We bring you the latest in the Web3 and AI industry, structured in bite-sized news that you can read in a minute!
Here’s what’s happening in Web3 and AI in 1 minute.
Web3
Bybit Targeted in Largest Hack in Crypto History
1️⃣ Bybit Crypto Exchange has been hacked to the tune of US$1.4 billion in assets, which includes Liquid Staked ETH, Mantle Staked ETH, and other ERC-20 tokens. This single incident is the largest amount hacked in crypto history, surpassing the infamous $600 million hack on the Ronin Network.
ZachXBT Identifies Lazarus Group as Bybit Hacker
2️⃣ Blockchain analyst ZachXBT linked the Lazarus Group to the Bybit hack, winning a bounty from Arkham Intelligence. Industry figures including Justin Sun, and exchanges like OKX and KuCoin, have offered support to Bybit.
Bybit Faces Large Withdrawals After $1.4B Theft
3️⃣ Bybit has seen a surge in withdrawals following the hack, with the exchange handling thousands of pending requests while managing liquidity. Instead of buying Ethereum to cover losses, Bybit is seeking a bridge loan.
Bybit Hacker Among Largest ETH Holders
4️⃣ The Bybit hacker, allegedly North Korean’s infamous Lazarus Group, now holds 489,000 ETH, making them the 14th largest holder globally. Exchanges are blacklisting the hacker’s addresses, and experts agree that the stolen Ether is essentially unrecoverable.
Bybit CEO Suggests Ethereum Rollback After Lazarus Hack
5️⃣ Amidst the chain of events following the Bybit Exchange hack, its CEO proposed a community vote on rolling back the Ethereum blockchain to reverse the theft. The exchange is pursuing fund recovery through a bounty programme and law enforcement collaboration.
SEC Closes OpenSea Investigation
6️⃣ The SEC ended its investigation into OpenSea, marking a win for the crypto and NFT industries. The regulator had previously issued a Wells Notice in August 2024, suggesting OpenSea might be operating as an unregistered securities marketplace.
Michael Saylor Urges US to Buy Bitcoin Supply
7️⃣ MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor suggested that the US should acquire 20% of Bitcoin’s supply to strengthen the dollar and prevent other nations from gaining an advantage. He argued that owning 4 to 6 million BTC could pay off the country’s national debt.
US. Marshals Struggle to Manage Seized Crypto Assets
8️⃣ The US Marshals Service (USMS) faces difficulties in tracking and managing its crypto holdings, complicating any potential Bitcoin reserve strategy. Managing seized crypto is vital for funding the Department of Justice, but critics argue the USMS lacks expertise in handling digital assets.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI’s High Costs Widen the Digital Divide
1️⃣ The rising cost of AI tools is creating a divide between those who can afford access and those who cannot. The fees are prohibitive in emerging economies, mirroring early internet access disparities, but experts believe regulations could help ensure broader AI accessibility.
Hoskinson Predicts AGI Within 3 to 5 Years
2️⃣ Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson expects Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) to emerge in three to five years. AGI would enable AI to perform tasks with human-like intelligence and autonomy, quoting upcoming developments such as Grok 3 and Llama 4.
Crypto VCs Cautious About AI Agents
3️⃣ Despite enthusiasm for AI agents, venture capital firms remain hesitant to invest. Pantera Capital’s Paul Veradittakit sees trading as an ideal application, but investors at Consensus 2025 in Hong Kong believe it is still too early.
Figure AI Enhances Humanoid Robots
4️⃣ Figure AI’s new Helix system allows robots to interpret language commands and manipulate objects without specific pre-training. The dual-system AI integrates reasoning and real-time motor control, using a Vision-Language-Action model for seamless interaction.
Kaito AI Token Surges Despite Sell-Offs
5️⃣ Kaito AI’s (KAITO) token has surged nearly 50% since its airdrop on 20 February, now trading above $1.74 with a market cap exceeding $421 million. Despite major crypto influencers selling large portions of their allocations, the token maintains upward momentum.
Microsoft Expands Capacity for OpenAI’s GPT-4.5 & GPT-5
6️⃣ Microsoft is ramping up infrastructure to host OpenAI’s newest models, with GPT-4.5 launching next week and GPT-5 expected in late May. The company clarified that its hosting service does not interact with OpenAI-operated tools such as ChatGPT.
SynFutures Unveils AI Trading Agent
7️⃣ Decentralised derivatives exchange SynFutures has launched Synthia, an AI trading agent enabling natural language-based asset swaps and transfers. The rollout will occur in three phases, culminating in a meta agent capable of managing multiple agents.
US Bitcoin Miners Pivot to AI and HPC
8️⃣ Faced with declining transaction fee revenues, Bitcoin miners are shifting towards artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC). The trend is gaining traction, with miners seeking scalable solutions for long-term profitability.
