Aave entered April 2026 as DeFi&#8217;s most trusted lending protocol. It is ending 
the month navigating the most damaging crisis in its history — one that did 
not require a single line of its own code to be broken. Related Reading: 
Ethereum Withdrawals From Exchanges Just Hit An 8-Month Low: Find Out What 
Investors Are Waiting For The attack began at Kelp DAO, where an attacker 
exploited a vulnerability in the rsETH bridge to drain approximately $292 
million in stolen tokens. What followed was not an isolated protocol incident. 
The attacker deposited the stolen rsETH as collateral on Aave V3 and borrowed 
against it. Using fraudulent assets to extract real ones. Because Aave had 
accepted rsETH as legitimate collateral, the protocol had no mechanism to 
reject the deposits in real time. By the time the damage was visible, between 
$170 million and $230 million in bad debt had accumulated inside the system. 
The market&#8217;s response was immediate and severe. Users who had previously 
trusted Aave with their assets moved to withdraw. TVL fell by billions of 
dollars as confidence drained alongside the liquidity. The AAVE token, already 
under pressure from previous contributor departures, collapsed to $93.90. The 
protocol&#8217;s own smart contracts were never compromised. Its reputation, its 
liquidity, and its price were. In DeFi, where trust is the product, the 
distinction between a direct exploit and a collateral-triggered crisis offers 
less comfort than it might appear. Retail Is Selling. Whales Are Watching. The 
Bottom May Be Forming A CryptoQuant report tracking AAVE&#8217;s market structure on 
Binance reveals a picture that tells two different stories depending on which 
participants you are watching. The first story belongs to retail. Exchange 
reserves have surged sharply — a significant increase in AAVE being deposited 
onto Binance. Reflecting holders moving to the sell side at scale. The average 
spot order size has plunged to approximately $80 to $100, confirming that the 
selling activity is dominated by small participants reacting to the crisis 
rather than large holders making strategic decisions. When average order sizes 
collapse to that level, it reflects fear-driven liquidation rather than 
informed distribution. The second story is more nuanced. Amid the flood of 
small sell orders, big whale orders are appearing sporadically in the bottom 
zone — large, deliberate positions being tested at current price levels by 
participants whose behavior is the opposite of the retail panic surrounding 
them. These orders are not consistent or sustained enough to confirm a bottom. 
They are present enough to suggest that informed capital is beginning to 
evaluate the current level as an entry rather than an exit. Liquidity on 
Binance remains thin, which means selling pressure can move price more easily 
than it would in a deeper market. The conditions for a bottom are assembling 
gradually — retail exhaustion visible in the order size data, whale 
positioning visible in the sporadic large orders. Neither signal is definitive 
yet. Together, they describe a market in the early stages of transition from 
crisis to potential recovery. Related Reading: Bitmine Just Crossed $10 
Billion In Staked Ethereum – 88% of Everything It Owns Is Now Locked In AAVE 
Stabilizes After Capitulation, But Trend Remains Fragile AAVE is attempting to 
stabilize around the $90–$100 range following a sharp capitulation phase that 
reset price structure across the chart. The breakdown in February marked a 
decisive loss of trend, with price collapsing through multiple support levels 
and accelerating into a high-volume selloff. That move established the current 
range as a post-crisis consolidation zone rather than a confirmed bottom. 
Since then, price action has shifted into compression. AAVE is trading below 
all major moving averages, with the 50-day acting as immediate resistance and 
the 100-day and 200-day trending downward above it. This alignment reflects a 
market still structurally bearish despite the short-term stabilization. 
Related Reading: XRP Liquidity Just Hit A Five-Year Low: Discover What Happens 
When A Market Gets This Thin The recent bounce attempts have lacked follow- 
through. Sellers reject each push toward the $105–$110 region, keeping supply 
active on rallies. At the same time, buyers absorb the downside near the 
$85–$90 zone, stepping in more consistently. This creates a tightening range, 
typically a precursor to expansion. Volume behavior supports this 
interpretation. The capitulation spike has not been matched by equivalent 
buying pressure, indicating that accumulation, if present, is gradual and not 
aggressive. A break above $110 would be the first meaningful shift in 
structure. Until then, AAVE remains in a fragile equilibrium. Featured image 
from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com

Retail Capitulation Hits AAVE, But Smart Money Starts Positioning: Here The Post-Crisis Market Structure

Kraken has launched regulated crypto spot margin trading for eligible U.S. 
users on Kraken Pro, offering up to 10x leverage without accredited investor 
status. The service runs through Kraken Derivatives US and includes collateral 
controls, liquidation levels, and risk disclosures. Kraken Expands Regulated 
Trading Access Crypto exchange Kraken has expanded its U.S. trading offering 
by […]

Kraken Launches US Spot Margin Trading With up to 10x Leverage

Bitcoin price started a fresh increase and cleared the $81,200 zone. BTC is 
consolidating and might aim for more gains above the $82,500 level. Bitcoin 
managed to stay above $80,200 and started a fresh increase. The price is 
trading above $80,800 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. There is a 
bullish trend line forming with support at $80,850 on the hourly chart of the 
BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken). The pair might extend gains if it stays 
above the $80,200 and $80,000 levels. Bitcoin Price Climbs Further Bitcoin 
price found support near $79,200 and started a fresh increase. BTC gained pace 
for a move above the $79,800 and $80,000 resistance levels. The bulls even 
pushed the price above $81,500. A high was formed at $82,790, and the price 
started a consolidation phase. There was a minor decline below the 23.6% Fib 
retracement level of the upward move from the $74,940 swing low to the $82,790 
high. Bitcoin is now trading above $80,500 and the 100 hourly simple moving 
average. There is also a bullish trend line forming with support at $80,850 on 
the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. If the price remains stable above 
$81,500, it could attempt a fresh increase. Immediate resistance is near the 
$82,000 level. The first key resistance is near the $82,750 level. A close 
above the $82,750 resistance might send the price further higher. In the 
stated case, the price could rise and test the $83,500 resistance. Any more 
gains might send the price toward the $84,200 level. The next barrier for the 
bulls could be $85,000. Downside Correction In BTC? If Bitcoin fails to rise 
above the $82,000 resistance zone, it could start another decline. Immediate 
support is near the $80,800 level and the trend line. The first major support 
is near the $80,200 level. The next support is now near the $78,850 zone and 
the 50% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $74,940 swing low to 
the $82,790 high. Any more losses might send the price toward the $77,850 
support in the near term. The main support now sits at $76,500, below which 
BTC might struggle to recover in the near term. Technical indicators: Hourly 
MACD – The MACD is now losing pace in the bullish zone. Hourly RSI (Relative 
Strength Index) – The RSI for BTC/USD is now above the 50 level. Major Support 
Levels – $80,800, followed by $80,000. Major Resistance Levels – $82,000 and 
$82,500.

Bitcoin Price Gains Fade After Strong Rally Push Sparks Profit-Taking

A cryptocurrency analyst has pointed out how XRP could see a breakout from a 
Symmetrical Triangle if it manages to close above $1.45. XRP Has Potentially 
Been Trading Inside A Symmetrical Triangle In a new post on X, analyst Ali 
Martinez has discussed a pattern that&#8217;s possibly forming in the daily chart of 
XRP. The pattern in question is a Symmetrical Triangle from technical analysis 
(TA), which is a type of triangular consolidation channel. It involves two 
converging trendlines: an upper resistance barrier and a lower support 
cushion. Related Reading: Bitcoin Breaks $80,000, But On-Chain Activity 
Signals A Silent Warning The main feature of a Symmetrical Triangle is that 
the two trendlines approach each other at a roughly equal and opposite slope. 
Thus, as the asset trades inside such a channel, its shrinks to a midpoint. 
Like other consolidation patterns in TA, one of the trendlines not holding up 
can imply a continuation of trend in that direction. This means that a surge 
above the resistance level can be a bullish signal, while a fall under support 
a bearish one. Since the Symmetrical Triangle involves trendlines converging 
at the same angle, it doesn&#8217;t have a bias in either direction. This suggests 
that a breakout from the pattern may be equally probable up and down. The 
Symmetrical Triangle isn&#8217;t the only triangle pattern that exists in TA. Other 
popular types include the Ascending and Descending variations. In the former, 
the upper trendline is parallel to the time-axis, while in the latter, the 
bottom level is flat instead. Now, here is the chart shared by Martinez that 
shows the Symmetrical Triangle that the 1-day price of XRP has been trading 
inside over the last few months: As displayed in the above graph, the daily 
XRP price has already made multiple retests of both the upper and lower 
trendlines of this Symmetrical Triangle, but so far, it hasn&#8217;t been able to 
find any break. Recently, the cryptocurrency has been surging, so it&#8217;s 
possible that the next retest could be of the upper level. If the asset 
manages to break past resistance this time, it could naturally indicate the 
continuation of a bullish trend. Based on the height of the triangle, the 
analyst has noted that a close above the $1.45 resistance mark could open the 
door to $1.80 for the coin. From the current exchange rate, a run to this 
level would mean an increase of more than 26%. Related Reading: Dogecoin Sees 
Big-Money Interest: Whales Load Up On 160M DOGE From the chart, it&#8217;s visible 
that XRP is currently nearing in on the apex of the triangle. In this region, 
the range becomes so tight that retests turn more frequent, which also makes a 
breakout more likely to occur. Given this, it now remains to be seen when the 
asset will escape the triangle and in what direction. BTC Price At the time of 
writing, XRP is floating around $1.426, up 3.7% in the last seven days. 
Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView.com

XRP Nears Triangle Apex—Will A Breakout To $1.80 Follow?

Cardone&#8217;s Bitcoin-real estate model may reshape investment strategies, 
attracting new crypto investors and challenging traditional REITs&#8217; dominance.
The post Grant Cardone adds $100 million in Bitcoin to real estate deal, 
targeting 32% returns appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Grant Cardone adds $100 million in Bitcoin to real estate deal, targeting 32% returns

A multistate coalition told the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that 
sports-related prediction markets should remain under state gambling 
oversight, arguing the contracts function as wagers rather than financial 
derivatives. The attorneys general said these products closely resemble 
traditional sportsbook wagers on winners, spreads, totals, and player 
statistics. States Say Sports Markets Belong Under Gambling Oversight […]

Retail Capitulation Hits AAVE, But Smart Money Starts Positioning: Here The Post-Crisis Market Structure

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