Ethereum developers have launched an initiative to fix a structural flaw that caused billions in user losses, including the Bybit hack. Legacy DeFi infrastructure can remain vulnerable even after migrating to new architectures, as evidenced by the Huma Finance exploit.
Particularly Bitcoin [BTC] Mining company MARA recorded significant losses in the first quarter of 2026, most of which were due to the crypto crisis.
Here’s a closer look at what happened in crypto today.
An open standard designed to put an end to blind signing
Recently, Ethereum proponents put forward a “clear signing” initiative that will eliminate “low-level, machine-readable formats” for transaction approval that are accurate but require technical expertise to parse.
Instead, they try to move toward clear, human-readable, and structured descriptions of what a transaction will do. Wallets can present this information consistently to users.
Bitcoin hopium and the road to a crypto bull market
On May 12, AMBCrypto reported that MARA Holdings saw first-quarter revenue fall 18% to $176 million. Net losses totaled $1.3 billion, 90% of which were due to the crypto crisis, the company said. The report also noted that the mining company is moving ahead with its aggressive AI pivot plans.
CEO of The Bitcoin Bond Company, Pierre Rochard, noted that the current bear market cycle appears to have decoupled from the previous one. The 2015 bear market saw an 85% decline, while the 2022 bear market resulted in a 77% correction to the price bottom.
Meanwhile, this cycle’s low at $60,000 was only 52% below the ATH. Rochard reasoned that consistent inflows from ETF investors and corporate demand for BTC have led to reduced market volatility.
In other news, Arthur Hayes explained in an essay that war is inflationary, predicting that the recent conflict would cause the US Federal Reserve to print money to ease monetary policy. Under these circumstances, a Bitcoin rally to $126,000 by 2026 would be “a foregone conclusion,” Hayes said.
DTCC partners with Chainlink amid rising DeFi hacks
In a press release, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) announced that its Collateral AppChain platform will leverage Chainlink’s [LINK] Runtime Environment (CRE) and data standard to enable near real-time collateral management.
The platform is expected to go live in the fourth quarter of 2026. DTCC’s platform will enable 24/7, near real-time settlement to reduce delays in the current collateral system, strengthening the case for integrating blockchains with real-world data.
Digital asset companies Galaxy and SharpLink plan to allocate $125 million to DeFi liquidity protocols and other on-chain yield-bearing strategies. They will achieve this through the Galaxy Sharplink Onchain Yield Fund. It allows the latter to maintain its exposure to Ethereum. The function of DATs is also expanding from passive ownership to actively managed strategies.
Meanwhile, the $101.4k Huma Finance exploit has further tarnished the reputation of DeFi. The attacker targeted the flawed account validation logic and exposed hidden operational risks in the aging DeFi infrastructure.
Final summary
- The Ethereum Foundation’s One Trillion Dollar Security Initiative is committed to the clear signing initiative. This will put an end to the blind signing that has cost the sector billions.
- Bitcoin hopium was alive and well thanks to ETF inflows and corporate demand, combined with inflation from conflict.