CoinDesk Recap: Movement’s Very Bad Week
With less than three weeks left, let's recap Movement Lab's challenging week and other crypto happenings:
Bitcoin made significant gains nearing $100K, driven by hopes of a favorable China-U.S. trade deal and improving macroeconomic conditions.
Mastercard and BlackRock shared notable updates on digital assets.
In the U.S. Congress, a stablecoin bill is close to completion with an expected wave of legislative activity ahead.
The Trump Family's involvement in the crypto space continued to raise concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
CoinDesk Recap: Movement’s Very Bad Week
Plus: Mastercard, World, Strategy, Kraken, and Trump
- Bitcoin surged to nearly $100,000 amid optimism over a potential China-U.S. trade deal and improved macroeconomic conditions.
- Movement Labs faced a scandal involving a $38 million token selloff, leading to Coinbase suspending MOVE trading and investigations into its governance.
- Sam Altman's World project plans to deploy eye-scanning orbs in U.S. cities and expand its crypto offerings by the end of the year.
Coinbase suspended MOVE trading following Movement Labs' $38 million token selloff scandal. Investigations into governance issues ensued, leading to the suspension of co-founder Rushi Manche by Movement Labs.
Meanwhile, Sam Altman's World project revealed plans to introduce eye-scanning orbs in U.S. cities and expand its cryptocurrency services by year-end.
In other news, Avraham Eisenberg faced a new conviction related to possessing child sexual abuse material alongside previous charges tied to a significant hack at Mango Markets.
Financial reports showed mixed results: Robinhood anticipated a Q1 decline in crypto revenue, Kraken reported a 29% revenue increase, while Strategy faced losses due to declining bitcoin prices but prepared for substantial bitcoin investments in the coming months.
Looking ahead, positive market signals are on the horizon pending alleviation of tariff concerns. However, Movement Labs may require crisis management strategies moving forward.
It was quite a fall from grace for a startup that had been hotter-than-Miami Beach a few weeks ago.
In other significant news, Sam Altman's blockchain project, World announced plans to deploy 7,500 eye-scanning orbs in U.S. cities by the end of the year and add crypto-backed loans, prediction markets, and a Visa debit card for spending WLD tokens to its product offerings. Cheyenne Ligon and Margaux Nijkerk had that news.
Meanwhile, Ligon also reported on the trial of Avraham Eisenberg, who was convicted last year on charges of wire fraud, commodities fraud and commodities manipulation charges related to the $110 million hack of Mango Markets. The new conviction relates to Eisenberg possessing child sexual abuse material in 2024.
Earnings season brought mixed results for major exchanges and facilitators. Robinhood said it expected a Q1 pullback in crypto-related revenue (Helene Braun reported). Kraken said its revenue was up 29% in the same period (Francisco Rodrigues). Strategy reported a first-quarter loss of $4.2 billion on declining bitcoin prices. But it’s still planning to raise more than $50 billion for bitcoin-buying over the next 32 months (James Van Straten).
Where do we go from here? Market signals look promising, especially if tariff fears wane. But Movement may have some crisis management to look into.
