Over six years ago, BTC plummeted by 50% within a few days as COVID spread like wildfire.

It’s like a few wars, rising inflation, and global uncertainty are not enough these days. Now, the world needs to pay attention to another health hazard that made the news in the past few weeks: the Hantavirus, and, more precisely, the Andes virus.

Aside from the potential threats it poses to human life (which we will explore later in the article), the question raised by some analysts is whether it will affect BTC as COVID did six years ago.

Will History Repeat?

For those of our readers who might not have been around the March 2020 developments, here’s a quick recap. BTC was coming out of a long bear market, but it had failed to stage a meaningful recovery in 2019, and all eyes were on 2020 as a halving year, which historically served as a major catalyst for future gains.

However, it all changed when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, especially since it was categorized as a global hazard in March. Over a two-day trading session, BTC plummeted from over $8,000 to a multi-year low of $3,750.

Analysts such as Crypto Rover have now speculated on a similar calamity if the Hantavirus explodes. The analyst with over 1.5 million followers on X noted that the mortality rate for COVID was 1%, while the Hantavirus’s is at 40%, which could spell a lot more trouble for everyone.

WARNING: THE COVID-LIKE $BTC DUMP IS ABOUT TO REPEAT??

COVID mortality rate: ~1%
Hantavirus mortality rate: ~40%

The WHO says this likely won’t become the next pandemic.

I don’t think so either.

But they said the same thing about COVID.

Eyes on Bitcoin. pic.twitter.com/F0Dar9gN0n

— Crypto Rover (@cryptorover) May 8, 2026

The Differences

The history of this version of the Hantavirus, according to National Geographic, shows that it stemmed from South America and caused significant harm on a Dutch cruise ship, including several deaths so far. It comes from the Hantaviridae family of viruses, carried by rodents. In most of its versions, it cannot be transferred human-to-human. However, this particular one, which the WHO called the Andes virus, is the only known hantavirus that can jump from human to human.

You may also like:

Some experts said its spread is “not particularly efficient,” unlike measles and COVID, which can be transferred by viruses lingering in the air after an infected person has left the room. Andes spreads only by close contact.

“So, when you have people sleeping in the same bed, or sex partners, or people sharing food, the virus can transmit that way. But it doesn’t transmit to huge groups of individuals,” said Steven Bradfute, an immunologist and hantavirus researcher at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center.

Nevertheless, Bradfute, alongside other experts, such as Dr. Emily Abdoler, believes this virus should not be a main concern for most people as its spread will not be anything like COVID.

“I’m doing these interviews as a public service to try to reassure people that this shouldn’t be on their top 100 list of worries,” said Dr. Abdoler.

Hopefully, that’s true. Because we have heard similar reassurances even with COVID, which was not supposed to become a global pandemic at first. But, even if they are true (again, hopefully it’s not such a big threat), that doesn’t guarantee that markets won’t panic and overblow the potential consequences, leading to another major BTC dip.

A Manhattan federal judge has allowed Arbitrum DAO to move $71 million in frozen Ether to Aave, clearing the path for the DeFi protocol’s recovery effort following a North Korea-linked exploit.

Judge Margaret Garnett of the Southern District of New York issued the order on Friday, modifying a restraining notice that had locked the assets inside Arbitrum DAO. The modification permits an onchain governance vote to send the funds to a wallet controlled by Aave LLC, and explicitly protects anyone who participates in the transfer from being held in violation of the freeze.

The order still keeps the terrorism victims’ legal claim on the funds, meaning Aave can’t use the funds freely and could be forced to hand them over if the court ultimately rules in the terrorism victims’ favor.

Judge allows Arbitrum to move funds to Aave. Source: Courtlistener

The decision came after Arbitrum delegates showed strong support for the move through an off-chain Snapshot vote as part of Aave’s broader recovery plan following last month’s North Korea-linked rsETH exploit. Any actual transfer still requires a separate binding onchain governance vote.

Related: Arbitrum vote to release $71M in frozen Kelp exploit ETH set to pass

Aave asks court to lift freeze on funds

Last week, Aave filed an emergency motion in a New York court seeking to vacate a restraining notice that had blocked Arbitrum DAO from transferring the funds to victims of the Kelp DAO exploit. The notice was served by Gerstein Harrow LLP, which represents families holding $877 million in unpaid terrorism judgments against North Korea and claims the funds belong to its clients because North Korean hackers stole them during the April 18 hack.

Aave pushed back hard, arguing that a thief doesn’t gain lawful ownership of stolen property and that attributing the hack to North Korea relies on little more than internet speculation. It also warned that if the court upholds the restraining notice, it could deter future DeFi recovery efforts and give bad actors a roadmap to exploit legal uncertainty following hacks.

Gerstein Harrow has previously pursued similar claims. In January, they sued Railgun DAO, alleging the privacy protocol was used to launder proceeds from prior North Korean hacks, including the $1.5 billion Bybit exploit.

Related: Aave deposits fall by $15B as Kelp exploit sparks flight from DeFi lender

Kelp exploit leaves $174 million hole in rsETH backing

The Kelp DAO exploit left rsETH’s backing with a significant shortfall. The hack caused 116,500 rsETH to be released on Ethereum without a corresponding burn on the source side, leaving only 40,373 rsETH in the adapter contract against confirmed backing for 152,577, a gap of roughly 76,127 rsETH, worth around $174.5 million at current prices.

The 30,765 ETH frozen by Arbitrum has been flagged as a meaningful step toward closing that gap, with proponents arguing that even partial restoration of rsETH’s backing would help stabilize conditions for users across Arbitrum and the wider DeFi ecosystem.

Magazine: 53 DeFi projects infiltrated, 50M NEO tokens could be ‘given back’: Asia Express

US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have recorded a sixth consecutive week of net inflows, marking the longest such streak since August 2025.

The current six-week run stretches from the week of April 2 through Friday, pulling in a combined $3.4 billion, according to data from SoSoValue. The strongest week came in mid-April, when inflows hit $996.38 million for the week of April 17, while the streak’s weakest showing was the week of April 2 with just $22.34 million. The most recent week logged $622.75 million.

The run marks the longest streak of consecutive net weekly inflows in more than nine months, when a 7-week ran from June 13 to July 18, 2025, drew in roughly $7.57 billion, including $2.72 billion for the week of July 11 and $2.39 billion the following week.

Bitcoin ETFs weekly inflows. Source: SoSoValue

Notably, last week ended on a sour note, with outflows of $277.50 million on Thursday and $145.65 million on Friday. Monday and Tuesday had led the week strongly, pulling in $532.21 million and $467.35 million respectively, before Wednesday’s inflows slowed sharply to $46.33 million ahead of the late-week reversal.

Related: Bitcoin ETFs Extend Rally as Two-Day Inflows Near $1 Billion

Markets on edge as jobs data looms: Analyst

Markets entered Friday cautiously as investors braced for the US April Non-Farm Payrolls report, with consensus estimates pointing to payroll growth of just 62,000, well below the previous reading of 178,000, reinforcing expectations of a cooling labor market, Bitunix analysts wrote in a note shared with Cointelegraph.

The analysts noted that a stronger-than-expected ADP report of 109,000 jobs earlier in the week complicated the picture, leaving traders uncertain about the true state of employment heading into the release.

“On the geopolitical front, although the US and Iran have once again exchanged fire around the Strait of Hormuz, both sides continue to leave room for negotiations,” Bitunix wrote, adding that reports suggest the US and Iran may have reached a partial understanding on certain maritime issues.

In crypto, Bitcoin slipped below $80,000 on Thursday, with liquidation heatmaps showing heavy liquidity clustering around $78,000. A breakdown below that level could trigger cascading liquidations, while dense short positioning between $82,000 and $83,000 keeps the market stuck in a tug-of-war, the analysts wrote.

Related: Bitcoin Slips Below $80K As Spot ETF Inflows Top $1B

Ether ETFs post $70 million in weekly inflows

Meanwhile, Ether ETFs returned to positive territory for the week ending May 8, posting $70.49 million in net inflows after the previous week logged $82.47 million in outflows. The rebound follows a strong three-week run from April 10 to April 24, which drew in a combined $617.91 million, peaking at $275.83 million the week of April 17.

On a daily basis, Thursday saw $103.52 million in outflows, nearly wiping out gains built earlier in the week. Monday and Tuesday attracted $61.29 million and $97.57 million in inflows, respectively, before Wednesday slowed to $11.57 million. Friday’s $3.57 million recovery left the week positive.

Magazine: Guide to the top and emerging global crypto hubs — Mid-2026