Weekly Update: 24th of April
What happened between April 17 and April 24?
- Bitcoin continues its cautious climb, while altcoins remain hesitant and react more sharply to every pullback. The shaky Middle East ceasefire keeps sentiment volatile. Read more
- A wave of DeFi hacks puts the sector under pressure, with KelpDAO losing roughly $290 million. AI’s role in finding software vulnerabilities draws fresh attention. Read more
- Société Générale takes on more crypto firms as clients through SG-Forge. Banking access remains one of the industry’s most persistent operational bottlenecks. Read more
- Kevin Warsh, a potential Fed chair, appeared before the U.S. Senate. The hearing renews focus on the future direction of Federal Reserve policy. Read more
Bitcoin edges higher, altcoins continue to lag
Crypto markets posted modest gains this week, but the recovery remains fragile. Bitcoin benefited from a temporary improvement in risk sentiment after the Middle East ceasefire was reaffirmed. Moments later that optimism faded as parts of the truce appeared to unravel again and key restrictions were reinstated. The back-and-forth between de-escalation and renewed tension kept traders on edge.
Below the surface, the picture was uneven. While bitcoin held firm and drifted higher, altcoins continued to lag and reacted more aggressively to every small pullback in BTC. Liquidity is concentrating in bitcoin again, while appetite for higher-beta segments remains low.
Hacks pressure DeFi as AI enters the security debate
Pressure on DeFi intensified this week after a series of hacks. An exploit of KelpDAO drained roughly $290 million. The protocol attributes the attack to a vulnerability in LayerZero’s software, a cross-chain framework used by many DeFi protocols. The North Korean hacker group Lazarus is suspected of involvement.
At the same time, AI took a prominent role in the discussion. Anthropic decided not to release its latest model “Mythos” because it effortlessly finds vulnerabilities that have been sitting in software for ten to twenty years. That makes AI a powerful tool for developers, but also for malicious actors who can exploit legacy flaws at scale.
Société Générale broadens banking access for crypto firms
Société Générale is taking on more crypto companies as clients through its SG-Forge subsidiary. For many firms in the sector, access to major banks remains one of the biggest operational hurdles. Account openings, payment rails and treasury services still frequently fail on strict compliance policies and risk aversion at traditional banks.
The move by the French bank signals that regulated European crypto firms are gradually becoming more bankable under MiCA. SG-Forge has been operating as a bridge between the crypto sector and traditional banking for some time, including through its own euro stablecoin EURCV.
Kevin Warsh faces Senate as potential Fed chair
Kevin Warsh, one of the candidates to succeed Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve, appeared before the U.S. Senate this week. During the hearing, Warsh was questioned on his views on inflation, his independence from the White House, and the role of the Fed in a period of geopolitical tension.
For crypto, the direction of the Fed is decisive for liquidity and risk appetite. A tighter stance could restrain speculative assets, while a faster policy pivot would give more room to bitcoin and growth segments. Warsh declined to commit to a specific policy line during the hearing, but emphasized the importance of central bank independence.
In other digital assets news
- Strategy purchased another $2.5 billion in bitcoin this week, following a purchase of more than $1 billion the previous week.
- Justin Sun filed a lawsuit against World Liberty Financial, the crypto project linked to the Trump family. Sun claims his WLFI tokens were unlawfully frozen.
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