Tag: CRYPTOS FoxBusiness.

Grinex, a sanctioned Russia‑linked crypto exchange, announced Thursday it had been targeted in a large-scale cyberattack that led to the theft of more than one billion rubles (approximately $13.7 million) from user accounts. The company claimed the incident may have been linked to foreign intelligence agencies.

In an official statement, the exchange stated that technical evidence points to an unusually high level of sophistication, suggesting access to capabilities typically limited to state-backed entities. Early assessments indicate the attack was organized to inflict direct damage on Russia’s financial system.

Grinex has faced ongoing challenges since its inception, including sanctions, targeted wallet monitoring, and blocked transactions aimed at limiting crypto transfers beyond the CIS, according to the exchange.

The breach is described as a new phase of destabilization involving coordinated cyber theft targeting Russian users.

As a result, Grinex has suspended its services and provided all collected information to law enforcement. Relevant authorities have been alerted and a criminal investigation is now underway.

The Garantex backstory

To understand why Grinex matters at all, it is important to first consider the background of Garantex. That exchange, sanctioned by OFAC in April 2022, became one of the most active conduits for Russian sanctions evasion and ransomware laundering over its six-year run.

From 2019 through its disruption by international law enforcement in March 2025, Garantex processed $96 billion in transactions. When authorities shut it down, they froze $26 million in assets, a rounding error relative to the volume that had already flowed through.

Following the takedown of Garantex by global law enforcement, investigators from TRM Labs reported that a new exchange, Grinex, had been identified as a likely successor.

TRM Labs’ analysis shows that Garantex had been heavily involved in sanctions evasion and illicit finance, processing massive transaction volumes despite OFAC restrictions. Prior to its shutdown, it began transferring assets into A7A5, a ruble-linked stablecoin used across the Ethereum and TRON networks, which may have been designed to help preserve liquidity and bypass enforcement actions.

In the aftermath, Grinex was promoted by Garantex-linked Telegram communities and showed strong operational similarities, including interface design and user migration patterns.

The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) agents in decentralized finance signals a transition into an autopilot era. Jacob C. of Coinfello argues that these agents fundamentally enhance how users interface with complex smart contracts.

Key Takeaways:

• AI agents like Coinfello automate DeFi tasks once reserved for hedge funds to manage 24/7 market risks.
• Jacob C. warns that the “translation layer” must solve oracle and agency risks for DeFi to scale safely.
• By 2030, Jacob C. predicts dapps will decline as AI agents become the primary way to use smart contracts.

The Shift to Autonomous Finance

The shift from manual interaction to artificial intelligence (AI) agents in decentralized finance (DeFi) represents the autopilot era of crypto. In the past, DeFi required users to be glued to screens, monitoring gas fees, slippage, and liquidation risks. Today, autonomous agents are taking over the heavy lifting, providing continuous monitoring that was previously available only to institutional hedge funds.

In some cases, agents can automatically pull liquidity out of a pool if they detect a rug pull pattern or if a stablecoin starts to de-peg. According to Jacob C., the co-founder and CEO of Coinfello, AI agents are also enhancing the way DeFi users interact with smart contracts.

“Before AI agents, users were required to trust a centralized intermediary website (the dapp) which pointed at the smart contract,” Jacob C. said. “They had to trust the website to honestly convey what a smart contract does, to legitimately point at the correct smart contract, and to not be hacked by a malicious third party.”

AI agents like Coinfello, Jacob C. argues, are eliminating this risk by interfacing directly with smart contracts, reading them, and explaining their risks to users. In other words, AI agents act as a translation layer that could prove vital if DeFi is to scale to levels that seem impossible now.

Nevertheless, while AI agents undeniably enhance efficiency and streamline complex workflows, they also expose systems to new vulnerabilities—most notably oracle dependency, where external data sources can distort outcomes, and a subtle erosion of human agency, as decision-making authority shifts from individuals to algorithms. The Coinfello CEO concurs, warning that users still need to be able to verify or audit an agent before completely surrendering control or access to their funds.

“Most of the AI agents that we see on the market today require users to transfer funds into a wallet fully controlled by the AI agent, and to trust that the agent will not make mistakes or will not be malicious,” the CEO said.

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To get around this problem, Jacob C. said his platform uses what he called “ liquidity sandboxing,” a concept he says enables users to approve individual permissions to the AI agent that limit which tokens the agent can access. The Coinfello team believes this approach “creates guardrails that fundamentally solve the dangers of securely using AI agents.”

Regarding the prospects of DeFi in the age of AI agents, Jacob C. foresees these agents automating actions that a user otherwise would not have time to monitor, such as dollar-cost averaging or executing personally defined trading strategies. By 2030, he predicts decentralized applications ( dApps) will decline to the point where they are no longer the primary way people use smart contracts.

Pepe coin, the frog-themed meme cryptocurrency jumped over 8% during Thursday’s U.S. market hours to hit $0.000004 high. This upswing follows the broader recovery in the meme coin market as capital rotates to higher-risk assets, supported by stable market sentiment. However, a stagnant trend in $PEPE’s open interest indicator suggests a lack of speculative force in the market. Can $PEPE price manage to reclaim the $0.000005 barrier?

Meme Coin Market Climbs 12% Amid Risk-On Sentiment Shift

In the last 24-hours, the meme coin sector witnessed a significant surge of over 12% to reach a market cap of $39.8 billion, according to Coingecko data. The buying pressure followed a sudden capital rotation to these volatile assets, as the escalation of the middle-east war has triggered a risk on sentiment.

Hopes for an extended U.S.–Iran ceasefire has stabilized markets, with Bitcoin reclaiming the $75,000 mark. The Fear and Greed Index of the cryptocurrency was at 56 as of April 16, 2026, which is squarely in the neutral zone. It is a level of equilibrium in the market sentiment and investors are not really scared or greedy.

Meme coins saw noticeable price increases during the day. $PEPE price climbed 9% to $0.000004, leading the segment. DOGEgained 3.07%, reaching $0.09601, while SHIB rose 3.41% to $0.00000606. These stable conditions showed positive price action in the meme sector in general.

However, the Pepe Open Interest (OI), projecting the outstanding value of outstanding futures and options contracts, averages around $194 million on Thursday. According to coinglass, the OI value has remained stagnant since early February, indicating a wait-and-see approach from institutions and traders. It suggests that while existing positions aren’t being aggressively closed, no significant “new money” is entering the market to drive a decisive trend.

Pepe Price Give Major Breakout From Seven-Months Correction

Over the past two weeks, the Pepe price has witnessed a slow yet steady recovery from $0.00000317 to current trading price of $0.000004, registering a 25.5% increase.

Amid this upswing, the coin price breach a long-coming resistance trendline in the daily chart which carried a sharp steady downtrend since July 2025. Thus, this breakout signals an initial change in market sentiment, and bolsters buyers for a potential recovery.

The momentum indicator RSI surged to 67% further reinforces the recovery opportunity for the asset, suggesting a 28% rally before the price challenges the $0.000005 resistance.

However, the aforementioned resistance, backed by the 200-day exponential moving average, creates a stiff supply zone against Pepe price recovery. If the sellers continue to defend these resistances, the coin price may enter a prolonged consolidation below the level.

Grayscale forecasts crypto will underpin the next wave of consumer finance as platforms evolve into unified ecosystems. Elon Musk’s X is positioned to benefit, with smart cashtags and planned payments signaling growing momentum for deeper digital asset integration.

Key Takeaways:

• Grayscale predicts crypto will anchor future consumer finance platforms.
• X is advancing cashtags to integrate trading within social activity.
• Platforms like Telegram and Coinbase are accelerating crypto competition.

X Smart Cashtags Drive Financial Ecosystem Expansion

Crypto integration is increasingly shaping the future of multifunctional consumer platforms, signaling a shift toward more unified financial ecosystems. Elon Musk’s X sits at the center of that transition, according to digital asset manager Grayscale Investments’ April 16 analysis. Head of Research Zach Pandl examined the platform’s expanding capabilities, with a focus on smart cashtags and their potential role in broadening financial services within social apps.

Pandl explained how the feature could connect social activity with investing, stating:

“We believe that crypto will play a central role in this evolution.”

The remark refers to X’s shift from a content platform toward a more integrated financial ecosystem. Smart cashtags let users interact with asset tickers such as bitcoin directly within posts, linking conversation with execution. Price data and charts are available in the U.S. and Canada on iPhone, while trading is available in Canada through Wealthsimple.

Musk stated on social media platform X on March 10: “X Money early public access will launch next month.” The post points to near-term plans for the rollout of a payments layer tied to the broader ecosystem. However, Musk has not disclosed what X Money will include, nor has he confirmed any crypto or stablecoin integration, even as speculation around its potential features continues to build.

Crypto Competition Intensifies Across Consumer Platforms

A comparison chart accompanying the analysis shows how major platforms are converging across social, financial, and crypto functions. X currently offers social and messaging tools, while payments and cards are expected, alongside trading functionality.

Wechat remains the most comprehensive model, combining payments, cards, and investing within a single ecosystem. Telegram stands out through embedded self-custody wallets and on-chain transfers. Cash App, Paypal, and Venmo support payments and crypto exposure, although mostly within custodial frameworks. Coinbase offers a full crypto stack, including trading, custody, and blockchain transfers. Grayscale highlighted this broader shift, stating: “ crypto is emerging as one of the core technologies in the evolving landscape for consumer apps beyond X.” Those distinctions show how blockchain capabilities are becoming increasingly central to platform competition.

“We believe that crypto infrastructure will play a central role in the evolving landscape of consumer finance apps, and that such evolution will continue to fuel demand for both corporate blockchain adoption and crypto tokens,” Grayscale concluded. The outlook suggests digital assets could become a foundational layer in next-generation financial services as firms race to consolidate payments, trading, and social engagement within unified ecosystems. The crypto asset manager added:

“Although X Money will start with traditional fiat/bank-based infrastructure, an eventual move toward deeper crypto integrations seems inevitable, in our view.”

Binance Futures, one of the world’s largest crypto derivatives platforms, has announced a new step to expand its trading options. According to the announcement, the platform will make the USDⓈ-margined GENIUSUSDT perpetual futures contract available to users starting April 16, 2026, at 06:30 AM.

The newly listed contract will offer investors leverage of up to 20x. The underlying asset will be the $GENIUS token. The project, described as “Genius Terminal,” stands out as a dedicated on-chain terminal solution.

The GENIUSUSDT contract will use $USDT as the settlement asset. The minimum transaction amount is set at 1 $GENIUS, while the minimum denomination is 5 $USDT. The tick size (price increment) is announced as 0.0001. The platform will also limit the funding rate to between +2% and -2%, and funding payments will be made every four hours.

The contract will offer 24/7 trading, like other Binance Futures products, and will support Multi-Assets Mode. This will allow users to develop more flexible trading strategies by using different assets as collateral.

Binance states that with the launch of new products, it aims to improve the user experience and offer greater diversity to investors. However, experts warn investors to be cautious, noting that while high leverage trading can increase potential gains, it can also increase risks.

*This is not investment advice.

Bitcoin’s rally toward $75,000 is running into a wall of supply just as institutional demand is holding steady.

The move higher has been driven largely by macro flows rather than a broad surge in speculative activity. U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs have continued to draw consistent inflows this month, including roughly $240 million in a single session following geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, according to market maker Enflux.

That bid helped lift $BTC from around $71,000 to the mid-$70,000s, even as traditional markets absorbed rising oil prices and shifting rate expectations. The pattern, Enflux noted, reflects allocation behavior rather than momentum chasing.

But as bitcoin pushes higher, the character of the market is starting to change.

On-chain data suggests supply is beginning to emerge more aggressively as prices approach a key cost-basis level for short-term holders. Around $76,800 sits the so-called realized price for recent buyers, effectively the average entry point for traders who accumulated during the last phase of the drawdown, according to CryptoQuant. In weaker market regimes, that level has often acted as resistance, as investors who were previously underwater use rallies to exit at breakeven.

It should be noted that the same band capped January’s bounce almost to the dollar before prices reversed toward $60,000.

CryptoQuant said bitcoin exchange inflows spiked to roughly 11,000 $BTC per hour, the highest since late December, as prices tested the $75,000 to $76,000 range.

At the same time, the average deposit size rose to about 2.25 $BTC, the highest daily reading since mid-2024, suggesting that larger holders are driving the move. The share of large transfers jumped from below 10% to above 40% of total inflows within days, a shift the firm said has historically coincided with increased distribution pressure.

That sets up a two-sided market.

On one side, ETF flows and macro tailwinds continue to provide a steady source of demand. On the other, large holders appear to be using the rally to reduce exposure, feeding liquidity into the market as prices approach a widely watched breakeven zone.

What emerges is less a standoff than a handoff. Long-term holders appear to be distributing coins directly into ETF demand — the exchange inflows CryptoQuant flags and the ETF inflows Enflux tracks are, in effect, two sides of the same transaction, visible in different datasets.

Whether that handoff clears depends on whether the new holders prove stickier than the ones exiting. That is a late-cycle pattern, and it resolves in one of two ways.

The result is a market that can move higher quickly on inflows, but struggles to sustain those gains once supply builds. A sustained break above the mid-$70,000s would likely require demand to absorb a growing wave of sell pressure. Failing that, the balance could tilt the other way, CryptoQuant writes, leaving bitcoin vulnerable to a pullback toward the low-$70,000s, where the latest leg of the rally began.

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 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.

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.

Bitcoin ($BTC) experienced a sharp rise yesterday and retested the $76,000 level. However, this attempt failed again, and the $BTC price retreated to the $73,000 level.

One analyst noted that a key data point in the markets indicated a possible bottom formation.

$BTC investors are in a bearish trend, which creates the potential for a squeeze on short positions.

Vetle Lunde, Head of Research at K33 Research, analyzed funding rates in Bitcoin futures on Binance and stated that they remain negative despite recent gains. This increases the potential for short positions to become consolidated and for a price increase to occur.

According to CoinDesk, Vetle Lunde stated that Binance’s $BTC perpetual futures funding rate has been negative for 11 days.

According to Lunde, the fact that funding rates remain negative indicates that, despite the price increase, investors are predominantly continuing to take short positions.

Lunde also emphasized that the increase in open positions (OI) was related to the entry of new short positions.

The 30-day average funding rate has been negative for 46 days. Lunde said this is similar to the trend seen after the FTX crash in 2022 and China’s cryptocurrency mining ban in 2021.

However, Lunde argued that historically, such periods of strong risk aversion can present attractive buying opportunities, as excessive short positions can be forcibly liquidated, potentially triggering an uptrend.

*This is not investment advice.