Author: James Wilson

Drift Protocol said the April 1 attack on its platform followed months of planning and social engineering.  Summary Drift said attackers spent six months building trust before using malicious tools to breach contributor devices. The exchange linked the exploit with medium-high confidence to actors behind Radiant Capital’s October 2024 hack. Drift said repeated in-person contact at crypto events helped attackers study contributors and gain access. The decentralized exchange linked the case to a group that spent time building trust with contributors before sending malicious tools and links. External estimates put the loss at about $280 million. Drift Protocol said its…

President Donald Trump submitted a $1.5 trillion defense spending request for fiscal year 2027 on Friday — the largest military budget proposal in U.S. history, a roughly 40% increase over current funding levels, arriving in the fifth week of the U.S.-led war against Iran. Summary Trump’s FY2027 budget seeks $1.5 trillion in defense spending, the proposed largest year-over-year increase in the post-WWII era, according to nonpartisan fiscal analysts The plan pairs the defense surge with $73 billion in domestic cuts targeting health research, education, renewable energy, and community development programs Non-defense discretionary spending would be cut by 10%; the proposal…

Leap Wallet will shut down its products by May 28, ending a crypto wallet project that began in the Terra ecosystem and later expanded to Cosmos and other chains.  Summary Leap Wallet will shut down its apps, web platform, exchange tool, and validator service by May 28. Users can still access assets through another wallet using their recovery phrase or private key. Leap began in Terra and expanded into Cosmos after the 2022 collapse changed its path. The closure affects its browser extension, mobile apps, web app, exchange tool, and validator service. Leap said on Friday that it plans to…

Two U.S. military aircraft were shot down in separate incidents during combat operations over Iran on April 3 — an F-15E Strike Eagle and an A-10 Thunderbolt II — with a search-and-rescue operation still ongoing for one missing crew member as Operation Epic Fury approaches its sixth week. Summary Iran shot down a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle on April 3; one of the two crew members was rescued, the other remains unaccounted for An A-10 Thunderbolt II dispatched during the rescue effort was also struck by Iranian fire; the pilot ejected and was subsequently recovered The incidents directly contradict recent…

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth forced Army Chief of Staff General Randy George into immediate retirement on Thursday — the latest in a pattern of senior military dismissals tied to a deepening conflict between Hegseth and uniformed leaders over diversity-linked promotion decisions. Summary Hegseth fired Gen. Randy George — the Army’s top uniformed officer — effective immediately on April 3, along with two other generals The removal followed clashes over Hegseth’s decision to block promotions for four Army officers from a list of 29 candidates, two of them Black and two women Gen. Christopher LaNeve, Hegseth’s former military aide, was named…

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act’s compromise language on stablecoin yield has circulated among crypto and banking industry stakeholders in closed-door Capitol Hill sessions, with a Senate Banking Committee markup now targeted for the second half of April — though the text has drawn a mixed, and in some corners hostile, reception. Summary Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks reached an agreement in principle on stablecoin yield on March 20; formal draft language was reviewed by crypto industry leaders on March 24 and banks on March 25 The compromise bans passive yield on stablecoin balances but permits activity-based rewards tied…

Chainlink (LINK) moved back into focus after a large amount of LINK reached Binance during weekend trading.  Summary Chainlink moved 19 million LINK, with most tokens sent to Binance during weekend trading hours. LINK traded near $8.63 as RSI stayed below 50 and momentum remained weak overall today. The quarterly unlock renewed focus on Binance inflows, exchange supply, and possible selling pressure. CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost pointed to a large LINK transfer during what he described as a “low-liquidity weekend.” Separate onchain reports later said Chainlink completed its regular quarterly unlock, moving 19 million LINK worth about $165 million from three…

Bitcoin (BTC) stayed near $67,000 on April 4 as two CryptoQuant analysts pointed to a split market structure.  Summary Bitcoin spot volume dropped faster than open interest, showing derivatives still carried more market weight. Exchange reserves fell by 66,300 BTC as OTC flows pointed to continued institutional accumulation recently. Negative funding and nearby downside liquidity kept short-term liquidation risk elevated for Bitcoin traders. CryptoQuant analyst Carmelo_Alemán said Bitcoin daily spot volume fell from 42,026 BTC on March 17 to 35,590 BTC on April 2. That marked a 15.31% drop in spot activity over the period. At the same time, open…

Elon Musk’s X is rolling out a security feature that will automatically lock any account that mentions cryptocurrency for the first time — requiring additional verification before posting resumes — a direct response to a wave of account hijacking campaigns exploiting social trust to promote scam tokens. Summary X Head of Product Nikita Bier confirmed the auto-lock feature, saying it targets the financial incentive behind crypto phishing attacks on the platform The measure follows a surge in account hijacking incidents, including the April 1 compromise of Predictfully founder Benjamin White’s account, which was used to push scam content and extort…

Santiment said traders were watching a small group of digital assets as the market moved into the weekend.  Summary Ethereum and Bitcoin led as traders tracked quantum risks, ETF flows, staking, and price pressure. Solana chatter rose after exploit reports, network issues, and project losses pushed security concerns higher. USDC, Chainlink, and Pippin gained attention through compliance claims, token unlocks, integrations, and meme-driven activity. The social platform placed Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Bitcoin (BTC), USDC, Pippin, and Chainlink among the coins drawing the “highest trader interest” across online discussions. Ethereum and Bitcoin stay in focus Ethereum drew strong attention as…