, draining $USDC reserves.
• Leading protocols such as Jupiter and Kamino report utilization levels near 100%, limiting access to capital for new loans.
• Stablecoin lending yields have climbed to 10.2%, marking record levels in the network’s credit infrastructure.

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Following the KelpDAO security incident that shook investor confidence, the DeFi sector on Solana is undergoing a systemic challenge. The massive outflow of capital has created a bottleneck in stablecoin availability, driving up operating costs.

DeFi Funds Outflow Spreads to Solana

Following the KelpDAO rsETH hack, the chain reaction has further spread from EVM networks to Solana. Several $USDC markets on Solana’s leading lending protocol Kamino have seen sharp surges in deposit APY and utilization rates. The Prime… pic.twitter.com/mbAaEi31R4

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) April 20, 2026

Technical data shows the magnitude of the crisis: Jupiter Lend, with $421 million in deposits, maintains a 99% utilization rate. Meanwhile, the Kamino market records an interest rate of 10.2% on $USDC, with barely any remaining liquidity to withdraw or borrow.

The pressure on the ecosystem is not superficial, as the main credit markets are operating at the limit of their technical capacity. This situation forces users to re-evaluate their positions in the face of the scarcity of liquid assets.

As liquidity providers withdraw their funds for fear of contagion, interest rates act as a defense mechanism. However, this rising cost of credit is paralyzing leverage strategies that are vital to the network.

Smaller protocols are also feeling the impact, with platforms like Marginfi reporting utilization levels exceeding 88%. The interconnection of Solana’s DeFi markets amplifies every capital outflow movement at an accelerated pace.

The impact on borrowing costs and prediction markets

The sudden spike in $USDC rates has shifted the cost landscape for end users. Specific vaults on Kamino, such as Staekhouse, now show interest rates consistently exceeding 8% APR.

This environment of “digital dollar scarcity” has indirectly affected the price perception of the native token SOL. Prediction markets have reacted with pessimism, assigning minimal probabilities to an immediate recovery of the asset above certain thresholds.

It is evident that market sentiment has turned toward extreme caution, reflected in low derivatives trading volume. The lack of circulating $USDC prevents strong buying positions from forming, limiting any attempt at a technical rebound.

Even veteran platforms like Save Finance have crossed 70% utilization, indicating that the problem is structural and not limited to a single protocol. Market depth is being tested like never before in this financial cycle.

User trust is now the scarcest resource, beyond the technical liquidity in smart contracts themselves. The coming days will be crucial to determine if the network can attract new capital to stabilize interest rates.

Despite Solana’s technological robustness, its dependence on external liquidity is exposed during external security events. The normalization of rates will depend entirely on the speed at which deposits return to money markets.

The Solana network is going through a critical period of liquidity stress caused by the KelpDAO incident. With utilization rates at the limit and borrowing costs on the rise, the DeFi ecosystem requires an urgent injection of capital to restore operability and user confidence.

The Bank for International Payments (BIS), which is skeptical of Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies, shares no different view regarding stablecoins.

According to Reuters, BIS Managing Director Pablo Hernandez de Cos expressed his concerns about stablecoins while speaking at a Bank of Japan (BOJ) seminar in Japan.

BIS Director General Cos stated that dollar-denominated stablecoins like Tether ($USDT) and $USDC are by nature more similar to exchange-traded funds (ETFs) than to cash. Cos warned that stablecoins are closer to investment products than cash and could pose a significant threat to financial stability if they continue to grow.

Cos specifically stated that the current structure of dollar-indexed stablecoins, such as $USDT and $USDC, is not suitable for use as a payment method and does not meet the necessary requirements.

The BIS director general also added that because stablecoin issuers’ reserves consist of short-term government bonds and bank deposits, market instability could lead to large capital outflows and subsequent chain reactions.

“Because the reserve assets held by stablecoin issuers consist of short-term government bonds or bank deposits, in stressful situations, if large-scale repayment demands arise, they may be forced to urgently sell these assets or put pressure on banks’ financing conditions.”

Finally, Cos emphasized the need for global cooperation on regulation, adding that if dollar-indexed stablecoins grow large enough to compete with fiat currencies, it could have a negative impact on both financial stability and global economic policy.

*This is not investment advice.

A new integration between LI.FI and Soneium have been announced to streamline access to decentralized finance (DeFi) yield opportunities for developers and teams. The partnership brings in LI.FI Earn as an infrastructure layer in the Soneium ecosystem, which provides a single platform to internally integrate yield onchain across many protocols and blockchains.

Something Soneium builders may find useful 👇@lifiprotocol Earn is a new infrastructure layer aimed at teams looking to integrate onchain yield capabilities. Rather than managing multiple vault integrations independently, teams may find value in a unified approach spanning 20+… pic.twitter.com/AAlnVIj4x7

— Soneium 💿 (@soneium) April 20, 2026

The shift is part of a wider trend in the industry to become more abstract with complex operations behind the scenes being simplified into single entry points to developers. Unlike having teams combine many extent vault protocols separately, LI.FI Earn provides access through a single interface and has minimal technical overhead.

Unified Access Across Chains and Protocols

LI.FI Earn is created to handle an assortment of 20 or more vault protocols and 60 or more blockchain networks, as well as one of the broader ecosystems of yield aggregation solutions available today. With the Soneium adoption, developers now have access to a plethora of yield opportunities without having to construct dedicated integrations per protocol.

Such a single-market strategy is especially timely in a disaggregated DeFi, where liquidity and yield platforms are fragmented across a wide variety of ecosystems. With LI.FI Earn, teams based on Soneium can provide users with a convenient entry point to these opportunities via a single entry point, enhancing their efficiency and experience.

Meanwhile, flexibility is also one of the basic elements of the system. Selection of protocol and user eligibility have full configuration, so that integrating teams can customize yield offerings to their application needs or compliance requirements.

Built-In Optimization Features for Developers

Beyond aggregation, LI.FI Earn also provides a variety of in-built capabilities which are designed to enhance the efficiency of transactions and minimize risk. These are gas estimation systems, slip protection systems, and automated structuring of transactions.

These attributes are essential in DeFi experience, where changing costs and asset prices can have important consequences on users. The implementation of these safeguards at the infrastructure layer, LI.FI Earn reduces the end user development work and increases end-user reliability.

This strategy is in line with the overall objective of Soneium to make blockchain development more approachable. Supported by Sony via Sony Block Solutions Labs Soneium is dedicated to empowering creators and developers to develop scalable, user friendly decentralized applications.

Seamless Cross-Chain Deposit Flows

A notable feature of the integration is how it can manage cross-chain deposit flows. Conventionally, users have to do several operations manually: swapping tokens, transferring assets between chains, and ultimately depositing the assets in yield protocols. The steps add friction and risk.

LI.FI Earn is an attempt to summarize all this in one flow that is handled at the infrastructure level. The system has automated the chain swap → bridge → deposit sequencing so that users are able to transfer the assets across chains and into yielding strategies with little effort.

This will not only increase user experience but also minimize chances of mistakes when making multi-step transactions. To developers, it does not require them to create intricate workflows but lets them concentrate on the essential features of the product instead.

Implications for the Soneium Ecosystem

The integration of LI.FI Earn makes Soneium a more developer-friendly blockchain solution. It reduces the cost of integrating DeFi, allowing more applications to gain access to yield generating features, including wallets, financial services providers and more.

With the increasing rivalry of blockchain ecosystems, improvements of this kind at the infrastructure level may be decisive in enticing developers. Easier access to cross-chain liquidity and yield strategies are also a major distinction that is becoming more prominent.

$ASTEROID’s extraordinary run changed the conversation. A token that sat at a $50,000 market cap before Elon Musk replied to a girl’s SpaceX mascot request briefly touched a $20 million market cap within hours and posted a 68,428% weekly gain according to CoinGecko data before pulling back roughly 40%.

The question traders are now asking is if $ASTEROID can do that, what moves next? Two tokens are being mentioned with increasing frequency in memecoin communities: Amaterasu Omikami (OMIKAMI) and RyuJin (RYU).

The Case for OMIKAMI and RyuJin

One expert who has covered OMIKAMI over three years pointed to the $ASTEROID move as evidence that the memecoin supercycle has further to run. His conviction is rooted in the longevity of both projects rather than short-term momentum.

Both tokens have been active for nearly two years with what the analyst describes as organic community growth rather than manufactured hype. The ecosystem is allegedly connected to Ryoshi, the pseudonymous figure behind Shiba Inu, though that attribution remains unverified and disputed within parts of the community.

OMIKAMI currently trades at approximately $0.007112 with a market cap of $6.73 million. RyuJin sits at $0.000000002961 with a $2.85 million market cap. Both the tokens are up by more than 13%.

The $ASTEROID Parallel

The analyst drew a direct comparison between OMIKAMI’s current position and where $ASTEROID sat before its viral moment. Both had a story. Both had a community. $ASTEROID had a single external catalyst that lit the fuse.

The structural difference is the nature of that catalyst. $ASTEROID moved because of a verifiable two-word reply from one of the world’s most followed public figures. OMIKAMI’s anticipated catalyst is expected to come from within the ecosystem itself, potentially a new communication from Ryoshi or a product announcement tied to a planned blockchain and debit card infrastructure the project has been developing.

The Broader Macro Setup

The analyst also said that the broader market context is constructive for memecoin activity. Bitcoin is retesting a breakout level on the four-hour chart and Ethereum is approaching key resistance. Both are approaching moves that have historically preceded altcoin and memecoin cycles.

The CLARITY Act, a potential new Fed chair and stablecoin yield legislation are all cited as macro catalysts that could inject significant fresh liquidity into crypto broadly.