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Decentralized exchange (DEX) KiloEx said it will compensate traders and stakers hurt by a $7.5 million exploit that temporarily shut down the platform earlier in April.
In an April 24 announcement, KiloEx said traders who had positions open while the platform was suspended would get full compensation if their losses increased or profits decreased. The platform said it would pay the difference.
KiloEx urged traders to close their positions immediately once the platform resumes operations, as delaying could affect their profit and losses, which may then impact the compensation amount.
“Please close your position as soon as possible after the platform resumes. Compensation will be calculated based on the platform’s resume time,” KiloEx stated.
Stakers’ principal and earnings remain unaffected
For the platform’s Hybrid Vault stakers, KiloEx said that the stolen funds were fully reinjected into the vault. As a result, staker earnings and principal will remain unaffected. However, KiloEx said it will still provide an additional 10% annual percentage yield (APY) as a bonus for eligible stakers.
The bonus APY will be awarded to users who had funds in the vault prior to the platform’s resumption.
On April 15, KiloEx offered a 10% bounty to the hacker who stole the funds from the platform. The DEX said that the hacker could keep $750,000 as a white hat bounty if they decided to return 90% of the stolen funds. The platform threatened to expose the hacker’s identity and take legal action if they did not comply.
Shortly after, security platforms flagged transactions indicating that the KiloEx hacker returned the stolen funds. On April 18, the DEX said it would withdraw all legal action against the hacker and reward them with a 10% white hat bounty.
Related: Mantra OM token crash exposes ‘critical’ liquidity issues in crypto
KiloEx hacker exploited a price oracle vulnerability
On April 14, KiloEx suspended its platform after containing the exploit that led to the $7.5 million in losses. Security firm PeckShield said the attacker likely exploited a price oracle vulnerability that allowed them to inflate the prices to gain more profit than they should have.
In a post-mortem published by KiloEx, the platform confirmed that the attacker exploited a permissionless function. The DEX said the attacker crafted a request that only authorized entities should have been able to do.
Using this, the attacker opened a position at an “artificially low price.” This was followed by closing the position at a higher price, providing illegitimate profit to the attacker.
Magazine: Ethereum maxis should become ‘assholes’ to win TradFi tokenization race
Fintech giant Revolut reported a record-breaking year, doubling its pre-tax profit to 1 billion British pounds ($1.3 billion) in 2024, driven by rapid customer growth and a resurgence in cryptocurrency trading.
According to its annual report published on Thursday, April 24, Revolut’s profit soared from 438 million pounds in 2023, while revenue jumped to 3.1 billion pounds from 1.8 billion pounds.
A key contributor to Revolut’s strong performance was its wealth division, which includes stock and digital asset trading. The segment generated 506 million pounds in revenue — nearly four times higher than in 2023 — as crypto trading activity rebounded.
Revolut added nearly 15 million new users in 2024, pushing its total customer base past 50 million. This expansion boosted revenue from card payment fees and interest on deposits, the fintech’s two largest income streams.
Founder and CEO Nik Storonsky said in the report that “2024 was another landmark year for Revolut, with continued growth across all key business areas.”
Related: Pyth partners with Revolut for real-time digital asset data
Revolut receives long-awaited UK banking license
Storonsky noted that the company obtained a long-awaited UK banking license in 2024, which was secured in July after a three-year regulatory process.
The license paved the way for Revolut to expand its lending services, including credit cards, buy-now-pay-later products and potentially mortgages, which the company confirmed are currently in testing.
“We received a UK banking license (with restrictions), paving the way for future product enhancements in our home market,” Storonsky said.
In May 2024, Revolut introduced Revolut X, a dedicated desktop crypto exchange targeting experienced traders. The platform offers trading for 100 tokens with low fees and real-time on/off-ramp capabilities, with plans to expand to mobile in 2025.
In November, Revolut expanded its crypto exchange in Europe, rolling out Revolut X in 30 markets across the European Economic Area (EEA), including Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark and others.
Revolut continued to expand its digital asset services during the year, offering customers access to cryptocurrencies alongside other investment options like stocks, ETFs, bonds and commodities within its app ecosystem, per the annual report.
Related: Revolut and Ledger wallet enable new crypto rails in EEA
Revolut struggles to attract banking customers
Despite its growth, Revolut faces challenges in converting users of its popular app into primary banking customers.
Growing deposit volumes remain critical for funding future lending operations and competing with established retail banks. In 2024, total customer balances rose to $39.8 billion from $23.9 billion.
Revolut is also focusing on expanding its premium subscription base, with revenue from paid plans climbing 74% year-on-year to 423 million pounds, per the report.
Additionally, its business services arm now accounts for 15% of total revenue, reflecting efforts to diversify income streams beyond retail banking.
Looking ahead, Storonsky said Revolut intends to reach 100 million daily active users across 100 countries.
Magazine: Ethereum maxis should become ‘assholes’ to win TradFi tokenization race
Quantitative easing (QE), explained
Quantitative easing (QE) is a non-traditional monetary policy tool used by central banks, particularly when interest rates are already low and cannot be reduced further.
It was popularized during the 2008 global financial crisis when traditional monetary tools, like lowering interest rates, were insufficient to stimulate economic growth.
The main goal of QE is to boost the economy by increasing the money supply. This is achieved by encouraging banks to lend more and making borrowing cheaper for consumers and businesses. When central banks implement QE, they purchase government bonds or other securities from the market, injecting cash into the financial system.
Even though people sometimes say QE is like “printing money,” it’s not the same as making new physical cash. Instead, it increases the amount of digital money — meaning the balances held in bank accounts — in the economy. This isn’t cryptocurrency; it’s regular money created by the central bank and used by banks to lend more, which helps boost spending and investment.
QE can also raise the prices of assets like stocks and bonds because the extra money looking for returns drives demand higher. Governments also used QE during the COVID-19 pandemic to help keep the economy stable and support growth.
How does quantitative easing work?
To understand how QE functions behind the scenes, it’s important to look at the step-by-step mechanics that drive this policy.
QE doesn’t work through a single action — it operates through a chain of events that begins with the central bank and eventually influences everyday economic activity. Here’s how the process typically unfolds:
- Asset purchases: Central banks buy government securities, such as treasury bonds, from banks and financial institutions.
- Increasing money supply: These purchases flood the financial system with liquidity.
- Lowering interest rates: With more cash on hand, banks lower interest rates, making loans cheaper.
Boosting lending and spending: Cheaper loans mean more business investments and consumer spending, which are key drivers of economic growth.
Quantitative easing in practice: Historical examples
Quantitative easing isn’t just a theory — it’s been used by major central banks during times of economic trouble.
Here are some real-world examples of how it worked:
United States (2008–2014; 2020): The global financial crisis
After the 2008 housing market crash, the US economy was in a deep recession. To help:
- The Federal Reserve launched three rounds of QE (QE1, QE2, QE3).
- It bought trillions of dollars in government bonds and mortgage-backed securities.
- This helped lower interest rates, supported lending, and boosted the stock market.
When COVID-19 shut down economies worldwide, the US Fed acted quickly:
- It reintroduced QE, buying $120 billion per month in bonds at its peak.
- It aimed to keep borrowing costs low and support businesses and households.
Japan (2001–2006, and again from 2013 onward): Fighting deflation
Japan was dealing with low inflation and sluggish growth for years. The Bank of Japan (BoJ):
- Started using QE before most other countries.
- Bought large amounts of government bonds and later included stocks and real estate investment trusts.
Eurozone (2015–2022): Post-debt crisis recovery
The European Central Bank (ECB) introduced QE after a debt crisis hit Greece, Italy and Spain:
- The ECB bought government bonds from eurozone countries to bring down borrowing costs.
- This supported weaker economies and aimed to prevent deflation (falling prices).
How quantitative easing impacts crypto markets
Quantitative easing doesn’t just affect traditional financial markets — it also impacts the cryptocurrency market.
When central banks inject more cash into the economy, some of that money flows into alternative assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoins, driving up their prices. This surge in liquidity often boosts asset prices across the board, including cryptocurrencies, as more money becomes available for investments.
Additionally, during QE, fiat currencies may lose value due to increased money supply, leading some investors to seek out cryptocurrencies as a hedge against inflation or currency devaluation. Bitcoin, in particular, is often seen as a store of value similar to gold.
For example, in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Federal Reserve launched aggressive QE. At the same time:
- Bitcoin was trading under $5,000 in March 2020.
- By late 2021, it had soared past $60,000.
Key factors behind Bitcoin’s growth during QE include rising inflation fears and low interest rates pushing investors toward alternative assets. Among these, a major driver could be the search for a store of value outside traditional finance. Thus, QE can indirectly contribute to crypto market booms by influencing investor sentiment and liquidity.
The flip side: When QE ends, crypto may suffer
When central banks end QE or start raising interest rates (tightening policy), liquidity is reduced, and borrowing becomes more expensive. This can lead to pullbacks in risk assets, including crypto.
For example, in 2022, the Fed began quantitative tightening to combat inflation. Bitcoin dropped from around $47,000 in March to below $17,000 by December — a decline likely driven by investors shifting to safer assets and reduced risk appetite due to rising interest rates.
Quantitative easing (QE) vs. quantitative tightening (QT): Key differences
Quantitative easing (QE) and quantitative tightening (QT) are two opposing monetary policies used by central banks.
QE involves expanding the money supply by purchasing assets such as government bonds, which injects cash into the economy to stimulate growth. Its main purpose is to lower interest rates and encourage lending when the economy is struggling.
QT is the process of contracting the central bank’s balance sheet. It involves selling assets or letting them mature, reducing the money supply. The goal of QT is to cool down an overheating economy and prevent inflation from rising too quickly.
The key difference between QE and QT lies in their impact on the central bank’s balance sheet: QE expands it, whereas QT contracts it. In terms of market effects, QE tends to drive asset prices up, whereas QT can lead to lower asset prices and higher interest rates. Both policies significantly influence inflation and market stability.
Are the Fed tapering and quantitative easing the same?
No, tapering and QE are not the same — but they are connected.
- Quantitative easing is when the Federal Reserve actively buys assets, such as government bonds, to inject money into the economy and lower interest rates.
- Tapering is when the Fed slows down those asset purchases — it’s the beginning of the end of QE, not a reversal.
Is the Fed still tightening or easing in 2025?
As of April 2025, the US Federal Reserve is navigating a complex economic landscape characterized by persistent inflationary pressures and slowing economic growth.
In response, the Fed has maintained its benchmark interest rate within the 4.25%–4.50% range, signaling a cautious approach to monetary policy adjustments.
While the Fed has not fully transitioned to an easing stance, it has begun to moderate its QT efforts. Specifically, starting in April, the Fed reduced its monthly runoff of Treasury securities from $25 billion to $5 billion while continuing to allow $35 billion in mortgage-backed securities to mature without reinvestment.
Looking ahead, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) projects the possibility of two interest rate cuts later in 2025, contingent upon economic conditions. This projection reflects the Fed’s attempt to balance the dual mandates of controlling inflation and supporting employment amid uncertainties, including the impact of recent tariff policies.
Pros and cons of quantitative easing
Quantitative easing boosts growth and lowers borrowing costs, but overuse can fuel inflation, asset bubbles and long-term policy challenges.
Pros
- QE helps boost economic activity by increasing the money supply and encouraging lending and investment.
- By purchasing government bonds, QE drives down interest rates, making borrowing cheaper for businesses and consumers.
- By injecting liquidity into the economy, QE helps boost demand and supports price stability, preventing deflation.
Cons
- An excessive increase in the money supply can devalue the currency and push inflation higher.
- Easy money can drive up asset prices, leading to overvalued stocks, bonds or real estate.
- QE adds to national debt, making it harder for central banks to manage inflation or interest rates in the future.
In the end, quantitative easing remains a powerful but double-edged tool: capable of stabilizing economies in crisis yet carrying long-term risks that must be carefully managed to avoid repeating past imbalances.
BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund has been named the best new ETF product by etf.com, as it recorded its highest inflows since Jan. 21.
On April 23, BlackRock’s iShare Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) was awarded the “Best New ETF” at the annual etf.com ETF awards. In an X post shortly after, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said it “feels right to me.”
IBIT clocks highest inflows in three months
“I’m pretty sure this is how I voted. Both of them did things no one has seen [before],” Balchunas said, also referencing the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) winning the “ETF of the Year” award. Over the past 5 years, VOO is up 89%, according to Google Finance data.
IBIT was also the recipient of the Crypto ETP of the year.
IBIT’s two awards came on the same day IBIT recorded $643.2 million in inflows, according to Farside data. It was the highest inflow day since Jan. 21, when it saw $661.9 million, just a day after US President Donald Trump’s inauguration, when Bitcoin’s spot price hit an all-time high of $109,000.
Bitcoin commentator Vivek said this “is massive,” while Apollo Sats co-founder Thomas Fahrer said, “Huge inflow.”
The IBIT fund, which launched in January 2024 alongside 10 other US-based spot Bitcoin ETFs, has net assets of approximately $53.77 billion, according to BlackRock data. Over the past 30 days, it has traded, on average, 45.02 million shares per day.
At the time of publication, a single IBIT share is trading at $53.20, as per Google Finance data.
Meanwhile, VanEck Bitcoin ETF (HODL) received the award for “Best new ETF ticker.”
Related: Bitcoiners should be cautious over rally as stablecoin indicator lags: Analyst
IBIT’s large inflow on April 23 made up most of the $917 million seen across all 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs that day. It was the second day in a row with over $900 million in inflows amid most of the month posting outflow days due to macro uncertainty.
On April 23, Glassnode pointed out that the $912 million ETF inflows the day prior equaled more than 500 times the 2025 daily average.
Magazine: Former Love Island star’s tips on how to go viral in crypto: Van00sa, X Hall of Flame
This 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.
US federal prosecutors have asked a district judge to sentence Avraham “Avi” Eisenberg, the crypto user convicted of the $110 million exploit of the decentralized exchange Mango Markets in 2022, to at least six and a half years behind bars.
Ahead of Eisenberg’s May 1 sentencing hearing, US prosecutors are petitioning US District Judge Arun Subramanian for Eisenberg to face between 78 and 97 months in prison, according to an April 22 filing in a New York district court.
Prosecutors argue it’s an appropriate sentence for Eisenberg’s April 2024 conviction for committing wire fraud, commodities fraud and commodities manipulation in connection with the Mango Markets exploit and separate charges that he possessed child pornography.
“This sentence is necessary to, among other things, appropriately reflect the gravity of the defendant’s crimes, promote respect for the law, deter the defendant from future criminal activity, and protect the public,” the prosecutors said.
“Fraud that takes over $100 million from investors and effectively shuts down a business is a shocking violation of criminal law, and it necessitates a sentence commensurate with the crime.”
Mango Markets announced on Jan. 11 that it was winding down operations. It first launched in August 2021. A subsequent Jan. 18 post to X gave a date of Feb. 3 for the shutdown.
During his April 2024 trial, Eisenberg’s legal team claimed he orchestrated a legal trading strategy that saw him profit $110 million from Mango Markets.
He has returned roughly $67 million of the funds after the exploit, but retained more than $40 million following a community governance vote.
Mango Markets hopes for restitution
In an April 22 impact statement filed by lawyers acting for Mango Markets, the exchange asks that, in light of Eisenberg’s conviction, the court grant $47 million restitution to make everyone, “including Mango DAO, whole.”
“Although Eisenberg’s attack cannot be undone, return of the funds he misappropriated is critical to righting his wrong,” Mango Markets said.
Related: Mango Markets heist like a fake diamond ring scam: Prosecutor
“No amount of money will fix the damage that Eisenberg has caused to Mango Markets’ reputation and the suffering his avarice caused, but returning the money, Eisenberg made off with will at least help.”
Authorities arrested Eisenberg in December 2022. After his conviction, his sentencing has been postponed multiple times.
Initially, it was scheduled for Dec. 12, 2024, but it was later delayed to Feb. 11, 2025, and April 10, 2025. Eisenberg’s legal team said the complexity of the sentencing issues caused the delays.
Magazine: Ethereum maxis should become ‘assholes’ to win TradFi tokenization race
US federal prosecutors have filed statements from hundreds of victims in their case against Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of the defunct crypto lender Celsius Network.
The recently sworn-in interim US Attorney for Manhattan, Jay Clayton, said in an April 23 letter to a Manhattan federal court that he was sharing “more than 200 victim impact statements” collected by his office.
The statements span 418 pages of Celsius users, some named and some only using their initials, detailing the impact that the collapse of the firm had on their lives and how much money they had lost as a result.
Some of the statements detailed victims who said they entrusted their life savings to Celsius, believing Mashinsky’s assurances that the platform was safe.
Others wrote they were dismayed at the amount returned to them as a result of the company’s bankruptcy proceedings, which many said was less than the amount they put into the platform.
Before it collapsed, Celsius Network allowed users to deposit crypto to earn yield and offered loans with crypto posted as collateral. It blocked withdrawals in mid-2022 amid a massive crypto market crash and filed for bankruptcy in July that year.
The Justice Department hit Mashinsky with seven charges a year later in July 2023, but he took a plea deal and copped to a count each of commodities and securities fraud in December, which carry a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison if served consecutively.
Some seek leniency for Mashinsky
A large number of the statements reviewed by Cointelegraph called for Mashinsky to be imprisoned under the maximum allowable sentence, but at least two called for the court to go easy on the admitted fraudster.
Related: US prosecutors to pursue ex-SafeMoon CEO case despite DOJ memo
One statement, written by a person identifying themselves as “Mike,” said further punishing Mashinsky would be “unreasonably excessive” as he claimed, without evidence, that the Celsius founder “was the target of a coordinated attack” by Sam Bankman-Fried, a convicted fraudster and former CEO of the collapsed crypto exchange FTX.
Another statement written by Artur Abreu said that Mashinsky should be given leniency as he’s shown remorse, and macroeconomic factors at the time majorly contributed to Celsius’ collapse.
Mashinsky, whose sentencing is set for May 8, argued in an April 17 sentencing brief that he should not be sentenced to more than a year and one day in prison, or 366 days, as he had “genuinely good intentions, and a previously spotless track record.”
The government's sentencing brief is due on April 24.
Magazine: Inner City Press says ‘less flashy’ Mashinsky set for less jail time than SBF: X Hall of Flame
The ZKsync Association has confirmed the recovery of $5 million worth of stolen tokens from an April 15 ZKsync security incident involving its airdrop distribution contract.
The hacker agreed to accept a 10% bounty and return 90% of the remaining stolen tokens, transferring the ZKsync Security Council almost $5.7 million across three transfers on April 23.
“We’re pleased to share that the hacker has cooperated and returned the funds within the safe harbor deadline,” ZKsync Association posted to X on April 23, which was later reposted by ZKsync’s X account.
Matter Labs, the company behind the ZKsync protocol, also reposted the news shared on X.
The ZKsync X account previously confirmed that no user funds were compromised.
The hacker sent two transfers on the ZKsync Era blockchain, consisting of $2.47 million worth of ZKsync (ZK) tokens and $1.83 million worth of Ether (ETH) to the ZKsync Security Council’s ZKsync Era address.
Another 776 ETH worth nearly $1.4 million was also sent to their security council’s Ethereum address, Etherscan data shows.
The first transfer was made on April 23 at 2:39:57 pm UTC on and the last transfer was made roughly 13 minutes later — all within the 72-hour window that ZK Sync had initially set.
ZKsync Association said the company would publish a final report revealing more details from the security incident.
How the hack happened
The hacker breached ZKsync’s admin account, allowing them to exploit the airdrop distribution contract's sweepUnclaimed() function to mint 111 million unclaimed ZK tokens, worth approximately $5 million at the time of the April 15 attack.
The hack occurred while ZKsync was in the process of airdropping 17.5% of ZK’s token supply to ecosystem participants.
The recovered amount — almost $5.7 million — exceeded the $5 million originally stolen due to a rise in the market value of the stolen tokens, with ZK and ETH increasing 16.6% and 8.8% respectively since the April 15 attack, according to CoinGecko data.
Despite the asset recovery, the ZK token failed to rise substantially on the news and is currently down 0.2% over the last 24 hours.
ZKsync Era is an Ethereum layer 2 solution that uses zero-knowledge rollups to batch and process transactions offchain. It has nearly $59 million in total value locked on its chain and has over $2 billion in real-world assets onchain, according to DefiLlama and RWA.xyz.
Magazine: Ethereum maxis should become ‘assholes’ to win TradFi tokenization race
Russia’s finance ministry and central bank are reportedly planning to launch a crypto exchange for qualified investors under an experimental legal regime.
The platform will be aimed at “super-qualified investors,” Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said during a ministry meeting, according to April 23 reports from Russian media group RBC and Russian news agency Interfax.
“Together with the central bank, we will launch a crypto exchange for super-qualified investors. Crypto assets will be legalized, and crypto operations will be brought out of the shadows,” he said in a statement translated from Russian.
“Naturally, this will not happen domestically, but as part of the operations permitted under the experimental legal regime.”
The Russian central bank announced a proposal on March 12 to allow a limited number of Russian investors with a certain amount of assets to buy and sell cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) under a three-year experimental regime.
Under the proposal, the bank created a new investor category, super-qualified investors, defined by wealth and income thresholds of over 100 million rubles ($1.2 million) or a yearly income of at least 50 million rubles ($602,000).
Super-qualified investor definition not set in stone
The deputy director of the Finance Ministry’s financial policy department, Osman Kabaloev, said the criteria for a super-qualified investor are not yet final because they were floated in the early stages of discussions last year, according to RBC.
“Perhaps it will be in this format, or these indicators will be somehow adjusted in one direction or another - this is possible, I think there will be a wide range of discussions,” Kabaloev said in a statement translated from Russian.
Russia implemented a ban on using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin for payments under its first crypto law, which came into force in January 2021.
However, the country has since been trying to make other crypto inroads. On April 16, Kabaloev said the Kremlin should be creating its own stablecoin after a recent freeze on wallets linked to the sanctioned Russian exchange Garantex by US authorities and stablecoin issuer Tether.
Related: Russia using Bitcoin, USDt for oil trades with China and India: Report
Meanwhile, Evgeny Masharov, a member of the Russian Civic Chamber, proposed on March 20 to create a Russian government crypto fund that would include assets confiscated from criminal proceedings.
At the same time, other officials were progressing with new legislation on recognizing crypto as property for the purposes of criminal procedure legislation.
Magazine: How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025
Bitcoin has shown resilience compared to the broader financial market amid macroeconomic uncertainty, but analysts caution it’s still too early to know whether the trend will last.
“We’re not quite there yet, but if Bitcoin holds strength through the upcoming CPI, as well as ongoing Powell-related and equity earnings volatility, the decoupling narrative could evolve from “temporary divergence” to “regime change,” Bitfinex analysts said in an April 23 markets note viewed by Cointelegraph.
Bitcoin’s relative strength yet to be proven as structural
The analysts said that while Bitcoin’s (BTC) relative strength against US equities “appears real,” it is yet to be confirmed as structural. The analysts warned that Bitcoin has previously seen short periods of outperformance, only to eventually fall back in line with the broader market.
Cointelegraph recently reported that Bitcoin is increasingly abandoning its stock correlation to copy gold’s upside. At the time of publication, Bitcoin’s price has posted gains of 7.68% over the past 30 days. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are down 6.79% and 8.14%, respectively, as per Google Finance data.
Over the same period, Nvidia (NVDA), which has outperformed Bitcoin over the past decade, fell 15.4%. The analysts attributed the decline to the “effective ban on advanced chip exports to China and tariff-driven volatility.” In May 2024, Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten said there is a “near zero chance of Nvidia outperforming Bitcoin over the next 10 years.”
The Bitfinex analysts described the current crypto market as a “hybrid state,” with rising macroeconomic risk on one side and an uptick in spot Bitcoin ETF inflows on the other.
April 22 alone saw $913 million in spot Bitcoin ETF inflows, the largest since late January.
“This backdrop favors Bitcoin as the “cleanest shirt in the dirty laundry.”
They added that this reinforces Bitcoin’s position as a strong store of value, with Bitcoin dominance rising to levels not seen since late 2021.
At the time of publication, Bitcoin's dominance was 64.39%, according to TradingView data.
Related: Bitcoin holders back in profit as new capital enters the market — Is $100K BTC price next?
Crypto market participants will be closely watching April’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), published on May 13, after March data showed a cooling trend that some saw as a short-term bearish signal for Bitcoin.
March’s CPI came in at 2.4% year-over-year, down from 2.8% in February, the lowest level since February 2023, according to the US Bureau of Statistics.
Meanwhile, some crypto analysts caution that other indicators suggest Bitcoin’s rally may not last.
10x Research head of research Markus Thielen said, “Given that our stablecoin minting indicator has yet to return to high-activity levels, we remain cautious about the sustainability of the current Bitcoin rally.”
Magazine: Former Love Island star’s tips on how to go viral in crypto: Van00sa, X Hall of Flame
This 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.
Cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin is set to branch further into Southeast Asia, targeting the growing crypto market in Thailand.
KuCoin is planning to launch a crypto exchange platform offering digital assets and related products in the country, according to an April 23 announcement.
ERX Company Ltd, Thailand’s first Securities and Exchange Commission-supervised digital token exchange, has rebranded as KuCoin Thailand effective April 22, it stated.
The crypto exchange will operate under ERX, which recently received a crypto exchange license from the Thai financial regulator.
“We’re strengthening our ability to offer localized solutions tailored to the Thai market,” said ERX chief executive Att Tongyai Asavanund.
Existing ERX users have been migrated to the new KuCoin Thailand platform, and the KuCoin TH app is available on both Android and iOS.
KuCoin joins an increasingly crowded Thai market
KuCoin is entering a crowded market, as there are eight other companies licensed by the Thai SEC to operate as crypto and digital asset exchanges.
These are the WAAN Exchange, Gulf Binance, Thai Digital Assets Exchange, InnovestX Securities, GMO-Z.com Cryptonomics, Upbit Exchange, Bitkub Online and Orbix Trade.
Bitkub is the largest by far and has a current daily trading volume of around $70 million, according to CoinGecko. Comparatively, KuCoin’s global platform claims to have $3.8 billion in daily volume.
Related: Thailand SEC plans to launch tokenized securities trading system
In January, the Thai government announced a pilot program enabling tourists to pay using Bitcoin (BTC) in a sandboxed environment on the holiday island of Phuket. However, it has yet to be launched.
While crypto trading remains popular in Thailand, using crypto assets for payments was outlawed by the central bank in 2022.
In early April, Thai finance regulators targeted foreign peer-to-peer crypto platforms in their latest crackdown in an effort to combat scams and money laundering.
KuCoin is currently trying to get a settlement with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission resolved after it was sued under the previous administration in March 2024 for violating the Commodity Exchange Act.
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