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19 May 2026, 08:42

Echo Protocol suffers $76 million exploit in eBTC minting attack on Monad

The Bitcoin-focused DeFi protocol suffered an attack whereby about 1,000 unauthorized eBTC $77 million were minted on the Monad blockchain

19 May 2026, 08:39

SEC eyes plan for trading tokenized versions of stocks on crypto platforms - report

More on crypto industry Consider BITQ As Cryptocurrencies Could Be Back In Bullish Mode STCE: Bitcoin's Retreat Can't Stop The Infrastructure Pivot Republican-led Senate Banking Committee advances crypto bill Hackers steal nearly $300M in biggest DeFi exploit of 2026 Bitcoin business: Are Iran and U.S. in agreement on cryptocurrency?

19 May 2026, 08:38

Echo Protocol exploit sparks alarm after $73M eBTC mint

The Bitcoin DeFi project Echo fell victim to an exploit on Monday. Blockchain security platform Lookonchain shows a hacker minted 1,000 eBTC ($76.64M) on Monad, and then collateralized 45 eBTC on Curvance to borrow 11.29 WBTC worth $867,700. The attacker later redirected the assets to Ethereum and converted them to native ETH while funneling 384 ETH into Tornado Cash. The attacker’s wallet still retains 955 eBTC of the fake supply, which the platform estimates is worth about $73.2 million. Blockchain firm OnChain Lens even confirmed: “The attacker still appears to control a significant amount of minted eBTC.” The incident comes as the DeFi sector continues to grapple with a rising wave of protocol breaches and private key compromises. Curvance says the exploit only affected Monad’s eBTC/WBTC market Monad and Curvance have both now publicly recognized the exploit. Monad Co-founder Keone Hon posted on X: We’re aware of an incident related to Echo Protocol’s eBTC on Monad, and security researchers are investigating. Keone Hon In another post, the founder noted they had lost about $816,000 to the exploit. Curvance also shared , “Out of an abundance of caution, the affected market has been paused while our team actively investigates the situation alongside ecosystem partners.” It also asserted that the attack was contained to Monad’s eBTC/WBTC market. Other Curvance pools and major cross-chain platforms, including Aave, Morpho, Spark, and Fluid, were untouched. Although it isn’t known exactly how the attacker managed to mint eBTC, experts suggested it could be due to a private key compromise, a deployment error, or a smart contract flaw. The attacker opted against a 1,000 eBTC DEX market dump to avoid the severe slippage caused by Monad’s shallow liquidity pool. Instead, they executed a lending-based extraction method, replicating the strategy used to siphon funds from Resolv and KelpDAO before. Have hackers been targeting more DeFi platforms? According to DeFiLlama, the DeFi space had already suffered 13 hacks this month before the Echo Protocol exploit. The Echo Protocol is also the third major decentralized finance platform to fall victim to an exploit in the last five days. As earlier reported by Cryptopolitan, THORChain was compromised on May 15, and hackers pocketed more than $10 million. THORChain suspended trading after the incident, reassuring users that only protocol-owned funds were affected. It acknowledged it “automatically detected abnormal behavior and halted signing activity,” which prevented more outbound transactions. Speaking on the attack, on-chain investigator ZachXBT said the exploiter targeted the platform across Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Base. A subsequent exploit hit the Verus-Ethereum Bridge three days later, resulting in the loss of $11.58 million in digital assets. Security researchers at Blockaid traced the exploit to the wallet address “0x5aBb…D5777.” Blockchain security firm Peckshield also detailed that the exploiter made off with 103.6 tBTC, 1,625 ETH, and 147,000 USDC, later converting the assets into about 5,402 ETH. Another security firm reporting the attack, GoPlus, noted, “It is highly likely to be cross-chain message validation/signature forgery, withdrawal logic bypass, or access control flaw.” Meanwhile, the Verus team contended that it’s still investigating the incident. DeFi platforms have become a prime target for attackers in the last few years. DeFiLlama estimates that uninsured lending protocols have suffered $7.7 billion in exploit-related losses over the past 6 years. More than $600 million was lost to hacks this April, with Drift and KelpDAO taking major hits. More recently, Nexus Mutual’s Founder, Hugh Karp, even highlighted that many of the latest hacks were caused by operational failures, pointing to a mismatch between risk and insurance coverage. If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter .

19 May 2026, 08:35

AUD/JPY Slides as RBA Minutes Highlight Inflation and Growth Risks

BitcoinWorld AUD/JPY Slides as RBA Minutes Highlight Inflation and Growth Risks The Australian dollar weakened against the Japanese yen during Asian trading hours on Wednesday, following the release of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) meeting minutes that underscored persistent inflation pressures and heightened risks to economic growth. The AUD/JPY pair fell to 97.45, extending its recent decline as markets digested the central bank’s cautious tone. RBA Minutes Reveal Cautious Stance on Inflation and Growth The minutes from the RBA’s April monetary policy meeting showed that board members discussed the possibility of further interest rate hikes if inflation remains stubbornly above the target band. Policymakers noted that domestic demand was showing signs of softening, but services inflation and wage growth continued to present upside risks. The central bank’s balanced but cautious language reinforced expectations that rates would remain higher for longer, weighing on the Australian dollar’s yield advantage relative to the yen. Market Reaction and Technical Outlook The yen strengthened broadly as risk sentiment soured following the RBA’s downbeat assessment. The AUD/JPY pair broke below its 50-day moving average, signaling near-term bearish momentum. Traders are now watching the 97.00 support level, a break of which could open the door toward the 96.50 region. The minutes added to the narrative that the RBA is struggling to balance inflation control with an economy that is losing momentum, a theme that has kept the Australian dollar under pressure in recent weeks. Why This Matters for Forex Traders The AUD/JPY pair is often viewed as a barometer of risk appetite, given Australia’s commodity-linked economy and Japan’s safe-haven status. The RBA’s acknowledgment of growth risks alongside sticky inflation suggests that the central bank may be nearing the end of its tightening cycle, even if it is not ready to signal cuts. For traders, this means the Australian dollar may continue to underperform against currencies like the yen, where the Bank of Japan is gradually moving toward policy normalization. Conclusion The RBA minutes provided a clear signal that the central bank sees the path ahead as fraught with uncertainty. For the AUD/JPY pair, the immediate outlook remains tilted to the downside as markets reassess the relative monetary policy trajectories of Australia and Japan. Traders should monitor upcoming Australian inflation data and any shifts in BOJ rhetoric for further direction. FAQs Q1: Why did the Australian dollar fall after the RBA minutes? The minutes highlighted that inflation remains a concern while economic growth is slowing, creating a dilemma for the RBA. Markets interpreted this as a sign that rate cuts are unlikely soon, but that the economy may struggle, reducing the appeal of the Australian dollar. Q2: What is the key support level for AUD/JPY? The immediate support is around 97.00, with a break below that potentially targeting the 96.50 area. The 50-day moving average near 97.80 now acts as resistance. Q3: How does the RBA stance compare to the Bank of Japan? The RBA is maintaining a hawkish hold due to inflation, while the BOJ is slowly exiting ultra-loose policy. This divergence in policy paths creates volatility in the AUD/JPY pair, with the yen benefiting from relative stability in Japan’s outlook. This post AUD/JPY Slides as RBA Minutes Highlight Inflation and Growth Risks first appeared on BitcoinWorld .

19 May 2026, 08:35

Coinbase CEO Predicts AI Agents Economy to Be Larger Than Human One

Brian Armstrong outlines why AI agents will create the largest economy, and the numbers are already rising.

19 May 2026, 08:30

Elon Musk Loses OpenAI Trial, Vows Appeal After Jury Dismisses Claims Over Statute of Limitations

A federal jury has thrown out every claim in Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman, finding the case to have been filed past its legal deadline. Verdict Reached, But Battle Not Over A federal jury in Oakland, California sided with OpenAI on May 18, unanimously dismissing all claims in Elon Musk’s lawsuit against