News linked to both this project and an event.
According to GlobeNewswire, cryptocurrency wallet provider Exodus Movement released its April operational data report. After selling over 1,000 BTC from its reserves in Q1 to fund the acquisition of a payment business, the company resumed accumulating BTC, ETH, and SOL in April. Its holdings of all three assets increased compared to the end of March, standing at 629 BTC, 1,872 ETH, and 19,234 SOL. Additionally, Exodus processed $347 million in transactions in April, while its monthly active users remained stable at 1.5 million—nearly unchanged from March.
on-chain detective ZachXBT has exposed US threat actor Dritan Kapllani Jr., alleging his involvement in social engineering thefts targeting crypto users, totaling approximately $19 million.ZachXBT stated that Dritan has long been flaunting luxury cars,名牌 watches, private jets, and nightclub lifestyles on social media. On April 23, 2026, during a "Band 4 Band (B4B)" voice call on Discord, in an attempt to prove he was wealthier than another hacker, he publicly displayed an Exodus wallet containing $3.68 million in assets.The relevant ETH address is: 0x4487db847db2fc99372a985743a26f46e0b2bba6ZachXBT's tracking revealed that this address is linked to a social engineering theft incident on March 14, 2026, involving 185 BTC (approximately $13 million). The following day, Dritan's Exodus wallet received about $5.3 million from that theft. By the time of the B4B call six weeks later, approximately $1.6 million had already been spent or laundered.On May 11, the US Department of Justice unsealed a criminal indictment against Trenton Johnson, charging him with participation in the theft of 185 BTC. He faces a potential maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. The indictment refers to "Co-Conspirator 1 (CC-1)," believed to be Dritan, who has not yet been formally charged.ZachXBT also noted that Dritan is connected to hacker John Daghita (Lick), who was previously arrested for stealing $46 million from the US government. John had previously exposed Dritan's old wallet address on Telegram. On-chain analysis shows that this address is linked to multiple high-confidence social engineering thefts in 2025, with a cumulative total exceeding $5.85 million.ZachXBT stated that Dritan has long been active in the "The Com" hacker circle and had seemingly avoided formal prosecution due to being a minor. Now that he has turned 18, his "borrowed time may finally be over."
According to Cointelegraph, JP Richardson, CEO of Exodus, stated that financial institutions have accelerated their participation in the cryptocurrency market this year—including stablecoin market capitalization reaching an all-time high, Morgan Stanley launching a Bitcoin ETF, Schwab opening a waitlist for spot Bitcoin trading, Franklin Templeton establishing a cryptocurrency division, and Fannie Mae accepting Bitcoin as collateral for loans. Unlike previous cycles, institutional investors have stood out during this bull run, while retail participation has declined sharply. Data from CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost shows that inflows into small accounts holding less than 1 BTC on Binance have hit a record low, with retail activity dropping to its lowest level in nine years. Some retail investors have shifted toward equities and commodities markets. Analysts attribute the absence of retail investors primarily to the cost-of-living crisis and inflationary pressures.