Upbit, Bithumb compensate users after service outages during martial law  

United States Senator Jon Ossoff expressed support for impeaching President Donald Trump during an April 25 town hall, citing the President’s plan to host a private dinner for top Official Trump memecoin holders. “I mean, I saw just 48 hours ago, he is granting audiences to people who buy his meme coin,” said Ossoff, a Democrat, according to a report by NBC News. “When the sitting president of the United States is selling access for what are effectively payments directly to him. There is no question that that rises to the level of an impeachable offense.”Senator Ossoff said he “strongly” supports impeachment proceedings during a town hall in the state of Georgia, where he is running for reelection to the Senate.The Senator added that an impeachment is unlikely unless the Democratic Party gains control of Congress during the US midterm elections in 2026. Trump’s own Republican Party currently has a majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. TRUMP holders can register to dine with the US President. Source: gettrumpmemes.comRelated: US lawmaker says TRUMP coin could risk national securityConflicts of interestOn April 23, the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin’s website announced plans for Trump to host an exclusive dinner at his Washington, DC golf club with the top 220 TRUMP holders. The website subsequently posted a leaderboard tracking top TRUMP wallets and a link to register for the event. The TRUMP token’s price has gained more than 50% since the announcement, according to data from CoinMarketCap.The specific guest list is unclear, but the memecoin’s website states that applicants must pass a background check, “can not be from a [Know Your Customer] watchlist country,” and cannot bring any additional guests.On April 25, the team behind TRUMP denied social media rumors that TRUMP holders need at least $300,000 to participate in an upcoming dinner with the president.“People have been incorrectly quoting #220 on the block explorer as the cutoff. That’s wrong because it includes things like locked tokens, exchanges, market makers, and those who are not participating. Instead, you should only be going off the leaderboard,” they wrote.The TRUMP token jumped on news of the private dinner plans. Source: CoinMarketCapLegal experts told Cointelegraph that Trump’s cryptocurrency ventures, including the TRUMP memecoin and Trump-affiliated decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol World Liberty Financial, raise significant concerns about potential conflicts of interest. “Within just a couple of days of him taking office, he’s signed a number of executive orders that are significantly going to affect the way that our crypto and digital assets industry works,” Charlyn Ho of law firm Rikka told Cointelegraph in February. “So if he has a personal pecuniary benefit arising from his own policies, that’s a conflict of interest.”Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

Crypto investor sentiment has seen a significant recovery from global tariff concerns, but analysts warn that the market’s structural weaknesses may still result in downside momentum during periods of weekend illiquidity.Risk appetite appeared to return among crypto investors this week after US President Donald Trump adopted a softer tone, saying that import tariffs on Chinese goods may “come down substantially.”However, the improved investor sentiment “does not guarantee that Bitcoin will avoid volatility over the weekend,” analysts from Bitfinex exchange told Cointelegraph:“Sentiment improvements reduce fragility, but they do not eliminate structural risks like thin weekend liquidity.” “Historically, weekends remain vulnerable to sharp moves — especially when open interest is high and market depth is low,” the analysts said, adding that unexpected macroeconomic news can still increase volatility during low liquidity periods.Related: Trump fought the bond market, the bond market won: Saifedean AmmousBitcoin (BTC) staged a near 11% recovery during the past week, but its rally has previously been limited by Sunday liquidity dynamics.BTC/USD, 1-year chart. Source: CointelegraphBitcoin fell below $75,000 on Sunday, April 6, despite initially decoupling from the US stock market’s $3.5 trillion drop on April 4 after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned that Trump’s tariffs may affect the economy and raise inflation.The correction was exacerbated by the lack of weekend liquidity and the fact that Bitcoin was the only large liquid asset available for de-risking, industry watchers told Cointelegraph.Related: US banks are ‘free to begin supporting Bitcoin’ — Michael Saylor“While improved sentiment creates a more stable foundation, cryptocurrency markets are still susceptible to rapid movements during periods of reduced trading volume,” according to Marcin Kazmierczak, co-founder and chief operating officer of RedStone blockchain oracle firm.“The sentiment recovery provides some cushioning, but traders should remain cautious as weekend liquidity constraints can still amplify price movements regardless of the current market mood,” he told Cointelegraph.Crypto investors may have “maxed out on tariff-related fears”Cryptocurrency markets may have priced in the full extent of tariff-related concerns, according to Aurelie Barthere, principal research analyst at crypto intelligence platform Nansen.“It feels like we’ve maxed out on tariff-related fear,” she told Cointelegraph, adding:“While many remain uncertain about where things are headed over the next month or so, it also seems like markets were just waiting for the slightest signal that we’re back in the game.”“Whether the rally is sustainable depends on whether we can break through previous resistance levels, at least in isolation. It could have legs, as markets now seem to believe there’s a ‘Trump put’ under equities, the US dollar and US Treasurys,” Barthere added, warning of more potential volatility amid the upcoming negotiations.Nansen previously predicted a 70% chance that crypto markets will bottom and start a recovery by June, but highlighted that the timing will depend on the outcome of tariff negotiations.The tariff negotiations may only be “posturing” for the US to reach a trade agreement with China, which may be the “big prize” for Trump’s administration, according to Raoul Pal, founder and CEO of Global Macro Investor.Magazine: Bitcoin’s odds of June highs, SOL’s $485M outflows, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 2 – 8

DeFi Development Corp (formerly Janover) aims to raise over $1 billion worth of capital to invest in Solana, the industry’s sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.The Nasdaq-listed firm, previously a real estate financing platform connecting commercial property lenders and buyers, announced its plans in a Form S-3 registration statement filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 25.The filing states that the funds will be used for general corporate purposes, including Solana (SOL) token acquisitions.DeFi Development Corp S-3 filing. Source: SECAccording to the filing, the company may use proceeds from the offering to purchase more Solana, noting:“Solana does not pay interest, but staking rewards can be earned on Solana. The ability to generate a return on investment from the net proceeds from this offering will depend on whether there is appreciation in the value of Solana following our purchases of Solana with the net proceeds from this offering.”The company also warned that fluctuations in Solana’s price could lead to it converting the tokens into cash at a value “substantially below” the net proceeds raised.Related: Deloitte predicts $4T tokenized real estate on blockchain by 2035Janover was a real estate financing company connecting lenders and buyers of commercial properties before a team of former Kraken exchange executives bought 728,632 shares of its common stock on April 7. Joseph Onorati, former chief strategy officer at Kraken, has since been appointed as chairman and CEO.The announcement comes shortly after the leadership of DeFi Development Corp adopted a Solana treasury reserve, “by applying a proven public-market treasury model to an asset that’s earlier in its lifecycle, structurally reflexive, and vastly underexposed as compared to Bitcoins.”The firm’s new Solana investment treasury has drawn comparisons to Michael Saylor’s Strategy, which has amassed over 538,200 Bitcoin (BTC) as of April 20 — the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder.The firm’s board of directors approved the company’s Solana-focused treasury policy on April 4, authorizing long-term accumulation and the launch of Solana validators to enable the staking of its treasury asset.Parker White, the firm’s chief investment officer, who previously served as an engineering director at Kraken exchange, already runs a Solana validator with $75 million in delegated stake.Related: US banks are ‘free to begin supporting Bitcoin’ — Michael SaylorRegulatory concerns remain for Solana investmentWhile the Solana-focused treasury implementation marks a significant step for altcoin adoption, the firm remains concerned by the potential effects of opaque crypto regulations, according to the filing:“We may be subject to regulatory developments related to crypto assets and crypto asset markets, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.”The firm cites unclear regulations around digital assets, which may “adversely affect the price of Solana” and, in turn, impact “the market price of our common stock.”The firm noted that Solana’s potential “reclassifying” as a security remains a particular concern, which may lead to the firm being classified as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940.However, the firm’s share price has been benefiting from its Solana acquisitions. Its shares rose by over 12% when DeFi Development Corp added $11.5 million worth of Solana tokens to its treasury on April 22, Cointelegraph reported.“The decision by commercial property platform Janover to add SOL to its treasury is truly groundbreaking,” Chris Chung, founder of Solana-based swap platform Titan, told Cointelegraph. “I’m confident we will see many other businesses follow suit before long as crypto becomes increasingly adopted by traditional finance.” Magazine: Ripple says SEC lawsuit ‘over,’ Trump at DAS, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 16 – 22