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ZKasino users fuming as $33M in promised refunds are instead sent to Lido | Blockchain-based gambling project ZKasino is being slammed on X for moving $33 million worth of investor and user funds to staking protocol Lido — a sudden change from its original plan to return the funds.
In an April 20 blog post, ZKasino announced its network had gone live. More than 10,000 users who had bridged a collective 10,515 Ether (ETH) to the network in a bid to collect more of its ZKasino (ZKAS) tokens were expecting they could get their ETH back as initially promised.
Instead, ZKasino’s post said it “made changes from our initial plan,” with all bridged ETH converted to ZKAS at a “discounted rate of $0.055” on a 15-month vesting schedule.
It claimed the changes were “done as a favour” so it could “provide a seamless transition” as its chain doesn’t use ETH. Users also noticed it had changed the wording on its website, removing a statement that said the ETH “would be returned.”
These concerns were further intensified after an on-chain transfer showing ZKasino moved all of its users’ 10,515 ETH into the staking protocol Lido.
Meanwhile, an anonymous crypto developer known as “cygaar” claims that the blockchain ZKasino released was “an Arbitrum Nitro chain that took 2 minutes to deploy” and didn’t use zero knowledge technology or EigenDA despite its claim that it would.
On X, hundreds of posts from apparent ZKasino users who pitched money toward the project are now alleging the project is an exit scam.
Some have even spread the personal information and address of ZKasino’s founder, known on X as “Derivatives Monke,” using it to call for legal action.
More controversy
Venture capital firm Big Brain has added to the controversy as well, claiming in an April 21 X post that ZKasino “appears to be fraudulent” and it “never invested in ZKasino” but was offered a pro-rata token distribution that it had not received and “will not opt to receive.”
This came after ZKasino claimed in an X post in March to have closed a Series A investment round at a $350 million valuation with backing from crypto exchange MEXC and venture firm Big Brain Holdings, among others.
Meanwhile, crypto outlet TechFlow reported on April 21 that MEXC said (translated) it was “just one of the investors” and ZKasino’s “behavior has nothing to do with us. As an investor, we are also victims.”
Related: Solana memecoin frenzy raises questions about crypto utility, reputation
ZKasino, its founder, its parent firm ZigZag Labs and MEXC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
ZKasino has been largely mute on X through the backlash. The project posted a humdrum update about integrating EIP-3074 on X.
Derivatives Monke has replied to an X user who criticized Monke over ZKasino’s recent decision and, in another post, shared his project’s latest X post with the caption “keep building.”
Web3 Gamer: Bitcoin Halving will pump games, Shrapnel’s ‘simple’ secret revealed | Blockchain-based gambling project ZKasino is being slammed on X for moving $33 million worth of investor and user funds to staking protocol Lido — a sudden change from its original plan to return the funds.
In an April 20 blog post, ZKasino announced its network had gone live.
Instead, ZKasino’s post said it “made changes from our initial plan,” with all bridged ETH converted to ZKAS at a “discounted rate of $0.055” on a 15-month vesting schedule.
On X, hundreds of posts from apparent ZKasino users who pitched money toward the project are now alleging the project is an exit scam.
ZKasino has been largely mute on X through the backlash. |
Crypto market ‘underestimates the long-term impact’ of Bitcoin halving: Bitwise | The Bitcoin (BTC) halving is days away now, scheduled for April 20, but price action in the month that follows the highly anticipated event has been historically disappointing, said Bitwise Asset Management.
In an April 16 X post, Bitwise noted past price action in the month after the Bitcoin halving for the past three halvings saw its price drop — but in the year that followed, its price saw a minimum of triple-digit percentage point gains.
In the month after the 2012 halving, Bitcoin gained 9% — but over the next year, it surged 8,839%.
A similar pattern played out in the 2016 halving: Bitcoin fell 10% the month after and gained 285% to peak at $20,000 in 2017. Again, in 2020, it saw a 6% price gain in the month post-halving, then a 548% pump in the year following.
Bitcoin’s gains after its halvings. Source: Bitwise/X
“The data is limited but the picture reveals an intriguing pattern,” Bitwise wrote. “The market prices in the short-term impact of the halving but underestimates the long-term impact.”
The current market cycle is the first time that Bitcoin has hit an all-time high before its halving.
The cryptocurrency hit its current $73,679 peak on March 13, its since corrected 16% to a low of $61,500.
Industry executives are equally pessimistic in the short term. 10x Research head of research Markus Thielen predicted on April 13 that there could be a $5-billion miner sell-off after the halving, putting downward pressure on markets.
Meanwhile, Marathon CEO Fred Thiel said that the halving rally was already factored in, bringing forward what would have been a post-halving rally.
Related: Bitcoin miners could dump $5B in BTC after halving: 10x Research
On April 16, trader and analyst Rekt Capital posted on X a list of market correction magnitudes since the 2022 bear market bottom.
There were five significant pullbacks ranging from 18% to 23%. Currently, markets have corrected 16% and suggested that there could be further to go.
Market corrections since bear market low. Source: Rekt Capital
Meanwhile, fellow analyst Cold Blooded Shiller noted that 30% corrections were not uncommon, hinting that BTC could potentially fall to around $51,000.
Magazine: Altseason on the horizon, SEC targets Uniswap, and BTC halving news: Hodler’s Digest, April 7–13 | The Bitcoin (BTC) halving is days away now, scheduled for April 20, but price action in the month that follows the highly anticipated event has been historically disappointing, said Bitwise Asset Management.
In the month after the 2012 halving, Bitcoin gained 9% — but over the next year, it surged 8,839%.
A similar pattern played out in the 2016 halving: Bitcoin fell 10% the month after and gained 285% to peak at $20,000 in 2017.
“The market prices in the short-term impact of the halving but underestimates the long-term impact.”The current market cycle is the first time that Bitcoin has hit an all-time high before its halving.
Magazine: Altseason on the horizon, SEC targets Uniswap, and BTC halving news: Hodler’s Digest, April 7–13 |
Avalanche home loan tokenization protocol raises $10M in Series A | Homium, a home equity line of credit (HELOC) tokenization protocol built on Avalanche, has raised $10 million in a Series A funding round led by Sorenson Impact Group and Blizzard.
“Through shared appreciation home equity loans, Homium introduces a way for homeowners to borrow against their home equity without increasing their monthly debt burden,” wrote Avalanche in an April 15 announcement.
By using Homium, homeowners pledge a portion of their home’s future appreciation as collateral for loan equity in maintenance and repairs, debt consolidation or inheritance. At the same time, investors receive a tokenized asset tracking the price appreciation of a pool of shared homes on the protocol.
The Homium tokenization overview. Source: Homium
“Homium is building a valuable new asset class for institutional investors, providing a new source of uncorrelated, inflation-protected return in their core portfolios,” said CEO Tommy Mercein in a statement. The first such home tokenization loans are currently available in the United States state of Colorado.
The tokenized assets are backed by second mortgage loans made to owner-occupied single-family homes. Investors of the HELOC tokens are secured to the title like any other mortgage. Homium pledges that every home is “appraised by a third party, hybrid valuation service” with nationwide loan originators.
While the HELOC tokens are built on distributed ledger technology, they are not cryptocurrencies. Instead, the tokens are debt securities compliant with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Rule 144A regarding private placement to institutional investors. Regarding its technology, Homium explained:
“Patented technology gives Homium investors a real time window into every loan in each pool including its origination value and current marked-to-market estimated value. Because Homium loans are underwritten to a uniform standard that secures a % of the underlying home equity, this allows instant securitization of the note from inception. Investors receive pooled exposure to home price appreciation by state."
Since July 2023, Avalanche has pledged $50 million in investments for on-chain tokenization protocols, with a major focus on those specializing in real estate and digital collectibles. Meanwhile, financial services giant Citi recently described the tokenization market as the next “killer use case” in crypto.
Related: Avalanche and Chainlink collaborate on Australasian on-chain asset settlement | Homium, a home equity line of credit (HELOC) tokenization protocol built on Avalanche, has raised $10 million in a Series A funding round led by Sorenson Impact Group and Blizzard.
By using Homium, homeowners pledge a portion of their home’s future appreciation as collateral for loan equity in maintenance and repairs, debt consolidation or inheritance.
The Homium tokenization overview.
The first such home tokenization loans are currently available in the United States state of Colorado.
Regarding its technology, Homium explained:“Patented technology gives Homium investors a real time window into every loan in each pool including its origination value and current marked-to-market estimated value. |
US court favors Fed in Custodia Bank case, rejects appeal for review | The United States District Court for the District of Wyoming has ruled against granting Custodia Bank a U.S. Federal Reserve master account and dismissed the digital asset bank’s plea for a declaratory judgment. However, Custodia claims it is not backing down and is exploring all possible avenues.
“We are reviewing the court’s decision and all of our options, including appeal,” a spokesperson for Custodia Bank told Cointelegraph.
In a March 29 filing, Judge Scott Skavdahl dismissed Custodia’s bid to secure a Federal Reserve master account. The account, often called “a bank account for banks,” facilitates financial institutions’ access to the Federal Reserve’s payment systems.
Court filing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming. Source: Eleanor Terrett
Custodia contended that without a master account, it would be unable to offer the same custodial services for crypto-assets as other banking institutions, placing the bank at a disadvantage.
“Without a master account, if Custodia is able to operate at all, it is a second-class citizen, relegated to dependency on and fealty to an intermediary bank,” it argued.
Furthermore, Skavdahl declared that Custodia is not entitled to have the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (FRBKC) decision overturned:
“Custodia is not entitled to its requested writ of mandamus compelling FRBKC to issue its master account, and summary judgment on Claim II must be granted in FRBKC’s favor.”
Related: Federal Reserve lists CBDCs as one of 7 ‘key duties’ to Congress
Custodia submitted an application for a Federal Reserve master account in October 2020. The application, if granted, would allow the bank access to the Fedwire network, which processed over 193 million transactions in 2023.
In January 2023, the Fed rejected Custodia’s membership application, citing its involvement in the crypto space as “inconsistent with the required factors under the law.”
Custodia was one of Wyoming’s first Special Purpose Depository Institutions (SPDIs), also known as “blockchain banks.” SPDIs were set up to help businesses that couldn’t secure Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation banking services due to their dealings with crypto.
Magazine: Creating ‘good’ AGI that won’t kill us all: Crypto’s Artificial Superintelligence Alliance | The United States District Court for the District of Wyoming has ruled against granting Custodia Bank a U.S. Federal Reserve master account and dismissed the digital asset bank’s plea for a declaratory judgment.
“We are reviewing the court’s decision and all of our options, including appeal,” a spokesperson for Custodia Bank told Cointelegraph.
In a March 29 filing, Judge Scott Skavdahl dismissed Custodia’s bid to secure a Federal Reserve master account.
The account, often called “a bank account for banks,” facilitates financial institutions’ access to the Federal Reserve’s payment systems.
“Without a master account, if Custodia is able to operate at all, it is a second-class citizen, relegated to dependency on and fealty to an intermediary bank,” it argued. |
OneCoin lawyer gets bail pending appeal for conviction and 10-year sentence | Mark Scott, a lawyer connected to the OneCoin crypto scheme recently convicted for fraud and money laundering, has been granted bail pending an appeal of his case.
In an April 18 filing in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Edgardo Ramos approved bail for Scott three months after sentencing the lawyer to prison for 10 years. A portion of the court filing had been redacted regarding Scott’s health issues, which his legal team argued did not make him a flight risk.
“Based on the record before the Court, given Scott’s medical conditions and because he has not been charged with a violent crime, the Court does not find that Scott is likely to flee or pose a danger to the safety of any other person or the community if allowed to remain on bail,” said Judge Ramos.
Source: PACER
According to a notice filed on Feb. 7, there were “substantial questions” of law to consider in a possible appeal. Scott’s legal team suggested Konstantin Ignatov — brother of Ruja “Cryptoqueen” Ignatova and a leader of the OneCoin scheme — had perjured himself, but prosecutors still used his testimony in their case.
“[T]he Court believes it is quite doubtful that Scott will obtain a reversal or new trial on both counts,” said the judge. “But the Court cannot say that the questions are frivolous. And they are sufficiently integral to the merits of Scott’s conviction that a contrary appellate holding could likely require a reversal or new trial on all of the counts for which Scott has been imprisoned.”
Related: OneCoin: A deep dive into crypto’s most notorious Ponzi scheme
In November 2019, a jury convicted Scott of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering related to his role in laundering millions of dollars through OneCoin. The lawyer laundered funds at the direction of OneCoin co-founder Ruja Ignatova, who remained at large at the time of publication.
OneCoin co-founder Karl Sebastian Greenwood was sentenced to 20 years on fraud and money laundering charges in September 2023 and ordered to pay $300 million in restitution to OneCoin victims. Former OneCoin chief compliance officer Irinia Dilkinska pleaded guilty to two felony counts and was sentenced to four years in prison on April 3.
Magazine: US enforcement agencies are turning up the heat on crypto-related crime | Mark Scott, a lawyer connected to the OneCoin crypto scheme recently convicted for fraud and money laundering, has been granted bail pending an appeal of his case.
Source: PACERAccording to a notice filed on Feb. 7, there were “substantial questions” of law to consider in a possible appeal.
The lawyer laundered funds at the direction of OneCoin co-founder Ruja Ignatova, who remained at large at the time of publication.
OneCoin co-founder Karl Sebastian Greenwood was sentenced to 20 years on fraud and money laundering charges in September 2023 and ordered to pay $300 million in restitution to OneCoin victims.
Former OneCoin chief compliance officer Irinia Dilkinska pleaded guilty to two felony counts and was sentenced to four years in prison on April 3. |
OKX, Binance and Bybit monthly volumes tripled since late 2023 | A new report says trading volumes on global centralized cryptocurrency exchanges (CEX) like Binance have spiked significantly since late last year.
According to data from the Bybit Institutional Report 2024, many CEXs at least tripled their monthly trading volumes from October 2023 to March 2024.
Released on April 18, Bybit’s report indicates that OKX 30-day volumes have surged as much as 278% since last October, while Binance followed with a 239% increase. Bybit exchange also stood out as one of the fastest-growing platforms in terms of volumes, adding 264%.
All three exchanges have surpassed the industry’s average growth rate of 255%, a spokesperson for Bybit told Cointelegraph.
The U.S.-based exchange Coinbase increased its volumes by 193%, slightly trailing from the average growth rate.
CEX spot trading volumes (Oct. 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024). Source: Bybit
According to Bybit, the significant growth trends in CEX volumes were largely driven by the price rallies of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), which followed the approvals of spot Bitcoin BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S.
“For the volume sections, we compare 30-day volumes to eliminate volatilities in volume figures on a daily basis,” a Bybit representative said. Bybit analysts compared October 2023 trading data to March 2024 to show volume growth and see market share changes between CEXs, the spokesperson added.
Despite OKX beating Binance in terms of growth speed over the analyzed period, Binance remains the largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of market share, accounting for at least 58% of the total spot trading volume, according to Bybit’s data.
Related: Bitcoin supply to run out on exchanges in 9 months — Bybit
In the report, Bybit is positioned as the second-largest exchange by market share, accounting for 9.6% of the market as of March 2023. Rival OKX exchange made up around 9% of the total crypto trading volumes.
Changes in CEX spot market shares. Source: Bybit
According to Bybit data, the growth trend of CEXs has failed to overtake the growth rate of decentralized exchanges (DEX), as major DEX Uniswap v3 increased volumes by 320%.
Derivatives CEXs have also slightly increased 30-day trading volumes, with the biggest derivatives player, Binance, adding around 66% over the period.
“The derivatives market for CEXs is almost entirely dominated by Binance, OKX and Bybit,” the report notes.
Magazine: Synthetix founder: It’s DeFi that’s wrong, not the market | A new report says trading volumes on global centralized cryptocurrency exchanges (CEX) like Binance have spiked significantly since late last year.
According to data from the Bybit Institutional Report 2024, many CEXs at least tripled their monthly trading volumes from October 2023 to March 2024.
Bybit exchange also stood out as one of the fastest-growing platforms in terms of volumes, adding 264%.
CEX spot trading volumes (Oct. 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024).
“The derivatives market for CEXs is almost entirely dominated by Binance, OKX and Bybit,” the report notes. |
Bitcoin slips below $60K, but some traders aren’t turning bearish on BTC just yet | Bitcoin price briefly fell below $60,000 only a few days before the much-anticipated Bitcoin halving. Yet, many traders remain optimistic about Bitcoin’s long-term price outlook based on historical chart patterns and institutional inflows.
Bitcoin remains in pre-halving “danger zone”
Despite the recent price correction, Bitcoin (BTC) reclaimed a key moving average indicator, which signaled the start of the bull runs during previous market cycles, according to popular crypto analyst Moustache, who wrote in an April 16 X post:
“Many people are expecting much lower prices, but I’m not… BTC reclaimed the [blue] line last month, now backest. When this happened in 2012, 2016 and 2020, Bitcoin was just getting started.”
BTC/USD, 1-month chart. Source: Moustache
Bitcoin has been in the pre-halving “danger zone” for a month since March 14, according to popular crypto analyst Rekt Capital, who wrote in an April 17 X post:
“It has been a month that Bitcoin has been in the ‘Danger Zone’ (orange). In that time, Bitcoin has retraced twice -18% in March and now almost -16% thus far.”
BTC/USD, 1-week chart. Source: Rekt Capital
The pseudonymous analyst added that Bitcoin could already be entering a reaccumulation phase, in an April 17 video posted on X:
“We’ve seen the pre-halving retrace take place because -17% downside has occurred already, so maybe we’re slowly transitioning to the re-accumulation period.
Following the Bitcoin correction, key technical indicators have been reset, suggesting that Bitcoin is no longer overbought now that it fell on the daily chart to 41, down from 58 on April 8.
BTC/USD, 1-day chart. Source: TradingView
Bitcoin price has falle over 7% during the past week. The main reason behind the drawdown could be the recent geopolitical tensions between Iran and Israel, according to John Patrick Mullin, CEO and founder of Mantra, who told Cointelegraph:
“A major event took place this week with Iran and Israel. Crypto markets are more fast-moving than any on the planet, hence events like this reflect almost instantly, which is what we’ve seen. What I will say though, is that a bounce back was seen right after, which is very optimistic long term.”
The current drawdown is considered a healthy correction, as the outlook for the next 18 months remains bullish, according to Mullin:
“Another angle to consider is that historically, miners sell BTC around halving, so short term it could be bearish. But these are healthy corrections, as BTC has been bullish consistently for quite a while, so anything offsetting euphoria is good long term.”
Related: ETH price nears 3-year lows vs. Bitcoin — Will an Ethereum ETF stem the tide?
Bitcoin ETF inflows will drive post-halving rally
Bitcoin traders also remain optimistic thanks to the continued inflows from the 10 spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States and the recent approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in Hong Kong, which are set to launch for trading over the next two weeks.
The Bitcoin ETFs have seen over $12.5 billion in net inflows since launch, amassing over 838,000 BTC, worth $53.7 billion in total holdings, according to Dune.
While the post-halving period is usually followed by short-term price stagnation, this cycle could be different due to the approval of Bitcoin ETFs, according to Ivo Georgiev, CEO of Ambire. He told Cointelegraph:
“[This halving] is different because BTC received institutional approval in the form of an ETF, so there’s a lot more retail and institutions watching this one. It doesn’t happen completely in the background as it did before. It isn’t just a party for crypto natives.”
The listing of the first batch of Bitcoin ETFs in Hong Kong will also contribute to Bitcoin’s price rally, according to Mantra’s CEO, Mullin, who said:
“More and more ETFs announced globally means an inflow of ‘fresh’ funds that weren’t in crypto before, so this is a factor I still see as underrated by most analysts in terms of the scale of the funds coming in. It’s not just BlackRock and Grayscale and Hong Kong, but many more will come, in size crypto hasn’t seen before.”
Related: Bitcoin supply to run out on exchanges in 9 months — Bybit
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. | Bitcoin price briefly fell below $60,000 only a few days before the much-anticipated Bitcoin halving.
Yet, many traders remain optimistic about Bitcoin’s long-term price outlook based on historical chart patterns and institutional inflows.
In that time, Bitcoin has retraced twice -18% in March and now almost -16% thus far.”BTC/USD, 1-week chart.
The Bitcoin ETFs have seen over $12.5 billion in net inflows since launch, amassing over 838,000 BTC, worth $53.7 billion in total holdings, according to Dune.
While the post-halving period is usually followed by short-term price stagnation, this cycle could be different due to the approval of Bitcoin ETFs, according to Ivo Georgiev, CEO of Ambire. |
Cathie Wood’s Bitcoin ETF hits daily inflow record as BTC retests $72K | ARK 21Shares’ spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) managed to notch a record $201.8 million of inflows on Wednesday, almost quintupling its average daily inflows as Bitcoin just fell short of reaching $72,000.
Preliminary data from Farside Investors revealed that on March 27, the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF's daily inflow was a four-fold increase from its daily average of $43.9 million since its launch on Jan. 11.
It also nearly tripled the amount from the previous day when ARK Invest saw inflows of $73.6 million, while there were no recorded inflows on March 25.
Bitcoin ETF flow table. Source: Farside Investors
Meanwhile, the Valkyrie Bitcoin ETF (BRRR) witnessed $5.1 million in inflows, the Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO) saw $4.8 million in inflows, the Franklin Bitcoin ETF (EZBC) had $4 million in inflows and the VanEck Bitcoin ETF (HODL) noted $1.9 million.
Both the WisdomTree Bitcoin ETF (BTCW) and Fidelity Investments Bitcoin ETF (FBTC) reported $1.5 million in inflows — all single-digit inflows. However, BlackRock data has yet to come in at the time of writing.
It comes as Bitcoin hit $71,670 before falling below the $69,000 support level before closing the day at $69,698. At the time of publication, Bitcoin’s current price is $69,464, as per CoinMarketCap data.
Crypto commentators, meanwhile, have begun to argue that investors are too fixated on Bitcoin’s short-term price fluctuations rather than considering the broader perspective.
In a March 28 post on X, crypto researcher Gumshoe informed his 28,900 followers that investors are opting for a micro perspective, focusing on daily price closures rather than considering the actual influx of funds into Bitcoin.
“Bitcoin ETFs seeing ATH inflows and people are panicking over the daily close of a candle,” he stated.
Related: Bitcoin ETFs see $15M comeback as BTC price taps best close in 10 days
In a March 27 post on X, chief investment officer of Bitwise Matt Hougan stated that the majority of professional investors are still unable to buy Bitcoin ETFs, especially in the United Kingdom where “the FCA is still broadly aligned against crypto.”
“The truth is, most professional investors still cannot buy bitcoin ETFs. That will change through a series of 100+ individual due diligence processes over the next two years,” he stated.
Popular crypto commentator Bitcoin Munger told his 31,800 followers he believes the next $13 billion of inflows could “add $50K-$70K or more to the price.”
On March 18, Cointelegraph reported that a total of $13.2 billion in new capital has flowed into investment products such as spot Bitcoin ETFs year-to-date.
Magazine: China will intensify Bitcoin bull run, $1M by 2028: Bitcoin Man, X Hall of Flame | ARK 21Shares’ spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) managed to notch a record $201.8 million of inflows on Wednesday, almost quintupling its average daily inflows as Bitcoin just fell short of reaching $72,000.
Bitcoin ETF flow table.
Source: Farside InvestorsMeanwhile, the Valkyrie Bitcoin ETF (BRRR) witnessed $5.1 million in inflows, the Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO) saw $4.8 million in inflows, the Franklin Bitcoin ETF (EZBC) had $4 million in inflows and the VanEck Bitcoin ETF (HODL) noted $1.9 million.
Both the WisdomTree Bitcoin ETF (BTCW) and Fidelity Investments Bitcoin ETF (FBTC) reported $1.5 million in inflows — all single-digit inflows.
“Bitcoin ETFs seeing ATH inflows and people are panicking over the daily close of a candle,” he stated. |
XRP price-to-sales ratio double that of Nvidia | The XRP token’s price-to-sales ratio is nearly double that of Nvidia, one of the most traded stocks on the market.
The XRP (XRP) token has a price-to-sale ratio of 61.689, while Nvidia has a price-to-sales ratio of 37. This ratio is calculated by dividing a company’s market capitalization by the company’s revenue or total sales over the past 12 months. The lower the ratio, the more attractive the investment.
Ripple’s XRP ledger generated over $583,000 worth of network fees in 2023, according to Messari. In comparison, Nvidia generated $26.97 billion in revenue during 2023, according to its 2023 fiscal report.
The XRP token rose 0.15% in the 24 hours up to 10:30 am UTC, to $0.6205, with a $34 billion market capitalization, according to CoinMarketCap data.
Nvidia shares were down 0.49% in pre-market trading to $898.25, according to Yahoo Finance data.
Nvidia is the world’s largest semiconductor chip manufacturer and the third-largest company in the world, with a market capitalization of $2.25 trillion.
The firm reported a 265% year-on-year increase in revenue amid rising global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) equipment.
The XRP price rose 20.55% over the past year, while Nvidia’s share price rose over 241%, mainly driven by increased global demand for semiconductor chips widely used for high-level AI models.
XRP/USDT and NVDA/USD, one-year chart. Source: TradingView.
Related: Nvidia CEO’s simple solution to AI hallucination could upend crypto — but only if it works
What is holding the XRP price back?
The XRP price has been under increased pressure since December 2020, when the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Ripple, its CEO Brad Garlinghouse and its co-founder Chris Larsen, alleging that the firm raised $1.3 billion in unregistered securities offerings through XRP token sales.
The lawsuit received even more interest in July 2023, when Judge Analisa Torres ruled that XRP was not a security but only in regard to programmatic sales on digital asset exchanges.
The judge also ruled that XRP is a security when sold to institutional investors, which meets the conditions of the Howey test.
According to a March 25 court filing, the SEC proposed Ripple pay a total civil penalty of $1.95 billion, based on Ripple’s “defiance of the law” in continuing to sell XRP after legal warnings.
Related: XRPL blockchain plugs into cross-chain DeFi | The XRP token’s price-to-sales ratio is nearly double that of Nvidia, one of the most traded stocks on the market.
The XRP (XRP) token has a price-to-sale ratio of 61.689, while Nvidia has a price-to-sales ratio of 37.
In comparison, Nvidia generated $26.97 billion in revenue during 2023, according to its 2023 fiscal report.
The XRP price rose 20.55% over the past year, while Nvidia’s share price rose over 241%, mainly driven by increased global demand for semiconductor chips widely used for high-level AI models.
Related: Nvidia CEO’s simple solution to AI hallucination could upend crypto — but only if it worksWhat is holding the XRP price back? |
ZachXBT onboarded as custodian for return of funds in $63M Munchables exploit | Prominent blockchain sleuth ZachXBT has been onboarded as one of four custodians to a multisig wallet holding GameFi protocol Munchables’ hacked user funds.
“ZachXBT will be joining as the 4th signer on the multisig at this stage, completing the safe return of user funds,” Munchables developers wrote in an April 1 announcement. The other custodians are Manifold Trading, Selini Capital and Munchables. “We will also be onboarding Nethermind to audit all our refreshed contracts before going live again,” wrote Munchables staff in an X post. All users’ assets have been recovered, and refunds will be returned directly to their wallets at the time of exploit.
“Confirming I will be temporarily joining the multisig as a signer for the initial period,” said ZachXBT in response to the nomination, adding, “I just did not want to be on the multisig longterm. Would expect any signers rotated out to be announced by the team.”
For additional compensation, developers also teased “massive multiples on game rewards” for returning depositors. In addition, the platform will “re-release with NFT migration plans and additional features to be revealed soon.” Meanwhile, custodians and users who helped thwart the attack will receive “ETH and future MUNCH donations” for their assistance in asset recovery. Quoting Confucius, an ancient Chinese philosopher, Munchables developers stated:
“We have two lives to munch, and the second begins when we realise we only have one.”
On March 26, Munchables, built on the Ethereum layer-2 network Blast, was exploited for $63 million after allegedly hiring a North Korean developer known by the alias “Werewolves0493,” who subsequently compromised the game’s private wallets.
In a subsequent post-mortem analysis, ZachXBT claimed that the exploiter was impersonating four different developers who all worked for the Munchables team. After the discovery, the malicious Munchables developer has since shared private keys with access to users’ funds with no strings attached.
Related: A beginner’s guide to the GameFi ecosystem | Prominent blockchain sleuth ZachXBT has been onboarded as one of four custodians to a multisig wallet holding GameFi protocol Munchables’ hacked user funds.
“ZachXBT will be joining as the 4th signer on the multisig at this stage, completing the safe return of user funds,” Munchables developers wrote in an April 1 announcement.
“We will also be onboarding Nethermind to audit all our refreshed contracts before going live again,” wrote Munchables staff in an X post.
In a subsequent post-mortem analysis, ZachXBT claimed that the exploiter was impersonating four different developers who all worked for the Munchables team.
After the discovery, the malicious Munchables developer has since shared private keys with access to users’ funds with no strings attached. |
DeFi’s ‘unknown and unpredictable’ risks curb institutional use — Fireblocks VP | Institutional investors have a “growing interest” in decentralized finance (DeFi) but are held back by the risks of on-chain transactions, says a Fireblocks executive. The company aims to address these concerns by introducing new features to its platform.
“For institutional investors navigating DeFi transactions, the risks are significant,” Fireblocks security and trust products vice president Shahar Madar told Cointelegraph. “They manage significantly more funds than the average consumer trader.” Madar added:
“The risks of unknown and unpredictable DeFi engagements is something they have to consider within their risk portfolio, which is what essentially holds them back.”
Despite the risks, Madar said institutional DeFi trading on Fireblocks rose 75% in the first quarter of 2024, reaching “nearly $4.5 billion.”
With DeFi having $95 billion in total value locked, according to DefiLlama, it has “attracted attention from sophisticated attackers” said Madar.
Around $336.3 million worth of crypto was stolen in hacks and scams in Q1, down from $437.5 million stolen in Q1 of 2023.
Fireblocks added two new tools to its institutional DeFi suite: “Transaction Simulation,” which allows its users to see what a smart contract will do to a wallet before it is signed, and “DApp Protection,” which analyzes contracts for malicious elements and alerts users of “suspicious smart contracts.”
For DeFi to attract institutions, Madar said it “must prioritize security, user-friendly interfaces, and effective risk management,” which he thinks could “transform perceptions of DeFi and the entire industry.”
Related: Crypto sleuth warns of scammers behind DeFi protocol
Institutions, for their part, are increasingly drawn to staking, restaking and tokenizing real-world assets, said Madar.
He added that Fireblocks users are actively “swapping, lending, staking and bridging” on decentralized applications, including Uniswap, Aave, Curve, 1inch and Jupiter.
Meanwhile, the interest of traditional finance players leans toward real-world asset tokenization and using DeFi’s infrastructure to “establish a safer financial ecosystem without counterparty risks.”
Magazine: Synthetix founder Kain Warwick: It’s DeFi that’s wrong, not the market | Institutional investors have a “growing interest” in decentralized finance (DeFi) but are held back by the risks of on-chain transactions, says a Fireblocks executive.
The company aims to address these concerns by introducing new features to its platform.
“For institutional investors navigating DeFi transactions, the risks are significant,” Fireblocks security and trust products vice president Shahar Madar told Cointelegraph.
Around $336.3 million worth of crypto was stolen in hacks and scams in Q1, down from $437.5 million stolen in Q1 of 2023.
He added that Fireblocks users are actively “swapping, lending, staking and bridging” on decentralized applications, including Uniswap, Aave, Curve, 1inch and Jupiter. |
SingularityNet, Fetch.AI, Ocean Protocol reportedly discuss token merger | Three prominent artificial intelligence (AI) protocols, SingularityNet, Fetch.ai and Ocean Protocol are in discussions to merge their tokens into an AltSignals (ASI) token that would have a fully diluted valuation of $7.5 billion.
The deal could be announced as soon as Wednesday, depending on community approval, according to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg M&A reported.
While the three platforms would continue to operate as separate entities, the new deal would foster their collaboration under a newly formed Superintelligence Collective, run by Ben Goertzel, the founder and CEO of SingularityNet. Humayun Sheikh, the CEO of Fetch.ai, would be the chairman of the new entity, according to the sources.
Cointelegraph has approached SingularityNet, Fetch.ai and Ocean Protocol for comment.
Related: 0G Labs raises $35M pre-seed funding from over 40 crypto investors for on-chain AI
The three protocols are united by the common goal of developing blockchain-based decentralized AI protocols, which can't be controlled by centralized parties or large stakeholders.
The Fetch.ai (FET) token currently sits at a $2.72 billion market capitalization as the largest of the three coins. SingularityNet’s (AGIX) token has a $1.7 billion market cap and Ocean Protocol’s (OCEAN) token sits at a $927 million market capitalization, according to CoinMarketCap data.
The potential merger comes during a period of increased interest in AI protocols, a week after reports of the Saudi Arabian government mulling the creation of a $40 billion investment fund to pour money into AI development, in partnership with Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).
The fund could take place in the second half of 2024. If approved, this would make the Saudi Arabian government the largest investor in the AI space.
In comparison, Microsoft pumped $13 billion into ChatGPT creator OpenAI over several investments.
In Europe, Google accepted a 250 million euro fine on March 20, after the French competition authority fined the company for breaching European Union copyright laws during the training of its AI model.
Related: FTX to offload $1B Anthropic stake to pay off bankruptcy debts within weeks — report | Three prominent artificial intelligence (AI) protocols, SingularityNet, Fetch.ai and Ocean Protocol are in discussions to merge their tokens into an AltSignals (ASI) token that would have a fully diluted valuation of $7.5 billion.
Humayun Sheikh, the CEO of Fetch.ai, would be the chairman of the new entity, according to the sources.
Cointelegraph has approached SingularityNet, Fetch.ai and Ocean Protocol for comment.
The Fetch.ai (FET) token currently sits at a $2.72 billion market capitalization as the largest of the three coins.
SingularityNet’s (AGIX) token has a $1.7 billion market cap and Ocean Protocol’s (OCEAN) token sits at a $927 million market capitalization, according to CoinMarketCap data. |
Here’s where you can catch the Bitcoin halving live | Update (20/04/2024 12:11 UTC): Bitcoin has successfully gone through its fourth-ever halving event.
Bitcoin (BTC) is now just moments away from its fourth-ever halving event since its inception — due to happen on April 20 when Bitcoin’s block height reaches 840,000.
From crypto exchanges to influencers and popular podcasters, live streams and physical events are popping up worldwide, where Bitcoiners are set to celebrate the momentous occasion that many hope will lead to the next crypto bull run.
The event marks the moment when Bitcoin miners’ block issuance rewards are cut in half from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per block — a mechanism designed to permanently reduce Bitcoin’s inflation rate until it reaches a maximum supply of 21 billion Bitcoin.
Bitcoin halving livestreams
If you’re after an event giving you a look back at the past four-year cycle with a bunch of Bitcoiners then head on over to BITC0IN’s Discord and YouTube channel, which has 68,700 subscribers.
The team will be passing around the virtual microphone to various Bitcoiners. Anyone can speak at the event, and there’ll even be games of poker running simultaneously, as per a recent statement from several “Bitcoin volunteers” on Reddit.
Crypto traders are also hosting private online parties if you’re brave enough to slide in the DMs for an invite, including professional trader Oliver Velez, who declared he is kicking off his private online Bitcoin halving with 2,000 guests just 6 blocks before the 840,000 block is mined, which is roughly an hour before the halving occurs.
If you can’t manage to get into that, then crypto exchange Kraken has loads of well-known Bitcoiners jumping on its Bitcoin Halving livestream, including Dave Portnoy, Jack Mallers, Dylan LeClair, Anthony Pompliano, and Pete Rizzo.
Philippines Bitcoin payments app Pouch is also hosting an online halving party event, encouraging Bitcoiners to invite their mates to be “orange-pilled.”
And, of course, Cointelegraph has its own countdown on the homepage for those who enjoy a simpler approach.
For those wanting to have the satisfaction of witnessing the 840,000th block being mined, and don’t mind constantly refreshing the page, you can visit one of the blockchain explorer websites such as BTCScan or Blockstream.
There are even a few physical halving parties scattered around the world, including one in Switzerland, hosted by the founder of Swiss crypto broker Bitcoin Suisse, and another in Brisbane, Australia, which is being sponsored by Binance.
What will happen after the Bitcoin halving?
Not a lot, at least immediately, according to analysts,
Crypto.com’s general manager for Asia and the Pacific, as well as the Middle East and Africa, Karl Mohan explained that the event probably won't have an instant impact on Bitcoin the same day, and investors should adopt a broader perspective, at least until toward the end of this year:
“It is unlikely for it to have immediate direct impact from day one, but over the next six months we do believe this will create bullish foundations for Bitcoin; we’ve seen it in the past cycles, and we believe this cycle is going to play out the same way.”
Other analysts note that investors shouldn’t fret over short-term Bitcoin (BTC) volatility and instead focus on the bigger picture.
“I always recommend zooming out with Bitcoin’s price and investing with a long-term view.” Coin Stories host Natalie Brunell told Cointelegraph in the days leading up to the halving.
“There’s usually increased speculation around these times, which can lead to volatile price swings both before and after the halving,” she added.
Bitcoin has been trading between $71,069 and $59,698 over the past seven days. Source: CoinMarketCap
Following the last halving in May 2020, Bitcoin’s price experienced a 5% dip one month afterward, only to surge by 180% by year’s end, as per CoinMarketCap data.
Crypto leaders expect many Bitcoin holders to sell a portion of their holdings after the Bitcoin halving.
Collective Shift CEO Ben Simpson anticipates “another sell-off” after the Bitcoin halving, similar to “when the Bitcoin ETF was announced” in January this year.
Within just 11 days of the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs, the price of Bitcoin plummeted by nearly 15%.
“It was a buy the rumor, sell the news event,” Simpson explained, forecasting that he expects “the same thing to happen here.”
Related: Crypto market ‘underestimates the long-term impact’ of Bitcoin halving: Bitwise
Mohan echoed a similar sentiment that historical data suggests the halving event tends to follow a “buy the rumor, sell the news” pattern.
“Price sensitivity in the short term is going to go through a consolidation phase, again something that we’ve seen in the past cycles. It’s a pattern and trend that is clearly available,” Mohan told Cointelegraph.
In comments to Cointelegraph, Bitget’s managing director Gracy Chen explained that the Bitcoin halving differs significantly in “several key ways” from previous halvings due to how much the market has developed since the last cycle.
“Evolving regulatory landscapes and technological advancements further differentiate this cycle. Additionally, favorable global economic conditions and the recent spot Bitcoin ETFs offer greater market sentiment,” Chen said.
Chen anticipates Bitcoin reaching a six-figure price tag, possibly as early as next year.
“Looking ahead, post-2024, Bitcoin is poised to surpass US$100,000, buoyed by enhanced regulatory frameworks, technological innovations, and favorable macroeconomic conditions,” she stated.
Magazine: China will intensify Bitcoin bull run, $1M by 2028: Bitcoin Man, X Hall of Flame | Update (20/04/2024 12:11 UTC): Bitcoin has successfully gone through its fourth-ever halving event.
Bitcoin (BTC) is now just moments away from its fourth-ever halving event since its inception — due to happen on April 20 when Bitcoin’s block height reaches 840,000.
What will happen after the Bitcoin halving?
Crypto leaders expect many Bitcoin holders to sell a portion of their holdings after the Bitcoin halving.
Collective Shift CEO Ben Simpson anticipates “another sell-off” after the Bitcoin halving, similar to “when the Bitcoin ETF was announced” in January this year. |
Thailand will block unlicensed crypto exchanges ‘to solve online crimes’ | Thai authorities will block unlicensed crypto exchanges from operating in the country to prevent money laundering and other online crimes.
Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will submit a list of unlicensed crypto exchanges to the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society.
The order was made public by Thai SEC Secretary-General Pornanong Budsaratragoon after the Technology Crime Prevention and Suppression Committee meeting on April 19.
Thailand’s decision to block unlicensed firms was inspired by India and the Philippines, which recently banned all off-shore exchanges that failed to comply with local regulations.
To minimize the impact on the public, the Thai SEC urged crypto investors to withdraw their funds from unregistered platforms before the ban takes effect. A translation of the SEC announcement read:
“The SEC would like to warn the public and investors to be careful of using services with unlicensed digital asset business operators because they will not be protected by law. There is also the risk of being deceived (scam) and being (associated with) money laundering.”
The Thai SEC urged investors to check the license registrations of the platforms with the SEC Check First application before making any investments. A quick search of “Binance” shows that the crypto exchange has yet to register and will need to close down when the ban takes effect.
Thailand’s SEC Check First application shows the license status of Binance. Source: Thai SEC
Other popular offshore crypto exchanges such as Coinbase, KuCoin, Kraken and OKX do not operate legally in Thailand, according to government data.
Related: Apple India blocks Binance, 9 other crypto exchanges weeks after FIU notice
Regulatory pressure in Europe could lead to a ban on non-decentralized protocols. According to the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) — the new regulatory framework governing digital assets within the region — the European Commission is required to prepare a report by Dec. 30, evaluating the decentralized finance (DeFi) market and the feasibility of specific regulations for the sector.
Among many crypto entrepreneurs, MakerDAO co-founder Rune Christensen noted that the rules could place some DeFi interfaces, such as decentralized exchanges, under licensing requirements.
“This would make DeFi frontends on normal internet domains, as we know them today, impossible. Only fully decentralized, local, downloaded frontends or full-KYC online frontends would be possible. Sad,” he wrote on X.
Magazine: a16z snubs crypto, Mango Markets exploiter found guilty and Worldcoin L2: Hodler’s Digest, April 14-20 | Thai authorities will block unlicensed crypto exchanges from operating in the country to prevent money laundering and other online crimes.
Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will submit a list of unlicensed crypto exchanges to the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society.
To minimize the impact on the public, the Thai SEC urged crypto investors to withdraw their funds from unregistered platforms before the ban takes effect.
Source: Thai SECOther popular offshore crypto exchanges such as Coinbase, KuCoin, Kraken and OKX do not operate legally in Thailand, according to government data.
Related: Apple India blocks Binance, 9 other crypto exchanges weeks after FIU noticeRegulatory pressure in Europe could lead to a ban on non-decentralized protocols. |
Mango Markets exploiter found guilty after jury deliberations | A jury has found Avraham “Avi” Eisenberg, the crypto user responsible for a $110 million exploit of the Mango Markets decentralized exchange, guilty of fraud and market manipulation.
In an April 18 ruling in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, a group of jurors announced that Eisenberg had been found guilty of wire fraud, commodities fraud and commodities manipulation. The decision followed hours of deliberations after closing arguments on April 17.
During a two-week trial, Eisenberg’s legal team claimed that he did not commit any crimes but orchestrated a “successful and legal trading strategy,” which resulted in roughly $110 million from Mango Markets. He returned roughly $67 million of the funds after the exploit but retained more than $40 million following a governance vote by the community. Prosecutors argued that Eisenberg’s actions constituted fraud.
Judge Richard Berman is expected to sentence Eisenberg at a July 29 hearing. He now faces up to 20 years in prison. After his actions on Mango Markets in October 2022, Eisenberg was arrested in Puerto Rico in December and held in U.S. custody since January 2023.
With a verdict handed down in the criminal trial, Eisenberg will likely face civil enforcement actions filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in 2023. Both cases had been stayed and could resume two weeks after the conclusion of the criminal case.
Related: Mango Markets exploiter said actions were ‘legal,’ but were they?
U.S. authorities have several ongoing criminal cases pending against high-profile figures in the crypto space. In March, a judge sentenced former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison for his conviction on seven felony charges, though his lawyers have filed notice they intended to appeal. Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao is scheduled to be sentenced on April 30 for pleading guilty to one felony charge.
Magazine: ‘Less flashy’ Mashinsky set for less jail time than SBF: Inner City Press, X Hall of Flame
Update (April 18 at 8:28 pm UTC): This article has been updated to include the date of Avi Eisenberg’s sentencing hearing. | A jury has found Avraham “Avi” Eisenberg, the crypto user responsible for a $110 million exploit of the Mango Markets decentralized exchange, guilty of fraud and market manipulation.
During a two-week trial, Eisenberg’s legal team claimed that he did not commit any crimes but orchestrated a “successful and legal trading strategy,” which resulted in roughly $110 million from Mango Markets.
Prosecutors argued that Eisenberg’s actions constituted fraud.
After his actions on Mango Markets in October 2022, Eisenberg was arrested in Puerto Rico in December and held in U.S. custody since January 2023.
Related: Mango Markets exploiter said actions were ‘legal,’ but were they? |
BlackRock smashes $10.5T record in Q1 managed assets | Major Bitcoin (BTC) investor BlackRock continues to build momentum, posting another successful quarter of income and managed assets.
BlackRock issued its financial results for the first quarter of 2024 on April 12, reporting a record $10.5 trillion in assets under management (AUM), up $1.4 trillion from 2023.
The company’s diluted earnings per share surged from $7.9 million in Q1 2023 to $9.81 million in Q1 2024.
The increase reflects higher non-operating income and a lower effective tax rate in the current quarter, the firm noted. Net income increased from $1.2 billion in Q1 2023 to roughly $1.5 billion in Q1 2024.
In the report, BlackRock also mentioned that the company issued $3 billion of debt to fund a portion of the cash consideration for the planned acquisition of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), an infrastructure investment fund focused on equity and selected debt investments.
BlackRock previously announced an agreement to acquire GIP as part of its Q4 2023 report, targeting the creation of a new infrastructure investment platform.
BlackRock’s record-breaking AUM came amid the company handling $76 billion of quarterly long-term net inflows, which already accounts for nearly 40% of full-year 2023 levels.
“BlackRock’s momentum continues to build, with accelerating client activity and line of sight into the funding of significant wealth, institutional, and Aladdin mandates,” BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said.
The CEO mentioned that BlackRock sees significant growth potential in infrastructure, technology, retirement and whole portfolio solutions, adding:
“Clients are turning to BlackRock to unlock the full potential of their portfolios, reflected in industry-leading total net inflows of $236 billion over the last twelve months.”
BlackRock is a major player in the cryptocurrency industry, operating one of the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT).
Related: Circle enables USDC transfers for BlackRock’s first tokenized fund
As of April 10, IBIT has accumulated 266,580 BTC worth $18.5 billion since it started trading in January 2024.
Fink is known in the crypto community as a major Bitcoin bull and industry advocate. In March 2024, Fink reiterated that he was very bullish on the long-term success of Bitcoin in the context of the rapid growth of IBIT.
“IBIT is the fastest growing ETF in the history of ETFs. Nothing has gained assets as fast as IBIT in the history of ETFs,” the CEO stated.
Magazine: Ghostface Killah Ordinals drop today, Women & Weapons… violent? NFT Collector | Major Bitcoin (BTC) investor BlackRock continues to build momentum, posting another successful quarter of income and managed assets.
BlackRock issued its financial results for the first quarter of 2024 on April 12, reporting a record $10.5 trillion in assets under management (AUM), up $1.4 trillion from 2023.
The company’s diluted earnings per share surged from $7.9 million in Q1 2023 to $9.81 million in Q1 2024.
Net income increased from $1.2 billion in Q1 2023 to roughly $1.5 billion in Q1 2024.
Fink is known in the crypto community as a major Bitcoin bull and industry advocate. |
Here’s how crypto game Notcoin onboarded over 30M users — founder | The viral clicker game Notcoin “just solved the issue” of bringing Telegram users into crypto, according to Sasha Plotvinov, founder of Open Builders, the team behind the game.
In January, the crypto game broke records by having 20 million sign-ups within 26 days of its release. Compared to another popular blockchain-based game called Axie Infinity, which had 2.78 million monthly active users at its peak in 2022, Notcoin showed that it’s possible to onboard millions of users into crypto through gaming.
Reporter Ezra Reguerra with Notcoin’s Sasha Plotvinov at the Token2049 event. Source: Cointelegraph
In a Cointelegraph interview at the Token2049 event, Plotvinov shared the story behind the game, which hit about 30 million users in March. The executive said the original goal was to just introduce crypto to users of the Telegram messaging app. He explained:
“It just solved the issue. Or maybe, the task that we all had on how to bring users from Telegram to crypto. So basically, that was the original goal.”
The executive explained that his team spent years looking at Telegram’s massive user base and the TON blockchain, which had “almost zero action but had really good technology.”
After going through the process, the team decided to go with the approach of simplifying the start of the onboarding process. Plotvinov explained:
“At some point you just, you know, come to the idea. All right. So we just need to remove all the roadblocks for the beginning. Then, we need to give something to users so they have the motivation to go for all this Web3.”
The Notcoin co-creator said it became a very “social thing,” with interactions, competitions, leaderboards and squads. “It’s very, very important for such a game. And within Telegram, it’s really easy to basically onboard users, invite users,” he added.
Related: New Telegram mini-apps will be so convenient users won’t know it’s crypto
Plotvinov said this was how the game became a social phenomenon, explaining that 53,000 communities competed with each other in an attempt to climb to the highest league.
The executive also explained that the team did not have a marketing budget. Everything happened “organically,” he explained, adding:
“94% of Notcoiners came from referrals. People invited other people. We call them friends. You have friends, you just invite them and you play together, and you can see how they’re progressing.”
Plotvinov also explained that the Notcoin project moved on from the common approach where projects attempted to convince users that it had value. “We just decided, all right, so why not reverse it and think more like ‘we’re not trying to convince you, it’s probably nothing,’ you know?”
Magazine: Web3 Gamer: Gods Unchained app drops crypto, Kings of Fighters Arena review | The viral clicker game Notcoin “just solved the issue” of bringing Telegram users into crypto, according to Sasha Plotvinov, founder of Open Builders, the team behind the game.
In January, the crypto game broke records by having 20 million sign-ups within 26 days of its release.
Source: CointelegraphIn a Cointelegraph interview at the Token2049 event, Plotvinov shared the story behind the game, which hit about 30 million users in March.
The executive said the original goal was to just introduce crypto to users of the Telegram messaging app.
Or maybe, the task that we all had on how to bring users from Telegram to crypto. |
Bitkraft launches $275M gaming fund, bringing total managed assets to $1B | Bitkraft Ventures, a global investment platform for gaming and media projects, recently announced the launch of a $275 million investment round. Once completed, the added projects will reportedly bring the company’s total assets under management to around $1 billion.
The company’s previous rounds included investments in notable companies such as blockchain developer Jungle and Eve Online creator CCP. Its second funding round, dubbed Venture II, largely focused on Web3 and blockchain games.
The latest round will go toward early-stage gaming projects. Dealstreet Asia also reported that at least 15% of the funds have been earmarked for projects in the Asian sector.
Jens Hilgers, a founding partner at Bitkraft Ventures, told GamesBeat that the company was interested in the next generation of studios, developers and games. Per the article:
“At Bitkraft Ventures, we are as committed to — and optimistic about — the future of the games industry as we were from the inception of Bitkraft in 2016. We’ve seen continued growth across all major game platforms, in metrics including user engagement, activity levels, and monetization. Newly formed game studios have seen substantial break out successes over the last years, and the advent of AI in game production further benefits new upstarts in the space.”
While the gaming industry experienced a notable global decline in revenues in 2023, Web3 projects have seen a substantial recovery since the fourth quarter of 2023 — a bump many analysts credit to the Bitcoin bounce.
Related: Bitcoin’s 2028 halving price target is $435K, historical data suggests
In a recent interview with Cointelegraph, Carlos Pereira, partner at BitKraft Ventures, said, “Web3 gaming has been a strong segment in the Q4 2023 recovery with positive launch activity, both recently and expected for 2024.”
If this latest funding round, Bitkraft Ventures’ largest to date, is any indication, then the private market appears to have recovered. As for publicly traded gaming and media companies, Pereira told Cointelegraph that when capital wasn’t abundant for venture capital deals, it was to be expected that there would be some divergence between the public and private markets. | Bitkraft Ventures, a global investment platform for gaming and media projects, recently announced the launch of a $275 million investment round.
Once completed, the added projects will reportedly bring the company’s total assets under management to around $1 billion.
The latest round will go toward early-stage gaming projects.
Jens Hilgers, a founding partner at Bitkraft Ventures, told GamesBeat that the company was interested in the next generation of studios, developers and games.
Per the article:“At Bitkraft Ventures, we are as committed to — and optimistic about — the future of the games industry as we were from the inception of Bitkraft in 2016. |
Nigeria’s Binance crackdown threatens Web3 industry | Nigeria is feeling the consequences of actions against Binance executives, with investors withdrawing from deals and partnerships, particularly in the web3 sector. They mention Nigeria’s perceived lack of safety for business and government hostility, citing the Binance case as evidence, according to Lucky Uwakwe, the chairman of Nigeria's Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee (BICCoN).
In an interview with Cointelegraph, Uwakwe, head of Nigeria’s intercommunity working group involving Blockchain Nigeria User Group (BNUG), Cryptography Development Initiative of Nigeria (CDIN), and Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SiBAN), expressed investors’ concerns.
According to Uwakwe, investors worry about potential repercussions similar to Binance’s fate when investing in local Web3 companies. He pointed out that already invested parties are gradually divesting.
Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla came to Nigeria in February following claims that the exchange manipulated the country’s fiat currency, the naira. The executives were detained and slammed with five counts bordering on money laundering after a meeting with the Nigerian government over Binance’s regulatory woes.
Uwakwe stated that the government’s approach to the Binance issue is adversely impacting the entire nation. By pursuing fines against Binance, the government is essentially undermining the entire industry, sacrificing potential growth for short-term measures.
When asked about the possibility of the current trial resulting in an acquittal for the Binance executives, Uwakwe expressed skepticism. He believes the executives face slim chances of acquittal unless certain conditions are met internally by the company, according to the government’s perspective. He said,
“The chances are probably 90-10, 90 for the government,10 for the Binance executives in question…”
Uwakwe emphasized that even in the event of the Binance executive’s acquittal by the judge, there’s a strong possibility that the Nigerian government may disregard the court ruling. This pattern has been observed before, especially in cases perceived to threaten the country’s stability.
Related: Binance executive tracked to Kenya, extradition underway
Uwakwe addressed a potential question from the international community about why the Nigerian crypto community isn’t vigorously advocating for the release of the Binance executives. He suggested that if Binance had engaged relevant associations earlier, they would have garnered support from pressure groups and lobbying efforts.
The Nigerian government has often been at odds with cryptocurrency exchanges. Binance ceased operations using the naira on March 8 after Nigerian government criticism of crypto exchanges singled it out in February.
In August 2022, Nigeria was named the most crypto-obsessed country in the world by the number of Google searches for “cryptocurrency” or “buy crypto.”
Magazine: Bitcoin hits new highs, SEC delays options decision, and stablecoin bill looms: Hodler’s Digest, March 3–9 | Nigeria is feeling the consequences of actions against Binance executives, with investors withdrawing from deals and partnerships, particularly in the web3 sector.
They mention Nigeria’s perceived lack of safety for business and government hostility, citing the Binance case as evidence, according to Lucky Uwakwe, the chairman of Nigeria's Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee (BICCoN).
According to Uwakwe, investors worry about potential repercussions similar to Binance’s fate when investing in local Web3 companies.
Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla came to Nigeria in February following claims that the exchange manipulated the country’s fiat currency, the naira.
When asked about the possibility of the current trial resulting in an acquittal for the Binance executives, Uwakwe expressed skepticism. |
Real-world data for blockchain apps: Gora joins Cointelegraph Accelerator | Gora, a decentralized blockchain oracle network, joins the ranks of the Cointelegraph Accelerator program.
Smart contracts represent a vastly underutilized cornerstone in the blockchain ecosystem, harboring untapped potential to redefine traditional business processes, legal agreements and automated transactions. Representing a market expected to reach $8.79 billion by 2030, smart contracts have the capacity to increase transparency, reduce costs and enhance efficiency across numerous industries.
Small and medium-sized enterprises are losing out on a $20 billion opportunity in smart contracts. Source: Gora
Despite their potential, the sector is lagging in harnessing the full value of the innovation, underscoring a critical gap in the adoption and utilization of smart contract technology. The integration of decentralized applications (DApps) and smart contracts presents a viable solution for businesses looking to tap into this potential.
Blockchain oracles: Bridging DApps with the real world
DApps, powered by smart contracts, automate transactions and facilitate agreements in a trustless and transparent manner, enabling businesses to streamline their operations. However, for DApps to function effectively, they require reliable and secure access to off-chain data — a capability provided by decentralized oracle networks.
Originally built on the Algorand blockchain, Gora — a blockchain oracle network — aims to spearhead the integration of real-world data into DApps. The project’s goal is to enable developers and organizations to create applications that extend the utility of DApps into everyday activities for millions of users through both data utilization and off-chain computation capabilities.
Source: Gora
Gora distinguishes itself by not limiting its focus to decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. It incorporates cross-chain functionalities through Gora.Fi, enhancing its interoperability with other blockchain ecosystems. Gora’s interoperability broadens its applicability, venturing into areas like supply chain management for tracking goods and verifying authenticity and Internet of Things integration, where it connects real-world sensor data with smart contracts to automate processes.
Expanding beyond traditional DeFi with experience
The Gora team, comprised of individuals with experience in Fortune 500 companies, bring knowledge and expertise to the platform. The platform’s experienced backbone contributed to Gora’s notable traction in the blockchain space, achieving $100,000 in annual recurring revenue.
Gora’s growing ecosystem is supported by over 117 active nodes and has attracted more than 20 marketplace sellers, indicating a strong and expanding interest in its decentralized oracle and data integration services.
The project’s vision extends beyond DeFi, aiming to revolutionize industries like supply chain, healthcare and governance through blockchain. Gora also plans to empower developers and businesses with the necessary tools, educational resources and community support, ensuring secure, reliable and private data access in DApps for enhanced transparency and trust.
Gora’s roadmap includes the launch of the Gora.Fi DeFi platform and the introduction of Gora’s ERC-20 token on Ethereum in the second quarter. The platform plans to expand its cross-chain capabilities to BSC and Arbitrum by Q3, with further expansions into the Cosmos and Solana ecosystems slated for the last quarter of 2024. | Gora, a decentralized blockchain oracle network, joins the ranks of the Cointelegraph Accelerator program.
Smart contracts represent a vastly underutilized cornerstone in the blockchain ecosystem, harboring untapped potential to redefine traditional business processes, legal agreements and automated transactions.
Representing a market expected to reach $8.79 billion by 2030, smart contracts have the capacity to increase transparency, reduce costs and enhance efficiency across numerous industries.
Small and medium-sized enterprises are losing out on a $20 billion opportunity in smart contracts.
Originally built on the Algorand blockchain, Gora — a blockchain oracle network — aims to spearhead the integration of real-world data into DApps. |
Telegram Mini Apps are ‘Trojan horse’ for mass blockchain adoption — TON investments director | The blockchain-based mini-decentralized applications (DApps) on Telegram, also known as Mini Apps, could be a “Trojan horse” for mass blockchain adoption.
That’s according to Justin Hyun, the director of investments at TON Foundation, who told Cointelegraph:
“That’s our thesis for bringing in more users onto the blockchain without even needing to educate them about the blockchain. It’s a Trojan horse way to say: look, you’re letting in all these user-friendly DApps, and we won’t even necessarily call them DApps [...] It’s just Telegram Mini Apps that they’re using whether that’s inside their channels.”
Telegram Mini Apps launched in 2020 as an open platform allowing Web3 businesses to deploy crypto-friendly apps directly within the Telegram messaging app.
They were launched in partnership with The Open Network (TON) Foundation and Tencent with the intention of creating a super-app platform.
Bringing the next 500 million users on-chain will require simple initial use cases where users aren’t necessarily aware of the underlying blockchain interaction. Hyun says:
“We believe mass adoption really comes in the form of simple use cases in the beginning, and then there will be drop-offs of more sophisticated users going into different types of use cases. But bringing 500 million people on-chain by 2028 — which is our goal — is going to require use cases that interact with the blockchain without the user knowing that in the front end.”
Some Telegram Mini Apps will also offer Web3-specific financial incentives for users, Hyun explained.
Justin Hyun talks about the mechanics of Mini Apps. Source: YouTube
Related: Dencun is a big step towards mass adoption: Metis CEO
Telegram is the world’s third-largest messenger app by monthly downloads, according to Statista. It has over 800 million monthly active users worldwide.
Telegram announced the launch of its advertising platform on Feb. 28. The platform will use the TON blockchain for payments.
Starting this month, Telegram channel owners in over 100 countries can start receiving financial rewards for their work after the ad platform opens for all advertisers.
Channel owners will start receiving 50% of the total advertising revenue generated by Telegram from displaying ads in their channels.
TON launched a $115 million community incentive program on March 20, with $38 million for token mining and user incentives, $22 million for airdrops, $15 million for The League developer ecosystem, and $40 million for liquidity pool boosts.
Related: How high can Bitcoin go? New BTC price prediction sees cycle top at $180K | The blockchain-based mini-decentralized applications (DApps) on Telegram, also known as Mini Apps, could be a “Trojan horse” for mass blockchain adoption.
It’s a Trojan horse way to say: look, you’re letting in all these user-friendly DApps, and we won’t even necessarily call them DApps [...] It’s just Telegram Mini Apps that they’re using whether that’s inside their channels.”Telegram Mini Apps launched in 2020 as an open platform allowing Web3 businesses to deploy crypto-friendly apps directly within the Telegram messaging app.
Bringing the next 500 million users on-chain will require simple initial use cases where users aren’t necessarily aware of the underlying blockchain interaction.
Justin Hyun talks about the mechanics of Mini Apps.
The platform will use the TON blockchain for payments. |
Australia poised for ‘inflection point’ of crypto demand — Kraken Aus MD | Australia’s crypto industry is in a good spot to benefit from a global “inflection point” for crypto demand as long as its lawmakers make the right decisions, according to a Kraken Australia executive.
Speaking to Cointelegraph on the sidelines of the Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne, Miller looked to the influx of fresh capital into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), stablecoin adoption and BlackRock’s recent move to launch a $100 million tokenization fund on Ethereum as reasons to take a bullish outlook on crypto in the coming months.
“We are now at a positive inflection point when it comes to demand. It feels like we’re well and truly back in a positive place for crypto,” said Miller.
“It’s all just proof that this is the financial services infrastructure of the future.”
Miller noted that while institutional demand for crypto had soared in the United States — with fund managers such as Fidelity and BlackRock instructing their clients to invest in Bitcoin — this was yet to make its way to Australia.
“We’re definitely not seeing that level of action in Australia, but it’s certainly a stepping stone toward that,” he said.
However, Miller explained there had still been a drastic uptick in interest from retail investors and crypto-related businesses in the country.
“We‘re still seeing quite an increase in adoption here. People are starting to invest again, and many are building new businesses around crypto as well,” he said.
“We’re seeing a lot of these businesses come to us specifically because they’re after liquidity,” added Miller.
Miller noted that many of the new Australian crypto businesses were focused largely on stablecoins, which he — like many others — described as the crypto industry’s “killer app.”
Related: Avalanche and Chainlink collaborate on Australasian on-chain asset settlement
To Miller, the biggest roadblock to domestic crypto adoption stems from the lack of regulatory clarity and relatively slow progress in legislation.
“It’s very hard to take risk and invest in the crypto space in Australia because there’s just that lack of certainty.”
However, Miller said his firm’s engagement with Australian policymakers had been largely positive so far, and now the main target was ensuring that sensible laws were put in place by the government.
“All of our engagement with [Australian] Treasury has been positive. Our next challenge is to kind of get the government to prioritize legislation. It’s very hard to do that, but I think we’re getting closer,” he said.
In October 2023, the Department of the Treasury released a consultation paper that proposed mandating crypto exchanges to apply for a financial services license from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
On March 21, ASIC head Alan Kirkland said the regulator would focus on solving the “regulatory trilemma” — consumer protection, market integrity and encouraging financial innovation — when releasing the next round of regulatory reforms for the sector in the coming months.
Miller stressed that good legislation would need to take into account the international nature of crypto, and any attempts to make laws too specific to Australia could accidentally “overengineer localization.”
“You really don’t want to pull this fourth-dimensional money into three-dimensional space-time. At the end of the day, you want to keep it in its plane and then make sure the regulations actually mitigate the real risks,” he said.
Magazine: ‘SEAL 911’ team of white hats formed to fight crypto hacks in real time | Australia’s crypto industry is in a good spot to benefit from a global “inflection point” for crypto demand as long as its lawmakers make the right decisions, according to a Kraken Australia executive.
“We are now at a positive inflection point when it comes to demand.
It feels like we’re well and truly back in a positive place for crypto,” said Miller.
“We’re definitely not seeing that level of action in Australia, but it’s certainly a stepping stone toward that,” he said.
People are starting to invest again, and many are building new businesses around crypto as well,” he said. |
ApeCoin DAO gives thumbs up to .APE top-level domains | Update March 4, 10:40 UTC: This article has been updated to include interview responses from D3 co-founder and CEO Fred Hsu.
The ApeCoin community unanimously approved a proposal to register “.APE” as a new top-level domain (TLD) with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), 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 the second quarter of 2026, the ApeCoin decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) proposed working with Web3 domains specialist D3 to create the .APE TLD as a real-world asset (RWA).
A majority (91.68%) of the ApeCoin community voters did so in favor of the proposal, while 8.32% voted against it.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, Fred Hsu, co-founder and CEO of D3, said that DNS domains it offers and intends to register with ICANN are inter-operable, i.e. can be used for Web1 (email/web), Web2 (apps/social) and Web3.
According to the proposal, D3 will lead the effort to prepare and submit the application, which is expected to take approximately one year to be readied.
Additionally, D3 also plans to offer Ape-linked name tokens as an immediate Web3 identifier for users. Hsu’s vision for D3 includes bridging over 5 billion Web2 users to Web3 through domains. “Not much has changed in the past 20 years with traditional domains, so we’re aiming to revolutionize both domain ownership and usage,” he added.
Apecoin DAO voted in favor of launching .APE domains. Source: snapshot.org
Hsu said that the .APE domains, once launched, will have the potential to generate multi-million dollars in annual revenue. “Domains serve as both a vital piece of digital real estate and a source of recurring revenue,” he explained.
As part of the deal, the gross revenues generated from the Ape name tokens and the .APE TLDs will be split 50/50 between ApeCoin DAO and D3.
The proposal clarified that “owning” a TLD is not possible. Instead, “ICANN contractually grants the rights to exclusively operate and monetize each TLD that automatically renews every 10 years.”
The initial budget for the .APE acquisition process. Source: snapshot.org
As shown above, the total costs involved for the initiative is three million ApeCoin (APE). D3 will incur ongoing technical and operational costs related to managing the .APE namespace, with contributions from ApeCoin DAO for co-marketing to the masses.
Related: ENS data from Etherscan now visible in Google search results
In February 2024, domain registrars GoDaddy and the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) signed a partnership to allow users to link Web3-based .eth domains and domain name system top-level domains at no cost.
The GoDaddy-ENS partnership eliminates the barrier of high gas fees that previously demotivated users from bringing domain names over to ENS. Paul Nicks, president of domains at GoDaddy, highlighted the development as “the fusion of domain names and blockchain technologies,” which benefits the Web2 and Web3 ecosystems.
In July 2023, GoDaddy’s Web3 competitor Unstoppable Domains allowed users to buy .eth names with added payment methods and functionality to streamline the management of ENS domains.
Magazine: Ethereum’s ERC-20 design flaws are a crypto scammer’s best friend | In line with ICANN’s plan to implement new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) by the second quarter of 2026, the ApeCoin decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) proposed working with Web3 domains specialist D3 to create the .APE TLD as a real-world asset (RWA).
Apecoin DAO voted in favor of launching .APE domains.
Source: snapshot.orgHsu said that the .APE domains, once launched, will have the potential to generate multi-million dollars in annual revenue.
As part of the deal, the gross revenues generated from the Ape name tokens and the .APE TLDs will be split 50/50 between ApeCoin DAO and D3.
Source: snapshot.orgAs shown above, the total costs involved for the initiative is three million ApeCoin (APE). |
Bitcoin charts suggest the ‘dominance train’ is coming, traders say | A clear ascending triangle is forming on the Bitcoin dominance chart, signaling a potential surge in Bitcoin’s (BTC) market share, according to several crypto traders. Some, however, argue it’s going to go the other way.
“The BTC dominance train is about to leave the station,” crypto trader and Into The Cryptoverse founder Benjamin Cowen declared to his 810,700 followers in a March 27 X post.
Since September, Cowen claims Bitcoin’s market cap dominance has been in an ascending triangle pattern. Source: Benjamin Cowen
An ascending triangle pattern on a chart develops when the price consolidates between an upward trendline support and a horizontal resistance trendline.
Bitcoin’s dominance — measuring Bitcoin’s share of the total crypto market capitalization — “is coming back in a big way,” crypto trader “Beanie” on X told his 194,800 followers on March 27.
Beanie suggested Bitcoin’s dominance usually grows in bear markets as crypto-native investors flock to it as a safe haven, preferring its stability over more risky and speculative digital assets.
Despite Bitcoin hitting an all-time high this month, Beanie added the current trend mirrors the 2018 bear market.
“This is far different from the 2021 bull market, where dominance fell considerably from 70% to 40%. It actually parallels the 2018-2019 bear market,” they said.
Bitcoin held an 85% market dominance in March 2017, but by January 2018, it plummeted to an all-time low of 32.45%.
Bitcoin dominance is currently sitting at 50.1%, according to CoinStats data.
Related: Cathie Wood’s Bitcoin ETF hits daily inflow record as BTC retests $72K
Not every trader agrees with the sentiment. Some hold that Bitcoin’s market share seems to be decreasing in the long term from a macro perspective.
Crypto trader Zero Ika told his 43,500 X followers that Bitcoin’s dominance is actually in a “long-term downtrend.”
“If we take a look at the whole picture considering the logarithmic chart, we can clearly see that BTC D. is in a long-term downtrend.”
BTC dominance chart on TradingView. Source: Zero Ika
Magazine: Is measuring blockchain transactions per second (TPS) stupid in 2024? Big Questions | A clear ascending triangle is forming on the Bitcoin dominance chart, signaling a potential surge in Bitcoin’s (BTC) market share, according to several crypto traders.
Since September, Cowen claims Bitcoin’s market cap dominance has been in an ascending triangle pattern.
Bitcoin’s dominance — measuring Bitcoin’s share of the total crypto market capitalization — “is coming back in a big way,” crypto trader “Beanie” on X told his 194,800 followers on March 27.
Bitcoin held an 85% market dominance in March 2017, but by January 2018, it plummeted to an all-time low of 32.45%.
Some hold that Bitcoin’s market share seems to be decreasing in the long term from a macro perspective. |
Dfinity launches Web3 accelerator platform on the Internet Computer | The Dfinity Foundation, a not-for-profit organization based in Switzerland and major contributor to the Internet Computer blockchain, announced the launch of the Olympus Acceleration Platform.
According to a press release, Olympus represents the first decentralized, on-chain Web3 accelerator. Dfinity said it’s “a first of its kind platform” that will be used by “teams around the world to organize and launch their own accelerator programs.”
The foundation also cites Olympus’ “Open Stake” model, where projects, mentors and investors can “interact freely, enabling permissionless ecosystem inclusivity and unlimited integrations” as a determining factor separating it from similar accelerator programs.
Dominic Williams, founder and chief scientist of the Dfinity Foundation, described the platform as “a global platform for everyone, in a statement:
“By creating a web3-based global platform for everyone, we're able to bring together top talent, projects, investors, and mentors to create a credible and trustless marketplace offering equal opportunity and access to all qualified projects. Traditional accelerator programs are permissioned and operate as silos, many are also not sustainable and rely on grants. Olympus is a new model.”
The new platform will purportedly feature what Dfinity calls a “trustless perpetual loop,” providing on-chain verification of key project growth metrics, via the infrastructure of the Internet Computer Protocol.
Related: Internet Computer users pledge $80M to decentralize its project ecosystem
The Internet Computer is a decentralized computing platform that leverages blockchain technology to host software directly on the internet. According to its mission, the Internet Computer’s supporters aim to democratize internet infrastructure and foster a more “open and equitable digital ecosystem.”
Olympus was developed with support from Hong Kong-based Web3Labs, a blockchain accelerator and with mentorship and other support from investors and partners at VC funds including Fenbushi Capital, Fundamental Labs, Softbank Vision Fund, NewTribe Capital, Cypher Capital, Bitcoin Frontier Fund, Summer Ventures, L2IV, Dext Force Ventures, Leadblock Partners, viaBTC Capital, Cipholio Ventures, Chiron Group, 3X Capital, Plutus.VC and others. | The Dfinity Foundation, a not-for-profit organization based in Switzerland and major contributor to the Internet Computer blockchain, announced the launch of the Olympus Acceleration Platform.
According to a press release, Olympus represents the first decentralized, on-chain Web3 accelerator.
Traditional accelerator programs are permissioned and operate as silos, many are also not sustainable and rely on grants.
Olympus is a new model.”The new platform will purportedly feature what Dfinity calls a “trustless perpetual loop,” providing on-chain verification of key project growth metrics, via the infrastructure of the Internet Computer Protocol.
Related: Internet Computer users pledge $80M to decentralize its project ecosystemThe Internet Computer is a decentralized computing platform that leverages blockchain technology to host software directly on the internet. |
Max pain $51K? Bitcoin options worth over $9.4B set to expire Friday | Over $9.4 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) options are set to expire on the Deribit cryptocurrency exchange on March 29, with some analysts suggesting that Bitcoin’s “max pain” price could be around the $50,000 range.
Max pain Bitcoin price closer to $50,000
Over 134,000 BTC worth of open interest is set to expire on the Deribit exchange at 8:00 am UTC on March 29, suggesting a max pain price of $50,000, according to data shared by Unfolded in a March 27 X post.
Related: Bitcoin price reclaims $70K as Coinbase BTC supply hits 9-year low
The max pain price is the strike price with the most open Bitcoin options contracts (puts and calls), at which the given asset would cause financial losses for most option holders at expiration.
BTC options: open interest by strike price. Source: Unfolded
Bitcoin could potentially see a correction to the $51,000 mark if inflows in spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) slow down, according to Ki Young Ju, founder and CEO of CryptoQuant, who wrote in a March 22 X post:
“New whales, mainly ETF buyers, have a $56K on-chain cost basis. Corrections typically entail a max drawdown of around 30% in bull markets, with a max pain of $51K.”
Bitcoin ETF historical netflow trend chart. Source: Ki Young Ju
After five consecutive days of negative outflows last week, the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw over $15 million worth of net flows on March 25, the same day Bitcoin price recorded its highest daily close of above $69,000 in the past 10 days. The 10 Bitcoin ETFs saw a combined net inflow of $418 million on March 26.
Is the pre-halving Bitcoin correction over?
Bitcoin’s pre-halving price correction occurred in line with previous historical retraces ahead of the halving, according to analyst Rekt Capital, who wrote in a March 25 X post:
“The Pre-Halving Retrace occurred right on schedule. And now Bitcoin is back to $70,000.”
BTC/USD, 1-week chart. Source: Rekt Capital
Bitcoin price could break out toward new all-time highs if the old all-time high of $69,000 is flipped into support, said Rekt Capital in a March 26 video analysis:
“Bitcoin is now peaking beyond this old all-time high, potentially positioning itself for this pre-halving retracement to be over.”
Last week’s Bitcoin price correction suggests that the price has already formed a local bottom, or is close to doing so, according to a research note by Bitfinex analysts shared with Cointelegraph:
“We believe the pullback last week for Bitcoin from its current all-time high of $73,666, and amounting to an approximate 17.5 percent correction, suggests we are close to establishing a local bottom - and indeed may have already done so.”
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. | Over $9.4 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) options are set to expire on the Deribit cryptocurrency exchange on March 29, with some analysts suggesting that Bitcoin’s “max pain” price could be around the $50,000 range.
Max pain Bitcoin price closer to $50,000Over 134,000 BTC worth of open interest is set to expire on the Deribit exchange at 8:00 am UTC on March 29, suggesting a max pain price of $50,000, according to data shared by Unfolded in a March 27 X post.
Related: Bitcoin price reclaims $70K as Coinbase BTC supply hits 9-year lowThe max pain price is the strike price with the most open Bitcoin options contracts (puts and calls), at which the given asset would cause financial losses for most option holders at expiration.
Corrections typically entail a max drawdown of around 30% in bull markets, with a max pain of $51K.”Bitcoin ETF historical netflow trend chart.
Is the pre-halving Bitcoin correction over? |
Hester Peirce blasts SEC, Gurbir Grewal rejects SEC criticism: Law Decoded | 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.
Her comments came in response to the Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 (SAB 121), which prevents banks from custodying crypto assets on behalf of clients.
Meanwhile, 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.
At the same SEC Speaks event, Grewal claimed that companies in the crypto industry had made “many creative attempts” to avoid the commission’s jurisdiction by continuing to operate in the United States.
Grewal reiterated that the SEC’s standard for determining security under the Howey test had been “clearly and consistently applied.”
He did not specifically address reports that the SEC had been exploring whether to classify Ether (ETH) as a security rather than a commodity under the U.S. Commodity Future Trading Commission’s purview.
The SEC is currently soliciting comments from the public on proposed rule changes allowing the listing and trading of shares of three spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on exchanges.
Upon publication in the Federal Register, the public has 21 days to respond to spot ETH ETF applications from asset managers Bitwise, Fidelity and Grayscale.
Bitwise and Grayscale propose listing their ETH ETFs on NYSE Arca, and Fidelity will launch its ETF on the Cboe BZX Exchange. The latest proposals came ahead of the commission’s final decision on the investment vehicle, which is expected in May.
European Union could ban non-decentralized protocols
According to the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) — the regulatory framework that governs digital assets within the European Union — the European Commission must prepare a report by Dec. 30 evaluating the decentralized finance market and the feasibility of specific regulations for the sector.
The report explores how decentralized systems should be regulated, particularly those without a clear issuer or service provider.
“A significant aspect of this assessment will be to explore the regulation of crypto-asset lending and borrowing, a core activity within the DeFi space,” Maxim Galash, CEO of CoinChange Financials, explained in an analysis.
Continue reading
Argentina obliges crypto firms to register
Argentina’s Comisión Nacional de Valores (CNV) — the country’s equivalent of a securities regulator — said virtual asset service providers would be operating in accordance with recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force.
Certain companies offering crypto-related services must register with Argentina’s government as part of reforms to the country’s Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism laws.
CNV President Roberto Silva said virtual asset service providers that are not registered “will not be able to operate in the country.”
Many users on Strike, a platform popular in Argentina for facilitating Bitcoin (BTC) payments via the Lightning Network, reported the app no longer allows locals to send fiat to bank accounts.
It’s unclear how the requirements may affect businesses operating in Argentina or customers seeking to use their services. In December 2023, Argentina’s minister of foreign affairs said contracts could be settled in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Continue reading
Singapore changes token custody and transfers regulations
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced that it will implement amendments to the country’s Payment Services Act (P.S. Act) to expand the scope of regulated services related to digital payment token (DPT) service providers.
Singapore’s central bank said it would bring several activities within the scope of the P.S. Act. This includes providing custodial services for DPTs, facilitating token transfers and exchange and the facilitation of cross-border money transfers.
The regulator also clarified that the law even covers cases where the service provider does not come into possession of the funds or where the money is not accepted or received in Singapore. MAS also said that the new updates would allow it to include additional requirements for DPT service providers.
Continue reading | 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.
Meanwhile, 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.
Act) to expand the scope of regulated services related to digital payment token (DPT) service providers.
This includes providing custodial services for DPTs, facilitating token transfers and exchange and the facilitation of cross-border money transfers. |
BRC-20 tokens bleed ahead of Bitcoin halving as trader focus shifts to Runes | The two largest BRC-20 tokens saw over 40% declines on the weekly chart, days ahead of the Bitcoin halving. Meanwhile, traders are shifting their focus to Bitcoin Runes, a new token standard on Bitcoin that makes it easier for users to create fungible tokens.
ORDI and SATS down over 40% ahead of the halving
BRC-20 tokens Ordinals (ORDI) and Sats (SATS), the two largest BRC-20 tokens by market capitalization, saw significant declines. ORDI fell over 42%, while SATS fell over 45% over the week, according to CoinMarketCap data.
ORDI and SATS, 1-day chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
BRC-20 token sales have also been declining. PUPS BRC-20 sales fell by 30% in the past 24 hours to $1.4 million, while WZRD BRC-20 sales fell 63% to $1.1 million, according to NFT data aggregator CryptoSlam.
On the other hand, the daily sales volume of RUNE BRC-20 tokens skyrocketed over 4,500% to $251,000, suggesting that traders are shifting their focus to Bitcoin Runes.
Over the past week, PUPS BRC-20 and WZRD BRC-20 tokens were the second and third-largest collections by sales volume across all blockchains, respectively. PUPS amassed over $41 billion in sales volume, while WZRD amassed $16.3 million in weekly sales, according to CryptoSlam.
Top NFT collections by weekly sales volume. Source: CryptoSlam
The surge of interest in Bitcoin Runes, a new protocol for issuing fungible tokens on the Bitcoin network, can be attributed to its upcoming launch, which is set to go live with the Bitcoin halving later this week.
Despite the surging interest, the real market opportunity for Runes may only come months after the first wave of investor hype subsides, according to the pseudonymous decentralized finance (DeFi) researcher Ignas, who wrote in an April 17 X post:
“Runestone, RSIC, and PUPS are already pumping, promising holders shiny new Rune token airdrops. And FOMO threads keep coming. But, like the NFT frenzy post-JPEG reveal, the market could soon cool off.”
Related: Bitcoin slips below $60K, but some traders aren’t turning bearish on BTC just yet
Rune price in danger after Bitcoin halving
Rune prices could see a significant decline after the halving, as they don’t immediately improve the trading experience of BRC-20 tokens and because small traders may be priced out of the increasing Bitcoin (BTC) transaction fees, according to the pseudonymous researcher.
Daily inscription fees and BRC-20 hype wave. Source: Ignas
Ignas expects hundreds of Runes to potentially launch on the market, diluting trader attention and capital inflows.
Paired with the lack of initial utility around Runes, these aspects will make them akin to memecoin trading, according to the pseudonymous researcher, who wrote:
“Finally, utility-wise runes will trade as memecoins like BRC-20s. At least at first, so the excitement of ‘new’ will fade away. Especially if no rune token manages to sustain the pump and degens lose money.”
However, Runes could progressively gain more functionality, which is why Ignas noted that he was “bullish” on Runes long term.
The Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) is planning a Runes integration that will enable ICP smart contracts to interact with Runes and BRC-20 tokens directly on Bitcoin’s base layer, unlocking more possibilities for holders.
ICP’s efforts are part of a new paradigm dubbed Bitcoin DeFi, or BTCFi, aiming to create more utility around BTC and Bitcoin-native assets.
Related: ETH price nears 3-year lows vs. Bitcoin — Will an Ethereum ETF stem the tide?
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. | The two largest BRC-20 tokens saw over 40% declines on the weekly chart, days ahead of the Bitcoin halving.
Meanwhile, traders are shifting their focus to Bitcoin Runes, a new token standard on Bitcoin that makes it easier for users to create fungible tokens.
ORDI and SATS down over 40% ahead of the halvingBRC-20 tokens Ordinals (ORDI) and Sats (SATS), the two largest BRC-20 tokens by market capitalization, saw significant declines.
Over the past week, PUPS BRC-20 and WZRD BRC-20 tokens were the second and third-largest collections by sales volume across all blockchains, respectively.
PUPS amassed over $41 billion in sales volume, while WZRD amassed $16.3 million in weekly sales, according to CryptoSlam. |
Solana rival Base hits 400 TPS, claims core contributor | Coinbase Ethereum layer-2 network Base has been hitting high transaction per second (TPS) throughput according to the firm’s head of protocols, Jesse Pollak.
In an April 9 post to X, Pollak reported seeing throughput as high as 300–400 TPS, which he said was being achieved “with no issues.”
However, the Coinbase-backed layer-2 blockchain has a real-time TPS of 26.8 and a maximum recorded TPS of 292, according to Chainspect.
Layer-2 ecosystem analytics platform L2Beat reported that average transactions per second on Base reached a peak of 37 on April 8, more than double Ethereum’s 14 TPS.
In a response to Pollak’s original post on X, pseudonymous trader Wazz claimed that if Pollak’s observations were accurate, then the network could be achieving a similar TPS to the Solana network.
“Correct me if I’m wrong but if true then Base is now doing the same TPS as Solana.”
Wazz added that around 60% of Solana’s reported 1,000 TPS were failed transactions, meaning that the actual TPS was closer to 400.
Solana-based Helius Labs CEO Mert Mumtaz questioned Pollak’s TPS figures, arguing that failed transactions were not included in the Base figures.
He added that the biggest Base block in the data provided had 94% failed transactions, resulting in a real TPS of 41.
The findings come amid rising tensions between proponents of Ethereum layer-2 scaling solutions and advocates of the Solana network. In recent weeks, Solana has been plagued by vocal complaints of degraded user experience, failing transactions and other reliability issues.
Mumtaz previously claimed that Solana’s current issues are not due to a fundamental design flaw but rather a specific implementation bug in the networking protocol.
On April 9, Cointelegraph reported that several Solana project launches have been delayed due to ongoing network congestion.
Related: Base TVL doubles in a month as pundits tip memecoins to drive adoption
Base has witnessed a sharp uptick in network activity in recent months, largely driven by an escalating memecoin frenzy.
The total value locked (TVL) on the Base network surged to an all-time high of $1.5 billion on April 9, according to DefiLlama data. This represents an increase of 235% since the beginning of this year as memecoin degens flocked to the network.
Base TVL. Source: DefiLlama
While degens have been racing to find the latest trend in new memecoins, an in-depth analysis of new memecoins on Base found that over 90% had at least one security vulnerability, while 17% were outright scams.
Magazine: 1 in 6 new Base memecoins are scams, 91% have vulnerabilities | Coinbase Ethereum layer-2 network Base has been hitting high transaction per second (TPS) throughput according to the firm’s head of protocols, Jesse Pollak.
Solana-based Helius Labs CEO Mert Mumtaz questioned Pollak’s TPS figures, arguing that failed transactions were not included in the Base figures.
The findings come amid rising tensions between proponents of Ethereum layer-2 scaling solutions and advocates of the Solana network.
The total value locked (TVL) on the Base network surged to an all-time high of $1.5 billion on April 9, according to DefiLlama data.
Magazine: 1 in 6 new Base memecoins are scams, 91% have vulnerabilities |
Vitalik Buterin is cooking up a new way to decentralize Ethereum staking | Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed a technique to incentivize better decentralization of Ethereum by penalizing correlated failures among validators.
Buterin posted his thoughts on March 27 regarding supporting decentralized staking “through more anti-correlation incentives” to the Ethereum Research forum.
He suggested if multiple validators controlled by the same actor fail together, they would receive a higher penalty than if they failed independently.
“The theory is that if you are a single large actor, any mistakes that you make would be more likely to be replicated across all ‘identities’ that you control,” he said.
Buterin observed that validators within the same cluster, such as a staking pool, are more likely to experience correlated failures — likely due to shared infrastructure.
The proposal suggests penalizing validators proportionally to the deviation from the average failure rate. If many validators fail in a given slot, the penalty for each failure would be higher.
Simulations suggest this approach could reduce the advantage of large Ethereum stakers over smaller ones, as large entities are more likely to cause spikes in the failure rate due to correlated failures.
Potential benefits to the proposal include incentivizing decentralization by having a separate infrastructure for each validator and making solo staking more economically competitive relative to staking pools.
Buterin proposed other options, such as different penalty schemes to minimize the average big validator’s advantage over little validators and examining the impact on geographic and client decentralization.
He didn’t mention the possibility of reducing the solo staking amount from 32 Ether (ETH), which currently equates to roughly $111,500.
Related: 3 reasons why Ethereum’s market cap dominance is on the rise
Staking pools and liquid staking services such as Lido remain popular because they allow stakers to participate with a smaller amount of ETH.
Lido currently has $34 billion worth of ETH staked, equating to around 30% of the total supply.
Ethereum advocates and developers have previously cautioned over Lido’s dominance and “cartelization,” whereby outsized profits compared to non-pooled capital can be extracted.
Magazine: Wolf Of All Streets worries about a world where Bitcoin hits $1M: Hall of Flame | Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed a technique to incentivize better decentralization of Ethereum by penalizing correlated failures among validators.
Buterin posted his thoughts on March 27 regarding supporting decentralized staking “through more anti-correlation incentives” to the Ethereum Research forum.
Buterin observed that validators within the same cluster, such as a staking pool, are more likely to experience correlated failures — likely due to shared infrastructure.
Potential benefits to the proposal include incentivizing decentralization by having a separate infrastructure for each validator and making solo staking more economically competitive relative to staking pools.
He didn’t mention the possibility of reducing the solo staking amount from 32 Ether (ETH), which currently equates to roughly $111,500. |
DAO Maker hack victims still await reimbursement 3 years later | The DAO Maker crypto fundraising platform, not to be confused with the MakerDAO stablecoin protocol, is attempting to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund new Web3 projects in 2024. However, victims of its August 2021 hack say the project never reimbursed them for the losses they suffered in the attack, even though its development team promised to make all victims whole again.
Victims also claim that DAO Maker is liable for these losses, as the hack was allegedly the result of a private key compromise suffered due to its developers’ negligence.
DAO Maker was first exploited in August 2021, when approximately $7 million of users’ funds were stolen. The development team later acknowledged that the exploit had occurred because of a private key hack. At the time, it agreed to partially compensate investors with an immediate airdrop of 500 USD Coin (USDC) per person. The remaining compensation was to be paid through an IOU token called “USDR.” This token would become redeemable for the protocol’s native coin, DAO, at prevailing prices within one year.
However, victims of the hack told Cointelegraph that USDR redemptions were never allowed and that they still have not been compensated for their remaining losses. In addition, decentralized finance (DeFi) researcher SOMA Analytics has claimed that DAO Maker forced through a proposal with its governing body to cancel the reimbursement plan, using its large token supply to ensure the vote’s outcome. According to the researcher, the proposal was deleted after its passage, allegedly as part of an attempt by the team to remove evidence of its failure to reimburse victims.
DAO Maker, based in Prague, is completely separate from and has no relation to the similarly named MakerDAO stablecoin protocol.
DAO Maker gets hacked and offers compensation
DAO Maker is a fundraising platform for technology startups, with a particular focus on raising money for Web3 protocols governed by decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). According to its official website, the protocol signed on “more than 75,000 retail users interested in early-stage ventures” in 2020 and has “200,000+ KYC’ed users.”
DAO Maker official website. Source: DAO Maker
As per CoinMarketCap’s description of DAO Maker, the project offers several different systems for investors to participate in new token offerings. One is called a “Strong Holder Offering (SHO),” wherein investors purchase DAO tokens and use them to allocate “DAO Power” to a particular coin offering. The more DAO Power they allocate, the more likely they are to win a participation slot for a particular offering.
If they win a slot, “their allocation will be automatically funded by their USD Coin (USDC) balance” and the investor will be allowed to use these funds to purchase coins in the offering, CoinMarketCap states. The description cites official DAO Maker documents that have since gone offline.
Related: What is a crypto launchpad, and how does it work?
In the 2021 hack, the SHO contract holding these USDC funds was exploited, and $7 million was stolen. In a Medium post on Aug. 12, 2021, the DAO Maker team acknowledged that the hack was caused by “malicious use of one of our wallets with access to admin privileges.”
On Aug. 17, in a separate Medium post, the team announced a plan to compensate investors. The announcement was also shared on the team’s official Telegram channel. The team claimed it would airdrop 500 USDC immediately to each investor impacted by the hack. On Sept. 8, 2021, the remaining losses would be covered through an “IOU token” called USDR. One year later, on Aug. 8, 2022, each USDR token would be redeemable for $1 at a 1:1 ratio plus 10% interest denominated in DAO tokens. “Each USDR token is equal to 1.1 worth of DAO, 1 year after it is airdropped,” the announcement stated.
As an example of how the redemption process would work, the plan considered a user who had lost $1,000 in the hack. This person would “receive 500 USDR tokens on September 8, 2021. [...] After 1 year, they can be redeemed for $550 worth of DAO tokens,” DAO Maker stated.
Both Medium posts were later deleted, but archived versions are still available on the Wayback Machine.
Victims claim USDR redemptions were never allowed
DAO Maker investors told Cointelegraph that the project’s promise to redeem each USDR for $1.10 was never honored by the DAO Maker decentralized autonomous organization nor by its development team.
One investor Cointelegraph spoke with, who used the username “Red Drac” on Telegram and spoke on the condition that their real name not be revealed, claimed they lost $2,000 from the hack. They said they deposited $2,000 in stablecoins to a “pre-deposit” contract. But when the August 2021 hack occurred, this contract was drained, and they lost all of it. Red Drac stated that after the compensation plan was announced, they received 500 USDT (USDT) — and that they also received 1,500 USDR at a later date. However, the USDR was never allowed to be redeemed for DAO as promised.
According to Red Drac, they eventually discovered that a liquidity pool for USDR existed and that they could sell into this pool to cash out early. However, the tokens “were not in a 1:1 ratio to USDT.” Instead, the tokens were being sold at “something like 80%” of their par value. As a result, Red Drac did not sell their USDR into the pool, and these tokens are still sitting in their wallet today.
He claimed that this USDR is nearly worthless now, as there is presently no way to exchange it for other cryptocurrencies. The previously existing liquidity pool was later shut down, leaving holders with no means to cash out. Red Drac acknowledged that they can use the tokens to gain DAO Power within the DAO Maker platform, but they claimed that the tokens “are not that much value because those allocations [don’t] guarantee me that I will actually earn something.”
Telegram user Zztelecom told a similar story, claiming they received 500 USDR as compensation for their loss from the hack. Months later, the token began trading for $0.60 to $0.80 per coin. With such a high discount, they decided to buy roughly 10,000 coins, which they expected to be able to redeem for $10,000 worth of DAO once the tokens became redeemable.
But the tokens never became redeemable and are now worthless on the secondary market.
“The DAO Maker team decided to fool everyone,” Zztelecom said. “Trading stopped. [...] In the end, they said that each USDR = 1 DAO Power and we can participate in sales with their help, but we cannot send them to other wallets because DAO Power will be lost.”
Related: DeFi protocol Unizen to provide ‘immediate reimbursement’ after $2.1M hack
Claims of a DAO Maker cover-up
In addition to these claims from victims, DeFi researcher SOMA Analytics claimed to have evidence that the team tried to cover up its abandonment of the USDR redemption process. The researcher published the work via a Notion workspace and is unaffiliated with the nutritional supplement blog of the same name.
According to SOMA, the DAO Maker team created a proposal to abandon the redemption process for USDR. This proposal was allegedly passed by DAO Maker — but was then deleted from its Snapshot webpage. They claimed that the DAO Maker team likely used its own tokens to outvote the majority of tokenholders, ensuring the vote would turn out the way it wanted. It allegedly distributed tokens to new wallets in an attempt to obfuscate its role in the proposal’s passage.
“Between October 3rd and October 5th, [2022], a unique USDR proposal surfaced on DAO Maker’s official Discord from some user named @Dante.eth,” the researcher stated. SOMA claimed that this proposal has since been deleted but was copied by other community members.
According to this copied version, the mysterious user Dante.eth argued that redeeming USDR would have “a massive impact on the price of $DAO for everyone and the token price might never recover.” Purportedly for this reason, the user called for a vote that offered three options for the redemption process. The original proposal to redeem USDR for DAO at a 1:1 rate was not one of the options listed.
Option 1 was for the decentralized autonomous organization to algorithmically sell DAO tokens and airdrop USDC to holders of USDR at a 1:1 rate. This would have allowed holders to be fully compensated, but with stablecoins instead of DAO tokens. Option 2 was to distribute DAO tokens from a Venture Yield partnership to USDR holders once a year. Option 3 was to redeem USDR at only 50% of its par value.
The option to redeem at 50% of par value (Option 3) passed, with 61.72% of tokens being used to vote in favor of it. However, the researcher claimed these 61.72% of votes were cast by only six wallet accounts. The majority of accounts voted for Option 1, but these small holders reportedly did not possess enough tokens to outvote the six whales that voted for the 50% haircut.
DAO Maker proposal vote count. Source: SOMA Analytics
The hack victims acknowledged that the USDR token allows them to obtain DAO Power, which gives them a greater chance of participating in token offerings they are interested in.
Yet despite the DAO vote for a 50% redemption, SOMA Analytics claimed that even this compensation was never distributed by the team. “From what I recall, there was never any claim portal, and people got simply nothing,” they stated in a message. Instead, according to their report, the team allegedly decided to make USDR unredeemable and allow holders to gain DAO power with it instead. The DAO Power that can be gained from the tokens is not transferable, making the token essentially worthless in the secondary market today.
DAO Maker announcement regarding DAO Power for USDR holders. Source: SOMA Analytics
According to SOMA Analytics, the six wallets that voted for the 50% haircut “were created just 10 days before the voting, received substantial amounts of DAO within the same two days (with funds possibly obfuscated through a CEX), and voted exclusively for Option 3.” In their view, this provided a strong indication that the wallets were created by some person or group that was holding a large percentage of the DAO token’s total supply, such as the protocol’s development team. It also indicated that whoever voted for the proposal did not want their identity to be known, as they went through the trouble of creating new wallets solely to participate in the vote.
Cointelegraph could not independently confirm which wallets voted for the proposal, when they were created, or how they were funded, as the proposal has been deleted.
Cointelegraph contacted the DAO Maker team for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
DAO Maker continues to provide fundraising services to Web3 startups. According to CoinMarketCap, the DAO token has a market cap of $153 million, making it among the top 400 cryptocurrencies.
Related: DAO Maker founder builds game based on abandoned Logan Paul project in just 30 days | DAO Maker, based in Prague, is completely separate from and has no relation to the similarly named MakerDAO stablecoin protocol.
One is called a “Strong Holder Offering (SHO),” wherein investors purchase DAO tokens and use them to allocate “DAO Power” to a particular coin offering.
[...] After 1 year, they can be redeemed for $550 worth of DAO tokens,” DAO Maker stated.
DAO Maker announcement regarding DAO Power for USDR holders.
Cointelegraph contacted the DAO Maker team for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication. |
Sam Bankman-Fried gets 25 years — What happens now? | A federal judge sentenced former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried to 25 years behind bars for his multiple felony convictions, eliciting mixed reactions from many in and out of the crypto space.
On March 28, Judge Lewis Kaplan had some harsh words for Bankman-Fried before and after announcing consecutive sentences of 240 months and 60 months, totaling 25 years in prison. The judge compared SBF to a “thief,” said his attempts to promote regulation of crypto was “an act,” found he committed perjury and was “willing to flip a coin as to the continued existence of life on earth.”
How long and where will Sam Bankman-Fried be in prison?
The former FTX CEO has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since August 2023, when Judge Kaplan revoked his bail for intimidating witnesses in the criminal case. A March 28 docket entry for U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York suggested the judge would deduct time already spent in jail, meaning SBF would have a maximum of 291 months in prison — ending in 2048.
According to Judge Kaplan, Bankman-Fried will serve the remainder of his time behind bars at a medium- or low-security prison in the San Francisco Bay Area. Reports suggested possible locations, including the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Herlong and FCI Mendota. It was unclear which one would house the former FTX CEO at the time of publication.
Many reactions from social media following the March 28 hearing expressed doubt that Bankman-Fried would serve the entire sentence length. According to U.S. law, parole is no longer available for those sentenced to federal charges. However, inmates judged to have “good conduct” can receive 54 days off their sentence for each year served.
In Bankman-Fried’s case, that would mean a reduction of roughly 3.75 years: 21.25 years served in total and less than 21 years after sentencing — presumably ending in 2045. The former CEO, now 32 years old, could be in his mid-50s even if he is released early for good behavior.
Appealing the conviction
Before Judge Kaplan announced the 25-year sentence, Bankman-Fried attorney Marc Mukasey said his team intended to appeal the jury’s decision. The lawyers have 14 days to file the paperwork in court.
Many from the crypto space suggested that 25 years in prison was “too light” for Bankman-Fried, given the impact on FTX users. However, some seemed to be surprised at the sentencing hearing,
“I say this would apply to [Alex] Mashinsky as well: I hope that neither actually have to be in prison until the day they literally die,” said crypto influencer Tiffany Fong, who has provided many exclusives related to SBF’s case. “I personally wouldn’t have supported a 40- to 50-year sentence because I think that would basically be a life sentence for someone who’s 32 years old.”
Related: SBF memecoins pump and dump as FTX founder gets 25-year prison sentence
“That is an insanely lengthy prison sentence, and I’m not quite sure that he needs to be in prison for a quarter century,” said Ana Kasparian, a host on progressive media outlet The Young Turks. “25 years… I feel like that is the kind of prison sentence that you would save, or you would implement, toward a violent criminal who’s a threat to the public.”
What about the money?
The FTX bankruptcy case is ongoing in the District of Delaware, where debtors have submitted a possible plan to repay users based on prices at the time of the exchange’s collapse. Judge Kaplan also handed down an $11-billion forfeiture judgment as part of Bankman-Fried’s criminal case.
“This forfeiture is designed to make certain that if SBF ever makes money, it goes not to him but to the government and the victims,” said former federal prosecutor Mitchell Epner, according to a March 29 CNN report. “He will never be able to accumulate funds in his life, and forfeiture cannot be eliminated through bankruptcy.”
Epner’s statement suggested that should Bankman-Fried start a successful business making millions of dollars after his release, the government could go after these funds. The same could apply to a sudden windfall, making it less likely SBF will ever achieve the same financial status he had before November 2022.
Magazine: ‘Less flashy’ Mashinsky set for less jail time than SBF: Inner City Press, X Hall of Flame | A federal judge sentenced former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried to 25 years behind bars for his multiple felony convictions, eliciting mixed reactions from many in and out of the crypto space.
According to Judge Kaplan, Bankman-Fried will serve the remainder of his time behind bars at a medium- or low-security prison in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Appealing the convictionBefore Judge Kaplan announced the 25-year sentence, Bankman-Fried attorney Marc Mukasey said his team intended to appeal the jury’s decision.
Many from the crypto space suggested that 25 years in prison was “too light” for Bankman-Fried, given the impact on FTX users.
Judge Kaplan also handed down an $11-billion forfeiture judgment as part of Bankman-Fried’s criminal case. |
Bitcoin users spend record $2.4M in fees on halving block | Bitcoin users have spent a staggering 37.7 Bitcoin (BTC) in fees — worth just over $2.4 million at current prices — to nab their share of limited space on the fourth-ever Bitcoin halving block.
At 12:09 m UTC on April 20, Bitcoin miner ViaBTC produced the 840,000th block, triggering the automated protocol that cuts miner rewards by 50% from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per block.
Block 840,000 rapidly became the most sought-after piece of digital real estate in Bitcoin’s history with users dropping a total of 37.67 BTC on fees, according to data from Bitcoin block explorer mempool.space.
Including the miner subsidy of 3.125 BTC, a total of 40.7 BTC — worth $2.6 million — was paid to Bitcoin miner ViaBTC for producing the halving block.
Users spent $2.4 million in fees to inscribe runes and rare satoshis on the first halving block. Source: Mempool.space
The record-breaking fees were attributed to degens racing to inscribe and etch rare satoshis on the halving block — with much of the activity stemming from a frenzy of activity on Bitcoin Ordinals creator Casey Rodmarmor’s new Runes Protocol which went live at the same time as the halving.
Runes have been marketed as a more efficient way to create new tokens on the Bitcoin network when compared to the BRC-20 token standard — an Ordinals-based method for creating Bitcoin-based tokens.
Much like BRC-20s, Runes leverages the Bitcoin network and pays fees in Bitcoin to create new tokens. However, the similarities end there. The major difference between Runes and BRC-20s is that Runes utilizes an Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO) model to "etch" new tokens on Bitcoin. This stands in contrast to the "inscription" account model used by Ordinals, according to a protocol explainer from Rodarmor.
In an April 20 post to X, pseudonymous Ordinals developer Leonidas claimed that the fees on the five most recent Bitcoin blocks following block 840,000 had surpassed the Coinbase reward.
“Runes degens have single-handedly offset the drop in miner rewards from the halving,” wrote Leonidas.
A total of $3.82 million in fees — excluding miner subsidies — was spent on the five blocks following the halving, according to aggregated data from mempool.space.
Related: Bitcoin halving 2024: How to keep BTC mining efficient as rewards decrease
Outside of the battle to inscribe one of the first Runes, Bitcoin mining pools were also vying to grab what’s known as an “epic” satoshi. An epic satoshi is the very first satoshi — the smallest possible denomination of Bitcoin — mined on the halving block.
On April 15, Trevor Owens, the managing partner at The Bitcoin Frontier Fund wrote that he was willing to put up a bounty of between $500,000 and $1 million to “buy out” the first Bitcoin block.
Crypto X reacts to the Bitcoin halving
Amid the chaos, pseudonymous trader Hsaka posted a meme that summed up much of the wider sentiment towards the halving event — a brief moment of celebration followed by an immediate return to business as usual.
Source: HsakaTrades
Outspoken Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff also took to X to throw some shade at Bitcoiners amid the halving event.
“I think halving is an appropriate name for what's happening as soon Bitcoin HODLers will experience a halving of their net worths,” said Schiff.
Web3 Gamer: Bitcoin Halving will pump games, Shrapnel’s ‘simple’ secret revealed | Bitcoin users have spent a staggering 37.7 Bitcoin (BTC) in fees — worth just over $2.4 million at current prices — to nab their share of limited space on the fourth-ever Bitcoin halving block.
Including the miner subsidy of 3.125 BTC, a total of 40.7 BTC — worth $2.6 million — was paid to Bitcoin miner ViaBTC for producing the halving block.
Users spent $2.4 million in fees to inscribe runes and rare satoshis on the first halving block.
An epic satoshi is the very first satoshi — the smallest possible denomination of Bitcoin — mined on the halving block.
Web3 Gamer: Bitcoin Halving will pump games, Shrapnel’s ‘simple’ secret revealed |
Will DOGE reach $1 this cycle? It's a 'crapshoot,' say analysts | With the rising number of memecoins entering the market, Dogecoin’s (DOGE) strong community could keep the cryptocurrency from fading into obscurity, but analysts are skeptical of traders' hopes that it could reach a price of one-dollar this cycle.
A one-dollar price tag would represent a 36% increase from Dogecoin’s May 2021 all-time high of $0.73 and a 525% increase from today’s price of $0.16.
DOGE has seen a 2.58% rise over the past 7-days. Source: CoinMarketCap
Over the last week, DOGE posted a 2.58% gain — significantly less growth when compared to other large-cap memecoins within the same timeframe, per CoinMarketCap data.
The next three largest memecoins by market capitalization all experienced notable upside price action in the last seven days, with PEPE (PEPE) up 43%, Shiba Inu (SHIB) up 17.42%, and Dogwifhat (WIF) gaining 14.43%.
“DOGE is one of the most cyclical altcoins in the space,” pseudonymous trader Rekt Capital told Cointelegraph, adding that the rising popularity of other memecoins shouldn’t have a major impact on investor sentiment towards the largest memecoin.
“Other meme coins launching doesn’t mean DOGE will suffer,” Rekt added.
Pav Hundal, the lead analyst for Australian crypto exchange Swyftx offered a more skeptical position, saying that while DOGE has a “huge community of users,” any sharp spikes in price may lead to a significant sell-off from long-term holders.
“A lot will depend on the decision-making of the millions of minnow investors who bought DOGE in 2021 and right now are sitting on paper losses,” Hundal told Cointelegraph, suggesting it’s uncertain whether the price will hit a dollar before the potential sell-off:
“It’s a crapshoot. If most of these people decide to take quick profits during the cycle, you could start to see selling pressure ratchet up.”
Hundal added that Dogecoin is not “seeing the deep books of the last cycle.” In the derivatives market alone it has seen a 56% drop in Open Interest (OI) since the beginning of April.
OI in Doge— which measures the total value of all outstanding or unsettled DOGE futures contracts across exchanges — has declined from $2.15 billion on April 1 to its current level of $928.72 million, per CoinGlass data.
Related: Is Dogecoin copying the 2020 fractal that sent DOGE price soaring 15,800%?
Despite the decline in derivatives activity for the memecoin, Rekt Capital argued that the “cyclicality in DOGE’s chart,” suggests that Dogecoin will still “most probably” reach a price of one dollar this cycle.
He reiterated that Dogecoin comes packed with “historical heritage” and has largely predictable cycles, which traders point out frequently on social media.
Pseudonymous trader Blockchain Mane told his 15,300 X followers in an April 24 post that looking at past data, DOGE usually sees price growth during the month of May.
Rekt also looked to potential social media posts from billionaire Elon Musk as a price catalyst, asserting that Musk is still “very interested in Dogecoin.”
Since April 17, Musk has been interacting regularly with the well-known DOGE influencer DogeDesigner on X.
In April 2023, Musk requested a United States judge to dismiss a $258 billion lawsuit brought against him by investors alleging he operated a pyramid scheme to promote Dogecoin. Although, Musk has recently hinted that his interest in crypto may have waned slightly.
“I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about cryptocurrency. Hardly any at all,” Musk told Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood in an X space on Dec. 2023.
Magazine: ChainLinkGod was in High School when he started the account! X Hall of Flame | With the rising number of memecoins entering the market, Dogecoin’s (DOGE) strong community could keep the cryptocurrency from fading into obscurity, but analysts are skeptical of traders' hopes that it could reach a price of one-dollar this cycle.
DOGE has seen a 2.58% rise over the past 7-days.
Source: CoinMarketCapOver the last week, DOGE posted a 2.58% gain — significantly less growth when compared to other large-cap memecoins within the same timeframe, per CoinMarketCap data.
Related: Is Dogecoin copying the 2020 fractal that sent DOGE price soaring 15,800%?
Hardly any at all,” Musk told Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood in an X space on Dec. 2023. |
Indonesia to implement regulatory sandbox for crypto assets | The Indonesian Financial Services Authority (OJK) said that local financial services institutions offering new products and services must be included in the regulatory sandbox or leave room for testing upcoming innovations, including crypto asset products.
According to a report by local Indonesian media outlet DetikFinance, once regulated and supervised, crypto assets will also need to go through a regulatory sandbox in the future.
This means crypto firms in the sandbox stage will have to be evaluated by the regulator before being approved to operate in the country.
Regulatory sandboxes are typically tools for businesses to test and experiment with new innovative products or services for a limited period.
Hasan Fawzi, the head of the country’s supervision of the financial sector technology innovation, digital financial assets and crypto assets, said that crypto assets have been included in the regulatory sandbox in an effort to eradicate fraudulent investments.
“I think this is our spirit at OJK, especially in consumer protection and education. We really hope that all of our regulatory mechanisms will be present and have a direct impact on preventing fraudulent investments.”
Related: SBI expands Ripple remittance tech to banks in Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines
As a part of this announcement, the OJK will take over regulation of the crypto industry starting in January 2025. Currently, it is under the jurisdiction of the country’s commodities agency, known as Bappebti.
Indonesia classifies crypto assets as commodities, though when moved to OJK’s governance, it is speculated that they may be reconsidered as financial instruments.
The crypto landscape in Indonesia has been heating up over the last year, with a pro-crypto candidate elected vice president in the most recent presidential elections.
During his election campaign, Gibran Rakabuming Raka vowed to prepare blockchain, crypto, artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity experts that would encourage local youth in the digital space.
In 2023, the country launched its landmark national crypto exchange — the Indonesian Crypto Asset Futures Exchange — monitored by local regulators.
It serves as the country’s sole platform for the legal exchange of digital assets. It has also begun conducting blockchain trials in public services.
Earlier in March, Indonesian officials were reportedly considering changes to its dual taxation on crypto, urging a reevaluation of the country’s current 0.1% capital gains tax and 0.11% VAT on crypto transactions.
Magazine: Owner of seven-trait CryptoPunk Seedphrase partners with Sotheby’s: NFT Collector | The Indonesian Financial Services Authority (OJK) said that local financial services institutions offering new products and services must be included in the regulatory sandbox or leave room for testing upcoming innovations, including crypto asset products.
According to a report by local Indonesian media outlet DetikFinance, once regulated and supervised, crypto assets will also need to go through a regulatory sandbox in the future.
Hasan Fawzi, the head of the country’s supervision of the financial sector technology innovation, digital financial assets and crypto assets, said that crypto assets have been included in the regulatory sandbox in an effort to eradicate fraudulent investments.
Indonesia classifies crypto assets as commodities, though when moved to OJK’s governance, it is speculated that they may be reconsidered as financial instruments.
In 2023, the country launched its landmark national crypto exchange — the Indonesian Crypto Asset Futures Exchange — monitored by local regulators. |
Tarantino reportedly wanted to create a metaverse for ‘The Movie Critic’ | Director Quentin Tarantino wanted to create a metaverse for his 10th film featuring actors and characters from his catalog, including a 16-year-old version of himself.
According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, this Tarantino-verse would have been set within a fictional movie theatre. The young Tarantino would have acted as the metaverse’s usher, interacting with the filmmaker’s characters and the fictional actors who played them.
The metaverse would have functioned as a fiction within a fiction, complete with the entire concept appearing in The Movie Critic as a film within a film set inside a movie theater. Unfortunately, Tarantino has gone on the record stating that The Movie Critic isn’t happening.
This isn’t the first time Tarantino’s fabled 10th movie has fallen through the cracks. He’s long maintained that he would direct 10 films and then retire. One of the early projects slated to be his final piece was set in the Kill Bill universe and, according to Tarantino, would have featured the daughter of a character slain by the protagonist of the first two films returning to exact her revenge.
Tarantino was also closely attached to a Star Trek film that was reportedly meant to be a gritty, adult-oriented take on the intellectual property. That project has been abandoned, however, reportedly because the director didn’t want to end his career on a big franchise film.
It’s unclear whether the metaverse planned for The Movie Critic will persist. There’s still no confirmation as to what Tarantino’s 10th film will be, but it’s possible that the Tarantino-verse could exist outside of the silver screen.
As Cointelegraph reported back in 2022, Tarantino has dabbled in nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and the metaverse before. He sold NFTs featuring “secrets” from his films, including uncut screenplay scenes from Pulp Fiction.
He was subsequently sued by Miramax, which claimed it had ownership over the intellectual involved. Miramax also noted in the suit that it had been working on its own Tarantino-related NFTs. The two parties eventually agreed to a settlement.
With a career spanning nearly 40 years and featuring everything from an acting cameo on the 1980s TV show Golden Girls as an Elvis impersonator to rewriting the Charles Manson murders in his alternate history tale Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in 2019, a Tarantino-verse for the fans could be an expansive and genre-encompassing experience. | Director Quentin Tarantino wanted to create a metaverse for his 10th film featuring actors and characters from his catalog, including a 16-year-old version of himself.
According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, this Tarantino-verse would have been set within a fictional movie theatre.
The metaverse would have functioned as a fiction within a fiction, complete with the entire concept appearing in The Movie Critic as a film within a film set inside a movie theater.
Unfortunately, Tarantino has gone on the record stating that The Movie Critic isn’t happening.
It’s unclear whether the metaverse planned for The Movie Critic will persist. |
History of Crypto: NFT mania and digital ownership | Welcome to the History of Crypto, a Cointelegraph series that brings readers back to the most significant events in the crypto space. Powered by Phemex, the timeline allows crypto community members to explore and look back at the important events that shaped the industry into what it is today.
In the tumultuous landscape of the digital age, where trends come and go at the speed of a click, one phenomenon has risen to prominence like few others: nonfungible tokens (NFTs). The years 2020 and 2021 marked a period of unprecedented growth and widespread adoption of these digital assets, reshaping the way we perceive ownership, art and the internet itself. In fact, in 2021 alone, the NFT market saw approximately $25 billion in trading volume, compared to an almost non-existent metric just a few years prior.
.@blackmirror_xp just launched its Smile Club digital collectibles on @base today
Here's everything you need to know ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ahim0CLOpw — nft now (@nftnow) March 12, 2024
While the concept of blockchain technology had been around for over a decade, the emergence of NFTs captured the imagination of both creators and collectors. NFTs represent unique digital assets stored on a blockchain, ensuring their scarcity and authenticity. This innovation allowed for the tokenization of digital art, music, videos and even tweets, turning intangible creations into valuable commodities.
The concept of NFTs can be traced back to at least 2012 when the Colored Coins protocol was created on the Bitcoin blockchain. This protocol allowed users to issue custom tokens representing digital or physical assets. However, it wasn’t until later, with the emergence of Ethereum smart contracts and the ERC-271 token standard in 2017, that nonfungible tokens specifically for digital assets became possible.
One of the earliest and most notable examples of NFTs gaining widespread attention in 2017 was CryptoKitties. Developed by Canadian studio Axiom Zen, CryptoKitties is a blockchain-based virtual game that allows players to purchase, collect, breed and sell virtual cats. Following the success of CryptoKitties, numerous other projects began experimenting with NFTs for various purposes, including digital art, virtual real estate, in-game items and more. Platforms like Decentraland and NBA Top Shot gained traction during this period, showcasing the diverse applications of NFTs beyond gaming.
Then, between 2020 and 2021, mainstream adoption exploded.
NFTs reached new levels of mainstream recognition in 2021 as high-profile sales made headlines, including digital artwork selling for millions of dollars and celebrities launching their own NFT collections. In one such case, on Nov. 2, 2021, award-winning writer and director Quentin Tarantino announced he would auction off seven uncut scenes from Pulp Fiction as NFTs, built on the Secret Network.
Other sales, too, mesmerized headlines, such as the $69 million sale of Beeple’s digital artwork “Everyday: The First 5,000 Days” at Christie’s auction house in March 2021. Newly created digital artworks by artists like Pak and Grimes fetched millions of dollars in auctions and private sales upon inception. During this time, iconic collections, such as Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks, were also born.
Each being a part of a 10,000 algorithmically generated profile pictures collection, in March 2021, a CryptoPunk NFT (#7804) sold for over $7.5 million at auction, marking one of the highest prices paid for a single CryptoPunk at the time. Following this milestone, in October 2021, a rare triple Bored Ape set, consisting of three apes sold as a bundle, fetched over $24 million at a Sotheby’s auction. At the same time, the number of NFT marketplaces expanded rapidly during this period. Platforms such as OpenSea, Rarible, Foundation and Nifty Gateway gained widespread popularity, providing avenues for creators to mint and sell their digital assets. OpenSea emerged as one of the largest NFT marketplaces, with monthly trading volumes surpassing $1 billion by mid-2021, a figure since overtaken by Blur and OKX NFT.
Going to sleep tonight like damn. We love you Apes.
Thank you for an incredible night 2 of #ApeFestHK. pic.twitter.com/lfqmmQBypa — Bored Ape Yacht Club (@BoredApeYC) November 4, 2023
However, this surge in popularity also brought criticism regarding environmental concerns due to the energy-intensive nature of blockchain transactions, as well as questions about the intrinsic value of digital assets. Indeed, during the crypto winter of 2022–2023, the trading volume of NFTs fell by a staggering 99% from its 2021 peak.
Legal disputes also emerged over the ownership and authenticity of digital assets, highlighting the need for clear regulations and guidelines. Some platforms implemented verification mechanisms to authenticate the originality of NFTs and protect creators’ rights, while others grappled with defining ownership in decentralized ecosystems. Indeed, following the widespread publicity of the Pulp Fiction NFTs, Miramax sued the Hollywood director in a copyright lawsuit that was settled in September 2022. Yuga Labs, the current owner of both the BAYC and CryptoPunks series, also faced similar legal battles over its digital collections.
Yet, all was not lost; with the ongoing crypto bull market, NFTs trading volume has recovered. New NFT projects, especially in Hong Kong, are surging in popularity, with collections gobbled up shortly after release. New protocols, such as ParaSpace (now Parallel Finance), are developing new tools for the ever-increasing NFT lending market. Meanwhile, new Ethereum token standards, such as ERC-404, seek to fractionalize NFTs and enable their widespread access.
Overall, the NFT space continues to evolve, with ongoing experimentation in various industries and new platforms emerging to cater to different niches within the NFT ecosystem. Additionally, efforts to address environmental concerns and improve the sustainability of blockchain technology are underway as developers and enthusiasts seek to ensure the long-term viability of NFTs as a form of digital ownership and expression.
Punk #305 is home, hanging on the walls of @icamiami next to a Warhol. This is where she belongs. She will be on display until December 20th and remain in the museum's permanent collection. pic.twitter.com/hKe5tmexyx — CryptoPunks (@cryptopunksnfts) December 3, 2022
Related: The different types of NFTs: A beginner’s guide | Welcome to the History of Crypto, a Cointelegraph series that brings readers back to the most significant events in the crypto space.
NFTs represent unique digital assets stored on a blockchain, ensuring their scarcity and authenticity.
However, it wasn’t until later, with the emergence of Ethereum smart contracts and the ERC-271 token standard in 2017, that nonfungible tokens specifically for digital assets became possible.
Legal disputes also emerged over the ownership and authenticity of digital assets, highlighting the need for clear regulations and guidelines.
Yet, all was not lost; with the ongoing crypto bull market, NFTs trading volume has recovered. |
Montenegro’s Justice Minister to decide on Do Kwon’s extradition after court ruling | Montenegro’s High Court in Podgorica has reportedly issued a decision putting the question of Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon’s extradition to the United States or South Korea to the country’s justice minister.
According to an April 10 report from Montenegrin news outlet Vijesti, Justice Minister Andrej Milović will have the final decision on whether Kwon is to be extradited and to which country. The reported decision came after Montenegro’s Supreme Court approved a request for a protection of legality against a lower court decision that would have allowed his extradition to South Korea.
Authorities in Montenegro arrested Kwon in March 2023 for using falsified travel documents while attempting to leave the country. He reportedly remains free to travel within Montenegro as courts determine whether to grant an extradition request from the U.S. or South Korea, where he would face criminal charges.
Kwon and others at Terraform were allegedly responsible for fraud and lying to investors amid the platform's collapse in May 2022. On April 5, a jury found the company and Kwon liable for fraud as part of a civil case brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Terraform Labs co-founder could also face criminal charges in the U.S. and South Korea.
Related: Terraform Labs was ‘built on lies’ — SEC at trial
Kwon’s case in Montenegro has been bounced from court to court as his lawyers continue to file motions and appeals regarding procedure. It’s unclear if the legal team also intended to appeal the April 10 ruling.
Terraform Labs’ former chief financial officer Han Chang-joon — arrested with Kwon in Montenegro — was extradited to South Korea in February. Authorities in South Korea have also indicted several individuals connected to Terraform, including co-founder Hyun-seong Shin.
Magazine: Memecoins make millionaires, Terraform and Do Kwon liable for fraud, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 31 – April 6 | Montenegro’s High Court in Podgorica has reportedly issued a decision putting the question of Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon’s extradition to the United States or South Korea to the country’s justice minister.
The reported decision came after Montenegro’s Supreme Court approved a request for a protection of legality against a lower court decision that would have allowed his extradition to South Korea.
The Terraform Labs co-founder could also face criminal charges in the U.S. and South Korea.
Terraform Labs’ former chief financial officer Han Chang-joon — arrested with Kwon in Montenegro — was extradited to South Korea in February.
Authorities in South Korea have also indicted several individuals connected to Terraform, including co-founder Hyun-seong Shin. |
Coinbase requests interlocutory appeal over SEC’s ‘controlling question’ | Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has requested a United States court to scrutinize a specific “controlling question” raised by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in its ongoing lawsuit against the exchange.
“The question presented here is unencumbered by factual disputes and therefore ripe for immediate review,” Coinbase argued in an April 12 filing with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal explained in an April 12 post on X that the “controlling question” revolves around whether an investment contract requires “something contractual."
“Whether an “investment contract” can exist absent any post-sale obligation is a pure, controlling question of law,” the exchange claims in the court filing.
Grewal elaborated that while Coinbase holds the view that an investment contract requires contractual obligations after the sale, the SEC argues that it doesn't.
Source: Paul Grewal
This comes after U.S. District Judge Katherine Failla denied Coinbase’s motion to dismiss the SEC’s case against the exchange, alleging that it operates as an unregistered exchange, broker and clearing agency.
However, if the court decides to approve the interlocutory appeal, it could potentially significantly influence the case, which has been ongoing since June 2023.
This is because the SEC asserted that Coinbase crypto transactions were investment contracts “despite an absence of any alleged contractual undertakings,” according to Coinbase.
“Reversal on the question presented would dispose of the SEC’s principal claims, which account for the bulk of the complaint’s factual allegations.”
It further claims that a question of law is controlling if its resolution could “significantly affect the conduct of the action.”
Related: Coinbase cleared in lawsuit over crypto transactions
Grewal highlighted the early filing of Coinbase’s appeal request, submitted just 17 days after the motion to dismiss was denied.
However, he justified the action due to its significance for the wider crypto industry, with the aim of resolving the dispute over crypto transactions as soon as possible.
“We’re asking to take this up on appeal earlier than normal because it's critical to our industry. The SEC’s action against us and other digital asset companies goes way beyond the legal authority granted by Congress and puts an unjust cloud over US digital asset innovation.”
This comes after Coinbase achieved a major victory in a civil lawsuit against plaintiffs claiming that the exchange offered and sold them unregistered securities.
On April 6, Cointelegraph reported that the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in favor of Coinbase, confirming that secondary sales of cryptocurrencies on its platform do not violate the Securities Exchange Act.
Magazine: YouTuber declines ‘7 figure’ sponsorships after FTX scandal: Brian Jung, Hall of Flame | Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has requested a United States court to scrutinize a specific “controlling question” raised by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in its ongoing lawsuit against the exchange.
Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal explained in an April 12 post on X that the “controlling question” revolves around whether an investment contract requires “something contractual."
“Whether an “investment contract” can exist absent any post-sale obligation is a pure, controlling question of law,” the exchange claims in the court filing.
However, if the court decides to approve the interlocutory appeal, it could potentially significantly influence the case, which has been ongoing since June 2023.
This is because the SEC asserted that Coinbase crypto transactions were investment contracts “despite an absence of any alleged contractual undertakings,” according to Coinbase. |
Elon Musk offers users free premium features on X, crypto scammers included | Elon Musk will no longer charge influential accounts on X for certain premium features as long as they meet certain conditions. However, those conditions also appear achievable for accounts involved in cryptocurrency scams.
On March 28, Musk announced that accounts with 2,500 verified subscribers as followers will no longer need to pay for “Premium” features on X. Additionally, accounts with over 5,000 followers will get free access to “Premium+.”
X offers paid subscriptions for three tiers of premium services — Basic, Premium and Premium+ — incrementally unlocking more features for content creators within the X platforms.
However, the ability to purchase verification on Twitter allows scammers and bad actors to easily impersonate influential people and dupe their followers into various scams.
Elon Musk rolled out the paid verification model on X, earlier known as “Twitter Blue,” to fight scammers and spammers thriving on the platform before his takeover.
Regardless, the crypto community argues that the X Premium features continue to aid scammers in reaching potential victims more effectively.
While some community members appreciated Musk’s decision not to charge popular account verification fees, skeptics pointed out possible loopholes, given the lack of information about the platform’s internal mechanism to ensure eligibility.
Prominent game developer Tyler Glaiel argued:
“Haha so a bot farm can buy 2500 accounts and then use those to verify infinite accounts (or have them all follow each other and then stop paying?)”
Few users — while acknowledging the costs involved — echoed Glaiel’s sentiment in speculating that the new feature could incentivize large groups of scammers to join hands and repurpose accounts for different types of cyberattacks.
Some smaller accounts on X believe that Musk’s recent move incentivizes the “rich,” while others urged fellow verified users to play the system by following each other in order to claim free premium services.
Related: X launches dedicated payments account, crypto community speculates
X is well aware of the concerns around verified scam accounts as, earlier in January 2024, the platform scaled back pricing for verified organizations on the social media platform.
The move was aimed at countering numerous “gold check” accounts dedicated to pushing crypto scams.
A recent CloudSEK report highlighted that “malicious campaigns are brooding on a large scale that requires a Twitter Gold account,” targeting X users with job and crypto scams.
However, many speculated the price drop may have been an attempt to gain more paid subscribers.
Magazine: ‘SEAL 911’ team of white hats formed to fight crypto hacks in real time | Elon Musk will no longer charge influential accounts on X for certain premium features as long as they meet certain conditions.
On March 28, Musk announced that accounts with 2,500 verified subscribers as followers will no longer need to pay for “Premium” features on X. Additionally, accounts with over 5,000 followers will get free access to “Premium+.”X offers paid subscriptions for three tiers of premium services — Basic, Premium and Premium+ — incrementally unlocking more features for content creators within the X platforms.
Elon Musk rolled out the paid verification model on X, earlier known as “Twitter Blue,” to fight scammers and spammers thriving on the platform before his takeover.
Regardless, the crypto community argues that the X Premium features continue to aid scammers in reaching potential victims more effectively.
A recent CloudSEK report highlighted that “malicious campaigns are brooding on a large scale that requires a Twitter Gold account,” targeting X users with job and crypto scams. |
Bitcoin briefly dips under $60K amid reports of worsening Middle East crisis | The price of Bitcoin (BTC) briefly dropped below its critical $60,000 support level again on Friday, falling 5.44% in just two hours amid escalating geopolitical tension in the Middle East.
On April 19, Bitcoin’s price briefly slumped down to $59,698 before quickly recovering to $61,352. It’s a crucial breakdown to note, given that if its price falls down to $59,000, then approximately $243 million in long positions will be liquidated, per CoinGlass data.
Over the last four hours, $34.03 million in Bitcoin long positions have been liquidated, data shows.
This comes amid Iranian state media reporting that explosions had been heard at Isfahan airport in central Iran, according to an April 19 ABC News report.
Explosions were reportedly heard at Isfahan International Airport. Source: ABC News
A similar situation occurred on April 13, when Bitcoin’s price experienced similar volatility after Iran launched an attack on Israel, plummeting 8.4%.
At the time, the price decline wiped out over $130 million in market capitalization within minutes following news of the attack.
Related: Crypto market ‘underestimates the long-term impact’ of Bitcoin halving: Bitwise
Bitcoin holders may also be bracing for heightened volatility as the Bitcoin halving event, which slashes miners’ rewards in half every four years, approaches on April 20.
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, a major tool tracking the market sentiment in cryptocurrency markets, is down 13 points since last week’s greed index of 79.
Bitcoin’s price broke its crucial $60,000 support level amid tensions in the Middle East. Source: CoinMarketCap
Bitcoin’s price has been threading above the $60,000 mark over the past seven days but briefly fell from an opening of $63,814 on April 17, dropping as much as 7.5% to an intra-day low of $59,648, per data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro.
Open Interest (OI) in Bitcoin has also experienced a slump over the past seven days, dropping approximately 17.6% to $28.06 billion.
Meanwhile, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Ether (ETH), also experienced a sharp decline, falling 5% below its critical $3,000 price level, briefly dipping to $2,876, before retesting its support level.
The overall crypto market cap is $2.26 trillion, down 0.53% over the past 24 hours.
Magazine: Get Bitcoin or die tryin’: Why hip hop stars love crypto | The price of Bitcoin (BTC) briefly dropped below its critical $60,000 support level again on Friday, falling 5.44% in just two hours amid escalating geopolitical tension in the Middle East.
On April 19, Bitcoin’s price briefly slumped down to $59,698 before quickly recovering to $61,352.
Source: ABC NewsA similar situation occurred on April 13, when Bitcoin’s price experienced similar volatility after Iran launched an attack on Israel, plummeting 8.4%.
Bitcoin’s price broke its crucial $60,000 support level amid tensions in the Middle East.
The overall crypto market cap is $2.26 trillion, down 0.53% over the past 24 hours. |
Hacker mints 1B tokens in $16M Curio smart contract exploit | Real-world asset (RWA) liquidity firm Curio suffered a smart contract exploit involving a critical vulnerability related to voting power privileges, allowing the attacker to steal $16 million in digital assets.
Curio alerted its community of the exploit and highlighted that they are addressing the situation. The company said that a MakerDAO-based smart contract used within Curio was breached.
However, the company assured its users that the exploit only affected the Ethereum side and that all Polkadot and the Curio Chain contracts remained secure.
Web3 security firm Cyvers estimated that the losses from the exploit are about $16 million. The security firm said the exploit involved a “permission access logic vulnerability.”
On March 25, Curio published a post-mortem of the exploit and a compensation plan for affected users. Within the report, Curio highlighted that the problem was a flaw in the voting power privilege access control.
With this, the attacker acquired a small number of Curio Governance (CGT) tokens, allowing them to gain access and elevate their voting power in the project’s smart contract.
With the elevated voting power, the attacker performed a series of steps that ultimately allowed the execution of arbitrary actions within the Curio DAO contract. This led to the unauthorized minting of 1 billion CGT.
In the report, Curio said all the funds affected in the exploit will be returned. The team said it would release a new token called CGT 2.0. With the new token, the team promised to restore 100% of the funds for CGT holders.
Related: Hacker moves $10M from 2023 phishing incident to Tornado Cash
For liquidity providers, Curio said that it will conduct a fund compensation program. The team said it will be paid in four stages, with each stage lasting 90 days. This could mean that full payment could potentially take one year. They wrote:
“The compensation program will consist of 4 consecutive stages, each lasting for 90 days. During each stage: compensation will be paid in USDC/USDT, amounting to 25% of the losses incurred by the second token in the liquidity pools.”
The company also said that it would reward white hat hackers who can help in recovering the lost funds. The team said that hackers could receive a reward equivalent to 10% of funds recovered in the initial recovery phase.
Magazine: ‘Am I sorry? No’ — 3AC founder. $6B BTC laundered for fast food worker: Asia Express | Real-world asset (RWA) liquidity firm Curio suffered a smart contract exploit involving a critical vulnerability related to voting power privileges, allowing the attacker to steal $16 million in digital assets.
The company said that a MakerDAO-based smart contract used within Curio was breached.
Within the report, Curio highlighted that the problem was a flaw in the voting power privilege access control.
With this, the attacker acquired a small number of Curio Governance (CGT) tokens, allowing them to gain access and elevate their voting power in the project’s smart contract.
With the elevated voting power, the attacker performed a series of steps that ultimately allowed the execution of arbitrary actions within the Curio DAO contract. |
Tether boosts Bitcoin reserves with latest acquisition | Tether, the company behind the Tether (USDT) stablecoin, acquired 8,888 Bitcoin (BTC) worth $618 million on March 31.
Following the acquisition, Tether’s wallet now holds 75,354 Bitcoin, bought at an average price of $30,305, worth around $5.2 billion at the time of writing, according to on-chain data.
The wallet is up over 128%, with a current unrealized profit of $2.94 billion, according to CoinStats data.
Tether BTC wallet overview: Source CoinStats
The acquisition came during a time of heightened institutional interest in Bitcoin due to the approval of United States-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds and the incoming Bitcoin halving, which is set to reduce the block supply issuance in half in just 19 days.
Related: Is the Bitcoin halving the right time to invest in BTC?
Following the acquisition, Tether is now the seventh-largest Bitcoin holder in the world, according to Bitinfocharts data. Binance’s cold wallet is the largest Bitcoin holder, with over 248,597 Bitcoin worth $17.31 billion at publication.
The firm said it would invest 15% of its net profit into Bitcoin to diversify the stablecoin’s backing assets.
Tether’s USDT reached a record $100 billion market cap on March 4, posting a 9% year-to-date growth.
Related: Tether plans major expansion into BTC mining with $500M investment: Report
Bitcoin trades above $69,000, suggesting end of pre-halving correction
Bitcoin price fell 1.23% in the 24 hours leading up to 8:45 am UTC to trade at $69,523. The world’s first cryptocurrency has been trading above the $69,000 support line since March 25 despite the market experiencing the largest quarterly options expiry event on March 29.
Bitcoin’s pre-halving correction could be over since Bitcoin flipped its old all-time high of $69,000 into support, said pseudonymous crypto analyst Rekt Capital in a March 26 video analysis:
“Bitcoin is now peaking beyond this old all-time high, potentially positioning itself for this pre-halving retracement to be over.”
Bitcoin reached a new all-time high before the halving event for the first time in the cryptocurrency’s history. Despite its strong price action, the halving is still not priced in to “full extent,” Basile Maire, the co-founder of D8X decentralized exchange and former UBS executive, told Cointelegraph.
Bitcoin has just closed seven monthly green candles in a row for the first time in history.
BTC/USDT, 1-month chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
Related: How high can Bitcoin go? New BTC price prediction sees cycle top at $180K | Tether, the company behind the Tether (USDT) stablecoin, acquired 8,888 Bitcoin (BTC) worth $618 million on March 31.
Tether BTC wallet overview: Source CoinStatsThe acquisition came during a time of heightened institutional interest in Bitcoin due to the approval of United States-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds and the incoming Bitcoin halving, which is set to reduce the block supply issuance in half in just 19 days.
Related: Is the Bitcoin halving the right time to invest in BTC?
Following the acquisition, Tether is now the seventh-largest Bitcoin holder in the world, according to Bitinfocharts data.
Binance’s cold wallet is the largest Bitcoin holder, with over 248,597 Bitcoin worth $17.31 billion at publication. |
How DePINs are connecting farmers and businesses via blockchain | In a bid to revolutionize the global food commodity trade and empower farmers, farmer-centric blockchain Farmsent has revealed a new partnership with the layer-1 decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN)-focused blockchain, Peaq.
The collaboration, announced on April 9, marks a step forward in Farmsent’s goal of decentralizing the agricultural supply chain to enhance transparency in the global food trade and build a global Web3 marketplace that connects farmers directly with consumer-facing businesses worldwide.
By leveraging a DePIN of sensors to track product quality and provenance, Farmsent claims it can eliminate centralized intermediaries and reduce costs for all stakeholders, all while ensuring transparency across the supply chain.
Cointelegraph talked to Yog Shusti, the co-founder and CEO of Farmsent, about the use case of DePINs in the agricultural sector.
Connecting commerce
Shusti called Farmsent’s DePIN use case “particularly exciting for agriculture” because the technology is leveraged to benefit farmers and consumers.
“It provides farmers with secure digital identities for better market access but also empowers them with real-time data about their crops. This includes crucial details like soil moisture, pH content, and humidity.”
He said this information allows farmers to make “data-driven decisions” to optimize crop health and yields. Meanwhile, the DePIN system allows consumers to access information about the food they purchase:
“This could include details about the farm’s practices, the origin of the food, and how it was grown. It empowers consumers to make informed choices about the food they put on their tables.”
Related: Weather forecasting for developing regions: Here’s how Web3 can help
Currently, the state of the global food trade highlights the urgent need for change. Farmers, despite being the backbone of the industry, often receive a disproportionately low share of the value captured in the market.
Scaling for the world
According to Farmsent, it plans to address this by bypassing traditional intermediaries and enabling direct transactions between farmers and consumers and already has over 160,000 farmers onboarded in Indonesia and Colombia.
The platform, currently still in beta, is being used to track coffee, avocados and palm sugar between Indonesia, Colombia, the United Arab Emirates — where it already has a license to operate — and the United States. Farmsent said it is currently working on securing three additional licenses.
Shusti said that storing large amounts of data from sensors, farms and partners can become expensive on traditional blockchains:
“As Farmsent expands its reach to new markets and connects with more farmers and consumers, the volume of data and transactions within the network will inevitably surge.”
Therefore, he said that Peaq was chosen for its ability to cost-effectively store data and scale at large. The Peaq network has been gaining traction, and it recently secured $15 million in a Series A round led by Generative Ventures and Borderless Capital.
In the past, it has worked on DePIN projects alongside major companies such as Bosch and even worked to tokenize 100 Teslas in a decentralized Web3 ride-sharing initiative across Europe.
Data and security
Handling the transactions and data of farmers and business owners worldwide is not only a big feat for scaling purposes but also in keeping all that information safe and secure.
According to the Farmsent CEO, its DePIN network gathers information from three sources. In one, it is entered by humans and then validated. Information on farm practices, harvest details and initial processing can be manually entered by authorized personnel and validated for accuracy.
It can also be collected through Internet of Things (IoT) sensors placed throughout the supply chain (farms, storage facilities, transport) that can continuously monitor conditions like temperature, humidity and freshness.
Lastly, data is procured from third-party partners like logistics companies that provide data relevant to transport and storage conditions.
To keep this data secure, Shusti told Cointelegraph that Farmsent leverages Peaq decentralized identifiers (DIDs) to enhance data privacy further:
“DIDs act like unique identifiers on the blockchain that can be linked to data without revealing the actual data itself. ”
He said that this allows for data verification and controlled access while protecting sensitive information.
Till Wendler, the co-founder of Peaq, said this use case within the agriculture industry is not just exciting but also one of the “most important ones” due to its promise to push back global food insecurity and “deliver cheaper and more quality produce to people around the world” — and in a secure manner.
Magazine: Memecoins make millionaires, Terraform and Do Kwon liable for fraud, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 31 – April 6 | In a bid to revolutionize the global food commodity trade and empower farmers, farmer-centric blockchain Farmsent has revealed a new partnership with the layer-1 decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN)-focused blockchain, Peaq.
Cointelegraph talked to Yog Shusti, the co-founder and CEO of Farmsent, about the use case of DePINs in the agricultural sector.
Connecting commerceShusti called Farmsent’s DePIN use case “particularly exciting for agriculture” because the technology is leveraged to benefit farmers and consumers.
“It provides farmers with secure digital identities for better market access but also empowers them with real-time data about their crops.
The Peaq network has been gaining traction, and it recently secured $15 million in a Series A round led by Generative Ventures and Borderless Capital. |
Bitcoin options expiry worth $1.5B sets $69K max pain price | Over $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) futures options are set to expire on April 12, signaling potential downside price volatility that could see Bitcoin fall to the $69,000 mark.
The over $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin options are due with a put-to-call ratio of 0.62, suggesting a “max pain” point of $69,000 for Bitcoin, according to an April 12 X post by pseudonymous trader Greeks.
Despite the maximum pain point, Bitcoin won’t necessarily fall back to its old all-time high, according to Hao Yang, global head of derivatives trading at Bybit exchange, who told Cointelegraph:
“The max pain point refers to the price at which most options contracts would expire worthless. It’s an indicator of where options market participants are positioned, but it doesn’t necessarily influence where the underlying [asset] will be trading at.”
Periods close to the expiration of options are often characterized by increased price volatility in the crypto markets. Yet, Yang added that he doesn’t expect more volatility, pointing out the relatively small size of Friday’s options expires:
“I don’t expect more volatility given options market is still only a fraction of the total crypto derivative market.”
Bitcoin price action was flat in the 24 hours leading up to 10:25 am UTC when Bitcoin was trading at $70,725. The world’s first cryptocurrency was up 5.9% on the weekly chart, according to CoinMarketCap data.
BTC/USDT, one-day chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
Bitcoin could still see increased downside price volatility due to external macroeconomic factors, but not necessarily because of the upcoming options expiry, according to Andrey Stoychev, the head of Prime Brokerage at Nexo. He told Cointelegraph:
“Bitcoin may approach the $69,000 mark, but whether it falls to that level depends on the broader context, including market sentiment and Bitcoin’s dance with inflation. The recent U.S. CPI [Consumer Price Index] data, which came in higher than expected on Wednesday, has raised concerns about inflationary pressures, potentially impacting Bitcoin’s price dynamics.”
The U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) print for March came in narrowly above expectations at 3.5% year-on-year, prompting Bitcoin whales to buy the dip, which nudged the price back above the $70,000 mark on April 10.
Related: With 10 days to the halving, analysts predict $150K Bitcoin top
ETF inflows slow down ahead of the Bitcoin halving
The inflows from the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States have slowed ahead of the Bitcoin halving. The ETFs generated a total of $220 million worth of net inflows during the past week, according to Dune Analytics data.
Bitcoin ETF net flows chart. Source: Dune
Weekly ETF inflows have been steadily slowing since their best week on March 11, when they generated $2.58 billion worth of net inflows. The ETFs only managed $337 million worth of net inflows last week, down over 45% from $615 million from the previous week.
The Bitcoin ETFs have amassed over 839,000 BTC worth $59.4 billion in total on-chain holdings, representing 4.26% of the current BTC supply.
How can you prepare for the 2024 Bitcoin halving? Source: Cointelegraph
Related: Bitcoin surpasses 65 million Ordinals inscriptions days before halving | Over $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) futures options are set to expire on April 12, signaling potential downside price volatility that could see Bitcoin fall to the $69,000 mark.
The over $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin options are due with a put-to-call ratio of 0.62, suggesting a “max pain” point of $69,000 for Bitcoin, according to an April 12 X post by pseudonymous trader Greeks.
The ETFs generated a total of $220 million worth of net inflows during the past week, according to Dune Analytics data.
The ETFs only managed $337 million worth of net inflows last week, down over 45% from $615 million from the previous week.
How can you prepare for the 2024 Bitcoin halving? |
Bank of England and FCA launch Digital Securities Sandbox for DLT testing | The Bank of England (BoE) and the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have started a consultation on the draft guidance for their Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS), which is designed to allow participants to test distributed ledger technology (DLT) for trading and settlement of digital securities such as shares and bonds.
According to a joint consultation and draft guidance released on Wednesday, April 3, the sandbox will last five years and could lead to a new regulatory regime for securities settlement.
Successful applicants using the sandbox will be able to provide securities depository and settlement services, as well as operate a trading venue under modified regulations.
The BoE and the FCA aim for the inaugural group of applicants to join the DSS by autumn 2024. FCA Executive Director Sheldon Mills said in a statement:
“The new Digital Securities Sandbox reshapes how we regulate by allowing firms to test regulatory changes using real-world situations before these changes are made permanent. We hope this will be a more effective, collaborative and quicker way of delivering regulatory change.”
The initiative, which is to take place over five years, could pave the way for establishing permanent regulations governing the trading and settlement of digital assets down the line.
The U.K. Treasury first started consultations on the DSS in July 2023. Subsequently, the U.K. government said it would enact legislation to implement the initiative by November 2023.
Related: UK regulations will allow stablecoins and CBDCs to coexist, says former BoE fintech lead
Following this, the government introduced new regulations in December 2023, offering the nation’s financial regulators guidelines for overseeing the sandbox. These regulations took effect on Jan. 8 as part of the U.K.’s Financial Services and Markets Act 2023.
After releasing the joint consultation paper, interested parties can now provide feedback until May 29. Subsequently, the BOE and FCA will review the feedback and open applications by the summer, with the first applicants joining the initiative by the autumn.
According to the regulators, the DSS will welcome a diverse array of firms, aiming to optimize learning opportunities and foster innovation within the U.K. financial system.
This inclusive approach could facilitate quicker and more cost-effective methods for trading, settling and utilizing securities among financial market participants.
Magazine: How the digital yuan could change the world… for better or worse | The Bank of England (BoE) and the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have started a consultation on the draft guidance for their Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS), which is designed to allow participants to test distributed ledger technology (DLT) for trading and settlement of digital securities such as shares and bonds.
Successful applicants using the sandbox will be able to provide securities depository and settlement services, as well as operate a trading venue under modified regulations.
The BoE and the FCA aim for the inaugural group of applicants to join the DSS by autumn 2024.
FCA Executive Director Sheldon Mills said in a statement:“The new Digital Securities Sandbox reshapes how we regulate by allowing firms to test regulatory changes using real-world situations before these changes are made permanent.
This inclusive approach could facilitate quicker and more cost-effective methods for trading, settling and utilizing securities among financial market participants. |
‘Everything will be tokenized’ — Mantra Chain CEO | In the latest episode of Cointelegraph’s Hashing It Out podcast, host Elisha Owusu Akyaw welcomes John Mullin, the CEO of Mantra Chain, for a deep dive into real-world asset (RWA) tokenization. Mullin breaks down the hype, explores the true potential for investors, and discusses the challenges faced by the emerging technology.
Mullin explains what tokenization means for Web3 adoption and its potential to increase institutional investments, as well as highlighting the state of regulations in the RWA space and what that means for Web3 projects.
The CEO says that the hype around real-world assets is not new to the blockchain industry and is similar to the popularity of security token offerings (STO) during the 2018–2019 cycle.
Mullin says RWA tokenization is taking off because there is more interest from institutions, and projects are finding ways around regulatory issues, which previously impeded the STO sector.
Mullin takes a more nuanced approach to whether everything needs to be tokenized or not. He explains that anyone can tokenize almost anything, but whether that token grants real-world rights is a separate issue.
To create a truly transferable token, projects must merge the technology and token creation with real-world ownership, corporate actions and legal status, Mullins states. This allows projects to mirror and grant the transferable rights of the real-world product in token form.
Mullin quickly points out that this is a challenge because every asset class has different real-world rules, which vary by jurisdiction. Depending on where the project operates, it must consider different things, making it a challenging yet rewarding industry and product suite.
“And I think that in the longer term, tokenization, everything will be tokenized, in my opinion. I think the whole world will be tokenized. My personal perspective is if Web2 was bringing the world online, Web3 is bringing the world on-chain.”
Mullin adds that the tokenization of real-world assets will likely attract more institutional interest than the space has experienced. He adds that RWA tokenization allows institutions to invest on-chain without dealing with unfamiliar and more volatile assets, such as those in decentralized finance.
To hear more from John Mullin, listen to the full episode of Hashing It Out on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or TuneIn, and remember to check out Cointelegraph’s full catalog of Web3 podcasts. | In the latest episode of Cointelegraph’s Hashing It Out podcast, host Elisha Owusu Akyaw welcomes John Mullin, the CEO of Mantra Chain, for a deep dive into real-world asset (RWA) tokenization.
The CEO says that the hype around real-world assets is not new to the blockchain industry and is similar to the popularity of security token offerings (STO) during the 2018–2019 cycle.
To create a truly transferable token, projects must merge the technology and token creation with real-world ownership, corporate actions and legal status, Mullins states.
“And I think that in the longer term, tokenization, everything will be tokenized, in my opinion.
He adds that RWA tokenization allows institutions to invest on-chain without dealing with unfamiliar and more volatile assets, such as those in decentralized finance. |
Iraq commitment to capture flare gas sparks crypto mining speculation | Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister, Muhammad Ali Tamim, recently co-chaired a U.S.-Iraq Higher Coordinating Committee meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss the future partnership between the two nations.
During the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Tamim stated clearly that it was Iraq’s goal to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, lower pollution, and engage in new partnerships to develop and employ technology to capture “flare gas,” a byproduct of the oil field industry considered a poisonous pollutant.
"The Iraqi Government is widening its partnership and conducting agreements so that we’ll be able to, for example, use technologies to capture flaring gas, to create and achieve independence in energy, and also to invest in other sources of energy, including renewables and solar energy.”
The statement surrounding the use of “technologies” to capture flare gas have caused some in the crypto community to speculate that Iraq intends to enter the Bitcoin mining sector.
Flare Gas
When crude oil is extracted and refined, gas builds up and pressurizes the processing equipment. This “waste gas” is typically either routed to a facility where it can be converted into something useful such as electricity or burnt off into the atmosphere.
Due to the remote location of many of Iraq’s oil fields, it’s long been considered economically infeasible to convert the flare gas and, as such, much of it ends up polluting the atmosphere.
Iraq’s Rumaila oil field is the world’s biggest producer of toxic flare gas, though efforts are reportedly underway to capture and repurpose as much as 60% today, with the target of ending all gas flaring in the country by 2027.
Bitcoin Mining
People have used everything from nuclear energy to their own excrement to mine cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin mining firm Giga, a Texas startup, uses the flare gas from local oil fields to power truckloads of portable mining rigs. Per a report from CNBC, the company was earning millions in profits as far back as 2021.
In Iraq the challenge comes at a much higher scale. As the world’s largest producer of flare gas pollutants, it would take an exceptional effort to convert 100% of its pollutants into usable electricity.
However, as noted above, Iraq currently has to balance its domestic energy requirements with its foreign debt. While adding power to the grid could certainly help ease the nation’s burdens, converting a portion of that electricity into Bitcoin mining could have an even greater positive impact.
Related: Crypto firm 7RCC is quietly advancing its eco-conscious spot Bitcoin ETF
Another potential avenue for using the energy provided by captured flare gas is in the area of carbon credits. Theoretically speaking, Iraq could not only reduce its own carbon footprint by capturing flare gas, but it could engage the international market by selling carbon credits via the blockchain. This would provide immutable proof of the nation's efforts and a potential temporary revenue stream as it pursues the reduction of its dependence on fossil fuels. | Due to the remote location of many of Iraq’s oil fields, it’s long been considered economically infeasible to convert the flare gas and, as such, much of it ends up polluting the atmosphere.
Bitcoin mining firm Giga, a Texas startup, uses the flare gas from local oil fields to power truckloads of portable mining rigs.
As the world’s largest producer of flare gas pollutants, it would take an exceptional effort to convert 100% of its pollutants into usable electricity.
While adding power to the grid could certainly help ease the nation’s burdens, converting a portion of that electricity into Bitcoin mining could have an even greater positive impact.
Theoretically speaking, Iraq could not only reduce its own carbon footprint by capturing flare gas, but it could engage the international market by selling carbon credits via the blockchain. |
Software engineer sentenced to three years in prison for Nirvana hack | Computer security engineer Shakeeb Ahmed was sentenced to three years in prison followed by three years of supervised release in Southern New York District (SDNY) Court. Ahmed was found guilty of flash loan attacks on the decentralized Crypto Exchange and Nirvana exchanges in 2022.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement that Ahmed’s conviction was the first for hacking a smart contract. Ahmed was also ordered to forfeit $12.3 million as well as “a significant quantity of cryptocurrency” and to pay the exchanges $5 million in restitution.
Ahmed had offered to return all the funds stolen from Crypto Exchange except for $1.5 million if the exchange did not contact law enforcement. Nirvana offered him $600,000 for the return of funds, but Ahmed demanded $1.4 million, out of the $3.6 million he hacked, and no agreement was reached.
Related: Stolen crypto worth $674M successfully recovered in 2023
Nirvana’s NIRV stablecoin depegged from the U.S. dollar, and its native ANA coin fell by 85% on the news of the hack and closed shortly afterward. According to the SDNY statement, Ahmed laundered the hacked funds:
“Using token-swap transactions; ‘bridging’ fraud proceeds from the Solana blockchain over to the Ethereum blockchain; exchanging fraud proceeds into Monero […]; using overseas cryptocurrency exchanges; and using cryptocurrency mixers, such as Samourai Whirlpool.”
It has also been observed that a third exchange, Crema, was subject to an attack in July 2022 using the same methods, but the federal charges did not link him to that hack.
Ahmed was employed as “a senior security engineer for an international technology company” at the time he carried out the attacks, according to the statement. According to Bloomberg, Ahmed was the technical lead of Amazon’s bug bounty program.
According to Inner City Press, Ahmed, who was released on bail, now works for a mental health care startup. That publication quoted him as saying, “I witnessed hacks, I found a way to exploit an exchange's smart contracts. I went into therapy” at his trial.
Ahmed was arrested in New York and charged in July with wire fraud and money laundering in connection with the hacks. He went on to plead guilty to a single charge of computer fraud in December.
Magazine: Pink Drainer creator defends his wallet draining crypto scam kit | Computer security engineer Shakeeb Ahmed was sentenced to three years in prison followed by three years of supervised release in Southern New York District (SDNY) Court.
Ahmed was found guilty of flash loan attacks on the decentralized Crypto Exchange and Nirvana exchanges in 2022.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement that Ahmed’s conviction was the first for hacking a smart contract.
Ahmed had offered to return all the funds stolen from Crypto Exchange except for $1.5 million if the exchange did not contact law enforcement.
Nirvana offered him $600,000 for the return of funds, but Ahmed demanded $1.4 million, out of the $3.6 million he hacked, and no agreement was reached. |
Andreessen Horowitz raises $7.2B for new venture funds | Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) said it raised $7.2 billion to invest across several tech sectors, including gaming and artificial intelligence — but isn’t putting any more toward crypto.
The firm’s “Growth” venture strategy — a bundle of funds backing a range of early-stage startups — will receive the largest chunk of the raise at $3.75 billion. Its "Infrastructure" and "Apps" will respectively receive $1.25 billion and $1 billion, a16z said in an April 16 statement.
Its Infrastructure strategy mostly focuses on funding teams in the AI, computing and data industries, while the Apps funds focus on consumer, enterprise and fintech application builders.
The remaining $1.2 billion will be evenly split between “Games,” its gaming-focused funds, and its new “American Dynamism” fund — which invests in founders and companies supporting United States national interests in aerospace, defense, safety, education and manufacturing.
Its $4.5 billion crypto-focused fund didn’t receive any additional funding.
The $600 million dedicated to Games will be used to create a second game-focused fund, according to Andrew Chen, a general partner at a16z, who oversees its Games Fund One.
“From AI/infra, web3 games, VR/AR, 3D tooling, gamified apps, game studios, and much more. The fund targets a $300B+ industry that has spawned incredible companies over the past decade, and it’s great to be able to build,” Chen posted to X on April 16.
Chen added he’s particularly focused on funding games that integrate generative AI.
“[Generative AI] will transform many product categories, but in particular, games and interactive entertainment. This shouldn’t be a surprise, as gaming has been the driver of new killer apps for emerging computing platforms.”
A slice of the $600 million will be used in a16z’s accelerator program launched in early April, which will hand out $750,000 to a maximum of 40 gaming startups at a 12-week course in Los Angeles beginning in late July.
Related: ‘Tens of millions’ to enter Web3 through gaming in 2024 — GameFi execs
Each focus fund will have its own experts to maximize the likelihood of each fund’s success, a16z co-founder Ben Horowitz said in the April 16 statement.
“Each area requires deep expertise, so it’s not wise to try to cross-train someone in, for example, Games and Infrastructure,” said Horowitz. “Founders building AI foundation models need an entirely different set of networks and capabilities than founders building biotech therapies.”
“A great investor with the right help, the right networking, and the right expertise at the right time can be the difference between success and failure.”
Magazine: Web3 Gamer: Games need bots? Illivium CEO admits ‘it’s tough,’ 42X upside | Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) said it raised $7.2 billion to invest across several tech sectors, including gaming and artificial intelligence — but isn’t putting any more toward crypto.
The firm’s “Growth” venture strategy — a bundle of funds backing a range of early-stage startups — will receive the largest chunk of the raise at $3.75 billion.
Its "Infrastructure" and "Apps" will respectively receive $1.25 billion and $1 billion, a16z said in an April 16 statement.
Its Infrastructure strategy mostly focuses on funding teams in the AI, computing and data industries, while the Apps funds focus on consumer, enterprise and fintech application builders.
“From AI/infra, web3 games, VR/AR, 3D tooling, gamified apps, game studios, and much more. |
$2B in Silk Road Bitcoin seized by DOJ moves to new wallet | Roughly $2 billion in Bitcoin (BTC) previously seized by United States authorities and connected to the Silk Road marketplace has moved to a new address.
According to data from the blockchain on April 2, a wallet known to be associated with the U.S. Justice Department made a 0.001 BTC transaction to a Coinbase Prime address — possibly as a test transaction. Shortly thereafter, the same wallet transferred 30,174 BTC, or roughly $2 billion at the time of publication, to a new address. Online sleuths identified the DOJ wallet as that containing Bitcoin seized from James Zhong, who in 2022 was convicted of charges connected to “unlawfully obtained” crypto from Silk Road.
Zhong stole more than 50,000 BTC from Silk Road in 2012. In 2021, U.S. authorities raided his property and discovered hard wallets containing Bitcoin, including one “on a single-board computer that was submerged under blankets in a popcorn tin.” The bulk of the seized crypto was sent to the same address that moved more than 30,000 BTC on April 2.
Related: US Justice Department charges KuCoin and two founders with violating AML laws
In March 2023, U.S. government authorities reported they had sold roughly 9,861 BTC of the crypto seized from Zhong for more than $215 million, leaving roughly 40,000 BTC. The April 2 transaction followed the price of Bitcoin dropping more than 7% to reach $65,475 at the time of publication.
The Silk Road marketplace, defunct for more than 10 years, allowed users to buy and sell illicit goods, including weapons, drugs and stolen credit card information. U.S. authorities arrested its creator, Ross Ulbricht, in 2013. He is serving two life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Magazine: Bitcoin ETFs make Coinbase a ‘honeypot’ for hackers and governments: Trezor CEO
This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available. | Roughly $2 billion in Bitcoin (BTC) previously seized by United States authorities and connected to the Silk Road marketplace has moved to a new address.
Shortly thereafter, the same wallet transferred 30,174 BTC, or roughly $2 billion at the time of publication, to a new address.
Online sleuths identified the DOJ wallet as that containing Bitcoin seized from James Zhong, who in 2022 was convicted of charges connected to “unlawfully obtained” crypto from Silk Road.
Zhong stole more than 50,000 BTC from Silk Road in 2012.
The Silk Road marketplace, defunct for more than 10 years, allowed users to buy and sell illicit goods, including weapons, drugs and stolen credit card information. |
IRS investigation chief expects uptick in crypto tax evasion this year | The United States Internal Revenue Service says it’s gearing up for a significant rise in crypto tax crime cases going forward, as U.S. citizens hit the deadline to file their taxes on April 15.
Speaking to CNBC at the Chainalysis Links event in New York, IRS criminal investigation chief Guy Ficco said his agency was getting ready to deal with an uptick in cases of tax fraud and evasion that have come along with it.
“There’s going to be a lot more charged Title 26 crypto cases this year and moving forward.”
A Title 26 tax code refers to citizens who willfully evade paying taxes by lying or obfuscating their reporting documents.
Ficco said that crypto had previously been used mostly as a tool in financial crimes such as fraud, scams, and money laundering — however, he said his agency had recently observed a drastic uptick in “pure crypto tax crimes,” and expected even more in the near future.
Ficco said his agency is prepared for an increase in crypto tax crime. Source: CNBC
“This could be purely not reporting income generated from crypto sales, it could be hiding the true basis of crypto and that’s an area I anticipate an increase in,” Ficco said.
He mentioned that his agency has partnered with blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis as well as several other law enforcement agencies to better crack down on crypto crime.
“My IRS special agents are phenomenal at tracing and following money, but some of the tools and applications that are needed in the crypto world — that’s where the experts at Chainalysis come in,” he said.
Ficco also outlined some basic rules for those looking to file their taxes properly and not get stung by the IRS.
Related: Biden's mining tax is the least sensible part of his 2025 budget proposal
“The basic rule of thumb is that you have a basis in the asset. When you dispose of that asset [...] the point where you sold is your disposition,” said Ficco.
“If you acquire something at $10,000 and you sold it for $20,000 — you have a $10,000 gain and that’s what you need to pay tax on.”
Ficco said his agency had grown more aggressive when investigating and prosecuting U.S. citizens who had either failed to report their crypto taxes in the past as well as those who had actively obfuscated or lied on their tax return.
On Feb. 6, a federal grand jury indicted Texas man Frank Richard Ahlgren III with filing false tax returns avoiding reporting requirements on more than $4 million worth of gains made on Bitcoin (BTC).
Magazine: ‘SEAL 911’ team of white hats formed to fight crypto hacks in real time | The United States Internal Revenue Service says it’s gearing up for a significant rise in crypto tax crime cases going forward, as U.S. citizens hit the deadline to file their taxes on April 15.
Speaking to CNBC at the Chainalysis Links event in New York, IRS criminal investigation chief Guy Ficco said his agency was getting ready to deal with an uptick in cases of tax fraud and evasion that have come along with it.
Ficco said his agency is prepared for an increase in crypto tax crime.
Ficco also outlined some basic rules for those looking to file their taxes properly and not get stung by the IRS.
Magazine: ‘SEAL 911’ team of white hats formed to fight crypto hacks in real time |
Bybit crypto exchange launches trading platform in the Netherlands | Bybit, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volumes, is expanding operations in Europe after facing regulatory scrutiny in Hong Kong.
On March 28, Bybit officially announced the launch of its digital asset platform, Bybit.nl, in the Netherlands. The new local trading platform is regulated in the country and designed to provide Dutch users access to cryptocurrency trading and education resources.
Dutch users can immediately deposit, withdraw, trade and use staking through Bybit card on Bybit.nl, a spokesperson for Bybit told Cointelegraph.
The launch of Bybit.nl is enabled through collaboration with Satos, one of the oldest Bitcoin (BTC)-focused companies in the Netherlands. Through the partnership, Bybit’s Dutch users can deposit and withdraw fiat currency and trade over 300 pairs.
"Through a strategic partnership with Satos, a licensed virtual asset service provider recognized by De Nederlandsche Bank, Bybit is allowed to provide crypto services in compliant with local regulatory requirements," the Bybit spokesperson stated. The initial partnership was signed in June 2023.
Bybit’s launch in the Netherlands aims to further the company’s commitment to serving users while upholding regulatory compliance, Bybit co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou said. He added:
“Through our partnership with Satos, we aim to provide Dutch users with a secure and seamless trading experience, backed by industry-leading security measures and unparalleled support.”
According to some local reports, Bybit was discontinuing some of its services in February 2024. The exchange specifically shut down derivatives services in the Netherlands in compliance with guidelines by the Dutch central bank.
“The first changes to the new regulations will be effective from March 5,” Cryptotag’s head of communications Indy Rottier wrote in a LinkedIn post on Feb. 20.
According to Rottier, other major global exchanges like Binance and Gemini were forced to terminate their operations in the Netherlands to comply with local laws in 2023.
Related: Philippines to block Binance exchange
The news comes a few weeks after Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a public warning against Bybit on March 14. The regulator elaborated that Bybit offered crypto-related products in a number of jurisdictions without holding a license.
“The SFC is concerned that these products have also been offered to Hong Kong investors and wishes to make it clear that no entity in the Bybit group is licensed by or registered with the SFC to conduct any ‘regulated activity’ in Hong Kong,” said the regulator.
Established in 2018, Bybit is one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges. According to data from Kaiko, Bybit’s daily spot trading volume peaked at $4.3 billion on March 4, ranking the second biggest exchange after Binance, which reached nearly $24 billion in volumes on that day.
Magazine: ‘SEAL 911’ team of white hats formed to fight crypto hacks in real time | On March 28, Bybit officially announced the launch of its digital asset platform, Bybit.nl, in the Netherlands.
The new local trading platform is regulated in the country and designed to provide Dutch users access to cryptocurrency trading and education resources.
Dutch users can immediately deposit, withdraw, trade and use staking through Bybit card on Bybit.nl, a spokesperson for Bybit told Cointelegraph.
Through the partnership, Bybit’s Dutch users can deposit and withdraw fiat currency and trade over 300 pairs.
The exchange specifically shut down derivatives services in the Netherlands in compliance with guidelines by the Dutch central bank. |
Tron argues SEC ‘not a worldwide regulator’ and lawsuit goes ‘too far’ | The entity behind layer-1 blockchain Tron has asked a New York federal court to dismiss a United States Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit against it, arguing the U.S. regulator targeting “predominantly foreign conduct.”
“The SEC is not a worldwide regulator,” and its effort to apply U.S. security laws to “predominantly foreign conduct” goes “too far,” the Tron Foundation said in a March 28 dismissal motion in a New York federal court.
Last March, the SEC sued Justin Sun, the Tron Foundation, file-sharing platform backers the BitTorrent Foundation and its San Francisco-based parent firm, Rainberry Inc. — the latter two Tron acquired in 2018 — alleging its sale of Tron (TRX) and BitTorrent (BTT) tokens are unregistered securities offerings.
The Singapore-based Tron said in its motion that the SEC’s case is against “foreign digital asset offerings to foreign purchasers on global platforms” for which it has no authority.
Tron claimed the tokens were sold “entirely overseas” with steps taken to avoid the U.S. market and that the SEC didn’t allege they “were offered or sold initially to any U.S. residents.”
It said the SEC’s claim that later secondary token sales “on a U.S.-based platform serving users worldwide” were unregistered U.S. securities “is tenuous at best.”
Highlighted excerpt of Tron and Sun’s motion to dismiss. Source: CourtListener
Even if the SEC had authority, the tokens fail classification as investment contracts under the U.S. securities classification, the Howey test, Tron argued.
In its suit, the SEC also claimed Sun, a Chinese-born Grenadian citizen, engaged in “manipulative wash trading” — where one entity buys and sells a token to simulate market activity — and secretly paid celebrities, including Soulja Boy and Akon, to promote the tokens.
“No particularized facts show that the trades were actually ‘wash trades,’ wrongfully executed for illegitimate purposes (much less affecting anyone in the United States),” Tron wrote in its motion.
“The SEC also does not allege a single victim,” it added.
Related: CFTC commissioner warns against infringing on SEC’s authority in KuCoin case
Tron’s other arguments included that the SEC failed to detail “factual allegations, laying out each defendant’s role in each claim” and relied on “generalizations and conclusions to support its already thin, frequently indiscernible claims.”
“For example, although the SEC purports to allege fraud, no material misstatement is alleged, leaving Defendants (and the Court) to speculate on the precise basis for those claims,” it wrote.
Tron also argued the case should be dismissed under the major questions doctrine — a Supreme Court ruling saying Congress will pass laws and not give authority to regulators, which other crypto firms, including Kraken and Coinbase, have cited in SEC lawsuit dismissal bids.
The SEC should file its own response to Tron’s motion within two weeks. The SEC declined to comment beyond the public filings.
Magazine: Crypto regulation — Does SEC Chair Gary Gensler have the final say?
Update (April 1, 11:15 pm UTC): This article has been updated to include that the SEC declined comment. | Last March, the SEC sued Justin Sun, the Tron Foundation, file-sharing platform backers the BitTorrent Foundation and its San Francisco-based parent firm, Rainberry Inc. — the latter two Tron acquired in 2018 — alleging its sale of Tron (TRX) and BitTorrent (BTT) tokens are unregistered securities offerings.
The Singapore-based Tron said in its motion that the SEC’s case is against “foreign digital asset offerings to foreign purchasers on global platforms” for which it has no authority.
Source: CourtListenerEven if the SEC had authority, the tokens fail classification as investment contracts under the U.S. securities classification, the Howey test, Tron argued.
The SEC should file its own response to Tron’s motion within two weeks.
Update (April 1, 11:15 pm UTC): This article has been updated to include that the SEC declined comment. |
Fiat ramps still the ‘biggest gateway’ to crypto — Exec | Despite a shift in volume in fiat on- and off-ramps, they remain the biggest gateway for leading Web2 users into crypto, according to Aviessa Khoo, executive director at crypto ramp solutions provider Mercuryo.
At the recent Token2049 event in Dubai, Khoo told Cointelegraph that between 2017 and 2022, there were more transaction volumes for their on-ramp solutions as they were coming from centralized exchanges.
The executive explained that, more recently, their crypto volumes have been diverted into noncustodial wallets, which suggests that users are buying and holding on to their assets.
Main stage of the recent Token2049 event in Dubai. Source: Cointelegraph
Even though ramp solutions have seen a shift, Khoo still believes that it’s an important tool that can help non-crypto natives get into the world of Web3. She said:
“On-ramp is definitely still the biggest gateway to onboard Web2 users into Web3, bridging these non-crypto users into Web3. If you talk about fiat on-ramp, the infrastructure is good for non-crypto native people.”
However, Khoo also recognized that crypto-native users may not be as thrilled about using on-ramp solutions because of the higher fees when paying with Visa or Mastercard debit cards. Khoo explained that these users prefer peer-to-peer (P2P) solutions.
“There’s still a lot of crypto native people who will go to P2P or just any other offline, on-ramp solutions, which are cheaper, maybe higher risk,” Khoo added.
When asked what improvements the crypto space should implement to attract more users, the executive shared that user experience is still crucial to adoption. She explained:
“Because I’m from the payment infrastructure side, I think user experience is very important. And this is something that all the product managers that I have been working with are the most concerned on.”
Khoo also shared her interaction with an investor with a Bitcoin wallet from around 2017 who could not remember their password. “These are like investors, but they are non-crypto natives,” she explained.
“If you ask me how are we able to onboard all these users easily to boost the conversion rate of Web2 users into Web3, I definitely think that UX plays the most important part,” Khoo added.
Related: Here’s how crypto game Notcoin onboarded over 30M users — Founder
Apart from Khoo, Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov spoke about user experience at Token2049. Nazarov said that the current user experience in the crypto space is “nowhere near what it needs to be.”
The executive believes that there’s still a lot to be done in that regard and explained that crypto must still improve its usability to achieve mainstream adoption.
Magazine: Get Bitcoin or die tryin’: Why hip hop stars love crypto | Despite a shift in volume in fiat on- and off-ramps, they remain the biggest gateway for leading Web2 users into crypto, according to Aviessa Khoo, executive director at crypto ramp solutions provider Mercuryo.
She said:“On-ramp is definitely still the biggest gateway to onboard Web2 users into Web3, bridging these non-crypto users into Web3.
When asked what improvements the crypto space should implement to attract more users, the executive shared that user experience is still crucial to adoption.
She explained:“Because I’m from the payment infrastructure side, I think user experience is very important.
Related: Here’s how crypto game Notcoin onboarded over 30M users — FounderApart from Khoo, Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov spoke about user experience at Token2049. |
Can the future of music be decentralized, community-focused and AI-friendly? | Music has always been seen as a universal language able to connect people from various walks of life, cultures and backgrounds. It has also been used as a way of introducing new ideas and technologies.
Generally, the music industry has always been eager to adopt new technologies that help creativity, speed up the production process, and make it more accessible. Artists can now make full albums in their bedrooms using technology that didn’t even exist 10 to 20 years ago.
The same can be seen with new Web3 tools like blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence (AI) and their ever-growing use cases in music-related endeavors.
In recent years, artists have used nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to release singles or create exclusive experiences for fans, AI to reinvent artists and sounds, and blockchain as a way to revolutionize music streaming.
Audius, a decentralized music streaming and monetization platform, has been heavily involved in the converging Web3 and music space since 2018.
The platform has made a name for itself capturing the attention of mainstream artists like Deadmau5 and Skrillex and their fans, being a gateway for many to the next iteration of digital integrations.
Cointelegraph sat down with Audius co-founders Roneil Rumburg and Forrest Browning to better understand how the future of music can be decentralized, community-focused and AI-friendly all at the same time.
Building for adoption
While the crypto and Web3 space has been a “niche” industry for the majority of its existence until now, music, on the other hand, is nearly all-encompassing. Browning said this was the platform’s initial approach:
“Music is a hell of a gateway drug to crypto more broadly. The way Audius works and has worked from the beginning is that we’re going after the mainstream Web2 audience, rather than a tool or a protocol for the niche Web3 community. This is being built with the intention of going mainstream.”
He said this included taking an engineering and product perspective that hid and “abstracted away” the more “scary parts” of Web3 that may deter the typical Web2 user who may not understand those aspects.
This way, users can decide how much they want to interact with the important Web3 features that underlie the platform.
“If you want to start to pull back the onion and get into kind of wallet addresses and sending around crypto or sending tips, you can do all that,” he said.
“But if your primary use case is to use it like a normal Web2 streaming service and listen to your favorite artists, perhaps buy a track because you’re a super fan of somebody who uploaded a song, all those Web2 mainstream mechanisms are there. It’s on us to make that usable for you as an end user.”
While many developers in the Web3 space wrestle with the idea of how to attract a wider user base beyond crypto natives, music organically allows for that inflow due to the familiar aspects of streaming, uploading tracks or even being a super fan of an artist looking to collect merchandise.
“Users don't have to know that every time they favorite a track, repost something, upload a song — all of that’s being documented on the blockchain. It’s all moving around on properly decentralized rails, but both the artists and the fans don’t have to know any of that if they don’t want to.”
Related: How the music industry is battling AI deepfakes one state at a time with the ELVIS Act
Fandom isn’t speculative
In March 2023, Audius introduced NFT-gating to its platform to allow its artists the ability to make certain songs, mixes and track stems (individual audio elements of a complete song) accessible only to fans who hold a specific NFT.
However, this NFT feature was introduced to the platform at a time when the NFT market was in a major lull.
According to data from CoinGecko, NFT trading volume in 2023 was down 50% from the previous year, sliding from $26.3 billion down to $11.8 billion.
When asked if NFT utility in the music industry differs from general NFT market trends due to it being connected to music and artists, Rumburg commented:
“The speculative side of NFTs is very much market dependent. The fandom side is not. I think kind of focusing on the latter with all the features that we build helped us weather the cycles in terms of usage.”
He added that the problem with chasing speculative financial use cases is that the usage of those tools now becomes cyclical and cyclically dependent. For Audius, on the other hand, the focus has been first and foremost on the artists or fans and not the purely speculator class.
“It has trade-offs because it also means that when the market is very hot, we don’t capture as much of that activity,” he said. “But the activity we do capture is durable and delivers value.”
Browning said that as time went on, the community on Audius began pushing for more than just an engagement platform, which grew into the marketplace they “always envisioned Audius would become.”
Empowered AI
In the face of rapidly emerging generative AI tools, the team behind Audius also considered its own decentralized community and how to best empower artists yet encourage innovation.
Last May, the platform rolled out a feature that allowed artists to display an “AI friendly” label on their profile, which lets a fan base know they can train on the artist’s work.
Browning explained that anything created by an Audius artist using generative AI will end up tagging the original artist. “Then there’s a nice social graph, and it shows up that it is an AI generation of this other artist.”
“It’s all about making sure that if a lot of smart people are trying to figure out the legal aspect of this, from a moral and artist empowerment side, we just want to let everybody do what feels right to those involved.”
Magazine: Creating ‘good’ AGI that won’t kill us all: Crypto’s Artificial Superintelligence Alliance | Music has always been seen as a universal language able to connect people from various walks of life, cultures and backgrounds.
Artists can now make full albums in their bedrooms using technology that didn’t even exist 10 to 20 years ago.
In recent years, artists have used nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to release singles or create exclusive experiences for fans, AI to reinvent artists and sounds, and blockchain as a way to revolutionize music streaming.
Audius, a decentralized music streaming and monetization platform, has been heavily involved in the converging Web3 and music space since 2018.
Cointelegraph sat down with Audius co-founders Roneil Rumburg and Forrest Browning to better understand how the future of music can be decentralized, community-focused and AI-friendly all at the same time. |
Starknet explains reasons for 4-hour block outage | Ethereum layer-2 protocol Starknet suffered a block reorganization that led to a backlog of transactions. The protocol’s block monitoring tool, Starkscan, showed an outage of four hours in block production.
Starkscan shows a gap between the creation of blocks 630028 and 630029 on April 4, while Starknet’s status page did not reflect any outages on the network on the same day.
Starkscan’s block monitor reflects a four-hour gap between locks 630028 and 630029. Source: Starkscan
Starknet subsequently released a statement on X, explaining that a rounding error bug led to a reorganization of blocks. The company said block production continued as usual, but the reorganization caused a transaction backlog that prevented it from reaching full capacity.
“Consequently, there were a few minutes during which new transactions could not be accepted for processing and were therefore rejected. Moreover, some transactions were reverted due to changing parameters (e.g., timestamps),” the post explains.
Cointelegraph contacted Starknet to confirm the details of the incident but has not received additional information and if block production was halted as per block data.
Starknet’s status page last reflects a major outage on March 13 when its network experienced slow block creation due to Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade.
Starknet’s status page shows the last major incident on March 13 during Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade. Source: Starknet Status
Starknet’s outage is the latest in a series of hiccups for some of the ecosystem’s largest blockchain networks.
Solana suffered a significant outage in early February 2024. Downtime in block production on its mainnet halted the network’s block progression for over five hours.
It was not the first time Solana had gone down. Since January 2022, Solana has seen around half a dozen significant outages and 15 partial or major outage days.
Solana-focused software development firm Anza released a postmortem report of the recent outage on Feb. 9.
The report revealed that Solana’s Just-in-Time (JIT) compilation cache, which compiles all programs before executing a transaction, encountered a bug.
Related: Starknet anticipates significant impact from Ethereum’s Dencun hard fork
Austin Federa, head of strategy at the Solana Foundation, told Cointelegraph that a process was underway to replace the old loader system with a new motor system, but it was scheduled to be disabled with an updated version.
“It looks like someone intentionally called that old instruction set, which hadn’t been used in quite a long time but was still around in the codebase. The JIT compiler ran into issues where it couldn’t find what it was looking for. And that’s what created the infinite loop,” Federa told Cointelegraph.
Solana encountered problems again in early April, with close to 75% of all transactions on the network failing amid a deluge of activity brought by the recent memecoin mania.
Analysts suggest that these failed transactions are mainly due to bot activities on Solana, which look to carry out arbitrage trades.
Magazine: Ethereum’s ERC-20 design flaws are a crypto scammer’s best friend | Ethereum layer-2 protocol Starknet suffered a block reorganization that led to a backlog of transactions.
The protocol’s block monitoring tool, Starkscan, showed an outage of four hours in block production.
The company said block production continued as usual, but the reorganization caused a transaction backlog that prevented it from reaching full capacity.
Cointelegraph contacted Starknet to confirm the details of the incident but has not received additional information and if block production was halted as per block data.
Downtime in block production on its mainnet halted the network’s block progression for over five hours. |
Metaverse set to revolutionize $54B medical tourism market: Research | 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.
Medical tourism is a form of travel in which patients leave their home country to pursue medical treatments in foreign territories. This can be done for quality reasons, if patients believe they can receive better care outside of their home, for financial reasons to help mitigate the costs of local healthcare, or for myriad other reasons.
In 2022, a team of researchers from Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Shiraz, Iran penned an op-ed in the Iranian Journal of Public Health explaining the benefits of preparing patients for medical tourism via the metaverse.
“Becoming familiar with the tourist attractions of the destination city or country through Metaverse can raise potential tourists’ enthusiasm and excitement to decide for this medical travel,” the researchers wrote, adding that “moreover, Meta-based simulation of the hospital environment can increase patients’ awareness and experiences of the environment that awaits them, thereby reducing their stress, helping them feel more secure, and leading to a better doctor-patient relationship and a higher rate of patient satisfaction.”
According to a report by Omnia Health, the medical tourism industry was worth approximately $54 billion in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic had a slowing effect on the industry’s growth, however, and in 2024, it’s valued at approximately $47 billion. A report from Statista indicates that it’s forecasted to grow to over $111 billion before the end of the decade. This indicates a compound annual growth rate of 19.58%.
In October 2022, the Thumbay Hospital network launched what appears to be the first fully functional metaverse hospital featuring patient services and fees in cryptocurrency.
Related: Average daily active unique wallets reach 7M | 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.
Medical tourism is a form of travel in which patients leave their home country to pursue medical treatments in foreign territories.
In 2022, a team of researchers from Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Shiraz, Iran penned an op-ed in the Iranian Journal of Public Health explaining the benefits of preparing patients for medical tourism via the metaverse.
In October 2022, the Thumbay Hospital network launched what appears to be the first fully functional metaverse hospital featuring patient services and fees in cryptocurrency. |
EU watchdog warns handful of exchanges may dominate crypto market | The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has highlighted the highly concentrated nature of crypto trading and the potential risks it poses to the broader financial ecosystem.
ESMA’s research indicates that about 90% of cryptocurrency transactions are processed by just 10 exchanges, with Binance, the largest among them, commanding half of the market.
The report, released on April 10, comes as the European Union (EU) prepares to implement MiCA, the world’s first extensive regulatory framework for crypto assets.
While such concentration may improve efficiency, it also raises concerns about the consequences of a significant exchange failure or malfunction.
ESMA said the concentration is a concern because a single asset or exchange failure could broadly impact the crypto ecosystem. The authority said in its report:
“The top 10 exchanges execute around 90% of total trading volume and, with a volume of over USD 3.7 trillion or a market share of 49%, Binance is the largest exchange. The runner-up, Upbit, recorded only about a seventh of this volume.”
However, over time, this concentration has grown. In 2019, it stood at 54%, and as per ESMA’s latest data, it has surged to 73%.
Related: Upcoming DeFi rules in Europe could ban non-decentralized protocols
The report also highlights that the euro has a limited presence in cryptocurrency trading despite the announcement of the MiCA regulation. However, as it is intended to enhance investor protection, it could constitute a potential growth driver once implemented in 2024. ESMA explained:
“The distribution of involved fiat money reflects a high reliance on the U.S. dollar and the South Korean won as the market’s on- and off-ramp. The euro only plays a minor role and the announcement of the MiCA regulation has not caused an increase in euro transactions so far.”
Additionally, ESMA refutes the idea that cryptocurrencies act as safe havens during times of market stress, citing their correlation with equities and lack of stability relative to gold.
MiCA, first proposed in September 2020 and approved by the European Parliament in April 2023, aims to usher in a new era of crypto asset regulation, underscoring the industry’s growing significance in the financial sector.
MiCA applies to any crypto assets, including securities and e-money, not currently covered by EU traditional finance regulations.
As the EU rolls out its comprehensive regulatory framework for crypto assets– MiCA, ESMA’s findings underscore the importance of oversight and risk management in this rapidly evolving sector.
Magazine: Big Questions: How can Bitcoin payments stage a comeback? | The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has highlighted the highly concentrated nature of crypto trading and the potential risks it poses to the broader financial ecosystem.
The report, released on April 10, comes as the European Union (EU) prepares to implement MiCA, the world’s first extensive regulatory framework for crypto assets.
ESMA said the concentration is a concern because a single asset or exchange failure could broadly impact the crypto ecosystem.
MiCA applies to any crypto assets, including securities and e-money, not currently covered by EU traditional finance regulations.
As the EU rolls out its comprehensive regulatory framework for crypto assets– MiCA, ESMA’s findings underscore the importance of oversight and risk management in this rapidly evolving sector. |
What to expect at Sam Bankman-Fried’s sentencing hearing | On March 28, former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried will face a judge and learn whether his time in federal prison is ending or just beginning following his conviction on seven felony charges.
Judge Lewis Kaplan will hear from prosecutors and SBF’s attorneys in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York for one of the last times the former FTX CEO will appear in person as part of his criminal case. The sentencing hearing will likely conclude the matter, which started with the collapse of FTX in November 2022 and continued with Bankman-Fried’s arrest, extradition, trial and conviction.
In November 2023, a jury found SBF guilty of charges that included wire fraud, securities fraud, commodities fraud and money laundering. The former CEO’s lawyers were the first to file a sentencing recommendation, suggesting that SBF serve 6.5 years in prison for his actions that led to FTX investors losing access to millions of dollars.
The seven felony counts carry a maximum allowable sentence of 110 years. Prosecutors recommended Bankman-Fried serve between 40 and 50 years to “reflect the seriousness of the defendant’s crimes,” but the decision will come down to Judge Kaplan’s interpretation of the case and consideration of the victims and affected parties.
“I think you’re going to see a sentence of, I’m going to handicap about 30 years, is what I think [SBF] will get — maybe more,” Mark Bini, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York and current partner at law firm Reed Smith, told Cointelegraph. “There’s a big dispute between the government and the defense about the loss number here — what is the actual amount that was lost, because that’s a big driver of the guidelines.”
Bini said the sentencing guidelines would require Judge Kaplan to consider the amount lost at the time of the collapse of FTX rather than any repayment plan the firm has proposed in bankruptcy proceedings. One proposed plan would reimburse FTX users in fiat for their lost crypto based on prices in November 2022 — many have pointed out that this would cause them to miss out on recent surges in the price of Bitcoin (BTC) and other tokens.
“My whole life has been destroyed,” said one unidentified FTX user with two children in a victim impact statement to the court. “I did not agree to the risk that SBF took with my funds.”
Related: Crypto users weigh in on Sam Bankman-Fried’s prison time ahead of sentencing memo
Bankman-Fried’s case is mainly new ground regarding a high-profile figure from the digital asset space going through a full trial and being convicted and sentenced. Ross Ulbricht, creator of the Silk Road marketplace, was sentenced to two life sentences without the possibility of parole in 2015. Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos, was sentenced to more than 11 years for exaggerating or falsifying claims about the firm’s blood-testing technology.
In the crypto world, former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has pleaded guilty to one felony count related to failure to maintain an effective Anti-Money Laundering program at the crypto exchange and is scheduled to be sentenced in April. Former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky, charged with defrauding and misleading customers, is set to go to trial in January 2025.
“I don’t think that we’ll see [CZ’s] case impacted that much because they’re very different types,” said Bini. “The Mashinsky case, it could have big consequences because you’ve got the same defense attorney who’s now representing SBF and both of those being in the Southern District of New York. They’re not exactly the same, but [...] certainly Mashinsky will be watching.”
Bankman-Fried’s sentencing is scheduled to begin at 9:30 am ET in New York on March 28, his first appearance in court since waiving a potential conflict of interest for his lawyers. It’s unclear if SBF’s family will be in attendance.
Magazine: ‘Less flashy’ Mashinsky set for less jail time than SBF: Inner City Press, X Hall of Flame | On March 28, former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried will face a judge and learn whether his time in federal prison is ending or just beginning following his conviction on seven felony charges.
The sentencing hearing will likely conclude the matter, which started with the collapse of FTX in November 2022 and continued with Bankman-Fried’s arrest, extradition, trial and conviction.
In November 2023, a jury found SBF guilty of charges that included wire fraud, securities fraud, commodities fraud and money laundering.
Former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky, charged with defrauding and misleading customers, is set to go to trial in January 2025.
Magazine: ‘Less flashy’ Mashinsky set for less jail time than SBF: Inner City Press, X Hall of Flame |
ZachXBT won’t assist after memecoin devs throw tokenholders under the bus | Prominent blockchain sleuth ZachXBT has refused to assist holders of the Complex (SIMPLE) 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 project wrote, adding: “While this project has been a labor of love and a source of inspiration for our team, recent instances of harassment have created an untenable environment that impacts the mental well-being of our members.”
Meanwhile, SIMPLE will remain liquidity-locked until a later date, allowing users to sell their token holdings until then. At the time of publication, SIMPLE has lost over 90% of its value in the past 24 hours and now has a negligible market cap.
It appears that users were very dissatisfied with the developers’ reference to “mental health” as the main reason for the project’s shutdown. “What kind of cringe shit is this?” wrote one user. “You guys didn’t even last a week and rugging using mental health as an excuse, might as well just rug without this pathetic attempt of a post expecting people to clap for you. Idiots.”
Other angry users turned to ZachXBT in search of help. However, the blockchain sleuth was also dissatisfied, albeit at the incoming help requests: “No, I do not care about your meme coins stop asking me,” replied Zach. “I simply dislike spending long periods helping people who willingly choose to gamble on vaporware meme coins vs actual victims," he continued. “You do not even follow me and then speak poorly of me yet expect me to want to spend time helping you for free?”
Another user who chimed in appears to have developed a deeper (and more poetic) understanding of the situation. “You expose people, and they attack you; you don’t expose, people attack you; God bless you, ZachXBT, this space wouldn’t be the same without you,” they wrote.
It appears that the Complex memecoin project ended just days after its initial debut on March 30. The protocol had previously reached a high of 3,013 tokenholders. Amid the ongoing crypto bull market, memecoins have displayed average returns of 1,312.6%, the highest among the top tokens by market capitalization.
Related: Trader turns $13K into $2M within 1 hour as memecoin frenzy continues | Prominent blockchain sleuth ZachXBT has refused to assist holders of the Complex (SIMPLE) memecoin, minted on the Base blockchain, after its developers abruptly shut down the project on April 4.
It appears that users were very dissatisfied with the developers’ reference to “mental health” as the main reason for the project’s shutdown.
It appears that the Complex memecoin project ended just days after its initial debut on March 30.
Amid the ongoing crypto bull market, memecoins have displayed average returns of 1,312.6%, the highest among the top tokens by market capitalization.
Related: Trader turns $13K into $2M within 1 hour as memecoin frenzy continues |
Bitcoin needs to hold above $80,000 to keep mining profitable post-halving | According to data from CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju, the current cost of mining using Antminer S19 XPs will rise from $40,000 to $80,000 after the Bitcoin halving in mid-April.
The Bitcoin halving is a milestone event occurring every 210,000 blocks or roughly every four years. The halving event cuts the block reward earned by miners by half.
Apart from indirectly impacting the price of Bitcoin (BTC), the halving event significantly impacts miner behavior, as mining costs double to earn the same amount of BTC.
After the May 2020 halving, the price for miners to continue mining profitably rose above $30,000, but the price of BTC also pumped to a new all-time high of $69,000 during the same cycle.
The average Bitcoin mining cost as of April 6 is $49,902, and the BTC price is above $70,000 at the time of writing. After the halving on April 20, average mining costs will rise above $80,000, and for miners to continue operating profitably, the BTC price must trade higher than that price.
Average Bitcoin mining cost. Source: MacroMicro
Historically, BTC prices have seen a multifold jump in price after the halving. Following the 2012 halving, the price of Bitcoin increased by around 9,000% to $1,162.
After the 2016 halving, the price of Bitcoin increased by about 4,200% to $19,800, and after the 2020 halving, the price of Bitcoin increased by almost 683% to $69,000.
Related: Bitcoin halving will have to battle with ‘weak time of year’ — Coinbase
Thus, miners have remained profitable despite fears of going out of business after each halving. Halving events also make several mining machines obsolete, as they can’t compete with the high hashing power demand.
After each halving, there comes a period when the BTC price remains below the miner’s profitable price. This period is marred by uncertainty and an increased selling of mining rigs, coupled with many small and lone miners often going out of business.
However, as demand increases due to the declining market supply, the price picks up and often rises higher than the average mining costs for miners.
Magazine: Creating ‘good’ AGI that won’t kill us all — Crypto’s Artificial Superintelligence Alliance | The Bitcoin halving is a milestone event occurring every 210,000 blocks or roughly every four years.
Apart from indirectly impacting the price of Bitcoin (BTC), the halving event significantly impacts miner behavior, as mining costs double to earn the same amount of BTC.
The average Bitcoin mining cost as of April 6 is $49,902, and the BTC price is above $70,000 at the time of writing.
Average Bitcoin mining cost.
After the 2016 halving, the price of Bitcoin increased by about 4,200% to $19,800, and after the 2020 halving, the price of Bitcoin increased by almost 683% to $69,000. |
Taiwanese music celebrity’s Solana memecoin sees wild price action after $40M presale | Boba Oppa (BOBAOPPA), a Solana-based memecoin created by Taiwanese music celebrity and blockchain personality Machi Big Brother (aka Jeffrey Huang), has taken tokenholders on a rollercoaster ride after a $40 million presale.
According to GeckoTerminal data on April 2, the Boba Oppa memecoin opened at a high of 0.001474 at launch on March 30 before plunging 74% to a low of 0.0003854 shortly after. At the time of publication, Boba Oppa has somewhat recovered at a price of $0.0007194. On March 28, investors sent over 200,000 SOL (SOL) to the Boba Oppa memecoin address based on one single tweet, raising over $40 million for the venture. The token has since grown to a market cap of $73 million, but not all participants are happy.
“Never buying a presale ever again," one user wrote on X, adding: "My $10K is now worth $129.00, WTF man.” Meanwhile, crypto influencer Borovik.sol, too, chimed in on the investor panic: "What’s the point of presales if everyone sells after 5 minutes?” he asked.
But the biggest insight into the wild trading action came from Machi Big Brother himself, who explained that unlike a traditional memecoin pump-and-dump scheme, Boba Oppa is instead a “dump-and-pump” token. “We are not the same. Let that sink in,” Huang wrote. “Can I make back the $29977 I lost through the passive income?” asked one user regarding the Boba Oppa price variance. “Only if you pray hard enough,” Huang replied.
Inspired by the recent surge of canine-themed Solana memecoins, Huang created the Boba Oppa token, too, with a backstory. According to the project's official website:
“Once upon a time, Boba Oppa, son of Machi Big Brother, set out on a journey for generational wealth and to lose his virginity. Through his trials and tribulations he created $BOBAOPPA, the memecoin that harnesses the power of DeFi.”
Solana memecoins have been on a wild run, with $149.2 million raised from 33 presales within the past month alone. Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana, has since warned investors to “stop doing this” amid the ongoing craze.
Related: Solana struggles to recapture $200, but DApp and derivatives markets remain bullish | According to GeckoTerminal data on April 2, the Boba Oppa memecoin opened at a high of 0.001474 at launch on March 30 before plunging 74% to a low of 0.0003854 shortly after.
At the time of publication, Boba Oppa has somewhat recovered at a price of $0.0007194.
On March 28, investors sent over 200,000 SOL (SOL) to the Boba Oppa memecoin address based on one single tweet, raising over $40 million for the venture.
“Can I make back the $29977 I lost through the passive income?” asked one user regarding the Boba Oppa price variance.
Inspired by the recent surge of canine-themed Solana memecoins, Huang created the Boba Oppa token, too, with a backstory. |
Bitcoin halving 2024 — Done and dusted! | Bitcoin successfully went through its fourth halving event after its 840,000th block was mined. The event slashes mining rewards in half.
The event has the crypto community eagerly awaiting what’s next for the Bitcoin (BTC) price, with some predictions reaching as high as $250,000.
At the time of publication, Bitcoin’s price is $63,960, up 1.16% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap data.
From today onwards, Bitcoin miners will receive 3.125 BTC per mined block, down from the previous 6.25 BTC.
The halving is a programmed process in the Bitcoin protocol that happens every 210,000 blocks mined, which is roughly every four years.
The last three halvings occurred in 2012, 2016 and 2020, leading to significant drops in mining rewards over time. The first Bitcoin halving occurred in 2012 when the reward for mining a block was reduced from 50 to 25 BTC.
The primary purpose behind the Bitcoin halving is to ensure scarcity and reduce Bitcoin’s inflation rate over time. Bitcoin’s pseudonymous founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, built the mechanism into the code.
Cutting mining rewards in half slows the rate at which new Bitcoin is created.
The halvings will continue until roughly 2140, when all Bitcoin is mined.
Major Bitcoin miners have been getting ready for the event. Marathon Digital recently announced its plans to acquire a 200-megawatt Bitcoin mining facility in Texas for $87.3 million.
Meanwhile, in December 2023, competitor Bitcoin mining firm Riot Platforms purchased 66,560 mining rigs from manufacturer MicroBT in one of the largest expansions of hash rate in the firm’s history.
Related: Bitcoin halving supply shock set to shake up mining sector
M2 CEO Stefan Kimmel told Cointelegraph:
The Bitcoin halving is a pivotal event that historically signals a shift in the market, usually initiating a bullish trend over the following months. As we approached the fourth halving, the anticipation built, suggesting a continued — if slightly more subdued — upward trajectory.
Despite short-term predictions of price volatility within the crypto community, there remains optimism about the long-term potential of Bitcoin’s price.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, billionaire investor Tim Draper believes that the halving is going to help push Bitcoin’s price up to “$250,000 or more,” a forecast he has consistently proclaimed, particularly in 2022.
“The simple reason that Bitcoin price goes up after the halving is that the supply goes down, and with continued upward pressure on demand, the price goes up naturally in a free market.”
Meanwhile, Herbert Sim, aka “Bitcoin Man,” told Cointelegraph that there are currently other elements at play when speculating over Bitcoin’s price.
“Halving is not the only thing to look out for in the price action,” he declared, indicating that the recent approval of the Bitcoin ETF in Hong Kong will also potentially have a major price impact.
“The big banks of China will all have to start buying Bitcoin themselves too,” Sim stated.
Magazine: Get Bitcoin or die tryin’: Why hip hop stars love crypto | Bitcoin successfully went through its fourth halving event after its 840,000th block was mined.
The first Bitcoin halving occurred in 2012 when the reward for mining a block was reduced from 50 to 25 BTC.
The primary purpose behind the Bitcoin halving is to ensure scarcity and reduce Bitcoin’s inflation rate over time.
Marathon Digital recently announced its plans to acquire a 200-megawatt Bitcoin mining facility in Texas for $87.3 million.
Related: Bitcoin halving supply shock set to shake up mining sectorM2 CEO Stefan Kimmel told Cointelegraph:The Bitcoin halving is a pivotal event that historically signals a shift in the market, usually initiating a bullish trend over the following months. |
dYdX Chain halts production following scheduled network upgrade | Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol dYdX has announced it is investigating a recent halt in block production as the chain underwent a scheduled upgrade.
On April 8 at 5:30 am UTC, dYdX published a status report stating the chain was proceeding with a scheduled protocol upgrade and that functionalities of the dYdX Chain may be disrupted.
However, the chain did not resume block production after the scheduled maintenance.
At the time of writing, the blockchain explorer platform Nodes Guru shows that the latest blocks produced by the dYdX mainnet were from the time of the scheduled upgrade, which was five hours prior.
Blocks produced by the dYdX mainnet (GST timezone). Source: Nodes Guru
DYdX also confirmed that the chain encountered an issue and said at 6:50 am UTC that its team was already debugging it. However, the team said the issue is still being investigated and might not be resolved until later. It wrote:
“The issue continues to be investigated. It’s been agreed to reconvene with the validators around 15:00 UTC. This means that the devs won’t suggest a workaround or a fix until then so that the validators won’t get jailed for not being online when the chain restarts.”
The protocol upgrade was proposed on Feb. 21. It included advancements such as order book features, risk and safety improvements and Cosmos-related enhancements.
The outage comes after a recent development in dYdX when the community approved the staking of 20 million tokens.
On April 6, the dYdX community voted to allow $61 million in treasury tokens to be staked on the liquid staking protocol called Stride.
DYdX highlighted that the move follows the growth in trading activity within the protocol. “The rate of DYDX being staked to validators has plateaued and deposits to the exchange are growing at a tremendous pace,” it wrote.
Related: dYdX founder blames v3 central components for ‘targeted attack,’ involves FBI
The dYdX Chain also suffered a targeted attack in November 2023, which led to $9 million in losses.
On Jan. 3, the protocol said it had already identified the attacker and was considering legal action. It also said it had improved its trading platform to enhance monitoring and alerts.
Magazine: SBF gets 25 years in prison, Fidelity eyes ETH staking, and Coinbase’s court loss: Hodler’s Digest | Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol dYdX has announced it is investigating a recent halt in block production as the chain underwent a scheduled upgrade.
On April 8 at 5:30 am UTC, dYdX published a status report stating the chain was proceeding with a scheduled protocol upgrade and that functionalities of the dYdX Chain may be disrupted.
At the time of writing, the blockchain explorer platform Nodes Guru shows that the latest blocks produced by the dYdX mainnet were from the time of the scheduled upgrade, which was five hours prior.
On April 6, the dYdX community voted to allow $61 million in treasury tokens to be staked on the liquid staking protocol called Stride.
Related: dYdX founder blames v3 central components for ‘targeted attack,’ involves FBIThe dYdX Chain also suffered a targeted attack in November 2023, which led to $9 million in losses. |
Bitcoin ETF activity to remain robust until the halving: Santiment | Spot Bitcoin (BTC) 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, “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.
Santiment speculated that it is a “likely foregone conclusion” that the high ETF activity will continue leading up to the Bitcoin halving in around two weeks.
The Bitcoin halving event, which happens every four years, is estimated to occur on April 20.
According to Santiment, there has been $3.19 billion daily volume among the top seven ETFs. However, “it will be interesting to see whether a drop-off in ETF volume and on-chain volume will occur directly afterward,” it added.
Lucas Kiely of Yield App recently suggested that the accumulation of Bitcoin via ETFs could reduce the likelihood of large swings after the halving.
Bitcoin ETF volumes. Source: Santiment
Spot Bitcoin ETF volumes soared to $111 billion in March, almost tripling the volume for the previous month, highlighting consistent interest in the products.
According to Farside Investors, Bitcoin ETF inflows picked up at the end of last week, with two days of more than $200 million in net inflow on April 4 and 5.
That followed a couple of low days earlier in the week with an $85.7 million outflow on April 1 in what appeared to be a trend reversal from a strong few days in late March.
Grayscale continues to drag the aggregate figures down with consistent outflows every trading day since it converted to a spot ETF in mid-January. Last week, the firm’s GBTC fund shed $738 million, bringing the total BTC outflow from the product to 294,313 BTC.
Related: Bitcoin ETFs set for ‘even bigger wave’ in next few months: Bitwise
Industry executives remain confident, however. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse predicts that the total crypto market value will double this year, primarily driven by spot ETFs and the Bitcoin halving.
“I’m very optimistic. I think the macro trends, the big picture things like the ETFs, they’re driving for the first time real institutional money,” he told CNBC on April 7.
Magazine: Wolf Of All Streets worries about a world where Bitcoin hits $1M: Hall of Flame | Spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows are likely to remain high until the Bitcoin halving later this month, according to on-chain analytics firm Santiment.
Santiment speculated that it is a “likely foregone conclusion” that the high ETF activity will continue leading up to the Bitcoin halving in around two weeks.
The Bitcoin halving event, which happens every four years, is estimated to occur on April 20.
However, “it will be interesting to see whether a drop-off in ETF volume and on-chain volume will occur directly afterward,” it added.
Related: Bitcoin ETFs set for ‘even bigger wave’ in next few months: BitwiseIndustry executives remain confident, however. |
Ethena Labs adds Bitcoin backing to its USDe synthetic dollar | Ethena Labs, the team behind 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 2.5, Ethena explained in an April 4 post on X.
USDe went live on Ethereum on Feb. 19. At the time, Ethena promised a 27.6% annual percentage yield (APY) on staked USDe, prompting widespread concerns in the community. USDe’s APY topped out at 113% on March 5 but has since fallen to 7.15%.
Excited to announce that Ethena has onboarded BTC as a backing asset to USDe
This is a crucial unlock which will enable USDe to scale significantly from the current $2bn supply pic.twitter.com/FOZRWBrVZV — Ethena Labs (@ethena_labs) April 4, 2024
Ethena said Bitcoin would provide better liquidity and offer a more “safe” and “robust” product for USDe token holders.
“BTC derivative markets are growing at a faster pace than ETH and offer better scalability and liquidity for delta hedging.”
Ethena adopts a delta hedging strategy in the derivatives market to maintain USDe’s peg.
For example, Ethena may have short positions in Ether (ETH) or Ether-based derivatives, which become rewarding when Ether’s price falls. As a result, Ethena can offset any downward volatility from USDe’s collateral to a considerable degree.
Prior to the Bitcoin addition, USDe was backed by ETH, Tether (USDT) and Ether-based liquid staking tokens in proportions of 45%, 38% and 17%, respectively.
The firm sources the bulk of its collateral from Binance, Bybit and OKX in 59%, 15% and 20% proportions, respectively. Deribit, Bitget and BitMEX make up the remaining 6%.
Ethena acknowledged that Bitcoin doesn’t possess a native staking yield like staked Ether but said staking yields of 3%–4% are “less significant” during bull markets where funding rates can exceed 30%.
Related: Ethena will become highest revenue-generating crypto project — Delphi Labs CEO
Ethena is trying to differentiate its synthetic dollar product from stablecoins by eliminating or significantly reducing reliance on the traditional banking system.
USDe currently boasts the fifth-highest market capitalization among United States dollar-denominated products, according to CoinGecko.
Its $2-billion market cap only trails USDT, USD Coin (USDC), Dai (DAI) and First Digital USD (FDUSD).
Magazine: Unstablecoins: Depegging, bank runs and other risks loom | Ethena Labs, the team behind 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.
At the time, Ethena promised a 27.6% annual percentage yield (APY) on staked USDe, prompting widespread concerns in the community.
For example, Ethena may have short positions in Ether (ETH) or Ether-based derivatives, which become rewarding when Ether’s price falls.
Prior to the Bitcoin addition, USDe was backed by ETH, Tether (USDT) and Ether-based liquid staking tokens in proportions of 45%, 38% and 17%, respectively.
Related: Ethena will become highest revenue-generating crypto project — Delphi Labs CEOEthena is trying to differentiate its synthetic dollar product from stablecoins by eliminating or significantly reducing reliance on the traditional banking system. |
Worldcoin will increase WLD supply by up to 19% in the next 6 months | Digital identity project Worldcoin will increase the supply of its WLD token by as much as 19% over the next six months through a swathe of private sales to non-United States institutions.
In an April 23 blog post, Worldcoin shared that World Assets — a subsidiary of the Worldcoin Foundation in charge of token issuance — will sell up to 1.5 million WLD, about $8.2 million worth, every week through a series of “private placements to a select group of institutional trading firms” operating outside of the U.S.
Worldcoin will be increasing the supply of its WLD token over the next six months. Source: Worldcoin
“World Assets expects to sell between 0.5 million and 1.5 million WLD per week on average,” Worldcoin wrote. “The circulating supply of WLD will thus increase correspondingly.”
An increase of up to 1.5 million WLD tokens per week for six months equates to a supply increase of 36 million new tokens hitting the market — currently worth around $197 million, per CoinGecko data.
With a current circulating supply of 193 million WLD tokens, the private sales represent an 18.6% increase in the total available supply within the same time frame.
Worldcoin noted it would negotiate with individual trading firms — especially those engaged in competition with each other — to execute private placements as close to “prevailing [WLD] market prices” as possible, to help minimize potential price impact on the token.
At current prices, Worldcoin touts a market capitalization of $1 billion. However, this pales in comparison to its fully diluted value (FDV) of $54.5 billion — its total value if all tokens were circulating.
Worldcoin is ranked as the 6th largest cryptocurrency by FDV. Source: Coingecko
Related: Portuguese data regulator bans Worldcoin operations for 90 days
Launched out of beta in July 2023, Worldcoin was founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, current Wolrdcoin CEO Alex Blania, and Max Novendstern who also serves as the CEO of biometrics research firm Mana.
Worldcoin is a crypto-based digital identity project that markets itself as providing a solution to identity issues brought about by rapid developments in AI as well as ushering in a novel universal basic income model by way of its native WLD token.
Worldcoin users register a unique identity with the company’s “World App” by scanning their irises at machines referred to by the company as “Orbs.” Once users verify themselves at an Orb, they are then able to op in to claim free WLD tokens — depending on the country they signed up in.
Buoyed by a wider rally in the price of AI-linked crypto projects, Worldcoin soared 435% from a launch price of $2.17 on July 24 to a peak of $11.74 on March 10.
Worldcoin grew more than 450% in six months. Source: CoinGecko
However, its price has tumbled more than 53% from its all-time high in the last few weeks and is currently changing hands for $5.49.
AI Eye: How to get better crypto predictions from ChatGPT, Humane AI pin slammed | Digital identity project Worldcoin will increase the supply of its WLD token by as much as 19% over the next six months through a swathe of private sales to non-United States institutions.
Source: Worldcoin“World Assets expects to sell between 0.5 million and 1.5 million WLD per week on average,” Worldcoin wrote.
“The circulating supply of WLD will thus increase correspondingly.”An increase of up to 1.5 million WLD tokens per week for six months equates to a supply increase of 36 million new tokens hitting the market — currently worth around $197 million, per CoinGecko data.
With a current circulating supply of 193 million WLD tokens, the private sales represent an 18.6% increase in the total available supply within the same time frame.
Worldcoin grew more than 450% in six months. |
GameFi airdrops are here to stay but won’t save a bad game: Execs | Despite lingering resistance from some gamers over “tokenomics,” gaming studios will most likely continue to use airdrops and other incentives to attract players, according to industry executives.
“It’s a very easy way to get market share, said Kieran Warwick, founder of gaming studio Illuvium in an interview with Cointelegraph.
However, games that fail to deliver on the fun, or gameplay aspect, are still doomed to fail, said Warwick.
"The problem with that is if you’re using it as a marketing tool and you don’t have a good product to back it up, then your retention is abysmal."
Shi Khai Wei, founder of venture capital firm LongHash Ventures, also stressed the importance of making the games fun.
“Crypto is very good at acquiring users because of incentives — we have airdrops, play-to-earn mechanics and speculative elements, but to keep the players there, you need to have fun gameplay.”
Axie Infinity was one of the best success stories among blockchain games thus far. However, a $650 million bridge hack, among other things, made it tough for its creator firm, Sky Mavis, to retain users after the last bear market.
“Games that figure out sustainable economics, the right emission schedules, attracting the right kind of players and incentivizing the right kind of gameplay, those are the games that will survive,” said Wei.
Not everyone is looking to make money
Warwick acknowledged that token incentives will inevitably attract airdrop farmers rather than real gamers, but it's a necessary evil to grow the player base.
“It also gets us the attention that we need from people who are gamers in the space,” he added.
His comments come as Illuvium released 200,000 ILV tokens, worth approximately $25 million, for its six-month Play-to-Airdrop initiative last week.
The airdrops will be collectible in Illuvium Arena, Overworld, Zero, and Beyond, which will launch on IMX — an Ethereum NFT-focused layer 2 — at the end of May.
Meanwhile, Gabby Dizon, co-founder of Yield Guild Games argues that while airdrops can play an important role in speeding up GameFi adoption, “not everyone is necessarily looking for a financial return.”
“You could be buying an asset that gives you social status in the same way that you might be buying an expensive car or a watch or clothes.”
GameFi standards still have a way to go
Dizon and Warwick believe GameFi is still about 14-15 years behind where traditional games are now — but they expect that gap to close quickly.
“The rate of innovation in blockchain is much faster than what you see in the traditional gaming space,” Warwick noted, as a lot of people in blockchain studios came from mainstream ones which built games with “millions and millions of players.”
“So we’re not starting from scratch, but also at the same time, we are building IP which is the thing that takes the most amount of time — like having people fall in love with the storyline, with the universe that you’re creating and how the characters interact with each other.”
“All of these elements can’t be created overnight,” he added.
Related: ‘FOMO’ once drove GameFi funding, but VCs say it’s different this time
Building IP can take anywhere between up to six or seven years, noted Warwick, adding that the leading gaming studios are about halfway through that process.
Until then, we’re still waiting for that dominant GameFi project to push the sector forward like Clash of Clans and Candy Crush with traditional gaming in the early 2010s, says Dizon.
Yield Guild Games is hoping it will see a future game of this caliber, having built a decentralized network of gaming guilds aimed at bringing blockchain games and gamers together within a single community.
The future of gaming is all about User-Generated Content. The trend of Players making their own characters, their own levels and expanding their favorite games is not going to stop.
Yet for the Digital Economy to take off, you need technologies that ensure the creators own that… pic.twitter.com/S9guU0IGG5 — Sebastien (@borgetsebastien) March 20, 2024
Wei, however, remains confident that the GameFi industry will finally see a AAA-standard game released in 2024.
Magazine: Web3 Gamer: Games need bots? Illivium CEO admits ‘it’s tough,’ 42X upside | Despite lingering resistance from some gamers over “tokenomics,” gaming studios will most likely continue to use airdrops and other incentives to attract players, according to industry executives.
“It’s a very easy way to get market share, said Kieran Warwick, founder of gaming studio Illuvium in an interview with Cointelegraph.
However, games that fail to deliver on the fun, or gameplay aspect, are still doomed to fail, said Warwick.
Shi Khai Wei, founder of venture capital firm LongHash Ventures, also stressed the importance of making the games fun.
Magazine: Web3 Gamer: Games need bots? |
John Deaton’s crypto backers help outraise Warren in Senate race | Pro-crypto lawyer John Deaton has outraised Senator Elizabeth Warren over the first quarter of this year for his bid to seize her Senate spot — bankrolling $1.36 million compared to Warren’s $1.09 million.
A who’s who of crypto backers make up Deaton’s top donors, including Ripple executives Chris Larsen and Brad Garlinghouse, Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci, Cardano and Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson and Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell.
In total, Deaton’s contributors have given him nearly $360,700 for Q1 2024, plus the $1 million he loaned to his campaign, preliminary filings to the United States Federal Election Commission (FEC) show.
Deaton’s top Senate campaign donors between January and March 2024. Source: FEC
In comparison, Warren reported raising just under $1.09 million — all from donors alone.
Deaton rose to prominence defending XRP (XRP) holders’ interests in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s legal fight against Ripple.
He announced his bid for Warren’s Senate seat representing Massachusetts in February, running as a Republican against the 11-year Democratic Party incumbent.
Warren has long campaigned against crypto and introduced bills she claims are to “level the playing field” between crypto and traditional financial markets, which her detractors claim would drive innovation and investment out of the United States.
Related: Crypto users could ‘make a difference in a close election’ in the US — CoinFlip CEO
Among Deaton’s largest individual contributors were Ripple’s Larsen and Garlinghouse, Scaramucci and the Winklevoss twins.
Each made the maximum donation of $6,600 — the max of $3,300 each to the primary and general election bids.
Cardano’s Hoskinson, Kraken’s Powell and Casa wallet founder Jameson Lopp each threw in $3,300 to Deaton’s primary campaign challenge, as did Ripple legal chief Stuart Alderoty.
The U.S. Senate elections are set to be held on Nov. 5 with 34 of the 100 total seats up for contestation alongside all 435 seats in the House alongside the presidency — with it likely that former President Donald Trump will again face off with President Joe Biden.
Magazine: Pro-XRP lawyer John Deaton ‘10x more into BTC, 4x more into ETH: X Hall of Flame | Pro-crypto lawyer John Deaton has outraised Senator Elizabeth Warren over the first quarter of this year for his bid to seize her Senate spot — bankrolling $1.36 million compared to Warren’s $1.09 million.
Deaton’s top Senate campaign donors between January and March 2024.
Deaton rose to prominence defending XRP (XRP) holders’ interests in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s legal fight against Ripple.
He announced his bid for Warren’s Senate seat representing Massachusetts in February, running as a Republican against the 11-year Democratic Party incumbent.
Cardano’s Hoskinson, Kraken’s Powell and Casa wallet founder Jameson Lopp each threw in $3,300 to Deaton’s primary campaign challenge, as did Ripple legal chief Stuart Alderoty. |
Doctors turn to Apple Vision Pro headset to practice surgery amid cadaver shortage | Veyond Metaverse, a medical technology company, recently announced that its medical telepresence platform would expand its footprint to the Apple Vision Pro.
The company’s real-time translation and remote communication services were previously used on traditional virtual and augmented reality headsets to conduct what it claims to be the world’s first “digital surgery” in 2023.
With the addition of Apple’s recently released Vision Pro headset, Veyond Metaverse appears to be entering the high-end medical telepresence market at a time when the need for new doctors exceeds the global cadaver supply.
Metaverse
Veyond Metaverse is a relative newcomer to the medical technology field. Launched in 2021, its primary services are surgical telepresence and immersive educational experiences.
According to the company’s website, it facilitates telepresence surgery by allowing subject matter experts to assist in or proctor surgeries in remote locations. The surgeon on site with the patient can conduct the physical processes, while the attending physician is able to immerse themselves in the operating space, in real time, via headset.
The company’s other vertical, educational experiences, combines haptic feedback devices with immersive augmented reality to help students learn to make their first cuts.
Medical cadavers remain in short supply after the COVID-19 pandemic caused a global shutdown. To compensate for the lack of physical resources, Veyond Metaverse has combined visceral 3D imagery with special haptic feedback gloves designed to mimic the feel of conducting surgery.
Extended reality
The Vision Pro is among the world’s most advanced (and expensive) mixed-reality headsets. Apple calls it a “spatial computing device” to highlight the idea that it’s not necessarily a dedicated gaming device, but at its core, it’s a virtual and augmented reality headset — often referred to as a mixed reality or extended reality device.
Users donning the headset can see virtual imagery on the screens inside while numerous external cameras capture the outside world. This allows for the combination of real-world and digital imagery.
Related: Apple is poised to bring metaverse mainstream and dominate the market
A recent study conducted by medical researchers in the Netherlands found that VR technologies were being adopted at steadily increasing rates throughout the global medical industry, with further implementation expected as both hardware and software improves. | Veyond Metaverse, a medical technology company, recently announced that its medical telepresence platform would expand its footprint to the Apple Vision Pro.
With the addition of Apple’s recently released Vision Pro headset, Veyond Metaverse appears to be entering the high-end medical telepresence market at a time when the need for new doctors exceeds the global cadaver supply.
According to the company’s website, it facilitates telepresence surgery by allowing subject matter experts to assist in or proctor surgeries in remote locations.
To compensate for the lack of physical resources, Veyond Metaverse has combined visceral 3D imagery with special haptic feedback gloves designed to mimic the feel of conducting surgery.
Users donning the headset can see virtual imagery on the screens inside while numerous external cameras capture the outside world. |
Firm behind world’s fastest Bitcoin miner raises another $80M | Auradine, a tech startup specializing in web infrastructure and cryptocurrency mining hardware and software solutions, announced the successful completion of a Series B funding round worth $80 million on April 10.
Funding was joined by previous investors Celesta Capital, Mayfield Fund, and Marathon Digital and new investors StepStone Group, Top Tier Capital Partners, MVP Ventures, and Maverick Capital. Its previous funding round, completed in May 2023, was led by Celesta Capital and Mayfield.
This Series B round was overbooked, according to a press release, and nearly equaled its Series A funding of $81 million. According to Auradine, the company also reached a milestone of $200 million in bookings. It’s unclear exactly what valuation the funds were raised at.
Rajiv Khemani, co-founder and CEO of Auradine, said in a statement that the funds would be used to increase production further:
“We are very proud of the advancements that our team has made in bringing innovative, energy-efficient, and secure products to our customers. The strong orders and pipeline reflect the confidence our customers have in us. With this new funding, we will ramp up production capacity and accelerate investments in our product roadmaps.”
Auradine’s products and services reportedly run the gamut from web infrastructure support for privacy, security, and artificial intelligence (AI) applications all the way to its “Teraflux” line of Bitcoin (BTC) miners purported to be the “world’s fastest and most energy efficient.”
Per company literature, Auradine’s AI3680 model miners are “capable of achieving an output of 0 to 375 TH/s, with an optimal efficiency of 15 J/TH.” For reference, Bitmain’s Antminer S21 Hydro, among the fastest miners currently in production, is rated at 335 TH/s.
Related: Bitcoin miners may ‘fear’ the halving, but they cherish it too
Auradine plans to ship two “Teraflux” ASIC miners in Q2 2024. The first is an air-cooled miner dubbed model AT2880 that is capable of achieving an output of 0 to 260 TH/s, with an optimal efficiency of 16 J/TH. The second is the aforementioned AI3680. According to the press release, over 30 “leading data-center-scale miners” have received Teraflux products so far. | Auradine, a tech startup specializing in web infrastructure and cryptocurrency mining hardware and software solutions, announced the successful completion of a Series B funding round worth $80 million on April 10.
Its previous funding round, completed in May 2023, was led by Celesta Capital and Mayfield.
This Series B round was overbooked, according to a press release, and nearly equaled its Series A funding of $81 million.
Related: Bitcoin miners may ‘fear’ the halving, but they cherish it tooAuradine plans to ship two “Teraflux” ASIC miners in Q2 2024.
According to the press release, over 30 “leading data-center-scale miners” have received Teraflux products so far. |
Bitcoin miners spreading sales dulled post-halving price drop: Bitfinex | Bitcoin (BTC) miners were selling their reserves ahead of the halving and the spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States may have “spread out the potential selling pressure,” which helped avoid a sharp price drop alongside the event, said Bitfinex.
“It appears that miners have executed their selling in advance, which has turned out to be advantageous for the market in the short term,” the crypto exchange wrote in its April 22 weekly market report.
It cited CryptoQuant data showing that in March, a daily average of 374 BTC was sent by miners to exchanges — an over 70% fall from February’s 1,300 BTC daily average, equivalent to $86.4 million.
“We assume miners were already selling their BTC holdings or collateralizing them to upgrade their machinery and infrastructure,” Bitfinex wrote.
Cointelegraph Markets Pro shows Bitcoin rising around 4.5% to $66,597 since the April 20 halving, continuing an upswing that started on April 17 after it hit a more than 40-day low of under $60,000.
Bitcoin’s seven-day price (vertical line denotes the halving). Source: Cointelegraph Markets Pro
Miners usually see their revenues decrease after halvings, the report explained; this time, their rewards were cut to 3.125 BTC per block mined, roughly $208,000 at current prices.
In past halvings, miners have exerted “significant selling pressure,” aiming to maximize earnings before their revenue stream is essentially slashed by 50% — which in turn potentially leads to short-term “increased volatility and price declines,” Bitfinex added.
But rising prices and expanding mining operations typically follow to “compensate for the reduced rewards,” and the negative market effects “are often temporary, as market dynamics adjust,” it wrote.
Bitcoin ETFs help dampen halving impact
Institutional demand for the new United States spot Bitcoin ETFs may have also lessened a potential price stumble caused by Bitcoin’s new reward schedule, Bitfinex added.
The ETFs’ “large-scale” flows — reaching $192 million in Bitcoin investment product outflows last week — can “significantly sway market sentiment and pricing” and are often detached from “the usual supply-demand framework,” it added.
“The added dynamic of the halving-induced ‘supply shock,’ the combination of ETF demand and constrained supply could drive further price appreciation for BTC.”
The crypto exchange noted that ETF flows have slowed since their January launch and sometimes have seen net outflows but still had “strong interest.”
Related: Bitcoin ‘no longer cheap’ — Fidelity revises medium-term outlook for BTC
The amount of Bitcoin the ETF issuers purchased for their funds has also outpaced new BTC creation since launch, which Bitfinex expects will significantly tighten.
Bitfinex estimated, based on issuance trends, that as low as $30 million worth of Bitcoin could be supplied to the market per day post-halving, while the average daily net inflows to ETFs “dwarf that number at over $150 million,” it wrote.
The ETFs’ total demand has outstripped supply by over 150,000 BTC so far, Bitfinex wrote. “We expect this trend to continue in the coming months.”
Magazine: Big Questions: How can Bitcoin payments stage a comeback? | Bitcoin (BTC) miners were selling their reserves ahead of the halving and the spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States may have “spread out the potential selling pressure,” which helped avoid a sharp price drop alongside the event, said Bitfinex.
“We assume miners were already selling their BTC holdings or collateralizing them to upgrade their machinery and infrastructure,” Bitfinex wrote.
Bitcoin ETFs help dampen halving impactInstitutional demand for the new United States spot Bitcoin ETFs may have also lessened a potential price stumble caused by Bitcoin’s new reward schedule, Bitfinex added.
The ETFs’ total demand has outstripped supply by over 150,000 BTC so far, Bitfinex wrote.
“We expect this trend to continue in the coming months.”Magazine: Big Questions: How can Bitcoin payments stage a comeback? |
Pantera Capital’s crypto fund surges 66% amid market optimism | Pantera Capital’s Liquid Token Fund reportedly posted a 66% return in the first quarter of 2024, driven by investments in crypto tokens such as Solana’s (SOL).
According to a shareholder letter reviewed by Bloomberg, the fund’s strong performance from January to March was also propelled by assets such as Ribbon Finance (RBN) and Stacks (STX), while exposure to tokens tied to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) decreased during the period.
Portfolio manager Cosmo Jiang told Bloomberg the fund has reduced its Bitcoin holdings by more than half since the beginning of 2024. “We’d been pretty heavy in Bitcoin until the start of the year, and I really like each month we’ve decreased that Bitcoin position meaningfully,” he said.
Data from TradingView shows the RBN token rising 400.43% so far this year, while gains for SOL stand at 69.88%, outperforming Bitcoin’s 62.59% appreciation in 2024.
SOL token performance year-to-date. Source: TradingView
Launched in November 2017, the Pantera Liquid Token Fund holds a pool of 10–20 liquid tokens. The fund is designed for accredited investors willing to commit a minimum of $100,000 and primarily targets decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens.
Related: FTX founder SBF asks for a 6.5-year sentence, tells prison guards to invest in Solana
Pantera Capital is a $5.2 billion asset manager and an early investor in the crypto space. The firm has recently raised around $250 million to buy SOL tokens from former crypto exchange FTX. The tokens were reportedly purchased for $64, about 60% below the current market price.
SOL’s price performance has been attributed to a rise in its blockchain market dominance and the memecoins frenzy. On April 3, memecoins like Dogwifhat and Bonk continued to rise in popularity, along with the recently launched Cat in the Dogs World and Book of Meme. According to a CoinShares report, institutional investors poured almost $25 million into SOL-based investment funds in March, supporting the token’s price rise.
Magazine: 5 dangers to beware when apeing into Solana memecoins | Pantera Capital’s Liquid Token Fund reportedly posted a 66% return in the first quarter of 2024, driven by investments in crypto tokens such as Solana’s (SOL).
Portfolio manager Cosmo Jiang told Bloomberg the fund has reduced its Bitcoin holdings by more than half since the beginning of 2024.
SOL token performance year-to-date.
Source: TradingViewLaunched in November 2017, the Pantera Liquid Token Fund holds a pool of 10–20 liquid tokens.
The firm has recently raised around $250 million to buy SOL tokens from former crypto exchange FTX. |
5 crazy April Fools pranks that Crypto X almost fell for | From Vitalik Buterin touting “degen communism” to a white paper from the Solana CEO for a token designed to operate through shortwave radio channels, here are some of the most outlandish April Fool’s Day gags that almost tricked Crypto X this year.
BunkerCoin, a token transmitted through radio waves
In an April 1 post to X, Solana CEO Anatoly Yakovenko announced the launch of a new Solana-based token called “BunkerCoin” which made light of the oftentimes over-complicated architecture of new cryptocurrencies.
Yakovenko claimed the new BunkerCoin token operated on “shortwave radio channels” and leveraged several complicated technologies, including ZkProofs, Groth16 proofs and a “Nakamoto-style longest chain rule.”
Overall, the post was a jumble of crypto-related buzzwords designed to prod fun at new tokens.
“If you are into mainstream adoption, pivot to bunkers,” wrote Yakovenko — a not-so-subtle reference to a similar post from All In podcast co-host Jason Calcanis on June 9 last year.
Degen communism, the only correct ideology: Vitalik Buterin
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin made a prank of his own, writing a humorous blog post that declared “degen communism” — a light-hearted jab at memecoins — to be the only acceptable political philosophy for crypto.
According to Buterin, degen communism is a political ideology that “openly embraces chaos, but tweaks key rules and incentives to create a background pressure where the consequences of chaos are aligned with the common good.”
While the post overstates the importance of degeneracy and chaos, it comes back to an idea that Buterin mentioned in a March 29 blog post, where he talked about the need to make memecoins more of a positive force in financial markets.
Bankless co-host turns into a Solana maxi
In a more light-hearted attempt at humor, Bankless co-host and well-known Ethereum maximalist David Hoffman made a tongue-in-cheek announcement that he would be leaving the Ethereum ecosystem and joining forces with Austin Federa and Yakovenko at the Solana Foundation.
Hoffman jested that he would join the Solana Foundation as the "VP of Decentralization" — a subtle reference to a common criticism from Ethereum fans who often claim that Solana isn't as decentralized as ETH.
Hoffman, a known Ethereum maximalist has long traded blows with Solana developers and enthusiasts alike — so a sudden switch comes across as deeply out of character for the Bankless co-host.
Related: SBF speaks out after sentencing: ‘I never thought what I was doing was illegal’
The real April Fools? Pump and dumpers
One of the more questionable April Fools Day pranks, at least, according to Crypto X, came from an account associated with an Ethereum-based crowdfunding protocol called JuiceBox which claimed it had received financial backing from crypto venture capital firm Paradigm.
In an April 1 post to X, pseudonymous account Briliegh.eth — since made private — wrote that JuiceBox has secured a $69 million fundraising deal with Paradigm, sending the protocol’s native token JBX surging more than 45% to $0.0043, per CoinGecko data.
JBX pumped and dumped on the April Fool's Day jest. Source: CoinGecko
It took an hour for Briliegh to reveal that the post was an April Fool’s Day joke and the token retraced 25% to $0.0034.
The post — which was screenshotted and shared across X by several commentators — was met with backlash from users who took issue with the humor.
“Waiting an hour to tell the world it's an April Fools joke — CRIME,” said one user. “Jail,” wrote another.
A similar situation unfolded when “Sasha” the pseudonymous founder of the decentralized tech stack Waves announced that the protocol would be integrating with AI and replacing its “Waves” ticker with “AI.”
At the time of the announcement, the price of Waves (WAVES) jumped 5% before quickly retracing back to earlier levels. Several users failed to find the humor in the jest and declared it to be more akin to market manipulation.
“Is this [a] joke? Market manipulating,” wrote one user in response to the post.
Other notable mentions
BitMEX Research joked that Grayscale Bitcoin Trust's (GBTC's) outflows stood at $0. The post was poking fun at the previous high volumes of outflows from GBTC over the past few weeks.
It clarified the joke in a follow-up X post, sharing the real GBTC outflow on April 1 of $303 million.
The tomfoolery reached well beyond the more niche corners of crypto X, with Republican majority whip Tom Emmer using the day to take aim at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
In four separate posts to X, Emmer appeared to make several statements praising the SEC and its chair Gary Gensler before finishing his post with “April Fools!”
Magazine: ‘SEAL 911’ team of white hats formed to fight crypto hacks in real time | Pump and dumpersOne of the more questionable April Fools Day pranks, at least, according to Crypto X, came from an account associated with an Ethereum-based crowdfunding protocol called JuiceBox which claimed it had received financial backing from crypto venture capital firm Paradigm.
JBX pumped and dumped on the April Fool's Day jest.
Source: CoinGeckoIt took an hour for Briliegh to reveal that the post was an April Fool’s Day joke and the token retraced 25% to $0.0034.
“Waiting an hour to tell the world it's an April Fools joke — CRIME,” said one user.
It clarified the joke in a follow-up X post, sharing the real GBTC outflow on April 1 of $303 million. |
‘Bitcoin will reach over $1M’ — Animoca founder at WebSummit Rio | Yat Siu, the founder of Animoca Brands, spoke at WebSummit Rio on April 16 on a panel titled "Bitcoin’s Revenge: Is Web3 Making a Comeback?”
At the panel, Siu said he has no doubt that Bitcoin (BTC) will reach $1 million:
"I do believe that Bitcoin could reach over a million dollars-plus over time. But, I believe, not because it is a store value, but because it will be one of the most important status symbols of the digital economy in the future.”
Cointelegraph Ambassador Kristina Lucrezia Cornèr moderated the panel, at which Ripple president Monica Long appeared alongside Siu. Long emphasized that the development of the crypto market is more important than the price of Bitcoin:
"I would say the more important place for all of us to focus on is real utility for the assets, and that’s what's going to drive long-term value and stability and liquidity for all of the assets in crypto."
Long praised Brazil and said the country is one of the places where there is a real focus on crypto development:
"Brazil [...] is a place where we're seeing breaking ground for that type of development. You have a government that creating clear rules around virtual assets, [and] a community of focused developers, and you have traditional finance banks like Itaú that are a blessing to crypto. So that is the mix of a real focus on crypto.”
Cornèr focused on the importance of Web3 for giving power to the people, especially those who do not have many choices in society. She said:
"Web3 is about giving power to the people, to those who didn't have access to certain things."
As the panel moved on to Web3, Long highlighted that, in contrast to other market cycles, there will be more maturity in Web3 companies this year, and equally important, this maturity is reflected in its current institutional adoption. She said:
"If you think about it, some of the biggest brands in financial services, like Goldman, BlackRock and Fidelity, they actually build their products and offerings in bear markets, meaning they see the bigger picture. So I think that's what's going to be very different this year, the institutional embrace.”
Web3 and spot Bitcoin ETF
Siu stated that financial inclusion and its effects, particularly on blockchain and Web3 games, are more important than institutional adoption. He said:
“We look in places like the Philippines, or even in some places in Latin America, millions of people in the world who don’t have a bank, don’t have a university education, in some cases don’t even have a high-school education. But now though having a crypto wallet, they are included in the new financial system, are becoming somewhat financially literate, taught through gaming, which is another form of play.”
Regarding spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Long said Ripple is working with banks and payment companies around the world to use blockchain as a layer or a new infrastructure to make global money much more efficient. She noticed a greater interest in the crypto market from banks and has been wondering how to ensure regulated exposure to the market:
"As here in Brazil, there is certainly a much stronger liftoff, like Hong Kong, and that's another key market. I think one of the interesting things is that we are not done yet with the ETFs, broadly speaking, meaning Bitcoin ETF is going to emerge in other markets. [...] Now in Hong Kong, then there's Singapore, there's Tokyo, there's London, there's Europe.”
Source: WebSummit Rio
Derek Andersen contributed to the English translation of this article. | Yat Siu, the founder of Animoca Brands, spoke at WebSummit Rio on April 16 on a panel titled "Bitcoin’s Revenge: Is Web3 Making a Comeback?”At the panel, Siu said he has no doubt that Bitcoin (BTC) will reach $1 million:"I do believe that Bitcoin could reach over a million dollars-plus over time.
She said:"Web3 is about giving power to the people, to those who didn't have access to certain things."
So I think that's what's going to be very different this year, the institutional embrace.”Web3 and spot Bitcoin ETFSiu stated that financial inclusion and its effects, particularly on blockchain and Web3 games, are more important than institutional adoption.
I think one of the interesting things is that we are not done yet with the ETFs, broadly speaking, meaning Bitcoin ETF is going to emerge in other markets.
[...] Now in Hong Kong, then there's Singapore, there's Tokyo, there's London, there's Europe.”Source: WebSummit RioDerek Andersen contributed to the English translation of this article. |
Binance co-founder He Yi says CZ received ‘most optimal outcome’ | Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, often known as CZ, is in a “positive situation,” according to the cryptocurrency exchange’s co-founder He Yi. CZ is set for sentencing in the United States on one felony charge on April 30.
Yi “dispelled concerns over the regulatory status” at the Binance Chinese Meetup held on the sideline of the Token2049 conference in Dubai, according to the company’s newsfeed. The post did not quote her directly, but added Yi said that:
“CZ's current standing in the US is largely peaceful and past regulatory pressures have been internally anticipated. She believes the existing situation to be the most optimal outcome given the circumstances.”
When he is sentenced in the District Court of Western Washington, CZ could receive a prison term of up to 10 years. The sentence recommended in the guidelines is 12 to 18 months. The single charge resulted from a settlement reached in November that also required the company to forfeit $4.3 billion. That settlement forced CZ to resign as Binance CEO.
Related: Facing potential prison time, former Binance CEO hints at new project
CZ is free in the United States on a $175-million bond, with travel restrictions. He twice requested permission to travel to Dubai, where he lives, because of a medical situation involving one of his children. In response, the U.S. Attorney’s Office sought to seize his passports. CZ holds a Canadian passport and is also a citizen of the United Arab Emirates.
Yi is the mother of at least two of CZ’s three children, although she has denied that they are currently romantic partners. She owns an undisclosed stake in the exchange.
Source: CryptoCoins68
Binance has been distancing itself from CZ since his resignation as CEO. He was replaced by Richard Teng, the former Binance head of regional markets outside the United States. Teng has emphasized that Binance is “totally different” under his leadership. The exchange formed a board of directors earlier this month.
According to reports on April 18, Binance received a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license in Dubai. As a licensing condition, CZ was reportedly required to give up voting rights in the local entity, Binance FZE, although Binance has declined to comment on that claim.
Magazine: US enforcement agencies are turning up the heat on crypto-related crime | Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, often known as CZ, is in a “positive situation,” according to the cryptocurrency exchange’s co-founder He Yi.
CZ is set for sentencing in the United States on one felony charge on April 30.
That settlement forced CZ to resign as Binance CEO.
Related: Facing potential prison time, former Binance CEO hints at new projectCZ is free in the United States on a $175-million bond, with travel restrictions.
He was replaced by Richard Teng, the former Binance head of regional markets outside the United States. |
NASA created VR metaverse to prep astronauts for life on lunar space station | While most of us spend our time in the metaverse trading assets or bopping around in virtual realities on legless avatars, astronauts working with NASA and SpaceX are using it to prepare for life aboard a lunar space station that hasn’t been built yet.
The first humans to make their homes in deep space, according to NASA, will be the team tasked with operating a space station currently under development called “Gateway.”
NASA, in a recent blog post, described Gateway as a “next-generation science lab, solar-powered spaceship, and home-away-from home” for international astronauts.
Astronauts have traditionally prepared for new missions through the use of physical and computer-based simulators. But the dawn of modern virtual reality headsets and advanced spatial computing technologies has made it possible for those planning to occupy deep space to gain the necessary skills to work and survive in an immersive 3-D environment.
Source: NASA
The United States says Gateway will make its off-Earth debut no sooner than 2025 when its critical power and propulsion systems are set up in orbit around the Moon.
Its mission goes far beyond its humble beginnings in Earth’s backyard. According to NASA, Gateway is being set up as a staging point for the Artemis program, a U.S.-based initiative to build a crewed base on the Moon as the next step in humanity’s quest to put a human on Mars.
According to NASA:
“Gateway is a vital component of the NASA-led Artemis missions to return to the Moon and chart a path for the first human missions to Mars. The small space station will be a multi-purpose outpost orbiting the Moon and providing essential support for lunar surface missions, a destination for science, and a staging point for further deep space exploration.”
The astronauts tasked with maintaining and operating Gateway will face the daunting task of being the world’s first orbital space station crew to live and work in deep space — at a maximum distance of approximately 386,243 kilometers from the Earth. For comparison, astronauts aboard the International Space Station, which launched in 1998, operate at an average distance from Earth of about 400 kilometers.
Related: Lunar colony ‘unlikely’ by 2030, but that’s not the point — MoonDAO | While most of us spend our time in the metaverse trading assets or bopping around in virtual realities on legless avatars, astronauts working with NASA and SpaceX are using it to prepare for life aboard a lunar space station that hasn’t been built yet.
The first humans to make their homes in deep space, according to NASA, will be the team tasked with operating a space station currently under development called “Gateway.”NASA, in a recent blog post, described Gateway as a “next-generation science lab, solar-powered spaceship, and home-away-from home” for international astronauts.
Astronauts have traditionally prepared for new missions through the use of physical and computer-based simulators.
But the dawn of modern virtual reality headsets and advanced spatial computing technologies has made it possible for those planning to occupy deep space to gain the necessary skills to work and survive in an immersive 3-D environment.
For comparison, astronauts aboard the International Space Station, which launched in 1998, operate at an average distance from Earth of about 400 kilometers. |
Prisma Finance eyes protocol restart with DAO support | Prisma Finance has devised a plan to safely unpause the Prisma protocol, which was halted on March 28 after it suffered a hack of $11.6 million. Re-enabling borrowing on Prisma will require consensus through an ongoing vote.
On April 3, Prisma Finance core contributor Frank Olson proposed a way to “safely” unpause the Prisma protocol and re-enable the ability for users to deposit liquid staking tokens (LSTs) and liquid restaking tokens (LRTs) and borrow overcollateralized stablecoins.
The Prisma Finance DAO subsequently launched a four-day governance vote the next day, which will end on April 7. According to Olson:
“Unpausing the protocol is a critical part of the path to recovery and it will reestablish normal functionality, including complete Vault management and deposits into the Stability Pool.”
At the time of writing, the proposal for re-enabling borrowing on Prisma received 100% “Yes” votes from participating members of the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), signaling strong community support for the cause. However, the decision will be finalized after the voting deadline.
Prisma Finance DAO’s proposal for unpausing the protocol following the $11.6 million hack. Source: snapshot.prismafinance.com
Users are advised to revoke the delegate approvals with open positions as unpausing the protocol may result in loss of funds.
The protocol previously said that 14 accounts were yet to revoke the affected smart contract, which could potentially result in a cumulative loss of $540,000.
Olson also noted Prisma’s ongoing effort to mitigate future risks, which involves opting for continuous auditing services, bug bounty programs and security improvements.
Related: Nearly $100M recovered from hacks in March — PeckShield
Nonfungible token (NFT) game Munchables recently devised a plan to avoid a situation it faced recently where it lost and recovered nearly $63 million from a rogue in-house developer.
One of the strategies involves onboarding investment firm Manifold Trading, market maker Selini Capital and blockchain investigator ZachXBT as new multisig signers to ensure the safe return of users’ funds.
“Finally, we will send ETH and future MUNCH donations to those who were involved in the recovery process of keeping our users safe,” the company said.
Magazine: Google sues crypto app scammers, Crypto.com in Korea: Asia ExpressGoogle sues crypto app scammers, Crypto.com in Korea: Asia Express | Prisma Finance has devised a plan to safely unpause the Prisma protocol, which was halted on March 28 after it suffered a hack of $11.6 million.
On April 3, Prisma Finance core contributor Frank Olson proposed a way to “safely” unpause the Prisma protocol and re-enable the ability for users to deposit liquid staking tokens (LSTs) and liquid restaking tokens (LRTs) and borrow overcollateralized stablecoins.
The Prisma Finance DAO subsequently launched a four-day governance vote the next day, which will end on April 7.
Prisma Finance DAO’s proposal for unpausing the protocol following the $11.6 million hack.
Magazine: Google sues crypto app scammers, Crypto.com in Korea: Asia ExpressGoogle sues crypto app scammers, Crypto.com in Korea: Asia Express |
Top five BTC miners not selling despite Bitcoin halving | The five largest Bitcoin mining firms are not selling Bitcoin (BTC), despite the 50% supply issuance reduction of the upcoming Bitcoin halving.
Bitcoin selling by the top five mining firms slowed to a two-year low in the first quarter of 2024, when the five largest miners sold a total of approximately 2,000 BTC, according to an April 10 report by Bitwise.
The last time the top five mining firms sold less than 2,000 BTC was in the first quarter of 2022. In comparison, the five largest mining firms sold over 7,000 BTC in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The report comes days before the 2024 Bitcoin halving, which is set to reduce Bitcoin block issuance rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per mined block.
Paired with a continually increasing Bitcoin hash rate, the profitability of mining firms could take a hit after the halving.
Bitcoin Mined vs. Bitcoin sold by Top Five Miners. Source: Bitwise
Despite a gloomy outlook for some miners, Bitcoin miner revenue saw a 30% increase quarter-over-quarter, tripling the recent lows form the fourth quarter of 2022. Bitcoin miner revenue rose above $4.5 billion according to Bitwise.
Bitcoin Miner Revenue by Type. Source: Bitwise
Despite the upcoming block reward halving, Bitcoin mining revenue won’t necessarily fall in U.S. dollar terms, according to Laurent Benayoun, the CEO of Acheron Trading:
“In dollar terms, it’s not obvious that miners would be worse off after the halving, quite the opposite […] The decrease in mining rewards is going to be compensated by an increase in network fees.”
Yet, Bitcoin miner revenue has historically declined in the months after Bitcoin halvings. Post-halving Bitcoin mining revenue declined 40% in the month after the 2020 halving, while monthly revenue declined over 51% after the 2016 Bitcoin halving.
Bitcoin Halving: Total Miner Revenue. Source: Bitwise
Related: Is the Bitcoin halving the right time to invest in BTC?
Out of the top five mining firms, Marathon Digital mined the most Bitcoin, with over 2,500 BTC generated in the first quarter of 2024, down from over 4,000 BTC in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Bitcoin Production by Top Five Miners. Source: Bitwise
Yet, Marathon Digital also averaged the highest mining cost of $22,249 per BTC, compared to Cipher Mining’s average cost of only $8,626 per BTC during the first quarter of the year. In comparison, Bitcoin’s average price stood at $53,534 during the first quarter of 2024.
Bitcoin miners worldwide currently hold over 700,000 BTC, which accounts for 3.4% of the total Bitcoin supply. The majority, or 57% (12 million) of Bitcoin supply, is held by individuals, according to Bitwise.
Related: Bitcoin supply to run out on exchanges in 9 months — Bybit | The five largest Bitcoin mining firms are not selling Bitcoin (BTC), despite the 50% supply issuance reduction of the upcoming Bitcoin halving.
The report comes days before the 2024 Bitcoin halving, which is set to reduce Bitcoin block issuance rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per mined block.
Post-halving Bitcoin mining revenue declined 40% in the month after the 2020 halving, while monthly revenue declined over 51% after the 2016 Bitcoin halving.
Bitcoin Halving: Total Miner Revenue.
Bitcoin miners worldwide currently hold over 700,000 BTC, which accounts for 3.4% of the total Bitcoin supply. |
Hong Kong’s Ether, Bitcoin ETFs will be ‘lucky to get $500m’ | Three recently approved spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in Hong Kong may not be as big of a deal as some may think, according to senior Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.
On April 15, The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued conditional approvals to three offshore Chinese asset managers to begin issuing spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs. The asset managers cleared for approval include Harvest Fund Management, Bosera Asset Management, and China Asset Management.
However, in an April 15 post to X, Balchunas shot down lofty predictions that the ETFs could generate $25 billion in inflows and pointed to four main reasons why crypto investors should temper their expectations for the recently approved products.
“Don't expect a lot of flows — I saw one estimate of $25b that's insane. We think they'll be lucky to get $500m.”
Justifying his predictions, Balchunas explained that the Hong Kong ETF market is “tiny” when compared to countries like the United States, adding that these ETFs don’t allow Chinese retail investors with official access to the products.
Balchunas noted these three prospective ETF issuers were tiny relative to “big fish” asset management giants such as BlackRock — which currently boasts more than $9 trillion in assets under management.
“U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs have more assets than the entire HK ETF market,” wrote Balchunas in a follow-up post to X.
Related: Bitcoin eats up fresh bid liquidity as BTC price fights for $65K
Additionally, Balchunas said the capital environment for these funds was far less efficient than elsewhere, and fees would likely be set around the 1-2% mark — a far cry from the “dirt cheap fees in the U.S. Terrordome.”
“The underlying ecosystem there is less [liquidity] efficient = these ETFs will likely see wide spreads and prem discounts,” said Balchunas.
“Takeaway: Other countries adding [Bitcoin] ETFs is no doubt additive but it's nickel-dime compared to the mighty US market.”
On the other hand, the chief crypto analyst at Real Vision and former crypto analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, Jamie Coutts, said that despite recent reservations at the size of the Hong Kong ETF market, the products would open up a “massive pool of capital” for Chinese investors, who Coutts says are already savvy with skirting government-imposed capital controls.
Notably, the Hong Kong FSC approved the spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs to be launched using an in-kind model, meaning new ETF shares can be issued directly using BTC and ETH.
The in-kind creation model stands in contrast to the cash-create redemption model, which allows issuers to create new ETF shares only with cash. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs currently use the cash-create model, with the SEC fearing that cash-create could lead to money laundering and fraud-related issues.
The spot ETFs are slated for launch in roughly two weeks' time.
Magazine: Bitcoin ETFs make Coinbase a ‘honeypot’ for hackers and governments — Trezor CEO | On April 15, The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued conditional approvals to three offshore Chinese asset managers to begin issuing spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs.
spot bitcoin ETFs have more assets than the entire HK ETF market,” wrote Balchunas in a follow-up post to X.
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs currently use the cash-create model, with the SEC fearing that cash-create could lead to money laundering and fraud-related issues.
The spot ETFs are slated for launch in roughly two weeks' time.
Magazine: Bitcoin ETFs make Coinbase a ‘honeypot’ for hackers and governments — Trezor CEO |
Elon Musk’s AI spinoff is seeking $4B that could level up Grok: Report | Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk is seeking to raise up to $4 billion for his artificial intelligence (AI) startup xAI, the inventor of the X-linked AI chatbot Grok.
Select investors are reportedly being offered the chance to participate in funding rounds for the AI startup through special purpose vehicles (SPVs), according to an email sent to potential investors.
SPV structures allow different venture capital firms and individuals to invest together through a single entity. However, there are upfront fees of up to 5% and management fees and interest to be added on, according to reports.
Reports also reveal that Musk is looking to raise $3 billion–$4 billion in a deal that could value the company at $18 billion following the completion of the funding round, and the firm “expects to raise the funds in the next 2–3 weeks on a first-come, first-served basis.”
XAI was founded by Musk in March 2023 and launched in July of that year and is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. The firm has the lofty ambition of “understanding the true nature of the universe.”
The firm launched its first product in November, claiming that its X-linked chatbot Grok can outperform ChatGPT.
The email pitch reportedly highlighted potential selling points for investors, including Musk’s track record at Tesla and the training of the AI model on data from Musk’s microblogging network X.
Entrepreneur and angel investor Mario Nawfal commented on the news, stating that as AI investments skyrocket with billions flowing into startups, “concerns about an AI bubble grow amid soaring valuations and high development costs.”
XAI’s in-house AI tutors hail from a wide array of fields and are tasked with creating and curating high-quality data for training and evaluating its models, according to the official website.
Related: Groq AI chip system goes viral and rivals ChatGPT, challenges Elon Musk’s Grok
In March, Musk said that xAI was making the AI chatbot open-source to challenge OpenAI’s closed ChatGPT model.
However, xAI remains a small startup despite its multibillion-dollar valuation, with just 10 full-time engineers and between 5,000 and 10,000 GPUs, according to reports.
Cointelegraph reached out to xAI for further details but did not receive an immediate response.
Grok is part of a crowded AI chatbot marketplace with competitors such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Antropic’s Claude, Microsoft’s Copilot, Google’s Gemini and Meta AI from the company formerly known as Facebook.
Magazine: AI didn’t kill the metaverse, it will build it — Alien Worlds, Bittensor vs Eric Wall: AI Eye | Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk is seeking to raise up to $4 billion for his artificial intelligence (AI) startup xAI, the inventor of the X-linked AI chatbot Grok.
Select investors are reportedly being offered the chance to participate in funding rounds for the AI startup through special purpose vehicles (SPVs), according to an email sent to potential investors.
Related: Groq AI chip system goes viral and rivals ChatGPT, challenges Elon Musk’s GrokIn March, Musk said that xAI was making the AI chatbot open-source to challenge OpenAI’s closed ChatGPT model.
Grok is part of a crowded AI chatbot marketplace with competitors such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Antropic’s Claude, Microsoft’s Copilot, Google’s Gemini and Meta AI from the company formerly known as Facebook.
Magazine: AI didn’t kill the metaverse, it will build it — Alien Worlds, Bittensor vs Eric Wall: AI Eye |
Bitcoin supply to run out on exchanges in 9 months — Bybit | Bitcoin supply on cryptocurrency exchanges will dry up in nine months thanks to the 50% supply issuance reduction of this week’s upcoming Bitcoin halving.
Provided that demand from the United States Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) continues, Bitcoin’s post-halving supply dynamic will see exchange reserves run out of Bitcoin (BTC), according to an April 15 report by Bybit:
“Bitcoin reserves in all centralized exchanges have been depleting faster. With only 2 million Bitcoins left, if we assume a daily inflow of $500 million to Bitcoin Spot ETFs, the equivalent of around 7,142 bitcoins will leave exchange reserves daily, suggesting that it will only take nine months to consume all of the remaining reserves.”
Bitcoin reserves on centralized exchanges fell to a near three-year low of 1.94 million BTC on April 16, according to CryptoQuant data.
Bitcoin: Exchange reserves on all exchanges. Source: CryptoQuant
The report comes amid a wider market slump that saw Bitcoin fall over 10% during the past week to $62,924 as of 1:36 pm UTC, according to CoinMarketCap.
Bybit, the world’s third-largest exchange, expects Bitcoin prices to start recovering from the current correction, according to the report:
“With this in mind, it’s unsurprising that Bitcoin’s price may continue to climb before the halving, or even afterward, as the supply squeeze propels the price to another new record.”
Related: Korean won becomes world’s most traded fiat for crypto traders: Report
Institutional interest in Bitcoin is on the rise
Weekly inflows to spot Bitcoin ETFs have been slowing down since March. Last week saw over $199 million worth of net inflows into the ETFs, down from $2.58 billion in the week beginning March 11, according to Dune Analytics.
Bitcoin ETFs weekly net flows. Source: Dune
Despite the recent slump, the spot Bitcoin ETFs have amassed over 841,000 BTC worth $52.9 billion, with over $12.7 billion net flows since launch, according to Dune.
Bitcoin investor allocation has also risen since September 2023. Institutions are allocating an average of 40% of total assets to BTC, while retail investors average a Bitcoin allocation of 24%, according to Bybit’s asset allocation report from Feb. 24.
Bybit noted that both crypto-native firms and traditional institutions are gaining increasing exposure to Bitcoin via ETFs or proxy stocks such as MicroStrategy. The exchange expects more institutions to follow suit:
“We believe that not all institutions have been able to gain exposure since the approval of Bitcoin Spot ETFs in January 2024, as their investment mandates restrict them from investing in new products that have been in the market for only a few months.“
Related: Bitcoin halving will lead to more sustainable BTC mining: Report | Bitcoin supply on cryptocurrency exchanges will dry up in nine months thanks to the 50% supply issuance reduction of this week’s upcoming Bitcoin halving.
Provided that demand from the United States Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) continues, Bitcoin’s post-halving supply dynamic will see exchange reserves run out of Bitcoin (BTC), according to an April 15 report by Bybit:“Bitcoin reserves in all centralized exchanges have been depleting faster.
Bitcoin: Exchange reserves on all exchanges.
Bitcoin ETFs weekly net flows.
Bybit noted that both crypto-native firms and traditional institutions are gaining increasing exposure to Bitcoin via ETFs or proxy stocks such as MicroStrategy. |
New Bitcoin ETFs now hold 500,000 BTC, while GBTC outflows slow | Nine of the 10 new spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have accumulated over 500,000 BTC since launching in January, with their holdings now accounting for 2.54% of the current circulating supply.
The nine ETFs, which launched on Jan. 11, hit the milestone following another day of inflows on Thursday, having scooped up $287.7 million in Bitcoin, according to Farside Investors.
This brings the amount of BTC held by the nine ETFs to a current worth of $35 billion over just 54 trading days.
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs. Source: HODL15Capital
In total, all United States spot Bitcoin funds, including Grayscale, hold 835,000 BTC, which is almost 4% of the entire supply, it noted.
This week’s ETF inflows are back in the black this week, with $845 million in inflows measured so far, reversing a trend of outflows that began on March 18.
On March 28, there was a total inflow of $183 million, with BlackRock leading the pack as its IBIT fund saw $95 million coming in.
Fidelity and Bitwise saw similar inflows of around $67 million each, while Ark 21Shares saw $27.6 million following a huge inflow of $200 million on Wednesday.
Grayscale’s GBTC outflow was $105 million, which is the lowest it has been since March 12.
The crypto asset manager has now shed around 284,846 BTC from its GBTC fund since it converted to a spot ETF in mid-January.
Related: Spot Bitcoin ETFs regain traction, posting $418M net inflows
In related news, Bitwise filed an S-1 application with the Securities and Exchange Commission for its spot Ethereum ETF on March 28.
Fellow ETF analyst Eric Balchunas reacted to the news, stating that his odds for ETH ETF approval in May remain a pessimistic 25% but he could go lower. There are seven weeks until the deadline and the radio silence from SEC is bleak, he added.
Magazine: Bitcoin ETFs make Coinbase a ‘honeypot’ for hackers and governments — Trezor CEO | Nine of the 10 new spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have accumulated over 500,000 BTC since launching in January, with their holdings now accounting for 2.54% of the current circulating supply.
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Source: HODL15CapitalIn total, all United States spot Bitcoin funds, including Grayscale, hold 835,000 BTC, which is almost 4% of the entire supply, it noted.
The crypto asset manager has now shed around 284,846 BTC from its GBTC fund since it converted to a spot ETF in mid-January.
Magazine: Bitcoin ETFs make Coinbase a ‘honeypot’ for hackers and governments — Trezor CEO |
Tornado Cash co-founder requests dismissal of money laundering charges | Roman Storm, co-founder of cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash, has filed a motion to dismiss all three charges against him that allege he operated a money laundering business and violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
“By no stretch can Mr. Storm be deemed to have conspired to launder funds,” Storm’s lawyers stated in a March 29 filing in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Storm’s lawyers argued that Tornado Cash was developed, “became immutable” and publicly available before it was used by the hacking groups sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Therefore, by the time of the alleged misconduct, there was allegedly little that Storm could do to prevent a “sanctioned entity from using it.”
The charges are centered around Tornado Cash allegedly facilitating the efforts of the North Korean Lazarus Group bypassing U.S. sanctions, allowing the country’s regime to reportedly fund its nuclear program.
Court filing in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Source: CourtListener
Furthermore, the lawyers contended that Tornado Cash was not a money-transmitting business as it did not charge a fee for transmitting funds, and users retained sole control over their crypto.
Arguing that Storm intended to build software solutions to provide financial privacy for law-abiding crypto users, they declared that the charges are “fatally flawed and should be dismissed.”
In September 2023, Cointelegraph reported that Storm pleaded not guilty to all charges and was released on a $2 million bond shortly after his arrest. He is largely restricted from traveling outside some areas of New York, New Jersey, Washington and California.
Related: Hacker moves $10M from 2023 phishing incident to Tornado Cash
This comes as the U.S. government continues its crackdown on crypto-mixing services.
On March 12, Cointelegraph reported that the founder of Bitcoin Fog, a $400 million crypto-mixing service, was convicted of money laundering.
Roman Sterlingov was found guilty of money laundering, money laundering conspiracy, operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and violations of the D.C. Money Transmitters Act.
However, the crypto community sees significant value in crypto mixers, as they can provide increased privacy and confidentiality for legitimate reasons for those wanting to make anonymous business transactions.
At one stage, the Arbitrum DAO had considered allocating around $1.3 million worth of ARB tokens to support Storm’s legal expenses, but the proposal was scrapped for reasons that remain unclear.
Magazine: Tornado Cash 2.0: The race to build safe and legal coin mixers | Roman Storm, co-founder of cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash, has filed a motion to dismiss all three charges against him that allege he operated a money laundering business and violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Storm’s lawyers argued that Tornado Cash was developed, “became immutable” and publicly available before it was used by the hacking groups sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
On March 12, Cointelegraph reported that the founder of Bitcoin Fog, a $400 million crypto-mixing service, was convicted of money laundering.
Roman Sterlingov was found guilty of money laundering, money laundering conspiracy, operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and violations of the D.C. Money Transmitters Act.
Magazine: Tornado Cash 2.0: The race to build safe and legal coin mixers |
Can crypto traders out-predict Wall Street on Coinbase Q1 earnings? | Coinbase is set to share its financial performance for the first quarter of 2024, sparking differing expectations between the crypto community and traditional investors over the anticipated figures.
Speculation is mounting whether the crypto community predictions will be more accurate than the typical investment analyst ahead of Coinbase announcing its financial results on May 2.
Researcher for crypto research company Messari, Kunal Goel, explained that over the last three quarters, his Coinbase revenue estimates “have handily beaten consensus analyst estimates.”
“I estimate Coinbase will generate a whopping $1.5 billion in net revenue for Q1 2024 growing by 65% for the quarter. My estimate is much higher than consensus estimate of $1.2 billion for gross revenue,” he explained in a recent X post.
Coinbase has now beaten consensus earnings-per-share (EPS) estimates for the past four quarters, as well as consensus revenue in each period, too, according to a recent report from Zack’s Equity Research.
According to Tipranks, out of 24 consensus analysts covering Coinbase (COIN), nine recommended “buy,” 11 suggested “hold,” and three advised “sell.”
Former CFO of Polygon Labs Young Ko believes it is “very likely” that Coinbase’s earnings will “blow out estimates.”
Ko further explained in an April 24 post on X that several catalysts would only bolster the momentum prior to its earnings report being released on May 2.
These include his hopes that Coinbase will announce a win in its lawsuit against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and positive reports on its layer-2 Ethereum protocol Base revenue.
At the time of publication, the share price of COIN stands at $236.43, marking a 4.67% increase for the day but reflecting a 15.47% decline over the past 30 days, as per Google Finance data.
COIN's share price is currently $236.41. Source: Google Finance
“Those of us tracking closely already know they will blow away Street estimates,” crypto commentator Snow stated in an April 22 post.
“The combination of a massive Q1 beat + Q2 trading revs tracking *ahead* of Q1 will literally blow minds,” Snow added.
Meanwhile, crypto commentator 0xCristian said in an April 16 post that the success of Coinbase’s layer-2 network Base will have a positive impact on its Q1 2024 earnings report.
“It's about to beat Q4 earnings by a long mile and this will affect the price of the stock. Q1 seen massive volume for Base + Coinbase wallet. Pay attention,” he stated.
Related: Coinbase partners with Lightspark for Bitcoin Lightning payments
It is a common thought among the crypto community that revenue from Base could be the X factor for Coinbase this last quarter, a factor overlooked by much of Wall Street.
On April 19, Cointelegraph reported that crypto analyst Will Clemente declared that “the street isn’t really pricing in the crypto native revenue that I think a lot of the crypto natives understand.”
“I think Coinbase is the biggest kind of venture-style bet in public markets since maybe Tesla about five years ago,” Clemente added.
Although Goel predicts that Coinbase will not “internalize” the revenue from Base for the past quarter:
“However, I expect Coinbase not to internalize this revenue. I expect it may hold this revenue in an on-chain entity to be used only to fund future growth on Base,” he stated.
According to data from investment research firm Fintel, Coinbase’s momentum score is 93.98, which is approximately 21.87 index points higher than Nvidia (NVDA), and 80.84 index points higher than Tesla (TSLA).
Magazine: Lazarus Group’s favorite exploit revealed — Crypto hacks analysis
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. | Coinbase has now beaten consensus earnings-per-share (EPS) estimates for the past four quarters, as well as consensus revenue in each period, too, according to a recent report from Zack’s Equity Research.
“The combination of a massive Q1 beat + Q2 trading revs tracking *ahead* of Q1 will literally blow minds,” Snow added.
Meanwhile, crypto commentator 0xCristian said in an April 16 post that the success of Coinbase’s layer-2 network Base will have a positive impact on its Q1 2024 earnings report.
Q1 seen massive volume for Base + Coinbase wallet.
Although Goel predicts that Coinbase will not “internalize” the revenue from Base for the past quarter:“However, I expect Coinbase not to internalize this revenue. |
Apple Pay is the benchmark as crypto mobile payments push for adoption | Cryptocurrency payment platforms are slowly being onboarded to major e-commerce platforms and retail stores, but their user experience and performance don’t quite match that of Apple Pay.
Stijn Paumen, CEO of growing crypto payments platform Helio, paints a picture of a sector still in its infancy during a one-on-one interview with Cointelegraph.
The CEO and founder said that while Bitcoin and Ethereum are pioneering decentralized blockchain protocols, the base layer of both chains cannot compete with the performance and functionality of traditional financial infrastructure.
“I think the benchmark is Apple Pay. How are you going to beat Apple Pay, where I can just tap my phone and I’ve paid within three seconds,” Paumen explains.
Gareth Jenkinson (l) in conversation with Stijn Paumen. Helio operates out of London with a team of 15 people.
The advent of newer blockchain networks is beginning to bridge the gap, but not without teething issues, as Paumen said:
“Now with the second generation of blockchains like Solana, even though there’s a lot of talk about congestion, we actually have the engineering resources to figure it out.”
Helio was founded by Paumen and chief technology officer Jim Walker in March 2022. The pair had previously exited a successful startup and shifted into the crypto sector. Paumen says they were excited by the prospect of Solana’s high TPS and fast finality as the basis of building a new crypto payment platform.
“Ever since someone paid 10,000 BTC for a pizza, crypto payments became a thing. But the user experience sucked. You had 20-minute payment times or payments not being processed at all,” Paumen said.
Related: How Solana developers are tackling network congestion challenges
Helio’s platform allows merchants and e-commerce sites of all sizes to set up and accept cryptocurrency payments. According to Paumen, the platform facilitates $30 million in monthly payments but still mainly caters to the Web3 space on both the user and merchant fronts.
It has also made waves in the Solana ecosystem, facilitating the sale of some 80,000 Solana mobile phones through its payment plugin. Helio's high-profile integrations include managing the Solana Pay plugin on Shopify and its WooCommerce plugin.
Helio has been operating the Solana Pay plugin on Shopify since December 2023. Source: Helio
The platform supports Bitcoin (BTC), Solana (SOL), Solana-based USD Coin (USDC) and SPL tokens as well as Ethereum-based payments. Helio also facilitates ticket sales for the annual Ethereum Community Conference (EthCC), which connects to their Bizzabo event software.
Related: Boba Guys, Shopify users showcase adoption of Web3 tools — Solana Breakpoint
Paumen believes that Web3 payments potentially challenging mainstream industry players remains an ecosystem challenge.
“If you have a Phantom wallet and you know how to use it, you can pay on a Helio checkout with a single tap as fast as Apple Pay. But you need to assume that you're a crypto-fluent user, and that's a very small percentage,” Paumen admits.
Progress will likely be gradual, as more crypto-curious users begin to use Web3 wallet and make payments in their token of choice. Paumen also says that the onboarding user experience needs to improve to be accessible to a wide demographic of users.
Helio's platform allows merchants to accept a variety of cryptocurrencies as payment for goods and services. Source: Helio
“We talk about this concept of crypto granny internally. What we mean is, when crypto granny buys a Bored Ape hoodie for her grandson, she needs to be able to do that without owning crypto, without even knowing what blockchain is,” Paumen added.
Helio’s CEO concluded by saying that the future could see the likes of Apple Pay potentially settling payments on their own blockchain. However, he said he firmly believes in the idea of a decentralized way to send money worldwide “without intermediaries, with fast or instant settlement with low fees.”
“I think it’s just a really powerful technology. We’re still early. The fact that Visa is partnering with Solana is a great signal, though.”
While onboarding major e-commerce platforms is the lowest-hanging fruit for mass adoption, Paumen believes that streaming platforms like Vimeo and even OnlyFans also present an excellent platform for the utility of crypto payments.
Magazine: Big Questions: How can Bitcoin payments stage a comeback? | Stijn Paumen, CEO of growing crypto payments platform Helio, paints a picture of a sector still in its infancy during a one-on-one interview with Cointelegraph.
“I think the benchmark is Apple Pay.
“Ever since someone paid 10,000 BTC for a pizza, crypto payments became a thing.
“If you have a Phantom wallet and you know how to use it, you can pay on a Helio checkout with a single tap as fast as Apple Pay.
Helio’s CEO concluded by saying that the future could see the likes of Apple Pay potentially settling payments on their own blockchain. |
Hong Kong Bitcoin, Ether ETF structures revealed ahead of April 30 launch | Hong Kong spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) will be remarkably different from their United States counterparts, with the city’s regulator having greenlit them for an April 30 launch.
According to a report by one of the issuers, ChinaAMC, its spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) ETFs will track the performance of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s crypto indexes. Redemptions will be available in both fiat money and crypto funds. In addition, ChinaAMC’s crypto ETFs will be denominated in three currencies: the U.S. dollar, Hong Kong dollar and Chinese yuan. Investment asset manager BOCI-Prudential and crypto exchange OSL will act as the custodians for the ETFs.
The aforementioned two firms will also custody spot Bitcoin and Ether ETF assets for issuer Harvest Global. BOCI and OSL "effectively solves problems such as excessive margin requirements, price premiums caused by missing short positions, and roll losses, thereby more accurately reflecting the real-time value of Bitcoin and Ethereum,” said Harvest Global staff in a statement.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong-based HashKey Capital will jointly launch its spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs with Bosera Asset Management. Regarding the future of the crypto ETFs, its staff wrote:
“The approval of the virtual asset spot ETF and the innovative introduction of a currency-holding subscription mechanism (which allows investors to directly use Bitcoin and Ethereum to subscribe for corresponding ETF shares) are expected to further promote the development of the virtual asset market in Hong Kong and even Asia., attracting more global capital inflows.”
On April 24, Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas mentioned that Hong Kong Bitcoin ETF management fees will range from 0.3% to 0.99%. This is much higher than U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, where some issuers charge less than 0.25% per annum. “A potential fee war could break out in Hong Kong over these Bitcoin & Ethereum ETFs,” commented Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart.
The structure of Hong Kong spot crypto ETFs (Source: Bloomberg)
All three ETF issuers will create and redeem ETF shares on Hong Kong's regulated crypto exchanges, OSL and HashKey. Each day, investors will have until 11:00 am local time to redeem their shares for cash or until 4:00 pm for crypto withdrawals. BOCI Prudential will serve as the custodian for all issuers, while market makers include Vivienne Court, Virtu Financial and others.
Related: Hong Kong approves first Bitcoin and Ether ETFs | Hong Kong spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) will be remarkably different from their United States counterparts, with the city’s regulator having greenlit them for an April 30 launch.
In addition, ChinaAMC’s crypto ETFs will be denominated in three currencies: the U.S. dollar, Hong Kong dollar and Chinese yuan.
The aforementioned two firms will also custody spot Bitcoin and Ether ETF assets for issuer Harvest Global.
The structure of Hong Kong spot crypto ETFs (Source: Bloomberg)All three ETF issuers will create and redeem ETF shares on Hong Kong's regulated crypto exchanges, OSL and HashKey.
Related: Hong Kong approves first Bitcoin and Ether ETFs |
‘I’ve moved on to other things’ — Satoshi Nakamoto’s final email revisited after 13 years | Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin (BTC), decided to move on to other things 13 years ago, when they sent the last communication to Bitcoin’s first developers on April 23, 2011.
Bitcoin core developer Mike Hearn previously revealed the final instructions as part of an email exchange with Nakamoto about the challenges and technical aspects of implementing Bitcoin functionalities to control spam using BTC as collateral:
“I do hope your BitcoinJ continues to be developed into an alternative client. It gives Java devs something to work on, and it’s easier with a simpler foundation that doesn’t have to do everything.”
Satoshi’s final message also adds a sense of passage:
“I had a few other things on my mind (as always). [...] I’ve moved on to other things. It’s in good hands with Gavin and everyone.”
History of Crypto: Bitcoin — Satoshi Nakamoto’s response to the global financial crisis
Nakamoto’s identity remains one of the tech world’s biggest mysteries since no conclusive evidence has been found, which makes the communication with Bitcoin's first adopters a rich source of information about the early days of the cryptocurrency.
Source: Mike Hearn
Various individuals have been speculated to be the original crypto inventor. One of the most controversial cases involved Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist who claimed to be Nakamoto in 2016. Wright faced a lawsuit by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), with United Kingdom Judge James Mellor ruling that he did not create Bitcoin last March.
Satoshi first introduced the world to Bitcoin with the publication of the Bitcoin white paper on Oct. 31, 2008, which was circulated among a mailing list of cryptographers. The paper outlined a method for using a peer-to-peer network to create a system of digital transactions without relying on trust or third-party involvement. Satoshi continued to work on Bitcoin software until 2010, when they handed over control to other developers. Since then, Bitcoin has grown to become a $1.3 trillion asset.
Magazine: Big Questions: Did the NSA create Bitcoin? | Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin (BTC), decided to move on to other things 13 years ago, when they sent the last communication to Bitcoin’s first developers on April 23, 2011.
One of the most controversial cases involved Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist who claimed to be Nakamoto in 2016.
Wright faced a lawsuit by the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), with United Kingdom Judge James Mellor ruling that he did not create Bitcoin last March.
Satoshi continued to work on Bitcoin software until 2010, when they handed over control to other developers.
Magazine: Big Questions: Did the NSA create Bitcoin? |
Bitcoin halving will have to battle with ‘weak time of year’ — Coinbase | Many crypto traders are eyeing the Bitcoin 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.
“The BTC halving, currently due April 20 or 21, could be a catalyst for higher prices, but it will have to contend with what is typically a weak time of year for crypto markets and other risk assets,” the exchange stated.
Bitcoin (BTC) has typically seen a monthly return of about 2.7% from June to September since 2011, while in the other eight months, it averaged a return of around 19.3%, according to data from digital assets research firm Brave New Coin.
Meanwhile, Coinbase further noted that overall crypto volumes “have also continued to slow as the market tries to find the next narrative to power it higher.”
Over the last 24 hours, the total crypto volume was $61.78 billion, a 33.25% decrease from the previous day, according to CoinMarketCap data.
However, the crypto exchange sees signs pointing toward the likelihood of an increase in new investors entering the crypto market in the near future:
“In our view, bitcoin’s increased acceptance as a form of “digital gold” could enable demand from a new subset of investors in this market regime.”
Bitcoin’s dominance in the overall crypto market is 50.6%, according to CoinStats data, which is the market capitalization of Bitcoin relative to the overall crypto market.
Bitcoin dominance chart. Source: CoinStats
Furthermore, the report explained that those awaiting price declines to invest may find the troughs to be less and less as more investors get involved.
“As a result, we think dips are likely to be more aggressively bought compared to previous cycles, even as volatility persists during price discovery,” Coinbase wrote.
Halving events have frequently been associated with spikes in the price of Bitcoin.
Following the previous halving event in May 2020, Bitcoin’s price surged. Starting at $8,787 during the halving, the cryptocurrency rallied, reaching nearly $69,000 in November 2021.
Related: Coinbase cleared in lawsuit over crypto transactions
On April 6, Cointelegraph reported that the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in favor of Coinbase, confirming that the secondary sales of cryptocurrencies on its platform do not violate the Securities Exchange Act.
The plaintiffs contended that Coinbase was offering and selling unregistered securities. Furthermore, they accused the exchange of violating various provisions of securities laws.
However, Coinbase argued that secondary crypto asset sales didn’t meet securities transaction criteria, disputing the relevance of securities regulations.
Magazine: ‘Crypto is inevitable’ so we went ‘all in’: Meet Vance Spencer, permabull | Many crypto traders are eyeing the Bitcoin 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.
Halving events have frequently been associated with spikes in the price of Bitcoin.
Following the previous halving event in May 2020, Bitcoin’s price surged.
However, Coinbase argued that secondary crypto asset sales didn’t meet securities transaction criteria, disputing the relevance of securities regulations. |
Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison | Former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried will serve 25 years in prison following a sentencing hearing in federal court.
On March 28, Judge Lewis Kaplan of United States District Court for the Southern District of New York sentenced Bankman-Fried to 240 months and 60 months for a total of 25 years for his conviction on seven felony charges. SBF was the first person tied to FTX and Alameda Research to face prison time following the collapse of the exchange in November 2022.
Judge Kaplan found that SBF also committed witness tampering based on the events that led him to revoke bail in August 2023 and perjury based on his testimony at trial over FTX user funds. He acknowledged Bankman-Fried’s “social awkwardness” but said, based on former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison’s testimony, SBF knew he was at fault but was “not going to admit a thing.”
“Punishment must fit the seriousness of the crime,” said Judge Kaplan. “And this. Was. A. Serious. Crime [...] When not lying, [Bankman-Fried] was evasive, hair splitting, trying to get the prosecutors to rephrase questions for him. I’ve been doing this job for close for 30 years. I’ve never seen a performance like that.”
A March 28 docket entry for the Southern District of New York suggested the judge would deduct SBF’s time already served from his sentence, meaning 291 months in prison. Judge Kaplan also suggested an $11-billion judgment in addition to SBF’s prison time. He said FTX investors lost $1.7 billion, lenders lost $1.3 billion, and customers lost $8 billion.
According to Inner City Press reporter Matthew Lee, the New York courtroom was packed with members of the public and officials before the U.S. Marshals brought out Bankman-Fried. The former FTX CEO was reportedly wearing light brown clothes — the uniform of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he has stayed since the judge revoked his bail.
“I reject the defense’s argument about loss, both on the law and on the facts,” said Judge Kaplan, according to Inner City Press. “The assertion that customers and creditors will be paid in full is misleading — defendants equate loss with dollar volume in the bankruptcy case.”
The judge added:
“A fortuitous run-up in the value of some cryptocurrencies bears no relation to the gravity of the crimes that were committed. A thief who takes his loot to Las Vegas and successfully bets is not entitled to a sentencing reduction.”
Before the judge announced the sentence, Bankman-Fried said he was “sorry about what happened at every stage,” claiming that “FTX would have survived” if it hadn't been shut down. In a final statement, his attorneys seemingly portrayed the former FTX CEO as a misunderstood genius:
“Sam was not a ruthless financial serial killer. He wasn’t predatory. He makes decisions with math in his head, not malice in his heart.”
Sunil Kavuri, a U.K. national who flew in from London for the sentencing hearing, testified that he had “suffered for two years” after the collapse of FTX. Kavuri addressed the court on behalf of other FTX victims, pushing back against the narrative that the “loss was zero” based on the exchange’s plans for repayment.
“If Mr. Bankman-Fried thought mathematics justified it, he’d do it again,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos. He added there was “no acceptance of responsibility” from the former CEO.
Related: Which crypto figures might be going to prison in 2024?
Judge Kaplan’s sentence essentially split the difference between recommendations from SBF’s attorneys and prosecutors, who argued for a maximum of 6.5 and 50 years, respectively. Many experts predicted Judge Kaplan would impose a sentence of between 10 to 30 years based on the facts of the case and the amount of funds involved.
Gary Wang, Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh and Ryan Salame — four other individuals associated with FTX and Alameda charged in the same case as SBF — have pleaded guilty and accepted deals. Salame, the former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, was the only one of the four to not testify at Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial. He will likely be the next to face sentencing on May 1.
Magazine: ‘Less flashy’ Mashinsky set for less jail time than SBF: Inner City Press, X Hall of Flame
Update (March 28 at 6:40 pm UTC): This article has been updated to include information on Sam Bankman-Fried's time already served at sentencing. | Former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried will serve 25 years in prison following a sentencing hearing in federal court.
SBF was the first person tied to FTX and Alameda Research to face prison time following the collapse of the exchange in November 2022.
Judge Kaplan also suggested an $11-billion judgment in addition to SBF’s prison time.
“I reject the defense’s argument about loss, both on the law and on the facts,” said Judge Kaplan, according to Inner City Press.
In a final statement, his attorneys seemingly portrayed the former FTX CEO as a misunderstood genius:“Sam was not a ruthless financial serial killer. |
Hollywood union deal with music giants guards against AI use | Entertainment industry workers have struck a preliminary agreement with top record labels like Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment to secure higher minimum wages and safeguards against using artificial intelligence (AI).
According to a statement on the website of the Hollywood actors’ union — the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) — the “Sound Recordings Agreement” covers the period from 2021 to 2026 and has received unanimous approval from SAG-AFTRA’s executive committee, representing about 160,000 actors and media personnel.
As the music industry faces the challenge of songs produced by generative AI, which allows internet users to easily replicate the voices of artists — frequently without the artists’ permission — the proposed agreement with record labels mandates consent and compensation before releasing songs featuring digital replicas of artists’ voices.
According to SAG-AFTRA, the terms “artist,” “singer” and “royalty artist” exclusively denote humans under this accord. The agreement also encompasses enhancements in health and retirement benefits, along with an expansion in the portion of streaming revenue subject to contributions.
A final vote for ratification by members is anticipated in the coming weeks.
The agreement comes as AI technology has become a significant concern in the entertainment sector, dominating discussions between SAG-AFTRA and major studios in 2023. Following months of strikes, negotiations concluded in November with a contract agreement.
Related: Amazon denies using AI voice in Road House remake
SAG-AFTRA national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland believes that Music’s essence should perpetually stem from authentic human expression and lived experiences:
“This agreement ensures that our members are protected. While technology can enhance the creative process, the essence of music must always be rooted in genuine human expression and experience.”
In January, SAG-AFTRA reached another agreement with Replica Studios — an AI voice technology company — concerning the use of AI voices in video games. The agreement will provide performers with the right to consent and negotiate with the AI company, as well as the power to opt out of “continued use” of their voices in “new projects.”
AI holds immense potential in film, especially in virtual filmmaking. It offers lifelike sets and cost efficiency. With its greater creative flexibility and lower production costs, this technology has the potential to completely transform the filmmaking process. Despite its transformative power, the AI protection deal aims to ensure fair credit for industry contributors.
Magazine: AI has killed the industry’: EasyTranslate boss on adapting to change | Entertainment industry workers have struck a preliminary agreement with top record labels like Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment to secure higher minimum wages and safeguards against using artificial intelligence (AI).
The agreement comes as AI technology has become a significant concern in the entertainment sector, dominating discussions between SAG-AFTRA and major studios in 2023.
With its greater creative flexibility and lower production costs, this technology has the potential to completely transform the filmmaking process.
Despite its transformative power, the AI protection deal aims to ensure fair credit for industry contributors.
Magazine: AI has killed the industry’: EasyTranslate boss on adapting to change |
Argentine government passes registration requirements for crypto firms | Argentina’s government has begun implementing requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges to operate legally in the country.
In a March 25 announcement, Argentina’s Comisión Nacional de Valores (CNV) — the country’s equivalent of a securities regulator — said virtual asset service providers would be operating in accordance with recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Certain companies offering crypto-related services must register with the Argentina government as part of reforms to the country’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) laws.
The implementation of the law affecting crypto providers in Argentina moved forward on March 14, when the country’s senate approved modifying laws aimed at preventing money laundering and the financing of terrorism. CNV President Roberto Silva said virtual asset service providers that are not registered “will not be able to operate in the country.”
The proposed modification to Argentina’s laws affecting crypto users reportedly came before Javier Milei won the country’s presidential election in November 2023. Many crypto proponents lauded the ascension of Milei at the time for his seemingly pro-Bitcoin (BTC) views, but the implementation of the FATF requirements seems to have many concerned for for the future of digital assets in Argentina.
Related: Bitcoin demand in Argentina reaches highest point in nearly 2 years
Many users on Strike, popular in Argentina for facilitating Bitcoin payments via the Lightning network, reported the app no longer allows locals to send fiat to bank accounts. It’s unclear how the requirements may affect businesses operating in Argentina or customers seeking to use their services. In December 2023, Argentina’s minister of foreign affairs said contracts could be settled in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Milei spoke publicly on April 2 as part of a Malvinas Day ceremony recognizing the loss of life during the Falklands War in 1982.
Magazine: Bitcoin ETFs make Coinbase a ‘honeypot’ for hackers and governments: Trezor CEO | Argentina’s government has begun implementing requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges to operate legally in the country.
The implementation of the law affecting crypto providers in Argentina moved forward on March 14, when the country’s senate approved modifying laws aimed at preventing money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
It’s unclear how the requirements may affect businesses operating in Argentina or customers seeking to use their services.
In December 2023, Argentina’s minister of foreign affairs said contracts could be settled in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Milei spoke publicly on April 2 as part of a Malvinas Day ceremony recognizing the loss of life during the Falklands War in 1982. |
Paraguay to reconsider Bitcoin mining ban, mulls selling energy to miners | Paraguayan senators have halted progress on the proposed cryptocurrency mining ban introduced last week, with officials now considering the benefits of selling excess energy from its Itaipu hydropower plant to miners instead of exporting it to Brazil and Argentina.
A debate will be held in an April 23 public hearing to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of Bitcoin mining in the country, Senator Lilian Samaniego confirmed in an April 10 Senate session.
It comes about a week after lawmakers introduced a draft law on April 4 to temporarily ban Bitcoin (BTC) mining for 180 days, claiming illegal cryptocurrency mines have been stealing power and disrupting the country’s electricity supply.
However, days later, Paraguayan lawmakers approved a declaration to support local and foreign investment infrastructure four days later on April 8, which Senator Salyn Buzarquis hopes will push the Paraguayan Ministry of Industry to study the economic advantages of selling excess energy to Bitcoin miners instead.
Senator Salyn Buzarquis speaking to Paraguay’s senate on April 10. Source: YouTube
In an April 8 letter to Congress, Buzarquis noted that that 45 licensed cryptocurrency miners are on track to generate $48 million for the National Electricity Administration (ANDE) by 2024 — expected to reach $125 million by 2025 after miners install more equipment.
With the cost of electricity production at Paraguay’s Itaipu’s hydropower plant hovering around the $22-per-megawatt-hour (MWh) range, ANDE could generate a 45% net profit margin by selling off excess energy to local Bitcoin miners at $40/MWh.
This equates to $73 million annually and about $17 million in value-added tax for the treasury, noted Buzarquis, who claimed that Bitcoin mining operations could even save ANDE from filing for bankruptcy.
“This flow of funds is what is going to save ANDE from going bankrupt; to be able to invest more in infrastructure and not to raise the rate for Paraguyans.”
Paraguay currently sells energy to Brazil at a subsidized $10/MWh rate, Buzarquis noted.
Cryptocurrency mining could also generate more employment opportunities for the local economy, Buzarquis added in the April 10 senate session.
Related: Bitcoin’s halving won’t see a 600% return this year — so adjust your strategy
In the earlier April 4 bill, lawmakers argued that there have been 50 cases of interrupted power supply linked to cryptocurrency miners illegally tapping into these electricity sources since February.
If passed, it could impact one of the largest industry players, Marathon Digital Holdings, which expanded into Paraguay last November, deploying 27 MW around the Itaipu hydroelectric power plant.
But Paraguay would be shooting themselves in the foot by banning the entire industry, Hashlabs Mining co-founder and chief mining strategist Jaran Mellerud told Cointelegraph. "The country would be best off cracking down on illegal mining operations while leaving the legal miners alone."
In addition to the 45 licensed miners, there are another 20 applicants seeking approval to mine in the country, totaling 2000 MW, according to an April 9 article by Digital Mining Solution's founder Nico Smid.
The controversy in Paraguay comes as Bitcoin miners prepare for the upcoming Bitcoin halving event expected to take place on April 20, which will slice miner rewards from 6.25 BTC ($442,000) to 3.125 BTC ($221,000).
Magazine: Wolf Of All Streets worries about a world where Bitcoin hits $1M: Hall of Flame | Paraguayan senators have halted progress on the proposed cryptocurrency mining ban introduced last week, with officials now considering the benefits of selling excess energy from its Itaipu hydropower plant to miners instead of exporting it to Brazil and Argentina.
A debate will be held in an April 23 public hearing to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of Bitcoin mining in the country, Senator Lilian Samaniego confirmed in an April 10 Senate session.
Cryptocurrency mining could also generate more employment opportunities for the local economy, Buzarquis added in the April 10 senate session.
But Paraguay would be shooting themselves in the foot by banning the entire industry, Hashlabs Mining co-founder and chief mining strategist Jaran Mellerud told Cointelegraph.
The controversy in Paraguay comes as Bitcoin miners prepare for the upcoming Bitcoin halving event expected to take place on April 20, which will slice miner rewards from 6.25 BTC ($442,000) to 3.125 BTC ($221,000). |
Binance exec will remain in Nigerian custody until May 17 bail hearing: Report | Tigran Gambaryan, a Binance executive detained in Nigeria since February, will reportedly remain in custody until a bail hearing on May 17.
According to April 23 reports from local news outlets, Gambaryan will remain in Nigeria’s Kuje prison until at least May 17, when a judge will decide whether to grant the Binance executive bail. He initially traveled to Nigeria in February with fellow Binance executive Nadeem Anjarwalla to address claims the exchange manipulated the country’s fiat currency, the naira. Nigerian authorities detained both Binance executives as the crypto exchange announced that it intended to cease all naira transactions.
Gambaryan was expected to return to court on April 19 following an initial postponement, and the question of bail was to be addressed on April 22. He has pleaded not guilty to tax evasion and money laundering charges brought by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, with a trial scheduled for May 2.
Anjarwalla reportedly escaped Nigeria custody in March, using his Kenyan passport — he is both a British and Kenyan national — to fly out of Abuja. Reports from April 22 suggested that Kenya’s police arrested Anjarwalla and may extradite him to Nigeria to face criminal charges.
Related: Nigeria launches first multilingual large language model in Africa
Many have criticized the government’s charges as lacking merit, as Binance said Gambaryan had “no decision-making power” at the crypto firm. On March 30, Yuki Gambaryan, Tigran’s wife, launched a petition for the U.S. State Department, Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Nigerian government and U.S. President Joe Biden to to return him to the United States. As of April 23, the petition had 3,960 signatures.
In a separate case in the United States, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao is expected to be sentenced on April 30 following his guilty plea for failure to maintain an Anti-Money Laundering program while leading the exchange. He could face up to 10 years in prison.
Magazine: South Africa’s digital-nomad crypto hub: Cape Town, Crypto City Guide | Tigran Gambaryan, a Binance executive detained in Nigeria since February, will reportedly remain in custody until a bail hearing on May 17.
According to April 23 reports from local news outlets, Gambaryan will remain in Nigeria’s Kuje prison until at least May 17, when a judge will decide whether to grant the Binance executive bail.
He initially traveled to Nigeria in February with fellow Binance executive Nadeem Anjarwalla to address claims the exchange manipulated the country’s fiat currency, the naira.
Nigerian authorities detained both Binance executives as the crypto exchange announced that it intended to cease all naira transactions.
Reports from April 22 suggested that Kenya’s police arrested Anjarwalla and may extradite him to Nigeria to face criminal charges. |
Massive SOL liquidation by FTX estate nets nearly $2B | 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.
The bankrupt exchange sold between 25 million and 30 million locked-up SOL tokens at $64 a token, generating around $1.9 billion for FTX creditors. FTX was an early investor in Solana. Its 41 million SOL tokens are subject to a four-year vesting schedule, meaning they cannot be traded in the market until the deadline passes.
According to CoinMarketCap, the SOL token is trading at $176 at the time of writing, posting an impressive 743% gain over the past 12 months, boosted by the recovery of the crypto markets and the surge of memecoins.
SOL token performance over 12 months. Source: CoinMarketCap
Galaxy Trading, a division of Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital, reportedly raised roughly $620 million to purchase SOL tokens from the FTX estate. Investing in the fund will incur a 1% management fee. According to sources, the fund also seeks to generate returns for its investors from staking. Galaxy Asset Management, another branch of Galaxy Digital, assisted in exchanging and selling its assets.
Pantera Capital also raised $250 million to purchase SOL tokens from FTX estate, Bloomberg said. Neptune Digital Assets, a Canadian blockchain company, acquired 26,964 SOL tokens for $64 each on March 27.
The sale of FTX assets at a steep discount has sparked criticism from the exchange’s creditors.
On March 28, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges of fraud stemming from the exchange’s collapse in November 2022. During his sentencing, creditors accused the exchange’s liquidators of violating the creditor’s “property rights.”
“They have liquidated billions of dollars of crypto assets. There’s a token S&C [Sullivan & Cromwel] sold at 11 cents; it’s now trading at two dollars. FTX had $10 billion [misprint] in Solana tokens — they sold it at 70% discount,” said FTX creditor Sunil Kavuri.
Creditors of FTX have filed a class action against Sullivan & Cromwell, alleging that the firm participated in the fraud before representing the exchange during bankruptcy proceedings. | 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.
Its 41 million SOL tokens are subject to a four-year vesting schedule, meaning they cannot be traded in the market until the deadline passes.
Pantera Capital also raised $250 million to purchase SOL tokens from FTX estate, Bloomberg said.
Neptune Digital Assets, a Canadian blockchain company, acquired 26,964 SOL tokens for $64 each on March 27.
FTX had $10 billion [misprint] in Solana tokens — they sold it at 70% discount,” said FTX creditor Sunil Kavuri. |
Paraguay floats temp crypto mining ban as illegal ‘farms’ cripple grid | Paraguay lawmakers have proposed a bill to temporarily ban crypto mining and related activities in the South American nation, saying illegal crypto mines are stealing power and interrupting the electricity supply.
The draft law introduced on April 4 would ban (translated) “the installation of crypto mining farms” along with ”the creation, conservation, storage and commercialization” of cryptocurrencies.
Its broad scope seemingly aims to regulate crypto staking — “the creation of new crypto assets” — and wallets — “the conservation and storage activities of crypto assets.”
The ban would stretch for 180 days — around six months — or until a full law is enacted and power grid operator the National Electricity Administration (ANDE) guarantees it can supply enough energy to crypto miners “without affecting other users of Paraguay’s electrical system.”
A highlighted and translated excerpt of the draft law outlining what would be banned. Source: Republic of Paraguay Congress
Noted in the draft is the “significant boom” of crypto miners setting up in Paraguay, reportedly attracted to its “abundant hydroelectric energy.”
The Alto Paraná region in the county’s southeast bordering Brazil and Argentina is an area crypto miners have flocked to, the draft states. The area houses the Itaipu hydroelectric dam, the world’s third-largest supplying all of Paraguay’s domestic electricity needs.
Since February, the region has seen 50 cases of interrupted power supply linked to crypto miners clandestinely and illegally hooking into the grid, it claimed.
ANDE estimates each so-called “crypto mining farm” causes damages and losses of up to around $94,900 (700 million Paraguayan guaraníes) and claims the yearly estimated losses in Alto Paraná could climb up to $60 million (420 billion guaraníes).
Related: Bitcoin halving ‘blood bath’ could push US miners offshore
The draft claims crypto regulations would mean Paraguay could better supervise the industry, and the legal void is causing issues for Paraguay with digital assets short on consumer protections along with having possible use in money laundering and tax evasion.
In 2022, Paraguay came close to passing a tax and legal framework for the crypto and crypto mining sector but was vetoed by then-president Mario Abdo Benítez over concerns mining’s high power consumption would hamstring expanding a sustainable energy system.
Magazine: Bitcoin in Senegal: Why is this African country using BTC? | Paraguay lawmakers have proposed a bill to temporarily ban crypto mining and related activities in the South American nation, saying illegal crypto mines are stealing power and interrupting the electricity supply.
The draft law introduced on April 4 would ban (translated) “the installation of crypto mining farms” along with ”the creation, conservation, storage and commercialization” of cryptocurrencies.
Source: Republic of Paraguay CongressNoted in the draft is the “significant boom” of crypto miners setting up in Paraguay, reportedly attracted to its “abundant hydroelectric energy.”The Alto Paraná region in the county’s southeast bordering Brazil and Argentina is an area crypto miners have flocked to, the draft states.
Since February, the region has seen 50 cases of interrupted power supply linked to crypto miners clandestinely and illegally hooking into the grid, it claimed.
ANDE estimates each so-called “crypto mining farm” causes damages and losses of up to around $94,900 (700 million Paraguayan guaraníes) and claims the yearly estimated losses in Alto Paraná could climb up to $60 million (420 billion guaraníes). |
Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade to make normal wallets ‘smart’ and improve UX | Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade, slated for late 2024 or early 2025, is bringing with it a host of more functionality for crypto wallets and upgrades to their user experience (UX).
Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 3074 was approved for inclusion in the next update, which allows normal crypto wallets to work like smart contracts.
One of EIP-3074’s functions gives standard externally owned accounts (EOAs), normal wallets such as a MetaMask wallet, smart contract capabilities.
This allows functions such as transaction bundling, so users only have to sign once, and sponsored transactions where a wallet can delegate funds for use by another, similar to account abstraction that was introduced in ERC-4337.
Anonymous DefiLlama developer 0xngmi claimed in an April 11 X post that the EIP’s downside is “now it’ll be possible to fully drain an address (all tokens, all NFTs, all DeFi positions...) with only one bad signature.”
Gaslite co-founder Harrison Leggio wrote on X that while there are security concerns with the update, “people will always find a way to lose their money.”
“People literally GIVE THEIR PRIVATE KEYS TO TRADING BOTS,” he added.
Software engineer Laurence Day wrote that the EIP’s “most obviously useful application” was its sponsored transactions, as it allowed users to “store assets in a wallet that doesn’t hold Ether,” and they could sponsor the gas from a contract controlling the wallet.
Other slated functions of EIP-3074 include a social recovery feature that negates the need for the typical 12-to-24-word seed phrase.
Anonymous Web3 adviser Cygaar explained on X that the EIP turns wallets into smart contracts by adding two new operating instructions — AUTH and AUTHCALL.
Related: History of Crypto: Crypto winter and Ethereum landmarks
AUTH verifies signatures and actions. AUTHCALL then “calls the target contract(s) with the originator address as the caller” rather than the message sender, Cygaar wrote.
The planned Pectra update comes after Ethereum developers pushed through the Dencun update last month, which lowered layer-2 transaction fees.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin also shared in early April the next steps for the “Purge,” which would remove old and excess network history in order to simplify it.
Magazine: Here’s how Ethereum’s ZK-rollups can become interoperable | Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade, slated for late 2024 or early 2025, is bringing with it a host of more functionality for crypto wallets and upgrades to their user experience (UX).
Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 3074 was approved for inclusion in the next update, which allows normal crypto wallets to work like smart contracts.
One of EIP-3074’s functions gives standard externally owned accounts (EOAs), normal wallets such as a MetaMask wallet, smart contract capabilities.
Anonymous Web3 adviser Cygaar explained on X that the EIP turns wallets into smart contracts by adding two new operating instructions — AUTH and AUTHCALL.
Related: History of Crypto: Crypto winter and Ethereum landmarksAUTH verifies signatures and actions. |
Social sim Today closes seed round to build Animal Crossings-like game with AI NPCs | 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 nonplayer 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. Depending on the rarity of the seed, the island will have different features, characters and objects to explore.
The game is set to launch in early 2025, but a steady stream of work-in-progress videos shows off a gaming world reminiscent of the so-called “cozy games” genre. This includes titles such as Animal Crossings, Stardew Valley and Sun Haven, which are notable for providing a simulated social experience.
This is usually accomplished through the use of compelling nonplayer characters — agents that exist in a game to propel the story and challenge or assist the player characters controlled by human users — capable of imitating conversation through the use of scripted dialogue trees.
In Today’s case, the company says it intends to power its nonplayer characters with generative AI technology.
Generative AI includes popular tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude models. These systems are capable of generating compelling speech on myriad subjects. Ostensibly, they could empower NPCs capable of endless conversation. However, it’s worth noting that even the most powerful generative AI systems have a tendency to output responses that contain false or nonsensical information.
Related: Bitkraft launches $275M gaming fund, bringing total managed assets to $1B
In an interview with GamesBeat, Michael O’Connor, co-founder of Today, said the team’s intent is to replicate real-life relationship dynamics within the game:
“Social simulation games lack deep, realistic NPC interactions which limit player immersion and reduce relationships to superficial exchanges. We’re transforming expectations by replicating the nuances of real-life dynamics using advanced AI that gives our NPCs unparalleled depth and responsiveness.”
Done well, this could offer players a happy medium between the eventual banality of NPCs who’ve exhausted their scripted dialogue and the often-cacophonous experience that accompanies multiplayer gaming with other players. | 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 nonplayer characters (NPCs) powered by generative artificial intelligence (AI).
In Today’s case, the company says it intends to power its nonplayer characters with generative AI technology.
Generative AI includes popular tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude models.
Ostensibly, they could empower NPCs capable of endless conversation.
However, it’s worth noting that even the most powerful generative AI systems have a tendency to output responses that contain false or nonsensical information. |
DeepMind CEO says Google to spend more than $100B on AGI despite hype | Google’s not backing down from the challenge posed by Microsoft when it comes to the artificial intelligence sector. At least not according to the CEO of Google DeepMind, Demis Hassabis.
Speaking at a TED conference in Canada, Hassabis recently went on the record saying that he expected Google to spend more than $100 billion on the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI) over time. His comments reportedly came in response to a question concerning Microsoft’s recent “Stargate” announcement.
Stargate
Microsoft and OpenAI are reportedly in discussions to build a $100 billion supercomputer project for the purpose of training AI systems. According to the Intercept, a person wishing to remain anonymous, who has had direct conversations with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and seen the initial cost estimates on the project, says it’s currently being discussed under the codename “Stargate.”
To put the proposed costs into perspective, the world’s most powerful supercomputer, the U.S.-based “Frontier” system, cost approximately $600 million to build.
According to the report, Stargate wouldn’t be a single system similar to Frontier. It will instead spread out a series of computers across the U.S. in five phases with the last phase being the penultimate “Stargate” system.
Artificial general intelligence
Hassabis’ comments don’t hint at exactly how Google might respond, but seemingly confirm the notion that the company is aware of Microsoft's endeavors and plans on investing just as much, if not more.
Ultimately, the stakes are simple. Both companies are vying to become the first organization to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI). Today’s AI systems are constrained by their training methods and data and, as such, fall well short of “human-level” intelligence across myriad benchmarks.
AGI is a nebulous term for an AI system theoretically capable of doing anything an average adult human could do, given the right resources. An AGI system with access to a line of credit or a cryptocurrency wallet and the internet, for example, should be able to start and run its own business.
Related: DeepMind co-founder says AI will be able to invent, market, run businesses by 2029
Cryptocurrency
The main challenge to being the first company to develop AGI is that there’s no scientific consensus on exactly what an AGI is or how one could be created.
Even among the world’s most famous AI scientists — Meta’s Yann LeCun, Google’s Demis Hassabis, etc. — there exists no small amount of disagreement as to whether AGI can even be achieved using the current “brute force” method of increasing datasets and training parameters, or if it can be achieved at all.
In a Financial Times article published in March, Hassabis made a negative comparison to the current AI/AGI hype cycle and the scams it’s attracted to the cryptocurrency market. Despite the hype, both AI and crypto have exploded their respective financial spaces in the first four months of 2024.
Where Bitcoin, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency sat at about $30,395 per coin in April of 2023, it’s now over $60,000 as of the time of this article’s publishing, having only recently retreated from an all-time-high about $73K.
Meanwhile, the current AI industry leader, Microsoft, has seen its stock go from $286 a share to around $416 in the same time period. | Speaking at a TED conference in Canada, Hassabis recently went on the record saying that he expected Google to spend more than $100 billion on the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI) over time.
StargateMicrosoft and OpenAI are reportedly in discussions to build a $100 billion supercomputer project for the purpose of training AI systems.
It will instead spread out a series of computers across the U.S. in five phases with the last phase being the penultimate “Stargate” system.
Both companies are vying to become the first organization to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI).
An AGI system with access to a line of credit or a cryptocurrency wallet and the internet, for example, should be able to start and run its own business. |