News linked to both this project and an event.
On-chain lending platform Votre has raised $3.75 million in seed funding, led by a16z Crypto Startup Accelerator, with participation from MaC Venture Capital, Druid Ventures, and angel investors from Goldman Sachs, Harvard University, and OrangeDAO. Founded in 2025, Votre operates a non-custodial crypto lending platform on Coinbase’s Base Layer 2 network, enabling users to borrow USD—settled the same day—using Bitcoin as collateral, with loan sizes ranging from approximately $25,000 to $5 million. The funds will be used to scale technical infrastructure, increase platform capacity, enhance liquidity management tools, and strengthen risk and compliance systems.
According to DL News, Bitcoin has surged 8% over the past two weeks and is currently trading near $74,000. Max Kahn, CEO of Digital Wealth Partners, noted that Bitcoin’s next upward move hinges on three key factors: first, inflation data driven by energy prices; second, market expectations regarding the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy—should inflation remain under control and market sentiment shift toward dovish expectations, risk assets like Bitcoin would benefit directly; and third, sustained institutional inflows, with Bitcoin ETFs recording $523 million in net inflows in April, continuing the strong performance seen since March.
According to Decrypt, Bitcoin’s price recently approached $75,000, driven by improved risk sentiment and easing geopolitical tensions. Since the Iran conflict erupted on February 28, Bitcoin has surged approximately 13%, outperforming both the S&P 500 Index and gold. Data shows bearish pressure in the options market has eased, with the 25-Delta Skew rebounding from -10% to -4.5%, indicating reduced investor demand for downside protection. Last week, CoinShares data revealed net inflows of $1.1 billion into crypto investment products—the strongest weekly performance so far this year—with U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs accounting for $786 million in net inflows. Analysts note that ETF inflows and strengthening institutional demand have become key drivers behind Bitcoin’s rally. Experts caution that inflation, Federal Reserve policy, and evolving geopolitical developments could influence its future trajectory.
According to Cointelegraph, the UK’s Liberal Democrats have written to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requesting an investigation into Nigel Farage—the leader of Reform UK—and his ties to the bitcoin company Stack BTC. The party questions whether Farage’s appearance in the company’s promotional video, while holding shares in Stack BTC, violates market rules and constitutes a conflict of interest. Stack BTC recently disclosed that it purchased 37 bitcoins—valued at approximately $2.7 million—as corporate reserves; Farage holds a 6.31% stake in Stack BTC through his media company. This incident comes as the UK government advances a proposal to ban cryptocurrency political donations, aiming to prevent external funding from interfering with elections. The FCA stated it will review the letter and respond accordingly.
According to Stocktitan, U.S.-listed Bitcoin treasury company Exodus Movement has filed a lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery, seeking to compel service provider W3C Corp and its CEO Garth Howat to fulfill the share acquisition agreement signed in November 2025 and complete the transaction. Exodus Movement stated that it has already classified its loan to W3C as “immediately payable” and exercised related security rights, expecting the court to issue an order compelling the counterparty to complete the closing as stipulated in the agreement. Previously, on April 8, 2026, Exodus obtained approval from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), removing a key regulatory hurdle for the acquisition. The company said it will accelerate completion of this acquisition by advancing both the litigation and enforcement of its security rights.
According to Fortune, Foundry, a leading Bitcoin mining pool, officially launched a new mining pool for the privacy coin Zcash on April 13. Mike Colyer, CEO of Foundry, stated that this move aims to address growing institutional demand for privacy coins. The pool has already attracted several institutional miners, and its output now accounts for nearly one-third of all newly minted Zcash globally. Zcash implements transaction privacy via zero-knowledge proof technology while supporting selective disclosure to meet regulatory compliance requirements—making it more appealing to institutions than its competitor Monero. Fueled by this news, Zcash’s price has surged over 75% in the past 30 days, with its current market capitalization standing at approximately $6.3 billion. Foundry currently controls about 31% of the global Bitcoin hash rate, making it the world’s largest Bitcoin mining pool operator.
According to QCP Group, U.S.-Iran negotiations collapsed over the weekend, sending oil prices back above $100 per barrel and triggering a broad market shift toward risk aversion. BTC encountered resistance at $74,000, while ETH pulled back from $2,330 to $2,180. Trump subsequently threatened to blockade the Strait of Hormuz to cut off Iranian oil exports; Iran countered with threats targeting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, further widening risk exposure. China, as a major importer of Iranian crude oil, sits at the center of this crisis. Should the blockade be implemented, U.S.-China confrontation risks would rise significantly—a scenario not yet fully priced into markets. Nevertheless, the crypto market has demonstrated notable resilience: implied volatility and risk-reversal indicators have both retreated to pre-conflict levels, signaling waning panic. BlackRock’s IBIT recorded net inflows of $612.1 million over the past week, reflecting continued institutional buying momentum. Market focus has now shifted from geopolitical headlines to execution details: Trump announced the blockade will commence at 10 a.m. ET—yet repeated delays have rendered policy credibility itself a tradable variable.
According to CoinDesk, as market sentiment improves, the Bitcoin options market is undergoing a notable shift: the $80,000 call option on Deribit has become the most actively traded, with open interest exceeding $1.6 billion—surpassing the previously dominant $60,000 put option (which held approximately $1.41 billion in open interest). Analysts suggest that the recent temporary ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran has driven oil prices lower, easing inflation expectations and potentially strengthening market anticipation of Federal Reserve rate cuts—thereby benefiting risk assets including Bitcoin. Additionally, asset management firm 21Shares stated that, against the backdrop of sustained ETF inflows and rising institutional holdings, Bitcoin could potentially reach $100,000 by the end of Q2—if geopolitical tensions ease further and the regulatory environment improves. However, risks remain: the current ceasefire is fragile, and any escalation in Middle Eastern conflict could trigger a rebound in oil prices, dampening market risk appetite and thereby capping Bitcoin’s upside potential.
According to Cointelegraph, blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis released a report stating that stablecoin-adjusted transaction volume is projected to reach $719 trillion by 2035—marking a substantial increase from $28 trillion in 2025. If two major macro catalysts align, this figure could double further to $15 trillion, surpassing the current annual global cross-border payment volume of approximately $10 trillion. The two catalysts are: (1) the transfer of over $100 trillion in wealth from the Baby Boomer generation to younger, crypto-native generations; and (2) stablecoins fully replacing traditional payment rails as the default payment infrastructure. Rachael Lucas, an analyst at Australian crypto exchange BTC Markets, noted that strategic moves—including Stripe’s acquisition of Bridge and Mastercard’s partnership with BVNK—are concrete steps forward. Coupled with regulatory clarity provided by the GENIUS Act, institutional participation is expected to expand significantly.
According to Decrypt, Bitcoin ATM operator Bitcoin Depot filed a disclosure with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealing that it suffered a cybersecurity attack on March 23. Hackers infiltrated the company’s IT systems to obtain credentials for its digital asset settlement account and stole approximately 50.9 BTC—valued at roughly $3.665 million—from the company’s wallet. Following the incident, the company activated its incident response protocol, engaged external cybersecurity experts to conduct an investigation, and notified law enforcement authorities. Bitcoin Depot stated that its customer platform and user data remained unaffected. The company classified this event as a material matter, which may result in reputational damage and additional legal and regulatory costs.