Ether Machine Calls Off $1.5 Billion SPAC Deal with Dynamix

Posted on April 12, 2026April 12, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Ether Machine and Dynamix Corporation (NASDAQ: ETHM) have mutually decided to end their business combination agreement. The business stated that the deal had fallen through due to bad market conditions in a post on X

The Ether Machine first declared that it would go public in July 2025, with a target of more than $1.5 billion in fully committed capital and more than 400,000 ETH in initial cash.

Prominent industry participants, such as Pantera Capital, Kraken, and Blockchain. com had endorsed the project.

The post states, “The Ether Machine, a company that was scheduled to go public after merging with Dynamix Corporation and The Ether Reserve LLC, together with other stakeholders, today announced that they have mutually agreed to terminate the previously announced business combination agreement, effective immediately, due to adverse market conditions.”

This break coincides with the ongoing challenges facing the cryptocurrency market. The Ether Machine is not the only one affected. With its stock down 31.7 percent since the start of the year, BitMine, the biggest corporate owner of ETH, is reporting unrealized losses of almost $6.5 billion.

Bessent, Powell Convene Top Bankers Over Anthropic Breakthrough

Posted on April 12, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Wall Street executives were called to an urgent meeting by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell due to concerns that Anthropic PBC’s latest artificial intelligence model could usher in a period of heightened cyber risk.

Bessent and Powell gathered the group at Treasury’s Washington headquarters on Tuesday to ensure banks are aware of potential future risks posed by Anthropic’s Mythos and similar models, and are taking precautions to defend their systems.

A meeting of the Financial Services Forum, an advocacy group composed of the largest lenders, had already brought many of the executives to the city.

Another indication that regulators view the potential for a new type of cyberattack as one of the greatest threats to the financial sector is the previously unreported meeting, which was called at short notice. Top regulators have designated all of the banks called to the meeting as systemically important, indicating that the global financial system prioritizes their stability

Powell’s attendance at the meeting indicated that the issue was one of systemic risk rather than the Trump administration’s prior conflicts with Anthropic. The Fed has extensive knowledge of banking operations thanks to its network of examiners. In response to a question regarding the Fed on Fox News on Friday, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett stated, “We’re taking every step we can to make sure that everybody is safe from these potential risks, including Anthropic agreeing to hold back the public release of the model until our officials have figured everything out.”

Anthropic’s Mythos is a more potent system that, when instructed by a user, can find and exploit vulnerabilities in all major operating systems and web browsers. Anthropic’s own caution is echoed by regulators’ concern about the model’s potential in the hands of hackers. Anthropic only released it to a small number of significant technology and financial companies.

Bhutan Sells 70% of Its Bitcoin Reserves as Mining Slows to a Halt

Posted on April 12, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Bhutan has sold over 70% of its Bitcoin (BTC) reserves in the last 18 months, casting doubt on the future of its once-heralded pioneering sovereign mining experiment.

According to Arkham Intelligence’s on-chain analysis, the Himalayan kingdom’s public investment arm carried out a methodical, slow liquidation

According to Wu Blockchain, in just 2026, $215.7 million in Bitcoin was moved from the kingdom’s wallets. Additionally, according to the most recent data from Arkham, Bhutan transferred an extra 250 BTC about eighteen hours ago.

The wallet now holds almost 3,774 BTC after this transfer, a significant decrease from 13,000 BTC in October 2024.

Bhutan’s sovereign wealth fund, Druk Holding and Investments (DHI), in 2019, started mining Bitcoin using the nation’s excess hydroelectric power. The tiny, landlocked Himalayan kingdom is now among the biggest sovereign Bitcoin holders in the world thanks to this initiative.

Genius Group paid off an $8.5 million debt by liquidating its entire 84.15 BTC cash balance. In contrast, Nakamoto Holdings lost money compared to its average purchase price when it sold about 284 BTC for almost $20 million in March. MicroStrategy’s strategy, which acquired 44,377 BTC in March alone and currently holds more than 766,970 BTC, stands in stark contrast to this surge in sales.

XRP Payments Plunge 77% as Rally Shows Signs of Exhaustion

Posted on April 12, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

The cryptocurrency market is exhibiting erratic price movement, and XRP has abruptly turned negative, causing its on-chain activity to decline. Investors are concerned because XRP’s payment volume on the XRP Ledger has significantly decreased, despite the fact that momentum seems to be weak.

The volume of XRP payments falls to 86 million. The XRP on-chain payment volume has drastically decreased by roughly 77%, according to data from XRPSCAN. The decline represents the lowest XRP payment volume in the past seven days as XRP continues to trade below $1.35, indicating waning momentum.

Market observers have taken notice of the decline in XRP payment volume due to its weak price move, since network flaws like this could be indicating a bearish price signal.

XRP was trading in positive territory earlier today, with a respectable 1% price increase. It seems to have halted its attempt at recovery, though, as it almost reversed course with a flat price move.

China’s Insatiable Appetite for Silver Drains Global Supplies as Imports Hit 8-Year High

Posted on April 11, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

China’s insatiable appetite for silver drove overseas purchases to an eight-year high at the beginning of 2026 as importers fueled a spike in industrial and investment demand.

According to Chinese customs data released on Friday, the largest buyer received over 790 tons in the first two months, including nearly 470 tons in February—the highest amount ever for that month. Due to strong demand, local prices have risen significantly above global benchmarks, reducing already low exchange reserves and acquiring metal from overseas.

A wave of speculative buying from China and other countries caused silver prices to soar by roughly 70% at the beginning of the year, but at the end of January, they abruptly gave up their gains. This was the most volatile start to a year for silver prices. The robust import numbers indicate that, despite changes in trade flows, physical consumption in China has continued.

Demand has come from solar manufacturers front-loading production and retail investors hoarding silver bars as an alternative to increasingly expensive gold.

Chinese trade policy is another source of stress for the world silver market. China has approved 44 companies to export silver in 2026 and 2027, according to a December Reuters report. This demonstrates that exports are now part of a regulated system rather than being free. This is a crucial structural factor for a market already experiencing tight inventories.

Goldman Sachs had already noted that China’s new export restrictions might make the silver market even more volatile. China has required authorization for outgoing shipments of silver since January 1, 2026.

This raises the possibility that price fluctuations will become more pronounced and liquidity will decrease. Instead of operating as a cohesive worldwide system, the market would then become more divided into local submarkets. Inventory and physical availability become crucial, especially in such a setting.

Anthropic AI Scare Triggers Urgent U.S. Government Warning to US Banks

Posted on April 11, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

A meeting of the Financial Services Forum, an advocacy group composed of the largest lenders, had already brought many of the executives to the city.

Crude Oil Suffers Biggest Weekly Loss Since 2020 as Iran-US Talks Loom

Posted on April 11, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Crude Oil was bearish before the much-awaited negotiations between Iran and the US, which will determine the course of their precarious truce.

West Texas Intermediate dropped 1.3 percent to settle below $97 per barrel with futures down roughly 13.4 percent this week—the largest decline in six years.

Brent oil finished the day lower at about $95. Scrude markets have been incredibly volatile since the war started in late February, and prices are still more than 30% higher than they were before the conflict.

The focus now shifts to the sustainability of the ceasefire announced this week and the possibility of a long-lasting peace that would rekindle energy flows across the Strait of Hormuz. Only ships with ties to Tehran are currently able to pass through the important waterway.

Additionally, the oil market is waiting to see if the US will grant a sanctions waiver that permits the purchase of Russian crude that has already been loaded onto tankers. According to people familiar with the situation, some Asian nations, where fuel shortages have surfaced recently, are pressuring the US Treasury Department to extend the measure. Shortly after midnight Washington time, the current waiver expires

US Vice President JD Vance is anticipated to chair talks with Iranian officials in Islamabad. This week, Iranian attacks have persisted in damaging the region’s energy infrastructure and further restricting supply. Late on Thursday, Saudi Arabia announced that the flow of oil through an East-West pipeline that the kingdom has been using to export via the Red Sea had decreased due to strikes. Inventory has started to be tapped by nations that depend significantly on Middle Eastern crude. According to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Japan will release roughly 20 days’ worth of oil from its reserves in May. The gr was given to Chinese state refiners.

Muse Spark Debut Sends Meta Stock Surging — Analysts Turn Bullish

Posted on April 10, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Meta unveiled its AI model, the first since CEO Mark Zuckerberg started a multibillion-dollar overhaul of the company’s AI division to stay competitive. A new group of costly AI researchers, under the direction of Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang, Meta Superintelligence Labs, developed the eagerly awaited model known as Muse Spark.

Unlike the company’s prior open-source strategy, the Meta AI chatbot will be powered by Muse Spark, a closed model that means its design and code won’t be made public. Meta stock rose by 6% in New York following the announcement.

The model is the first significant test for MSL, Zuckerberg’s new AI lab. The founder of Facebook hired Wang as part of a $14 billion investment in Scale AI last year after the company failed to keep up with rivals like OpenAI, Anthropic PBC, and Alphabet Inc. due to a string of setbacks. is Google

Meta has made an effort to maintain its AI division’s agility by granting researchers autonomy and reducing its usual management-heavy organizational structure. According to the executive, who wished to remain anonymous when discussing internal issues, Wang has about 100 direct reports. Although it was early in the company’s implementation, the executive admitted that Muse Spark lacked some capabilities of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, or Google’s Gemini.

According to a blog post from Meta, the model is “an early data point on our trajectory,” with multiple larger models under development. Executives view Muse Spark—known internally as Avocado during development—as a revitalization of Meta’s AI strategy, which was previously centered on its open-source Llama models.

The project took nine months to complete. Although Meta still intends to develop open-source models in the future, Wang is an advocate of closed models, and the company is also thinking about offering API access to Muse Spark.

China’s Silver Imports Hit 8-Year High as Demand Tightens Supply

Posted on April 10, 2026April 11, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

China’s insatiable appetite for silver drove overseas purchases to an eight-year high at the beginning of 2026 as importers fueled a spike in industrial and investment demand.

According to Chinese customs data, the largest buyer received over 790 tons in the first two months, including nearly 470 tons in February—the highest amount ever for that month. Due to strong demand, local prices have risen significantly above global benchmarks, reducing already low exchange reserves and prompting the buying of metal from overseas.

A wave of speculative buying from China and other countries caused silver prices to rise by roughly 70% at the beginning of the year, but at the end of January, they abruptly gave up their gains. This was the most volatile start to a year for silver prices. The robust import numbers indicate that, despite changes in trade flows, physical consumption in China has continued.

Demand has come from solar manufacturers front-loading production and retail investors hoarding silver bars as an alternative to increasingly expensive gold.

Chinese trade policy is another source of stress for the world silver market. China has approved 44 companies to export silver in 2026 and 2027, according to a late December Reuters report. This demonstrates that exports are now part of a regulated system rather than being free. This is a crucial structural factor for a market that is already experiencing tight inventories.

Goldman Sachs had already noted that China’s new export restrictions might make the silver market even more volatile. Since January 1, 2026, China has required authorization for outgoing shipments of silver.

S&P 500 Snaps Out Longest Winning Streak Since October as Equities Rally for 7th Day

Posted on April 10, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

The S&P 500 recorded its longest winning streak since October as stocks continued to rise for a seventh day in a row. This is despite a decline in software shares. In anticipation of a de-escalation in the strikes that have kept the Strait of Hormuz mostly blocked, US crude settled close to $98.

President Donald Trump stated that he was “very optimistic” about a deal with Iran despite unresolved issues like Israel’s offensive in Lebanon and the opening of Hormuz.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, consented to direct negotiations with Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah, which is affiliated with Tehran. Trump has requested a reduction in the number of strikes to guarantee the success of talks with Iran.

According to Bradford Smith of Janus Henderson Investors, “not much matters for the market other than the durability of the ceasefire, shipping volume through the Strait of Hormuz, and ultimately, whether a bona fide permanent deal is struck.

All of this is taking place at a time when data indicated that the US economy grew more slowly than anticipated in the last few months of 2025. In February, consumer spending barely increased despite ongoing inflation that is expected to pick up speed as a result of the conflict. According to Jeff Roach of LPL Financial, “inflation pressures were particularly acute in health care and financial services even before the war.”

“Material progress is still a long way off. According to Bret Kenwell of eToro, “the consumer price index on Friday will capture some of that impact, but the latest figures don’t reflect the recent surge in energy prices.” The CPI is expected to rise by 0.9 percent, the biggest one-month increase since 2022, according to economists. Recurring applications for

US unemployment benefits dropped to the lowest level in nearly two years, according to a separate report released on Thursday, adding to the evidence of labor market stabilization.