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- Congress Moves Forward While $2B Disappears and Whales Double Down
Congress Moves Forward While $2B Disappears and Whales Double Down
Policy clarity inches closer as security threats rise and big money tightens control.
Washington just moved closer to defining how crypto works in the US, North Korea-linked hackers pulled in over $2 billion, and Cardano whales now control 67% of ADA supply.
That is policy clarity rising, security risk escalating, and big money quietly positioning—all at once.
This is about what could unlock capital, what could threaten it, and who is accumulating while most traders look away. If you care about where your edge comes from next, this week matters.

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Market-Moving News
Three forces are shaping your positioning right now: Congress inching toward real crypto market structure rules, state-level hackers optimizing billion-dollar attacks, and whales tightening their grip on major token supply.
One could reduce regulatory uncertainty, one reminds you that security is not optional, and one signals long-term conviction beneath weak on-chain activity.
If you connect policy, risk, and accumulation, you stop reacting to headlines and start anticipating where pressure builds next.

Policy
Clarity Act Clears Senate Committee, Heads Toward Final Showdown

The Clarity Act just cleared the Senate Banking Committee in a 15-9 bipartisan vote after months of delay. That vote pushes the crypto market structure bill closer to a full Senate and House decision.
The breakthrough came after Chairman Tim Scott allowed additional amendments that had previously been rejected.
That late maneuver brought two Democrats on board and narrowed what had been a sharp partisan divide.
A Fragile Bipartisan Path
The bill now merges with a similar version approved by the Senate Agriculture Committee before heading toward a final overhaul.
Lawmakers still need to settle law enforcement concerns and a government ethics provision tied to crypto involvement.
Some Democrats made it clear their floor vote will depend on how those issues are resolved. With limited legislative calendar time before summer and midterms, delays could derail momentum.
A 'Defining Moment'
Industry groups called the vote a defining moment for US digital asset policy.
But getting to 60 votes in the Senate will likely require a carefully negotiated compromise, especially around ethics rules that may affect senior officials.
Take: You are watching the closest thing yet to real US market structure clarity for crypto.
If lawmakers lock in bipartisan support, regulatory uncertainty could finally ease—but until a final vote happens, policy risk still hangs over the market.

Security
North Korea-Linked Hackers Stole Over $2B in Crypto in 2025

State-affiliated North Korean hackers were responsible for more than $2 billion in crypto losses in 2025, a 51% year-over-year increase.
Fewer campaigns were launched, but the attacks targeted bigger, higher-value victims.
CrowdStrike labeled DPRK actors the largest threat group to crypto by dollar losses. Stolen funds are widely believed to help finance military programs, raising the geopolitical stakes.
Fewer Attacks, Bigger Hits
Hackers focused heavily on Web3 projects and exchanges, where funds can be moved and laundered with relative anonymity. Social engineering and malware remain their preferred tools.
In one case, DPRK-linked actors infiltrated Drift Protocol after building a six-month relationship with the team. The breach led to $280 million in losses after malware compromised developer machines.
The Ethereum Foundation also identified around 100 DPRK-backed actors infiltrating crypto projects. Some operatives used intermediaries and non-DPRK nationals to build trust in person.
Take: You are not just dealing with random hackers—you are dealing with state-level adversaries optimizing for scale.
If security practices do not evolve quickly, more capital will flow toward projects and platforms that prioritize audits, monitoring, and strict hiring controls.

Trivia: What is the approximate combined market cap of all stablecoins as of 2024? |

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Whales
Cardano Whales Now Control 67% of ADA Supply

Large holders of Cardano's ADA now control 25.09 billion tokens, or roughly 67% of the circulating supply. That is the highest whale concentration since 2020, according to Santiment.
This accumulation has been running steadily since late 2023. It happened while ADA lost about 71% of its market value over nine months.
Accumulation in a Quiet Ecosystem
Cardano's DeFi activity tells a different story. Total value locked has dropped about 80% from its December 2024 peak to $137 million, according to DefiLlama.
Daily DEX volume sits under $2 million, and chain fees over 24 hours totaled just $1,767. Active daily addresses are below 16,000, suggesting limited on-chain engagement.
Compared to Ethereum and Solana, Cardano's current on-chain revenue is modest. That makes ADA look more like a long-term accumulation play than a token driven by immediate ecosystem demand.
Take: You are seeing conviction from whales even as usage metrics cool off.
If network activity eventually rebounds, that supply concentration could amplify upside—but if adoption stays muted, large holders may simply be waiting in a very patient trade.

Coin Leaderboard


Crypto Pulse
Washington is inching toward clearer crypto rules, state-backed hackers are pulling in billion-dollar hauls, and Cardano whales are tightening their grip on supply.
That is policy momentum building at the top, security risk intensifying underneath, and deep-pocketed players quietly positioning in the background.
And yet the market's risk appetite is alive. DEGEN surged 57.82%, IRYS jumped 56.60% on listing momentum, and IRIS climbed 53.77% as traders rotated into high-volatility plays.
This is what a split-screen market looks like. Lawmakers debate structure, hackers test defenses, whales accumulate—and fast money still hunts green candles wherever they flash.
Xphere (XP) $0.033 (+37%)
Xphere is one of the few coins to see a trading volume boost in the current down market, up almost 40% since yesterday.
Degen (DEGEN) $0.001 (+32%)
DEGEN ripped 32% in the last 24 hours, leading today's Crypto Pulse leaderboard.
Irys (IRYS) $0.063 (+16%)
IRYS jumped 16% ahead of its expected Upbit listing, even with a brief 30-minute delay to the rollout.

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Future Forward
Crypto conferences are not just about handshakes and merch tables—they are where the next narrative quietly takes shape before it hits your timeline.
If you pay attention to what founders are building and what VCs are whispering about, you can spot momentum weeks before it shows up in price.
Airdrops are not free money—they are rewards for showing up early and actually using the product. The people who test, bridge, stake, vote, and give feedback are usually the ones who benefit when tokens finally go live.
Token launches are live-fire drills for demand. In the first few hours, you can see whether buyers are sticking around—or whether it was just leverage and hype playing musical chairs.
If you want better positioning, follow the builders and the beta testers, not just the trending hashtags. By the time everyone is tweeting about it, the asymmetry is usually gone.
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Crypto Know-How: What Was Celsius?
Celsius was a crypto lending platform that promised high yields if you deposited your Bitcoin, Ether, and other assets.
It marketed itself as a safer alternative to banks, offering attractive returns and easy access.
Behind the scenes, Celsius used customer deposits to make loans and risky bets, including exposure to volatile tokens like its own CEL. When the broader market crashed in 2022, those bets unraveled fast.
Withdrawals were frozen, billions in customer funds were locked, and the company eventually filed for bankruptcy.
Many users learned the hard way that "not your keys" still matters, even when yields look tempting.
Why does this matter to you now? Because every bull market brings new platforms promising easy returns, and Celsius is a reminder that yield without transparency usually comes with hidden risk.

Everything Else
From a company building $40K accelerator chips to one with a $23 billion warehouse automation backlog spanning 47 distribution centers a free report names the 10 best AI stocks to own in 2026 before it moves behind a paywall.
Strategy's STRC perpetual preferred stock hit a record $1.5 billion in daily trading volume as the company continues using it to fund Bitcoin purchases, showing you how corporate treasuries are getting creative to keep stacking even in tighter capital markets.
Victims holding unpaid US terrorism judgments are asking a Manhattan federal judge to force Tether to hand over $344 million in OFAC-frozen USDT tied to Iran's Revolutionary Guard, a case that could test whether stablecoin issuers can be compelled to redirect sanctioned funds to creditors.
UK politician Nigel Farage is facing a parliamentary probe after buying a $1.8 million home following a $6.7 million crypto-linked gift, adding fresh pressure to ongoing efforts in the UK to restrict or temporarily ban crypto political donations.
Former Celsius chief revenue officer Roni Cohen-Pavon was sentenced to time served after pleading guilty to fraud and price manipulation, closing another chapter in the Celsius collapse and reminding you that enforcement actions from the 2022 cycle are still working their way through the courts.

If you focus on where policy tightens, where risk concentrates, and where conviction builds, you stop chasing noise and start tracking structure. That is where the next real move usually begins.
Best Regards,
— Benjamin Vitaris
Crypto Intel


