Singapore-based artificial intelligence firm Genius Group says it’s temporarily barred from expanding its Bitcoin treasury after a US court order has banned it from selling shares, raising funds and using investor funds to buy more Bitcoin.

A New York District court issued the preliminary injunction (PI) and temporary restraining order (TRO) on March 13 in connection with a broader dispute surrounding its merger with Fatbrain AI, the Genius Group said in an April 3 statement.

Fatbrain AI and Genius Group completed a merger and purchase agreement in March 2024, but by Oct. 30, Genius initiated arbitration procedures to terminate, alleging fraud by Fatbrain AI executives connected to the deal.

Source: Roger James Hamilton

In February, Fatbrain AI executives Michael Moe and Peter Ritz filed for the TRO and permanent injunction, blocking Genius Group from selling its shares, raising funds and buying more Bitcoin pending the arbitration outcome. 

The injunction has forced Genius Group to close divisions, halt marketing activities and sell 10 Bitcoin (BTC) from its stash of 440, worth over $23 million at current prices, to continue funding its operations. The firm hasn’t ruled out more sales in the future.

“Genius is taking all necessary measures to minimize Bitcoin sales but anticipates that it will need to downsize its Bitcoin Treasury in the coming months in the event the PI remains in place,” the firm said.

Fatbrain AI shareholders also filed two lawsuits against Fatbrain AI executives, including Moe and Ritz, and Genius Group, in April 2024, alleging violation of federal securities laws in connection with the merger, ASX law said in an October statement. 

Two shareholder lawsuits against Fatbrain AI alleged conduct during the merger was fraudulent, which defrauded shareholders of $30 million. Source: ASX Law

Genius Group was subsequently voluntarily dismissed from the suits on Feb. 14. 

Genius Group claims it’s breaking Singapore law by following order 

Genius Group says the US court injunction has also forced it to break Singapore law by halting share compensation to employees as part of its employment agreements.

“We never dreamed that it was possible that a US court could block the company from being able to issue shares, raise funds or buy Bitcoin — all actions that would normally be decided by a public company’s shareholders or Board rather than a court,” said Genius Group CEO Roger James Hamilton.

Related: Rumble embraces Trump-era crypto strategy with $17M BTC purchase

He said the firm will “continue to fly the flag for Bitcoin,” even when legally banned from building out its treasury.

Fatbrain AI didn’t immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.

Artificial intelligence firm Genius Group first announced in November 2024 that it had taken the first steps to build a Bitcoin treasury by purchasing 110 Bitcoin for $10 million.

The firm had earlier announced its overall goal of committing 90% or more of its current and future reserves to be held in Bitcoin, with an initial target of $120 million, which saw the stock price surge by 66%. 

Genius Group’s share price is down 9.80% in the last trading session to $0.23, with a further 3.74% drop after the bell to $0.22, Google Finance data shows.

Genius Group’s share price went down during the last trading session and after the bell. Source: Google Finance 

The stock hit an all-time high of over $96 in June 2022 but has since lost over 99% of its value. 

Between Oct. 25, 2024, and Jan. 16, 2025, XRP (XRP) had one of the best rallies of the current bull market, gaining 600% as investors piled in with the hope that a pro-crypto presidency would benefit Ripple and its cryptocurrency.

During this time, the quarterly average of daily active addresses jumped by 490% and XRP price hit a 7-year high.

XRP’s 1-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Fast forward to the present, and data shows that the speculative interest surrounding XRP is declining. Holders are increasingly facing losses rather than gains, which is dampening their risk appetite.

“Retail confidence in XRP may be slipping”

Since bottoming in 2022, Bitcoin (BTC) and XRP have gained 500% to 600%, but the bulk of XRP’s gains came from a parabolic price increase. Data from Glassnode shows that XRP daily active addresses jumped by 490%, whereas the same metric for Bitcoin increased by 10% over the past four months.

XRP’s new investor realized the cap. Source: Glassnode

This retail-driven surge pushed XRP’s realized cap from $30.1 billion to $64.2 billion, with $30 billion of that inflow coming from investors in the last six months. The share of XRP’s realized cap held by new investors (less than six months) jumped from 23% to 62.8%, signaling a rapid wealth shift. However, since late February 2025, capital inflows have dipped significantly.

XRP realized profit/loss ratio. Source: Glassnode

The primary reason is that investors are currently locking in fewer profits and staring at higher losses. This can be identified by the realized loss/profit ratio, which has constantly declined since 2025. Glassnode analysts said,

“Given the retail-dominated inflows and largely concentrated wealth in relatively new hands, this alludes to a condition where retail investor confidence in XRP may be slipping, and this may also be extended across the broader market.”

Besides weakening confidence among newer investors, the distribution of XRP among whale addresses reflects a similar trend. Data shows a steady increase in whale outflows since the start of 2025, suggesting that large holders have been consistently trimming their positions. Over the past 14 days, over $1 billion in positions were offloaded at an average price of $2.10.

Whale flow 30-day moving average. Source: CryptoQuant

Related: How many US dollars does XRP transfer per day?

Can XRP hold the $2 support?

XRP has found support at $2 multiple times over the past few weeks, but the chance of the altcoin dropping below this level increases with each retest.

XRP 4-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

However, on the lower time frame (LTF) of the 1-hour and 4-hour charts, a bullish divergence can be observed for XRP. A bullish divergence occurs when the price forms a lower low and the relative strength index (RSI) forms a lower high.

With a fair value gap between $2.08 and $2.13, XRP might see a relief rally into this range, especially if the wider crypto market undergoes an oversold bounce. On the higher time frame chart, XRP appears bearish due to the formation of an inverse head-and-shoulders pattern, with a measured target near $1.07.

There is a chance that the altcoin finds support from the 200-day moving average (orange line) around the $1.70 to $1.80 mark, but XRP price has not tested this level since Nov. 5, 2024.

XRP 1-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Related: Bitcoin drops 8%, US markets shed $2T in value — Should traders expect an oversold bounce?

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.

Economic uncertainty and a major crypto exchange hack pushed down the total value locked in decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols to $156 billion in the first quarter of 2025, but AI and social apps gained ground with a rise in network users, according to a crypto analytics firm.

“Broader economic uncertainty and lingering aftershocks from the Bybit exploit” were the main contributing factors to the DeFi sector’s 27% quarter-on-quarter fall in TVL, according to an April 3 report from DappRadar, which noted that Ether (ETH) fell 45% to $1,820 over the same period.

Change in DeFi total value locked between Jan. 2024 and March 2025. Source: DappRadar

The largest blockchain by TVL, Ethereum, fell 37% to $96 billion, while Sui was the hardest hit of the top 10 blockchains by TVL, falling 44% to $2 billion.

Solana, Tron and the Arbitrum blockchains also had their TVLs slashed over 30%.

Meanwhile, blockchains that experienced a larger volume of DeFi withdrawals and had a smaller share of stablecoins locked in their protocols faced extra pressure on top of the falling token prices.

The newly launched Berachain was the only top-10 blockchain by TVL to rise, accumulating $5.17 billion between Feb. 6 and March 31, DappRadar noted.

Market fall didn’t stunt AI and social app user growth

However, the number of daily unique active wallets (DUAW) interacting with AI protocols and social apps increased 29% and 10%, respectively, in Q1, while non-fungible token and GameFi protocols regressed, DappRadar’s data shows.

The monthly average of DUAWs interacting on the AI and social protocols rose to 2.6 million and 2.8 million, while DeFi and GameFi protocols fell double-digits. 

DappRadar said there was “explosive growth” in AI agent protocols, stating that they’re “no longer a concept.”

“They’re here, and they’re shaping new user behaviors,” said the firm. 

Change in DeFi total value locked between Jan. 2024 and March 2025. Source: DappRadar

Related: Avalanche stablecoins up 70% to $2.5B, AVAX demand lacks DeFi deployment

Meanwhile, NFT trading volume fell 25% to $1.5 billion, with OKX’s NFT marketplace taking in the most sales at $606 million, while OpenSea and Blur saw $599 million and $565 million, respectively.

Pudgy Penguins NFTs were the most sold collectibles at $177 million, while CryptoPunks NFTs netted $63.6 million from just 477 sales, DappRadar noted.

“When analyzing top collections, CryptoPunks remains a staple — its prestige remains intact even as price fluctuations make it largely inaccessible for the average user.”

Magazine: XRP win leaves Ripple a ‘bad actor’ with no crypto legal precedent set