Author: Isabella Taylor

President Trump said Thursday the White House is investigating the deaths and disappearances of 10 scientists with ties to classified US defense, nuclear, and aerospace research, calling the pattern “pretty serious stuff” after leaving a meeting on the topic — as a lawmaker called for a formal FBI probe into what investigators have not yet confirmed is anything other than coincidence. Summary Trump told reporters on the White House lawn: “I hope it’s random, but we’re going to know in the next week and a half. Some of them were very important people.” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said…

A House GOP revolt 2026 collapsed both a five-year and an 18-month FISA extension in back-to-back overnight votes, with 20 Republicans joining most Democrats to kill each plan and force Speaker Mike Johnson into a last-resort 10-day stopgap passed at 2:09 AM Friday. Summary The procedural vote on the 18-month clean renewal failed 197-228 after rebels demanded a warrant requirement before the government can query Americans’ communications incidentally collected under Section 702. The 20 Republicans who voted no include Lauren Boebert, Thomas Massie, Paul Gosar, Andy Harris, Warren Davidson, Scott Perry, Ralph Norman, and Chip Roy, among others. The revolt…

Dollar index DXY erases its Iran war gains as Hormuz blockade scales down, safe‑haven flows unwind, and traders pivot from conflict hedges to ceasefire politics. Summary The U.S. dollar index has erased its entire wartime gain after Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz. DXY fell 0.5% intraday to its weakest level since February 27 as safe‑haven flows reversed. Investors are shifting focus from conflict risk to ceasefire terms and a broader political settlement. The U.S. dollar gave back all of its war‑related gains on Friday after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz “completely open” to commercial shipping, sending the dollar…

Gate Research says leveraged crypto ETFs now sit at the center of liquidity and short‑term trading strategies on centralized exchanges, but warns their daily reset makes them unsuitable as long‑term holdings in volatile markets. Summary Gate Research finds leveraged crypto ETFs work best as short‑term tactical tools, not long‑term investments. Simulations show 5x products can lose more than 90% of value in 60 days in choppy markets due to “volatility decay.” Strategies using 5x tokens like ETH5S with volume breakout signals and hard time stops show a 67% win rate in backtests. The latest report from Gate Research argues that…

Slash raised $100M at a $1.4B valuation as it processes over $1B in annualized stablecoin payments for 5,000+ businesses, turning crypto into back‑office banking rails. Summary Enterprise banking platform Slash has raised $100 million in a Series C round led by Ribbit Capital, lifting its valuation to about $1.4 billion and bringing total funding to more than $160 million. The San Francisco‑based firm now serves over 5,000 corporate clients with a bundle that includes stablecoin payments, corporate and virtual accounts, expense management and real‑time payouts, and says annualized stablecoin volume has already crossed $1 billion less than a year after…

Pi Network price rallied 8% on Friday as developers revealed a hard deadline for the Pi Network mainnet upgrade to version 22. Summary Pi Network price jumped 8% to a three-week high of $0.182 as developers confirmed a fixed timeline for the Protocol 22 upgrade. The update introduces structural changes, dual interface access, and phased node participation with mandatory KYC compliance. Bullish signals strengthen with a falling wedge breakout and strong inflows, with $0.204 as the next key level. According to data from crypto.news, Pi Network (PI) price rose to a three-week high of $0.182 on Friday, April 17, before…

Finance ministers, central bankers, and senior financiers are increasingly focused on the potential risks posed by Anthropic’s Claude Mythos model, amid fears it could expose critical weaknesses in global financial infrastructure. Summary Global finance leaders warn Anthropic’s Mythos AI could expose critical flaws in financial and core IT systems. Banks and governments are testing the model early to identify vulnerabilities before any wider release. Officials caution that such tools could help cybercriminals exploit weaknesses even as they strengthen defenses. The model has already prompted high-level discussions and emergency-style meetings after early testing revealed vulnerabilities across major operating systems and widely…

Plans to release revised stablecoin yield language in the Clarity Act have been delayed, extending uncertainty around one of the bill’s most divisive provisions. Summary Release of the Clarity Act stablecoin yield draft has been pushed back as lawmakers wait for committee timing clarity. Draft language still restricts rewards on idle balances while allowing yield tied to transaction activity. According to a report from Politico, Senator Thom Tillis said the updated draft is unlikely to be made public this week, as lawmakers wait for clarity on the timing of the Senate Banking Committee’s upcoming markup before proceeding with a release.…

The evolution of the digital asset landscape has called for attention towards effective ways to achieve compliance. It is time to move beyond the philosophy of ‘asking for forgiveness rather than permission’ as the digital asset landscape no longer works according to the “Wild West” ethos. You can become a digital assets compliance expert and become the sheriff every organization needs to follow digital asset laws. Digital asset compliance experts bridge the gap between unregulated digital asset innovation and the domain of global financial law. The Digital Asset Forum reported that compliance is one of the key areas where institutions…

Flow Capital Partners is set to bring its $150 million private credit fund to the DigiFT tokenization platform by the end of April. Summary Flow Capital Partners will move its $150 million private credit fund onto the DigiFT tokenization platform by the end of April as part of a plan to reach $250 million in assets by 2026. Total market capitalization for real-world assets climbed to a record $58 billion this month, with Ethereum-based tokenization alone growing 200% year-over-year. Bloomberg reported Friday that the Hong Kong-based asset manager will offer on-chain shares of the fund, which originally debuted in June…