As mentioned in last week’s forecast of XAUUSD, gold continued its bearish pattern and broke into the 3200s zone. With global tensions, especially the tariff situation easing out, investors were seen shifting their interest from safe-haven assets and shifting to…

XAUUSD weekly forecast: $3200s acting as support, a pump back to $3500 soon?

The troubled Nigerian digital asset platform Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX) 
recently announced new withdrawal options in an effort to restore investor 
confidence. Sources revealed that the company made this announcement after 
facing claims of collapse. Under the new rules, investors with up to $1,000 in 
the platform must pay a $100 fee to withdraw 50% […]

‘Quick-Money’ Nigerian Crypto Platform’s Withdrawal Plan Met With Suspicion

Bitcoin’s recent recovery has encountered resistance as the asset remains 
range-bound between $93,000 and $97,000. After briefly climbing late last 
month, Bitcoin has struggled to maintain upward momentum since then. At the 
time of writing, BTC is trading at approximately $94,305, reflecting a modest 
1.3% decline over the past day. While price action has slowed, activity on the 
backend of the market suggests underlying shifts in investor behavior. New on- 
chain data points to a significant decrease in Bitcoin reserves held on 
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. 
Related Reading: Bitcoin ATH Incoming? Analyst Flags Indicators That Preceded 
Every Major BTC Rally One of CryptoQuant’s contributors, Amr Taha, highlighted 
the development in a recent QuickTake post, signaling that over 51,000 BTC 
have been withdrawn from Binance wallets since mid-April. This drop from 
roughly 595,000 BTC to around 544,500 BTC could indicate a recalibration in 
investor strategy, with growing interest in long-term holding or redeployment 
of assets outside centralized platforms. What’s Driving the Bitcoin Outflows 
from Binance? According to Taha, multiple factors may be contributing to this 
steep decline in exchange-held reserves. One explanation involves 
institutional investors and long-term holders moving their Bitcoin into cold 
storage. This off-exchange behavior is typically interpreted as a signal of 
longer-term conviction, as these participants seek to secure assets while 
reducing the likelihood of short-term selling. Given the rise of custodial 
solutions and more institutional-grade wallets, this trend may reflect 
maturing market behavior. Another key factor could be the increasing use of 
Bitcoin within decentralized finance (DeFi) and cross-platform arbitrage 
strategies. Taha noted that entities may be withdrawing BTC to access yield 
opportunities or deploy capital in other blockchain ecosystems. Additionally, 
the recent positive flows into Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs), 
especially between April 21 and May 1, where daily net inflows crossed the $2 
billion mark on several occasions, may have encouraged larger players to 
accumulate and withdraw Bitcoin in anticipation of further price appreciation. 
Exchange Reserve Trends Offer Signals Amid Price Consolidation Though 
Bitcoin’s price has remained largely stagnant over the past week, the shift in 
exchange reserve data could carry significant implications for future price 
action. Historically, a decrease in exchange reserves, particularly from major 
venues like Binance, has been associated with supply tightening. As fewer 
coins are readily available for sale, reduced liquidity can amplify the impact 
of incoming demand, especially in bullish phases. Taha emphasized that while 
short-term market performance may appear indecisive, tracking reserve metrics 
offers important clues about underlying sentiment. Related Reading: Bitcoin 
Price Trading Within Dense Supply Cluster — What Lies Beyond $100K? A 
consistent drawdown of BTC from exchange platforms often sets the stage for 
renewed price movement, especially when accompanied by institutional 
accumulation and long-term holding behavior. If these patterns persist, they 
may contribute to reduced sell-side pressure, enabling Bitcoin to challenge 
its next resistance zones, including the psychological $100,000 level. 
Featured image created with DALL-E, Chart from TradingView

On-Chain Data Shows Over 51,000 Bitcoin Withdrawn From Binance Since Mid-April

Ethereum price started a downside correction below the $1,850 zone. ETH is now 
consolidating and might drop further below the $1,785 support zone. Ethereum 
started a fresh decline below the $1,850 and $1,820 levels. The price is 
trading below $1,800 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. There is a key 
bearish trend line forming with resistance at $1,830 on the hourly chart of 
ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken). The pair could continue to move down if it 
breaks the $1,785 support level. Ethereum Price Struggles To Clear Resistance 
Ethereum price failed to clear the $1,880 resistance and started a downside 
correction, like Bitcoin. ETH declined below the $1,850 and $1,820 support 
levels. There was a move below the 50% Fib retracement level of the upward 
move from the $1,734 swing low to the $1,872 high. The bears even pushed the 
price below the $1,800 level, but the price found support near the $1,785 
support level. Ethereum price is now trading below $1,800 and the 100-hourly 
Simple Moving Average. There is also a key bearish trend line forming with 
resistance at $1,830 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. On the upside, the price 
seems to be facing hurdles near the $1,820 level. The next key resistance is 
near the $1,830 level and the trend line. The first major resistance is near 
the $1,880 level. A clear move above the $1,880 resistance might send the 
price toward the $1,920 resistance. An upside break above the $1,920 
resistance might call for more gains in the coming sessions. In the stated 
case, Ether could rise toward the $2,000 resistance zone or even $2,050 in the 
near term. More Losses In ETH? If Ethereum fails to clear the $1,830 
resistance, it could start a fresh decline. Initial support on the downside is 
near the $1,785 level and the 61.8% Fib retracement level of the upward move 
from the $1,734 swing low to the $1,872 high. The first major support sits 
near the $1,750 zone. A clear move below the $1,750 support might push the 
price toward the $1,720 support. Any more losses might send the price toward 
the $1,685 support level in the near term. The next key support sits at 
$1,640. Technical Indicators Hourly MACD – The MACD for ETH/USD is gaining 
momentum in the bearish zone. Hourly RSI &#8211; The RSI for ETH/USD is now below 
the 50 zone. Major Support Level – $1,765 Major Resistance Level – $1,830

Ethereum Price at Risk of Extended Decline as Bears Regain Control

A hacker who took over the Tron DAO X account is estimated to have made around 
$45,000 in improperly solicited funds, according to a spokesperson from Tron.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, the Tron public relations team confirmed that on 
May 2, the Tron DAO account posted a contract address and sent direct messages 
to solicit payments in exchange for promotional advertising on the Tron 
account.
&#8220;Our security team quickly identified the intrusion and cut off access to the 
hacker, but we ask the community to continue to be vigilant. We will never ask 
anyone for payments like this via DM or otherwise,&#8221; they said.
The team said that based on the illicit contract address the hacker posted, 
the amount improperly solicited appeared to be around $45,000.
Asked whether the same hacker could be responsible for the supposed New York 
Post&#8217;s X account hack on May 3, the Tron team told Cointelegraph that there 
&#8220;appear to be some similarities&#8221; between the two security incidents; however, 
they also cautioned that the investigation is ongoing and &#8220;any definitive 
connection would be premature.&#8221;
After regaining access, Tron DAO said in a May 2 X update that they suspect 
the hack resulted from a team member being &#8220;targeted in a malicious social 
engineering attack, which led to their account being compromised.&#8221;
_Source:__Tron DAO_
&#8220;Even after the perpetrator was logged out and our access restored, they 
continued contacting others, offering posts from our main account in exchange 
for payment,&#8221; Tron DAO said.
The Tron team is still investigating and says they are in contact with law 
enforcement. Tron founder Justin Sun also accused crypto exchange OKX of 
failing to act on a law enforcement request to freeze stolen funds connected 
to the attack.
OKX founder and CEO Star Xu has publicly denied the allegation, and Sun has 
removed the original post with the accusation. 
## Curve Finance joins list of X account hacks
Decentralized lending protocol Curve Finance also recently suffered an X 
account takeover by a bad actor, adding to the growing list of high-profile 
firms and individuals &#8220;silently&#8221; accessed by social media hackers.
In a now-deleted May 5 X post, a scammer posing as Curve Finance shared a link 
to a CRV airdrop with a weeklong registration period, which some eagle-eyed X 
users quickly suspected could be fraudulent.
Curve Finance founder Michael Egorov confirmed in a reply to analyst CrediBULL 
Crypto that it was a bad actor posting sham links so far, &#8220;No other account 
appears to be hacked &#8212; the control over X account was just silently taken by 
someone.&#8221;
_Source:__CrediBULL Crypto_
The Curve Finance team has since regained access with the help of a team that 
included the cybersecurity group SEAL, and found that aside from posting scam 
links, the hacker also blocked some users who flagged the account takeover, 
including CrediBULL Crypto.
The cause of the hack has yet to be shared publicly, but in response to a 
user&#8217;s query, the Curve finance team said it&#8217;s still &#8220;unclear how account&#8221; 
access was taken, and there was &#8220;No sign of any client-side compromise.&#8221;
_Source:__Curve Finance_
## Other high-profile X account hacks
A slew of other high-profile X accounts have also been taken over by bad 
actors this year. On April 15, a member of the UK&#8217;s Parliament, Lucy Powell, 
had her account taken over to promote a scam crypto token called the House of 
Commons Coin (HOC).
Crypto data aggregator Kaito AI and its founder, Yu Hu, were the victims of an 
X social media hack on March 15, when scammers posted that the Kaito wallets 
were compromised and users&#8217; funds were at risk.
_**Related:**__**Breaking Bad star &#8216;s X account hacked for memecoin scheme**_
Meanwhile, Pump.fun&#8217;s X account was also hacked on Feb. 26 and promoted 
several fake tokens, including a fraudulent governance token for the platform 
called Pump.
_**Magazine:**__**Bitcoin to $1M &#8216;by 2029,&#8217; CIA tips its hat to Bitcoin: 
Hodler&#8217;s Digest, April 27 &#8211; May 3**_

Tron says DAO X hack cost victims $45K, Curve Finance also hit

The Tron network has drawn closer to regaining the lead from Ethereum in 
Tether circulation after another big mint by the US stablecoin issuer.
On May 5, Tether minted another $1 billion Tether (USDT) on the Tron network, 
according to Arkham Intelligence. This brings the total USDT on Tron to $71.4 
billion, according to the Tether Transparency report.
In comparison, there is currently $72.8 billion USDT circulating on the 
Ethereum network, so just $1.4 billion more USDT on Tron will see it become 
the leading network for the world&#8217;s largest stablecoin issuer, as it has been 
previously over the last two years.
Tron was ahead of Ethereum for USDT circulation between July 2022 and November 
2024, but a large $18 billion mint on Ethereum pushed the network ahead again, 
according to CryptoQuant.
The third-largest network for USDT is Solana, which has $1.9 billion 
circulating, and there are smaller amounts on Ton, Avalanche, Aptos, Near, 
Celo and Cosmos.
_USDT circulation on Ethereum and Tron. Source:__CryptoQuant_
Tether&#8217;s total circulation is currently at a record high of $149.4 billion 
USDT, having increased by 8.6% since the beginning of this year. This gives 
the firm a commanding stablecoin market share of 61%, according to CoinGecko.
_**Related:**__**Tether AI platform to support Bitcoin and USDT payments, CEO 
says**_
Its closest competitor, Circle, has a market share of 25% with almost $62 
billion USDC (USDC) in circulation.
Stablecoin issuance has surged over the past six months, and they currently 
represent 8% of the total crypto market capitalization.
In a report in late April, the United States Treasury Department predicted 
that the stablecoin market could reach $2 trillion by 2028 if regulatory 
clarity is achieved.
## Stablecoin legislation nearing next vote
It is widely believed that two key pieces of legislation need to be passed 
into law in the US to cement the position of stablecoins.
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) 
Act sets out clear definitions for &#8220;payment stablecoins&#8221; and reserve rules for 
stablecoin issuers.
Lawmakers in the US Senate will move forward with a vote on the GENIUS 
stablecoin bill before May 26, according to reports.
Meanwhile, the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger 
Economy (STABLE) Act, which governs the approval and supervision of &#8220;federally 
qualified nonbank payment stablecoin issuers,&#8221; is also going through Congress.
Tether is also planning to launch a US-based stablecoin later this year, with 
timing dependent on the passing of legislation. 
_**Magazine:**__**Bitcoin to $1M &#8216;by 2029,&#8217; CIA tips its hat to Bitcoin: 
Hodler&#8217;s Digest**_