Lead launderer in $190 million Brazilian crypto Ponzi scheme gets record 128-year sentence

Federal prosecutors said they will continue pursuing their case against Braden John Karony, the former CEO of crypto firm SafeMoon, despite the US Justice Department issuing a memo suggesting a policy of abandoning “regulation by prosecution” related to digital assets.

In an April 18 filing in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, US Attorney for EDNY John Durham said his office had reviewed the April 7 DOJ memo issued by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and intended to proceed with a trial against Karony.

The former SafeMoon CEO faces securities fraud conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy charges for allegedly “divert[ing] and misappropriat[ing] millions of dollars’ worth” of the platform’s SFM token between 2021 and 2022.

This week in crypto recorded several key events across various ecosystems that will continue shaping the industry.

From major partnerships to investment decisions and scam allegations, the following is a comprehensive roundup of crypto news this week.

Mantra Crash: From Billion-Dollar Hype to Fragile Liquidity

This week in crypto Mantra’s powering token lost $90% of its value amid allegations of insider dealing and liquidity fragility. Once hailed as a rising star in the RWA (real-world asset) narrative, OM’s collapse wiped out over $5.5 billion in value.

Reports revealed a disturbing pattern of concentrated wallet activity and low liquidity pools, which made OM highly vulnerable to sudden exits.

On-chain sleuths identified one trader whose aggressive selling triggered a cascade of liquidations. This highlights the risks of low-float, high-hype tokens in an illiquid market environment.

Pi Network: From Chainlink Buzz to Transparency Fears

Pi Network recorded strong optimism this week as its native Pi Coin surged by double digits. BeInCrypto attributed the surge to the announcement of a key integration with Chainlink.

They pitched this strategic collaboration as a gateway to real-world utility. Specifically, it positioned Pi closer to the broader DeFi and smart contract ecosystem. However, the euphoria proved short-lived.

Market sentiment quickly soured as analysts began comparing Pi Network and the recently collapsed OM token.

Allegations suggest that, like the OM token, Pi coin lacks full clarity around circulating supply, wallet distribution, and centralized control. To some, these are potential red flags in an increasingly regulation-sensitive industry.

Pi coin reversed gains within days, falling 18% from its weekly high. At the time of writing, PI was trading at $0.6112, up by a modest 0.7% in the past 24 hours, per CoinGecko.

Grayscale’s Altcoin Shake-Up: 40 Tokens Under Review

This week in crypto also showed that institutional investor interest in altcoins is heating up again, with Grayscale leading the charge.

The digital asset manager unveiled its updated list of assets under consideration for the second quarter (Q2) 2025. BeInCrypto reported that the list featured zero altcoins across sectors such as DePIN, AI, modular blockchains, and restaking. Among the notable tokens being eyed are SUI, STRK, TIA, JUP, and MANTA.

The update reflects Grayscale’s growing thesis around emerging crypto trends, particularly as the firm seeks to expand beyond its core Bitcoin and Ethereum products.

This announcement follows a broader strategic overhaul from three weeks ago when Grayscale reshuffled its top 20 list of altcoins by market exposure. Several older names were dropped at the time, while newer narratives like Solana-based DePIN and Ethereum restaking plays were pushed to the forefront.

The expansion into 40 coins signals Grayscale’s recognition of renewed retail and institutional appetite for differentiated assets. However, inclusion in the list does not guarantee a fund launch. It only indicates Grayscale’s active research.

XRP and SWIFT Partnership: Breaking Down the Rumors

There was speculation this week about a possible partnership between Ripple’s XRP and banking giant SWIFT in crypto.

This narrative was based on a misinterpreted document. A series of cryptic social posts exacerbated the speculation, which some took as confirmation of collaboration between the global payments network and the XRP ledger.

However, BeInCrypto’s in-depth reporting sank the rumors. While Ripple has long pursued banking institutions and SWIFT has shown openness to blockchain innovations, there is no verified partnership between the two.

SWIFT’s public-facing projects around tokenization and digital asset settlement do not include XRP.

Despite the debunking, the rumors sparked an important conversation about XRP’s long-term positioning. The token remains a top-10 asset and a favorite among retail investors banking on utility-driven price appreciation.

With Ripple’s legal battles with the SEC nearing resolution and international CBDC partnerships in the works, the project is far from irrelevant.

US Dollar Dives: What the DXY Crash Means for Bitcoin

The US Dollar Index (DXY) hit a three-year low this week, sending ripples through the crypto markets. Historically, a falling DXY has been bullish for Bitcoin, and this week was no different, with BTC reclaiming above the $84,000 range.

The greenback’s weakness reflects growing fears of fiscal deterioration in the US, as rate cuts loom and Treasury debt soars.

However, that is just the surface. The global M2money supply has been quietly increasing again, especially across Europe and Asia. This reignites the liquidity conditions that fueled previous bull runs.

Japan’s 10-year bond yields hit multi-decade highs, forcing the Bank of Japan (BoJ) into increasingly precarious interventions. As Japanese liquidity spills outward, crypto and risk assets have become inadvertent beneficiaries.

This macroenvironment is ideal for Bitcoin. Weakening fiat, rising global liquidity, and crumbling bond market confidence create a perfect storm.

ZURICH, Switzerland, April 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The final countdown is officially on. With only 3 days remaining until the XploraDEX $XPL Presale closes, the race is heating up fast. Traders across the XRPL ecosystem are moving swiftly to secure what’s left of the allocation before the window slams shut. The presale has already crossed the 80% mark, and with demand at an all-time high, the remaining supply is vanishing by the hour.

Bonk (BONK), one of the more energetic players in the meme coin space, is showing signs of a potentially explosive move as it coils tighter within a symmetrical triangle pattern. This classic chart formation, characterized by converging trendlines of lower highs and higher lows, often acts as a pressure booster for price action — the longer the squeeze, the more powerful the breakout tends to be.

The symmetrical triangle squeeze is a technical signal that often precedes sharp breakouts, and in BONK’s case, it couldn’t come at a more pivotal moment. With the broader meme coin market showing signs of strength and sentiment slowly shifting, a decisive move from this setup could define the next chapter for BONK. A breakout above the upper trendline might ignite fresh bullish momentum and open the door to new highs, while a break below support could trigger a sell-off toward lower key levels.

Bonk’s Recent Price Action: The Setup For A Big Move

According to a recent post by Whales_Crypto_Trading on X (formerly Twitter), Bonk is currently forming a symmetrical triangle pattern on the 1-hour chart. The price has just rebounded from the lower support trendline of the triangle, suggesting that buyers are stepping in to defend the structure and potentially build momentum for an upward breakout.

What makes this pattern particularly noteworthy is the potential upside. Whales_Crypto_Trading highlighted a profit target range of 70–80%, should BONK successfully break above the upper resistance trendline. With volatility tightening and volume starting to show signs of recovery, such a breakout could offer a substantial short-term trading opportunity. 

However, traders are advised to keep a close eye on volume confirmation and key breakout levels to avoid possible fakeouts, as symmetrical triangles can break in either direction.

Will The Meme Coin Explode Or Fizzle Out?

Bonk’s symmetrical triangle pattern has reached a critical stage, raising speculations about whether the meme coin will break free with force or lose steam under pressure. The recent bounce off the support trendline suggests bullish interest is still alive, and if momentum continues to build, BONK could be gearing up for a powerful breakout, potentially delivering gains in the 70–80% range as projected by traders.

However, it’s important to remain cautious. Symmetrical triangles are neutral by nature, meaning a breakdown is still on the table if buyers fail to push through resistance. The next few candles on the 1-hour chart could provide key confirmation of BONK’s direction.

In the end, BONK is approaching a defining moment. Whether it explodes into a bullish run or fizzles out into another rejection will largely depend on volume, sentiment, and the strength of the breakout. Traders should stay alert, as a big move may be closer than it seems.

Crypto investor sentiment took another significant hit this week after Mantra’s OM token collapsed by over 90% within hours on Sunday, April 13, triggering knee-jerk comparisons to previous black swan events such as the Terra-Luna collapse.

Elsewhere, Coinbase’s report for institutional investors added to concerns by highlighting that cryptocurrencies may be in a bear market until a recovery occurs in the third quarter of 2025.

Mantra OM token crash exposes “critical” liquidity issues in crypto

Mantra’s recent token collapse highlights an issue within the crypto industry of fluctuating weekend liquidity levels creating additional downside volatility, which may have exacerbated the token’s crash.

The Mantra (OM) token’s price collapsed by over 90% on Sunday, April 13, from roughly $6.30 to below $0.50, triggering market manipulation allegations among disillusioned investors, Cointelegraph reported.

While blockchain analysts are still piecing together the reasons behind the OM collapse, the event highlights some crucial issues for the crypto industry, according to Gracy Chen, CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange Bitget.

“The OM token crash exposed several critical issues that we are seeing not just in OM, but also as an industry,” Chen said during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction daily X show, adding:

Following President Trump’s April 9th announcement of a 90-day halt on new tariffs, market sentiment rebounded sharply, especially for Bitcoin. The surge appears mainly fueled by strong spot market activity, with little influence from derivatives.

According to Bitfinex Alpha, this suggests genuine interest from real-money investors, rather than speculative bets, indicating confidence in the market’s direction.Textbook Mid-cycle Reset

Bitcoin has now spent 88 days in a correction phase since hitting its all-time high of $109,590 on January 20th. The cryptocurrency has dropped just over 25% during this period. Bitfinex’s latest report revealed that, historically, the depth and duration fit well within typical bull market retracements, and make the current move more of a healthy pause than a major trend shift.

Past Bitcoin cycles often featured 25-35% drops from local highs, followed by 3-4 months of consolidation before fresh rallies emerged.

By those standards, this correction matches prior market behavior both in magnitude and timing. While the decline is sharp, it remains consistent with a mid-cycle pause rather than a breakdown of the ongoing bullish trend.Broad-Based Buying Amidst Consolidation

A notable trend over the last week has been the persistent rise in Spot Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD), which reflects the net imbalance of aggressive buy versus sell orders. Across top spot exchanges, buyers were found to have been consistently lifting offers, which depicts a strong intent to absorb supply, even from large-scale sellers.

Despite this clear buying pressure, Bitcoin’s price action continues to staytrappedin a tight $75,000 to $85,000 range, with high-timeframe charts reflecting sideways consolidation rather than any decisive directional shift.

This “divergence” between strong buying activity and stagnant price action points to quiet but meaningful accumulation. Despite aggressive buy orders, prices remain capped, which suggests that supply is not being met with significant resistance from sellers.

This rising Spot CVD, observed across a wide array of exchanges, signals that accumulation is taking place on a broad scale, not isolated to a single platform or region. This type of steady accumulation, which is occurring beneath the surface, can create conditions for a powerful breakout.

If the order book starts to thin and passive sell pressure declines, the market may see a sharp upward reaction. However, a macroeconomic catalyst may be necessary to trigger this shift. Similar setups in the past, which are marked by rising CVD and price consolidation, have been followed by sharp upward moves once resistance breaks. So while the surface appears quiet, there’s growing potential energy building beneath the market structure.