Market
Justin Sun Claims First Digital Trust Fraud Exceeds Impact of FTX

TRON founder Justin Sun is intensifying his accusations against First Digital Trust (FDT), the issuer of the FDUSD stablecoin, who he claims embezzled $500 million of its clients’ funds.
In an April 5 post on X, Sun compared FDT to the now-defunct FTX exchange, claiming the FDT case is “ten times worse.” FTX filed for bankruptcy in November 2022 after a bank run revealed an $8 billion shortfall in its assets.
Justin Sun Compares First Digital Trust to FTX
Sun argued that while FTX misused user funds, the exchange at least maintained an internal system that portrayed the activity as pledged loans.
He explained that FTX used assets like FTT, SRM, and MAPS tokens as collateral in transactions that, on the surface, had some structure. In contrast, Sun claims First Digital Trust outright stole funds without user consent or any internal pledge mechanism.
“FDT simply siphoned off $456m from TUSD’s custodial funds without client authorization or knowledge, and booked as loans to a dubious third party Dubai company without any collaterals,” Sun claimed.
The Tron founder further asserted that the now-convicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) indeed misused funds. However, Sun noted much of that capital went into investments in reputable firms such as Robinhood and AI company Anthropic.
On the other hand, Sun alleged that FDT diverted user assets into private entities for personal gain without any meaningful investment.
Sun also took aim at FDT CEO Vincent Chok Zhuo, criticizing his apparent indifference following the exposure of the alleged misconduct.
According to him, Chok has shown no intention of taking responsibility. This contrasts with SBF, who took steps to recover user assets and cooperated with authorities.
“Vincent Chok has acted deceptively and maliciously, pretending nothing happened when exposed,” Sun stated.
Considering this development, the TRON founder urged Hong Kong authorities to take swift action. He called for a response similar to that of US regulators during the FTX collapse.
Sun emphasized that Hong Kong’s reputation as a global financial hub is at risk and called for immediate enforcement to prevent further damage.
“Hong Kong must act like its US counterparts—swiftly, decisively, and effectively. We cannot allow the fraudsters continue its pyramid scheme against the public,” the crypto entrepreneur concluded.
To support investigations, Sun has launched a $50 million bounty program aimed at exposing the alleged misconduct. He also met with Hong Kong lawmaker Johnny Wu to discuss potential regulatory action.
Disclaimer
In adherence to the Trust Project guidelines, BeInCrypto is committed to unbiased, transparent reporting. This news article aims to provide accurate, timely information. However, readers are advised to verify facts independently and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content. Please note that our Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, and Disclaimers have been updated.
Market
PEPE Price To Bounce 796% To New All-Time Highs In 2025? Here’s What The Chart Says

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PEPE’s price action has been relatively quiet in the past few weeks. The meme coin has been quietly going through a continued wave of selloffs amidst the volatility in the wider crypto market.
However, an interesting technical analysis shows that the chart structure of PEPEUSDT is pointing to a massive move to the upside, one that could send the token soaring by as much as 796% before the end of 2025. As the broader crypto market continues to move sideways, crypto analyst MasterAnanda identified a short-term higher low forming around support levels, which could act as the launchpad for a major PEPE price breakout.
Short-Term Higher Low Points To Strong Accumulation Zone
The bullish outlook on PEPE is based on the repeat of a similar price formation that played out in 2024 before its run to new price highs and eventually its current all-time high of $0.00002803. According to the price chart shared by the analyst on the TradingView platform, PEPE initially traded in a descending channel between May to September 2024 before eventually breaking out of the channel. After breaking out of the channel, PEPE went on a brief uptrend and another downside which led to the creation of a lower low, before eventually going on an extended rally that peaked in December 2024.
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Notably, it seems the same structure is showing up again on the PEPE price chart, specifically on the daily candlestick timeframe. In the analysis, MasterAnanda marks April as the period where PEPE bottomed out within a descending channel. Since then, two distinct highs and two clear lows have shaped what appears to be a reversal structure.

Most notably, a new higher low is beginning to form a pattern that, according to previous price action, could precede a bullish wave. The analyst labels this as a important stage, especially for spot traders who are positioning for long-term growth. Although there could be weakness in the short term, which could result in one last shakeout or another downside wick, the analyst noted that this shouldn’t worry spot investors.
It may offer a final opportunity to accumulate before momentum builds toward a new cycle high. On the other hand, leveraged traders are advised to proceed with caution and risk management, given the potential volatility during the build-up to the breakout.
Fibonacci Levels Show 480% To 796% Rally Target
The chart highlights a significant confluence around Fibonacci extension levels, with the 1.618 Fib level suggesting a possible 480% move and the more ambitious 2.618 extension pointing to a 796% upside. Interestingly, MasterAnanda noted that the numbers are huge.
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Although these targets are just projections, they align with the previous rally seen in late 2024. If this prediction structure holds, the next rally could push PEPE beyond the 1.618 Fib level at $0.0004264, surpassing all prior highs and printing a new all-time high in 2025.
At the time of writing, PEPE is trading at $0.00000708, down by 4.7% in the past 24 hours.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from Tradingview.com
Market
Crypto Market Lost $633 Billion in Q1 2025, CoinGecko Finds

According to CoinGecko’s quarterly report, the overall crypto market cap fell 18.6% in Q1 2025. Trading volume on centralized exchanges also fell 16% compared to the previous quarter.
This report identified a few positive trends, but most of them contained at least one significant downside. Despite the market euphoria in January, recession fears are taking a very serious toll.
Crypto Suffered Heavy Losses in Q1
The latest CoinGecko report shows just how bearish the first quarter of the year has been. Although the crypto market started January with a major bullish cycle, macroeconomic factors have heavily impacted market sentiment for the past two months.

According to this report, crypto’s total market cap fell 18.6% in Q1 2025, a staggering $633.5 billion. Investor activity fell alongside token prices, as daily trading volumes fell 27.3% quarter-on-quarter from the end of 2024. Spot trading volume on centralized exchanges fell 16.3%, which CoinGecko at least partially attributes to the Bybit hack.
The report mostly focused on concrete numbers, but it pointed to a few specific events that impacted crypto. Markets hit a local high around Trump’s inauguration, thanks to market euphoria over possible friendly policies.
His TRUMP meme coin fueled a brief frenzy in Solana meme coin activity, but this quickly slumped. The LIBRA scandal had a further dampening impact.
Bitcoin increased its dominance in Q1 2025, accounting for 59.1% of crypto’s total market cap. It hasn’t maintained that share of the market since 2021, symbolizing how much more stable it’s been than altcoins.
Nevertheless, BTC also fell 11.8% and was outperformed by gold and US Treasury bonds.

This data point is especially worrying because Trump’s tariffs have wrought havoc on Treasury yields. Even so, the report clearly shows that the rest of crypto suffered even more. Ethereum’s entire 2024 gains vanished in Q1 2025, and multichain DeFi TVL fell 27.5%. C
ountless other areas saw similar results, but they’re too numerous to easily summarize.
That is to say, almost every quantifiable positive development came with at least one major caveat. Solana dominated the DEX trade, but its TVL declined by over one-fifth.
Bitcoin ETFs saw $1 billion in fresh inflows, but total AUM fell by nearly $9 billion due to price drops. The reports reflect that recession fears are gripping the crypto market.
Disclaimer
In adherence to the Trust Project guidelines, BeInCrypto is committed to unbiased, transparent reporting. This news article aims to provide accurate, timely information. However, readers are advised to verify facts independently and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content. Please note that our Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, and Disclaimers have been updated.
Market
Base Meme Coin Wipes $15 Million After Official Promotion

Coinbase’s Layer 2 network, Base, is facing intense scrutiny after what appears to be a major pump and dump—one that it inadvertently helped fuel. The project’s official Twitter account publicly promoted a meme coin titled “Base is for everyone.”
This triggered a speculative surge, driving the token’s market cap to an estimated $15 to $20 million within hours of launch. The token quickly plummeted near zero in mutes.
Did Base Just Help Fuel a Pump and Dump?
Base’s tweet, which featured promotional imagery and direct links to the meme coin on Zora, created the perception of legitimacy.
Traders piled in, and price charts reflected an explosive rally—followed by an equally sharp collapse.

Within one 4-hour trading window, a green candle representing millions in inflow was immediately reversed by a red candle of equal size, marking a total loss of liquidity and confirming a textbook pump and dump.
The token’s value fell by more than 99%, and trading volumes on Uniswap surged past $13 million during the brief window of activity.
There is massive ongoing outrage against both Coinbase and Base. Crypto influencers have called the incident a failure of due diligence and communications strategy.
Accusations of incompetence and poor risk oversight are spreading fast on social media, while memes mocking the network’s “Base is for everyone” slogan are everywhere.
Base is yet to provide an official response to the incident.
Disclaimer
In adherence to the Trust Project guidelines, BeInCrypto is committed to unbiased, transparent reporting. This news article aims to provide accurate, timely information. However, readers are advised to verify facts independently and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content. Please note that our Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, and Disclaimers have been updated.
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