Ahead of the much-anticipated May 10 US China trade war talks, US President Donald Trump seems to have extended an olive branch by proposing to lower tariffs to 80%. However, the president indicated that any move to reduce tariffs will depend on how negotiations go between the US Treasury Secretary and his Chinese counterpart.
Trump Proposes To Lower Tariffs Ahead US China Trade War Talks
In a Truth Social post, the US president stated that an 80% tariff on China seems right. He added that this proposal is up to Scott Bessent, indicating that Saturday’s talks could determine whether they make this move or not.
During a press conference in which he announced the US-UK trade deal, Donald Trump also commented on the negotiations with China, stating that he believes they would have good talks and possibly reach an agreement. He then raised the possibility of lower tariffs on China, remarking that they may lower tariffs if talks go well.
This president looks to have taken a softer stance just two days after he ruled out a tariff concession for China. When asked during a press briefing, he dismissed the possibility of rolling back the 145% tariff on Chinese goods.
Meanwhile, in another Truth Social, Trump demanded a show of good faith from China, requesting that the country open up its market to the USA. He added that this would be “so good” for them, as closed markets no longer work.
The president seems to be eyeing a similar deal to the one they struck with the UK. The UK agreed to open up its markets to US goods as part of the agreement between both countries. Ahead of the May 10 US China trade war talks, China has remained silent and refused to discuss any potential agreement with the US.
However, the Bitcoin price and the broader crypto market are already reacting positively to the Saturday talks. BTC has since surged past the $100,000 mark following news of the May 10 negotiation between both heavyweights.
Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky revealed a YouTube crypto malware blackmail where attackers leverage the platform’s copyright strike system to coerce influencers into adding malicious links to their video descriptions.
These actions directed unsuspecting viewers to malware-infected downloads as YouTube content creators gave in to the blackmail.
Kaspersky Reveals SilentCryptoMiner
Kaspersky’s report reveals that hackers exploit the trust that YouTube influencers have built with their audiences, making this campaign particularly dangerous. It cites a malware campaign where cybercriminals distribute malware disguised as tools for bypassing digital restrictions.
Specifically, the hackers exploit copyright complaints, threatening and blackmailing YouTube content creators into promoting SilentCryptoMiner. SilentCryptoMiner is a sophisticated crypto-mining Trojan based on the popular open-source mining software XMRig.
According to the report, the malware mines cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum (ETH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Monero (XMR), and Ravencoin (RVN). It also uses the Bitcoin blockchain to maintain control over botnets.
Over the past six months, Kaspersky has detected more than 2.4 million Windows Packet Divert driver instances. Reportedly, cybercriminals leverage these to manipulate network traffic. They present many tools as legitimate software solutions but contain hidden malicious payloads.
Dynamics of Windows Packet Divert detections. Source: Kaspersky
Once installed, the malware persists on a victim’s system, bypassing security measures and modifying critical system files.
In the report, Kaspersky highlights a case in which a YouTuber with 60,000 subscribers unknowingly helped distribute the malware. The creator initially posted videos demonstrating how to bypass certain online restrictions and included a link to a supposed restriction bypass tool.
However, the file was infected with SilentCryptoMiner. Later, they edited the infected video description to remove the link, replacing it with a warning stating that the program “does not work.”
“Next, the attackers threatened the content creators under the pretext of copyright infringement, demanding that they post videos with malicious links or risk shutdown of their YouTube channels. This way, the scammers were able to manipulate the reputation of popular YouTubers to force them to post links to infected files,” read an excerpt in the report.
Use of Copyright Strikes to Coerce YouTubers
In a more insidious move, hackers have also filed false copyright claims against YouTubers who refuse to cooperate. By threatening content creators with channel takedowns, cybercriminals have forced them into distributing the malware.
Cybersecurity experts warn that YouTube and other social media platforms may not be the only targets of such blackmail schemes. Bad actors could soon deploy similar tactics on Telegram and other messaging platforms where influencers engage with their communities.
Therefore, users should remain cautious when downloading software from unverified sources. What appear to be seemingly helpful tools can serve as a gateway for malicious activities. Meanwhile, this discovery comes just a month after Kaspersky exposed another major cybersecurity threat.
“Our experts have discovered a new data-stealing Trojan, SparkCat, active in the App Store and Google Play since at least March 2024. SparkCat leverages machine learning to scan image galleries, stealing cryptocurrency wallet recovery phrases, passwords, and other sensitive data hidden in screenshots,” the firm claimed.
This highlights the growing risks that cryptocurrency investors face. As YouTube influencers become prime targets for cybercriminals, blockchain intelligence platform Arkham has begun tracking their portfolios.
The new feature, dubbed “Key Opinion Leader (KOL) Label,” tracks the wallets of influencers with over 100,000 followers on X. This means investors can monitor whether influencers genuinely back the tokens they promote or if their endorsements are merely paid advertising. This highlights how influencers’ role extends beyond social media.
Blockchain gaming network Immutable is charging ahead after the US SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) closed its investigation into the platform’s native token, IMX, in late March.
Co-founder Robbie Ferguson shared key milestones on X (Twitter), signaling a turning point for the company and the broader Web3 gaming industry.
Immutable’s Ferguson Highlights Network’s Growth
Immutable executive Ferguson revealed that the blockchain-based gaming platform has made commendable strides despite a regulatory clampdown.
“Despite the SEC inquiry, this last year we’ve onboarded 5 million wallet users, partnered with 3 multi-billion dollar companies, and doubled our signed games to 500+. Now the investigations over, so lock in, because we’re only accelerating from here,” Ferguson wrote.
High-profile collaborations with firms such as Tencent and Temasek reinforce the company’s momentum, signaling growing institutional confidence in the Web3 gaming model. Its flagship tools, like Immutable Passport, simplify onboarding for mainstream users, allowing seamless access to decentralized game economies.
According to Ferguson’s post, Immutable’s ecosystem may be on track to become one of the most expansive in the space. With over 500 games now in development or live on its platform, it holds one of the largest libraries of blockchain-enabled titles.
Beyond volume, this growth reflects a shift in how games are built and played. By leveraging NFTs (non-fungible tokens), players gain actual ownership of their in-game assets. This represents a stark departure from major publishers’ traditional walled-garden approach.
Immutable’s Treeverse Season 1 Reward Campaign Starts April 19
A key part of this ecosystem is Treeverse, one of the most anticipated Web3 titles launching on Immutable. Backed by the END token and boosted by additional IMX and MON rewards, the game’s first season emphasizes merit-based progression and asset utility.
“Treeverse officially launched on all stores (iOS, Android & Windows) on March 18th. Almost a month later we are finally launching Season 1, beginning with a 30-day reward campaign…on 19th April [4 PM GST/1 PM BST/12 PM UTC/7 AM CT] Season 1 will commence,” a campaign breakdown on Endless Clouds articulated.
Treeverse rewards genuine engagement with NFT-based multipliers, exclusive gear, and a transparent reward model for real gamers.
“2 days until Treeverse Season 1 launches! – 2.76% of END token supply – Bonus IMX & MON token rewards – Packs, Boosts, and Exclusive Crowns available – Holder multipliers – up to 1.75x for NFTrees. Treeverse rewards real gamers on Immutable,” the network shared in a Thursday post.
Based on Ferguson’s highlights, industry voices are pushing back against the controversial crypto nemesis.
“Saw Gary Gensler’s talk today and how he was talking about 10-15k tokens besides Bitcoin not having fundamental value. When asked what he thinks about SEC charges being dropped, him still trying to go at it like every coin they pressed on had no fundamental value. Was some clown takes,” commented Meta Alchemist.
Alchemist urged builders like Ferguson to keep pushing forward. In the same tone, Jason, CEO and founder of the Genome Protocol, lauded Web3 gaming.
Immutable’s resurgence comes when the Web3 gaming sector is poised for explosive growth. It is projected to expand from $4.6 billion in 2022 to nearly $65.7 billion by 2027.
With its regulatory hurdles cleared and infrastructure battle-tested, Immutable may be poised to go beyond just keeping pace.
Coinbase SOL Updates:- In a good news for the crypto users and investors, Coinbase has announced the much anticipated upgrade in its Solana infrastructure.
These updates are particularly soothing to the users who had faced significant struggles on Coinbase exchange and its wallet during January.
While announcing the upgrades, the exchange said that it has been working very hard to scale its Solana infrastructure since then.
Notably, Solana’s memecoin trading-driven surge has pushed the exchange’s Solana stack to ten times higher than its actual throughout.
What are the new Upgrades in Coinbase Solana Infra?
In early 2025, Coinbase users took to social media to vent our their frustration in the exchange’s long transactions time for Solana.
A user had reportedly said that two transactions from a Solana wallet to coinbase took him more 10 hrs – to get completed.
Now in order to solve this, Coinbase as part of its new updates has shifted to asynchronous transaction handling.
This means that its systems can now process transactions blocks in parallel. Previously, transaction blocks were processed sequentially, which created bottlenecks under heavy load.
According to the largest US exchange’s X post, this will improve its block processing throughput by 5 times.
This change alone is expected to slash wait times for transaction confirmations. This means that high‑volume periods will no longer compromise user experience or liquidity flows.
Coinbase Shifts to Bare‑Metal Machines and Enhance liquidity
In addition to software tweaks, Coinbase has migrated critical components of its Solana stack onto dedicated bare‑metal servers rather than virtualized cloud instances.
Virtual machines (VMs) run on top of something called a hypervisor, which is like a middleman between the software and the actual computer. This middleman uses up some of the computer’s power (CPU and memory), which can slow things down.
But the newly adopted bare-metal servers skip that middleman. According to IBM, they let the software run directly on the hardware, so Coinbase’s systems can use 100% of the server’s power.
In simple terms, this means faster processing, quicker responses from the system, and smoother handling of Solana transactions.
According to the exchange, this shift can deliver roughly a four‑fold improvement in remote procedure call (RPC) speed – allowing faster queries and state reads on the Solana ledger.
Further, Coinbase has also deployed back‑end optimizations to ensure better distribution of SOL liquidity across its order books and custody wallets. Its enhanced monitoring tools would now track on‑chain and off‑chain liquidity metrics.
These “operational changes” would give Coinbase’s operations team finer‑grained oversight to prevent order execution delays and maintain deep, frictionless liquidity for Solana assets.
Further, these updates to the exchange’s Solana ecosystem come as Canada approves and launches first Spot Solana ETFs this week.
Upgrade for Transaction Failures
To bolster resilience, the exchange has also introduced advanced failover augmentations. This will automatically reroute traffic in the event of node failures or network congestion.
The upgrade implements multi‑region redundancy and health‑check protocols that detect performance degradation in real time.
If a node underperforms or becomes unresponsive, traffic would immediately shifts to healthy nodes without manual intervention. This will help in guarding users against partial outages or cascading failures that have previously led to stalled transactions.
Bullish Market Reaction
News of the Coinbase Solana infrastructure improvements has already created ripple effects across the Solana markets.
As of writing, SOL’s price has climbed by 6% to its highest level in April – trading around $136 – today. This has ended up outperforming many top cryptocurrencies – XRP, BTC, ETH – as investors viewed the upgrades as a bullish signal for on‑chain activity and exchange confidence.
Notably, SOL Price is also driven by the Solana ETF approval in Canada.
SOL Price Today | Source: Coingecko
The upgrades become all the more important as Solana’s on‑chain trading continues to grow.
Particularly driven by the memecoin trading volume, its current state stands at over $15 billion in DEX transactions during the past seven days alone. Surprisingly, this has surpassed every other chain in this time frame.
(@Shiba_King1991) 
