Crypto Morning Brief: Arbitrum Freezes 30,766 ETH Stolen by Hacker; SpaceX Agrees to Acquire Cursor for Over $5 Billion
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Crypto Morning Brief: Arbitrum Freezes 30,766 ETH Stolen by Hacker; SpaceX Agrees to Acquire Cursor for Over $5 Billion
Polymarket and Kalshi simultaneously announced the launch of perpetual futures covering crypto, U.S. equities, and commodities.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: TechFlow
Yesterday’s Market Updates
Iran agrees to pause military hostilities—but the war is not over
In response to Trump’s statement on extending the ceasefire, Iran’s state television declared that Iran has emerged victorious on the battlefield. Control over the Strait of Hormuz represents an extremely valuable bargaining chip gained by Iran in this conflict. While Iran has agreed to a pause in military hostilities, it stresses that the war remains ongoing. Additionally, Iran’s state television warned against any rhetoric suggesting Iran must enter negotiations—or else face enemy attacks. Even if maritime blockades are lifted, Iran’s participation in negotiations must be conditioned on the exclusion of any agenda items infringing upon Iran’s sovereignty and dignity—especially those concerning Iran’s defense and missile capabilities, as well as its nuclear capacity and technology.
U.S. Representative introduces the PACE Act to open Fed payment rails to qualified firms
According to CoinDesk, a U.S. Representative introduced the PACE Act, aimed at modernizing the U.S. payment system. The bill proposes allowing qualified companies direct access to Federal Reserve payment rails to reduce payment delays, lower fees, and accelerate fund transfers for consumers and businesses. The proposal reportedly enjoys support from fintech and cryptocurrency communities, with the goal of building a faster, lower-cost, and more competitive payments infrastructure.
Trump: Anthropic may partner with the U.S. Department of Defense on AI models
According to CNBC, U.S. President Trump stated that Anthropic’s AI models “could potentially” be approved for internal use by the U.S. Department of Defense. Trump noted that Anthropic’s team visited the White House several days prior and held “a very good discussion,” adding that the company “is taking shape” and its technology could play a significant role. This comment was made during his interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box.
Arbitrum Security Council urgently freezes 30,766 ETH linked to KelpDAO vulnerability
Per Arbitrum’s official announcement, the Arbitrum Security Council took emergency action at 11:26 PM ET on April 20 to successfully freeze and transfer 30,766 ETH held in addresses associated with the KelpDAO vulnerability. Conducted with law enforcement assistance, the funds have been moved to an intermediate frozen wallet, rendering the original addresses unable to access them. Future disposition of these funds will be coordinated through Arbitrum’s governance mechanism involving relevant stakeholders. The Security Council confirmed that the operation had no impact on other on-chain states or Arbitrum users.
KelpDAO stolen funds enter laundering phase: portion bridged to Bitcoin network via THORChain; over 400 addresses deployed
According to on-chain analyst Specter (@SpecterAnalyst), the North Korean hacking group TraderTraitor began laundering KelpDAO’s stolen funds early today (Beijing time)—just three hours after the Arbitrum Council froze 30,766 ETH (approx. $71 million). The attackers split the remaining funds across three wallets, holding approximately 25,000 ETH ($57.6 million), 25,700 ETH ($59.2 million), and 25,000 ETH ($57.9 million), respectively. The third wallet immediately initiated laundering activity and now holds only ~3,800 ETH (~$8 million).
Funds were primarily bridged to the Bitcoin network via THORChain—with ~99% flowing through the protocol—causing THORChain’s daily trading volume to surge to $211 million, over ten times its 30-day average, and generating ~$189,000 in fees. During laundering, the funds were mixed with illicit proceeds from the BTC Turk (2025) and Bybit (2025) hacks. Approximately 442 BTC (~$33 million) linked to this laundering activity have been traced on the Bitcoin network so far, with over 400 addresses utilized throughout the process.
Ripple publishes XRPL post-quantum migration roadmap, targeting full transition by 2028 at latest
Ripple unveiled a four-phase post-quantum security roadmap for the XRP Ledger (XRPL), aiming to complete the full transition to post-quantum signature schemes by 2028 at the latest. The roadmap includes: (1) a Q-Day emergency migration mechanism; (2) quantum risk assessment and NIST-recommended algorithm testing in H1 2026; (3) parallel integration of candidate post-quantum signature schemes on Devnet in H2 2026; and (4) scaling the switch network-wide via XRPL Amendments. Ripple reports ongoing validator testing, Devnet benchmarking, and custodial wallet prototype development with Project Eleven. It emphasizes current assets are not at immediate risk but highlights the need to mitigate “harvest now, decrypt later” threats.
Ramp to enable payments and spending via stablecoin rails powered by Plasma
According to market reports, Ramp—a Silicon Valley-backed firm supported by Peter Thiel—will allow payments and spending using stablecoin rails powered by Plasma.
Unicoin establishes Unicoin Foundation, focusing on “Crypto for Good” and compliant governance
Unicoin Inc., a crypto investment firm, announced the formation of the independent Unicoin Foundation—an education-first, mission-driven organization dedicated to advancing responsible blockchain adoption and expanding access to the digital economy. The Foundation will advance financial literacy education, entrepreneurship training, and ecosystem support under the banner of “Crypto for Good,” with special emphasis on women and underserved communities.
In terms of governance, Robert Newman serves as Chair, and the Board comprises 27 directors—all Unicoin investors elected by shareholder vote. Over 4,000 shareholders participated in the vote, with nearly 99% approving the transition to an independent foundation structure. Unicoin stated this restructuring aligns with SEC Chair Paul Atkins’ proposed “token taxonomy” framework.
Polymarket and Kalshi simultaneously announce launch of perpetual futures covering crypto, U.S. equities, and commodities
According to The Wall Street Journal, prediction market platforms Polymarket and Kalshi both announced plans to launch perpetual futures contracts. Polymarket posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday announcing the upcoming launch of perpetual futures tied to crypto tokens, U.S. stocks, and commodities; Kalshi confirmed similar intentions. Perpetual futures—native crypto derivatives—have no fixed expiration date. It remains unclear whether Polymarket intends to offer these products in the U.S., given stricter regulatory constraints applicable to such instruments domestically.
Bitcoin miner Core Scientific plans $3.3B private placement to repay credit facility
Per The Block, Bitcoin mining firm Core Scientific disclosed that its wholly owned subsidiary, Core Scientific Finance, intends to privately place $3.3 billion in senior secured notes maturing in 2031 with qualified institutional buyers. The company stated that a portion of the net proceeds will be used to fully repay its delayed-draw term loan under a previously arranged 364-day credit facility—including accrued interest and related fees. The notes will be fully guaranteed by five Core Scientific subsidiaries and secured by first-priority liens on substantially all assets of those subsidiaries.
U.S. media: SpaceX reportedly agrees to acquire Cursor for over $50B
According to The New York Times, citing two anonymous sources, SpaceX has agreed to acquire Cursor—a fast-growing AI startup focused on code-generation software—for over $50 billion. The acquisition comes as SpaceX prepares for what could become one of the largest IPOs in history.
Founded in 2022, Cursor has raised over $3 billion and was once hailed as one of the fastest-growing AI startups. Previously, SpaceX indicated Cursor granted it the right to acquire Cursor for $60 billion—or alternatively, pay $10 billion for joint collaboration outcomes.
Market Data
Recommended Reading
Spending $200 to Fake GitHub Stars, Scamming Millions from VCs: The Full Exposure of GitHub’s Fake-Star Industry
https://www.techflowpost.com/zh-CN/article/31227
This article uncovers the gray-market “star-farming” industry on GitHub, analyzing its scale, operational mechanics, and influence on venture capital decision-making—and examines GitHub’s shortcomings in addressing the issue alongside potential solutions.
Amazon Adds $25B Investment in Anthropic, Escalating the AI Infrastructure Arms Race
https://www.techflowpost.com/zh-CN/article/31229
This article details Amazon’s announcement of an additional up-to-$25 billion investment in AI lab Anthropic—$5 billion committed immediately, with the remaining $20 billion tied to commercial milestones. Anthropic pledged over $10 billion in AWS-related spending over the next decade, including custom AI chips (Trainium and Graviton CPU cores), and secured up to 5 GW of compute capacity to train and deploy its Claude models. As AI infrastructure competition intensifies, Amazon plans to raise capital expenditures to $200 billion by 2026—primarily for AI infrastructure expansion.
Arbitrum Pretends to Be a Hacker—And “Steals Back” KelpDAO’s Lost Funds
https://www.techflowpost.com/zh-CN/article/31233
This article discusses Arbitrum’s use of emergency authority to recover $70 million stolen from KelpDAO—a move sparking community debate over decentralization versus security. While the recovery outcome drew praise, concerns persist regarding the Security Council’s concentrated power and how such authority may be exercised going forward.
A New CEO Who’s Worked Exclusively with Hardware for 25 Years Takes the Helm of $4 Trillion Apple
https://www.techflowpost.com/zh-CN/article/31230
This article analyzes Apple’s announcement that current CEO Tim Cook will step down on September 1, 2026, assuming the role of Executive Chairman. He will be succeeded by John Ternus, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering—who has worked at Apple for 25 years. This marks a new era for Apple, with Ternus facing immense challenges in delivering across both hardware and software domains.
The Fermi Crisis: A Case Study in the Stalling of an AI-Power Stock
https://www.techflowpost.com/zh-CN/article/31234
This article chronicles Fermi’s journey from high-profile IPO to collapse, exposing the formation of the AI-power industry bubble and its underlying structural issues. Fermi’s failure serves as a microcosm of risks and problems within the sector—and underscores the vast gap between actual delivery capability and market expectations.
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