Today in crypto, push notifications can create a backdoor, breaching user privacy, says Durov, and WLFI fell to a record low after it was revealed that the project used its own tokens as collateral to take a loan. Meanwhile, Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market remained resilient as elevated inflation cuts into hopes for interest rate cuts.
Pavel Durov warns push notifications could compromise privacy
Pavel Durov, co-founder of the Telegram messaging application, sounded the alarm on data stored in push notification logs on users’ devices, which could be used to breach privacy and gain access to message histories.
Durov cited recent reports that forensic analysts at the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were able to retrieve messages sent on the privacy-preserving messaging application Signal by accessing push notification system logs on an Apple iPhone. Durov said:
“Turning off notification previews won’t make you safe if you use those applications, because you never know whether the people you message have done the same.”
The incident shows that online user privacy can still be compromised, despite end-to-end encryption, if applications generate metadata and other information that can circumvent privacy-preserving features.
Trump-linked WLFI hits new low as token-backed loan triggers concern
WLFI, the native token of the Donald Trump–backed World Liberty Financial platform, sank to an all-time low on Saturday as crypto users expressed concerns after revelations that the project used a large amount of its own tokens to take out loans.
The token hit a new low of around $0.07714 on Saturday, down 83% from its peak of $0.46 reached last September, according to data from CoinMarketCap. WLFI is currently at $0.07879, down by 4.66% over the past day.
The downturn came after it was revealed that wallets linked to World Liberty Financial deployed substantial WLFI holdings as collateral on Dolomite, a decentralized lending platform co-founded by the project’s chief technology officer, Corey Caplan.
Onchain data from Arkham shows that a wallet linked to World Liberty Financial deposited around 5 billion WLFI tokens on Dolomite. The wallet then used the tokens as collateral to borrow $75 million in USD1 and USDC (USDC) stablecoins, later transferring more than $40 million to Coinbase Prime.
Inflation spikes, rate-cut hopes fade
US consumer prices accelerated sharply in March — the first full month reflecting the energy surge following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz — though crypto markets remained largely unfazed.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index rose 0.9% month over month, marking the largest increase in nearly four years. On an annual basis, inflation came in at 3.3%, slightly below expectations.
Bitcoin (BTC) traded above $73,000 following the report, while Ether (ETH) climbed toward $2,300.
Still, the hotter inflation print has all but eliminated the likelihood of a rate cut at the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee meeting, with futures markets pricing in less than a 2% chance of easing in April. Markets are divided on whether the Fed’s next action will be a rate cut or a rate hike as policymakers struggle to contain inflation.
