Hodler’s Digest, Mar. 29 – April 4

ZachXBT accuses Circle of $420M in ‘compliance failures’ since 2022

Onchain detective ZachXBT claims that Circle, the issuer of the USDC (USDC) stablecoin, has failed to freeze or blacklist about $420 million in illicit fund flows since 2022.

Circle can freeze illicit funds and blacklist wallet addresses, but either took “minimal” action to freeze illicit flows or failed to act in 15 separate hack-and-fraud cases, including those linked to North Korean (DPRK) state-affiliated hackers, ZachXBT said.

The stablecoin issuer allegedly failed to freeze $9 million in USDC from the GMX decentralized exchange (DEX) hack in July 2025, and blacklisted wallets linked to the $200 million Cetus DEX hack in May 2025 after USDC was converted into Ether (ETH), according to ZackXBT.

Kalshi onboards ex-Democratic strategist amid legal troubles

Predictions market platform Kalshi announced that a former staffer of US President Barack Obama had joined the company as a policy adviser.

In a Thursday notice, Kalshi said Stephanie Cutter would join the prediction markets company from Precision Strategies, a communications firm she co-founded in 2013. Kalshi said the addition of Cutter came as the company planned to “deepen its relationships in DC and across the country.”

According to Kalshi co-founder and CEO Tarek Mansour, Cutter’s experience allowed her to “get [the] message to the right people,” highlighting her background in government and politics. The predictions market already has staff with ties to the US government, including the appointment of the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., as a strategic adviser in January 2025, the week before his father took office.

In the last year, Kalshi has come under scrutiny from many US state-level authorities, who have filed lawsuits against the platform and other companies offering event contracts on prediction markets for sports, alleging that they constituted illegal bets.

Bitcoin ‘done’ with 85% crashes, says Cathie Wood amid new $34K target

In an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box segment on April 1, Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood stayed calm about double-digit BTC price losses.

“Believe it or not, in the Bitcoin community, down 50% — if that’s as far as it goes — they’ll consider that a real victory,” she said.

“Because you’re right; the 85-95% collapses associated with a very new technology — that’s done. This is a proven technology, it’s a proven monetary system, and it’s a new asset class.”

Wood, a longtime Bitcoin bull, was speaking as Bitcoin circled its old $69,000 all-time highs from 2021.

Those preceded a year-long bear market in which BTC/USD lost nearly 80% before bottoming at $15,600. That marked the latest such correction, with bear markets typically bringing losses around the 80% mark.

Coinbase exec says Senate CLARITY compromise is close, but no markup date set

Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal said the US Digital Asset Market Clarity Act is “moving toward” a markup hearing in the US Senate Banking Committee and could eventually move to a floor vote if senators resolve the stablecoin yield dispute and schedule a markup.

Speaking in a Wednesday interview on Fox Business, Grewal said lawmakers are nearing agreement on core elements of the crypto market structure bill, even as debate continues over stablecoin yield. “I think we’re very close to a deal,” he said.

The remarks point to possible movement on one of the last major sticking points in Senate talks over crypto market structure legislation: whether stablecoin issuers or platforms should be allowed to offer yield or similar rewards. The dispute has helped delay a Senate Banking Committee markup, leaving the broader effort to set federal rules for digital asset oversight still unresolved.

US banks have pushed for restrictions, arguing that such incentives could draw deposits away from traditional institutions and disrupt the banking system. Grewal pushed back on that claim, saying there is no evidence to support fears of deposit flight.

Taiwan should reconsider Bitcoin reserve in case of war, says think tank

Taiwan should reconsider adopting Bitcoin as a reserve asset to hedge against global turmoil and the risk of war, according to a research fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute.

In a report on Tuesday, Jacob Langenkamp said that should China pursue reunification with Taiwan by military force, either through a blockade or full invasion, Bitcoin would be the only reserve asset that would remain fully accessible and spendable.

“Uniquely for Taiwan, Bitcoin provides geopolitical resilience: in a PRC blockade or invasion, gold is stranded or seized, and USD reserves face potential restrictions, but Bitcoin remains fully accessible without physical transport,” he added.

Most Memorable Quotations

“Because you’re right; the 85-95% collapses associated with a very new technology — that’s done. This is a proven technology, it’s a proven monetary system and it’s a new asset class.”

Cathie Wood, ARK Invest CEO

“I had one goal: They will have no nuclear weapons, and that goal has been attained. They will not have nuclear weapons, but we’re finishing the job and I think within maybe two weeks, maybe a couple of days longer to do the job, but we want to knock out every single thing they have.”

Donald Trump, US President

“If velocity remains constant, rising transactions will create demand for more stablecoins, but if it increases, that will not be the case.”

Geoff Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s head of crypto research

“I do not see a new price high in 2026.”

Peter Brandt, veteran trader

“Digital asset mining is a big part of our economy. We should be doing it here in America.”

Bill Cassidy, US Senator

“The biggest crisis that I have at the moment is justifying to myself what Bitcoin is and where Bitcoin derives its value from.”

Ran Neuner, Crypto Banter founder

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $67,288, Ether (ETH) at $2,064 and XRP (XRP) at $1.31. The total market cap is at $2.32 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin winners of the week are Algorand (ALGO) at 47.94%, DeXe (DEXE) at 24.62% and Venice Token (VVV) at 22.39%. The top three altcoin losers of the week are siren (SIREN) at 21.35%, Midnight (NIGHT) at 16.52% and Ethena (ENA) at 11.71%.

For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.

Top Prediction of The Week

Bitcoin ETFs ‘will be larger’ than gold ETFs: Analyst

Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could surpass gold ETFs in total assets under management (AUM) as investor demand expands beyond the traditional “digital gold” narrative, according to ETF analyst James Seyffart.

Top FUD of The Week

Alleged Huione money-laundering boss extradited to China

Li Xiong, a key member of a group that helped crypto scam rings in Asia to move money, has been extradited from Cambodia to China, where he will face fraud and money-laundering charges, according to Hong Kong-based news outlet Ta Kung Wen Wei.

“On April 1, with strong support from the relevant authorities in Cambodia, a task force sent by China’s Ministry of Public Security successfully escorted Li Xiong, a core key member of the Chen Zhi criminal syndicate, back to China from Phnom Penh, Cambodia,” it said on Wednesday, citing a statement from China’s Ministry of Public Security on WeChat.

Xiong previously served as chairman of Huione Group, an organization that served scam centers in Cambodia that carried out “pig butchering” frauds and other investment schemes to steal crypto from victims around the world.

Alleged $54M Uranium Finance hacker faces 30 years in prison

US authorities have unsealed an indictment against the man accused of hacking Uranium Finance, a now-defunct decentralized finance platform that lost over $54 million across two exploits in 2021.

The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York on Monday accused Maryland resident Jonathan Spalletta of carrying out two separate hacks against Uranium Finance in April 2021. He also surrendered to authorities on Monday.

Naver delays deal with Upbit operator Dunamu as review drags on

South Korea’s Naver Financial has pushed back the timeline for its planned share swap with Dunamu, the operator of crypto exchange Upbit, according to a regulatory filing posted on Monday.

In a filing with the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), the company said it expects to hold a shareholder vote on Aug. 18 and complete the transaction on Sept. 30, marking a roughly three-month delay from earlier target dates of late May or early June.

Naver Financial’s plans to acquire Dunamu were first revealed in September 2025, as local news agencies Yonhap and Chosun reported the company was preparing a share swap to bring the Upbit operator under its umbrella. The company later confirmed the transaction in a Nov. 26 regulatory filing, outlining a roughly $10.3 billion all-stock deal.

The transaction is part of Naver Financial’s plan to bring Dunamu under its umbrella as a wholly owned subsidiary.

Ciaran Lyons

Ciaran Lyons is a Cointelegraph staff writer covering cryptocurrency markets and conducting interviews within the digital asset industry. He has a background in mainstream media and has previously worked in Australian broadcast journalism, including roles in national radio and television. Prior to joining Cointelegraph, Lyons was involved in media projects across news, documentary, and entertainment formats. He holds Solana, Ski Mask Dog, and AI Rig Complex above Cointelegraph’s disclosure threshold of $1,000.

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