Crypto

Iran may require oil tankers to pay BTC tolls through the Strait of Hormuz, signaling a new use case for crypto as geopolitical tensions reshape global trade routes. Bitcoin is emerging as a potential component in the fragile ceasefire that is taking shape between the United States and Iran after a 39-day conflict disrupted the region and forced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran is unlikely to relinquish its grip on the narrow trade artery that handles roughly 20% of global crude oil flows. Instead, it plans to manage transit alongside Oman, collecting tolls from vessels seeking safe passage. And that’s where Bitcoin (BTC) comes into play. Those payments may not be limited to traditional currencies. Hamid Hosseini, a spokesperson for Iran’s Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Union, told the Financial Times that certain ships could be required to pay in BTC for safe passage of their oil cargo. Read more

Technical analysis, overhead supply awaiting absorption, and a shift in investor sentiment have increased the likelihood of Bitcoin reaching $80,000 in April. Bitcoin (BTC) extended its bullish run into the Wall Street open on Friday, rallying above $73,000. Traders now eye a move back toward $80,000 by the end of April, as several indicators point to bulls retaking control of the crypto market. On Tuesday, Bitcoin invalidated what initially appeared to be a bear pennant on the daily chart. Related: Old Bitcoin whales sold $271M in BTC: Is crypto rally at stake?  Read more

Police say a 20-year-old man also threatened to burn down OpenAI’s headquarters shortly after the incident.

World Liberty Financial, the decentralized finance project co-founded by the Trump family, is hastily preparing to unlock a massive tranche of its WLFI tokens after a nearly two-year holding period. The impending release will likely target a portion of the remaining 80% of public investors' allocations to the project. According to Tokenomist data, this translates […] The post Trump’s World Liberty Financial borrows $75M against illiquid WLFI tokens with 16B token dump incoming appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The public statement came about three months after the CEO said Coinbase could not support the crypto bill “as written“ before a crucial committee vote. Brian Armstrong, the Coinbase CEO who withdrew the crypto exchange’s support for the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act in January, said “it’s time” for the legislation to pass after months of delays. In a Thursday X post, Armstrong said that Coinbase agreed with comments from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, in which he urged Congress to act on the crypto bill soon. According to the CEO, the current version of the legislation, after months of negotiations between lawmakers and representatives from the crypto and banking industries, was a “strong bill.” “It's time to pass the Clarity Act,” said Armstrong. Read more

AI usage among Gen Z is up, but excitement over the technology is way down—so are feelings of “hopefulness.”

Bitcoin bulls spent the week stampeding toward a critical overhead resistance level, which, if breached, could restart the bull market in BTC and altcoins. Key points: Buyers are attempting to push Bitcoin toward the $76,000 level but are facing significant selling from the bears. Several major altcoins are likely to pick up momentum if they break above their overhead resistance levels. Read more

"Understand what you're buying and understand that this is not the stock market," he urged.

Bitget's new IPO Prime platform debuts with a Republic-issued token offering exposure to SpaceX's eventual public market performance.

CIA leadership confirmed the agency used AI to generate its first-ever autonomous intelligence report—and expect to use full AI agent teams.

Elon Musk’s AI company xAI is challenging Colorado’s new high-risk AI law, adding to mounting legal scrutiny around its Grok chatbot.

As much as 80% of Bitcoin's price action next month could depend on whether the conflict in the Middle East shows signs of concluding.

Bitcoin holding above $72,000, along with a sharp uptick in whale activity, suggests traders may target the supply zone at $88,000. Mirroring a breakout setup from Q2 2025, Bitcoin (BTC) is now eyeing a possible rally toward the $86,000–$90,000 range over the next few weeks. The bullish view is supported by robust Bitcoin whale activity and large BTC inflows to exchanges, which have dropped by $5 billion over the past two months. Bitcoin reached a weekly high of $73,255 on Friday after testing the $72,000 level earlier in the week, with the price compressing between $70,000 and $72,000 over the past four days. The higher price range is showing more stability for BTC than in March, when BTC quickly corrected after reaching the key level.  Read more

Can AI Agents Drive an Ethereum Supply Shock? The post Etherealize Say AI Will Fuel Ethereum Supply Shock: Here’s Why and Next Coin to Pump appeared first on Cryptonews.

Privacy-focused coin Zcash is soaring higher than Bitcoin. Myriad predictors think ZEC is likely to keep rising after a massive gain.

The feature lets users spend crypto directly from a self-custodial wallet.

Although US inflation was weaker than expected in March, the ongoing war between the United States, Iran and Israel has fueled macroeconomic uncertainty. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) published the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for March, showing a 0.9% month-over-month rise in headline CPI inflation. CPI inflation is up 3.3% year-over-year, according to the BLS report published Friday. Although inflation came in slightly lower than analyst expectations, inflation remains elevated above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. A surge in energy prices from the Iran war drove March’s inflation figures, with the energy index rising by nearly 11%, led by a 21.2% rise in gasoline prices, the BLS report said. Read more

Treasury and Federal Reserve officials reportedly alerted banks to cybersecurity risks tied to Anthropic’s advanced new Mythos AI model.

Onlookers expressed concerns that Dolomite’s protocol could be stuck with bad debt if World Liberty’s loans were unwound.

The dispute between the crypto exchange founders, which included a $1 billion wager from CZ, revives allegations dating back 11 years to Zhao’s time at OKCoin.