GM. This is the Never Die Newsletter, where I share whatever crypto news and content I feel like, every week, short and sweet, right to your beautiful little inbox.
This week we have:
📺 Latest Episode: Here is What the Most Powerful AI Models think Bitcoin Does Next
📰 News: FTX Estate Loses Out on a $3B Upside in Premature Cursor Stake Sale
🌟Narrative of the week: Defi is Under Pressure
NEWS📰
💸 FTX Estate Loses Out on a $3B Upside in Premature Cursor Stake Sale
The FTX bankruptcy estate missed out on roughly $3 billion after selling its 5% stake in AI coding startup Cursor for just $200,000 in April 2023. The missed upside follows a recent agreement granting SpaceX the right to acquire Cursor at a $60 billion valuation. The early liquidation fuels ongoing scrutiny over the estate's handling of asset sales during bankruptcy proceedings.
📉 Aave Bleeds in Deposits Amid Kelp DAO Exploit
Aave suffered a massive $15 billion drop in TVL following a $293 million exploit on Kelp DAO. This severe contagion event drove panicked users to withdraw capital from the protocol as they await a final resolution on how the staggering shortfall will be absorbed.
🦊 MetaMask Co-Founder Steps Down
MetaMask co-founder Dan Finlay is officially stepping down from Consensys after more than a decade of building the wallet into the industry's premier Ethereum and DeFi gateway, citing a desire to focus more on family. This one of many exits underscore a broader market trend of early crypto pioneers handing over the reins as the industry matures and becomes increasingly institutionalized.
🏛️ ABA Pushes to Delay Stablecoin Rules
The American Bankers Association (ABA) is requesting a 60 day extension on the public comment period for the GENIUS Act stablecoin rules. This procedural pushback threatens to delay the implementation of the landmark stablecoin bill by several months, further complicating ongoing Senate debates over the stalled CLARITY Act and the treatment of stablecoin yields.
HERE’S WHAT THE MOST POWERFUL AI MODELS THINK BITCOIN DOES NEXT
In this week’s video, I gave the top 5 AI models one task, predict Bitcoin’s price in a year and the results were not what I expected. I talk on each prediction, compare them and share what my own model says about where Bitcoin and crypto are headed next.
NARRATIVE OF THE WEEK: DEFI IS UNDER PRESSURE
In just 24 days of April, Defi protocols lost over $600M. That’s more than 3x the total losses from Q1. Here’s what’s going on:
2026 has already seen ~$771M stolen across 47 incidents, and we’re not even halfway through the year. That’s one attack every 2.9 days, up 68% YoY. April is now the worst month since the Bybit hack in February last year.
Some of the Major Attacks
Two exploits this month drove almost all the losses, while a third, much smaller attack highlights a deeply disturbing new trend.
Drift Protocol ($285M)
Lazarus Group spent six months manipulating insiders at this Solana DEX. There weren’t any code exploit, just human error and the stolen funds were moved to Ethereum within hours.
Kelp DAO ($292M)
Attackers exploited cross-chain messaging via LayerZero bridge, unlocking 116,500 rsETH (~18% of supply). This caused rsETH to violently depeg, dropping to $0.71 and triggering forced liquidations across multiple lending platforms.
Zerion ($100K)
While the dollar amount is smaller, the execution is terrifying. Attackers used AI generated identities, fake calls, and voice cloning to bypass security and drain the company’s internal hot wallets.
The Paradigm Shift in DeFi Hacks
The common theme here isn't smart contract vulnerabilities. The biggest losses in 2026 came from private key leaks and social engineering. Step Finance, Resolv, Drift, and even Bybit's massive $1.5B hit last year, none of these were caused by faulty code.
The real risk isn't just whether a protocol's contracts are audited anymore. It's about operational security: how the team handles private keys, how many independent signatures a multisig actually requires, and how rigorously those signers verify transactions before clicking approve. With AI making deepfake tools widely and cheaply available, the cost of running sophisticated social engineering scams has plummeted. Protocols urgently need to bolster their off chain security.
How To Protect Yourself
Here are a few tips to better secure your portfolio;
Verify Everything: Always double check URLs and contract addresses.
Cold Storage: Use a hardware wallet for any meaningful amount of capital.
Blind Signing is Deadly: Avoid signing any transaction you don’t fully understand.
Audit Your Exposure: Regularly review your exposure to bridges and defi protocols.
Do Your Own Research: Understand the inherent risks of any protocol before deploying capital.
Stay Paranoid: Even the most trusted and safe projects can still be vulnerable.
Final Thoughts
The unprecedented rate of hacks this year is undoubtedly weighing heavily on broader crypto market sentiment. Hackers are becoming increasingly sophisticated, leveraging AI to blur the lines between what's real and what's a scam.
However, these stress tests will ultimately force the industry to adapt, leading to more resilient platforms down the line. For now, my advice is to stay safe, minimize your exposure to unnecessary security risks, and protect your long term capital. The storm will eventually pass, and those who survive it will be perfectly positioned for the next major run.
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