A local news outlet reports that two individuals tied to a South American theft ring were apprehended in Los Angeles after allegedly stealing $4 million in goods, including $2.7 million worth of application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) bitcoin miners. From Tequila to Bitcoin Mining Rigs: LAPD Unravels Multi-Million Dollar Heist The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) […]

LAX Cargo Theft Unveiled: LAPD Catches Suspects Behind $2.7M in Stolen Bitcoin Miners

Bitcoin should be valued as “an uncorrelated asset that benefits when the 
world gets messier,” BlackRock’s US Head of Equity ETFs Jay Jacobs told CNBC 
in an interview on Thursday. “Crypto over the long run is decoupled from US 
tech stocks,” Jacobs said, stressing that short-term market stress can mask 
the difference but that “the long-term correlation between US stocks and 
Bitcoin is more like two or three percent.” He argued that what pushes 
equities higher—“higher growth, higher certainty, lower geopolitical risk”—is 
the mirror image of the forces that move Bitcoin. “Bitcoin thrives when you 
have more uncertainty and are looking for something that’s going to behave 
differently, so fundamentally they should behave like an uncorrelated asset.” 
BTC was changing hands just under $94,000 during Jacobs’ appearance, extending 
a rally that has added roughly 150% since spot-ETF approvals early last year. 
Bitcoin Rises Because Of &#8216;Mega-Forces” Jacobs tied price behaviour directly to 
flows. “We would think over the long term, if this trajectory of greater 
uncertainty around the world continues, things like gold and Bitcoin should 
continue to go up.” He noted that investors are repositioning accordingly: 
“We’ve seen significant inflows into gold ETFs; we’ve seen significant inflows 
into Bitcoin, and this is all because people are looking for those assets that 
will behave differently.” Related Reading: Bitcoin Reclaims Key Levels – New 
ATHs May Be Closer Than Expected The biggest beneficiary has been BlackRock’s 
own iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which on 23 April absorbed $643 million of 
net creations—its largest one-day haul since January—lifting the fund’s assets 
to roughly $54 billion. Jacobs framed the rush into hard assets as part of a 
longer geopolitical realignment. “If you look at central banks around the 
world, a continued movement towards diversification beyond just holding 
dollars is something that’s been happening for decades… the switch from just 
holding dollars to holding gold to looking at other types of assets like 
Bitcoin is a trend that’s been years in the making.” Central-bank gold 
purchases illustrate the shift: net buying topped 1,044 tonnes in 2024, the 
third consecutive year above the thousand-tonne mark, double the average of 
the previous decade. He linked those reserve moves to BlackRock’s 2023 “mega- 
forces” framework, which identified geopolitical fragmentation as a secular 
driver of returns. “That mega force is materialising in policies like 
reshoring in the United States and, I think, directly related to that 
fragmentation has been the rise of things like Bitcoin, as people see more 
destabilisation in geopolitics resulting in the need for more alternative 
assets.” Related Reading: Déjà Boom—Arthur Hayes Says Bitcoin’s 2022 Rally 
Setup Is Back BlackRock’s influence is difficult to overstate: the firm ended 
the first quarter with a record $11.6 trillion under management. By pairing 
that scale with a public thesis that Bitcoin’s fair price rises as uncertainty 
deepens, the asset-manager is effectively codifying a valuation model in which 
scarcity and sanction-resistance—not discounted cash flows—set the marginal 
price. As Jacobs put it, the market is “looking for alternatives—parts of the 
portfolio that are going to behave separately from stocks and bonds.” With 
IBIT now swallowing more BTC each day than miners can produce post-halving, 
his remarks may offer the clearest blueprint yet for how the world’s largest 
asset manager thinks about pricing the world’s largest cryptocurrency. At 
press time, BTC traded at $94,510. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart 
from TradingView.com

How To Price Bitcoin? BlackRock Exec Explains

A $198 million crypto fraud empire disguised as AI trading has been unraveled, 
exposing a luxury-fueled Ponzi scheme that spanned the globe. AI Autotrader or 
Smoke and Mirrors? The SEC Exposes What PGI Really Was The U.S. Securities and 
Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on April 22 that it has charged Ramil 
Palafox, founder of PGI […]

$198M Crypto Mirage? SEC Targets AI Trading Kingpin in Global Ponzi Uprising

Justin Sun, the founder of the Tron blockchain, predicts that Ethereum&#8217;s price 
will surge to $5,000 in the next few months. His prediction is made as 
Ethereum gears up to celebrate its 10th anniversary in July 2025. Related 
Reading: Ethereum ‘Heating Up’ – Address Activity Jumps Nearly 10% In 2 Days 
Price Prediction Sets Community Afloat The daring forecast has made waves in 
cryptocurrency communities, particularly because Ethereum is currently priced 
under $2,000. Based on figures by Coingecko, the second-largest cryptocurrency 
is valued at around $1,789. Sun posted his opinion on X (formerly Twitter), 
observing a personal connection to the launch date of Ethereum. His birthday 
is July 30, the same day Ethereum launched in 2015. The founder of Tron 
leveraged this moment to collaborate with the Ethereum Foundation in 
advertising the upcoming birthday celebrations. His $5,000 price target is 
almost a 200% hike from levels now. Ethereum shares the same birthday as 
me—this date is truly meaningful. I suggest a 10x increase—let’s commemorate 
it together at $5,000! https://t.co/o8Ci30xbhH — H.E. Justin Sun 🍌 
(@justinsuntron) April 24, 2025 Foundation Plans Global Birthday Events 
According to reports by the Ethereum Foundation, the 10-year anniversary will 
have global birthday parties of all sizes. Organizations and individuals can 
plan local events to participate in the celebration. To assist in making these 
events occur, the Foundation&#8217;s Ecosystem Support Program will reimburse up to 
$500 in costs per event. Applicants must apply by June 15, 2025. The 
Foundation hopes to establish a &#8220;global holiday&#8221; environment around the 
anniversary, with community involvement from various countries and regions. 
Sun&#8217;s Four-Step Plan For Ethereum Growth Sun didn&#8217;t leave it there at 
projections &#8211; he mapped out a concrete plan he is convinced would get Ethereum 
to the $5,000 level in no time: 1. The Ethereum Foundation should refrain from 
selling ETH for a minimum of three years to curb supply and promote holding. 
2. Instead of token sales, the Foundation might employ lending and staking 
platforms such as AAVE to finance operations. 3. The Foundation must 
rationalize its team, retaining only the best developers and compensating them 
at better rates to enhance output quality. 4. Development should be aimed at 
enhancing the core Layer 1 network instead of diluting resources over so many 
side projects. Image: Cryptonary Ethereum Faces Challenges Despite Success 
Even though it hosts thousands of decentralized applications and popularized 
smart contracts globally, Ethereum is still struggling with various issues. It 
is commonly complained about by users, including exorbitant gas charges, 
sluggish transaction speeds, and poor scalability. Related Reading: XRP Price 
Prognosis: Analyst Sees $14 In Spite Of Current Troubles Meanwhile, an upgrade 
dubbed &#8220;Pectra&#8221; is set to happen in May 2025 that may solve some of these 
problems. The upgrade is said to reduce transaction fees and enhance contract 
enforcement throughout the network. Sun&#8217;s support for Ethereum stands out 
because he leads Tron, often viewed as a competing blockchain. Despite this 
apparent rivalry, he maintains ETH holdings and regularly praises Ethereum&#8217;s 
progress. The market&#8217;s response to Sun&#8217;s optimistic outlook remains to be 
seen, as Ethereum would need significant momentum to reach the predicted 
$5,000 level from its current price point. Featured image from Ethereum 
Foundation Blog, chart from TradingView

Ethereum To Hit $5k Before Its 10th Birthday, Justin Sun Says

The debut of the XRP spot ETF in Brazil could accelerate global crypto ETF 
adoption, potentially attracting significant institutional investment.
The post World&#8217;s first XRP spot ETF debuts on Brazil’s main stock exchange 
appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

World’s first XRP spot ETF debuts on Brazil’s main stock exchange

Binance is elevating crypto standards with a bold listing and delisting 
framework, driving transparency, project quality, and ecosystem integrity. 
Binance Publishes Listing and Delisting Processes to Elevate Crypto Standards 
Crypto exchange Binance published on April 25 a comprehensive outline of its 
listing and delisting processes, aiming to bring greater clarity to project 
teams and the […]