Ethereum news

A Manhattan federal judge has allowed Arbitrum DAO to move $71 million in frozen Ether to Aave, modifying a restraining notice tied to a North Korea-linked exploit. The order permits an onchain governance vote to transfer the funds to an Aave-controlled wallet, while preserving the terrorism victims' legal claim on the assets. The decision follows strong support from Arbitrum delegates in an off-chain vote as part of Aave's recovery plan after the Kelp DAO exploit. Aave had filed an emergency motion arguing that restraining the funds could deter future DeFi recovery efforts. The hack left rsETH's backing with a $174.5 million shortfall, and the frozen ETH is seen as a step toward closing that gap.

A Manhattan federal judge has modified a restraining notice to allow Aave to transfer $71 million in frozen ether linked to a North Korean hack from Arbitrum to an Aave LLC wallet, while preserving the legal claims of North Korean terrorism victims on the funds. The order shields participants in the transfer from liability under the notice. The ruling follows an off-chain Arbitrum governance vote supporting the transfer, though a binding onchain vote is still required. The move resolves a standoff amid claims by attorneys for terrorism judgment creditors that the frozen ETH could be seized due to its connection to the Lazarus Group. This action is part of a broader legal strategy targeting North Korean-linked assets in DeFi. Similar creditors have separately sued Railgun DAO and Digital Currency Group, alleging the privacy protocol allowed North Korean hackers to launder funds and that DCG's governance token purchase made it liable.

Ethereum whale Garrett Jin deposited 78,077 ETH ($178M) into Binance on May 8, following a 165,000 ETH deposit two days earlier. Meanwhile, BlackRock and Fidelity sent a combined 35,394 ETH to Coinbase Prime, totaling over 113,000 ETH ($260M). The transfers coincide with $103.5M in net outflows from US spot Ether ETFs on May 7, with Fidelity’s FETH leading at $62.26M. ETH traded near $2,289 as of writing.

BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) shares fell 4% to $22.00 on May 7 after Chairman Tom Lee signaled the company may slow its Ethereum accumulation as it nears its 5% supply target. BMNR holds 5.18 million ETH, representing 4.29% of circulating supply. The stock remains 86% below its 52-week high of $161. Technical indicators suggest further downside. BMNR trades within an ascending channel that formed after a 59% drop, often a continuation pattern. The 20-day EMA at $21.92 is key support; prior breaks triggered sharp declines. The Chaikin Money Flow shows bearish divergence, and options positioning indicates retail adding long bets while open interest declines, setting up potential for a long squeeze.

Ethereum's share of total value locked in DeFi fell from 63.5% at the start of 2025 to about 54% by May 7, 2026, as rival chains captured market share by specializing in distinct functions. Solana, BNB Chain, Bitcoin, Tron, Base, and Hyperliquid each now hold between 6.66% and 1.81% of DeFi TVL, reflecting a shift from an Ethereum-centric hub to a network of specialized rails. BNB Smart Chain benefits from Binance distribution, with PancakeSwap volume surging 539.2% quarter-over-quarter. Tron dominates stablecoin settlement with $89.6 billion in stablecoins. Bitcoin's TVL rose 13.4% over 30 days as BTCFi collateral use expands. Base, an Ethereum L2, erodes Ethereum L1 share while settling on Ethereum. Hyperliquid's $9.37 billion daily perpetuals volume shows execution-driven liquidity. Solana remains a high-throughput general-purpose venue with $15.26 billion daily chain volume. Despite the compression, Ethereum retains $45.4 billion TVL, $165.5 billion in stablecoins, and blue-chip lending protocols. Its share could recover to 55%-58% if stablecoin-heavy activity grows faster, or compress to 46%-50% if specialist chains continue to capture user-facing use cases. The absolute lead in TVL and institutional depth suggests Ethereum remains DeFi's core settlement and custody layer, even as activity flows to specialized venues.

Ether's price fell over 5.6% to $2,275 after being rejected at $2,400, with multiple indicators suggesting a potential drop below $2,000. Network activity is weakening, with weekly transactions down 10% and active addresses dropping 8%. Total value locked in Ethereum DeFi has fallen to $124.7 billion, a 12-month low. The Ethereum unstaking queue surged 72,000% to 530,985 ETH, driven by investor caution after major DeFi hacks in April 2026 that caused $625 million in losses. Despite this, over 3.6 million ETH remain queued for staking entry. The Coinbase Premium Index remains negative, indicating strong US selling pressure, and spot Ethereum ETFs saw $103 million in net outflows on Thursday. ETH taker buy volume on Binance dropped to -$25 million, signaling aggressive market sell orders. Technically, ETH/USD has broken below a rising wedge pattern and is testing support at $2,150-$2,200. If $2,000 is lost, the next target is $1,830, about 20% below current prices.

Mantle tokenholders have approved a proposal authorizing a credit facility of up to 30,000 ETH (worth about $68 million) for Aave DAO to address bad debt from the April rsETH exploit. The proposal, MIP-34, passed in a seven-day Snapshot vote ending Friday, enabling the Mantle Foundation to negotiate and execute agreements with Aave for a loan from the Mantle Treasury, pending Aave's recovery plan and final terms. The credit facility aims to mitigate the impact of the rsETH incident on Aave V3, where an attacker deposited 89,567 unbacked rsETH and borrowed about $190 million, creating potential bad debt estimated between $123.7 million and $230.1 million. The vote marks a shift to a broader remediation phase, with Mantle providing a backstop as Aave works to restore confidence. Galaxy Research noted the exploit pushed Aave's WETH market into a prolonged squeeze, with utilization above 99% for 12.7 days. As of Friday, utilization has cooled to about 91.6%, with 2.02 million WETH supplied and 1.85 million borrowed.

Arbitrum delegates approved the release of $71 million in frozen ether from a Lazarus-linked exploit, despite ongoing U.S. court proceedings claiming the funds are North Korean property. The approved release initiates an eight-day waiting period before funds can be transferred to affected DeFi protocols and users. The vote authorizes the release of 30,765 ETH frozen after attackers used fraudulent collateral to borrow $230 million from Aave. Aave and other DeFi protocols are coordinating a recovery effort while simultaneously fighting legal attempts to seize the ether as North Korean property in federal court.

Bitmine (BMNR), the largest Ethereum treasury firm, may slow its ether (ETH) accumulation as it nears its goal of holding 5% of the ETH supply, Chairman Tom Lee said Thursday at Consensus 2026 in Miami. The company currently holds 4.29% of the supply, less than a year after launching its strategy, originally expected to take five years. Lee noted that at the current pace of 100,000 ETH per week, the firm would reach the target in about six weeks, but the company is considering a slower pace. Bitmine remains profitable through staking income, with 85% of its ETH staked, generating over $1 million per day. The firm is also evaluating a $4 billion share repurchase program and expanding its institutional staking platform MAVAN.

BNY has partnered with Abu Dhabi-based Finstreet and ADI Foundation to offer institutional digital asset custody, initially for Bitcoin and Ether, to clients in the United Arab Emirates. The service will be based in the Abu Dhabi Global Market, subject to regulatory approval. BNY claims to be the first US global systemically important bank to offer digital asset custody. The collaboration comes as the UAE expands its digital asset infrastructure, with stablecoin projects like DDSC and PUSD launching on ADI Chain. ADI Chain has signed MOUs with BlackRock, Mastercard, and Franklin Templeton for tokenized asset settlement. The UAE has licensed several crypto firms and introduced rules for tokenized assets and derivatives. Additionally, AE Coin and USD Universal are building a regulated conversion rail for near-instant exchange between dirham-pegged AE Coin and US dollar-backed USDU stablecoin, targeting institutional payments.