Ethereum staking queues are flashing a strong demand signal. Data show 2,759,955 ETH currently lined up to enter staking, compared with just 27,936 ETH queued for withdrawal. The nearly 99x gap underscores sustained interest in locking up ETH on the network. At current prices, the inbound queue represents about $6.4 billion.

Aave has recorded bad debt after a KelpDAO exploiter borrowed more than 82,600 ETH (about $195M) using RSETH as collateral. The incident sparked large-scale withdrawals by major holders, sending Aave's total value locked (TVL) down from $26.396B to $20.114B, a $6.28B decline. Notable withdrawals include: MEXC ($431M), whale 0x7CD0 (possibly linked to Nonco) ($405.7M), and Abraxas Capital ($392M).

etherFi said on X that its Liquid Vault has no direct exposure to the Kelp rsETH incident. The protocol has temporarily suspended the LayerZero cross-chain bridge for weETH and eETH while it investigates the incident's root cause. etherFi also paused Teller contracts tied to its Liquid products (ETH, BTC, USD) as well as sETHFI and eBTC, freezing associated deposit and withdrawal functions. The team said it is working with security partners and will share updates as more information becomes available.

Key Web3 and market headlines curated by BitPush: Iran: Hormuz Strait control won't be relinquished Ali Larijani, Speaker of Iran's Islamic Parliament, said in a social media post on the 17th that control of the Strait of Hormuz belongs to Iran and is a reality the United States has already accepted. He said Iran will never give up its jurisdiction over the waterway, adding that President Donald Trump's "extreme desire" to reach an agreement with Iran shows the failure of his plan to destroy Iranian civilization. Larijani also said the U.S. has not taken military action in its maritime blockade of Iran and warned Iran would not tolerate any such move. (Xinhua) U.S. stocks: Major indexes jump; Nasdaq extends streak to 13 sessions U.S. equities closed higher Friday, with the Dow up 1.79%, the S&P 500 gaining 1.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite rising 1.52%, according to BiTui. The Nasdaq marked its 13th straight advancing session, hit a new high, and posted its longest winning streak since January 1992. Apple (AAPL.O) rose 2.5%, Tesla (TSLA.O) gained 3%, and Meta Platforms (META.O) added 1.7%. Netflix (NFLX.O) slid nearly 10%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index ended up 0.5%, and Alibaba (BABA.N) climbed 1.7%. NYSE proposes rule changes to allow listing and trading of tokenized securities Beats News reports the New York Stock Exchange has filed a proposed rule change with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission seeking to add new Rule 7.50 and amend related provisions to allow eligible securities to trade in tokenized form. The proposal is tied to the Depository Trust Company's (DTC) three-year tokenization pilot and is modeled on previously SEC-approved Nasdaq rules. Under the filing, tokenized securities would need to share the same CUSIP number, ticker symbol, and shareholder rights as their traditional counterparts, enabling equal-priority trading on the same order book. The initial scope would be limited to Russell 1000 Index constituents and ETFs tracking major indexes. Settlement would remain T+1, and existing regulatory requirements would apply to tokenized securities. Strategy to seek biweekly dividends for STRC preferred shares Beijing News reports Strategy plans to adjust dividends for its STRC preferred stock from monthly to biweekly (twice a month), subject to shareholder approval. STRC is a perpetual preferred designed to trade near its $100 par value, with pricing adjustments made through a floating dividend mechanism. The current annualized dividend yield is about 11.5%. The company said more frequent dividends could reduce reinvestment lag, improve liquidity, and support price stability. STRC is part of a broader preferred-equity financing lineup that includes STRF, STRE, STRK, and STRD, which together form its capital structure and have supported significant fundraising for ongoing Bitcoin accumulation. X cashtags feature said to drive about $1 billion in trading volume BitPush reports X product lead Nikita Bier said the platform's newly launched cashtags feature has generated roughly $1 billion in global trading volume within days of launch, based on pilot estimates. Cashtags let users pull up stock and crypto information directly in the timeline by navigating to asset pages via $-tag labels, deepening the link between social content and market data. The feature is currently available to iPhone users in the U.S. and Canada and covers both crypto and stocks. Bier said X does not execute trades or operate as a broker, focusing instead on data entry points and traffic distribution. The rollout aligns with Elon Musk's super-app vision for X. The company has previously discussed X Money, a digital wallet for peer-to-peer payments and transfers; whether it will later support crypto trading remains unclear. Bloomberg analyst: BlackRock's IBIT up about 19% since U.S.-Iran selloff Blockworks cites Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, who wrote on X that BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, has risen nearly every day over the past three weeks, gaining about 3.5% today and roughly 19% in total since the market selloff triggered by the U.S.-Iran conflict. With geopolitical shock concerns easing, investor sentiment has improved, supporting continued strength in Bitcoin-related ETFs. Disclaimer: All BiTui articles reflect authors' opinions only and do not constitute investment advice.

Crypto markets have been choppy in 2026, but a handful of large-cap altcoins have still managed to post meaningful gains. Investors have been rotating toward tokens tied to real usage, deeper liquidity, and expanding ecosystems—spanning DAO governance, decentralized perpetuals, stablecoin settlement rails, and tokenized gold. As of April 2026, the broader crypto market’s total capitalization is down about 22% year-to-date. Against that backdrop, several members of the "billion-dollar club" are notably higher, led by DeXe (DEXE) with a triple-digit surge, followed by MemeCore (M) and Hyperliquid (HYPE). 1) DeXe (DEXE): DAO governance momentum DeXe is the standout among major altcoins in 2026, up +363.67% YTD and last trading at $15.03. The rally has been fueled by rising interest in DAO governance infrastructure. On-chain metrics show open interest rebounding from near zero in January to more than $20 million by mid-April, pointing to fresh capital entering the market. DeXe’s focus on professionalizing decentralized autonomous organizations has also strengthened its appeal with institutional "smart money." 2) MemeCore (M): Meme culture with Layer 1 rails Ranked #21 by market cap, MemeCore is up +118.53% YTD at $3.44, positioning itself as more than a typical meme coin. The project runs its own Layer 1 blockchain, aiming to convert viral culture into a governance and economic framework. A hard fork in late March 2026 acted as a key catalyst, with speculative flows shifting toward its expanding dApp ecosystem and social-finance (SoFi) tooling. 3) Hyperliquid (HYPE): Decentralized perpetuals leader Hyperliquid, a major venue for decentralized perpetuals, is up +68.62% YTD and trades around $42.88. Market sentiment has been supported by several developments: U.S. spot ETF filings from firms including Bitwise, Grayscale, and 21Shares; continued accumulation by high-profile market participants such as Arthur Hayes; and expectations for the HIP-4 mainnet rollout in 2026, which is anticipated to add event-based trading and prediction markets. 4) TRON (TRX): Stablecoin settlement "safe haven" TRON has continued to grind higher while other Layer 1 networks struggled. TRX is up +17.14% YTD at $0.3329, underscoring its reputation as a relative "safe haven" in a year when the total crypto market cap has fallen about 22%. TRON’s largest fundamental tailwind remains its dominance in USDT (Tether) supply and transfer activity. Utility in global payments, low-cost transactions, and ongoing token burns have helped sustain demand and add deflationary pressure. 5) Tether Gold (XAUt): Tokenized gold as a hedge For investors seeking blockchain-based defensiveness, Tether Gold has been among the more resilient assets in 2026. XAUt is up +10.45% YTD at $4,775.53, supported by demand for gold-backed exposure amid geopolitical tension and inflation concerns. The token offers a 1:1 link to London Good Delivery gold bars and can be held in hardware-wallet-compatible form. Top altcoins YTD (as of April 2026) DeXe (DEXE): $15.03 | 7-day: +55.17% | YTD: +363.67% MemeCore (M): $3.44 | 7-day: +24.55% | YTD: +118.53% Hyperliquid (HYPE): $42.88 | 7-day: +4.79% | YTD: +68.62% TRON (TRX): $0.3329 | 7-day: +3.62% | YTD: +17.14% Tether Gold (XAUt): $4,775.53 | 7-day: +1.50% | YTD: +10.45%

Sberbank, Russia's largest lender, is preparing to introduce cryptocurrency trading services, according to Wu Blockchain citing state news agency TASS. Senior Vice President Ruslan Vesterovsky said the rollout will hinge on meeting key requirements, including finalized regulation and the launch of organized exchange-based trading.

XRP pushed above $1.40, extending a strong short-term rally as institutional headlines and ETF flows lifted sentiment. The move left XRP outperforming most of the top ten cryptocurrencies, while traders assess whether the breakout can hold amid nearby resistance. Ripple’s latest catalyst was a newly announced partnership with South Korea’s Kyobo Life Insurance. The firms plan to explore onchain financial infrastructure using Ripple Custody, with an initial focus on blockchain-based settlement for government bond transactions. Ripple Custody is intended to support the holding, transfer, and settlement of tokenized assets, potentially compressing settlement from two days to near real-time and reducing counterparty risk. Markets treated the deal as a concrete adoption signal, helping XRP briefly reach $1.4157 before easing into consolidation. In parallel, U.S. spot XRP ETFs posted another day of net inflows. Wednesday saw $17.6 million of fresh capital, up from $11.2 million the prior day and $1.46 million on Monday. Cumulative inflows rose to $1.25 billion, while assets under management are averaging close to $992 million. Technicals remain mixed but supportive on shorter timeframes. RSI hovered near 68 on lower timeframes and MACD stayed slightly positive. Near-term resistance is clustered around $1.4150, with additional levels at $1.4220 and $1.44. A clean break above $1.44 could set up moves toward $1.45 and $1.4650. Support is holding at $1.40, followed by $1.3840. A sustained drop below $1.3840 could tilt momentum toward $1.37, with deeper downside risk toward $1.3120 if selling accelerates. Despite the rally, XRP remains below key long-term trend gauges, with the 100-day and 200-day EMAs still overhead. Ripple (@Ripple) April 15, 2026 Tags: Altcoin, Crypto market, cryptocurrency, Ripple (XRP)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, is intensifying her clash with the Securities and Exchange Commission over what she calls a pullback in enforcement under Chair Paul Atkins. In a letter dated April 15, Warren said Atkins may have misled lawmakers about the SEC's enforcement activity, pointing to the agency's fiscal year 2025 enforcement statistics released April 7. Those figures show a sharp decline in actions, which Warren argues undermines Atkins's Feb. 12 testimony at a congressional hearing. Warren wrote that when she pressed Atkins during the hearing about data indicating a drop in enforcement, he "demurred," saying he was "not sure what data" she meant. With the FY2025 numbers now public, Warren said the record supports her contention that enforcement has fallen significantly during Atkins's tenure. The letter asks Atkins to explain the agency's enforcement trajectory and to clarify what he knew about the FY2025 figures at the time he testified. The committee set an April 28 deadline for his response. The SEC did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Warren also tied the enforcement debate to the SEC's approach to crypto, arguing the decline raises questions about whether the agency is retreating from policing markets that include digital assets. She referenced a period in which the SEC reportedly rolled back enforcement against crypto firms, while other Biden-era actions were settled or dismissed, drawing criticism from both parties. The dispute is feeding a broader political fight over how aggressively the SEC should pursue cases as crypto markets evolve and as lawmakers press for clearer rules. Warren's letter highlights concerns that slower enforcement could weaken deterrence, reduce investor protection, and complicate efforts to establish regulatory clarity. Attention now turns to Atkins's April 28 response, which could shape the next phase of congressional oversight. Market participants are watching for both the SEC's enforcement follow-through and how the agency explains its priorities, particularly in fast-moving areas such as digital assets.

Odaily Planet Daily reports that monetsupply.eth, Strategic Lead at Spark, warned on X that tightening liquidity in the stablecoin market is pushing conditions into a more hazardous phase. He said roughly 16.5% of the ETH market is backed by rsETH. If losses from rsETH-backed loans are spread across mainnet and external chains, eMode could take a 10% to 15% haircut, with a further 2% to 3% haircut potentially falling on ETH suppliers to reconcile the broader umbrella structure. That risk encourages ETH suppliers to withdraw quickly, pinning utilization at 100%. At current levels, borrowing rates are not high enough to drive repayment from unrelated LST loops (wstETH, weETH) that could free up liquidity. With ETH withdrawals effectively blocked, borrowers who used ETH as collateral to take stablecoins such as USDT cannot unwind positions even as stablecoin borrow costs climb, removing a key mechanism that typically helps keep lending markets stable. He highlighted two distorted incentives that are keeping utilization stuck at 100%: 1) ETH holders cannot reduce exposure to restore healthier LTVs, and liquidators cannot atomically withdraw or sell collateral, raising the odds of bad debt if ETHUSD declines. 2) Users supplying USDT to exit positions are incentivized to maximize borrowing of other stablecoins. The structure is currently yielding positive returns on a temporary basis, lowering exit costs; even if conditions worsen, he estimates at least 75% of the position's value could still be recovered. His conclusion: pooled and restaked lending markets must preserve liquidity at all costs to function. He added that the recent weakening of Slope2's maximum borrowing rate on Aave is weighing on market resilience and materially increasing the risk of a cascading failure.