Charles Schwab, one of the world’s largest asset managers with $7.13 trillion under management, is preparing to launch spot crypto trading within the next 12 months. This move signals growing mainstream adoption of digital assets by traditional financial institutions. By entering the crypto space, Schwab aims to meet rising investor demand for easier access to cryptocurrencies. The rollout is expected to make crypto trading more accessible to everyday users through Schwab’s trusted platform. More details are expected in the coming months.
That’s the message left behind after hackers gave LockBit – a ransomware gang known for extorting millions. Yes, they just got a brutal taste of their own medicine. In a surprising breach, nearly 60,000 Bitcoin wallet addresses tied to LockBit’s operations were leaked online.
How serious is it? Let’s explore together.
Hackers Hit the Hackers
The attackers broke into LockBit’s dark web affiliate panel and dumped a full MySQL database for the world to see. Inside? Thousands of ransomware builds, private negotiation chats, and crypto wallet addresses used in past attacks.
One LockBit member tried to downplay the situation, saying no private keys were leaked. But analysts aren’t convinced. The leaked wallets match up with the group’s known patterns, and the data is already being picked apart by blockchain investigators.
Wallet Leak Could Unravel Ransom Trails
LockBit assigns a unique Bitcoin address to every victim. That makes it hard to trace payments – but with 60,000 addresses now public, investigators have a rare shot at connecting the dots. No private keys were shared, but even the wallet info alone could expose years of financial activity.
Talk about justice being served!
Crypto Crime Is Heating Up
This is concerning, though. Just last month, CertiK reported $364 million lost to crypto hacks, scams, and exploits – a huge jump from $28.8 million in March. Immunefi also flagged April as one of the worst months for security breaches so far this year.
And then there’s North Korea. According to Chainalysis, state-backed hackers stole over $1.3 billion in crypto in 2024, including a $1.4 billion Bybit hack. The situation’s gotten so serious, G7 leaders are expected to bring it up at their summit in Canada next month.
Wake Up Call for Governments
The U.S. Treasury is stepping in too. It’s hosting private roundtables with top crypto players next week, focusing on DeFi, cybersecurity, and banking. These are important talks to shape the next phase of U.S. crypto regulation.
The post 60K BTC Wallets Tied to LockBit Ransomware Gang Leaked in Hacker Revenge appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News
“Don’t do crime. CRIME IS BAD. xoxo from Prague.” That’s the message left behind after hackers gave LockBit – a ransomware gang known for extorting millions. Yes, they just got a brutal taste of their own medicine. In a surprising breach, nearly 60,000 Bitcoin wallet addresses tied to LockBit’s operations were leaked online. How serious …
A suspicious post from John Deaton’s X account has raised concerns of a possible hack. This prompted Ripple Labs’ Chief Technology Officer to issue a public warning, advising followers to refrain from engaging with the account. He placed the embargo until John Deaton could confirm that the account was compromised.
Suspected Post from John Deaton
In a recent development, well-respected crypto lawyer John Deaton, taking to the X platform shared a message promoting Arch Public, a cryptocurrency-related platform.
As detailed, the post also tagged notable names like crypto exchange Gemini, making it appear like an endorsement. However, long-time followers of Deaton found it strange.
As his previous social media post shows, John Deaton is widely known for defending XRP holders and supporting regulatory clarity in crypto. He recently advocated for releasing Hinman documents in a crypto case for more clarity
His usual posts focus on legal battles, industry policy, and crypto rights. However, the Arch Public post stood out. Some market participants mentioned that it lacked any background, explanation, or context that normally comes with his advocacy updates.
The Ripple CTO Flag and Community Reaction
It is worth noting that the gap in tone and content is what made Ripple CTO David Schwartz step in. Commenting on the post, he warned John Deaton’s followers and the community not to trust the message until Deaton confirmed it was real.
According to the CTO, the post looked wrong in many ways, and he urged the lawyer’s 354,000 followers to remain cautious.
His concern sparked reactions from other users. Many began questioning whether Deaton’s account had been taken over, especially with the unusually long silence. Others shared screenshots of the post, highlighting the red flags in its writing.
Meanwhile, in his recent X post, Deaton appreciated the community’s concern but pointed out some misinformation. He promised to go live on X at 3 PM EST on April 16, 2025, to address any questions.
Crypto Hacks Soar in the Industry
This incident comes amid a wave of recent hacks in the crypto space. According to reports earlier this week, KiloEx, a decentralized exchange, lost $7.5 million.
According to the update, hackers exploited weaknesses in the platform’s pricing mechanism. This hack ultimately led to a sharp drop of nearly 32% in the value of its native token, KILO.
The attack targeted BNB Smart Chain, Base, and Taiko, three core blockchains supporting KiloEx’s multi-chain operations.
As reported by CoinGape, on April 15, zkSync suffered a breach as well. Hackers got into an airdrop admin account and minted 111 million ZK tokens, which caused the price of the token to drop by 12%.
Crypto options expiry this week concerns over $3.5 billion in notional value. The high volume of expiring options isexpected to create short-term volatility in the market.
These expiring options coincide with rising global uncertainty amid geopolitical tensions, so traders and investors should prepare for the impact.
Crypto Markets to See $3.5 Billion in Bitcoin, Ethereum Options Expire
With over $3.5 billion worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum options expiring today, data on Deribit shows BTC contracts account for most of it. Today, 27,959 Bitcoin option contracts will expire, sending up to $2.9 billion in notional value down the drain.
The maximum pain level is $106,500, slightly above Bitcoin’s price as of press time. Option traders will experience the most losses at this level.
Meanwhile, these expiring Bitcoin contracts have a put-to-call ratio of 0.91, highlighting the prevalence of Call (purchase) options rather than Put (sale) options. This means traders are leaning bullish rather than bearish.
At the same time, 246,849 Ethereum contracts will expire today, accounting for $617.6 million in notional value.
According to data on Deribit, these expiring options have a put-to-call ratio of 1.14. The maximum pain level or strike price is $2,650. Notably, Ethereum’s put-to-call ratio is above 1, showing a prevalence of Put (sale) options rather than Call (purchase) options.
Ethereum’s put and call options distribution suggests a market tilt toward protecting against ETH price drops, based on the higher put-call ratio of 1.14.
According to the Max Pain theory in crypto options trading, as options near their expiration, the underlying asset’s price tends to gravitate toward the strike price. Here, the greatest number of options (calls and puts) would expire worthless, causing maximum financial loss (or “pain”) to option holders.
This theory hinges on the assumption that market makers or large institutional players (smart money), often on the other side of options trades, may influence the underlying asset’s price through trading or hedging activities. Their actions push prices toward the max pain points.
It happens as market makers profit when options expire worthless, as they collect the premiums without paying out.
Ethereum Upside Flows Are Strong Heading Into Expiry
Greeks.live analysts highlight bearish dominance, as seen with multiple traders shifting to buy puts for protection. Deribit notes that ETH upside flows are heading into expiry.
“ETH upside flows are strong heading into expiry. Will traders keep chasing it after Friday, or is this where it cools off?” Deribit posed.
This contrasts with Ethereum’s max pain point, indicating potential volatility given that option expiries often trigger price swings as traders adjust positions. This is especially true when flows defy max pain expectations.
“The group appears divided on market direction, with bears dominating the conversation as multiple traders have shifted to buying puts for protection,” analysts at Greeks.live wrote, highlighting market sentiment.
Analysts at Greeks.live attempt to explain the Put protection strategy, which is displayed among traders who are hedging for downside risk.
According to the analysts, traders are buying put spreads and protective puts, positioning themselves strategically after months of bullish sentiment.
High volatility environment is creating attractive opportunities for put protection, with traders anticipating two standard deviation events and significant price wicks from unexpected news catalysts,” they added.
