Litecoin patches zero-day vulnerability
On April 25, a large-scale block reorganization occurred on the Litecoin network after a zero-day vulnerability was exploited. According to the report, attackers conducted a denial-of-service attack, disrupting the operation of major mining pools. As a result, some nodes running outdated software began confirming invalid transactions in the MimbleWimble Extension Block privacy segment. This allowed the attackers to operate with invalid coins and withdraw them through third-party DEXs.
Developers performed a chain reorganization of 13 blocks, rolling back the erroneous transactions. Alex Shevchenko, head of Aurora Labs, characterized the incident as a coordinated attack. He stated that the incident affected blocks #3,095,930 to #3,095,943 and lasted over three hours, during which time double-spending attempts were detected in cross-chain protocols. The market has barely reacted: at the time of publication, LTC is trading around $56, down 0.5% in 24 hours.
eCash hard fork on Bitcoin blockchain
Bitcoin developer Paul Stortz announced the launch of the eCash hard fork, scheduled for August 2026. The project is billed as a "clean" reboot of the network, preserving the underlying architecture. BTC holders at the time of the snapshot will receive new tokens at a 1:1 ratio.
Stortz also announced the development of seven drivechains, including a private variant "in the spirit of Zcash." Other areas of focus include prediction markets, DEXs, NFTs, digital identity, and the quantum-resistant Photon network.
The developer intentionally omitted the word "Bitcoin" from the name to avoid associations with Bitcoin Cash. He believes eCash offers a more sustainable solution to the problems of the original network. The initiative has drawn criticism: some in the community consider the distribution model questionable. Stortz counters that this involves a new supply, not a redistribution of existing assets.
DeFi and Aave bailout volume reaches 100,000 ETH
The DeFi United initiative to restore the ecosystem after the Kelp hack has raised over 100,000 ETH (~$230 million), nearly recouping the ~$290 million in losses. The largest contributions came from Mantle (30,000 ETH) and DAO Aave (25,000 ETH). Another 30,700 ETH were recovered by freezing a portion of the stolen funds on the Arbitrum network.
Aave founder Stani Kulechov donated 5,000 ETH, Ether.fi contributed the same amount, and Lido Finance added 2,500 ETH. Additional contributions came from community members. To stabilize the situation, Aave and its partners formed a fund to support the rsETH collateral. Kelp also launched a separate compensation pool: eligible users can apply for payments through a dedicated form.
Tether quarterly profit reaches $1.04 billion
Tether has disclosed its financial results for the first quarter of 2026, a report confirmed by auditor BDO. The stablecoin issuer's net profit was $1.04 billion. Total assets reached $191.7 billion, with liabilities of $183.5 billion, and excess reserves reached a new high, rising to $8.23 billion.
Short-term US government bonds form the key backing for USDT, with their volume rising to $141 billion, making Tether the 17th-largest holder of US debt. Its reserves also hold $20 billion in gold and approximately $7 billion in bitcoin.
CEO Paolo Ardoino emphasized that Tether prioritizes liquidity and resilience in all market conditions. He noted that in April, the USDT supply increased by another $5 billion, including with the launch of the non-custodial wallet tether.wallet. Tether's investments in third-party projects are not collateralized by the stablecoin and are financed from profits. The company's reserves are already comparable to the market capitalization of the largest players.
Bitcoin hits $80,000 barrier
Bitcoin has hit resistance near $80,000. According to Bloomberg, positions on Deribit are limiting growth: around this level, call options with expiration in May-June are worth approximately $1.5 billion. Under these conditions, market makers are forced to sell the asset on the rise, hedging risks. Profit-taking and weakening spot demand are creating additional pressure. At the time of publication, BTC is trading around $78,200.
Delphi Digital analysts estimated Bitcoin's returns over five-year intervals since 2016. The worst-case scenario—buying at the 2017 peak and selling near the 2022 lows—resulted in a loss of approximately 13%. Meanwhile, the median return over five years exceeded 800% (for Ethereum, it's around 1200%). Over the long term, crypto assets remained profitable at almost any entry point, while the purchase price has a more significant impact over shorter time horizons.
Hacks hit all-time high in April
In April, the crypto industry experienced a record number of hacks—DeFiLlama analysts recorded over 20 incidents. According to CertiK, the total losses amounted to $651 million: not the highest amount, but a historical peak in the number of attacks. Analyst Stacey Moore counted 24 incidents of theft. The largest was the Kelp hack, which cost approximately $292 million, triggering bad debt issues at Aave and requiring emergency liquidity.
The Drift Protocol attack came in second (over $280 million). The project emphasized that this was not a coding error, but a pre-planned operation using social engineering. Other incidents included the Polkadot-based Hyperbridge hack: by forging cross-chain messages, the attacker minted and sold approximately 1 billion DOTs.
At the end of the month, expert Wazz reported the compromise of hundreds of Ethereum wallets, many of which had been inactive for over seven years. CertiK estimates that April was the worst month since March 2022 (excluding the Bybit incident), with approximately $3.5 million lost to phishing.
