April 8, 2025: Justice Dept Shuts Down Crypto Enforcement Unit
U.S. DOJ Disbands NCET: The U.S. Department of Justice abruptly disbanded its National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), refocusing crypto investigations on serious crimes like terrorism financing and drug cartels (citing a Trump order). Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s memo accused the prior administration of “regulation by prosecution” and ordered any cases “inconsistent” with the new policy to be closed). Significance: This marks a major shift in U.S. enforcement, dialing back broad crypto crackdowns in favor of targeting illicit uses, reflecting President Trump’s pledge to make the U.S. a “crypto capital”).
April 8, 2025: Bitcoin Rebounds as Crypto Markets Stage Relief Rally
Markets Bounce After Tariff Scare: Crypto prices whipsawed to start the week amid U.S.-China trade war jitters. After dipping below $75,000, Bitcoin (BTC) rebounded to nearly $80,000, sparking a broad relief rally). Major altcoins like Dogecoin, XRP, BNB, and Cardano jumped ~10% as traders rushed to cover shorts following over $1.2B in liquidations on Monday. Significance: The quick recovery underscored crypto’s volatility and correlation with macro news – rumors of a U.S. tariff pause boosted equities and crypto alike, reversing a sharp sell-off in a matter of hours.
April 9, 2025: Pro-Crypto Paul Atkins Confirmed as SEC Chair
New U.S. SEC Leadership: The U.S. Senate confirmed Paul Atkins (52–44 vote) as the new Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Atkins, a former SEC commissioner known for his business-friendly stance and ties to the crypto industry, was President Trump’s pick to replace the prior chair. He has signaled support for a “firm regulatory foundation” for crypto and a more “rational”, light-touch approach to oversight. Significance: Atkins’ appointment is expected to curtail aggressive enforcement – a stark pivot as the SEC under Trump retreats on crypto oversight, even dropping lawsuits against major exchanges.
April 10, 2025: President Trump Nullifies IRS DeFi Tax Rule
First U.S. Crypto Law Enacted: President Donald Trump signed into law a bill overturning an IRS tax reporting rule that had expanded the definition of “broker” to decentralized exchanges. The Biden-era rule would have forced DeFi platforms to collect user info like traditional brokers, a requirement the crypto industry slammed as “unworkable”). Congress used the Congressional Review Act to nullify the rule with bipartisan support in March, and Trump’s signature on April 10 made it official). Significance: This is the first crypto-specific law in U.S. history, freeing DeFi projects from onerous IRS reporting mandates and signaling a more industry-friendly regulatory climate.
April 10, 2025: New York AG Pushes for Federal Crypto Oversight
Regulator Calls for Action: New York Attorney General Letitia James urged Congress to create a comprehensive federal crypto regulatory framework, citing urgent need for stronger investor protections. In a letter to Congressional leaders, she advocated mandatory federal registration for crypto firms and stricter token listing standards, and pressed for stablecoin issuers to hold U.S. reserves and have a U.S. presence). Significance: Coming from a prominent state enforcer, this call adds pressure on U.S. lawmakers – it coincides with momentum on Capitol Hill to pass stablecoin legislation in 2025, as even the White House seeks clear rules by summer.
April 11, 2025: Binance Seeks Lighter U.S. Oversight in Talks
Exchange Negotiates Compliance Relief: The Wall Street Journal revealed that Binance executives met with U.S. Treasury officials to discuss loosening the government’s oversight of the exchange. Binance CEO Richard Teng and others reportedly asked to remove or shorten the term of the independent monitor overseeing Binance’s anti-money-laundering compliance – a monitor installed after Binance’s $4.3B settlement of U.S. charges in 2023. Notably, Binance is also in talks to list a new Trump-linked stablecoin from President Trump’s crypto venture World Liberty Financial). Significance: The world’s largest exchange is maneuvering to improve its standing in the U.S., even as it partners with a politically connected crypto project. It highlights the intersection of crypto business and U.S. politics, with Binance seeking concessions while the Trump administration signals a friendlier stance.
April 11, 2025: Kalshi Prediction Market Embraces Bitcoin Deposits
DeFi-Meets-TradFi Adoption: Kalshi, a CFTC-regulated U.S. prediction market platform, announced it now accepts Bitcoin deposits to attract crypto-native users. Known for betting markets on real-world events (e.g. elections, crypto prices), Kalshi previously only supported USD and USDC. The new feature uses a conversion service to turn Bitcoin transfers into USD balances on the platform. Significance: This move by an approved U.S. trading venue bridges crypto with traditional markets, reflecting growing mainstream acceptance. It also comes after Kalshi’s high-profile legal win allowing it to offer political event contracts, signaling confidence that crypto integration can broaden its user base without running afoul of regulators.
April 11, 2025: Illinois Senate Passes Crypto Fraud Prevention Bill
State-Level Crypto Regulation: The Illinois State Senate approved the Digital Assets and Consumer Protection Act (SB 1797), aimed at cracking down on crypto scams after a string of memecoin “rug pulls”. The act requires any crypto business serving Illinois residents to register with the state and fully disclose fees), and empowers the state regulator to oversee digital asset activity). The push was fueled by incidents like the Libra token collapse (a scam that stole $107M and crashed 94%)). Significance: Illinois joins a growing roster of states enacting crypto laws to protect consumers. The bill’s strict provisions to combat deceptive practices (like rug pulls) underscore the increasing role of state governments in crypto oversight, even as federal rules are debated.
April 12, 2025: Ripple and SEC Halt Appeals in XRP Lawsuit
Landmark Case Nears Resolution: Ripple Labs and the U.S. SEC filed a joint motion to suspend their ongoing appeals in the long-running XRP litigation, effectively signaling an end to the case. This comes after President Trump’s SEC reversed course – in March, the agency dropped its appeal of the 2023 ruling that XRP sales on exchanges are not securities. Ripple’s side has likewise paused its cross-appeal on the portion it lost. Significance: After nearly four years, the high-profile battle over XRP’s status is winding down. The “surrender” by the SEC (as Ripple’s CEO termed it))) and moves toward settlement (with Ripple paying a reduced fine) provide newfound clarity for XRP and potentially set a pro-crypto precedent under the new SEC regime.
April 13, 2025: Altcoin ‘OM’ Crashes 90% in Sudden Sell-Off
Mantra DAO Token Meltdown: In a startling weekend event, MANTRA’s OM token plunged by over 90% within hours, falling from around $6 to $0.40 late Sunday. The crash triggered $50+ million in long liquidations and a wipeout of futures open interest. MANTRA’s team alleged “forced liquidations” by major exchanges without warning, insinuating possible market manipulation). Prominent figures like OKX’s founder refuted the claims, pointing to large token deposits (~$220M) hitting exchanges right before the dump). Significance: This incident rocked the DeFi community – a top Real-World Asset token collapsing raises concerns about exchange risk and market integrity. Industry leaders are calling it a “big scandal” and pledging transparent investigations, as confidence in smaller tokens was rattled.
April 14, 2025: Bitcoin Surges to $85K Amid Tariff Truce Hopes
BTC Near All-Time High: Bitcoin climbed back above $84,000 by week’s end, approaching record levels after President Trump announced partial relief on import tariffs). The rally to ~$85K marked a sharp reversal from the week’s earlier lows, though traders grew cautious once it was clear the tariff pause was only temporary). Broader markets (tech stocks especially) also jumped on the trade-war deescalation, reinforcing Bitcoin’s recent behavior as a risk asset moving in tandem with equities). Significance: Bitcoin’s resilience through the tariff turmoil impressed analysts – its ability to “buck the downtrend” on geopolitical news suggests growing perception as a hedge. However, the sputtering at $86K and quick sentiment shifts show that macro uncertainty still heavily influences crypto, tempering the bullish momentum.
April 14, 2025: $7.5M DeFi Hack Hits KiloEx DEX Across Chains
Cross-Chain Exploit Uncovered: Decentralized exchange KiloEx suffered a major exploit on April 14), with hackers draining roughly $7.5 million from the platform. A price oracle vulnerability allowed the attackers to manipulate asset prices and loot funds spanning multiple networks – about $3.3M on Base, $3.1M on opBNB, and $1M on BSC were stolen. KiloEx immediately halted its DEX and claimed to have contained the exploit. The next day, the team offered the hacker a 10% white-hat bounty ($750K) if they return 90% of the funds, threatening legal action and exposure if refused). Significance: This multi-chain DeFi hack underscores persistent security gaps in decentralized finance, particularly in oracle design. It also highlights the now-standard “bounty or beware” response by DeFi projects to encourage fund return, as the industry grapples with how to deter exploits without traditional law enforcement.
April 14, 2025: Hut 8 and Trump Family Plan Mega Mining Venture
Bitcoin Mining Expansion: North American mining firm Hut 8 Mining announced a venture with Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump) to launch “American Bitcoin,” an initiative aiming to build the world’s largest Bitcoin mining operation. Hut 8, which led Q1 mining production with 2,285 BTC mined), will provide technical expertise, while the Trump associates bring capital and political clout to fast-track the project. This comes as top public miners collectively generated nearly $800M in Q1 2025 revenue) thanks to Bitcoin’s price surge to all-time highs. Significance: The entry of Trump family members into Bitcoin mining signals institutional and political validation of the industry. With record hashpower and prices, mining operations are scaling up, and the “American Bitcoin” project reflects a push to consolidate U.S. leadership in Bitcoin mining – leveraging favorable policy and high-profile investors during the current crypto-friendly administration.
