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Bitcoin is a matter of national security — Deputy CIA director
The US Central Intelligence Agency is increasingly incorporating Bitcoin as a tool in its operations, and working with the cryptocurrency is a matter of national security, Michael Ellis, the agency’s deputy director, told podcast host Anthony Pompliano.
In an appearance on the market analyst and investor’s The Pomp Podcast show, Ellis told Pompliano that the intelligence agency works with law enforcement to track BTC, and it is a point of data collection in counter-intelligence operations. Ellis added:
“Bitcoin is here to stay — cryptocurrency is here to stay. As you know, more and more institutions are adopting it, and I think that is a great trend. One that this administration has obviously been leaning forward into.”
Kraken tells how it spotted North Korean hacker in job interview
US crypto exchange Kraken has detailed a North Korean hacker’s attempt to infiltrate the organization by applying for a job interview.
“What started as a routine hiring process for an engineering role quickly turned into an intelligence-gathering operation,” the company wrote in a May 1 blog post.
Kraken said the applicant’s red flags appeared early on in the process when they joined an interview under a name different from what they applied with and “occasionally switched between voices,” apparently being guided through the interview.
Rather than immediately rejecting the applicant, Kraken decided to advance them through its hiring process to gather information about the tactics used.
EU to ban anonymous crypto accounts and privacy coins by 2027
The European Union is set to impose sweeping Anti-Money Laundering (AML) rules that will ban privacy-preserving tokens and anonymous cryptocurrency accounts from 2027.
Under the new Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR), credit institutions, financial institutions and crypto asset service providers (CASPs) will be prohibited from maintaining anonymous accounts or handling privacy-preserving cryptocurrencies, such as Monero and Zcash.
“Article 79 of the AMLR establishes strict prohibitions on anonymous accounts […]. Credit institutions, financial institutions, and crypto-asset service providers are prohibited from maintaining anonymous accounts,” according to the AML Handbook, published by the European Crypto Initiative.
Ether more ‘like a memecoin,’ says trading firm as ETH drops 45% YTD
As Ether’s price has struggled in the first quarter of 2025, a US-based investment adviser firm, Two Prime, has dropped support for ETH and adopted a Bitcoin-only strategy.
After lending $1.5 billion in loans both in Bitcoin and Ether over the past 15 months, Two Prime decided to ditch ETH to focus solely on BTC asset management and lending, the firm announced on May 1.
“ETH’s statistical trading behavior, value proposition, and community culture have failed beyond a point that is worth engaging,” Two Prime stated.
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The firm’s shift to a Bitcoin-only approach comes as ETH has lost 45% of its value year-to-date, with some optimists speculating that ETH is potentially close to the bottom and reversing its negative trend soon.
Movement Labs suspends co-founder following MOVE market turmoil
Movement Labs confirmed the suspension of its co-founder, Rushi Manche, following controversies over a market maker deal that he brokered.
Movement announced the suspension of Manche in a May 2 X post, explaining that the “decision was made in light of ongoing events.” The decision follows Coinbase’s recent decision to suspend the Movement Network (MOVE) trading, citing the token’s failure to meet its listing standards.
The suspension came after a recently announced third-party review requested by the Movement Network Foundation into an agreement orchestrated by Manche with Rentech — the latter helped broker an agreement with market maker Web3Port. Private intelligence firm Groom Lake is conducting the investigation.
Winners and Losers
At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $96,615, Ether (ETH) at $1,835 and XRP at $2.20. The total market cap is at $3.01 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.
Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL) at 83.35%, Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) at 33.75% and Monero (XMR) at 22.99%.
The top three altcoin losers of the week are Ethena (ENA) at 17.56%, Bitcoin SV (BSV) at 15.40% and Optimism (OP) at 14.12%. For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.
Most Memorable Quotations
“Our in-house prediction is $1 million by 2029. So that Bitcoin will match gold’s market cap and total addressable market by 2029.”
André Dragosch, director and head of European research at Bitwise
“This is what I would like to see if Bitcoin can follow through today. A nice big squeeze into the low 100Ks.”
AlphaBTC, crypto analyst
“I think freedom of money is important, but to have freedom of money, you have to have freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is kind of the bottom line. If you don’t have that, nothing — no other freedom — works.”
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, former CEO of Binance
“I decided to not apply to the MiCA license because I need to protect the 400 million+ users that we have around the world. They are not as lucky as Europeans.”
Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether
“I’m telling you, if the banks don’t watch what’s coming, they’re going to be extinct in 10 years.”
Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization
“Irrespective of who gets in, we’re in a better position than we were about a year ago.”
Amy-Rose Goodey, CEO of the Digital Economy Council of Australia
Prediction of the Week
Bitcoin to $1M by 2029 fueled by ETF and gov’t demand — Bitwise exec
Bitcoin’s expanding institutional adoption may provide the “structural” inflows necessary to surpass gold’s market capitalization and push its price beyond $1 million by 2029, according to Bitwise’s head of European research, André Dragosch.
“Our in-house prediction is $1 million by 2029. So that Bitcoin will match gold’s market cap and total addressable market by 2029,” he told Cointelegraph during the Chain Reaction daily X spaces show on April 30.
Gold is currently the world’s largest asset, valued at over $21.7 trillion. In comparison, Bitcoin’s market capitalization sits at $1.9 trillion, making it the seventh-largest asset globally, according to CompaniesMarketCap data.
FUD of the Week
US Treasury wants to cut off Huione over ties to crypto crime
The US Treasury Department is seeking to bar the Cambodia-based Huione Group from accessing the American banking system, accusing the company of helping North Korea’s state-sponsored Lazarus Group launder cryptocurrency.
The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) proposed on May 1 to prohibit US financial institutions from opening or maintaining correspondent or payable-through accounts for or on behalf of the Huione Group.
Read also
Huione Group has established itself as the “marketplace of choice for malicious cyber actors” like the Lazarus Group, who have “stolen billions of dollars from everyday Americans,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a May 1 statement.
Pro-crypto senator pushes back on Trump’s memecoin dinner — Report
Senator Cynthia Lummis and at least one other Republican in Congress are reportedly critical of US President Donald Trump for offering the top holders of his memecoin a dinner and White House tour.
According to a May 2 CNBC report, Lummis said the idea that the US president was offering exclusive access to himself and the White House for people willing to pay for it “gives [her] pause.” She wasn’t the only member of the Republican Party to be critical of Trump’s memecoin perks, announced on April 23, roughly three months after the then-president-elect launched the TRUMP token.
“I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to charge people to come into the Capitol and take a tour,” said Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, according to NBC News.
UK regulator moves to restrict borrowing for crypto investments
The United Kingdom’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), plans to stop retail investors from borrowing money to fund their crypto investments.
According to a May 2 Financial Times report, the ban on borrowing to fund crypto purchases is one of the upcoming crypto rules by the FCA. David Geale, FCA executive director of payments and digital finance, told the FT that “crypto is an area of potential growth for the UK, but it has to be done right.” He added:
“To do that we have to provide an appropriate level of protection.”
Top Magazine Stories of The Week
Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight
If you can’t beat them, join them. Crypto firms are becoming banks, or bank-like, to comply with stablecoin laws in the US, EU and Hong Kong.
Japanese porn star’s coin red flags, Alibaba-linked L2 runs at 100K TPS: Asia Express
JAV porn star Yua Mikami’s Solana memecoin targets Chinese investors, Alibaba subsidiary Ant Digital launches Ethereum layer 2 to join RWA race, and more.
ZK-proofs are bringing smart contracts to Bitcoin — BitcoinOS and Starknet
Almost $2 trillion worth of Bitcoin could be used natively in DeFi if Starknet and BitcoinOS successfully add smart contract functionality via ZK-proofs.
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Cointelegraph Magazine writers and reporters contributed to this article.
