Note: The X account is not owned by the original Enron entity. Users should be aware of the risk.

April 19th — Per HTX market data, Bitcoin (BTC) is currently trading at $75,376.87 with a 2.26% 24h drop; Ethereum (ETH) is at $2,325.41, down 3.51% over the same period. Coinglass data shows funding rates on major centralized exchanges (CEXs) signal a broad bearish outlook for both BTC and ETH, with market sentiment remaining subdued. Notably, BTC funding rates on most top platforms (including Binance) are negative, meaning shorts are paying ongoing fees to longs. Rates across platforms fall within a broad bearish range. For ETH, Binance and similar exchanges see rates in the -0.007% to -0.009% range—deeper in negative territory. While some platforms show slight positive rates, none exceed 0.005%, underscoring stronger overall short pressure on ETH than BTC. BlockBeats Note: Funding rates are fees set by crypto exchanges to align perpetual contract prices with underlying asset prices. They facilitate fund transfers between long and short traders; exchanges do not collect thes

April has emerged as one of the cryptocurrency industry’s most devastating months this year, with losses from hacks exceeding $600 million across at least 13 protocols and platforms. Two major incidents—Drift and KelpDAO—account for over $280 million in losses, and several high-profile attacks are linked to a North Korea-affiliated hacker group. Key events follow: - **April 1**: Drift Protocol, Solana’s largest decentralized perpetual contract platform, was hacked for ~$285 million. On-chain activity traced to March 11 (when the attacker withdrew 10 ETH from Tornado Cash) spanned nearly 3 weeks; the exploit took ~12 minutes, with most funds cross-chained to Ethereum via Circle CCTP within hours. It’s Solana’s second-largest security event, behind the 2022 $326 million Wormhole cross-chain bridge hack. - **April 13**: Hyperbridge, a blockchain interoperability protocol, was breached via a cross-chain proof verification vulnerability, losing ~$2.5 million. - **April 16**: Two hack

On April 19, following an attack targeting KelpDAO’s rsETH via the LayerZero OFT cross-chain bridge (resulting in losses of ~116,500 rsETH, valued at roughly $292 million), multiple protocols have taken steps to mitigate potential risks by temporarily pausing related functions or markets. Among these, protocols including Ethena, Lombard, Euler Labs, TRON DAO, ApeCoin/ApeChain, ether.fi, mETH Protocol, Solv Protocol, MOCA Foundation, and River have suspended the LayerZero OFT cross-chain bridge. They’ve emphasized they have no direct exposure to rsETH, user assets are secure, and the suspensions are precautionary measures with expectations of short-term recovery. Additionally, protocols like Aave V3/V4, SparkLend, Lido, and Fluid have chosen to freeze rsETH-related markets or treasuries—without impacting the bridge functionality suspensions.

April 19, per Cointelegraph: Iran has designated Bitcoin for settling oil transit fees in the Strait of Hormuz, though sources familiar with the matter note most funds still use stablecoins. As previously reported by BlockBeats (citing the Financial Times on April 8), Iran will require shipping companies to pay cryptocurrency (Bitcoin)-denominated transit fees for oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz during a two-week ceasefire to maintain control of the waterway. Hamid Hosseini, spokesperson for Iran’s Oil, Gas, and Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Union, stated each tanker must email cargo details to Iranian authorities. After Iran completes its assessment, it will notify the vessel of the transit fee amount—**which must be paid in Bitcoin**. “Once the email is received and Iran’s evaluation is done, the ship has seconds to make the Bitcoin payment to ensure it cannot be traced or confiscated amid sanctions,” Hosseini said.

April 19 — U.S. President Donald Trump discussed the Strait of Hormuz situation and details of an agreement with Iran during talks with Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, per market sources.

April 19 (Wall Street Journal) — U.S. President Donald Trump appears to have lost his “appetite for risk” amid growing anxiety, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. Earlier, when told a U.S. aircraft had been shot down in Iran and two pilots were missing shortly thereafter — in the nearly empty White House West Wing — Trump yelled at his aides for hours, repeatedly fuming, “The Europeans didn’t help at all.” People who’ve spoken with Trump say memories of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis have haunted him. After the pilots were rescued, the president again took a gamble, targeting Iran’s biggest leverage: control of the Strait of Hormuz. He then tweeted, “Open up the strait, you fools.” Known for craving dramatic moments, Trump brought his unorthodox, radical approach to potential conflict in even more extreme fashion. He toggled between bellicose posturing and diplomatic outreach, but privately, he fixated on how bad the situation could get. He feared ordering U.S. forces in