The U.S. Department of Justice is disbanding the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Unit, citing its &#8216;reckless strategy&#8217; in prosecuting crypto firms in the previous administration. According to a recent report by Fortune, a four-page memo issued by U.S. Deputy Attorney General…

U.S. DOJ disbands the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Unit: report

Synthetix’s algorithmic stablecoin sUSD has continued its month-long depeg, 
now trading nearly 21% below its $1 peg. According to CoinGecko’s price data, 
sUSD has dropped to $0.7924 as of Apr. 17, down more than 8% in the past 24 
hours.…

Synthetix’s sUSD stablecoin falls below $0.8 despite peg recovery measures

Billionaire Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Ventures Fund I LP is on track to raise up 
to $180 million by June to back early-stage crypto and blockchain startups, 
with a focus on payments and stablecoins. According to unnamed sources cited 
in an…

Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Ventures Fund on track to raise $180m for crypto startups

A US federal judge agreed to pause a lawsuit filed by 18 state attorney 
generals and the crypto lobby group DeFi Education Fund against the Securities 
and Exchange Commission after all parties said new SEC leadership could make 
the action moot.
Kentucky District Court Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove ordered a 60-day stay on 
the case on April 16, noting a mid-March filing from the SEC that &#8220;this case 
could potentially be resolved&#8221; due to a leadership transition at the 
regulator.
He added that the parties must file a joint status report within 30 days.
Paul Atkins, a Wall Street adviser who has held board positions with crypto 
advocacy groups, was sworn in as the new SEC chair earlier this month, 
replacing acting chair Mark Uyeda and taking over from Gary Gensler.
The 18 attorney generals, all hailing from Republican states, filed the 
lawsuit with the DeFi Education Fund against the securities regulator in 
November, alleging that the SEC exceeded its authority when targeting crypto 
exchanges with lawsuits, accusing the regulator and then-chair Gensler of 
&#8220;gross government overreach.&#8221;
The plaintiffs included attorney generals from Nebraska, Tennessee, Wyoming, 
Kentucky, West Virginia, Iowa, Texas, Mississippi, Ohio, Montana, Indiana, 
Oklahoma and Florida, among others.
&#8220;Without Congressional authorization, the SEC has sought to unilaterally wrest 
regulatory authority away from the States through an ongoing series of 
enforcement actions,&#8221; the lawsuit stated.
_Screenshot from filing ordering pause of proceedings. Source:__CourtListener_
## DeFi groups drop case against IRS over killed broker rule
Meanwhile, the DeFi Education Fund, Blockchain Association, and Texas 
Blockchain Council dropped their lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service 
on April 16.
&#8220;The parties hereby stipulate to voluntary dismissal of this action without 
prejudice because the case has become moot,&#8221; stated the filing.
The lawsuit, filed in December, argued that the so-called IRS DeFi broker rule 
went beyond the agency&#8217;s authority and was unconstitutional.
_**Related:**__**NY attorney general urges Congress to keep pensions crypto- 
free &#8212; &#8216;No intrinsic value&#8217;**_
On April 11, President Donald Trump signed a bill to revoke the rule that 
would have required DeFi protocols to report transactions to the IRS.
It comes as the SEC has paused or dropped several high-profile lawsuits 
against crypto companies this year under its new leadership.
_**Magazine:**__**Illegal arcade disguised as … a fake Bitcoin mine? Soldier 
scams in China: Asia Express**_

US court pauses state AGs' suit against SEC after agency’s leadership change

Ethereum has mirrored Bitcoin’s recent recovery trend, posting a near 10% gain 
over the past week. The asset had previously experienced a sharp correction, 
but its latest rally saw prices climb toward the $1,600 mark. However, the 
momentum has shown signs of slowing in the past 24 hours, with ETH slipping by 
around 4% to trade at $1,574 as of the time of writing. This decline comes 
amid renewed global macroeconomic uncertainty and shifting on-chain activity 
that may influence short-term market dynamics. Related Reading: On The Brink: 
Ethereum Challenges Descending Channel, Targets $3,000 Price Historical 
Patterns and External Macro Impact One of the most recent signals comes from 
an uptick in Ethereum inflows to derivative exchanges. According to Amr Taha, 
a contributor to the CryptoQuant QuickTake platform, more than 77,000 ETH were 
transferred to derivative exchanges on April 16—the largest single-day inflow 
in both March and April. This spike follows similar inflow events on March 26 
and April 3, both of which preceded notable price declines for Ethereum. These 
inflows suggest a possible rise in hedging activity or short positioning by 
traders preparing for additional volatility. Taha&#8217;s analysis emphasizes that 
these inflows are not occurring in isolation. On-chain behavior reveals a 
pattern of significant ETH movements to derivatives markets followed by price 
drops. On March 26, an inflow of approximately 65,000 ETH was followed by a 
sharp decline in price. A similar scenario played out on April 3, leading to 
further weakness. The April 16 inflow of 77,000 ETH now raises questions about 
whether Ethereum may be facing another pullback, especially as it hovers near 
multi-month lows. This market behavior is also being influenced by 
geopolitical tensions. Recent trade actions from China—which include 
retaliatory tariffs on US agricultural and technological goods—have 
contributed to a broader risk-off sentiment in financial markets. Taha notes 
that such macroeconomic shifts often trigger outflows from volatile assets 
like cryptocurrencies, as investors seek safer alternatives such as U.S. 
Treasuries or fiat currencies. Institutional Strategy and Short-Term Outlook 
The consistency of these large-scale inflows to derivatives platforms points 
toward institutional or large-holder strategies, where ETH is likely being 
moved to hedge portfolios or open short positions. While this doesn’t 
necessarily confirm a downward trend, it does reflect heightened caution among 
more experienced market participants. The link between macro factors and on- 
chain behavior highlights how external shocks can influence market sentiment 
and trading patterns. Related Reading: Ethereum Metrics Reveal Critical 
Support Level – Can Buyers Step In? Although Ethereum has shown signs of price 
recovery, the recent spike in derivatives activity and rising geopolitical 
tension add complexity to its short-term outlook. Overall, it is considerable 
to monitor on-chain flows closely, alongside global economic indicators, to 
better understand where ETH might head next. Continued pressure in derivatives 
markets could act as a signal of sustained market uncertainty, even as some 
signs of accumulation emerge. Featured image created with DALL-E, Chart from 
TradingView

77K Ethereum Moved to Derivatives—Is Another Price Crash Looming?

Transaction costs on the Ethereum network have dropped to the lowest level in 
five years as the amount of activity on the blockchain is in a lull, according 
to the onchain analytics platform Santiment.
Ethereum network fees are now around $0.168 per transaction and the reduction 
in fees coincides with fewer people sending Ether (ETH) and interacting with 
smart contracts, Santiment marketing director Brian Quinlivan said in an April 
17 blog post.
&#8220;When many people are using Ethereum, users bid higher fees to get their 
transactions confirmed faster This drives the average costs up,&#8221; Quinlivan 
said.
&#8220;When fewer people are transacting, like we see now, users don&#8217;t need to bid 
much. As a result, the average fee drops,&#8221; he explained. &#8220;It&#8217;s essentially a 
supply and demand system.&#8221;
_Source:__Santiment_
Quinlivan said that, from a trading perspective, low fees can preclude a price 
rebound, Still, he added that traders appear to be patiently waiting for the 
global economic uncertainty to pass before scaling up their usual frequency of 
Ether and altcoin transactions.
Traditional and crypto markets tanked after US President Trump&#8217;s sweeping 
tariffs were announced on April 2. Many assets haven&#8217;t recovered to the same 
level as before their unveiling, despite tariff exemptions and a 90-day pause 
for most countries.
ETH has fallen over 12.5% in the past 14 days and has traded flat over the 
past 24 hours, hovering just under $1,600, according to CoinGecko.
&#8220;We can visibly see the increased sensitivity toward Ethereum discussions and 
tariff/economy news as prices have really threatened long-time support 
levels,&#8221; Quinlivan said.
&#8220;The more the retail community leans away from an asset, especially one with 
still thriving development, the higher the likelihood of an eventual surprise 
rebound with little resistance,&#8221; he added. 
## Pectra upgrade on the way
After delays due to configuration issues and an unknown attacker causing 
headaches during the Holesky and Sepolia testnet activations, the Pectra 
upgrade for the Ethereum network is now scheduled to go live on the mainnet on 
May 7.
Phase one is expected to double the layer-2 blob capacity from three to six, 
reduce transaction fees and network congestion and allow fees to be paid in 
stablecoins like USDC (USDC) and DAI (DAI).
_**Related:**__**Ethereum devs prepare final Pectra test before mainnet 
launch**_
The maximum staking limit will also be increased from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH.
The second phase of Pectra is expected in late 2025 or early 2026 and will 
introduce a new data structure to enhance data storage efficiency and a system 
that improves scalability by enabling nodes to verify transaction data without 
storing the entire data set.
The Pectra fork follows the network&#8217;s Dencun upgrade in March 2024, which 
slashed transaction fees for layer-2 networks and improved the economics of 
Ethereum rollups.
_**Magazine:**__**What are native rollups? Full guide to Ethereum &#8216;s latest 
innovation**_