Author: Shiraz

Developers behind the Ethereum layer 2 Aztec Network have launched a whistleblowing platform called StealthNote that allows workers to vent about their employer without revealing themselves.StealthNote uses zero-knowledge proofs to prove that posts on its platform are written by someone with access to an email address of the company that they’re reviewing.Aztec Labs developer Saleel Pichen wrote in an April 14 X post that StealthNote creates a zero-knowledge proof of a Google JSON Web Token, which is used to authenticate users and allows the platform to prove a poster owns “an email from a company domain without revealing any personal info.”Two of the latest posts on StealthNote from personnel at Aztec Labs and Cornell University. Source: StealthNote.xyzAccording to Aztec’s documentation, the privacy solution had been in development since at least Oct. 22, while the first test post from Aztec occurred about three months ago.Workers from Ethereum Foundation, StarkWare and Scroll as well as Columbia and Cornell universities have made posts on StealthNote, primarily sharing greetings and voicing their support for privacy solutions.“Let’s make privacy cool again,” a worker from Nim Network wrote.ZK-proofs needed more than ever, says ButerinZK-proofs have become an increasingly used privacy solution in the internet age as concerns over data security and government surveillance continue to grow.The concerns were raised in an April 14 blog post by Ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin, who criticized the assumption that governments are generally well-intentioned when it comes to sacrificing privacy for a more “transparent society.” Related: Vitalik Buterin unveils roadmap for Ethereum privacyHe championed ZK-proofs as a solution to mitigate this trade-off, highlighting the technology’s ability to provide “fine-grained control of who can see what information.”Related: Vitalik Buterin unveils roadmap for Ethereum privacyThe privacy-focused Aztec Network launched on Ethereum in February 2020. The firm raised $100 million in Series B funding led by the tech-focused venture capital firm Andreessen “a16z” Horowitz in December 2022, with A Capital and King River also contributing.Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said privacy should be a top priority for developers, warning that assumptions about transparency and good intentions in global politics are overly optimistic.In an April 14 blog post, Buterin argued that privacy is essential to maintain individual freedom and protect against the growing power of governments and corporations. He criticized the idea that increased transparency is inherently beneficial, saying it relies on assumptions about human nature that are no longer valid.These assumptions include believing that global political leadership is “generally well-intentioned and sane,” and that social culture continues to progress in a positive direction.” Both are proving to be increasingly untrue, Buterin argued.Buterin claimed there was “no single major country for which the first assumption is broadly agreed to be true.” Furthermore, he wrote that cultural tolerance is “rapidly regressing,” which is reportedly demonstrable by an X post search for “bullying is good.” Buterin’s personal privacy issuesButerin said that he found his lack of privacy unsettling at times. He added:“Every single action I take outside has some nonzero chance of unexpectedly becoming a public media story.”Covertly taken photos of Vitalik Buterin. Source: Vitalik.ethWhile this may appear as a suggestion that privacy is an advantage only for those who venture outside the social norms, he highlighted that “you never know when you will become one of them.”Buterin only expects the need for privacy to increase as technology develops further, with brain-computer interfaces potentially allowing automated systems to peer directly into our brains. Another issue is automated price gouging, with companies charging individuals as much as they expect them to be able to pay.Related: Messaging apps are spying on you — Here’s how to stay safe in 2025There is no privacy with government backdoorsButerin also argued strongly against the idea of adding government backdoors to systems designed to protect privacy. He said such positions are common but inherently unstable.He highlighted how, in the case of Know Your Customer data, “it’s not just the government, it’s also all kinds of corporate entities, of varying levels of quality” that can access private data. Instead, the information is handled and held by payment processors, banks, and other intermediaries.Similarly, telecommunication companies can locate their users and have been found to illegally sell this data. Buterin also raised concerns that individuals with access will always be incentivized to abuse it, and data banks can always be hacked. Lastly, a trustworthy government can change and become untrustworthy in the future, inheriting all the sensitive data. He concluded:“From the perspective of an individual, if data is taken from them, they have no way to tell if and how it will be abused in the future. By far the safest approach to handling large-scale data is to centrally collect as little of it as possible in the first place.“Related: Privacy will unlock blockchain’s business potentialAuthorities have more data than everButerin raised the issue of governments being able to access anything with a warrant “because that‘s the way that things have always worked.” He noted that this point of view fails to consider that historically, the amount of data available for obtaining through a warrant was far lower.He said the traditionally available data would still be available even “if the strongest proposed forms of internet privacy were universally adopted.” He wrote that “in the 19ᵗʰ century, the average conversation happened once, via voice, and was never recorded by anyone.”Buterin’s proposed solutionsButerin suggested solutions based mainly on zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-proofs) because they allow for “fine-grained control of who can see what information.” ZK-proofs are cryptographic protocols that allow one party to prove a statement is true without revealing any additional information.One such system is a ZK-proof-based proof of personhood that proves you are unique without revealing who you are. These systems rely on documents like passports or biometric data paired with decentralized systems.Another solution suggested is the recently launched privacy pools, which allow for regulatory-compliant Ether (ETH) anonymization. Buterin also cited on-device anti-fraud scanning, checking incoming messages and identifying potential misinformation and scams.These systems are proof of provenance services for physical items using a combination of blockchain and ZK-proof technology. They track various properties of an item throughout its manufacturing cycle, ensuring the user of its authenticity.The post follows Buterin’s recent privacy roadmap for Ethereum. In it, he highlighted the short-term changes to the base protocol and ecosystem needed to ensure better user privacy.Magazine: Cypherpunk AI: Guide to uncensored, unbiased, anonymous AI in 2025

In February, the Seychelles-based exchange paid the DOJ $500 million to settle charges it had operated in the U.S. without a money transmitter license.

The aim of Noble’s AppLayer is to let developers build new financial tools and apps with high throughput of stablecoins and reliable stablecoin infrastructure.

The X account of UK Member of Parliament and Leader of the House of Commons, Lucy Powell, was hacked to promote a scam crypto token.In a series of now-deleted posts on April 15, Powell’s X account shared links to a token called the House of Commons Coin (HOC), describing it as “a community driven digital currency.”Source: Daniel GreenA member of Powell’s staff confirmed to the BBC that the account had been hacked and that “steps were taken quickly to secure the account and remove misleading posts.”DEX Screener shows the HOC token saw limited interest from would-be investors, achieving a peak market cap of just over $24,000 shortly after the posts from Powell’s account.The token has seen a total of 736 transactions and a trading volume of just $71,000.While Powell hasn’t promoted a cryptocurrency before, it isn’t unheard of for political figures to back real crypto tokens.US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump both launched and promoted memecoins days before they entered the White House, sparking criticism from the president’s political rivals and even some supporters.Argentine President Javier Melei also promoted a token called LIBRA, which quickly crashed in value and has caused a political scandal in Argentina and calls for a probe into Melei’s involvement with the token.Powell’s account hack follows similar attack on Ghana’s presidentIn March, the X account of Ghana’s President John Mahama saw a similar breach, with attackers taking over his account for 48 hours to promote a scam cryptocurrency called Solanafrica.The Ghanaian president’s X account was hacked in March 2025. Source: CrediRates Related: UK trade bodies ask government to make crypto a ‘strategic priority’The scammers made similar crypto-promoting posts to Mahama’s 2.4 million followers, claiming that the scam project was “making payments fast and free across the continent with support from Solana and the Bank of Ghana.”After regaining control of the president’s X account, his spokesman Kwakye Ofosu, confirmed to AFP that the account “has now been fully restored, and we urge the public to disregard any suspicious cryptocurrency-related posts from the handle.”Magazine: Memecoin degeneracy is funding groundbreaking anti-aging research

Bullish sentiment could be returning to Bitcoin as a key metric from Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, shows that buyers are starting to dominate the platform’s volumes.The Binance Taker Buy Sell Ratio, which calculates the ratio of buyers to sellers of Bitcoin (BTC) in Binance, “has returned to neutral territory,” CryptoQuant contributor DarkFost said in an April 15 note.Bitcoin bullish momentum is “picking up again”The ratio currently stands at 1.008. When the ratio is higher than 1, buyers — usually a bullish sentiment indicator — dominate volumes, conversely, a ratio below 1 indicates that sellers, or bearish sentiment, are dominating.Bitcoin is trading at $83,810 at the time of publication. Source: CoinMarketCapBitcoin is trading at $83,810 at the time of publication, down 1.47% over the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap data.“Over the past few days, the ratio has been mostly positive, suggesting that bullish sentiment is picking up again on Binance’s derivatives market,” Darkfost said. On April 14, when Bitcoin was above $86,000, the ratio was above 1.1. CoinGlass data shows that if Bitcoin reclaims $85,000, almost $637 million in short positions will be at risk of liquidation. Several key market indicators suggest that investors continue to favor Bitcoin over altcoins.CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Index is currently at 15 out of 100, signalling it is still very much “Bitcoin Season.” TradingView’s Bitcoin Dominance Chart shows the asset’s market share is sitting at 63.81%, up 9.82% so far this year.Bitcoin Dominance is up 9.88% since the beginning of 2025. Source: TradingViewOverall, crypto market participants are still appearing to feel hesitant. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index shows the overall market sentiment on April 16 is in “Fear” with a score of 29 out of 100.Some analysts, including DeFiDaniel, commented that Bitcoin’s recent price action is “so boring.” However, Cointelegraph earlier reported that Bitcoin apparent demand is on a recovery path, but it is not net positive yet. Historically, 30-day apparent demand can move sideways for a prolonged period after Bitcoin reaches a local bottom, leading to its price to chop sideways.Related: Bitcoin price recovery could be capped at $90K — Here’s whyAnalysts have differing views over where Bitcoin is going to go next.Real Vision chief crypto analyst Jamie Coutts told Cointelegraph in late March that “the market may be underestimating how quickly Bitcoin could surge — potentially hitting new all-time highs before Q2 is out.” AnchorWatch CEO Rob Hamilton said in an April 15 X post that Bitcoin’s price “is flat for the day because we are in an epic tug of war between people who are selling Bitcoin to pay their taxes and people using their refunds to buy Bitcoin.” The tax deadline in the US was April 15.Magazine: Is Cambria S2 the riskiest, most ‘addictive’ crypto game of 2025? Web3 GamerThis article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Today in crypto, Ethena Labs has exited the German market after regulators flagged “deficiencies” in its USDe stablecoin. In El Salvador, new data from the central bank shows that only 11% of registered Bitcoin service providers are currently active. Meanwhile, Emblem Vault CEO Jake Gallen claims he lost thousands in digital assets following a suspicious Zoom meeting.Ethena Labs exits German market following agreement with BaFinSynthetic stablecoin developer Ethena Labs is winding down its German operations less than a month after regulators identified “deficiencies” in its dollar-pegged USDe (USDE) stablecoin, signaling heightened scrutiny around crypto assets in Europe’s largest economy.Ethena Labs reached an agreement with Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, also known as BaFin, to cease all operations of its local subsidiary, Ethena GmbH, according to an April 15 announcement.As such, Ethena Labs “will no longer be pursuing MiCAR authorization in Germany,” the company said, referring to the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation.The company reiterated that Ethena’s German subsidiary has not conducted any mint or redeem activity for USDe since March 21, the day BaFin halted the stablecoin’s activities.As Cointelegraph reported at the time, the German regulator identified compliance failures and potential securities law violations tied to USDe.Source: Ethena LabsOnly 11% of El Salvador’s registered Bitcoin firms operational Only 20 of the 181 Bitcoin service providers registered with El Salvador’s central bank are operational, with the rest failing to meet the country’s requirements under its Bitcoin Law. Local media outlet El Mundo cited data from the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador, showing that 11% of the service providers are operational. According to the central bank’s database, the rest of the providers are classified as non-operational. The data showed that at least 22 non-operational providers have failed to meet most of the country’s Bitcoin Law requirements, which mandate that providers implement stringent supervision of their financial systems. El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law requires providers to maintain an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program, keep records that accurately reflect the company’s assets, liabilities and equity and have a tailored cybersecurity program depending on the nature of its services. The data showed that 89% of the registered providers have failed to meet some of these obligations to be classified as operational. Still, a few firms have satisfied the legal criteria, including the state-backed Chivo Wallet and companies including Crypto Trading & Investment and Fintech Américas.Crypto exec issues warning on Zoom after losing $100,000 in cryptoJake Gallen, the CEO of the non-fungible token (NFT) platform Emblem Vault, has warned crypto users to be wary of the meeting app Zoom, saying a threat actor known as “ELUSIVE COMET” stole over $100,000 worth of crypto assets from him.Gallen said he had a “complete computer compromise” that ended up with a loss of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) assets from different wallets in a scam that took place over Zoom.“We were able to retrieve a malware file that was installed on my computer during a Zoom call with a YouTube personality of over 90k subs,” said Gallen, who said he set up a call after being contacted by a verified X account with 26,000 followers that claims to be the founder and CEO of a crypto mining platform. Source: Jake GallenDuring the call, Gallen said he was tricked into giving permission for Zoom to allow the host of the call to have remote access to his computer. The host, supposedly ELUSIVE COMET, then installed malware that stole credentials and accessed Gallen’s crypto wallets. SEAL security researcher Samczsun told Cointelegraph that Zoom, by default, allows meeting participants to request remote control access. “At this point in time we believe the victim still needs to be social engineered into granting access,” they said. Other X users recommended those using Zoom change the app’s settings to block other users from being able to remotely control their device.

In a Tuesday filing, the company said it had reached a loan agreement with crypto exchange Coinbase allowing it to borrow money — using its bitcoin stockpile as collateral — to pay the settlement.

Nvidia shares plummeted 8% after the U.S. banned its H20 chip sales to China, impacting equities and the crypto market.

Mantra CEO John Mullin said he is planning to burn all of his team’s tokens in order to win back the trust of the network’s community following the sudden collapse of the Mantra (OM) token on April 13.“I’m planning to burn all of my team tokens and when we turn it around the community and investors can decide if I have earned it back,” Mullin posted to X on April 16.Mantra set aside 300 million OM, 16.88% of the token’s nearly 1.78 billion total supply, for its team and core contributors. They are currently locked and were scheduled to be released in stages between April 2027 and October 2029, according to an April 8 blog post.The team’s tokens are worth around $236 million, with OM currently trading around 78 cents but were worth around $1.89 billion before the token sank on April 13, going from around $6.30 to a low of 52 cents and wiping over $5.5 billion in value, according to CoinGecko.Source: JP MullinMany community members welcomed Mullin’s pledge, but others saw the token burn as a potential blow to the team’s long-term commitment to building the real-world asset tokenization platform.“This would be a mistake. We want teams that are highly incentivized. Burning the incentive may seem like a good gesture but it will hurt the team motivation long term,” said Crypto Banter founder Ran Neuner.Mullin suggested a decentralized vote could determine whether to burn the 300 million team tokens.Mantra recovery process already underwayMullin promised a post-mortem statement explaining what went wrong to be transparent with the community. Speaking to Cointelegraph on April 14, Mullin outlined plans to leverage the $109 million Mantra Ecosystem Fund for potential token buybacks and burns to stabilize OM’s price, which had fallen from $6.30 to as low as $0.52.Related: Red flag? Mantra’s TVL jumped 500% as OM price collapsedMullin’s firm has strongly refuted rumors that it controls 90% of OM’s token supply and engaged in insider trading and market manipulation.Mantra claims the OM price implosion was triggered by “reckless liquidations,” adding that it wasn’t related to any actions undertaken by the team.OKX and Binance were among the crypto exchanges that saw significant OM activity right before the token collapse.Both exchanges denied any wrongdoing, attributing the collapse to changes made to OM’s tokenomics in October and unusual volatility that ultimately triggered high-volume cross-exchange liquidations on April 13.Magazine: Memecoin degeneracy is funding groundbreaking anti-aging research