Have you been to Kenya? Are you familiar with Kenyans on the streets and online get-togethers? Whatever Kenyans want, they demonstrate, threaten to abandon, and have global trending hashtags to that effect. This time around, the round-up was sent to Binance after freezing several crypto accounts. And Binance has responded.
According to reports, the leading crypto exchange is set to address Kenyans next week. The exchange has already confirmed that it will host a live X Spaces session next week in partnership with the AML Association of Kenya.
Binance prepares to face Kenyan’s next week
According to a statement by comedian Eddie Butita, Binance will go live on X Spaces with the AML Association of Kenya to clarify the facts and address compliance concerns.
Next week, Binance will go live on X Spaces with the AML Association of Kenya to clarify the facts and address concerns around compliance. More details to follow. @binance@BinanceAfricapic.twitter.com/i8VcGU8JEI
So how did we get here? As earlier reported by Cryptopolitan, Kenyan crypto traders voiced frustration after months of restricted access to funds on Binance. The exchange’s compliance with directives from law enforcement agencies sparked discussions about customer rights, regulation, and overreach.
According to affected traders, their Binance accounts have been frozen for more than 2 months at the behest of DCI, with no charges laid, no court order issued, and no timetable for resolving the matter.
“No complainant identified. No formal charges. No timeline given,” the trader posted on X. “Funds remain inaccessible. Meanwhile, real life doesn’t pause. Bills are piling up. Debt is growing.”
The public mood has soured significantly, with a boycott gaining steam under the hashtag #BinanceUnmasked.
These actions coincide with developments in the country’s legal context, such as the 2025 Virtual Assets Service Provider Act, as well as changes to the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act, which classify cryptocurrency platforms as reporting entities.
Binance argues that it works with local law enforcement agencies, as such measures are consistent with existing regulations.
What this means for Kenya’s crypto ecosystem
Kenya ranks among the most dynamic and active countries in Africa for crypto activities. Millions of users use platforms such as Binance to make transactions and remittances, and to save money. The current tensions highlight the growing pains of rapid adoption and the need to meet stricter oversight.
The comments under Eddie Bututa’s X post are negative at this point. Binance’s partnership with the Kenyan authorities has scarred its reputation among traders.
The National Treasury also mentioned that the submissions of all the interested parties regarding the Draft VASP Regulations 2026 have been received. This will set the ball rolling for the completion of the entire process.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Draft VASP Regulations are meant to bring into effect the provisions of the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act passed in the year 2025.
Some of the major recommendations in this regard include imposing strict capital requirements, which could be as high as Ksh 500 million for stablecoin issuers; stringent AML/CFT and consumer protection guidelines; asset isolation; and restrictions on market manipulation. Supervision of the entities is to be carried out through collaboration between the CBK and the CMA.
Arkham has set its sights on Solana’s thriving DEX market as it announced the launch of its decentralized trading functionality, integrated exclusively with the Solana ecosystem.
Arkham will now incorporate decentralized trading into its Intel platform. As things stand, it will not just operate as a standalone DEX but as a hybrid that provides intel that it integrates with actual execution for Solana tokens.
Arkham’s new functionality now allows users to discover, filter, and most importantly, trade Solana tokens with high frequency and low latency without leaving the Arkham platform.
Arkham evolves from CEX to DEX
Arkham is currently making a concerted effort to expand its DeFi functionalities by allowing users to trade directly on the platform.
Arkham originally expanded into trading territory in late 2024 with the launch of Arkham Exchange. The platform offered CEX services like spot and perps; however, it struggled with low volume.
Earlier this year, rumors started circulating that the exchange was getting shut down, but instead of closing, the platform pivoted, switching instead to decentralization.
Supporters of the move back to Arkham to separate itself from other regular DEXs that don’t provide as much intel. They have also praised the decision to test it out on Solana first, as the ecosystem, with its high throughput and bustling DeFi scene, makes a perfect sandbox for the experiment.
Solana’s DEX market is thriving
The Solana DeFi scene and DEX market are bustling with activity, even though most of that activity is currently driven by memecoin trading.
According to data from Defillama, Solana currently ranks third among all blockchain chains, behind Ethereum and Base, as far as 24-hour spot DEX volume is concerned, with $921 million traded in the past day alone.
The network jumps to the first spot over the 7-day period, nearing $46 billion over the monthly time frame. Orca, Raydium, Manifest Trade, Meteora and Pump led activity on the network.
Solana has sustained its lead in DEX activity. Source: Defillama
The thriving DeFi scene has also been attracting developers, with Solana’s share of all active developers reportedly surging from 6% in 2020 to 23% in 2026. In contrast, Ethereum’s share dropped drastically to 31% from 82%.
Solana also now attracts the highest number of hobbyist developers, with its share growing to 28% in 2025, 4% more than Ethereum and 12% more than Base.
In the same year, Solana also attracted the highest number of new developers at 4,100, while Ethereum took on 3,700, and Base about 2,500. Together, all three ecosystems accounted for 61% of all new developers in 2025.
The growth has had an effect on Solana’s product shipping rate. According to reports, the Solana dApp store currently hosts over 700 applications, and more are most likely on the way, if the Solana Foundation has anything to say about it.
In March of this year, the foundation launched the Solana developer platform, a unified interface meant to simplify development for enterprises and institutions. It already has early adopters, including Mastercard, Worldpay, and Western Union, signaling increased institutional engagement with the ecosystem.
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For most of its life, crypto lived outside the financial system. If you wanted to move dollars in or out of an exchange, that money still had to pass through a regular bank somewhere along the way. Most people assumed it would stay that way until Washington finally decided how to regulate it.
But that assumption is now breaking down. In March 2026, a regional Federal Reserve bank approved a limited account for Kraken, the first time a crypto exchange has ever been allowed to plug directly into the US central bank’s payment system. More approvals could follow, and the GENIUS Act, passed last year, has cleared a path for ordinary banks to start issuing their own digital dollars.
None of this needed a sweeping “crypto law”: it was a series of smaller, technical decisions that have added up and changed the picture entirely.
Crypto may not be waiting for permission anymore. It may already be finding a way in.
What a “backdoor into the system” actually means
The US financial system runs on a set of payment networks operated by the Federal Reserve. Banks use them to move money between each other, settle transactions at the end of the day, and tap dollar liquidity when they need it. The most important, called Fedwire, moves trillions of dollars between banks every single day.
To use those networks, an institution needs an account at the Fed, which was historically reserved for licensed banks. Everyone else had to rent access by going through a partner bank that already had one.
That’s what just changed. Kraken’s banking unit now has its own direct line into the Fed’s payment system, without routing dollars through another bank first. The account is limited, which means it won’t have interest on reserves or access to the Fed’s emergency lending, but it lets Kraken settle its own dollar transactions on the same infrastructure banks use.
Think of the difference this way: instead of using a third-party app to talk to your bank, you have your own connection to the bank’s back end. Faster, cheaper, and no longer dependent on a middleman that can say no.
For years, US crypto policy has moved slowly, pulled between agencies that didn’t agree on the basics. At the same time, demand for crypto services from big institutional investors hasn’t gone away. They want cleaner, regulated ways to touch the asset class.
So the system is adapting practically, not politically.
The GENIUS Act gave digital dollars their first real federal rulebook and effectively invited regulated banks into the market. Regulators began handing out special charters that let nonbank firms like Circle operate with bank-like privileges.
The Fed opened a public comment period on a lighter-weight account designed for payment-focused firms. Wyoming’s crypto-friendly bank charter, once treated as an experimental oddity, became the legal vehicle that carried Kraken through the door.
All of this means that your bank’s exposure to digital assets is going up, either through partners, products, or its own tokens. Citi has said it’s targeting a 2026 launch of crypto custody. A group of major global banks, including JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Goldman Sachs, has explored a jointly-backed digital dollar. Even if you never buy crypto, it will now sit on the edges of the account you already have.
This comes with quite a few risks for markets, though. When the pipes between crypto and traditional finance get wider and shorter, money moves faster in both directions, and so do shocks.
For crypto, direct access to payment systems is a stamp of legitimacy that would have been unthinkable a few years ago. But it also means it loses the “outside the system” identity that defined it, and takes on some of the same responsibilities.
The more connected crypto becomes, the less isolated its risks are.
The real tension: stability or contagion for crypto?
One view (call it the normalization case) is that pulling crypto inside the regulated perimeter makes everyone safer. Companies with direct Fed access have to meet stricter standards, and reserves get easier to monitor. This is a net positive for users, as they end up with fewer opaque middlemen between their dollars and the exchange. When seen through this lens, integration reduces risk rather than creating it.
The other view is hard to ignore, as the scares from the 2008 financial crisis are still fresh for many.
The US banking lobby reacted to the Kraken decision by warning that lightly regulated companies like this with direct access to the payment system introduce all kinds of money-laundering and operational risks. However, they would also open a Pandora’s box of new risks: in a panic, money could actually flood into these new accounts, draining deposits from the community banks and credit unions that fund the real economy.
The Bank Policy Institute, representing the country’s largest banks, said the approval happened before the Fed Board had even finished writing its own rulebook for these accounts.
The question underneath this fight is pretty simple: if crypto becomes part of the system, does it make the system stronger or more fragile?
Financial crises are rarely about the risk everyone is watching. They’re a result of the connections no one modeled, and many believe that the new direct connection between crypto markets and the Fed’s payment rails is exactly that kind of linkage.
The subtle part
Part of what makes a huge shift like this hard to see is that nobody is announcing it as one.
There’s no press conference where “crypto joins the banking system,” because there doesn’t need to be. A regional Fed approval here, a stablecoin rulebook there, and a charter granted to a firm most people have never heard of.
Each of these items is boring on its own terms, which is why they clear without the kind of political fight that most comprehensive crypto laws have been stuck in for years.
More crypto firms will almost certainly follow Kraken once the Fed finalizes its lighter-weight account framework, and the approvals will be granted one at a time, in different Federal Reserve districts, with conditions that take pages of legal language to unpack.
Big banks will keep rolling out custody services and their own digital dollars as ordinary product launches, not ideological statements, while the Kraken cybersecurity incident this spring (an extortion attempt built around insider access) hands the banking lobby exactly the kind of material it needs to argue that lightly regulated firms shouldn’t be sitting on the same rails as JPMorgan.
A comprehensive crypto market-structure law may still pass, and probably will eventually, but by the time it does, the thing it’s meant to govern will already have been built around it, and the interesting question will no longer be what the rules say but how much of the system has stopped needing them.
The Trump administration is being aggressively questioned by Democratic senators on seemingly lax oversight of Binance regarding some funds that ended up in the wrong hands in Iran, pouring cold water on President Trump’s parade as Iran relented on its Strait of Hormuz blockade in a peace deal that looked elusive until it was announced.
Adding to the controversy is the lenient settlement with a Turkish bank accused of laundering billions for Iran, which not only lets the bank off but also deprives American victims of Iranian-linked terrorism of necessary funds.
Senators question lax oversight of Binance
On Friday, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) sent urgent letters to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) demanding answers regarding the status of two independent monitors assigned to Binance.
A day before sending these letters, Blumenthal joined Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Adam Schiff in investigating the DOJ’s decision to drop criminal charges against Turkiye Halk Bankasi (Halkbank) without imposing a single dollar in fines.
The federal oversight of Binance in question was part of a 2023 settlement where the company paid a $4.3 billion fine for failing to maintain proper anti-money laundering (AML) controls. Alongside that, the government installed two monitors to watch the exchange’s every move. Frances McLeod reports to the DOJ, while Sharon Cohen Levin reports to FinCEN.
However, in the Senator’s letters sent Friday and seen by Fortune, he mentions “mounting allegations of dangerously lax anti-money laundering prevention” and recent reports that over $1.7 billion in crypto flowed through Binance to Iran-linked wallets.
Reports have also surfaced that the DOJ paused corporate monitorships for companies like Glencore and Boeing back in 2025.
Blumenthal stated that Binance allegedly took two months to respond to law enforcement about terrorist financing and five months to remove a suspicious vendor named “Blessed Trust.”
In a separate letter sent April 1 to Binance’s Co-CEO Richard Teng, he said, “Binance’s failure to provide the Subcommittee with the full material requested in its inquiry, in addition to details in its response in relation to subsequent reporting, raises further alarms about its candor.”
The Senator is also demanding internal data on whether Binance has weakened its compliance policies since 2025, specifically regarding the labeling of accounts tied to Iran. In some cases, internal warnings reportedly labeled risky accounts with “Don’t block. Internal accounts.”
What happened to the fine imposed on Halkbank?
The DOJ recently agreed to a deferred prosecution agreement with Halkbank, a Turkish state-owned bank accused of helping Iran evade sanctions.
People dissatisfied with the details of the settlement claim it is incredibly lax despite allegations that Halkbank helped Iran access a $20 billion slush fund. The bank will pay $0 in fines, admit no wrongdoing, and provide no compensation to US victims of Iranian terrorism.
Blumenthal and his colleagues, Schiff and Schumer, are demanding answers. “The timing of this agreement, coinciding with President Trump’s initiation of a war against Iran that he justified in part by citing Iran’s history of terrorist attacks against U.S. citizens, makes the Department’s decision even more incomprehensible,” the Senators wrote in their letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
The Senators are specifically asking if President Trump pressured the DOJ to protect the bank.
They pointed out reports that following a September 2025 White House visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan reportedly assured his circle that “the Halkbank problem is over for us.”
Senator Ron Wyden also wrote to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, stating that abandoning the prosecution while fighting a war with Iran is “nothing short of rank incompetence.”
A Las Vegas online casino company has struck a deal with Crypto.com to offer prediction market contracts in the U.S., entering what could become a trillion-dollar industry.
High Roller Technologies (NYSE: ROLR) is the company behind the High Roller and Fruta casino brands. It has signed an agreement with Crypto.com’s derivatives arm, known as CDNA. U.S. customers will be able to trade event-based contracts across finance, sports, and entertainment.
It’s the company’s first move into prediction markets, a space that’s been attracting serious money. Analysts have floated projections of $1 trillion or more in annual U.S. trading volume if the market matures, with global figures potentially higher.
Crypto.com co-founder and CEO Kris Marszalek cited High Roller’s existing platform as the draw. “Together, we believe we can expand access to regulated event contracts in the United States through a differentiated and highly scalable offering,” he said. High Roller CEO Seth Young said the company has spent months preparing for the launch.
Partnership creates new revenue channels
The arrangement designates Crypto.com and its affiliates as prediction contract suppliers across High Roller’s U.S. distribution network. High Roller (NYSE: ROLR) plans to operate through the structure, which is expected to generate additional revenue streams for the company.
CDNA is already registered with the CFTC as both a designated contract market and a derivatives clearing organization. High Roller plans to register as a CFTC Introducing Broker and connect with Crypto.com’s CFTC-registered Futures Commission Merchant.
Rivals attracting billions in investment
The news comes during a frenzy of investment in the prediction market space. Rival platform Kalshi just hit a $22 billion valuation after raising roughly $1 billion, led by Coatue Management, double its December valuation, which drew backing from Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, Ark Invest, and Paradigm.
The company’s rise accelerated after winning a court fight with the CFTC in May 2025 that cleared it to offer election contracts, taking it from $2 billion to $22 billion in under a year.
Polymarket closed a $1.6 billion investment from Intercontinental Exchange, the NYSE’s parent company, fulfilling a commitment ICE first made in October 2025 when it valued Polymarket at $9 billion. ICE also plans to buy up to $40 million in Polymarket securities from existing holders.
The initial ICE commitment reached as high as $2 billion, with $1 billion deployed upfront. The additional $600 million brings ICE’s total obligation to completion.
High Roller (NYSE: ROLR) raised about $25 million in January through a direct share offering, selling roughly 1.9 million shares at $13.21 apiece. The placement, handled by ThinkEquity, closed on January 21. Proceeds are going toward marketing, expansion, product development, and operations.
On April 1, the NYSE American confirmed the company had resolved a prior stockholders’ equity deficiency, having demonstrated compliance for two consecutive quarters. The compliance indicator on its ticker was removed that morning. The company remains under standard listing oversight going forward.
High Roller’s platform hosts more than 6,000 games from over 90 providers.
If you want a calmer entry point into DeFi crypto without the usual hype, start with this free video.
Kraken Security Update: Exchange Targeted by Extortion Group — Crypto Coin Show
Breaking · Security
Kraken Is Being Extorted.
It Won’t Pay.
A criminal group is threatening to release videos of internal systems and client data unless the exchange complies. Kraken says no breach occurred, no funds were at risk — and it will not negotiate.
By Crypto Coin ShowApril 13, 2026Security & Exchange News
~2,000Accounts Potentially Viewed
0.02%Of Kraken’s Client Base
2Separate Incidents
$0Paid to Criminals
Kraken, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, disclosed on Monday that it is currently the target of an extortion campaign by a criminal group threatening to release videos of internal systems and client data. The exchange says it will not comply, has never had its core systems breached, and is actively working with federal law enforcement across multiple jurisdictions.
The disclosure came directly from Nick Percoco, Kraken’s Chief Security Officer, in a public statement posted to X. It is unusually direct — a company naming the threat, confirming the two incidents behind it, and publicly refusing to pay — in an industry where security disclosures are typically delayed, minimized, or handled quietly.
Confirmed
Two insider access incidents occurred
~2,000 client accounts potentially viewed
Affected clients have been notified
Both individuals had access revoked immediately
Law enforcement engaged across multiple jurisdictions
Extortion demands received and rejected
Did Not Happen
Core systems were not breached
Customer funds were not at risk
No external hack or network intrusion
Kraken has not paid and will not pay
No negotiation with the extortion group
What Actually Happened
According to Percoco’s statement, both incidents involved insider access — individuals within Kraken’s support infrastructure who gained inappropriate access to limited client support data. Neither incident was the result of an external hack or network breach. The criminals now threatening Kraken obtained their leverage through these insider access events, not through a technical compromise of exchange infrastructure.
The two incidents are separated by over a year, and Kraken was tipped off to both through external intelligence — the first from a trusted source in February 2025, the second more recently. In each case, the exchange says it moved immediately: access revoked, full investigation launched, affected clients notified.
Incident Timeline
FEB 2025
First incident identified. A trusted source shares a video circulating on a criminal forum showing access to Kraken client support systems. Kraken launches an investigation, identifies a member of its support team as responsible, revokes access immediately, adds security controls, and notifies a limited number of affected clients.
APR 2026
Second incident identified. Kraken receives another tip and a new video showing similar activity. The individual involved is quickly identified and access is terminated. Another investigation is conducted. A small number of clients are notified.
APR 13, 2026
Extortion demands begin. Shortly after access is terminated in the second incident, criminals threaten to distribute materials from both incidents to media outlets and on social media unless Kraken complies. Kraken goes public and refuses.
An Insider Recruitment Problem, Not Just a Kraken Problem
One of the more significant details in Percoco’s statement is the scope of what Kraken says it has been investigating. Since the February 2025 incident, the exchange has been collaborating with industry partners and law enforcement to investigate and disrupt what it describes as organized insider recruitment efforts — targeting not only crypto companies, but also gaming and telecommunications organizations.
This reframes the incident from a Kraken-specific failure to something broader: a coordinated campaign to place or leverage insiders across multiple industry verticals. The implication is that the criminal group behind the extortion didn’t get lucky — they’ve built a playbook, and Kraken isn’t their only target.
“We believe there is sufficient evidence to support the identification and arrest of those responsible.”
— Nick Percoco, Chief Security Officer, Kraken
Percoco’s statement is careful to note that Kraken cannot share additional details due to the ongoing investigation — but the public confidence here is notable. The exchange is not hedging. It believes it knows who is responsible, and it is saying so publicly while working with federal law enforcement to pursue arrests.
What Was Actually Accessed
Across both incidents, approximately 2,000 client accounts were potentially viewed. Kraken describes this as “limited client support data” — consistent with what a customer support employee would have access to in the normal course of their work. The exchange does not describe any bulk data extraction, system compromise, or access to trading infrastructure, wallets, or private keys.
Note to Affected Clients
Kraken states that if you are a client potentially affected by either incident, you have already been directly notified. If you haven’t received a notification, your account was not among those viewed.
The 2,000 figure represents approximately 0.02% of Kraken’s client base — a very small fraction, though not one that will feel small to anyone whose account appeared in those videos.
The Public Refusal
Exchanges that get extorted typically don’t announce it this way. The standard playbook is to handle things quietly — negotiate behind closed doors, involve lawyers, hope the story doesn’t get out. Kraken’s approach is different: go public, refuse explicitly, and make clear that law enforcement is already involved.
There are strategic reasons for this. Once an extortion demand becomes public, the leverage largely evaporates. The criminals were threatening to go to media — Kraken got there first, on its own terms, with its own framing. The narrative now belongs to the exchange, not the extortionists.
It also signals something to future bad actors: Kraken won’t pay, and going public is the response. That’s a harder posture to sustain than it sounds — it requires confidence that the underlying facts are as clean as the company says they are. Percoco is putting that confidence on record.
The broader story here isn’t just about Kraken. Insider threats are one of the most difficult security problems in any industry — harder to detect than external attacks, often more damaging, and almost impossible to fully prevent at scale. The fact that a single criminal group appears to be running coordinated recruitment campaigns across crypto, gaming, and telecom suggests this is an increasingly organized threat category, not just opportunistic misbehavior by a few bad employees.
Kraken says anyone with relevant information is encouraged to contact them directly. Federal law enforcement across multiple jurisdictions is involved. The exchange says arrests are supported by the evidence gathered.
For now, the message from Kraken is straightforward: systems weren’t breached, funds weren’t at risk, the affected clients have been told, and the criminals aren’t getting paid.
Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) confirmed he is officially divorced and offered OKX founder Star Xu a $1 billion bet to prove it.
The challenge came after Xu questioned CZ’s marital status as part of a broader dispute triggered by CZ’s 457-page memoir “Freedom of Money,” released on April 8.
I typically ignore all these false claims attacks. But…
You can apologize now. I am officially divorced.
I won’t post any legal docs online, as I respect privacy of my ex-wife, and I appreciate the time we spent together.
Xu demanded that CZ produce a divorce agreement signed by both parties.
He said he would publicly apologize if CZ could present the document. If not, he argued, the claim would amount to public misrepresentation.
I typically ignore all these false claims and attacks. But… You can apologize now. I am officially divorced,” wrote CZ.
CZ responded by confirming his divorce and proposing a permanent wager of $1 billion. He stated he would not share legal documents online out of respect for his ex-wife’s privacy.
However, he offered to have lawyers verify the agreement if Xu accepted the bet.
“I am happy to bet $1 billion USD (or any number you choose) that: I am officially divorced (way before today),” CZ added.
He gave Xu a 24-hour window to respond, adding that silence would reveal who had been misleading the public.
A Feud Rooted in a Decade of Rivalry
The divorce dispute is the latest front in a conflict that dates back to 2014. CZ served as chief technology officer at OKCoin, the predecessor to OKX.
Their falling out over equity, a Bitcoin.com domain contract, and forgery allegations have resurfaced multiple times.
CZ’s memoir also claims Huobi founder Li Lin told him in 2025 that Xu had reported him to Chinese authorities. Xu has denied that claim.
“Both OKX and Binance are regulated by multiple regulators. As the UBO of a regulated company, publicly offering a $1 billion bet is hardly professional conduct,” Xu responded to CZ’s invitation.
The OKX executive also called on the attention of Binance’s regulators to CZ’s offer, questioning whether Changpeng Zhao’s Binance stake has been legally separated with his ex-wife.
“Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos have already shown what proper asset separation looks like in a divorce,” he added.
Yi He, the co-CEO of Binance, is the long-term life partner (romantic and business) and the mother of three of CZ’s children. Reportedly, CZ has five kids total, two from his previous marriage.
They met in 2014 while working at the crypto exchange OKCoin (she recruited him), and became a couple around that time, and co-founded Binance together in 2017.
Amid the ongoing talks between CZ and Star Xu, Yi He has come to her own defense, highlighting her role as the second largest shareholder and Co-CEO of Binance.
“I’m not some delicate wife literature female protagonist; I’m the second largest shareholder and Co-CEO of Binance who continues to fully suppress competitors even after CZ stepped down,” she articulated.
Binance is successfully courting institutional trading activities, but a growing wave of data security alarms on its retail front threatens to complicate the firm’s ambitions.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by market capitalization has started 2026 with explosive momentum in its over-the-counter trading division. In January and February alone, Binance’s OTC platform recorded 25% of its total volume for all of 2025.
Captcha Bypass Exposes 1.5 Million Binance Users in Scraping Attack
This sharp rise reflects a broader market maturation, as large-cap investors and institutional players increasingly seek private execution channels for massive trades.
Binance CEO Richard Tengexplained that these entities prioritize deep liquidity to avoid slippage and market disruption. The exchange’s OTC desk allows buyers and sellers to execute block trades directly, shielding their strategies from public order books.
On March 28, cybersecurity platform VECERT reported that a threat actor operating under the alias PexRat offered a private database containing the personal information of 1.5 million Binance users for sale.
Our Analyzer platform has detected one of the most critical threats to the cryptocurrency sector so far this year. Threat actor PexRat has put up for sale a private database affecting approximately 1.5… pic.twitter.com/IjgHL3DwMR
The leaked data purportedly includes full names, email addresses, phone numbers, and Know Your Customer verification statuses.
More alarmingly, the threat actor claims to possess victims’ last-login IP addresses, device user agents, and two-factor authentication statuses. This includes whether users rely on SMS, email, or dedicated authenticator apps.
Meanwhile, the potential exposure of 2FA logs and KYC data presents a severe operational risk. It leaves compromised users highly vulnerable to targeted SIM-swap attacks and sophisticated phishing campaigns.
Crucially, VECERT’s analysis of the authentication logs and sample data revealed that Binance’s internal servers were not directly breached. Instead, the firm outlined a sophisticated credential stuffing and scraping operation.
“The evidence suggests that the attacker managed to bypass or abuse security mechanisms (such as Captcha) in the login interface or some platform API, allowing a constant flow of unblocked requests,” VECERT explained.
This incident follows a January report by cybersecurity researcher Jeremiah Fowler, who uncovered roughly 420,000 Binance-linked credentials exposed via similar infostealer malware.
Ultimately, these events present a critical stress test for Binance’s cybersecurity practices, as the exchange cannot afford the continued automated scraping of its users’ data.
The Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank is being investigated by Senator Maxine Waters for granting Kraken access to a limited-purpose master account.
On the other hand, an investigation into Balmain’s ties to President Trump’s family has been launched just days after Eric Trump publicly claimed the family’s crypto ventures have generated over $1 billion in revenue.
Rep Waters pushes investigation into Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank
Representative Maxine Waters, the ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, has launched an investigation into the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City over its decision to grant the crypto exchange firm, Kraken, a limited-purpose master account.
In a letter sent to Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid, Waters pointed out that neither federal statute nor the Federal Reserve Board’s Account Access Guidelines mentions a “limited purpose account” as a valid account type.
She requested that Schmid clarify the account’s terms and provide information about the approval process.
Waters’ questions include whether Kraken’s account gives it access to FedACH, Fedwire, or FedCash services, and whether the exchange faces any balance limits, overdraft restrictions, or enhanced supervisory requirements beyond Wyoming’s Special Purpose Depository Institution rules.
The Kansas City Fed granted the account to Payward Financial, which does business as Kraken Financial, for an initial one-year term. The regional bank said at the time it was trying to maintain a system that “supports a level competitive field and reinforces the stability and resilience” of Fed payment systems.
The Bank Policy Institute said it was “deeply concerned” that the approval came before the Federal Reserve concluded on a policy framework for such accounts. The group criticized the lack of transparency around both the approval process and risk measures.
Waters gave the Kansas City Fed until April 10 to respond. She described the matter as one of “critical importance to the development and oversight of our financial system.”
Bitmain and Trump family ties under scrutiny
Senator Elizabeth Warren has written to the Commerce Department specifically requesting for records of communications between Bitmain and Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., as well as communications between the company and Commerce Department officials.
She also requested information about the specific actions the agency has taken to keep the Commerce Department’s national security decisions uninfluenced by firms that have business ties to the Trump family.
In late 2025, the Department of Homeland Security reportedly launched an investigation codenamed “Operation Red Sun” to examine whether Bitmain’s ASIC miners could be remotely accessed for espionage or to disrupt the U.S. power grid.
Previous shipments of Bitmain equipment have been halted, and the use of its mining machines near U.S. military bases has been flagged as a significant national security concern.
Bitmain has so far denied the allegations. American Bitcoin Corp, a Trump-backed company, previously purchased 16,000 Bitmain mining machines for $314 million.
The senator is in the minority in the Senate, so she cannot force a response from the Commerce Department, but her request for documents puts public pressure on the agency.
Trump family’s billion-dollar crypto earnings
Days before either investigation was launched, Eric Trump publicly claimed that his family’s crypto projects, including a memecoin, NFT collections, and the World Liberty Financial platform, have brought in over $1 billion in revenue
The TRUMP memecoin, launched in early 2025, contributed approximately $350 million in revenue from token sales and trading activity.
The family also entered the NFT market between 2022 and 2024, releasing four collections of Trump-themed digital collectibles.
World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a crypto platform associated with the family that includes a governance token and a dollar-backed stablecoin called USD1, has reportedly raised substantial funds through token sales and partnerships.
“Crypto’s been incredible and it came out of us being debanked,” Eric Trump said. “It is the future of finance and as a family we’re all in.”
The Hyperliquid price prediction anticipates a high of $58.45 by the end of 2026.
In 2029, it will range between $136.37 and $155.85, with an average price of $146.11.
In 2032, it will range between $233.78 and $253.26, with an average price of $243.52.
Hyperliquid is a leading decentralized exchange (DEX). It has its own Layer 1 blockchain, and HYPE is its native token, which is used for staking, governance, and payments within the ecosystem.
One of the key features of Hyperliquid, along with its high-speed platform, is that it offers crypto perpetual futures for trading by its users without the need to own the asset. The platform supports a number of cryptocurrencies, including but not limited to BTC, ETH, SUI, AVAX, and SOL, to name a few.
Technically, the Hyperliquid blockchain is based on two protocols, namely HyperEVM and HyperBFT; combined, they help provide high-speed trading and Ethereum-based smart contracts with reliability to support the Hyperliquid ecosystem.
The Hyperliquid platform revolves around community participation, as token holders have voting rights to govern and influence developments taking place on the platform.
On November 29, 2024, Hyperliquid conducted an airdrop of its native token, HYPE, but unlike other players, it was selective in allocating the airdrop to only 94,000 users with an average value of $45,000 to $50,000, making it one of the most worthy airdrops in crypto history.
Let’s take a deep dive into what the future holds for the HYPE token in Cryptopolitan’s Hyperliquid price prediction for 2026 and beyond.
Overview
Cryptocurrency
Hyperliquid
Token
HYPE
Price
$38.41 (-1.44%)
Market Cap
$9.85B
Trading Volume
$260.05M
Circulating Supply
256.39M HYPE
All-time High
$59.30 (Sep 18, 2025)
All-time Low
$3.2 (Nov 29, 2024)
24-hour High
$39.32
24-hour Low
$38.08
Hyperliquid Price Prediction: Technical Analysis
Metric
Value
Price Prediction
$28.87 (-24.77%)
Price Volatility (30-day variation)
12.63%
50-Day SMA
$33.47
200-Day SMA
$34.22
Market Sentiment
Bullish
Fear & Greed Index
13 (Extreme Fear)
Green Days
17/30 (57%)
Hyperliquid Price Analysis
TL;DR Breakdown:
Hyperliquid price analysis confirms a downward trend at $38.41.
Cryptocurrency has lost 1.44% of its value.
HYPE token faces strong resistance around the $43.29 range.
On March 27, 2026, Hyperliquid price analysis revealed a downward trend for the altcoin. The coin is trading at $38.41 after finding resistance at $40.36. From an overall perspective, the currency lost a significant 1.44% in its value in the last 24 hours. The decrease creates relatively unfavorable circumstances for investors, as the altcoin is now shedding value. However, market conditions appear risky, as the token may continue to correct following the recent dip.
HYPE/USDT 1-day chart analysis
The one-day price chart of Hyperliquid Coin confirmed a bearish trend in the market. The cryptocurrency’s value decreased to $38.41 during the day, as bears strive to suppress the price further. At the same time, a red candlestick on the price chart signifies the presence of bearish elements. Sellers are leading the price action, as the coin is losing value as a result of the return of the bearish trend.
The distance between the Bollinger Bands defines the level of volatility. This distance is wide, leading to high volatility levels, as the bands are expanded. Moreover, the upper limit of the Bollinger Bands indicator, indicating resistance, has shifted to $43. Conversely, its lower limit, indicating support, has moved to $32.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicator is trending in the neutral region. The indicator’s score has decreased to 55 today. This condition is reflected by a downward-pointing RSI curve. If selling activities continue to intensify, the indicator’s reading can decrease further towards the index 50.
HYPE/USDT 4-hour chart analysis
The four-hour price analysis of Hyperliquid also indicates negative sentiment in the market. The HYPE/USD price has decreased to $38.42 over the past few hours as selling pressure returns. The increasing volatility also suggests a high probability of an imminent reversal or further price depreciation.
The Bollinger Bands have slightly diverged as the distance between them has increased, resulting in high volatility levels. This condition typically signifies more market unpredictability. Technically, the upper Bollinger Band has shifted to $41, indicating a resistance level. Conversely, the lower Bollinger Band has moved to $37, indicating a strong zone of support.
The RSI indicator is trending in the neutral region for now. The indicator’s value has decreased to 44 in the last four hours. Overall, selling activity remained high during the last four hours of the day, which has resulted in a decrease in the indicator’s score.
Hyperliquid Technical Indicators: Levels and Action
Daily simple moving average (SMA)
Period
Value ($)
Action
SMA 3
35.63
BUY
SMA 5
36.06
BUY
SMA 10
38.13
BUY
SMA 21
36.65
BUY
SMA 50
33.47
BUY
SMA 100
29.91
BUY
SMA 200
34.22
BUY
Daily exponential moving average (EMA)
Period
Value ($)
Action
EMA 3
36.01
BUY
EMA 5
34.01
BUY
EMA 10
31.26
BUY
EMA 21
29.10
BUY
EMA 50
29.76
BUY
EMA 100
32.98
BUY
EMA 200
34.79
BUY
What to expect from Hyperliquid price analysis?
Hyperliquid price analysis gives a bearish prediction regarding ongoing market events. The coin’s value decreased to $38.41 in the past 24 hours, as it is receiving negative sentiment today. According to an overall analysis, the currency lost 1.44% in its value today. Technical indicators give bullish signals, but the price charts showcase a bearish market scenario at the time of writing.
Why is Hyperliquid down?
The cryptocurrency market is showing negative trends, and HYPE is receiving the same sentiment. Moreover, it is encouraging that HYPE marked a new ATH a few months ago, on September 18, 2025. However, from a broader perspective, the HYPE price decreased to $38.41, losing 1.44% in its total value today.
Is Hyperliquid a Good Investment?
HYPE has growing utility, and its Ethereum compatibility helps it steal a share of DeFi industry. While the technical analysis can change from bullish to bearish, price predictions paint a different picture. However, a risk analysis is recommended.
Will Hyperliquid reach $50?
The current price action does justify predicting a $50 target. In the cryptocurrency market, things change rapidly, but if the token maintains its price levels, a rally can be initiated. It can be expected that HYPE will reach above $50 by any time in 2026 once again, as it did in September and October.
Can Hyperliquid Coin reach $100?
According to Hyperliquid price prediction, HYPE price might surpass $100 in 2028. The highest price HYPE could attain that year is expected to be above $123.38.
Will Hyperliquid reach $500?
According to crypto analysts’ price predictions, Hyperliquid may not reach this level in the next five years. Considering the current market cap of the token, it seems like far target.
Will Hyperliquid reach $1000?
Per the Cryptopolitan’s HYPE price prediction, Hyperliquid is unlikely to reach $1000 before 2032.
How high can Hyperliquid go?
The highest expected price for Hyperliquid is $253.26, which it will achieve in 2032.
Does Hyperliquid have a good long-term future?
Hyperliquid is trading higher than its December 2025 price levels, making it an ideal time for buyers to enter the market. Given its current price and a favorable future valuation of $253.26 by the end of 2032, the asset appears to be a worthwhile investment.
Recent News/Opinions on Hyperliquid
Cryptopolitan reported that Hyperliquid is now offering Brent and WTI futures. The oil trades are available through the HIP-3 framework on the XYZ exchange, as traders bet high on oil as it smashed through $100 for the first time in years. It is important to remember that XYZ:CL, representing WTI oil, entered the top 5 of the most traded futures in the past week.
The Hyper Foundation announced that it will contribute 1 million hype tokens to support the creation of the Hyperliquid Policy Center. The Foundation said the policy center will have a positive impact in favor of clear regulations for decentralized finance.
The Hyper Foundation will contribute 1M HYPE tokens to support the creation of the Hyperliquid Policy Center.
The tokens will be unstaked later today. The Hyperliquid community will benefit from having representation in Washington, D.C., and we are confident that under… https://t.co/Vgo95Nrr17
This month, Hyperliquid is expected to reach a high of $40.48, with an average price of $29.32 and a minimum trading price of $19.78.
Hyperliquid Price Prediction
Minimum price
Average price
Maximum price
Hyperliquid price prediction March 2026
$19.78
$29.32
$40.48
Hyperliquid Price Prediction 2026
The price of HYPE is predicted to reach a minimum value of $14.31 in 2026. Traders can anticipate a maximum value of $58.45 and an average trading price of $48.70 throughout this year.
HYPE Price Prediction
Minimum price
Average price
Maximum price
Hyperliquid price prediction 2026
$14.31
$48.70
$58.45
Hyperliquid Price Predictions 2027 – 2032
Year
Potential Low ($)
Potential Average ($)
Potential High ($)
2027
71.43
81.17
90.91
2028
103.90
113.64
123.38
2029
136.37
146.11
155.85
2030
168.84
178.58
188.32
2031
201.31
211.05
220.79
2032
233.78
243.52
253.26
Hyperliquid (HYPE) price prediction 2027
The year 2027 will experience more bullish momentum. According to the Hyperliquid price prediction, it will range between $71.43 and $90.91, with an average trading price of $81.17.
Hyperliquid crypto price prediction 2028
The Hyperliquid price prediction climbs even higher into 2028. According to the projections, the price of HYPE will range between $103.90 and $123.38, with an average of $113.64.
Hyperliquid coin price prediction 2029
According to our Hyperliquid (HYPE) price prediction for 2029, we expect a maximum price of $155.85, a minimum price of $136.37, and an average price of $146.11.
Hyperliquid price prediction 2030
As per the HYPE price prediction for 2030, it will reach a maximum price of $188.32 and a minimum price of $168.84, with an average price of $178.58.
Hyperliquid price prediction 2031
The Hyperliquid forecast for 2031 suggests a price range of $201.31 to $220.79 and an expected average trading price of $211.05. This long-term prediction also hinges on HYPE’s rising global recognition and adoption.
Hyperliquid prediction 2032
The Hyperliquid price forecast for 2032 is a high of $253.26. According to the HYPE coin price prediction, it will reach a minimum price of $233.78 and average at $243.52.
While the short-term sentiment keeps flickering, we anticipate Hyperliquid will trade higher in the coming years. The coin will achieve a high of $58.45 before the end of 2026. In 2027, it will range between $71.43 and $90.91, with an average of $81.17. However, you should note that HYPE is still quite volatile. Negative market sentiment, such as market crashes, could derail the predictions.
The native token of Hyperliquid, called HYPE, was launched on November 29, 2024, through an airdrop targeted at a limited number of only 94,000 users.
This was one of the most lucrative airdrops, with an average allocation of value of $45,000 to $50,000.
Hyperliquid kept away from venture capitalists, who usually get most of the tokens in usual airdrops; rather, 76% of the supply was slated for user-centric initiatives.
Usually, tokens dump after airdrops until the market momentum picks up, but Hyperliquid’s approach helped garner trust, and the token jumped from $4 to $35 from November 2024 to December 22, 2024.
Hyperliquid’s market cap improved during this period, reaching above $8 billion, showing significant growth, as it received super positive market sentiment.
In late December and early January 2025, the HYPE token corrected down to $20.24, shedding significant value as per crypto market data.
Price stabilized through February as it traded in a range of $19.92 to $27.42 before taking a dive at the end of February, when the broader trend turned bearish again.
HYPE stumbled to $12.34 by mid-March, and it touched a low of $10.21 on April 7, 2025, which significantly decreased the market capitalization.
The token saw nothing but improvement in the remainder of the month of April, and its price surged to $18.57 by the end of the month.
On June 16, 2025, HYPE reached a high price of $45.57. A month later, on July 14, it marked another all-time high of $49.75, and on August 27, it discovered the $50.99 level with changing market dynamics.
On September 18, HYPE achieved its ATH at $59.30, and in October, it corrected to $50. At the start of December, the HYPE token price fell to the $31 range.
At the start of 2026, the HYPE token was trending near $25, and in March, it increased to the $33 range, with the broader crypto market still in bearish mode.
