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23 Apr 2026, 16:19
Crypto adoption slows down in developed markets in Q1
Crypto adoption showed signs of slowing down in Q1 2026. The TRM Labs crypto adoption research also noted a rift in usage, with slower adoption in developed countries. Crypto adoption largely retained its 2025 patterns, though with notable slowdowns in specific markets. TRM Labs posted its Q1 report, detailing global crypto retail activity. In Q1, total global retail volume reached $979B, down 11 % from the same period in 2025. The crypto market has now gone through two quarters of contraction. The top 5 countries with the most significant crypto usage are largely unchanged. The USA led all others with $212B in total activity, followed by South Korea ($69B), Russia ($48B), India ($46B), and Turkey ($40B). Crypto adoption is split in two, with a bigger slowdown in developed markets. | Source: TRM crypto adoption report India was the most resilient market, with a 6% loss, much lower compared to developed countries. Turkey entered the top 5 with 7% year-on-year growth. Stablecoin usage boosted crypto adoption Some of the growth in Q1 hinged on stablecoin adoption. While stablecoins did not grow by leaps and bounds, they retained their overall growth trend. As Cryptopolitan reported , stablecoins have posed regulatory challenges. Yet those assets also drive multiple fintech tools for P2P and cross-border trading. Venezuela climbed to the 17th spot in global adoption, with $17.9B. Usage in the country focused on stablecoins rather than speculative trading. Stablecoins, especially Binance’s P2P payment order book, are one of the primary settlement mechanisms for crypto owners. Euro-denominated stablecoins also changed the crypto landscape. Usage grew 12 times from January 2025 to March 2026, reaching $777M per month and accelerating. A shift to EUR stablecoins reflects an attempt to diversify dollar-denominated crypto liquidity. Crypto markets reflect geopolitical risk TRM Labs noted a split in growth between developed and developing countries. In already established, regulated markets, the novelty of crypto wore off. Additionally, interest shifted to the stock market and the record rallies of precious metals. The volume declines are not uniform, and adoption may depend on local monetary systems. Developed markets saw crypto compete with well-established domestic capital markets. As a result, South Korea lost 28% of its volumes, and Germany, 25%, for the biggest year-on-year contraction. The slowdown was due to a loss of demand for risk-on assets. Emerging markets showed that crypto was still a key tool for creating an ad hoc payment system. Where domestic monetary policy is restrictive or inadequate, stablecoin adoption has grown to provide a secondary layer for storing value and paying in dollar-based terms. Crypto usage in developing countries is not as exposed to global economic cycles. The one exception was Iran, where crypto usage in Q1 slowed down due to escalating sanctions and the ongoing war. The country also lost Nobitex to hacks and sanctioned Zedcex and Zedxion, limiting the number of available crypto exchanges. As a whole, crypto markets in Q1 were much more responsive to geopolitical factors. TRM Labs discoveries coincide with recent Kaiko research , revealing that crypto was vulnerable to oil shocks. Crypto no longer traded as an isolated asset, but as part of the broader global risk environment, noted Thomas Probst of Kaiko Research. There’s a middle ground between leaving money in the bank and rolling the dice in crypto. Start with this free video on decentralized finance .
23 Apr 2026, 16:02
Strategy to Surpass Satoshi in Bitcoin Holdings Within 2 Years, Predicts Galaxy Head of Research Alex Thorn
Strategy (MSTR) now holds more BTC than BlackRock's IBIT. Based on Alex Thorn's latest Galaxy Research analysis, the firm is on track to surpass Satoshi Nakamoto's 1.1M BTC holdings by late 2026.
23 Apr 2026, 14:49
US Government Runs a Bitcoin Node, Admiral Says, But Is Not Mining BTC
The U.S. government is running a live Bitcoin node right now, confirmed under oath before Congress , marking the first public disclosure of a U.S. combatant command directly participating in Bitcoin network infrastructure. Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, made the confirmation on Wednesday before the House Armed Services Committee during a hearing on the FY2027 defense authorization request. The core question this raises is not whether the government is accumulating Bitcoin, it isn’t, but whether state actors are quietly embedding themselves into the protocol’s architecture for reasons that go well beyond finance. Key Takeaways Source: Admiral Samuel Paparo, Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), testified before the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday. Confirmed: The U.S. government currently operates 1 node on the Bitcoin network for cybersecurity testing and network security research. Ruled out: The government is not mining Bitcoin – Paparo stated this explicitly. Context: INDOPACOM is in an active “experimentation” phase, using Bitcoin’s proof-of-work protocol as a computer science and cryptographic tool, not a financial asset. Watch item: Specific details of INDOPACOM’s Bitcoin research programs remain partially classified; follow FY2027 NDAA debates for potential funding expansion of blockchain cybersecurity initiatives. Discover: The best pre-launch token sales What Running a Bitcoin Node Actually Signals About US Government Engagement Running a node is not mining, and it is not holding. A Bitcoin node validates transactions and blocks, maintains a full copy of the blockchain, and participates in the peer-to-peer network, but generates no BTC and requires no hash power. The Bitcoin network currently relies on tens of thousands of nodes distributed globally, and a single government-operated node carries zero influence over consensus. Active Nodes per Country / Source: Newhedge What it does provide is trustless, direct access to network data, without an exchange intermediary, a third-party feed, or custodial dependency. For a military command monitoring adversary activity or stress-testing cryptographic architecture against peer-state threats, that kind of unmediated access to Bitcoin’s native infrastructure has obvious operational logic. This is surveillance and research infrastructure, not a balance sheet position. One government node among tens of thousands poses no threat to Bitcoin’s decentralization or censorship resistance. But the optics carry weight; a protocol built explicitly as a defense against state capture now has a state actor sitting inside it. What the Admiral Actually Confirmed – and What Remains Unanswered Paparo was unambiguous on the core facts. “We have a node on the Bitcoin network right now,” he told the committee. “We’re not mining Bitcoin. We’re using it to monitor, and we’re doing a number of operational tests to secure and protect networks using the Bitcoin protocol.” WATCH: Admiral Samuel Paparo highlights growing military interest in Bitcoin: pic.twitter.com/6ifdXcJetL — CoinDesk (@CoinDesk) April 22, 2026 He framed the military’s interest explicitly as technical, not financial. “Our interest in Bitcoin is as a tool of cryptography, a blockchain, and a reusable proof-of-work, as an additional tool to secure networks, and to project power,” Paparo said. “From the military application standpoint, my interest in Bitcoin is as a computer science tool.” He also noted that some specifics of INDOPACOM’s Bitcoin research programs remain classified, leaving the full scope of the operation unanswered. Paparo additionally flagged support for stablecoin legislation as aligned with military interests, calling the GENIUS Act, signed by President Donald Trump last summer, legalizing dollar-pegged stablecoin issuance, “a great step forward” for projecting U.S. dollar dominance globally. That framing positions dollar-denominated digital assets as a tool of financial power projection, distinct from but complementary to the Bitcoin protocol work. Discover: The best crypto to diversify your portfolio with The post US Government Runs a Bitcoin Node, Admiral Says, But Is Not Mining BTC appeared first on Cryptonews .
23 Apr 2026, 14:42
FTX Estate Sold Cursor Stake for $200K: It’s Now Worth $3 Billion
The FTX bankruptcy estate sold a 5% stake in AI coding startup Cursor for $200,000 in April 2023. That same stake, following SpaceX’s agreement to acquire Cursor at a $60 billion valuation, is now worth approximately $3 billion. A 15,000x gap realized by whoever bought it from the estate rather than by the creditors the estate existed to protect. The core question is whether distressed asset liquidation under bankruptcy constraints can ever adequately protect creditor interests in high-velocity technology markets, and what the answer means for every future estate forced to sell illiquid startup equity at bear market prices under cash-conversion pressure. Key Takeaways Sale price: FTX bankruptcy estate sold its 5% Cursor stake for $200,000 in April 2023 – the same price Alameda Research originally paid in April 2022 Current value: That stake is worth approximately $3 billion at SpaceX’s $60 billion Cursor acquisition valuation announced April 21, 2026 Return gap: 15,000x difference between realized recovery and current mark – one of the largest single missed recoveries in crypto bankruptcy history Original investment: Alameda Research invested $200,000 in Anysphere (Cursor’s parent company) at a $4 million valuation – the estate sold at cost with zero appreciation captured SBF’s prison argument: Sam Bankman-Fried, serving a 25-year federal sentence, projected in February 2026 that FTX’s net asset value would have reached $78 billion had the estate held assets through recovery Watch item: SpaceX must decide on full $60 billion Cursor acquisition later in 2026 or trigger its $10 billion breakup fee – the outcome sets the final mark on what creditors actually forfeited Discover: The best crypto to diversify your portfolio with How a $200,000 Fire Sale Became a $3 Billion Creditor Recovery Miss Alameda Research entered Anysphere’s seed round in April 2022 at a $4 million valuation, securing roughly 5% of the company for $200,000. Seven months later, FTX collapsed. By April 2023, John J. Ray III’s administration was under intense pressure to convert volatile venture holdings into cash, and the Cursor stake was liquidated at exactly what Alameda paid, capturing zero appreciation from the seed entry. That framing matters. This was not a distressed token sold below water. It was an early equity position in a pre-revenue AI startup, sold at cost into a bear market by administrators operating on a cash-conversion mandate rather than a value-maximization one. Cursor launched its AI coding product in early 2023, the same quarter the estate sold the stake. The 2025-2026 AI boom did the rest. Cursor now powers 67% of Fortune 500 companies, has crossed $1 billion in annualized revenue, and sits at the center of Elon Musk’s push to close xAI’s gap with OpenAI and Anthropic on AI coding tools. SpaceX holds the right to acquire Cursor outright for $60 billion later this year, or pay a $10 billion breakup fee if its planned $2 trillion IPO timeline forces a delay. Experts note the $3 billion figure assumes an unchanged 5% stake at SpaceX’s price, dilution from Cursor’s separate $900 million funding round at a $9 billion valuation could compress the actual number. Even discounted significantly, the creditor recovery miss is structurally damning. Discover: The best pre-launch token sales What FTX Forced Cursor Sale Actually Exposes About Bankruptcy Administration in Tech Markets Bankman-Fried’s argument from prison, that the estate destroyed tens of billions in value through forced selling, now has its single clearest data point. His February 2026 projection of a $78 billion net asset value, had positions been held, looked aggressive at the time. The Cursor number alone adds $3 billion of supporting evidence in one line item. many such cases… https://t.co/pjyqDLyIaJ pic.twitter.com/hVgg1dnoE7 — SBF (@SBF_FTX) April 22, 2026 FTX customers were made whole in dollar terms under the distribution plan, receiving claim values plus interest. What the creditor recovery framework did not, and structurally could not, preserve was the upside from what those assets became. That is the honest tension at the center of distressed asset administration: dollar recovery and value recovery are not the same thing, and bankruptcy law is built around the former. The Cursor sale is likely to feature prominently in Bankman-Fried’s continued campaign from prison, and in his parents’ public advocacy for a pardon. The post FTX Estate Sold Cursor Stake for $200K: It’s Now Worth $3 Billion appeared first on Cryptonews .
23 Apr 2026, 14:41
What if Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX Never Sold Its Holdings? Value Today
Sam Bankman-Fried has revived debate over the value of FTX’s former portfolio by arguing that the collapsed exchange’s assets would be worth about $114 billion today if they had not been sold during bankruptcy. The estimate, based on figures circulated in recent reports and public comments, rests largely on the later rise in the value of holdings tied to Anthropic, SpaceX, Solana, Robinhood, Genesis Digital Assets, and the AI startup Cursor. The claim has drawn attention because the FTX estate spent 2023 and 2024 selling most of its volatile and illiquid holdings under the direction of restructuring chief John J. Ray III. The bankruptcy team’s task was to reduce market risk, raise cash, and repay creditors after FTX filed for Chapter 11 protection in November 2022. That process helped fund repayments, but it also left the estate without exposure to the sharp rebound in crypto and private technology valuations that followed. The $114 Billion Estimate is Tied to a Few Major Assets According to data, Anthropic represents the largest part of the “what if” calculation, with an estimated value of about $82.3 billion. SpaceX accounts for another $15 billion, while Solana’s recovery lifts the value of that position to around $5.1 billion. Other holdings often mentioned in the calculation include Robinhood, Genesis Digital Assets, and Cursor. The Cursor stake has become one of the clearest examples in the discussion. Alameda Research invested $200,000 in Anysphere, the company behind Cursor, in April 2022. That investment bought about 5% of the business at the time. After FTX collapsed, the estate sold the stake in 2023 for the same $200,000. Following SpaceX’s recent agreement tied to Cursor at a $60 billion valuation, that stake would now be worth about $3 billion. Source: X That gap has fueled criticism of the liquidation strategy. Supporters of Bankman-Fried have pointed to examples like Cursor to argue that the estate sold too early and left creditors without the upside from later market gains. The estate, however, was operating during a period when crypto prices were weak, confidence was low, and the value of private holdings was far less certain than it appears in hindsight. Creditor Repayments Have Continued While the Estate Exits Risk The bankruptcy estate has been making steady distributions even as the debate over missed gains continues. Reports say the FTX Recovery Trust completed its fourth major distribution of about $2.2 billion on March 31, 2026. As of April 2026, the estate had distributed roughly $10 billion to creditors, with repayments based on November 2022 U.S. dollar claim values rather than later crypto price recovery. Some claim classes have now reached 100% recovery of their 2022 value, while Class 7 is expected to receive up to 120%, according to the figures cited in the provided material. A record date of April 30, 2026, has also been set for a planned payment to preferred equity interest holders on May 29, 2026. That repayment structure has created a split in the discussion. Creditors have been made whole in dollar terms and, in some cases, with added interest. At the same time, they did not receive the later appreciation in the assets that were sold to fund those payments. Legal Fights Continue as the “what if” Argument Grows Bankman-Fried is still serving a 25-year federal sentence and continues to challenge his conviction. Recent reports say he has pursued appeals and sought the recusal of Judge Lewis Kaplan, while his family has continued public efforts to revisit the case. The estate, meanwhile, is still pursuing clawback lawsuits, including a reported $1.8 billion suit against Binance. Other former executives have also seen developments in their cases. Gary Wang received no prison sentence in late 2024 after cooperating with prosecutors, while former Alameda Research chief Caroline Ellison was released from custody in February 2026 after serving 14 months. The broader question remains difficult to answer with certainty. On paper, FTX’s former holdings could now be worth far more than the cash raised during liquidation. But those gains depend on a scenario where the estate held risky and illiquid assets through years of market swings instead of converting them into funds used for creditor repayment.
23 Apr 2026, 14:07
US military runs Bitcoin node for cybersecurity tests
🚨 US military admits to running a node in $BTC for cybersecurity research. The Bitcoin node is used for monitoring and security testing, not mining. Continue Reading: US military runs Bitcoin node for cybersecurity tests The post US military runs Bitcoin node for cybersecurity tests appeared first on COINTURK NEWS .
