The first week of April 2025 has been filled with events in the crypto industry, where DeFi protocols once again became targets for attacks, and regulatory developments are ongoing across various countries.
DeFi Events: Attacks and Consequences
DeFi protocols zkLend and SIR.trading faced significant setbacks due to targeted exploits. zkLend lost $9.6 million in a flash loan attack. The hacker later claimed to have accidentally sent most of the stolen funds to a phishing site mimicking Tornado Cash. The attacker expressed regret and urged zkLend to pursue the scammers. In contrast, SIR.trading, designed for safer leveraged trading, was exploited for $355,000 due to a vulnerability tied to a recent Ethereum upgrade. The platform's founder offered $100,000 to the attacker as a "fair share" in exchange for returning the remaining funds.
Regulatory Initiatives and Political Changes
In the United States, SEC and Gemini have requested a 60-day pause in their lawsuit over the Gemini Earn program, hinting at a possible settlement. This initiative is supported by other legislative proposals, such as the STABLE Act, which has been approved by Congress and aims to regulate stablecoins. Furthermore, countries like South Korea are making changes to their regulatory frameworks to attract foreign investors to local exchanges.
Market Trends in Cryptocurrencies
The cryptocurrency market is experiencing active movement. This week, the biggest gains were recorded for Saros (+80.2%) and FUNToken (+61.9%). On the opposite side, the largest losses were observed in Act I The AI Prophecy (-72.7%) and Mubarak (-61.2%). Meanwhile, projects like Shardeum are preparing for their mainnet launch, promising scalability and accessibility.
The first week of April 2025 showed that the crypto industry continues to face challenges in security and regulation. At the same time, there is a growing interest from investors and new initiatives aimed at creating a safe environment for market participants.
