KEYTAKEAWAYS
- Bitget's VOXEL trading glitch allowed users to make six-figure profits with just $100, leading to the exchange issuing legal letters to eight accounts and establishing a $20 million recovery fund for affected users.
- Loopscale has offered a $594,000 bounty (10% of stolen funds) to the hacker behind its $5.8 million exploit, with the hacker indicating willingness to accept the offer and return funds.
- Matrixport analysts predict Bitcoin could soon break $100,000 as fresh capital enters the market, while US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded their strongest weekly performance since November with $3.06 billion in net inflows.
CONTENT
Welcome to the CoinRank Crypto News Roundup. CoinRank will provide daily important crypto news in this column series, allowing readers to quickly obtain the latest crucial updates from the cryptocurrency market.
MORNING NEWS
1. Bitget to Issue Legal Letters and $20M Recovery Fund After VOXEL Trading Glitch
Crypto exchange Bitget will issue eight lawyers’ letters regarding the VOXEL/USDT trading glitch that occurred on April 20 and has committed to a $20 million user recovery fund for affected traders. The incident caused VOXEL’s trading volume to surge by over 200% to $12.7 billion, even surpassing Bitcoin’s $4.76 billion volume on the platform. Bitget identified “professional wool interest groups” tied to eight accounts believed to be the main perpetrators who allegedly siphoned over $20 million from the platform. The exchange has promised to distribute all recovered funds to users through airdrops and will release a full accident report on the system malfunction. The incident has drawn criticism of Bitget’s hybrid custody model, with some analysts arguing it places users at systemic risk.
2. Treasury Secretary Bessent Says China Must De-escalate Trade Tensions
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the responsibility for reaching a trade agreement lies with China, saying “it’s up to China to de-escalate, because they sell five times more to us than we sell to them, and so these 120%, 145% tariffs are unsustainable.” Speaking on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Bessent noted that the U.S. has made progress in negotiations with several countries, singling out India as potentially “one of the first trade deals we would sign.” He added that European nations are likely “in a panic” over the euro’s nearly 10% rise against the dollar this year, predicting “the [European Central Bank] start cutting rates to try to get the euro back down.” Bessent’s comments come amid market uncertainty following President Trump’s April 2 announcement of broad-based global duties.
3. Loopscale Offers $594,000 Bounty to Hacker After $5.8M Exploit
Solana-based DeFi protocol Loopscale is offering a bounty worth 3,947 SOL ($594,000) to an exploiter willing to turn whitehat following a $5.8 million exploit over the weekend. “At 3:52PM ET today, we received a response from the exploiter. They have indicated a willingness to return the exploited funds in exchange for a bounty,” Loopscale announced on Sunday. The hack, which resulted in losses of about 12% of the protocol’s total value locked, occurred just two weeks after its launch. Loopscale has proposed that the hacker return 90% of the exploited funds (35,527 SOL) in exchange for keeping 10% as a bounty and being released from all liability. The root cause was identified as “an isolated issue with Loopscale’s pricing of RateX-based collateral.”
4. WLFI Meets with Binance Founder to Discuss Global Crypto Adoption
According to WLFI, they met with Binance founder Changpeng Zhao to discuss growing global crypto adoption and establishing industry standards. WLFI co-founders Zach Witkoff, Zak Folkman, and Chase Hero announced the meeting via their X account, noting they were “pushing crypto to the next level.” Zhao confirmed the meeting but predicted traditional media would “try to make up some negative story about this.” The meeting follows WLFI’s recent signing of a Letter of Intent with the Pakistan Crypto Council to promote blockchain, DeFi, and stablecoin adoption in Pakistan. Some users questioned the meeting’s intent, referencing earlier Wall Street Journal reports that Steve Witkoff, Trump’s chief negotiator for the Middle East and father of WLFI’s co-founder, was working on a deal with Binance on behalf of the Trump family—claims Zhao previously denied.
5. Bitrue Hacker Sells $2.1M in Stolen Assets One Year After $23M Theft
According to on-chain analyst Yu Jin, the hacker who stole $23 million worth of assets from Bitrue in April 2023 has once again sold the stolen assets on-chain a year later. The hacker sold 150 billion SHIB for 1090.4 ETH ($1.97 million) and 135 million HOT for 76.5 ETH ($140,000). The original hack involved assets such as ETH, QNT, GALA, SHIB, HOT, and MATIC worth $23 million at the time, with most assets subsequently swapped for ETH on-chain. In March 2024, the hacker sold 4,207 ETH for 1,634.5 DAI, and has now sold the remaining SHIB and HOT tokens.
NOON NEWS
1. Bitget Wallet Adds Support for Pre-Bonded Meme Tokens
Bitget Wallet has announced a new product update that enables users to access and interact with pre-bonded tokens from leading meme launch platforms pump.fun and Four.meme. Available on the latest version (V8.33) of the Bitget Wallet App, the feature allows users to view, sort, and trade meme tokens at both the “New” and “Bonding” stages without leaving the app. Tokens can be filtered by launch progress and creation time, providing early access to emerging projects directly from mobile. “With the resurgence of meme token activity, users need tools that allow them to move quickly and stay informed,” said Alvin Kan, COO of Bitget Wallet, highlighting the company’s commitment to adapting to user behavior and market shifts.
2. Pengu Token Surges 32% in 24 Hours Amid Growing Institutional Interest
The Pengu token ($PENGU), the native token of the Pudgy Penguins NFT project, broke through 0.013 USDT on April 28, with a 32% increase in 24 hours and a 156% gain over the week. This surge coincided with increased trading volume of Pudgy Penguins NFTs, which reached 2,097 ETH in the past seven days—a 242% increase compared to the previous period—with the floor price rising to 11.5 ETH. The token has garnered attention due to its strong brand effect, practical use cases, and institutional interest. Pudgy Penguins has accumulated over 5 billion views on social media and partnered with retail giants like Walmart and Target. Recent developments include community incentives for user-generated content, an ETF application from Canary Capital, and listing on Robinhood in March.
3. Virtuals Suspends Launch of playgameAI Due to Malicious Operations
Virtuals announced on Twitter that the Genesis new project playgameAI attempted malicious operations during the Genesis Launch period, trying to take advantage of the situation, deceive users, and undermine trust. In response, Virtuals Protocol has permanently suspended the launch of playgameAI, initiated a compensation plan for affected users, and emphasized that it will never require users to transfer funds through unofficial channels.
4. Binance Announces Ethereum Network Wallet Maintenance on April 30
Binance has announced it will conduct wallet maintenance for the Ethereum network on April 30, 2025, starting at 07:00 UTC. Deposits and withdrawals for Ethereum and all ERC-20 tokens will be temporarily suspended beginning at 06:55 UTC, with the maintenance expected to last approximately one hour. Binance assured users that trading of ETH and ERC-20 tokens will continue as normal, and all technical processes will be managed by the platform with no action required from users. Deposits and withdrawals will resume once the Ethereum network is deemed stable following maintenance completion.
5. Loopscale Offers 10% Bounty to Hacker, Threatens Legal Action for Non-Compliance
Loopscale, the on-chain borrowing and lending platform, has offered the hacker behind the $5.7 million exploit in USDC and 1,200 SOL to return 90% of the stolen funds and retain 10% as a bounty reward. The platform has promised to release the hacker “from any and all liability regarding the attack,” but also disclosed it is working closely with law enforcement and exchanges to monitor and freeze stolen funds. According to an earlier post, the exploit impacted roughly 12% of funds on the platform and only affected “depositors to the Loopscale USDC and SOL vaults.” Loopscale has told the hacker to comply with the bounty offer before April 28 at 6 a.m. EST or face legal action, claiming that the attacker addresses have been traced, flagged, and shared with exchanges and off-ramps.
EVENING NEWS
1. Grafana Investigation Finds No Evidence of Code Modification or Unauthorized Access
Grafana’s official X account announced that its investigation results show no evidence of any code being modified, production systems being subject to unauthorized access, customer data being exposed, or personal information being accessed. This announcement follows SlowMist’s detection that the open-source data visualization tool Grafana was suspected of being attacked by a hacker who may have implanted malicious code.
2. Ethereum Foundation Clarifies That EOF Is Not Part of Pectra Upgrade
The Ethereum Foundation’s Executive Director, Tomasz K. Stańczak, has issued a clarification regarding the ongoing debate surrounding the Ethereum Object Format (EOF). Stańczak emphasized that the current discussions about EOF are not related to the upcoming Pectra upgrade, scheduled for release on May 7. The Pectra upgrade will proceed as planned and does not include any EOF elements. Instead, it focuses on enhancing the network’s scalability and efficiency, introducing optimizations to the consensus mechanism to reduce transaction times and lower gas fees, as well as incorporating new smart contract functionalities.
3. Coinbase Calls for Removal of SEC Staff Crypto Holdings Ban
Coinbase has called for the removal of a rule prohibiting Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff from holding cryptocurrency. Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal sent open letters to the Office of Government Ethics acting director Jamieson Greer and newly appointed SEC Chair Paul Atkins, arguing that SEC staff need to use cryptocurrency to better understand its workings and develop effective regulatory frameworks. “To regulate technology, you need to understand it. To understand technology, you need to use it,” Grewal stated, suggesting that the SEC should issue waivers to members of the Crypto Task Force and other staff actively working on related matters. This push comes as the US President has directed the SEC and other agencies to submit recommendations for crypto regulations within approximately 90 days.
4. Matrixport Predicts Bitcoin Could Soon Break $100,000
Bitcoin could be preparing for a breakout above $100,000 as new capital flows into the crypto market, according to a Matrixport report by market analyst Markus Thielen. The report notes that crypto liquidity is improving and fresh capital is beginning to flow into the market after two months of sideways movement. “If this trend continues, Bitcoin should have little difficulty breaking through the $100,000 level. While early days, it was a similar surge in inflows during October and November that fueled the previous aggressive rally,” Matrixport stated. Meanwhile, Thielen’s 10x Research reported that two of its reversal indicators had turned bearish, suggesting short-term downside risk, but noted this could represent a “consolidation phase before a potential breakout above $100,000.” As of press time, Bitcoin is trading at $94,830, up 8.54% weekly, with U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recording $3.06 billion in net inflows for the week ending April 25.
5. Ripple Expands into Crypto Custody Services as Part of Long-Term Strategy
Ripple is stepping up efforts to expand into cryptocurrency custody services, a strategic move that, according to legal expert John Deaton, signals the company’s long-term vision for blockchain. The stablecoin issuer is shifting focus to offer tokenization-as-a-service to global financial institutions. Ripple’s acquisitions of Metaco and Standard Custody in 2023 and 2024, as well as the Hidden Road broker acquisition, position the company as a “one-stop shop for financial institutions integrating blockchain technology.” Deaton believes Ripple’s custody framework will ensure seamless tokenization, ultimately disrupting the financial industry. The XRP Ledger is envisioned as the central hub for tokenized assets, with the RLUSD stablecoin playing a key role. Deaton suggests Ripple’s strategy aims to outpace competitors as the global market for custody services is expected to reach $16 trillion by 2030.
▶ Buy Crypto at Bitget
CoinRank x Bitget – Sign up & Trade to get $20!
