North Korea-affiliated hackers may have scaled back their operations in the second half of 2024 while preparing for what became the largest crypto hack in history.The crypto industry was rocked by the enormous hack on Feb. 21 when Bybit lost over $1.4 billion to the infamous North Korean Lazarus Group, which seems to have prepared the attack months in advance.According to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, illicit activity tied to North Korean cyber actors sharply declined after July 1, 2024, despite a surge in attacks earlier that year.The slowdown in crypto hacks by North Korean agents had raised significant red flags, according to Eric Jardine, Chainalysis cybercrimes research Lead.North Korean hacking activity before and after July 1. Source: ChainalysisNorth Korea’s slowdown “started when Russia and DPRK [North Korea] met for their summit that led to a reallocation of North Korean resources, including military personnel to the war in Ukraine,” Jardine told Cointelegraph during the Chainreaction show on March 26, adding:“So, we speculated in the report that there might have been additional things unseen in terms of resources reallocation from the DPRK, and then you roll forward into early February, and you have the Bybit hack.”https://t.co/jOlqMt4Hag— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) March 26, 2025“The slowdown that we observed could have been a regrouping to select new targets, probe infrastructure, or it could have been linked to those geopolitical events,” he added.Related: Hyperliquid whale still holds 10% of JELLY memecoin after $6.2M exploitIt took the Lazarus Group 10 days to launder 100% of the stolen Bybit funds through the decentralized crosschain protocol THORChain, Cointelegraph reported on March 4.Still, blockchain security experts were hopeful that a portion of the funds could be frozen and recovered by Bybit. As of March 20, over 80% of the stolen $1.4 billion was still traceable as blockchain investigators continue their efforts to freeze and recover the funds.Related: Polymarket faces scrutiny over $7M Ukraine mineral deal betHow hackers staged the world’s biggest crypto hackThe Bybit attack highlights that even centralized exchanges with strong security measures remain vulnerable to sophisticated cyberattacks, analysts said.The attack shares similarities with the $230 million WazirX hack and the $58 million Radiant Capital hack, according to Meir Dolev, co-founder and chief technical officer at Cyvers.Dolev said the Ethereum multisig cold wallet was compromised through a deceptive transaction, tricking signers into unknowingly approving a malicious smart contract logic change.“This allowed the hacker to gain control of the cold wallet and transfer all ETH to an unknown address,” Dolev told Cointelegraph.North Korea hacking activity. Source: ChainalysisThroughout 2024, North Korean hackers stole over $1.34 billion worth of digital assets across 47 incidents, a 102% increase from the $660 million stolen in 2023, according to Chainalysis data.This accounted for 61% of the total crypto stolen in 2024.Magazine: Memecoins are ded — But Solana ‘100x better’ despite revenue plunge

Ether (ETH) price declined by over 5% in the last 24 hours to around $1,900 on March 28. Ether’s bearish performance mirrored similar downside moves elsewhere in the cryptocurrnecy market, with the total capitalization falling by approximately 2.67% to $2.78 trillion.ETH/USD four-hour price chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewSeveral factors are contributing to ETH price losses, including:Trump’s tariff tensions and its overall impact on risk-on markets.Massive long liquidations in the crypto market.Bearish technicals.Trump’s 25% automotive tariffs spook ETH investorsOne major macroeconomic force impacting Ether’s price is US President Donald Trump’s renewed tariff wars, which have caused tensions among investors.Key takeaways:On March 26, 2025, President Trump announced a 25% tariff on all cars and light trucks imported into the US, set to take effect on April 3. Market participants are concerned this might trigger another sell-off in cryptocurrencies, pushing prices lower.The 25% tariff on automobile imports targets major trading partners like Mexico, Canada, Japan, and Germany.While Trump touts this as a way to bolster the American automotive industry, the immediate fallout is likely to rattle global markets, particularly risk-on assets like ETH. When Trump imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China in early March, ETH dropped from $3,400 to $2,100 in less than 72 hours before partially recovering.Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum has said that her administration is going to give a comprehensive response to the tariffs after April 2, The Kobeissi Letter reported, adding:“Reciprocal tariffs on the reciprocal tariffs are coming.”Spooked by fears of a trade war and a potential US recession, investors are shifting away from volatile assets like ETH toward safer havens, driving its price down. Long liquidations accelerate ETH downtrendEther’s tumble over the past 24 hours coincided with a wave of long liquidations that forced traders to exit their leveraged positions.Key takeaways:Over $97 million worth of ETH positions were wiped out in the last 24 hours, with long liquidations accounting for 91% of the total or $88.7 million.ETH total liquidation chart. Source: CoinGlassThe sharp price drop triggered a cascade of forced sell-offs as traders betting on Ethereum’s price increase were liquidated.Such liquidations accelerate price declines, exacerbating the downturn.The broader crypto market also experienced a sharp deleveraging event, with total liquidations reaching $353 million across all assets.Crypto market liquidations (24 hours). Source: CoinGlassRelated: Ethereum devs prepare final Pectra test before mainnet launchETH faces further declines toward $1,200Ether’s price technicals are also looking weaker, notably its prevailing bear flag pattern.Key points:A bear flag suggests a continuation of the bearish momentum.A temporary consolidation (flag) formed near $2,200, resulting in a failed breakout.ETH dropped below key support levels, confirming the bear flag breakdown.ETH/USD daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewThe target from the pattern suggests a potential decline toward $1,200, representing a 35% decline from the current level.The relative strength index remains below the mid-line, underlining the downtrend.ETH has “suffered more severe declines,” down over 50% from its three-year high of $4,100 reached on Dec. 16, 2024, said data provider CryptoQuant in its latest report, adding:“This reflects weaker recovery momentum and higher volatility.”Top 5 cryptocurrencies: Percentage drawdown from all-time highs. Source: CryptoQuantAs earlier reported by Cointelegraph, the recent drawdown in Ether’s price reflected overly bearish expectations, but rising Ethereum network activity and decreasing supply on exchanges could set the stage for a recovery toward $2,500.This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

The current state of crypto is akin to the internet's “America Online” (AOL) era during the late 1990s, when the user experience was clunky, technical, featured limited use cases, and moved at dial-up speeds, according to Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal.In an interview with Cointelegraph, Nailwal identified several key areas of development to improve user experience, including seamless fiat on- and off-ramps, custody solutions that feature key recovery, and hardware wallets built into mobile devices."We are in the dial-up era of the internet where even connecting to the Internet was a tedious task, like you had to be a mini-engineer to be able to connect to the Internet — we are still there in crypto." “We are probably still in 1998, and it is going to take at least 10 to 15 years to see crypto in its full glory,” the Polygon founder added.While considered revolutionary at the time, the AOL days of the internet featured limited functionality and a high barrier to entry. Source: PC MagazineThe internet took between 30-40 years to achieve mass adoption and began with a limited number of use cases. In the late 1990s, the AOL era of the internet was primarily focused on email and basic web browsing, but today, the internet encompasses the entire economy.Nailwal said that the current state of crypto is similar, with financial use cases, particularly market speculation, being the core focus of crypto at this time.However, once the financial use cases have been fully developed and achieved sufficient adoption, crypto adoption will spread to alternative use cases such as decentralized social media, gaming, and other niche sectors, he said.Related: Security concerns slow crypto payment adoption worldwide — SurveyBeing in crypto today is being early to the partyNailwal pointed out that even the base use case for cryptocurrencies, which is financial, has not been fully developed.According to a February 2025 report from Bitcoin (BTC) financial services company River, only 4% of individuals worldwide own BTC — which is the original cryptocurrency with the largest market cap and has the most mainstream appeal.Bitcoin’s adoption path. Source: RiverThe report found that BTC has only achieved about 3% of its total adoption path when institutions, the total addressable market, and proper portfolio allocations are considered.This small number of BTC holders indicates that crypto mass adoption is still years away and signals that the entire industry is still in the early adopter phase of development.Magazine: They solved crypto’s janky UX problem — you just haven’t noticed yet

Solana's native token, SOL (SOL), faced a sharp 8% rejection after briefly touching $147 on March 25. For the past three weeks, SOL has struggled to reclaim the $150 level, which is leading traders to question whether the bullish momentum that was originally driven by memecoin speculation and the rise of artificial intelligence sectors has come to an end.Some analysts argue that SOL price could significantly benefit from the eventual approval of a Solana spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States, as well as the expansion of tokenized real-world assets (RWA) on the Solana network, including stablecoins and money market funds. Others, like Nikita Bier, co-founder of TBH and Gas startups, believe Solana has “the fundamental building blocks for something to break out on mobile."Source: nikitabierBier highlighted the constructive regulatory environment from US President Donald Trump and the long-term impact of the memecoin frenzy, which introduced “millions” of new users to Web3 wallets and decentralized applications (DApps). Essentially, Nikita Bier believes Solana is well-positioned due to its streamlined onboarding experience for mobile users.The lackluster Bitcoin reserve announcement hurt all cryptocurrenciesDespite the potential for establishing a “consumer-grade” marketplace for DApps, most traders suffered losses as the memecoin mania faded and onchain volumes plunged. This decline has led investors to question whether SOL has the strength to reclaim levels above $150. Beyond the waning interest in DApps, Solana is also facing growing competition from other blockchains.Additionally, the realization that the US government would not purchase altcoins for its strategic reserve and digital asset stockpile was a major disappointment for some investors. On March 6, President Trump signed a bill allowing budget-neutral strategies for the US Treasury to acquire Bitcoin (BTC), while altcoins in government possession could be strategically sold. In fact, there was no explicit mention of Solana or any other altcoin in the Digital Asset Stockpile executive order.Some may argue that the Solana ecosystem extends far beyond memecoin trading and token launchpads, as total value locked (TVL) has grown across liquid staking, collateralized lending, synthetic assets, and yield platforms. However, Solana’s fees and DApp revenues have continued to decline. Reduced onchain activity reduces SOL’s appeal to investors, thus limiting its upside potential.Solana 7-day DApp revenues (left) and chain fees (right), USD. Source: DefiLlamaSolana DApp revenues totaled $12 million in the seven days leading up to March 24, down from $23.7 million just two weeks earlier. Similarly, base layer fees reached $3.6 million in the same period, a sharp drop from $6.6 million in the seven days ending March 10. Interestingly, this decline occurred while the total value locked (TVL) remained stable at 53.2 million SOL.Related: Specialized purpose DEXs poised for growth in 2025 — Curve founderSolana is no longer the dominant network in DEX volumesThe drop in Solana’s onchain activity is particularly concerning given that BNB Chain surged to the top spot in DEX volumes, despite having 34% less TVL than Solana, according to DefiLlama data.Decentralized exchanges volume market share. Source: DefiLlamaIn terms of volume, Solana dominated the DEX industry from October 2024 to February 2025 but has recently lost ground to Ethereum and BNB Chain. As a result, part of SOL’s price weakness stems from a decline in Solana’s onchain activity compared to its competitors. For instance, trading volume on Hyperliquid increased by 35% over the past seven days, while activity on Pendle surged by an impressive 186%.Although fundamentals do not indicate an imminent rally above $150, the Solana network uniquely combines an integrated user experience with a degree of decentralization that has proven successful. For example, while BNB Chain and Tron offer similar scalability, neither has had a wallet or DApp rank among the top 10 on the Apple App Store—unlike Solana’s Phantom Wallet in November 2024.This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.