BitMEX made a bold announcement this afternoon, claiming it foiled a major hack attempt from the Lazarus Group. The exchange’s security team analyzed the hackers’ code, revealing some interesting new information.
The malware had surprisingly poor operational security, allowing BitMEX to trace the IP addresses and active hours of several members. Still, the firm acknowledged that it only beat Lazarus’ second-string hackers, not their best.
However, Lazarus’ recent attempt to hack BitMEX was prevented, according to a recent blog post.
A Lazarus hacker attempted to phish a BitMEX employee by sending them a phony request to collaborate on a Web3 NFT marketplace project. This employee alerted security, who played along with the scammer to obtain the malware bait. From there, BitMEX analysts dismantled it, gleaning knowledge of the group’s organization:
“Throughout the last few years, it appears that the group has divided into multiple subgroups that are not necessarily of the same technical sophistication. This can be observed through… bad practices coming from these ‘frontline’ groups that execute social engineering attacks when compared to the more sophisticated post-exploitation techniques,” BitMEX claimed.
Specifically, BitMEX identified a lot of sloppy work in the initial malware. This allowed analysts to find a list of IP addresses from compromised computers; furthermore, they identified test runs.
One Lazarus member based in China left incriminating info in this database, which BitMEX used to get a profile of other members and their working schedules.
BitMEX’s work here can go a long way towards piercing the Lazarus Group’s image of danger and hyper-competence. BitMEX, a long-running derivatives exchange, seems like an unexpected candidate to make these discoveries.
Rather than a famous crypto sleuth, a private firm that’s been out of the news lately managed to crack this code.
Still, it’s important not to overstate the situation. The Lazarus Group sent their B-team to try and breach BitMEX, but much more advanced hackers would’ve exploited a successful breach.
BitMEX exploited the group’s sloppy operational security, but its members remain wholly anonymous. In all likelihood, they’ll have plenty of future successes on softer targets.
Over the past few months, Ethereum has experienced a significant decline in user activity on its blockchain. This slowdown has reduced the network’s burn rate—a mechanism that helps decrease ETH supply over time.
With fewer tokens being burned, ETH’s circulating supply has risen, putting inflationary pressure on the asset. As a result, the coin has struggled to maintain a stable price above the $2,000 level in recent months.
Low Burn Rate Equals More Coins in Circulation
According to Ultrasoundmoney, 72,927 ETH, valued at $134 million at current market prices, have been added to ETH’s circulating supply in the past month alone.
At press time, this sits at 120,730,199 ETH, significantly above pre-merge levels.
This increase in ETH’s supply is driven by a decline in user activity on the Ethereum network, reducing its burn rate. Ethereum’s burn mechanism, introduced through EIP-1559, destroys a portion of transaction fees to reduce the circulating supply of ETH.
However, this mechanism is directly tied to network usage. So, when fewer transactions occur like this, less ETH is burned, resulting in ETH’s supply spiking.
According to Etherscan, the daily amount of ETH burnt has dropped by 95% year-to-date. In fact, the network recently recorded its lowest amount of coins burnt in a single day on April 20.
Many users and developers are migrating from Ethereum to Layer-2 (L2) solutions like Optimism and Arbitrum. These networks offer significantly lower transaction fees and faster execution, reducing user activity on Ethereum’s mainnet.
For example, as of April 30, the average transaction fee on Optimism’s mainnet was just $0.024. By contrast, completing a transaction directly on Ethereum cost users an average of $0.18 on the same day, which is over seven times more expensive.
Optimism Average Transaction Fee. Source: Dune Analytics
Moreover, thanks to the recent meme coin mania, “Ethereum killers,” such as Solana, have gained significant traction over the past few months, drawing users away from the L1.
Together, these trends have led to a decline in Ethereum’s transaction count, hence the network’s low burn rate.
How Do Ethereum’s Fundamentals Stack Up?
The drop in Ethereum’s user demand and the subsequent rise in ETH’s supply have raised important questions about the strength of its fundamentals.
When asked how Ethereum currently compares to other Layer-1 (L1) networks amid broader market weakness, Vincent Liu, Chief Investment Officer at Kronos Research, offered his perspective.
“Ethereum’s fundamentals remain strong relative to other Layer 1s, particularly when you consider its total value locked (TVL) of $368.921 billion, which positions it at the top of the leaderboard,” Liu said.
Although Liu acknowledged that Ethereum ranks fifth in 24-hour fees, behind Tron, Solana, HyperLiquid, Bitcoin, and BNB Chain. He emphasized that the network still “demonstrates significant demand and usage.”
Temujin Louie, CEO of Wanchain, shares a similar perspective. While speaking with BeInCrypto, Louie noted:
“Compared to other Layer 1s, fundamentals remain Ethereum’s strength. Unlike many Layer 1s with aggressive inflation as part of their design, Ethereum’s post-merge architecture makes it potentially deflationary. However, the benefits of EIP-1559 depend on on-chain activity. Nevertheless, this is a structural advantage over most competing Layer 1s.”
While increased activity across Layer-2 (L2) solutions and “Ethereum killers” like Solana may have contributed to a decline in user demand on Ethereum itself, Louie believes that the L1 network “remains a leader in decentralization and has a near-unmatched track record that continues to secure its place in the market.”
What About ETH Price?
Even with strong fundamentals, declining activity on Ethereum poses challenges for ETH in the short- to mid-term. Commenting on this, Liu explained that lower network activity generally signals weaker demand for ETH.
At the same time, increased coin issuance on the network undermines Ethereum’s deflationary model, which was designed to support price appreciation.
“This combination could result in bearish price movements,” Liu warned, “especially as investors look to alternative Layer 1s offering better scalability and lower fees.”
Kadan Stadelmann, CTO of Komodo Platform, also highlighted the role of macroeconomic factors:
“If Ethereum experiences an extended decrease in usage, the price could fall considerably depending on how much use drops, especially if the Fed continues its policy of quantitative tightening compared to quantitative easing. Short-term, this could mean price drops down to the $2,000 range. If the trend continues, however, then Ethereum could find itself in a prolonged consolidation period or outright downtrend.”
ETH Eyes $2,000 Breakout Amid Strengthening RSI
ETH currently trades at $1,834, noting a 1% price dip over the past day. Despite the brief pullback, the bullish pressure in the coin’s spot markets continues to strengthen, reflected by the coin’s climbing Relative Strength Index (RSI).
At press time, this momentum indicator is at 57.68. ETH’s RSI readings signal growing bullish conditions. This indicates that the altcoin has room for upward movement if buying pressure increases.
In this scenario, its price could break above $2,027.
The crypto industry is witnessing a resurgence in public market interest, fueled by President Donald Trump’s administration’s pro-crypto stance.
Asset management firm Ark Invest foresaw this prospective wave of interest months ago, indicating that Trump’s stance on crypto would provide a runway for multiple Initial Public Offerings (IPOs).
Gemini Moves Closer to Public Debut
Gemini exchange, the crypto exchange founded by billionaire twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, reportedly filed for an IPO confidentially and could go public as soon as this year.
Bloomberg, citing sources close to the matter, said the exchange was working with financial heavyweights Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. This move came after the US SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) closed its investigation into Gemini without pursuing enforcement action. As BeInCrypto reported, this cleared a major regulatory hurdle for the firm.
Gemini’s decision to go public coincides with its co-founders’ increasing political engagement. Notably, the Winklevoss twins were among the attendees at Trump’s White House Crypto Summit, reflecting their growing influence in the crypto policy space.
The brothers were also notable financial supporters of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. They donated Bitcoin beyond the legal limit, resulting in a partial refund.
Trump’s administration has been vocal in supporting cryptocurrency, following through with previous commitments for a strategic crypto reserve. Gemini is poised to take advantage of this favorable climate.
The exchange recently disclosed financial highlights for 2024, revealing revenue of $1.5 billion and adjusted earnings of $380 million. Like Gemini, the US SEC also dropped its lawsuit against Kraken, reversing its previous stance and signaling a broader shift in crypto enforcement.
Like Gemini, the Biden administration stifled Kraken’s IPO ambitions due to regulatory pressures, including SEC enforcement actions. However, with both cases now settled, the companies see an opportunity to enter the public markets.
Kraken Co-CEO Arjun Sethi also attended the White House Crypto Summit, signaling the company’s alignment with the administration’s crypto-friendly policies.
Based on these, therefore, the IPO climate for crypto firms appears increasingly favorable. Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest had predicted that firms like Kraken and stablecoin issuer Circle would pursue IPOs under a Trump administration, a forecast that now seems to be materializing.
Meanwhile, Kraken and Gemini are not alone in this trend. BitGo, a major digital asset custodian, is also reportedly exploring a public listing in the second half of 2025.
Dragonchain’s DRGN rallied 115% today after the SEC dropped its 2022 lawsuit regarding securities violations. Walt Disney launched the project in 2014 and later converted it into an open-source blockchain.
The network combines private and public blockchain elements, allowing businesses to keep sensitive data private while leveraging public blockchains for verification. This design supports compliance with regulations like GDPR and HIPAA.
What is Dragonchain?
Dragonchain began as the “Disney Private Blockchain Platform,” developed by a team led by Joe Roets at Disney’s Seattle office. In 2016, Disney released the project as open-source software.
Following this, Roets and his team established the Dragonchain Foundation and Dragonchain Inc. to further develop and commercialize the platform. Since then, Disney has not been affiliated with the project.
The blockchain became extremely popular in 2016 because of its hybrid architecture and interoperability. Through its patented Interchain technology, Dragonchain enables integration with other blockchains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as legacy systems and APIs.
Dragonchain introduced disruptive blockchain innovation at a time when networks like Solana and Layer-2 didn’t exist. It demonstrated high transaction throughput, processing over 250 million transactions in 24 hours during a live demonstration in 2020.
Most notably, it was ahead of its time. The platform introduced quantum-resistant encryption methods to protect data against future quantum computing threats.
The SEC Lawsuit and $1 Billion Loss
The Walt Disney Corporation is not normally known for its Web3 endeavors, but it has shown interest in several sectors over the last few years.
When Disney controlled the project, it had no cryptoasset element, focusing on pure blockchain infrastructure. Shortly after its independence, however, the firm’s developers launched DRGN.
In October 2017, Dragonchain Inc. launched the DRGN token through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO), raising approximately $13.7 million. By January 2018, DRGN’s market cap surged to $1.3 billion.
In 2022, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Dragonchain, focusing on the ICO and alleging unregistered securities offerings. The DRGN token was central to the charges. This marked the beginning of a legally volatile period for the project.
Finally, today, on April 25, 2025, the SEC dropped the lawsuit as part of its wider efforts to reduce crypto enforcement.
The Seven Years’ Wandering finally draws to its close. We were never lost—only laying the ground. Tomorrow, we begin to raise what was always meant to stand.
The announcement sparked a rally in the DRGN market and renewed optimism within the project’s community. The token is up by 115% today and 180% since last week.
Over the last several weeks, Dragonchain’s social media presence has focused on both its blockchain utility and the SEC dismissal.
Dragonchain (DRGN) Price Chart in a Week. Source:
Although the crypto ecosystem has evolved significantly since the lawsuit began, Dragonchain continues to maintain its original commitment to enterprise use cases. It has resisted being labeled as a meme coin and instead emphasizes its enduring focus on practical blockchain applications.
