Rakuten Pay's 44 Million Users in Japan Can Now Use XRP

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating a breach at Coinbase Global Inc., where hackers bribed employees in India to obtain client data, a source familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. Coinbase disclosed the incident, estimating potential costs of up to $400 million to remedy the situation.

Vladimir Smerkis, former head of Binance's Russia division, was arrested in Russia for alleged involvement in a large-scale criminal fraud case. The Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow granted the investigator's request to detain Smerkis, who co-founded trading app Blum in December 2023.

Ethereum investment products saw a significant increase in inflows, reaching $205 million last week, with total digital asset investment inflows surpassing $7.4 billion year-to-date. Despite a recent price drop to $2,400, Ethereum remains up 50% over the past month, attracting investors even after a challenging first quarter.

Ponke, a top 25 Solana meme coin, has partnered with 223 to create adult-focused collectibles and apparel, including blind box collectibles and NFC-tagged products. The partnership aims to expand Ponke's offerings and reach new markets through physical and digital products.

Bitcoin experienced a volatile week, rising to $106,500 before dropping to $102,450, leading to $178.46 million in liquidated positions. Ethereum also fell 4.3% to $2,400, with $264.40 million in liquidations, following a positive month for the crypto industry.

Strategy and Metaplanet made significant Bitcoin purchases, with Strategy owning 576,230 BTC and Metaplanet acquiring 7,800 BTC. Both companies have seen gains, with Strategy's reserves appreciating close to $20 billion since August 2020.

WalletConnect's Smart Sessions, a new standard, will reshape wallet UX for an AI-powered internet, enabling seamless, secure connections for over 45 million users worldwide. AI agents will play a crucial role in automating transactions and expanding the utility of WalletConnect's WCT token.

The story of OpenAI's transformation and the innovative use of bitcoin mining to heat a spa in Brooklyn are featured in the latest edition of The Download. Karen Hao's reporting on OpenAI's evolution led to a revealing exploration of the company's ambitions.

A clandestine banking network laundered over $23 million using crypto from organized crime groups in Europe. Europol arrested 17 individuals in Spain, Austria, and Belgium for illegal banking activities involving cash, cryptocurrencies, luxury items, and more.

Vitalik Buterin aims to simplify running Ethereum nodes for average users by changing how they sync with the network, using regular consumer hardware. Instead of storing all blockchain data, nodes would only keep necessary portions, while older data gets distributed for shared storage. Buterin's proposal introduces a local-first model for Ethereum nodes.