Voting for and against the proposal was evenly matched but recently tipped in favor of the ‘yay,' despite continued criticism of the plan on social media. Voting ends April 10.
A controversial proposal to change SushiSwap’s treasury structure by the team behind the decentralized exchange looks like it may go through, despite vocal opposition to the proposal on social media.
The SushiSwap team made a controversial governance proposal on March 26 to “significantly evolve Sushi by adopting a Labs model.
California’s Bored Ape burger place in Long Beach is shutting down though it hasn’t ruled out a U.S. reopening and a Bitcoin-based gaming console is reportedly set to sell for a cool $500. A Los Angeles burger restaurant which used a Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) nonfungible token (NFT) as its brand is serving up its last patties and fries after two years in business and is being sold to a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO).
Coinbase layer-2 network Base has seen a strong start to April with active addresses outpacing Arbitrum.
The Coinbase-supported Base network has now surpassed Arbitrum as the leading Ethereum layer-2 network by active addresses this month. Base has seen over 1.48 million new active addresses over the first nine days of April — narrowly beating out Arbitrum One with 1.43 million active addresses, according to data from growthepie.
Ethereum scaling solutions zkSync Era and the Optimism mainnet rounded out the top four with 1.
Derivatives traders are targeting higher strike prices for Ethereum by the end of April.
Ether (ETH) accelerated 8% in spot crypto markets on Monday amid an uptick in social sentiment and optimism among derivatives traders.
Ether prices have gained around 8% over the past 24 hours, with the asset hitting an intraday high of $3,722 on April 9, outpacing Bitcoin (BTC) and most of its closest peers, according to CoinGecko.
Cryptocurrencies are headed for intense turbulence in the second half of April, spurred by the Bitcoin halving and a Fed “bag of tricks,” says the BitMEX co-founder. The Bitcoin halving this month, combined with a “bag of tricks” from the Federal Reserve and Treasury, will “add propellant to a raging firesale of crypto assets” and depress the crypto market for weeks, says BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes.
In an April 8 blog post, Hayes wrote he believed the Bitcoin halving would “pump prices in the medium term” but warned crypto prices “directly before and after could be negative.
Solana’s percentage of failed non-vote transactions went over 75% last week, and developers are now targeting a fix to be implemented on April 15.
Solana developers are targeting April 15 to implement a fix for an “implementation bug" that recently caused the transaction failure rate on Solana to skyrocket.
“Solana’s current issue is not a design flaw, it’s an implementation bug,” stressed Mert Mumtaz, the CEO of Helius Labs, a blockchain infrastructure firm that provides back-end support exclusively to the Solana network.
The April 8 delay decision impacts proposed options trading on spot Bitcoin ETFs on the New York Stock Exchange, namely those from Bitwise and Grayscale.
The United States securities regulator has delayed its decision on whether to allow the New York Stock Exchange to offer options trading on spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs. According to the April 8 filing, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s pushback will impact options trading on the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) and any other trust that holds Bitcoin on the NYSE.
Bitcoin’s rally is likely influenced by persistent inflation, student debt forgiveness policies, and global trade restrictions.
Bitcoin's (BTC) increase of 7.6% between April 6 and April 8, reached an intraday peak of $72,747 and sparked widespread speculation about the underlying causes. While some may hastily point to the inflows from the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) as the primary factor, this perspective overlooks the broader motivations for buyers to push the price higher.
A new analysis of 1000 new meme coins on Base suggests 91% have at least one security vulnerability while 16.9% are outright scams.
Ever since the Dencun upgrade that dramatically lowered fees on Ethereum layer 2s, Coinbases not-very-decentralized rollup Base has surged in user numbers, transactions and total value locked.
As with the fast and cheap L1 blockchain Solana, most of the activity is being fuelled by degenerate gambling on memecoins, with hopefuls vying to make life-changing amounts of money from a small outlay.
Analysts say Bitcoin’s halving could be a sell-the-news event as short-term speculators and BTC ETF purchasers book profits.
Many crypto traders expect the Bitcoin halving event to be a pivotal moment in 2024, that significantly impacts the crypto market. However, analysts at Steno Research anticipate that it will be a “buy the rumor, sell the news” event. There have been three halving events in Bitcoin’s history, reducing miner rewards from 50 BTC to 25 BTC in 2012, then to 12.
The Deutsche Börse subsidiary is the only central securities depository taking part in the first phase of digital euro preparations. Central securities depository (CSD) Clearstream, a Deutsche Börse Group subsidiary, will take part in European Central Bank (ECB) trials of digital euro wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Clearstream, which operates the D7 post-trade platform, is the only CSD participating in the first phase of ECB “preparatory” trials. It, in turn, runs a German CSD, the LuxCSD in Luxembourg and an international CSD.
Gurbir Grewal, the director of the Division of Enforcement at the SEC, has pushed back against criticism that the regulator is making up rules on crypto as it goes along. United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Hester Peirce has taken another swipe at her agency, criticizing the regulator’s guidance on crypto custody while calling for more interaction with the public. Speaking at the annual SEC Speaks conference, Peirce said that a “particularly pernicious weed” had sprung up in the SEC’s “secret garden” of policy guidelines.
The metaverse has found substantial footing in the medical industry with the advent of dedicated facilities catering to remote healthcare.
The metaverse — a loose term describing interconnected digital worlds navigable by humans virtually, with no technical regard to geography — is set to upend the medical tourism industry. Recent analysis from industry experts at Omnia Health, the Iranian Journal of Public Health, and Medical Tourism Magazine shines a light on how nascent telemedicine technology built on the metaverse concept can onboard and streamline patient acquisition and improve patient satisfaction for medical tourists.
Bitcoin’s range break above the $70,000 level boosted altcoin prices and hints at the possibility of a new BTC all-time high. The Bitcoin halving is less than 11 days away and Bitcoin (BTC) is approaching the event with strength. This shows that the sentiment remains positive, and traders are buying on dips. CoinShares data shows digital investment products saw $646 million in inflows last week. That takes the year-to-date inflows to $13.
Canada is launching a fund to invest in AI infrastructure, grow startups, and create a new AI safety institute. Canada is committing $1.76 billion (2.4 billion Canadian dollars) of its federal budget to boost its artificial intelligence (AI) sector and maintain the country’s “competitive edge” in AI. The government unveiled a new package of measures, including investing in AI-related startups, medium-sized businesses and research firms to “secure Canada’s AI advantage.
Ethereum-based crypto investment products flows declined for the fourth consecutive week, despite positive flows into the Solana ecosystem.
Ethereum-based crypto investment products saw negative outflows for the fourth consecutive week, despite positive inflows into other crypto-based investment products.
Ethereum saw $22.5 million worth of outflows last week, in contrast with most of the other top altcoins, according to an April 8 report by CoinShares.
Ethereum’s fourth consecutive week of outflows came despite other top altcoins recording positive inflows.
Bitcoin mining has provided a “positive contribution to Paraguay’s trade balance,” and a ban could dent the economy, argues Hashlabs Mining’s co-founder. The Paraguayan economy could lose more than $200 million annually if the country’s lawmakers pass a recently introduced bill to ban crypto mining in the country.
Lawmakers introduced the draft bill on April 4, claiming illegal cryptocurrency mines steal power and disrupt the country’s electricity supply. If passed, the ban would last 180 days or until new laws are enacted and the national power grid operator can ensure it can supply sufficient energy.
Active addresses on Polkadot hit a new all-time high of 600,000, despite the community’s memecoin efforts failing to bring more attention to the protocol.
The Polkadot blockchain has reached a new all-time high in active addresses on its network.
Polkadot amassed over 600,000 active addresses on-chain by the end of March, according to data by DotLake, shared in an April 7 X post by Polkadot.
Over 41%, or 248,000 of the 605,000 addresses, are attributed to the cross-chain smart contract platform Moonbeam, while 191,000 addresses were created directly on Polkadot, according to DotLake data.
Nigerian court rejected Tigran Gambaryan’s defense argument and ruled that he acted as Binance’s representative in past trips to Nigeria.
Detained Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan pleaded not guilty to four counts of money laundering charges in Nigeria, according to local reports.
After being arrested in Nigeria in late February, Gambaryan proclaimed his innocence in a courtroom on April 8, the local news agency Peoples Gazette reported.
At the hearing, Gambaryan reiterated that he should not be held responsible for Binance’s activities in Nigeria because he does not have decision-making authority in the company’s business operations.
The dYdX team said they are investigating and will reconvene with validators at 15:00 UTC today.
Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol dYdX announced it is investigating a recent halt in block production as the chain underwent a scheduled upgrade.
On April 8 at 05:30 UTC, dYdX published a status report highlighting the chain was proceeding with a scheduled protocol upgrade and that functionalities of the dYdX Chain may be disrupted.
The proposal could give rise to one of the largest liquidity pools in DeFi, according to Ethena Labs.
Decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocol Frax Finance has recently passed a community governance proposal that greenlights a $250 million allocation of Ethena Labs’ USDe to a new liquidity pool.
As part of Frax’s Singularity Roadmap, the proposal enables the creation of an automated market operation (AMO) that will allow the minting of new FRAX tokens backed by overcollateralized debt.
For miners to remain profitable and continue their mining operation, BTC price must rise above $80,000 post-halving.
The Bitcoin (BTC) halving is a crucial milestone event after every 210,000 blocks or nearly four years. The halving event cuts the block reward earned by miners by half. Thus, apart from an indirect impact on BTC price, the event significantly impacts miners’ behavior as mining costs double, and it costs twice to earn the same amount of BTC reward.
BTC price gains mushroom before the Wall Street open as CPI week appears to set the tone for the incoming Bitcoin halving.
Bitcoin (BTC) starts the second week of April in classic bull market fashion with a surge past $70,000.
The largest cryptocurrency, which spent the weekend grinding higher, is capitalizing on its gains to move ever closer to all-time highs.
Ahead of the first Wall Street open, anticipation for further upside is already tangible in trading circles — can BTC price momentum deliver?
Total PayPal USD in circulation amounted to $188.5 million in March, or 39% less than in February 2024.
PayPal USD (PYUSD) — a stablecoin issued by the payment giant PayPal and the cryptocurrency company Paxos — saw a significant circulation drop in March.
According to Paxos' latest PayPal USD transparency report, PYUSD circulation amounted to $188.5 million in March, or 39% less than in the previous month. In February and January, PayPal USD circulation topped at $304 million and $301 million respectively.
SEC official Paolo Ong said that they’ve already given users three months and extended it a little to allow users to withdraw their funds from the exchange. As the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) blocks crypto exchange Binance from the country, users who cannot withdraw their funds in time are being left to fend for themselves. In a local news report, Paolo Ong, the officer in charge of the SEC’s PhiliFintech Innovation Office, said that the SEC couldn’t endorse ways to retrieve funds after Binance is blocked by internet service providers (ISP) in the country.
The ParaSwap Augustus v6 contract, which momentarily went live on March 18, contained a critical vulnerability that allowed hackers to drain funds from users who approved the upgrade.
The community behind the decentralized finance (DeFi) aggregator ParaSwap has agreed to compensate hack victims using funds from the treasury. On April 4, the ParaSwap decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) pitched the idea of refunding the victims of the Augustus V6 contract vulnerability using its treasury funds.
Hashkey Global, the crypto group’s latest exchange, aims to expand outside its native Hong Kong and take on Coinbase’s international exchange.
Crypto service provider HashKey Group has joined rival Coinbase in launching a global crypto exchange based out of Bermuda called HashKey Global.
Hashkey Global managing director Ben El-Baz told Bloomberg on April 8 that after it saw Coinbase score a Bermuda license to operate its international exchange, it “looked at all the different options, and we found that to be a very, very suitable and good regulatory regime for us to expand from.
It is a “likely foregone conclusion” that high Bitcoin ETF activity will continue leading up to the halving, said Santiment. Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows are likely to remain high until the Bitcoin halving later this month, according to on-chain analytics firm Santiment.
The blockchain data firm observed that Bitcoin ETF volume hasn’t slowed since the asset hit an all-time high in mid-March, adding that “trader activity is still notably higher than the turning point that began in late February after an influx of individual trading began” in a post on X on April 8.
A new class of memecoins that capitalize on politics, religion, and successful consumer brands could end up going more “viral” than animal tokens like Dogecoin, says Andrew Kang.
Memecoins that can capitalize on deeper “culture” this cycle could be far more profitable than standard meme tokens based on animals and simple jokes, according to Mechanism Capital co-founder Andrew Kang. In an April 7 post to X, Kang said a new class of “culture coins” — memecoins centered around cultural values such as politics, brands, religion, and lifestyle — have the capacity to be far more “viral” than the popular memecoins of the last cycle such as Dogecoin (DOGE) or Shiba Inu (SHIB) coins “The ideologies of these communities can be purely about politics, religion, consumer goods, sport, way of life or can be a mixture of all,” added Kang.
Bitcoin mining has provided a “positive contribution to Paraguay’s trade balance,” and a ban could dent the economy, argues Hashlabs Mining’s co-founder. The Paraguayan economy could lose more than $200 million annually if the country’s lawmakers pass a recently introduced bill to ban crypto mining in the country.
Lawmakers introduced the draft bill on April 4, claiming illegal cryptocurrency mines are stealing power and disrupting the country’s electricity supply. If passed, the ban would last 180 days or until new laws are enacted and the national power grid operator can ensure it can supply sufficient energy.
The Cardano co-founder is fighting FUD again following a BitBoy video claiming ADA is dead. Cardano co-founder Charles Hoskinson has his eye on two major upgrades — at least one of which is slated this year — for the Cardano network amid a recent flood of criticism over its native token and ecosystem.
“We are holding all the cards as an ecosystem,” Hoskinson said in an April 7 post on X in response to recent pessimism fothe blockchain.
Bitcoin attempts to break out of a bullish chart formation, opening the door for TON, STX, MNT, MKR and other altcoins to follow.
Bitcoin (BTC) is down about 2% this week, but a positive sign for the bulls is that the price is off the weekly low of $64,493. Several analysts expect the next trigger to be Bitcoin halving. However, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase cautions that Bitcoin’s price action could face hurdles after the halving event as the period is typically a weak time of the year for crypto markets and other risk assets.
Spurred on by the recent Bitcoin ETF “selling machines,” Bitcoin could reach as high as $170,000 during the current cycle, says SkyBridge Capital CEO Anthony Scaramucci.
Bitcoin (BTC) has significant “room to run” from its current price of $69,000 and could one day trade at around half the total value of the global gold market, says SkyBridge Capital CEO Anthony Scaramucci. In an April 6 interview with CNBC, Scaramucci predicted that Bitcoin could reach as high as $170,000 during this cycle, adding that the bulk of the asset’s price appreciation would occur over a longer time horizon.
Canada is launching a fund to invest in AI infrastructure, grow startups, and create a new AI safety institute, among others. Canada is committing $1.76 billion (2.4 billion Canadian dollars) of its federal budget to boost its artificial intelligence sector and maintain the country’s “competitive edge” in AI. The government unveiled a new package of measures, including investing in artificial intelligence-related startups, medium-sized businesses, and research firms to “secure Canada’s AI advantage.
Bitcoin's price volatility for the last 30 days stands around 4% — down from nearly 18% in April 2013. It's starting to look more like a traditional equity.
The clock is ticking on Bitcoin’s (BTC) halving and it appears the ETF mania has accelerated the timeline of its arrival. Indeed, we have just a couple of weeks left before the big event. So it’s no surprise that the halving is all crypto investors and media can talk about right now.
Learn how algorithms and code create unique, blockchain-secured digital artworks called generative art NFTs that are revolutionizing the art market.
Generative art NFTs are digital artworks created using algorithms and minted as unique tokens on the blockchain.
Generative art, created via autonomous systems, generates unique pieces of art by following a set of programmed rules or instructions. Once created, these artworks are minted as nonfungible tokens (NFTs) on a blockchain, providing a secure, verifiable record of ownership and authenticity.
The dYdX community approved staking 20 million DYDX tokens as a security measure as the protocol experiences a spike in trading activity. The dYdX community approved staking 20 million DYDX tokens to strengthen security as the decentralized crypto exchange (DEX) experiences a surge in activity. The proposal passed on April 6 with 91.7% of votes in favor, allowing tokens from the community treasury worth over $61 million at current prices to be staked with liquid staking protocol Stride.
Bitcoin is "well positioned" for a strong weekly close, but not everyone is trusting of traditionally unreliable weekend BTC price action.
Bitcoin (BTC) headed higher into the April 7 weekly close as uncharacteristic weekend BTC price action boosted bulls.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed a sudden move above $69,000 during the weekend, with Bitcoin hitting local highs of $69,781 on Bitstamp.
With the close now just hours away, traders evoked similar weekend scenarios, hoping that upside would continue into the new week.
Coinbase explained that total crypto volumes are slowing down due to the market attempting "to find the next narrative to power it higher."
Many crypto traders are eyeing the Bitcoin (BTC) halving event as a primary driver for a potential price spike, but the time of year will be an obstacle, according to cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.
The crypto market will need to find another narrative to further push up prices across the board, Coinbase further explained in its April 5 market commentary report.
Bitcoin hasn't dipped below $50,000 since late February and it appears unlikely to return to that level anytime soon, according to crypto analyst Dylan LeClair.
The frequency of Bitcoin (BTC) reaching higher support price levels as well as the "lack of immediate froth" in the derivatives markets suggests that its price is unlikely to retrace down to $50,000 anytime soon, according to a crypto analyst.
Senior analyst at digital asset fund UTXO Management, Dylan LeClair, explained in an analyst note on April 7 that if Bitcoin rises back into the $70,000-$75,000 price range, it will put significant pressure on short positions.
Memecoin frenzy makes traders millionaires, Terraform Labs and Do Kwon found liable for fraud, and Argentina’s tighter crypto rules.
A jury found Terraform Labs and co-founder Do Kwon liable for defrauding investors in its civil case with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC trial started on March 25 without the attendance of Kwon, who remains in Montenegro while courts decide whether to grant his extradition. According to the verdict, jurors found Kwon and Terraform liable for six charges.
South Korea's political parties are pledging crypto-related incentives to attract voters ahead of parliamentary elections.
Leading political parties in South Korea are promising crypto-related incentives to secure voters’ support ahead of the country’s upcoming parliamentary elections.
According to a Bloomberg report on April 5, the opposition Democratic Party has vowed to remove restrictions on domestic and international exchange-traded funds (ETFs) directly holding crypto tokens, including United States Bitcoin ETFs. Following the approval of Bitcoin ETFs in January, South Korea’s securities regulator warned that local distribution of these ETFs could violate domestic laws.
The court’s decision hinged significantly on interpreting Coinbase’s user agreements, which evolved over time.
Coinbase, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges, has achieved a significant victory in an ongoing lawsuit. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled in favor of Coinbase, confirming that the secondary sales of cryptocurrencies on its platform do not violate the Securities Exchange Act.
The court’s decision affects a nationwide group of people who traded tokens on Coinbase from Oct.
Germany is experiencing a renewed interest in the metaverse, which is focused on concrete applications in public administration and industry. Once hailed as the next frontier of human interaction, the metaverse seemed to lose steam after its initial burst of excitement. Vague promises, unclear financial benefits and costly hardware hampered its mass adoption. But in Germany, a second wave of interest is brewing. State governments and research institutions see the potential of metaverse technologies to revolutionize entertainment, social interaction, public administration and industrial processes.
Fantom creator Andre Cronje referred to the Solana network as a victim of success. Fantom creator Andre Cronje has shown support for the Solana network, amid the recent transaction failures on the network. Cronje is considered one of the most influential thought leaders in decentralized finance (DeFi).
According to a post on the X social platform by the co-founder, some critics view the ongoing congestion as Solana’s flaw, yet it stems from the ecosystem’s rapid growth, which has increased demand for block space.
The significant Bitcoin purchase comes after Coinbase declared that the majority of the proceeds from the GBTC sell-off would “remain within the crypto ecosystem.”
Bankrupt crypto lending firm Genesis reportedly offloaded about 36 million shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) to acquire additional Bitcoin (BTC) as part of its preparations to settle its debts with creditors.
According to a recent Bloomberg report, Genesis liquidated approximately 36 million GBTC shares on April 2, valued at approximately $58.
In an email shared by ZachXBT, an IRS criminal investigations agent asked if he could help him make the “biggest impact” in tackling blockchain crime.
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT has alleged that he's been the target of what he deems as borderline harassment by the Criminal Investigation (CI) Unit of the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS), as they seek his assistance in blockchain investigations.
According to a March 6 post on X, ZachXBT explained that although he has been willing to help victims and support law enforcement with necessary information, he believes that the U.
Binance spot trading volumes hit a yearly high in March as Bitcoin and Ethereum rose to new highs.
The spot trading volume of Binance exchange hit the highest level since May 2021, following seven consecutive months of ascent, according to a new report from CCData.
According to an April 5 report by cryptocurrency analytics platform CCData, Binance’s spot trading volume increased by 121% to $1.12 trillion in March
The report said the combined market share of the exchange also increased by 1.
Galaxy Trading, Pantera Capital, and Neptune Digital Assets have acquired nearly two-thirds of FTX’s stake in SOL.
The FTX estate unloaded over half of its Solana (SOL) tokens at a 63% discount from current prices, according to a Bloomberg report on April 5. SOL tokens represent the majority of the bankrupt exchange’s assets.
The sale received interest from asset managers and venture capitalists, including Galaxy Trading and Pantera Capital, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.
This week’s Crypto Biz explores the gaming industry’s renewed optimism, Binance’s first board of directors, Paradigm’s new crypto fund and how Bitcoin miners are gearing up for the halving. The gaming industry is set to release a massive crop of games in 2024, following a few years of development since the last bull cycle, with game developers reimagining business models to attract and retain players amid growing competition. Metaverses, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and even play-to-earn features are still on the table for some studios.
Jurors took a short time to deliberate on the evidence presented by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Terraform Labs before reaching a verdict.
A jury found Terraform Labs and co-founder Do Kwon liable for defrauding investors in its civil case with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In an April 5 announcement, SEC Enforcement Director Gurbir Grewal said jurors in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York found Kwon and Terraform liable in the civil enforcement case after a short deliberation.
Market analysts predict layer-2 blockchains are set to capitalize on Ethereum’s primary challenge to process, store and compute data, which might propel it to a $1 trillion market cap by 2030.
Welcome to Finance Redefined, your weekly dose of essential decentralized finance (DeFi) insights — a newsletter crafted to bring you the most significant developments from the past week.
The surge in DeFi in recent months saw decentralized application (DApp) activity increase by 77% in the fourth quarter of 2023, with a total daily active user wallet count of seven million.
The exchange has petitioned the Securities and Exchange Commission to approve a broad multi-share class structure.
Cboe Global Markets has asked the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve a rule change that would allow issuers to combine exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds. According to a Reuters report on April 4, Cboe submitted a 19b-4 form requesting the green light to add an ETF share class to existing mutual funds, allowing for a multi-share class fund structure.
The civil trial between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Terraform Labs entered its tenth day without the attendance of Do Kwon.
As the trial between Terraform Labs and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approaches the finish line, attorneys alleged the crypto firm made several false claims regarding the platform to investors.
According to an April 5 Reuters report, SEC lawyers said in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that Terraform’s story was “built on lies,” which included the stability of algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) and an integration with a South Korean payment app.
Bitcoin remains locked in a battle near the $69,000 mark, which may extend for a few more days.
Bitcoin (BTC) has been witnessing a tough battle between the bulls and the bears near the $69,000 mark. Independent trader and analyst Daan Crypto Trades said in a X post that Bitcoin has been hovering around the 2021 cycle high for about four weeks. Historically, Bitcoin consolidates for about 4-8 weeks near the cycle highs before the price starts moving again.
The project uses generative AI to power conversational non-player characters in a bespoke island metaverse
Today, a web3 firm creating a gaming experience also called “Today,” has raised $5 million in seed funding to build its ambitious Animal Crossings-like “social sim” featuring tradeable digital assets and non-player characters (NPCs) powered by generative artificial intelligence (AI). The basic premise of Today revolves around the sim’s digital real estate. Players use “seeds” of varying rarity to create their own island environment to explore.
BlackRock’s new additions include ABN AMRO, Citadel Securities, Citigroup Global Markets, Goldman Sachs, and UBS Securities. Global asset manager BlackRock updated its Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) prospectus on April 5, adding five big Wall Street firms as new authorized participants.
New members include ABN AMRO Clearing, Citadel Securities, Citigroup Global Markets, Goldman Sachs, and UBS Securities, according to the document amending BlackRock’s S-1 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Bitcoin sets up another run at the key $69,000 zone as U.S. banks including Goldman Sachs are revealed as BlackRock ETF "Authorized Participants."
Bitcoin (BTC) shrugged off United States inflation signals on April 5 amid fresh excitement over future institutional investment.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed renewed BTC price support pushing BTC/USD to $68,630 after the Wall Street open.
Currently circling $68,000, Bitcoin appeared to gain in tandem with news that the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, had added major U.
The High Court in Podgorica could decide whether the Terraform co-founder is sent to the United States or his native South Korea to face criminal charges.
The Supreme Court of Montenegro has annulled a decision from the country’s lower courts affecting the extradition of Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon to either the United States or South Korea.
In an April 5 notice, Montenegro’s Supreme Court said it had approved a request for a protection of legality against a lower court decision that would have allowed Kwon’s extradition to South Korea.
Druk Holding and Investments and mining firm Bitdeer will increase their mining capacity in Bhutan sixfold before the Bitcoin halving. The Kingdom of Bhutan’s sovereign investment arm and its Bitcoin (BTC) mining partner, Bitdeer Technologies, will increase their BTC mining capacity to offset the potential impact of the mining rewards reduction after the Bitcoin halving. Druk Holding and Investments (DHI), the investment arm of the royal government of Bhutan, and the Nasdaq-listed Bitdeer reportedly announced that they will invest in increasing their mining project’s capacity sixfold ahead of the halving.
The Hong Kong virtual bank aims to push forward its presence in the Web3 industry by allowing local stablecoin issues access to secure fiat reserve solutions. In a move poised to accelerate local Web3 adoption, Hong Kong’s ZA Bank has announced it will offer dedicated banking services for stablecoin issuers. According to the announcement on April 5, the Hong Kong-based virtual bank is opening up security for fiat reserves which issuers can use to back digital assets.
Explore the dynamic shifts of crypto winters alongside Ethereum’s pivotal landmarks. Delve into a narrative of resilience, innovation and transformation within the realm of blockchain technology.
The cryptocurrency market has experienced several cycles characterized by periods of rapid price increases known as bull runs, followed by extended downturns referred to as “crypto winters.”
The term crypto winter refers to a phase within the cryptocurrency market characterized by a downturn in investor enthusiasm.
Data analyst Crypto Koryo noted a 38% increase in funds invested in the first quarter and a 49% increase in the number of projects that received funding. Venture capital (VC) funding flowing to the crypto space showed a positive shift in the first quarter of 2024, breaking a two-year slump. Data analysis platform Crypto Koryo posted a report on X, highlighting that the total amount invested and the number of projects that received VC funding have increased since the fourth quarter of 2023.
However, tokens that have been listed on a licensed exchange for over two years may not need to meet these new criteria.
South Korean financial authorities plan to release new guidelines imposing tighter regulations for token listings on centralized crypto exchanges by the end of April or at the latest, early May. According to local media News 1, South Korean financial authorities will prohibit the listing of virtual assets with hacking incidents on domestic exchanges unless the root cause is thoroughly determined.
The increasing Bitcoin network fees, thanks to the emergence of Ordinals inscriptions and BTCFi could complement miner revenue post-halving, according to Acheron Trading’s CEO.
Bitcoin mining profitability won’t necessarily fall after the upcoming Bitcoin halving, despite a 50% Bitcoin (BTC) supply issuance reduction, Laurent Benayoun, the CEO of Acheron Trading, told Cointelegraph in an interview:
The Bitcoin halving is set to reduce block issuance rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.
Although Australia already has a couple of ETPs exposed to Bitcoin, Monochrome’s spot BTC ETF will be the first to hold physical Bitcoin in its ETF, similar to the United States-based products.
Australian asset manager Monochrome plans to launch its flagship spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the global listing exchange Cboe Australia. Monochrome filed for the spot Bitcoin ETF in July 2023.
The Monochrome Bitcoin ETF, if approved, will become Australia’s first spot Bitcoin ETF to permit direct Bitcoin (BTC) holding.
Sub-accounts without the necessary KYC information will be fully restricted by May 20. Crypto exchange Binance announced mandatory Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements for its Exchange Link account holders under the Binance Link Program. On April 5, Binance said that only verified and compliant users will be given access to their sub-accounts. The rule also applies to subaccounts created for deposit purposes and are not used in trading. The exchange said it had been applying restrictions to non-compliant sub-accounts since March 20 and giving an ultimatum to unverified subaccount holders.
Bitcoin in 2024 looks increasingly unlike previous cycles as sellers routinely fail to drive BTC price performance lower after new all-time highs.
Bitcoin (BTC) sellers have failed to spark a classic bull market correction this cycle, new analysis concludes.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on April 5, Checkmate, the pseudonymous lead on-chain analyst at Glassnode, showed BTC price drawdowns barely hitting 20%.
Bitcoin may have retraced from new all-time highs near $74,000, but in percentage terms, its recent corrections have been mild.
The proceeds from the sold tokens were used to buy existing portfolio components, according to Grayscale. Both ADA and ATOM are down year-to-date.
Grayscale has removed Cardano’s (ADA) token from its Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund (GDLC) and Cosmos’ (ATOM) token from its Grayscale Smart Contract Platform Ex-Ethereum Fund (GSCPxE).
The removal of the tokens was part of Grayscale’s quarterly fund rebalancing, the world’s largest crypto-focused asset manager announced in an April 4 X post.
Sony Bank says it is experimenting with the possibility of issuing its own yen-backed stablecoin as a form of payment for businesses that use intellectual property (IP) owned by the Sony Group. The Japanese Sony Bank — the financial business unit of the Sony Group Corporation — said it has begun experimenting with issuing its own stablecoin pegged to fiat currencies, such as the yen. According to a report from local media outlet Nikkei on April 4, the trial is set to occur on the Polygon blockchain and in collaboration with the Belgium-based blockchain company SettleMint.
Creating a metaverse avatar involves selecting a platform, tailoring appearance, choosing attire and accessories, working on features and deploying it.
When American science fiction writer Neal Stephenson coined the term “metaverse” in the ‘90s in Snow Crash magazine, who would have thought that the concept would become what it is today? But as technology progressed, metaverses like Decentraland and The Sandbox narrowed down the gaps between the real and digital world, making way for many new use cases.
While Bitcoin-native DeFi used to be considered impossible, BTCFi is slowly emerging as a new blockchain paradigm, according to MerlinSwap’s co-founder.
Bitcoin decentralized finance (DeFi), or BTCFi, is a recent paradigm seeking to bring DeFi capabilities to the world’s first blockchain network. Provided that its current adoption rate continues, BTCFi could match the innovation of Ethereum-based DeFi in the future.
This is the view of Nash Lee, co-founder of MerlinSwap, who told Cointelegraph:
Ellipsis Labs will use the new funding to accelerate the progress of DeFi up and down the stack.
Ellipsis Labs, a developer in the crypto exchange sector, has secured $20 million in Series A funding, with Paradigm leading the investment round.
According to a post on X, Electric Capital also participated in the round, which had additional support from Justin Drake and Mike Neuder of the Ethereum Foundation, Sreeram Kannan from EigenLayer, Anatoly Yakovenko from Solana Labs, Uri Klarman from bloXroute and others
Crypto researcher Jupiter Zheng believes that the Ethereum ETF decision may not have a large impact on open interest as the market is not “betting hard on it."
Crypto analysts are betting that Ether (ETH) price could see a significant upswing within months after the Bitcoin halving despite being down 11.39% over the past 30 days, based on historic data.
One researcher also thinks that a potential ETF denial won’t necessarily lower prices.
The Doginal-based Runestones were given away for free, just like its Bitcoin Ordinals original.
Dogecoin blockchain natives have just finished handing out its own “Runestone” airdrop inspired by the nonfungible token (NFT)-like giveaway done through Bitcoin Ordinals last month.
Finishing up on April 2, a total of 30,272 of the inventively titled “Doge Runestone” Doginals — Dogecoin’s name for its Ordinals — were handed out to wallets that held at least one Doginal from a list of collections outlined by Robo AI, the airdrop’s organizer.
Coinbase’s institutional client-facing arm has announced that it will list perpetual futures contracts for Ordinals and Worldcoin as soon as April 11. Institutional clients on the Coinbase International Exchange will soon have access to BRC-20 token Ordinals (ORDI) and Worldcoin perpetual futures.
In an April 5 post to X, Coinbase International Exchange announced it would list perpetual futures products for the Ordinals (ORDI) and Worldcoin (WLD) as soon as April 11 — making them available to institutional investors on both Coinbase International ORDI and WLD have witnessed significant price action and trading volumes in recent months.
Following a blockade of Binance in the country, the Philippines’ securities regulator is now targeting the online trading platform eToro. The Securities and Exchange Commission in the Philippines has issued an advisory against online trading platform eToro, saying it is not authorized to sell or offer securities in the country.
The financial regulator issued the advisory in March, which was posted publicly on April 4, informing the public that the online investment trading platform eToro is “not authorized to sell or offer securities to the public in the Philippines.
For years, Bitcoin tended to dip during Asia trading hours, but something changed after spot Bitcoin ETFs were launched.
Bitcoin (BTC) has seen most of its daily gains come outside U.S. trading hours ever since the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs, which could present an opportunity for traders, according to an analyst.
The trend is a seeming reversal from the last two years, where most gains were concentrated during U.
The Solana network appears to be struggling to keep up with a ravenous demand for memecoins, with data showing roughly 75% of transactions on the network currently failing. Roughly three-quarters of all transactions on the Solana network have been failing amid a deluge of activity brought by the recent memecoin mania on Solana, however, proponents say the data is being widely misinterpreted. Dune Analytics data shows that on April 4, just over 75% of all “non-vote” Solana transactions failed, the highest failure rate on record.
USDe is already backed by Ether, Ether-based liquid staking tokens and Tether, but Ethena says Bitcoin will provide more “safe” and “robust” product for USDe token holders.
Ethena Labs, the team behind the USDe, has added Bitcoin (BTC) as collateral to its synthetic dollar-pegged product with the hopes of scaling “significantly” from its current $2 billion supply. With Bitcoin open interest increasing from $10 billion to $25 million over the past year on major cryptocurrency exchanges, USDe has the capacity to scale by a factor of 2.
Google files lawsuit against alleged Chinese crypto scammers — but can it be enforced? New Bitcoin ETF app in Hong Kong, & more: Asia Express.
Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industrys most important developments.
Alphabet’s Google subsidiary has filed lawsuits in federal court in New York against two Chinese nationals residing in Mainland China for allegedly using Google Play to advertise and distribute fraudulent crypto apps.
Binance ex-boss CZ will be sentenced in April and the ring of FTX executivies that admitted to fraud are also set to soon be sentenced.
The cryptocurrency “trial of the century” wrapped up a week ago with the 25-year sentencing of FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried, but there’s plenty of crypto action still to come throug the United States courts.
At the end of this month, Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao will know what jail time, if any, he’ll serve.
Binance NFT marketplace will cease supporting trades and deposits of Bitcoin Ordinals on April 18. Binance is winding down support for Bitcoin (BTC) nonfungible tokens (NFTs) just a few months after introducing it to its marketplace. In a blog post on April 4, Binance announced efforts “to streamline product offerings” on the Binance NFT marketplace. As part of these efforts, the exchange’s marketplace is ceasing support for trades and deposits of Bitcoin Ordinals on April 18.
"Together, let’s stand against harassment and prioritize mental health in all aspects of our lives," wrote Complex developers as they shut down the memecoin project. Prominent blockchain sleuth ZachXBT has refused to assist holders of the Complex memecoin, minted on the Base blockchain, after its developers abruptly shut down the project on April 4.
"After careful consideration and with heavy hearts, we’ve made the difficult decision to sunset Complex,” the protocol’s staff wrote, adding: "
In our latest video, we delve into the five most prevalent myths about Bitcoin, meticulously separating fact from fiction. Despite existing for more than 15 years, Bitcoin (BTC) still faces skepticism from media pundits, market analysts and even regular people. Have you ever encountered someone dismissing Bitcoin as a scam or claiming its value is unsubstantiated? In our latest Cointelegraph video, we dismantle the five most prevalent misconceptions about Bitcoin.
Bitcoin bulls follow through with earlier upside to see $69,000 briefly return to the BTC price chart.
Bitcoin (BTC) passed $4,000 in daily gains on April 4 as traders eyed impending short liquidations.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed newly resurgent BTC price action, which hit $69,328 on Bitstamp.
Up nearly 5% from the day’s low, Bitcoin impressed market observers, who saw bulls redressing a chart “inefficiency” after recent downside.
Tigran Gambaryan has been detained in Nigeria since March after coming to address concerns about Binance allegedly manipulating the naira.
Tigran Gambaryan, a United States-based executive for cryptocurrency exchange Binance who faces tax evasion charges in Nigeria, has reportedly had his case adjourned until April 19.
According to an April 4 Bloomberg report, Gambaryan will remain in Nigerian custody as authorities move forward with charges against the cryptocurrency exchange and two executives, but his case has been adjourned for two weeks.
The cross-border payments will be handled via PayPal's Xoom subsidiary. PayPal will allow all United States users outside the state of Hawaii to fund money transfers to family and friends abroad using U.S. dollars converted from its native stablecoin PayPal USD (PYUSD).
According to the April 4 announcement, the service, powered by PayPal’s Xoom, is able to fund money transfers via PYUSD to more than 160 countries with no Xoom transaction fees.
Bitcoin Maximalism is often toxic and off-putting to cryptocurrency newcomers — along with everyone else. But “Bitcoin Maxi Plus” offers a nuanced alternative. “Bitcoin is all that matters, but so does everything else,” is a statement I have made to clients and students alike for years now. In an attempt to stress how important Bitcoin (BTC) is, it can be easy to take a hard-line “Bitcoin Maxi” stance. Bitcoin maximalism is the idea that Bitcoin is the only legitimate cryptocurrency protocol, and that all other protocols have no use cases or utility — and are simply scams.
The attention given to memecoins may be driven by the massive gains many projects displayed in the first quarter of 2024. Memecoins have kick-started a new crypto frenzy, attracting investors new to trading and searching for the next big token that could bring massive gains. Market intelligence platform IntoTheBlock shows that the number of wallet addresses wallet address holding meme-related tokens for under 30 days hit a record high in March.
The world’s leading AI semiconductor chipmaker, Nvidia, has teamed up with the Indonesia government and telecom provider Indosat to create a multimillion-dollar AI center in the country. Nvidia, one of the world’s leading semiconductor producers for artificial intelligence (AI), announced a plan alongside the Indonesian government and telecom provider PT Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison to build a new AI center in the country. On April 4, Budi Arie Setiadi, the country’s communication minister, said the center will be worth $200 million and be located in Surakarta city in the Central Java region.
AI didn’t kill the metaverse, it’s going to build it says Alien Worlds. Bittensor fires back at Eric Wall, medical/beer breakthroughs: AI Eye.
Hype over the metaverse was everywhere in 2022, with tens of billions poured into the sector. Largely substance and user-free at the time, the narrative was all but forgotten in 2023 as speculators excitedly jumped on board the AI train.
But generative AI is shaping up as a potentially new way for users to build the metaverse themselves and by metaverse, were talking virtual worlds in which creators own a slice of the economy via blockchain and NFTs.
Jobseekers in crypto currently have a wealth of options as firms seek out fresh talent to help fuel their growth.
The crypto jobs market is heating up as the industry enters a new bull run.
Increased crypto prices and activity have resulted in a surge of applicants and postings on industry job sites. Raman Shalupau, founder of the jobs board CryptoJobsList, told Cointelegraph that there has been 20–30% growth month-over-month for the number of companies active.
Coinbase now has two entities in Canada: Coinbase Canada, with an international license, and Coinbase, registered as a restricted dealer.
The United States-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has secured restricted dealer licenses in Canada, doubling down on global expansion amid regulatory crackdown at home.
Coinbase has obtained a new license in Canada, becoming registered in Ontario as a restricted dealer under the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), CNBC reported on April 4.
Institutions are also becoming interested in Web3 gaming, as more player-centric GameFi projects emerge.
Web3 gaming needs more player-centric projects with smooth onboarding to bolster mainstream adoption, according to Herbert Sim, the COO of hybrid cryptocurrency exchange Websea.
He told Cointelegraph in an exclusive interview:
Web3 games have been widely criticized for their lack of gameplay and user experience. Many previous Web3 games have grown in popularity simply based on their promised economic incentives for users, despite having poor overall user experience.
BNB's price is rising today as traders' attention shifts toward the launch of Ethena on Binance Launchpool and BNB Chain's $1 million commitment for the memecoin sector.
BNB (BNB) price is up today, rising 4% to $584. In doing so, the cryptocurrency has outperformed most of its market rivals, namely Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), whose gains in the same period sit around 0.64% and 0.22%, respectively.
Among the top catalysts driving the BNB's price rally on April 4 include the ongoing euphoria around the launch of synthetic dollar protocol, Ethena (ENA), and its rising crypto market dominance.
Approximately 100,000 users have downloaded fraudulent apps from Google Play, but the amount of user funds lost remains unknown.
Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc., filed a lawsuit against two people based in China for using the company’s platform for scam cryptocurrency apps that amassed over 100,000 downloads.
Google’s parent company claimed that scammers used its platforms, Google Play and YouTube, to upload and advertise fraudulent crypto apps.
The online giant alleged that the defendants engaged in a pattern of racketeering after committing hundreds of acts of wire fraud.
According to crypto insider Andrew AP Abacus, both Morgan Stanley and UBS are set to add Bitcoin ETFs to their platform next week.
The launch of spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETF) in the United States has fueled rivalry between investment banks over which will be the first wirehouse to add such a product.
Morgan Stanley is hoping to beat UBS in becoming the first wirehouse to fully approve the Bitcoin ETF, crypto enthusiast Andrew P.
D3 will lead the effort to prepare and submit the application after the majority (91.68%) of the ApeCoin community voted in favor of the proposal.
The ApeCoin community unanimously approved a proposal to register “.APE” as a new top-level domain (TLD) with ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), the world’s authority on IP addresses and domain names.
In line with ICANN’s plan to implement new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) by Q2 2026, the ApeCoin decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) proposed working with Web3 domains specialist D3 to create the .
NIST allocated nearly $3.6 million in cooperative agreements to enhance the cybersecurity workforce aiming to combat the growing threat of cyberattacks.
The United States National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) said it awarded cooperative agreements of almost $3.6 million, aiming to build a workforce to help guard businesses against cybersecurity risks. The NIST, an agency of the Department of Commerce, announced on April 3 that 18 education and community-focused organizations in 15 states will receive grants of roughly $200,000 to address the shortage of skilled cybersecurity employees.