Cryptocurrency
Vitalik Buterin Donates 50 ETH to the Legal Fund of Tornado Cash Developers

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has made a contribution to the legal defense fund for Tornado Cash developers Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev.
Buterin gave 50 ETH, valued at approximately $170,000 at writing time, to aid the developers as they navigate mounting legal challenges.
The Donation
The news was shared through a Dec. 31 post on X by the Juicebox project Free Pertsev and Storm. One of the beneficiaries, Roman Storm, expressed gratitude for the funds in a separate post, describing it as a show of Buterin’s leadership and support.
“Immense gratitude to Vitalik Buterin for his generous donation to my legal defense fund. Your unwavering support and leadership by example continue to inspire us all. Thank you for standing with me during this challenging time,” he wrote.
He also revealed that the recent donation represents about 25% of the $650,000 available through JusticeDAO, a community-driven initiative established to support their legal battles.
Meanwhile, this isn’t the first time Buterin has been involved in legal defense efforts for controversial cases. In 2022, he gave out 10 ETH, valued at $30,980 at the time, to the AssangeDAO legal fund created to support WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
More recently, in October, he offered 100 ETH, translating to about $240,000, to the Free Pertsev and Storm Juicebox. This was in addition to another contribution he made in May to the same cause of 30 ETH, worth around $113,000.
Tornado Cash Developers Face Ongoing Legal Challenges
The Tornado Cash crypto mixing protocol has been in the news for all the wrong reasons, especially with accusations from government agencies that it was being exploited by malicious actors for illicit activities, including money laundering.
In August 2022, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on the platform, alleging that North Korean hackers had used it to launder more than $7 billion in crypto since 2019.
The legal action intensified scrutiny on the service, with Dutch authorities arresting co-founder Alexey Pertsev in 2022. He was later found guilty of money laundering in May 2024, upon which he received a prison sentence of over five years. Pertsev is currently appealing the verdict.
In the United States, Storm and fellow developer Roman Semenov face charges of money laundering, sanctions violations, and fraud for their involvement with the crypto mixer.
Storm was released on bail and is awaiting trial, which has been rescheduled to April 14, 2025, after being postponed from its original date in December 2024. Meanwhile, Semenov remains at large.
Binance Free $600 (CryptoPotato Exclusive): Use this link to register a new account and receive $600 exclusive welcome offer on Binance (full details).
LIMITED OFFER for CryptoPotato readers at Bybit: Use this link to register and open a $500 FREE position on any coin!
Cryptocurrency
Venom Foundation Achieves 150k TPS in Closed-Network Stress Test, Paving the Way for 2025 Mainnet Upgrade

[PRESS RELEASE – Abu Dhabi, UAE, May 23rd, 2025]
The Venom Foundation has successfully completed a closed‑network stress test of its next‑generation protocol, which is capable of completing 150,000 transactions per second (TPS) and finalizing all transfers in under three seconds. The implementation of this upgrade is set to occur in Q3 2025 and make Venom one of the most effective throughput public blockchains in existence.
“Throughput only matters if it can remain reliable under pressure,” said Christopher Louis, Chief Executive Officer at Venom. “Our new stack can handle enterprise‑scale workloads without spiking fees or compromising decentralization, which is exactly what payment providers, exchanges, and game studios need.”
Why It Matters for Markets
- Speed at scale — DAG‑based mempool consensus unlocks headroom for 400,000+ TPS in synthetic benchmarks while maintaining real‑time finality.
- Fair order flow — The distributed sorting layer can convert the DAG into a single linear order, preventing front‑running and other MEV exploits.
- Parallel smart‑contract execution — TVM actor model shard accounts and processes call asynchronously, enabling high‑volume DeFi and microtransactions.
- Deterministic security — Validators can generate identical outputs, meaning finality is reached once 2 n + 1 signatures are collected, making forks virtually impossible.
- Lean networking footprint — Asynchronous block distribution keeps bandwidth costs low for operators and cloud partners.
Path to Production
Testnet (Q2 2025) – Security audits, ecosystem tooling, third‑party audits
Mainnet Migration (Q3 2025) – In‑place hard fork
Ecosystem Expansion (Q4 2025) – Cross‑chain bridges, feature‑complete SDKs
Transparency
All raw data, node configurations, and test scripts will be published to Venom’s public GitHub repository ahead of the testnet launch. Independent auditors are currently reviewing both the security and performance aspects of the upgrade.
About The Venom Foundation
The Venom Foundation consists of researchers and developers from Abu Dhabi, where they built the foundations for the network. The foundation is a Cayman‑registered, community‑driven non‑profit supporting research, development, and adoption for the Venom blockchain.
Website: https://venom.foundation/
https://x.com/VenomFoundation/
Press contact: press@venom.foundation
Binance Free $600 (CryptoPotato Exclusive): Use this link to register a new account and receive $600 exclusive welcome offer on Binance (full details).
LIMITED OFFER for CryptoPotato readers at Bybit: Use this link to register and open a $500 FREE position on any coin!
Cryptocurrency
On-Chain Data Signals This Bitcoin Bull Run Is Just Getting Started

Bitcoin’s latest surge has sparked renewed excitement across the crypto space.
As the cryptocurrency hovers near its recently set all-time high, new data suggests changes in Bitcoin holder behavior and a strong potential for further gains throughout the week.
Bitcoin Enters “Unprecedented” Bull Phase
According to Santiment’s latest tweet, an important on-chain signal supporting this bullish momentum is the declining Mean Dollar Age of Bitcoin holdings, which reflects a younger average age of coins in circulation. This trend has historically aligned with major bull cycles.
Over the past five years, there have been three major bull runs, and Santiment found that each has been accompanied by a noticeable drop in the average age of held BTC. Since April 16th, this metric has declined from 441 days to 429 days, which indicates that long-dormant whales are beginning to move their holdings.
As these older coins re-enter active circulation, it strengthens the narrative that the market is in an “unprecedented” bull phase. In fact, this phase could possibly be one of the most significant in Bitcoin’s history.
Further supporting this, Glassnode’s analysis revealed that despite Bitcoin’s ATH, realized profit-taking volume was just $1 billion, less than half the $2.10 billion seen when Bitcoin first crossed $100K in December 2024.
Bitcoin Climbs Global Asset Ranks
Coin age distribution shows short-term traders dominating activity, with 6-month-old assets dropped to 13.4% from 24.7%. This indicates that long-term holders are broadly refraining from distributing coins at current levels, which is indicative of a stronger conviction and reduced speculative behavior.
CryptoRank’s latest data highlighted a growing macro correlation. Bitcoin’s price movements increasingly mirror trends in the global M2 money supply. Now the fifth-largest asset by market capitalization, Bitcoin appears to be following broader liquidity patterns more closely.
The chart includes a 10-week forward projection of M2, historically a leading indicator for the cryptocurrency. This suggests that changes in global liquidity precede shifts in Bitcoin’s price. With the current M2 forecast pointing to continued growth, the data signals potential sustained upside for the cryptocurrency in the near term.
Binance Free $600 (CryptoPotato Exclusive): Use this link to register a new account and receive $600 exclusive welcome offer on Binance (full details).
LIMITED OFFER for CryptoPotato readers at Bybit: Use this link to register and open a $500 FREE position on any coin!
Cryptocurrency
Crypto Price Analysis May-23: ETH, XRP, ADA, SOL, and HYPE

This week, we examine Ethereum, Ripple, Cardano, Solana, and Hype in greater detail.
Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum continued to consolidate this week and booked a 2% gain. While this appears modest, the longer ETH sits above the key support at $2,400, the higher the chance of a continued rally that can challenge the current resistance at $2,870.
The price action remains bullish and a breakout attempt above $2,870 is likely, which could bring this cryptocurrency closer to $3,000, a key psychological level.
Looking ahead, ETH is looking promising and may follow Bitcoin, which has been making new price records. This ongoing market optimism could spill over across altcoins, including ETH.
Ripple (XRP)
XRP’s consolidation under the $2.6 resistance continues. This is why the price is almost identical to last week. Since sellers appear absent, this could give way for buyers to return and attempt a breakout above $2.6.
The momentum is bullish despite the low volatility. This flat trend could be just a brief pause before bulls gather enough strength to resume the rally towards $3, which is acting as a magnet for the price.
Looking ahead, XRP suffers from low volatility and volume right now, but this can change at any time. It’s quite likely that as soon as the $2.6 resistance falls, the price will rush to $3 in quick succession.
Cardano (ADA)
ADA is making good progress towards the $0.9 resistance and has increased by 5% this week. If this trend continues, a breakout attempt is likely before the end of May.
This bullish sentiment can also be seen on the weekly MACD, which is curving upwards with an imminent cross to the upside. If confirmed by next week, then ADA has a good shot at sustaining this rally to reclaim $1.
Looking ahead, ADA has good support at $0.75 should sellers return. This level was already tested recently, which puts buyers at an advantage right now. This makes a test of $0.9 more likely before any future pullback.
Solana (SOL)
Solana had a good week and booked an 8% gain. This allowed the price to expand and reach the resistance at $186, which is being challenged at the time of this post. If SOL is successful in breaking above it and turning it into a key support, then the next target will be found at $200 and beyond.
The weekly MACD already did a bullish cross two weeks ago. This puts SOL ahead of ADA in terms of its rally. While the price increased, the buy volume remains somewhat low compared to past rallies. This is a sign of weakness, but can quickly change if the asset goes beyond $200 later.
Solana is up by almost 100% since its recent bottom at $95. This is an impressive rally for a coin with such a large market capitalization. Considering the price is making higher highs, there are no signs of this trend changing anytime soon.
Hype (HYPE)
HYPE broke everyone’s expectations this week with an eye-popping 39% price increase. This pushed it to $37 at the time of this post, a new record. This rapid move has created euphoria across the Hyperliquid ecosystem.
The current target for this rally is $40, which is the next major psychological level on the chart. Considering the strength of this rally, HYPE may test that level within 24h. Once the buying pressure subsides, a pullback is likely and may be quite significant considering this rally.
Looking ahead, HYPE is one of the few altcoins that managed to make a new all-time high in 2025, breaking its record of $35 from December 2024. This gives hope that the overall altcoin market may soon recover the losses from earlier this year.
Binance Free $600 (CryptoPotato Exclusive): Use this link to register a new account and receive $600 exclusive welcome offer on Binance (full details).
LIMITED OFFER for CryptoPotato readers at Bybit: Use this link to register and open a $500 FREE position on any coin!
Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoPotato is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoPotato on whether to buy, sell, or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk. See Disclaimer for more information.
Cryptocurrency charts by TradingView.
- Forex3 years ago
Forex Today: the dollar is gaining strength amid gloomy sentiment at the start of the Fed’s week
- Forex3 years ago
Unbiased review of Pocket Option broker
- Forex3 years ago
How is the Australian dollar doing today?
- Forex3 years ago
Dollar to pound sterling exchange rate today: Pound plummeted to its lowest since 1985
- Cryptocurrency3 years ago
What happened in the crypto market – current events today
- World3 years ago
Why are modern video games an art form?
- Commodities3 years ago
Copper continues to fall in price on expectations of lower demand in China
- Economy3 years ago
Crude oil tankers double in price due to EU anti-Russian sanctions