Market Updates: TAO Plummets 19% after Covenant AI Exit, U.S. Senators Probe Trump Memecoin, Aethir Contains Bridge Exploit Under $90K

Latest Market Updates: As of 10th April 2026.

TAO Falls After Covenant AI Exit

The crypto market came under renewed pressure on April 10, 2026. Leading the downturn, TAO, the native token of Bittensor, recorded double-digit losses. It dropped over 19%, sliding from roughly $337 to near $263.

The decline followed Covenant AI’s exit from the Bittensor ecosystem. The firm cited governance concerns, arguing that decision-making power appears concentrated among a small group of participants.

In a post on X, the team also alleged that Jacob Steeves holds disproportionate influence over key operations.

Given these concerns, Covenant AI confirmed it will no longer build on the network and will instead continue its research independently. The group had previously developed a large-scale decentralized AI model, Covenant-72B, using distributed contributors.

U.S. Senators Scrutinize Trump-Linked Memecoin Event

At the same time, regulatory pressure intensified elsewhere in the market. According to a Politico report, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren, Adam Schiff, and Richard Blumenthal have raised concerns about a memecoin project linked to Donald Trump.

The lawmakers sent a letter to Bill Zanker questioning whether access to Trump is being used to promote the “Official Trump” memecoin. They warned that such messaging could mislead participants, particularly if it implies exclusive access in exchange for token purchases or generates transaction-related revenue.

Concerns are further complicated by scheduling conflicts. The memecoin-linked event is set for April 25 at Mar-a-Lago, the same date as the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington, D.C., which Trump had previously indicated he would attend.

This overlap has prompted questions about whether promotional materials accurately reflect his availability.

Aethir Contains Bridge Attack, Losses Stay Below $90K

Meanwhile, security risks remain a persistent issue across the sector. Aethir, a decentralized GPU cloud platform for AI, confirmed it had contained a recent exploit targeting bridge contracts connected to Ethereum.

The team behind the project said it detected the breach early and responded quickly by disconnecting affected contracts and coordinating with exchanges to block suspicious wallets. Consequently, total losses were kept below $90,000.

Aethir emphasized that its primary token supply on Ethereum remains secure. It plans to release a compensation plan next week, along with a detailed post-incident report and wallet data.

ATH Security Notice

We detected and contained a malicious attack on ATH bridge contracts connecting Ethereum to other chains.

Key facts:
• All compromised contracts have been disconnected. The exploit has been contained.

• The main ATH supply on Ethereum is fully intact and…

— Aethir (@AethirCloud) April 10, 2026

Anchorpoint Plans HKD Stablecoin Launch in Q2 2026

Amid these developments, Anchorpoint Financial announced plans to launch a Hong Kong dollar-pegged stablecoin, HKDAP, in partnership with Animoca Brands, Standard Chartered, and HKT.

The rollout is expected to begin in phases in Q2 2026. Anchorpoint intends to use a business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) model, leveraging established distribution networks to expand access.

The firm also plans to introduce incentives for early partners, aiming to drive real-world use cases and broader adoption.