Fraudulent actors posing as Iranian authorities have reportedly sent messages to shipping companies whose vessels remain stranded west of the Strait of Hormuz, demanding payment in cryptocurrency for safe passage.

On Monday, maritime risk company Marisks issued a warning saying unknown groups had contacted shipowners claiming to represent Iranian security services and requesting transit “fees” in Bitcoin (BTC) or USDt (USDT) in exchange for clearance through the strait, according to Reuters.

“These specific messages are a scam,” Marisks reportedly said, adding that they do not originate from Iranian authorities. Tehran has not publicly commented on the claims.

The alerts come as the strategic waterway remains largely closed following the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East. The Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global energy flows, previously handled around one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas exports before hostilities escalated in the region.

Earlier this month, reports said Iran was considering charging ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz a tariff payable in Bitcoin, with empty tankers allowed free passage while others could be charged around $1 per barrel of oil.

Related: Iran views BTC as strategic asset, but USDt still dominates oil tolls: BPI

Crypto “transit fee” scam demands verification docs

The reported scam messages instruct recipients to submit documentation for verification before being assigned a “fee” payable in cryptocurrency, after which safe transit would allegedly be granted at a pre-agreed time.

In one example cited by Marisks, the message stated that Iranian security services would assess eligibility before determining payment in BTC or USDt, framing crypto transfers as a condition for unimpeded passage.

The company also suggested that at least one vessel recently targeted by gunfire while attempting to exit the strait may have received such fraudulent instructions, though the information has not been independently verified.

Cointelegraph reached out to Marisks for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

Related: Bitcoin community weighs in on reports of Iran’s crypto toll for oil ships

Crypto payments to Iran could trigger sanctions risks: Chainalysis

Shipping companies considering paying transit fees in cryptocurrency to Iran could face serious sanctions exposure, according to Chainalysis senior intelligence analyst Kaitlin Martin.

She told Cointelegraph that any payments linked to Iranian-controlled waterways could be treated as “material support,” potentially violating US and international sanctions targeting entities such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

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RaveDAO token plunged 95% from $26 to under $1.
RAVE launched in December 2025 on Binance Alpha.
ZachXBT’s on-chain analysis also highlights MemeCore, River and MYX among questionable projects.

RaveDAO (RAVE) has plunged below $1, erasing more than 95% of its earlier rally to an all-time high of $26.

The sharp decline follows an investigation by blockchain analyst ZachXBT, which alleged clear signs of price manipulation.

The findings have raised broader concerns about potential insider-driven schemes affecting multiple tokens listed on centralised exchanges, contributing to selling pressure across the segment.

RaveDAO token dumps amid ZachXBT’s explosive allegations

ZachXBT, a pseudonymous investigator celebrated for dismantling multimillion-dollar crypto frauds, took to X on April 18, 2026, to dissect RAVE’s suspicious trajectory.

He pinpointed concentrated wallet activity controlling the token’s liquidity, engineering artificial pumps to trap retail buyers before orchestrated dumps.

“RAVE launched in Dec 2025 on Binance Alpha with a 1B total supply. The addresses below, linked to the initial distribution, control ~95% of the RAVE supply,” the on-chain sleuth posted.

Labelling it a textbook “pump-and-dump,” ZachXBT offered a $25,000 bounty for transaction proofs, urging platforms like Binance, Bitget, and Gate.io to launch probes.

He notes that the exchanges acknowledged his call, a move that could mirror past successes in securing refunds and bans.

Yet ZachXBT questioned why CEXs have waited for his call to acknowledge potential manipulation.

“While it’s good the exchanges responded, I find it unlikely this activity wasn’t spotted internally before I raised it publicly.”

RAVE’s price carnage unfolded mercilessly, plummeting from $26 to under $1 within 24 hours, with trading volume surging amid mass liquidations.

Billions of dollars in market cap vaporised, leaving holders stunned. The declines saw the token’s value drop to lows of $0.50, where it hovered as of writing on April 20, 2026.

Update: Three hours ago multisig 0x53d7 linked to the RAVE initial distribution which I flagged above sent ~23M RAVE ($23M) to two Bitget deposit addresses and the price dropped 40% from $1 to $0.6.

Deposit addresses0x26aC542f5a04D574580881723224DAcD1EDB9B45… pic.twitter.com/Qi1asiFWsB

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) April 19, 2026

ZachXBT also hits other tokens

The potential price manipulation extends to similar tokens.

“RAVE is not the only token with manipulation we have seen on major centralized exchanges,” he posted.

“It’s just the most blatant, reaching a top 15 market cap within 10 days before dropping 95% in hours. Other projects with highly questionable price action recently include: SIREN, MYX, COAI, M, PIPPIN, RIVER.”

According to ZachXBT, all projects have exhibited “highly questionable price action” and supply dominance by the team.

MemeCore, RIVER and PIPPIN prices echoed the Rave token bleed, dumping double digits to erase recent gains.

Some retail traders commented on ZachXBT’s post, noting this could be an opportunity to short. His response:

I do not recommend shorting manipulated tokens with a high insider concentration.

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) April 20, 2026

Data on CoinMarketCap showed M, River and Siren were down 7-9% in the past 24 hours as of writing.

US aluminium giant Alcoa is reportedly nearing a deal to offload its long-idle Massena East smelter in upstate New York to Bitcoin mining firm New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG).

The company is in advanced discussions and expects the transaction to close “in the middle part of this year,” CEO Bill Oplinger told Bloomberg on Friday. The site, located along the St. Lawrence River, has been inactive since 2014 after Alcoa shut it down amid rising energy costs and global competition.

Built for 24/7 heavy industrial operations, aluminum smelters come with pre-existing substations, transmission lines and high-capacity grid connections. That makes them attractive targets for Bitcoin miners and data center operators, who often spend years securing similar infrastructure approvals from scratch.

Massena East also benefits from hydropower supplied by the New York Power Authority, a key draw for energy-intensive computing firms seeking low-cost and lower-carbon power sources.

Related: Bitcoin mining difficulty falls, but projected to rise in next adjustment

US smelters reborn as crypto, AI data centers

The potential sale comes amid a broader trend across the US, where retired industrial sites are being repurposed for digital infrastructure. Earlier this year, Century Aluminum sold its Hawesville smelter in Kentucky to TeraWulf for $200 million, with plans to convert it into a high-performance computing and AI facility rather than traditional industrial use.

Meanwhile, NYDIG has been growing its footprint in Bitcoin (BTC) mining infrastructure. The firm, owned by Stone Ridge, already holds a stake in Coinmint, which operates mining hardware at the same campus under a long-term lease.

Last year, Crusoe Energy also agreed to sell its Bitcoin mining business, including its digital flare mitigation operations, to NYDIG.

Related: HIVE plans $75M raise to fund AI infrastructure push

Bitcoin miners pivot to AI

NYDIG’s renewed push into Bitcoin mining comes as other miners are increasingly pivoting toward AI and cloud computing as shrinking margins in mining push them to diversify revenue streams.

Earleir this year, MARA Holdings acquired a 64% stake in French infrastructure company Exaion, giving the company a foothold in AI services. Other miners, including Hive, Hut 8, TeraWulf and Iren, are also repurposing mining facilities into data centers, while some, such as CoreWeave, have fully transitioned into AI-focused infrastructure.

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Ether’s (ETH) rally to $2,400 is nearly 38% above its swing low at $1,750, but is ETH’s price move simply a momentum trade, or do longer-term data points suggest a paradigm shift at play?

ETH accumulation addresses absorb 6.5 million Ether

Ether’s recent rally was preceded by an 89% surge in daily active addresses (DAA), which jumped to 730,278 from 384,763 on April 5.

The increase in Ethereum’s active addresses indicates increased user interaction with the network, which is generally a positive.

The chart below shows that activity increased significantly as Ether price rose to $2,300. 

Similar activity has been consistently observed near macro bottoms since 2022, preceding significant ETH price rallies.

Daily inflows into accumulation addresses have also increased since mid-2025, reaching an all-time high of 1.14 million ETH in November 2025. The inflows have continued to climb in 2026, averaging 200,000 ETH per day, with a spike to over 358,000 on Thursday.

Related: ETH/BTC ratio hits 10-week high as Ether outpaces Bitcoin: Are new price highs next?

The amount of ETH held in accumulation wallets, or holders with no history of selling, has increased by 6.5 million to 26.16 million from 19.64 million on Jan. 1, representing a 33% increase.

The ETH supply held in accumulation addresses is a key indicator for traders and market participants, as it reflects overall confidence in Ether’s long-term outlook.

The total value of ETH staked further reinforces this outlook. The metric now stands at 39.2 million ETH, signaling growing investor confidence.

As Cointelegraph reported, Ether supply held on exchanges has fallen to multi-year lows, further tightening liquidity on order books. 

Ether cup-and-handle chart breakout targets $3,150

The ETH/USD pair may resume its prevailing bullish trend after breaking out of a cup-and-handle (C&H) chart pattern, as shown in the chart below. A 12-hour candlestick close above the cup’s neckline at $2,400 may signal the start of a stronger uptrend.

The target is set by adding the cup’s depth to the breakout point, which comes to around $2,960, an approximately 22% increase from the current price.

The relative strength index has risen to 68, suggesting that ETH bulls are back in control. 

Trader TheSkayeth spotted a larger C&H pattern forming over the last two months on the daily time frame, saying ETH was “setting up for a massive move.”

“If the cup and handle pattern continues, I think we get to the golden zone next.”

The measured target of this larger formation is $3,150, which is 30% above the current level.

Applying this framework, ETH bulls will need to hold above the $2,350-$2,400 zone to confirm a sustained upward breakout.

As Cointelegraph reported, a close above the $2,400 level would increase the prospects of the ETH/USDT pair rising to $2,800 and later to $3,050.

Josh Stark, a key researcher and project manager at the Ethereum Foundation, the non-profit organization that stewards development of the Ethereum ecosystem, said Thursday that he is departing the organization after five years.

Stark did not provide a specific reason for his departure and said in a post on X that he has “no plans for the future.” Instead, he will take some personal time to focus on family and friends. He said:

“The Ethereum ecosystem has reliably done things the world told us were impossible. It is easy to forget how much real fear and doubt there was that Ethereum would never launch, that decentralized finance (DeFi) would never work, or that Proof of Stake would never ship.”

He is one of four people listed as “Management” on an organizational chart which shows nearly all of the Foundation’s staff reporting in. Cointelegraph reached out to Stark about his departure, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

The departure of Stark from the Ethereum Foundation represents the most high-profile exit from the organization since Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin announced sweeping leadership changes and a new direction for the Foundation in 2025. A day earlier, another Foundation contributor, Trent Van Epps, announced that he resigned last week.

Related: Ethereum Foundation nearly reaches 70,000 staked ETH goal

The Ethereum Foundation got a shakeup in 2025

In January 2025, co-founder Vitalik Buterin announced sweeping changes to the Ethereum Foundation in response to growing criticism from the Ethereum community over the long-term direction of the ecosystem.

Bringing in “fresh” talent to the organization, greater decentralization and developing the protocol for faster transaction throughput and increased transaction speeds were among some of the goals Buterin listed for the changes.

However, the revamped Ethereum Foundation would not engage in ideological disputes, lobby US lawmakers in Washington or represent “vested interests,” Buterin added. 

“These things aren’t what EF does, and this isn’t going to change. People seeking a different vision are welcome to start their own orgs,” he said.

The Ethereum Foundation officially announced new leadership in March 2025, adding  Hsiao-Wei Wang, an Ethereum Foundation researcher, and Tomasz Stańczak, CEO of Nethermind, an Ethereum execution client, as co-directors of the organization.

Stańczak stepped down from his role in February 2026, while Wang remains a member of the Ethereum Foundation’s management board, according to its organizational chart.

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Chiliz price rose more than 13% to above $0.0433.
Korea’s Naver Pay has onboarded nearly 1 million users to the Chiliz Chain.
Top European teams with fan tokens have advanced in the UEFA Champions League.

Chiliz (CHZ) rose more than 13% as investor momentum strengthened.

The token’s price moved higher following a new milestone in Asia’s crypto adoption, while renewed excitement around European football also supported gains, pushing CHZ to its highest level this month.

Chiliz Chain gets Korean boost

Chiliz is looking to gain traction in South Korea following a new integration with Naver Pay, the country’s dominant payment gateway.

On Thursday, Chiliz announced that Naver is bringing its 33 million daily active users on-chain via Chiliz Chain, a move aimed at supercharging growth in the SportFi ecosystem.

CHZ’s price action intensified amid UCL semifinal drama.

The token surged by more than 13% intraday, peaking above $0.0433 and emerging as one of the top performers on the day. Gains aligned with a spike in trading volume, which had exploded 262% to over $175 million, as of writing, to signal robust investor enthusiasm.

This rally coincides with Chiliz’s announcement on X that a Fan Token-backed team is assured a UCL final spot.

Notably, Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have all advanced to the semifinals, amplifying hype for their Chiliz-powered Fan Tokens.

% . 🔒

A Fan Token team is guaranteed a spot in the final.$AFC $ATM $PSG ⚡️ $CHZ pic.twitter.com/58DbhdHXzH

— Chiliz – The Sports Blockchain (@Chiliz) April 15, 2026

Fan Tokens, which let supporters vote on club decisions and earn rewards, saw heightened trading as fans rallied behind their teams.

Chiliz price outlook

Analysts remain bullish on CHZ ahead of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, projecting a potential rally as the showpiece event draws closer.

In the short-term, CHZ could climb to $0.06 if Korean onboarding sustains and UCL finals deliver fan token spikes.

However, primary resistance sits at $0.045 and $0.05. On the downside, immediate support is likely at $0.038.

Macro and geopolitical factors could catalyze broader market corrections, which means Chiliz’s price may swing alongside top coins.

Only 4% of Danish citizens own cryptocurrencies, a figure that has remained unchanged since 2023 despite the global growth of the sector across Europe and other jurisdictions, according to a new staff paper from the country’s central bank published Wednesday.

The Danmarks Nationalbank staff paper, based on a survey conducted by Epinion, revealed that among those who do hold crypto, most maintain relatively small positions. The majority reported holdings below 10,000 Danish kroner (around $1,570), with total national holdings estimated between $317 million and $847 million.

The survey is based on responses from 3,013 citizens aged 15 and above. The data was gathered between October and November 2025 through Denmark’s Digital Post system, with options to respond online or by phone. The sample was weighted to reflect national demographics.

The findings show that Denmark sits at the lower end of crypto adoption compared to other European countries, where ownership rates are higher. Countries such as Norway, Finland and the United Kingdom report over 10% of their populations hold crypto assets.

Danmarks Nationalbank said Danish banks have historically taken a cautious approach to crypto assets, with most previously not allowing customers to buy them through bank platforms and often discouraging such investments as high risk. The paper also pointed to earlier asymmetric tax treatment as another factor weighing on adoption.

Related: EU adviser says ‘MiCA 2’ is likely as crypto market matures: PBW 2026

Crypto ownership in Denmark skews young and wealthy

Crypto ownership in Denmark is concentrated among younger and higher-income individuals, with participation dropping sharply among those over 60, the survey found.

The survey also revealed that crypto is primarily viewed as an investment rather than a means of payment. Actual usage for transactions remains rare, and only a small share of holders report using digital assets to pay for goods or services.

The survey shows that 70%-75% of users store their assets with crypto asset service providers, while only about 20%-30% use self-hosted wallets for self-custody.

Indirect exposure through crypto-linked stocks and exchange-traded products has increased since 2023 but remains limited at around $211 million, or roughly 0.4% of total equity holdings.

Related: No, Denmark did not propose banning self-custody wallets

Danske Bank opens door to crypto investments

Earlier this year, Danske Bank, Denmark’s largest bank, began allowing customers to invest in crypto through exchange-traded products tied to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).

At the time, the bank said more clients are seeking crypto exposure as part of their portfolios, adding that stronger regulatory frameworks, particularly the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, have made it feasible to offer such investments.

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Ether’s (ETH) rebound to $2,300 over the weekend put large investors back into profit but is this a sign that ETH may rally to $3,000?

Data from TradingView shows that Ether’s price rose 20% to $2,330 on Saturday from its local low of $1,940 reached on March 29.

The recovery was fueled by the US and Iran’s announcement of a two-week ceasefire and a strengthening market structure. The rebound has also pushed ETH whales into profitability, according to data from CryptoQuant.

ETH whales’ unrealized profit ratio reveals that wallets holding over 100,000 ETH are “profitable state again,” CryptoQuant analyst CW8900 said in a Quicktake note on Monday, adding:

“In the history of $ETH, every point where they turned from loss to profit was at the rally start point.”

ETH investors double down on buying

The shift in whale profitability shows accumulation at lower levels, signaling long-term investor confidence.

Data from CryptoQuant shows that ETH accumulation began in late 2025 and has proceeded more aggressively throughout 2026. 

Accumulation addresses are wallets that continuously receive ETH without making any outgoing transactions. They may belong to long-term holders, institutional investors, or entities strategically accumulating Ether rather than actively trading it.

As a result, the total ETH held by these long-term holders reached a record 26.3 million. That marks a 32% jump in 2026 despite ETH price declining by 25% over the same period.

Large spikes in inflows to these addresses often signal strong confidence in Ether’s long-term potential, with past trends showing that such surges frequently precede price rallies.

For example, on June 22, 2025, Ethereum accumulation addresses recorded a then-all-time high daily inflow of over 380 million ETH. Nearly 30 days later, ETH price rallied by almost 85%. A similar price increase succeeded November 2025’s inflow spike into the accumulation addresses.

Ether’s technical set-up points to $3,000

Ether’s price action has formed a rounded bottom chart pattern on the 12-hour chart. The price is retesting the $2,140 support, where the chart’s support line and the 20-day exponential moving average (EMA) converge. 

Bulls will now attempt to push ETH/USD above the neckline of the governing chart pattern at $2,400, paving the way toward the measured target at $2,940, 32% above the current price. 

The daily relative strength index (RSI) has risen to 57 from near-oversold levels at 36, suggesting ETH bulls are returning to the market.

However, Ether’s cost basis distribution data shows that investors hold about 7.6 million ETH at an average cost of between $2,750 and $2,850, creating a potential resistance zone. This concentration suggests that many investors may sell at breakeven, potentially stalling Ether’s upward momentum.

“Ethereum is heading, in my opinion, toward its next major resistance at $2,800,” said analyst TagadoBTC in a recent X post, adding: 

“The $2,000 zone remains the one to hold, otherwise we risk falling back to the bottom of the channel.”

As Cointelegraph reported, Ether’s potential for a rally will improve once the altcoin breaks above the $2,400 resistance level. If that happens, the ETH/USDT pair may surge to $2,800.

Crypto whales loaded up more of the TRUMP memecoin ahead of the luncheon at US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida this month, which offers entry to the largest holders.

One whale withdrew about 105,754 OFFICIAL TRUMP (TRUMP) from Binance on Saturday to add to its stash of 1.13 million TRUMP, worth about $3.2 million, according to an X post from blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain on Sunday.

Two days earlier, another whale withdrew 850,488 TRUMP from the crypto exchange Bybit.

On Monday, another holder increased their TRUMP stash to more than 368,000 tokens after withdrawing from BitMart, and a fourth whale boosted their stash to over one million tokens after withdrawing from Bybit, according to blockchain explorer Solscan.

Critics, including Democratic lawmakers, have accused Trump of using his position for personal financial gain through the project and have introduced legislation aimed at limiting such activity.

The top 297 token holders are invited to a luncheon on April 25 at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, with the president expected to speak. The top 29 holders are also offered a private reception, despite the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington, DC, falling on the same day.

TRUMP drops 33% since March announcement

Trump’s announcement of the luncheon in March saw TRUMP spike to $4.35. However, the memecoin has since dropped by over 33% to trade at $2.80 as of Monday, according to CoinGecko.

Dominick John, an analyst at Zeus Research, told Cointelegraph the price is likely being pushed lower as retail-driven market selling overwhelms already thin liquidity, forcing continuous repricing.

“At the same time, insider supply overhang means even small distributions from concentrated wallets can absorb whale bids, limiting any meaningful upside follow-through,” he added.

Crypto data analytics platform CoinCarp lists 642,882 TRUMP holders, with over 91% of the supply concentrated among the top 10 wallets and over 97% among the top 100 wallets.

Token spiked after the crypto gala announcement last year

Trump held his first “crypto gala” dinner in May 2025, a few months after his Jan. 20 inauguration as US president, which also drew concern from critics who accused him of using his position for personal financial gain.

Related: Bessent ramps up pressure on Congress to pass CLARITY Act

The token peaked at $15.59 about a month before the event, but fell as the event drew closer, and fell to around $8.90 a month after the event.

John said this time around, the token could stage a recovery, with the 2026 midterms acting as a potential sentiment multiplier and other positive announcements. Catalysts and early signs of institutional accumulation could help establish a floor and trigger reflexive upside, he said.

“One catalyst to watch is the potential for event-driven launches like the Trump Billionaire Game, which could generate the social buzz needed to drive short-term upside momentum,” John added. 

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