The X account of UK member of Parliament and Leader of the House of Commons, Lucy Powell, was hacked to promote a scam crypto token.

In a series of now-deleted posts on April 15, Powell’s X account shared links to a token called the House of Commons Coin (HOC), describing it as “a community driven digital currency.”

Source: Daniel Green

A member of Powell’s staff confirmed to the BBC that the account had been hacked and that “steps were taken quickly to secure the account and remove misleading posts.”

DEX Screener shows the HOC token saw limited interest from would-be investors, achieving a peak market cap of just over $24,000 shortly after the posts from Powell’s account.

The token has seen a total of 736 transactions and a trading volume of just $71,000.

While Powell hasn’t promoted a cryptocurrency before, it isn’t unheard of for political figures to back real crypto tokens.

US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump both launched and promoted memecoins days before they entered the White House, sparking criticism from the president’s political rivals and even some supporters.

Argentine President Javier Melei also promoted a token called LIBRA, which quickly crashed in value and has caused a political scandal in Argentina and calls for a probe into Melei’s involvement with the token.

Powell’s account hack follows similar attack on Ghana’s president

In March, the X account of Ghana’s President John Mahama saw a similar breach, with attackers taking over his account for 48 hours to promote a scam cryptocurrency called Solanafrica.

The Ghanaian president’s X account was hacked in March 2025. Source: CrediRates 

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The scammers made similar crypto-promoting posts to Mahama’s 2.4 million followers, claiming that the scam project was “making payments fast and free across the continent with support from Solana and the Bank of Ghana.”

The president’s team regained control of Mahama’s X account two days later. His spokesman, Kwakye Ofosu, told the AFP that the account “has now been fully restored, and we urge the public to disregard any suspicious cryptocurrency-related posts from the handle.”

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Bullish sentiment could be returning to Bitcoin as a key metric from Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, shows that buyers are starting to dominate the platform’s volumes.

The Binance Taker Buy Sell Ratio, which calculates the ratio of buyers to sellers of Bitcoin (BTC) in Binance, “has returned to neutral territory,” CryptoQuant contributor DarkFost said in an April 15 note.

Bitcoin’s bullish momentum is “picking up again”

The ratio currently stands at 1.008. When the ratio is higher than 1, buyers — usually a bullish sentiment indicator — dominate volumes, conversely, a ratio below 1 indicates that sellers, or bearish sentiment, are dominating.

Bitcoin is trading at $83,810 at the time of publication. Source: CoinMarketCap

Bitcoin is trading at $83,810 at the time of publication, down 1.47% over the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap data.

“Over the past few days, the ratio has been mostly positive, suggesting that bullish sentiment is picking up again on Binance’s derivatives market,” Darkfost said. On April 14, when Bitcoin was above $86,000, the ratio was above 1.1. 

CoinGlass data shows that if Bitcoin reclaims $85,000, almost $637 million in short positions will be at risk of liquidation. Several key market indicators suggest that investors continue to favor Bitcoin over altcoins.

CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Index is currently at 15 out of 100, signalling it is still very much “Bitcoin Season.” TradingView’s Bitcoin Dominance Chart shows the asset’s market share is sitting at 63.81%, up 9.82% so far this year.

Bitcoin Dominance is up 9.88% since the beginning of 2025. Source: TradingView

Overall, crypto market participants are still appearing to feel hesitant. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index shows the overall market sentiment on April 16 is in “Fear” with a score of 29 out of 100.

Some analysts, including DeFiDaniel, commented that Bitcoin’s recent price action is “so boring.” 

However, Cointelegraph earlier reported that Bitcoin apparent demand is on a recovery path, but it is not net positive yet. Historically, 30-day apparent demand can move sideways for a prolonged period after Bitcoin reaches a local bottom, leading to its price chopping sideways.

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Analysts have differing views over where Bitcoin is going to go next.

Real Vision chief crypto analyst Jamie Coutts told Cointelegraph in late March that “the market may be underestimating how quickly Bitcoin could surge — potentially hitting new all-time highs before Q2 is out.” 

AnchorWatch CEO Rob Hamilton said in an April 15 X post that Bitcoin’s price “is flat for the day because we are in an epic tug of war between people who are selling Bitcoin to pay their taxes and people using their refunds to buy Bitcoin.” The tax deadline in the US was April 15.

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This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Healthcare technology firm Semler Scientific has reported paper losses on its Bitcoin holdings over the first quarter of this year as the cryptocurrency saw a heavy correction. 

The firm reported a preliminary unrealized loss from the change in fair value of Bitcoin holdings of approximately $41.8 million since Dec. 31, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 15.

Semler declared holdings of 3,182 Bitcoin (BTC) valued at around $263.5 million as of March 31. During the three-month period, BTC prices fell 12% from $93,500 at the beginning of January to $82,350 by the end of March. The full correction from its all-time high to the low below $75,000 on April 7 stands at 32%. 

Semler reported expected revenues of $8.8 to $8.9 million and operational losses of $1.3 to $1.5 million for the period. It held cash and cash equivalents of approximately $10 million as of March 31.

In November, Semler Scientific CEO Doug Murphy-Chutorian said, “We remain laser-focused on acquiring and holding Bitcoin while supporting innovation and growth in our healthcare business.” 

Semler is the twelfth largest corporate holder of BTC, ahead of Hong Kong gaming firm Boyaa Interactive International Limited, according to Bitbo data. 

Semler also reported that it had reached an agreement in principle to pay almost $30 million to settle claims related to a civil investigation by the Department of Justice.

Semler floats $500 million securities sale 

In a separate April 15 SEC filing, the firm outlined its plan to offer and sell securities worth up to $500 million, in part to continue its Bitcoin acquisition strategy.

Related: Healthcare tech firm Semler buys 871 Bitcoin, yield tops 150%

“We may offer and sell securities from time to time in one or more offerings, up to an aggregate value of $500,000,000,” it stated. Semler’s common stock is listed on the Nasdaq under the symbol SMLR.

“Our stock price has been volatile and may continue to be volatile,” the firm cautioned. Shares in the medical firm have fallen 36% since the beginning of 2025. 

SMLR price year-to-date. Source: Google Finance

Semler intends to use the net proceeds from the securities sale “primarily for general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of Bitcoin,” it revealed. 

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