According to a recent survey, half of Canadian institutional investors and financial services organizations have actively offered at least one type of cryptocurrency asset product or service to clients in the past year. The study revealed that half of the institutional investors surveyed were exposed to crypto through exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end trusts, or other […]

Eddy Lazzarin, CTO of A16z Crypto, one of the largest cryptocurrency-focused venture capital funds, has criticized the meme coins’ effect on the broad appreciation of the cryptocurrency market. Lazzarin stated that meme coins undermined the “long-term vision of crypto” that has maintained some actors in the space, making it look “like a risky casino.” A16z […]

The United States witnessed its first banking failure of 2024 with the closure of Philadelphia-based Republic First Bank, creating ripples within the cryptocurrency community as Bitcoin, Ether, and various altcoins experienced slight price drops following the announcement. This event has spurred discussions among crypto enthusiasts and investors, with some seeing bank failures as a compelling […]

A new law enabling the National Crime Agency and police to seize, freeze, and destroy crypto assets is now in effect in the UK. Under this law, police can seize crypto from suspects without needing to make an arrest first. Additionally, victims have the right to request the release of funds held in crypto accounts […]

According to Chainalysis’ “Crypto Spring Report,” stablecoin adoption and market importance are seeing a rapid increase in 2024, with a significant rise in the number of addresses holding them and their use in on-chain transactions, making them a global financial asset. Legislation efforts in the U.S., such as the Lummis-Gillibrand Payment Stablecoin Act, aim to […]

The chairman of the Swiss National Bank has expressed reservations about incorporating bitcoin into the central bank’s currency reserves. He stated that no decision has been made yet to invest in bitcoin, underscoring the necessity for currency reserves to be liquid, sustainable, and easily tradable, given their use in international payments. Swiss National Bank on […]

PRESS RELEASE. Excitement is brewing in the heart of Asia as Hong Kong regulators pave the way for a new era of innovation with the recent approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This groundbreaking development underscores Hong Kong’s commitment to becoming a regulated hub for Bitcoin. At the same time, the Bitcoin Conference is […]

The Bank of Russia and Rosfinmonitoring revealed the existence of a ‘know your crypto customer’ system pilot, that aims to link the fiat operations of crypto users with their blockchain actions. The pilot, which has been ongoing since 2023, involves five banks in Russia and is expected to run until April, but can be extended. […]

On Friday, April 26, Acinq announced that its Lightning Network bitcoin wallet, Phoenix, will cease services for U.S. residents from May 3, 2024. This announcement followed closely on the heels of the Samourai Wallet indictment and what is perceived as a targeted U.S. government effort against financial privacy and non-custodial solutions. Lightning Network Platform Phoenix […]

Over the past 90 days, while bitcoin has shown steady performance, 19 other cryptocurrencies have outpaced the leading digital asset in terms of price growth. However, the Altcoin Season Index, which measures the performance of these cryptocurrencies against bitcoin, has dropped from 59 to 39 since early April, signaling that an altcoin season is unlikely […]

Following the halving event on April 19, the price of Bitcoin has displayed a puzzling performance. BTC initially gained nearly 10% to trade as high as $67,020 on April 24. However, in the last two days,  the digital asset’s price has declined by 6.49%, falling below the $63,000 price mark.  As expected, such negative performance has drawn attention from investors and market speculators. In particular, renowned analyst with X handle Rekt Capital has provided a theory on Bitcoin’s price fall and perhaps an insight into the future price movements of the crypto market leader. Related Reading: Timing The Breakout: When Will Bitcoin Escape The Post-Halving Consolidation? BTC Potential Price Decline Ahead? In an X post on April 26, Rekt Capital stated that Bitcoin has now entered the Post-Halving “Danger Zone.” The analyst described this phenomenon as a period during which Bitcoin has historically experienced price corrections after the halving event. Rekt Capital noted that in 2016, Bitcoin recorded these price retraces in the three weeks following the Halving event. During this time, the token’s price declined by 11%.  The analyst postulates that Bitcoin is now in the Post-Halving “Danger Zone” of the current bull cycle following its price fall over the last two days. It is worth stating that if Bitcoin mirrors past price movement in this phase, the token could be heading for $60,000. However, Rekt Capital states that if the crypto market leader experiences such a fate, it will be within the next two weeks.  At the time of writing, Bitcoin trades around $62,672 with a decline of 2.44% in the last day. This price fall underscores BTC’s negative performance in the last month in which it has lost 11.16% of its market value.  BTC trades at $63,023 on the daily chart | Source: BTCUSD chart on Tradingview.com Related Reading: Forbes Unveils 20 Crypto ‘Zombies,’ Declares Ripple And XRP Among The Undead Bitcoin ETFs Record Minor Inflow; Net Outflows Hit $217 Million According to data from SoSoValue, the Bitcoin Spot ETF market recorded net outflows to the tune of $217 million on April 25. Unsurprisingly, Grayscale’s GBTC accounted for $138 million of these figures as its total outflows now approach $17 billion. Notably, for the first time ever, Fidelity’s FBTC and Valkyrie’s BRRR  produced net outflows estimated at $22 million and $20 million, respectively. Meanwhile, ARK Invest’s ARKB and Bitwise’s BITB also experienced a loss in investment on Thursday. Interestingly, all other Bitcoin Spot ETFs recorded zero net flows except Franklin Tempton’s EZBC, which saw a net inflow of $1.87 million. At the time of writing, the BTC spot ETFs have a combined value of $128 billion, reflecting a remarkable growth since their trading debut on January 11. Featured image from The Economic Times, chart from Tradingview

In a controversial report, Forbes unveiled a list of 20 “crypto billion-dollar zombies,” Layer 1 (L1) tokens, which the news outlet defines as crypto assets with substantial valuations but “limited utility beyond speculative trading.”  These cryptocurrencies and projects include Ripple, XRP, Ethereum Classic (ETC), Tezos (XTZ), Algorand (ALGO), and Cardano (ADA), among others.  XRP And Ethereum Classic In The Spotlight Ripple Labs, the company behind XRP, was highlighted as a prominent crypto zombie. Despite XRP’s active trading volume of around $2 billion daily, Forbes asserts that the token’s primary purpose remains “speculative” and “lacking meaningful utility.”  Related Reading: XRP Whales Are Active: Here’s Where They Are Sending Coins However, Ripple Labs and XRP are not alone in this regard. Forbes reveals that 50 blockchains, excluding Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), currently trade at values surpassing $1 billion, with at least 20 of them classified as “functional zombies.” Collectively, these 20 blockchains hold a market value of $116 billion, despite having “limited user bases.” According to Forbes, an example of a “functional zombie” is Ethereum Classic, which maintains the distinction of being the original Ethereum chain.  While ETC has a market value of $4.6 billion, its fee generation in 2023 was less than $41,000, raising questions about the blockchain’s viability for the news organization. Another crypto project in Forbes’ report is Tezos, which raised $230 million through an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017.  Tezos’ XTZ token currently holds a market capitalization of $1.2 billion. However, the blockchain’s fee earnings were meager, with $5,640 in February 2024 and a total of $177,653 for all of 2023.  Algorand, once hailed as an “Ethereum killer” due to its capability of processing 7,500 transactions per second, faces similar challenges.  Despite a market cap of $2 billion and a treasury holding of $500 million, Algorand earned $63,000 in blockchain transaction fees throughout 2023. For Forbes, this casts doubt on its actual adoption and utility. Crypto ‘Zombie’ Blockchains The zombie blockchains are categorized into two groups by Forbes: spin-offs and direct competitors to established blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum.  Spin-off zombies include Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), Monero (XMR), Bitcoin SV (BSV), and Ethereum Classic.  These blockchains, collectively valued at $23 billion, reportedly emerged from “disagreements” among programmers regarding the governance and direction of the original chains.  Forbes notes that when such conflicts arise, hard forks occur, resulting in new networks that share the same transaction history as their predecessors. The agency claims that their market value “often exceeds” their real-world usage. Related Reading: Ethereum Withdrawals From Exchanges Top 260,000 ETH – What This Means For Price Overall, The report highlights a growing disparity between the valuations of certain projects in the cryptocurrency industry and their actual utility and usage. Consequently, Forbes refers to these projects as “zombies.” Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com 

Billionaire investor Anthony Scaramucci, the founder of SkyBridge Capital, recently discussed the viability of financial assets. He took to X, a social media platform previously known as Twitter and owned by Elon Musk, to highlight the decreasing purchasing power of the United States dollar in comparison to the potential of Bitcoin (BTC). US Dollar Vs. Bitcoin Value Performance In the post on X, the SkyBridge Capital founder pointed out that a dollar from 2020 is now only worth about 75 cents, underscoring a significant devaluation due to inflation. Related Reading: Is A $72K Bitcoin Surge On The Horizon? Glassnode’s Latest Analysis Points To An Answer According to Scaramucci, this scenario illustrates why investors should reconsider traditional fiat currencies as a reliable store of value, advocating instead for the inherent benefits of digital assets like Bitcoin. Dollar from 2020 is now worth 75 cents. Buy Bitcoin credit @balajis pic.twitter.com/WzIosKfJv2 — Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) April 26, 2024 Scaramucci’s critique comes at a time when the global economy grapples with heightened inflation rates, which have eroded the real value of fiat money. He specifically cited a “25.14% compounded inflation rate” as a critical indicator of why the dollar is losing ground. In contrast, Bitcoin has not only maintained a strong profile but has also appreciated in value, further cementing its position as a viable hedge against inflation and a potential safe haven for investors. So far, Bitcoin’s market performance has been quite appealing. Particularly, despite the significant downturn experienced in the past few years, the asset has managed to come out of the bloodbath and recently soared to an all-time high above $73,000 in March. This peak performance labels Bitcoin as not just a digital asset but a major player in the global financial landscape. However, despite Scaramucci’s bullish outlook, it’s worth noting that Bitcoin has seen its share of volatility. It has been struggling to maintain its appeal recently, with a modest 0.9% increase in the last 24 hours – a slight recovery from a 2% drop over the past week. BTC Shifting Market Sentiments Further insights into the market’s behavior towards Bitcoin reveal changing dynamics. Data from CryptoQuant highlighted a negative turn in the Bitcoin funding rate for the first time since October 2023, indicating a cooling interest in speculative trading on the asset. This shift suggests that while the long-term outlook might still be strong, short-term investor sentiment has become cautious, possibly awaiting clearer signals before making further commitments. The current market sentiment is also reflected in the technical analysis of a prominent crypto analyst, Ali. In Ali’s recent post on X, a notable mention was made of a “death cross” seen in Bitcoin’s 12-hour chart, where the short-term moving average dips below a long-term counterpart, traditionally a bearish signal. Additionally, the Tom Demark (TD) Sequential indicator points to potential price reversals after a consistent trend, adding another layer of complexity to Bitcoin’s trading strategy. Related Reading: Is Bitcoin’s Rally Over? Leverage Drops As Halving Highs Fade: Report Despite these potentially bearish indicators, on-chain data from Santiment shows an interesting trend: Bitcoin whales have increased their holdings significantly, now owning 25.16% of the total supply. This accumulation suggests that while retail sentiment may be bearish, large-scale investors are seeing the dips as buying opportunities, potentially prepping for a future bullish run. Featured image from Unsplash, Chart from TradingView

Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency in the market, has been trading within a re-accumulation range between the $59,000 and $70,000 price levels for the past month and a half.  Crypto analyst Rekt Capital recently shared its perspective on this phase and its potential duration, drawing from historical patterns and data in a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Related Reading: Is SUI Sinking? TVL Tanks As Crypto Price Fails To Keep Afloat Breakout Timing And Historical Patterns According to Rekt’s analysis, Bitcoin tends to experience a re-accumulation range following the Halving event, which occurs every four years to counteract any inflationary effect on Bitcoin by lowering the reward amount for miners and maintaining scarcity.  Historically, This consolidation phase lasts up to 150 days before Bitcoin breaks into a parabolic uptrend. Based on this pattern, if Bitcoin continues to consolidate for the next 150 days, Rekt suggests a breakout would be expected in September 2024. The ideal duration of a re-accumulation range is crucial in determining Bitcoin’s future trajectory. Rekt Capital noted that when Bitcoin reached a new all-time high (ATH) of $73,700 in mid-March, it accelerated its cycle by 260 days. However, with over 49 days of consolidation, the acceleration has reduced to approximately 210 days. Resetting The Bitcoin Halving Cycle Repeating historical trends, where Bitcoin consolidates for 150 days after the Halving, would still indicate an acceleration in the current cycle, albeit by a lesser extent of 60 days.  Nevertheless, Rekt contends that Bitcoin would ideally need to consolidate for at least 210 days to fully resynchronize with its historical Halving cycles and reset the current acceleration in this cycle to 0. This would bring the rate of acceleration to 0 days and potentially lead to a breakout around November 2024. Related Reading: Analysts Call It: XRP Primed For A 700% Surge – Details The analyst further suggested that to achieve a 200+ day post-Halving consolidation and fully resynchronize with historical Halving cycles, Bitcoin would need to replicate its mid-2023 re-accumulation range, which lasted 224 days before a new uptrend emerged. Rekt concluded: Overall, how long this current Re-Accumulation Range will last will dictate the remaining acceleration in this cycle and ultimately influence where Bitcoin will finally peak in its Bull Market.  The largest cryptocurrency, with a market capitalization of $1.2 billion, is currently trading at $64,400, showing minimal fluctuations compared to Thursday’s price movements.  Recently, Bitcoin has encountered resistance at the $66,000 level, hindering its ability to consolidate above this threshold. Conversely, the $63,400 level may serve as a support base for the cryptocurrency in the event of heightened downward volatility over the weekend. Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

Recent on-chain data has shown a transfer of 456 million DOGE tokens into crypto exchange Coinbase amidst a flurry of Dogecoin whale transactions across various exchanges in the past 24 hours. The price of DOGE has majorly traded below the $0.165 price level in the past seven days despite the price uptick among other meme coins. These recent events of whale transfers, however, appear to be leading to a bearish view towards DOGE. Transfers of this nature into a crypto exchange point to the whales getting ready to sell off their bags, which risks crashing the DOGE price.  Whales Move 456 Million DOGE To Crypto Exchange Whale Alerts, a crypto whale transaction tracker, has shown various instances of whale transactions in recent hours. Amidst these transactions is the transfer of 456.83 million DOGE tokens worth $68.7 million into popular crypto exchange Coinbase. Interestingly, the transfer of DOGE was made to Coinbase in two bouts of 228 million DOGE, each worth over $34 million. Related Reading: Renowned Economist Reveals What Will Happen If Bitcoin Can’t Hold $60,000 However, considering these transactions were sent in quick succession, the nature of their movement points to them being controlled by the same whale entity.  🚨 🚨 228,105,810 #DOGE (34,341,747 USD) transferred from unknown wallet to #Coinbasehttps://t.co/G8TGqtW5Ws — Whale Alert (@whale_alert) April 26, 2024 🚨 🚨 228,725,906 #DOGE (34,435,104 USD) transferred from unknown wallet to #Coinbasehttps://t.co/ACnqjOBCAO — Whale Alert (@whale_alert) April 26, 2024 A further look into the two whale addresses involved, “DFBx6m” and “DCTpBb”, showed that they no longer hold any tokens at the time of writing. This lends additional credibility to the idea that the transfers were made with the intention of selling off tokens. Notably, on-chain data shows that both addresses have been holding their DOGE tokens since last year, considering the last inflow of DOGE occurred on November 1, 2023. During this time, the price of Dogecoin was trading around $0.068. It is worth noting that DOGE has gone on an over 120% price increase since then, putting the holdings at a significant profit. What’s Next For Dogecoin? At the time of writing, DOGE is trading at $0.1511. The crypto is now on a correction path after failing to substantially break above $0.164 in the past week. The recent movement of nearly half a billion Dogecoin suggests major price volatility could be on the horizon. Furthermore, the recent DOGE rally seems to have stalled out as other altcoins and meme coins gain momentum. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bears Risk Losing $7.2 Billion If BTC Price Reaches This Level While DOGE is currently down by 0.64% in the past seven days, Shiba Inu, PEPE, Dogwifhat, and FLOKI are up by 13.8%, 47.5%, and 32.5% in the same timeframe.  The future of DOGE can be hard to predict. As with any meme coin, Dogecoin remains highly speculative. Its price continues to be volatile and heavily influenced by hype and social media. According to a crypto analyst, DOGE could continue to drop in the short term. Other analysts are bullish on DOGE, with analyst Ali Martinez even predicting a rally to the $1 price mark.  DOGE price falls below $0.15 | Source: DOGEUSDT on Tradingview.com Featured image from Bitcoinist, chart from Tradingview.com

As the crypto industry navigates the waves of this bull run, projects like NEAR Protocol (NEAR) are edging forward with new partnerships and developments. NEAR’s remarkable performance has crypto analysts considering that the toke is getting underway for a massive surge. Related Reading: Is SUI Sinking? TVL Tanks As Crypto Price Fails To Keep Afloat Is NEAR Protocol A “Market Leader”? At the beginning of the week, crypto analyst World of Charts recognized a bullish flag pattern formed on NEAR’s monthly chart. According to the analyst, a successful breakout could be followed by a 60-65% bullish wave in the coming days. On Thursday, NEAR tested the $7.00 resistance level, reaching above the $7.50 mark before retracing as the day ended. NEAR breaking out of the bullish flag pattern on Thursday. Source: World of Charts Affirming his previous forecast, the analyst stated that if the token successfully holds above the breakout level, investors could expect the price to move towards $14-$15. Since then, the token has remained above the $7.00 mark, hovering between $7.3-$7.1. Another crypto analyst has been following NEAR’s performance this week similarly. According to Bluntz, the token “has been one of the strongest movers from the lows and will probably be one of the first to make fresh highs.” Moreover, he considers NEAR “one of the better performers” in the top 20 cryptocurrencies. Previously, the trader displayed a chart identifying an ABC zigzag pattern followed by a still-forming impulse wave pattern. NEAR's forming a impulse wave pattern according to the analyst. Source: Bluntz As NEAR broke out of the $7,00 resistance, the analyst reaffirmed his prediction for the token’s movements, considering it “a market leader right now.” Bluntz added that the token kept “plodding along making fresh highs while everything else has stalled out and continued accumulating.” Network Expansion And Price Surge The NEAR Protocol is a Layer-1 “user-friendly and carbon-neutral” blockchain focused on performance, security, and scalability. According to its team, the “blockchain for everyone” was built with “usability in mind.” NEAR’s total value locked (TVL) of $309 million makes it the 16th largest blockchain by this metric. Notably, the network has doubled its TVL since Q4 2023, when it sat in the 25th spot with $128 million. The protocol collaborates with other projects constantly to continue “expanding financial horizons.” Projects like NodeKit and TrueZK have recently integrated NEAR’s solution designed for Ethereum rollups, NEAR DA. Similarly, on Thursday, it announced its partnership with Colombian fintech Lulo X and Peersyst Technology “to redefine the parameters of digital finance.” These collaborations have been seemingly well-received by the NEAR community. Despite being down by 6.25% in the monthly time frame and 65% below its all-time high (ATH) of $20,44 set in January 2022, the blockchain’s token has shown a remarkable performance during this bull run. In the last three months, NEAR has soared over 146%. Moreover, the token’s daily trading volume has increased by 6.5% in the past day, with over $800 million traded. Likewise, its market capitalization has risen 5% during the same timeframe, making it the 17th biggest cryptocurrency by this metric. As of this writing, NEAR is trading at $7.2, representing a 7.3% jump in the last 24 hours and a 26% rise in the past week. Related Reading: Crypto Bull Run Set To Return Next Week, Predicts Arthur Hayes NEAR's performance in the one-week chart. Source: NEARUSDT on TradingView Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

While Bitcoin prices struggle for momentum and are caged inside a narrow range, on-chain data tells a different story. Taking to X, one analyst notes that whales, which are large crypto holders, are actively accumulating the world’s largest coin by market cap.  Bitcoin Whales Accumulating Despite Weakness By the time this data was shared, Bitcoin whales held over 5.1 million BTC worth a staggering $331 billion. That there is still demand when the coin moves in a narrow range flies in the face of recent market weakness and skeptics betting on even more price dumps. Related Reading: After WIF, BONK, BODEN: Top Crypto Trader Now Buys These 2 Memecoins Currently, Bitcoin is inside a range, with caps at $73,800 and $60,000. Despite overall market confidence, the coin has failed to pull higher, breaking above $70,000 even after Halving on April 20. Even though prices are firm, the absence of follow-through after April 21 and 22 hints at weakness. From the BTCUSDT price chart, the coin could explode should it break above the middle BB. If the leg up is accompanied by positive fundamental events, momentum could push the coin to all-time highs. On the flip side, BTC is likely to slip even lower should sellers flow back. The sharp rejection of bulls on April 24 is bearish. As such, this might set a wave of lower lows in motion, taking the coin below April 2023 lows. Traders Panicked Sold, Register Huge Losses Parallel market data shows panic sellers on Binance and OKX, two major crypto exchanges by trading volumes, have dumped a combined 5,137 BTC at a loss over the past two weeks. As data shows, prices have been weaving lower during this time, with bulls failing to counter the dump, especially after two consecutive losses on April 12 and 13. Related Reading: DOGE Price Prediction – Dogecoin Below $0.14 Could Spark Larger Degree Drop Meanwhile, there have been sharp outflows from ARKB, the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). Data shows that ARKB sold 490 BTC, worth $31 million, on April 25. This is the third-largest single-day outflow in history. Recent price pressures on BTC coincide with a marked drop in spot ETF inflows in the second half of April. On April 25, Lookonchain data revealed that GBTC and all the nine spot ETF issuers decreased over 2,100 BTC worth roughly $135 million. Feature image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView

Despite BTC’s recent unimpressive price action, crypto analyst Doctor Profit has shared his bullish sentiment for Bitcoin and the broader crypto market. The analyst further suggested that a parabolic move was imminent and that crypto investors should position themselves accordingly.  Crypto Market Preparing For A “Third Industrial Revolution” Doctor Profit mentioned in an X (formerly Twitter) post that the crypto market “is preparing itself for the third Industrial Revolution,” thereby hinting at a trend reversal for Bitcoin and altcoins soon enough. “Be part of it, or regret for [a] lifetime,” the crypto analyst added as he warned crypto investors of missing this market rally.   Related Reading: HBAR Prices Crashes 35% As BlackRock Denies Any Ties To Hedera In a previous X post, Doctor Profit gave an idea of what to expect from the crypto market (Bitcoin in particular) when it makes its next leg up. He stated that the flagship crypto will rise to $84,000 after it is done trading the sideway range between $60,000 and $72,000. In another X post, he claimed that the super cycle will start after Bitcoin hits $72,000.  Meanwhile, Doctor Profit suggested that the price corrections experienced were normal and usually occur in each crypto cycle. He further remarked that the 10 to 20% price fluctuations weren’t big moves. His statement echoes the sentiment of Alex Thorn, Head of Research at Galaxy Digital, who previously warned that bull markets weren’t “straight lines up.” Bitcoin Is In The Re-Accumulation Period  In a recent X (formerly Twitter) post, crypto analyst Rekt Capital confirmed that Bitcoin is currently in the Re-Accumulation phase, which occurs after the Bitcoin Halving. He further noted that the goal now “is for Bitcoin to move sideways to catch a breather, for the market to cool off after [a] fantastic Pre-Halving price performance.   Related Reading: Why Is The Dogecoin Price Down Today? According to Rekt Capital, this Re-Accumulation period can last for multiple weeks “and even up to 150 days.” The analyst revealed that once this period is over, Bitcoin will experience a breakout from this sideways range, followed by a parabolic uptrend.  This uptrend phase is said to last for over a year. However, with the probability of this being an accelerated market cycle, Rekt Capital remarked that the duration for this uptrend could be cut in half. Crypto analysts like Tom Dunleavy, Partner and Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at MV Capital, predict that the flagship crypto will rise as high as $100,000 when that time comes.  At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at around $64,360, up in the last 24 hours according to data from CoinMarketCap. BTC bears pull down price | Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview.com Featured image from Kapersky, chart from Tradingview.com

On-chain data shows the XRP whales have been active during the past day. Here are the destinations their moves have been heading to. XRP Whales Have Moved Around Big Amounts In Last 24 Hours According to data from the cryptocurrency transaction tracker service Whale Alert, several large XRP transactions have been witnessed on the blockchain in the past day. More specifically, five transfers in total that are of scale often attributed to the whales have occurred on the network inside this window. Since whale transactions involve the transfer of a significant sum of capital, they can sometimes cause fluctuations in the market. Related Reading: 85% Of Altcoins In “Opportunity Zone,” Santiment Reveals The implications any whale transfers might have for the market depend on their intent. However, the exact purpose behind any transfer can be hard to ascertain. Nonetheless, the address details of the transaction may provide at least some hints about the context surrounding it. First, here are the details regarding the oldest XRP whale transfer from the past day: Looks like this massive move only required a minute fee of 0.000015 XRP to be possible | Source: Whale Alert As is visible above, this transaction involved the movement of 29.74 million XRP, worth $15.7 million at the time of the transfer. The sender was an unknown wallet, likely a whale’s address. On the other hand, the receiver was a wallet attached to a known centralized platform: the cryptocurrency exchange Bitso. Thus, the whale here made a deposit to the exchange from their personal address. Investors usually make such transactions whenever they want to use one of the services platforms like these provide, including selling. As such, exchange inflows can prove to be bearish for the price. The second-oldest whale transaction from the past 24 hours was also an exchange inflow, this one towards Bitstamp. Interestingly, the sending address for this one was the same as the Bitso deposit, so the same whale was probably behind both of these moves. The large investor shifted 27,430,000 XRP ($14.5 million) to the exchange in this second move. Naturally, if the whale has made these large moves for selling, they could be a bad sign for the asset’s price. Though, perhaps fortunately for the XRP investors, two exchange outflows have also occurred recently, which may cancel out these inflows. Below are the details of the two larger withdrawals. The addresses involved in the first of the whale exchange withdrawals today | Source: Whale Alert In this move, a whale took out around 26.67 million XRP ($14 million) from Binance. Today’s exchange outflow also involved Binance, with another 20.85 million tokens ($10.6 million) leaving the platform. The fifth and final transfer was the largest during the past day at a whopping 100 million XRP ($53 million), but this move involved unknown wallets on both sides so it’s impossible to say why the move would have been made. Related Reading: Bitcoin Forms Death Cross & TD-9 Sell Signal: Brace For Impact? The reason could have been anything, from a change of wallets to selling through over-the-counter (OTC) means. XRP Price XRP had recovered to $0.57 earlier in the week, but it appears that the coin has lost this progress; it’s back at $0.52 now. The price of the asset appears to have seen a decline over the last few days | Source: XRPUSD on TradingView Featured image from Ole Kloth on Unsplash.com, whale-alert.io, chart from TradingView.com

Ethereum withdraws from centralized exchanges have ramped up over the last week, suggesting a direction for investor sentiment during this time. Given the sheer volume of ETH withdrawn from these exchanges, it is prudent to try to understand what this could mean for the crypto’s price. 260,000 ETH Leaves Exchanges Amid the uncertainty that has plagued the crypto market, Ethereum investors are making moves to secure their positions for better price prospects. Pseudonymous crypto technical analyst Titan of Crypto took to X (formerly Twitter) to share what Ethereum investors are doing about their holdings right. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bears Risk Losing $7.2 Billion If BTC Price Reaches This Level The post revealed that these investors have been withdrawing large amounts of ETH from centralized exchanges. In the one week period that was tracked, the report found that a total of 260,000 ETH were withdrawn from exchanges, which was worth almost $800 million at the time. #Altcoins Crypto exchanges witnessed an outflow of over 260,000 #ETH equivalent to more than $781 million within the past 7 days. It’s time for #Ethereum shine. ✨🌕 pic.twitter.com/jT1aocjvbI — Titan of Crypto (@Washigorira) April 24, 2024 Now, exchange deposits and withdrawals are important for any cryptocurrency because it can often tell how investors are looking at that coin and what they are doing with their holdings. In the case of large deposits to centralized exchanges, it can be very bearish for the price because investors often deposit their coins in order to sell them as exchanges provide deep liquidity. In contrast, withdrawals from exchanges suggest that investors are not looking to sell their ETH. Rather, they are accumulating the coins to wait for better prices before selling. Naturally, this is bullish for the Ethereum price as a diminished selling pressure gives room for the price to recover. In this case, the withdrawals are bullish or the Ethereum price, as investors continue to accumulate. It also signals that investors are expecting a price breakout, and as the withdrawals ramp up, demand could surpass supply, leading to a surge in price. Ethereum Headwinds Still Negative Ethereum, while currently seeing some positive activity from investors, has still not turned completely bullish. For one, there has been a significant decline in its daily trading volume. According to data from Coinmarketcap, Ethereum’s trading volume is down approximately 20% in the last day. Related Reading: Renowned Economist Reveals What Will Happen If Bitcoin Can’t Hold $60,000 This decline in volume suggests a declining interest from investors to actually trade the coin. As such, its price may be negatively affected as attention begins to shift elsewhere, with investors looking for better prospects. Nevertheless, the cryptocurrency still looks bullish for the long term. Ethereum continues to closely mirror the price performance of Bitcoin, which is expected to go on a bull run following the successful completion of its fourth halving event. For now, Ethereum continues to struggle to hold above $3,100 with small gains of 0.18% in the last day. Over the last month, it has suffered multiple crashes, registering a 12.36% loss in the last 30 days. ETH price struggles to hold $3,100 support | Source: ETHUSD on Tradingview.com Featured image from Investopedia, chart from Tradingview.com

According to a recent survey, half of Canadian institutional investors and financial services organizations have actively offered at least one type of cryptocurrency asset product or service to clients in the past year. The study revealed that half of the institutional investors surveyed were exposed to crypto through exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end trusts, or other […]

Eddy Lazzarin, CTO of A16z Crypto, one of the largest cryptocurrency-focused venture capital funds, has criticized the meme coins’ effect on the broad appreciation of the cryptocurrency market. Lazzarin stated that meme coins undermined the “long-term vision of crypto” that has maintained some actors in the space, making it look “like a risky casino.” A16z […]

The United States witnessed its first banking failure of 2024 with the closure of Philadelphia-based Republic First Bank, creating ripples within the cryptocurrency community as Bitcoin, Ether, and various altcoins experienced slight price drops following the announcement. This event has spurred discussions among crypto enthusiasts and investors, with some seeing bank failures as a compelling […]

A new law enabling the National Crime Agency and police to seize, freeze, and destroy crypto assets is now in effect in the UK. Under this law, police can seize crypto from suspects without needing to make an arrest first. Additionally, victims have the right to request the release of funds held in crypto accounts […]

According to Chainalysis’ “Crypto Spring Report,” stablecoin adoption and market importance are seeing a rapid increase in 2024, with a significant rise in the number of addresses holding them and their use in on-chain transactions, making them a global financial asset. Legislation efforts in the U.S., such as the Lummis-Gillibrand Payment Stablecoin Act, aim to […]

The chairman of the Swiss National Bank has expressed reservations about incorporating bitcoin into the central bank’s currency reserves. He stated that no decision has been made yet to invest in bitcoin, underscoring the necessity for currency reserves to be liquid, sustainable, and easily tradable, given their use in international payments. Swiss National Bank on […]

PRESS RELEASE. Excitement is brewing in the heart of Asia as Hong Kong regulators pave the way for a new era of innovation with the recent approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This groundbreaking development underscores Hong Kong’s commitment to becoming a regulated hub for Bitcoin. At the same time, the Bitcoin Conference is […]

The Bank of Russia and Rosfinmonitoring revealed the existence of a ‘know your crypto customer’ system pilot, that aims to link the fiat operations of crypto users with their blockchain actions. The pilot, which has been ongoing since 2023, involves five banks in Russia and is expected to run until April, but can be extended. […]

On Friday, April 26, Acinq announced that its Lightning Network bitcoin wallet, Phoenix, will cease services for U.S. residents from May 3, 2024. This announcement followed closely on the heels of the Samourai Wallet indictment and what is perceived as a targeted U.S. government effort against financial privacy and non-custodial solutions. Lightning Network Platform Phoenix […]

Over the past 90 days, while bitcoin has shown steady performance, 19 other cryptocurrencies have outpaced the leading digital asset in terms of price growth. However, the Altcoin Season Index, which measures the performance of these cryptocurrencies against bitcoin, has dropped from 59 to 39 since early April, signaling that an altcoin season is unlikely […]

Nvidia's share price saw a 15% increase after a brief slump during the previous trading week, prompting analysts to speculate about the price movements of AI crypto tokens.

Republic First Bank's 32 branches across the United States will reopen under Fulton Bank starting next week, according to the FDIC.

The creator of the Bored Ape Yacht Club has been struggling with a changing market and still plans to focus on its Otherside metaverse project.

This week’s Crypto Biz examines X’s upcoming payment system, the NYSE’s potential 24/7 trading, Block’s expansion into Bitcoin mining, and more.

The lawyer said he had filed a brief on behalf of 4,701 Coinbase customers for no charge as part of his advocacy work in the crypto space.

New rules under the MiCA framework may encourage big banks to enter the DeFi space, potentially complicating compliance for native crypto projects.

The board includes the CEOs of Adobe, Alphabet, Anthropic, AMD, AWS, IBM, Microsoft and Nvidia, as well as other business, civil rights and academic leaders.

Need to know what happened in crypto today? Here is the latest news on daily trends and events impacting Bitcoin price, blockchain, DeFi, NFTs, Web3 and crypto regulation.

Bitcoin price holds above $63,000 even as regulatory enforcement ramps up and spot BTC ETF outflows raise concern.

Arkham Research notified DeFi wallet owners to look at the addresses and try to retrieve their funds, which have been stuck for months in bridge contracts.

Custodia Bank is challenging a lower court’s ruling in its battle for a Federal Reserve master account.

The U.S. government’s arguments on stablecoins in an unrelated criminal case could bolster Binance’s position in its civil case with the SEC.

Bitcoin and altcoins could be en route to retest their recent strong support levels as bears try to extend the correction.

The exchange is optimizing operations after acquiring ErisX on the eve of crypto winter and expects to save millions.

Bitcoin market inertia is dragging on, and a BTC price drop over the next fortnight would correspond to classic post-halving behavior.

Attendees at Token 2049 in Dubai shared their personal stories on how they became rich.

Bull flags are historically associated with more upside momentum, but Bitcoin price could still use a catalyst before rallying to new highs.

Slim Shady was the latest celebrity to advertise “fortune favors the brave” for Crypto.com following Matt Damon’s ad spot in October 2021.

The European Union’s in-house think tanks says the metaverse can help children heal from diseases.

Mainland Chinese citizens will not be able to purchase Bitcoin and Ether ETFs in Hong Kong because mainland China banned crypto transactions years ago.

Quantum computing is the next most significant disruptive technological leap and its rapid evolution and funding will soon make it a reality.

From April 26, police can transfer seized illicit crypto to wallets controlled by the authorities, with victims able to reclaim funds from the accounts.

The Bitcoin network surpassed 926,000 daily transactions, driven by a growing interest in Runes.

Imaginary Ones co-founder Clement Chia believes that simply adding blockchain to the metaverse doesn’t solve its “purpose” problems.

Nvidia-backed AI startup Synthesia unveils “Expressive Avatars,” enabling AI to convey human emotions and movements for corporate presentations and training.

The arrest of the founders of Samourai Wallet led to widespread concerns in the crypto community that the U.S. government was attempting to crack down on the industry.

Yao Qian, the first director of CBDC development at China’s central bank, is reportedly under investigation for suspected law violations.

The transaction fees are the “wild card” for Bitcoin miners, with the current increase representing a crucial revenue boost for BTC miners, according to TeraWulf’s COO, Nazar Khan.

The trader received a $6.28 million payday trading BONK, $9.51 million trading WIF and $7.04 million from BODEN.

Microsoft and Google’s Q2 earnings reports highlight significant revenue and profit increases driven by their investments and advancements in AI technologies.

Following the halving event on April 19, the price of Bitcoin has displayed a puzzling performance. BTC initially gained nearly 10% to trade as high as $67,020 on April 24. However, in the last two days,  the digital asset’s price has declined by 6.49%, falling below the $63,000 price mark.  As expected, such negative performance has drawn attention from investors and market speculators. In particular, renowned analyst with X handle Rekt Capital has provided a theory on Bitcoin’s price fall and perhaps an insight into the future price movements of the crypto market leader. Related Reading: Timing The Breakout: When Will Bitcoin Escape The Post-Halving Consolidation? BTC Potential Price Decline Ahead? In an X post on April 26, Rekt Capital stated that Bitcoin has now entered the Post-Halving “Danger Zone.” The analyst described this phenomenon as a period during which Bitcoin has historically experienced price corrections after the halving event. Rekt Capital noted that in 2016, Bitcoin recorded these price retraces in the three weeks following the Halving event. During this time, the token’s price declined by 11%.  The analyst postulates that Bitcoin is now in the Post-Halving “Danger Zone” of the current bull cycle following its price fall over the last two days. It is worth stating that if Bitcoin mirrors past price movement in this phase, the token could be heading for $60,000. However, Rekt Capital states that if the crypto market leader experiences such a fate, it will be within the next two weeks.  At the time of writing, Bitcoin trades around $62,672 with a decline of 2.44% in the last day. This price fall underscores BTC’s negative performance in the last month in which it has lost 11.16% of its market value.  BTC trades at $63,023 on the daily chart | Source: BTCUSD chart on Tradingview.com Related Reading: Forbes Unveils 20 Crypto ‘Zombies,’ Declares Ripple And XRP Among The Undead Bitcoin ETFs Record Minor Inflow; Net Outflows Hit $217 Million According to data from SoSoValue, the Bitcoin Spot ETF market recorded net outflows to the tune of $217 million on April 25. Unsurprisingly, Grayscale’s GBTC accounted for $138 million of these figures as its total outflows now approach $17 billion. Notably, for the first time ever, Fidelity’s FBTC and Valkyrie’s BRRR  produced net outflows estimated at $22 million and $20 million, respectively. Meanwhile, ARK Invest’s ARKB and Bitwise’s BITB also experienced a loss in investment on Thursday. Interestingly, all other Bitcoin Spot ETFs recorded zero net flows except Franklin Tempton’s EZBC, which saw a net inflow of $1.87 million. At the time of writing, the BTC spot ETFs have a combined value of $128 billion, reflecting a remarkable growth since their trading debut on January 11. Featured image from The Economic Times, chart from Tradingview

In a controversial report, Forbes unveiled a list of 20 “crypto billion-dollar zombies,” Layer 1 (L1) tokens, which the news outlet defines as crypto assets with substantial valuations but “limited utility beyond speculative trading.”  These cryptocurrencies and projects include Ripple, XRP, Ethereum Classic (ETC), Tezos (XTZ), Algorand (ALGO), and Cardano (ADA), among others.  XRP And Ethereum Classic In The Spotlight Ripple Labs, the company behind XRP, was highlighted as a prominent crypto zombie. Despite XRP’s active trading volume of around $2 billion daily, Forbes asserts that the token’s primary purpose remains “speculative” and “lacking meaningful utility.”  Related Reading: XRP Whales Are Active: Here’s Where They Are Sending Coins However, Ripple Labs and XRP are not alone in this regard. Forbes reveals that 50 blockchains, excluding Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), currently trade at values surpassing $1 billion, with at least 20 of them classified as “functional zombies.” Collectively, these 20 blockchains hold a market value of $116 billion, despite having “limited user bases.” According to Forbes, an example of a “functional zombie” is Ethereum Classic, which maintains the distinction of being the original Ethereum chain.  While ETC has a market value of $4.6 billion, its fee generation in 2023 was less than $41,000, raising questions about the blockchain’s viability for the news organization. Another crypto project in Forbes’ report is Tezos, which raised $230 million through an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017.  Tezos’ XTZ token currently holds a market capitalization of $1.2 billion. However, the blockchain’s fee earnings were meager, with $5,640 in February 2024 and a total of $177,653 for all of 2023.  Algorand, once hailed as an “Ethereum killer” due to its capability of processing 7,500 transactions per second, faces similar challenges.  Despite a market cap of $2 billion and a treasury holding of $500 million, Algorand earned $63,000 in blockchain transaction fees throughout 2023. For Forbes, this casts doubt on its actual adoption and utility. Crypto ‘Zombie’ Blockchains The zombie blockchains are categorized into two groups by Forbes: spin-offs and direct competitors to established blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum.  Spin-off zombies include Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), Monero (XMR), Bitcoin SV (BSV), and Ethereum Classic.  These blockchains, collectively valued at $23 billion, reportedly emerged from “disagreements” among programmers regarding the governance and direction of the original chains.  Forbes notes that when such conflicts arise, hard forks occur, resulting in new networks that share the same transaction history as their predecessors. The agency claims that their market value “often exceeds” their real-world usage. Related Reading: Ethereum Withdrawals From Exchanges Top 260,000 ETH – What This Means For Price Overall, The report highlights a growing disparity between the valuations of certain projects in the cryptocurrency industry and their actual utility and usage. Consequently, Forbes refers to these projects as “zombies.” Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com 

Billionaire investor Anthony Scaramucci, the founder of SkyBridge Capital, recently discussed the viability of financial assets. He took to X, a social media platform previously known as Twitter and owned by Elon Musk, to highlight the decreasing purchasing power of the United States dollar in comparison to the potential of Bitcoin (BTC). US Dollar Vs. Bitcoin Value Performance In the post on X, the SkyBridge Capital founder pointed out that a dollar from 2020 is now only worth about 75 cents, underscoring a significant devaluation due to inflation. Related Reading: Is A $72K Bitcoin Surge On The Horizon? Glassnode’s Latest Analysis Points To An Answer According to Scaramucci, this scenario illustrates why investors should reconsider traditional fiat currencies as a reliable store of value, advocating instead for the inherent benefits of digital assets like Bitcoin. Dollar from 2020 is now worth 75 cents. Buy Bitcoin credit @balajis pic.twitter.com/WzIosKfJv2 — Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) April 26, 2024 Scaramucci’s critique comes at a time when the global economy grapples with heightened inflation rates, which have eroded the real value of fiat money. He specifically cited a “25.14% compounded inflation rate” as a critical indicator of why the dollar is losing ground. In contrast, Bitcoin has not only maintained a strong profile but has also appreciated in value, further cementing its position as a viable hedge against inflation and a potential safe haven for investors. So far, Bitcoin’s market performance has been quite appealing. Particularly, despite the significant downturn experienced in the past few years, the asset has managed to come out of the bloodbath and recently soared to an all-time high above $73,000 in March. This peak performance labels Bitcoin as not just a digital asset but a major player in the global financial landscape. However, despite Scaramucci’s bullish outlook, it’s worth noting that Bitcoin has seen its share of volatility. It has been struggling to maintain its appeal recently, with a modest 0.9% increase in the last 24 hours – a slight recovery from a 2% drop over the past week. BTC Shifting Market Sentiments Further insights into the market’s behavior towards Bitcoin reveal changing dynamics. Data from CryptoQuant highlighted a negative turn in the Bitcoin funding rate for the first time since October 2023, indicating a cooling interest in speculative trading on the asset. This shift suggests that while the long-term outlook might still be strong, short-term investor sentiment has become cautious, possibly awaiting clearer signals before making further commitments. The current market sentiment is also reflected in the technical analysis of a prominent crypto analyst, Ali. In Ali’s recent post on X, a notable mention was made of a “death cross” seen in Bitcoin’s 12-hour chart, where the short-term moving average dips below a long-term counterpart, traditionally a bearish signal. Additionally, the Tom Demark (TD) Sequential indicator points to potential price reversals after a consistent trend, adding another layer of complexity to Bitcoin’s trading strategy. Related Reading: Is Bitcoin’s Rally Over? Leverage Drops As Halving Highs Fade: Report Despite these potentially bearish indicators, on-chain data from Santiment shows an interesting trend: Bitcoin whales have increased their holdings significantly, now owning 25.16% of the total supply. This accumulation suggests that while retail sentiment may be bearish, large-scale investors are seeing the dips as buying opportunities, potentially prepping for a future bullish run. Featured image from Unsplash, Chart from TradingView

Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency in the market, has been trading within a re-accumulation range between the $59,000 and $70,000 price levels for the past month and a half.  Crypto analyst Rekt Capital recently shared its perspective on this phase and its potential duration, drawing from historical patterns and data in a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Related Reading: Is SUI Sinking? TVL Tanks As Crypto Price Fails To Keep Afloat Breakout Timing And Historical Patterns According to Rekt’s analysis, Bitcoin tends to experience a re-accumulation range following the Halving event, which occurs every four years to counteract any inflationary effect on Bitcoin by lowering the reward amount for miners and maintaining scarcity.  Historically, This consolidation phase lasts up to 150 days before Bitcoin breaks into a parabolic uptrend. Based on this pattern, if Bitcoin continues to consolidate for the next 150 days, Rekt suggests a breakout would be expected in September 2024. The ideal duration of a re-accumulation range is crucial in determining Bitcoin’s future trajectory. Rekt Capital noted that when Bitcoin reached a new all-time high (ATH) of $73,700 in mid-March, it accelerated its cycle by 260 days. However, with over 49 days of consolidation, the acceleration has reduced to approximately 210 days. Resetting The Bitcoin Halving Cycle Repeating historical trends, where Bitcoin consolidates for 150 days after the Halving, would still indicate an acceleration in the current cycle, albeit by a lesser extent of 60 days.  Nevertheless, Rekt contends that Bitcoin would ideally need to consolidate for at least 210 days to fully resynchronize with its historical Halving cycles and reset the current acceleration in this cycle to 0. This would bring the rate of acceleration to 0 days and potentially lead to a breakout around November 2024. Related Reading: Analysts Call It: XRP Primed For A 700% Surge – Details The analyst further suggested that to achieve a 200+ day post-Halving consolidation and fully resynchronize with historical Halving cycles, Bitcoin would need to replicate its mid-2023 re-accumulation range, which lasted 224 days before a new uptrend emerged. Rekt concluded: Overall, how long this current Re-Accumulation Range will last will dictate the remaining acceleration in this cycle and ultimately influence where Bitcoin will finally peak in its Bull Market.  The largest cryptocurrency, with a market capitalization of $1.2 billion, is currently trading at $64,400, showing minimal fluctuations compared to Thursday’s price movements.  Recently, Bitcoin has encountered resistance at the $66,000 level, hindering its ability to consolidate above this threshold. Conversely, the $63,400 level may serve as a support base for the cryptocurrency in the event of heightened downward volatility over the weekend. Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

Recent on-chain data has shown a transfer of 456 million DOGE tokens into crypto exchange Coinbase amidst a flurry of Dogecoin whale transactions across various exchanges in the past 24 hours. The price of DOGE has majorly traded below the $0.165 price level in the past seven days despite the price uptick among other meme coins. These recent events of whale transfers, however, appear to be leading to a bearish view towards DOGE. Transfers of this nature into a crypto exchange point to the whales getting ready to sell off their bags, which risks crashing the DOGE price.  Whales Move 456 Million DOGE To Crypto Exchange Whale Alerts, a crypto whale transaction tracker, has shown various instances of whale transactions in recent hours. Amidst these transactions is the transfer of 456.83 million DOGE tokens worth $68.7 million into popular crypto exchange Coinbase. Interestingly, the transfer of DOGE was made to Coinbase in two bouts of 228 million DOGE, each worth over $34 million. Related Reading: Renowned Economist Reveals What Will Happen If Bitcoin Can’t Hold $60,000 However, considering these transactions were sent in quick succession, the nature of their movement points to them being controlled by the same whale entity.  🚨 🚨 228,105,810 #DOGE (34,341,747 USD) transferred from unknown wallet to #Coinbasehttps://t.co/G8TGqtW5Ws — Whale Alert (@whale_alert) April 26, 2024 🚨 🚨 228,725,906 #DOGE (34,435,104 USD) transferred from unknown wallet to #Coinbasehttps://t.co/ACnqjOBCAO — Whale Alert (@whale_alert) April 26, 2024 A further look into the two whale addresses involved, “DFBx6m” and “DCTpBb”, showed that they no longer hold any tokens at the time of writing. This lends additional credibility to the idea that the transfers were made with the intention of selling off tokens. Notably, on-chain data shows that both addresses have been holding their DOGE tokens since last year, considering the last inflow of DOGE occurred on November 1, 2023. During this time, the price of Dogecoin was trading around $0.068. It is worth noting that DOGE has gone on an over 120% price increase since then, putting the holdings at a significant profit. What’s Next For Dogecoin? At the time of writing, DOGE is trading at $0.1511. The crypto is now on a correction path after failing to substantially break above $0.164 in the past week. The recent movement of nearly half a billion Dogecoin suggests major price volatility could be on the horizon. Furthermore, the recent DOGE rally seems to have stalled out as other altcoins and meme coins gain momentum. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bears Risk Losing $7.2 Billion If BTC Price Reaches This Level While DOGE is currently down by 0.64% in the past seven days, Shiba Inu, PEPE, Dogwifhat, and FLOKI are up by 13.8%, 47.5%, and 32.5% in the same timeframe.  The future of DOGE can be hard to predict. As with any meme coin, Dogecoin remains highly speculative. Its price continues to be volatile and heavily influenced by hype and social media. According to a crypto analyst, DOGE could continue to drop in the short term. Other analysts are bullish on DOGE, with analyst Ali Martinez even predicting a rally to the $1 price mark.  DOGE price falls below $0.15 | Source: DOGEUSDT on Tradingview.com Featured image from Bitcoinist, chart from Tradingview.com

As the crypto industry navigates the waves of this bull run, projects like NEAR Protocol (NEAR) are edging forward with new partnerships and developments. NEAR’s remarkable performance has crypto analysts considering that the toke is getting underway for a massive surge. Related Reading: Is SUI Sinking? TVL Tanks As Crypto Price Fails To Keep Afloat Is NEAR Protocol A “Market Leader”? At the beginning of the week, crypto analyst World of Charts recognized a bullish flag pattern formed on NEAR’s monthly chart. According to the analyst, a successful breakout could be followed by a 60-65% bullish wave in the coming days. On Thursday, NEAR tested the $7.00 resistance level, reaching above the $7.50 mark before retracing as the day ended. NEAR breaking out of the bullish flag pattern on Thursday. Source: World of Charts Affirming his previous forecast, the analyst stated that if the token successfully holds above the breakout level, investors could expect the price to move towards $14-$15. Since then, the token has remained above the $7.00 mark, hovering between $7.3-$7.1. Another crypto analyst has been following NEAR’s performance this week similarly. According to Bluntz, the token “has been one of the strongest movers from the lows and will probably be one of the first to make fresh highs.” Moreover, he considers NEAR “one of the better performers” in the top 20 cryptocurrencies. Previously, the trader displayed a chart identifying an ABC zigzag pattern followed by a still-forming impulse wave pattern. NEAR's forming a impulse wave pattern according to the analyst. Source: Bluntz As NEAR broke out of the $7,00 resistance, the analyst reaffirmed his prediction for the token’s movements, considering it “a market leader right now.” Bluntz added that the token kept “plodding along making fresh highs while everything else has stalled out and continued accumulating.” Network Expansion And Price Surge The NEAR Protocol is a Layer-1 “user-friendly and carbon-neutral” blockchain focused on performance, security, and scalability. According to its team, the “blockchain for everyone” was built with “usability in mind.” NEAR’s total value locked (TVL) of $309 million makes it the 16th largest blockchain by this metric. Notably, the network has doubled its TVL since Q4 2023, when it sat in the 25th spot with $128 million. The protocol collaborates with other projects constantly to continue “expanding financial horizons.” Projects like NodeKit and TrueZK have recently integrated NEAR’s solution designed for Ethereum rollups, NEAR DA. Similarly, on Thursday, it announced its partnership with Colombian fintech Lulo X and Peersyst Technology “to redefine the parameters of digital finance.” These collaborations have been seemingly well-received by the NEAR community. Despite being down by 6.25% in the monthly time frame and 65% below its all-time high (ATH) of $20,44 set in January 2022, the blockchain’s token has shown a remarkable performance during this bull run. In the last three months, NEAR has soared over 146%. Moreover, the token’s daily trading volume has increased by 6.5% in the past day, with over $800 million traded. Likewise, its market capitalization has risen 5% during the same timeframe, making it the 17th biggest cryptocurrency by this metric. As of this writing, NEAR is trading at $7.2, representing a 7.3% jump in the last 24 hours and a 26% rise in the past week. Related Reading: Crypto Bull Run Set To Return Next Week, Predicts Arthur Hayes NEAR's performance in the one-week chart. Source: NEARUSDT on TradingView Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

While Bitcoin prices struggle for momentum and are caged inside a narrow range, on-chain data tells a different story. Taking to X, one analyst notes that whales, which are large crypto holders, are actively accumulating the world’s largest coin by market cap.  Bitcoin Whales Accumulating Despite Weakness By the time this data was shared, Bitcoin whales held over 5.1 million BTC worth a staggering $331 billion. That there is still demand when the coin moves in a narrow range flies in the face of recent market weakness and skeptics betting on even more price dumps. Related Reading: After WIF, BONK, BODEN: Top Crypto Trader Now Buys These 2 Memecoins Currently, Bitcoin is inside a range, with caps at $73,800 and $60,000. Despite overall market confidence, the coin has failed to pull higher, breaking above $70,000 even after Halving on April 20. Even though prices are firm, the absence of follow-through after April 21 and 22 hints at weakness. From the BTCUSDT price chart, the coin could explode should it break above the middle BB. If the leg up is accompanied by positive fundamental events, momentum could push the coin to all-time highs. On the flip side, BTC is likely to slip even lower should sellers flow back. The sharp rejection of bulls on April 24 is bearish. As such, this might set a wave of lower lows in motion, taking the coin below April 2023 lows. Traders Panicked Sold, Register Huge Losses Parallel market data shows panic sellers on Binance and OKX, two major crypto exchanges by trading volumes, have dumped a combined 5,137 BTC at a loss over the past two weeks. As data shows, prices have been weaving lower during this time, with bulls failing to counter the dump, especially after two consecutive losses on April 12 and 13. Related Reading: DOGE Price Prediction – Dogecoin Below $0.14 Could Spark Larger Degree Drop Meanwhile, there have been sharp outflows from ARKB, the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). Data shows that ARKB sold 490 BTC, worth $31 million, on April 25. This is the third-largest single-day outflow in history. Recent price pressures on BTC coincide with a marked drop in spot ETF inflows in the second half of April. On April 25, Lookonchain data revealed that GBTC and all the nine spot ETF issuers decreased over 2,100 BTC worth roughly $135 million. Feature image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView

Despite BTC’s recent unimpressive price action, crypto analyst Doctor Profit has shared his bullish sentiment for Bitcoin and the broader crypto market. The analyst further suggested that a parabolic move was imminent and that crypto investors should position themselves accordingly.  Crypto Market Preparing For A “Third Industrial Revolution” Doctor Profit mentioned in an X (formerly Twitter) post that the crypto market “is preparing itself for the third Industrial Revolution,” thereby hinting at a trend reversal for Bitcoin and altcoins soon enough. “Be part of it, or regret for [a] lifetime,” the crypto analyst added as he warned crypto investors of missing this market rally.   Related Reading: HBAR Prices Crashes 35% As BlackRock Denies Any Ties To Hedera In a previous X post, Doctor Profit gave an idea of what to expect from the crypto market (Bitcoin in particular) when it makes its next leg up. He stated that the flagship crypto will rise to $84,000 after it is done trading the sideway range between $60,000 and $72,000. In another X post, he claimed that the super cycle will start after Bitcoin hits $72,000.  Meanwhile, Doctor Profit suggested that the price corrections experienced were normal and usually occur in each crypto cycle. He further remarked that the 10 to 20% price fluctuations weren’t big moves. His statement echoes the sentiment of Alex Thorn, Head of Research at Galaxy Digital, who previously warned that bull markets weren’t “straight lines up.” Bitcoin Is In The Re-Accumulation Period  In a recent X (formerly Twitter) post, crypto analyst Rekt Capital confirmed that Bitcoin is currently in the Re-Accumulation phase, which occurs after the Bitcoin Halving. He further noted that the goal now “is for Bitcoin to move sideways to catch a breather, for the market to cool off after [a] fantastic Pre-Halving price performance.   Related Reading: Why Is The Dogecoin Price Down Today? According to Rekt Capital, this Re-Accumulation period can last for multiple weeks “and even up to 150 days.” The analyst revealed that once this period is over, Bitcoin will experience a breakout from this sideways range, followed by a parabolic uptrend.  This uptrend phase is said to last for over a year. However, with the probability of this being an accelerated market cycle, Rekt Capital remarked that the duration for this uptrend could be cut in half. Crypto analysts like Tom Dunleavy, Partner and Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at MV Capital, predict that the flagship crypto will rise as high as $100,000 when that time comes.  At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at around $64,360, up in the last 24 hours according to data from CoinMarketCap. BTC bears pull down price | Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview.com Featured image from Kapersky, chart from Tradingview.com

On-chain data shows the XRP whales have been active during the past day. Here are the destinations their moves have been heading to. XRP Whales Have Moved Around Big Amounts In Last 24 Hours According to data from the cryptocurrency transaction tracker service Whale Alert, several large XRP transactions have been witnessed on the blockchain in the past day. More specifically, five transfers in total that are of scale often attributed to the whales have occurred on the network inside this window. Since whale transactions involve the transfer of a significant sum of capital, they can sometimes cause fluctuations in the market. Related Reading: 85% Of Altcoins In “Opportunity Zone,” Santiment Reveals The implications any whale transfers might have for the market depend on their intent. However, the exact purpose behind any transfer can be hard to ascertain. Nonetheless, the address details of the transaction may provide at least some hints about the context surrounding it. First, here are the details regarding the oldest XRP whale transfer from the past day: Looks like this massive move only required a minute fee of 0.000015 XRP to be possible | Source: Whale Alert As is visible above, this transaction involved the movement of 29.74 million XRP, worth $15.7 million at the time of the transfer. The sender was an unknown wallet, likely a whale’s address. On the other hand, the receiver was a wallet attached to a known centralized platform: the cryptocurrency exchange Bitso. Thus, the whale here made a deposit to the exchange from their personal address. Investors usually make such transactions whenever they want to use one of the services platforms like these provide, including selling. As such, exchange inflows can prove to be bearish for the price. The second-oldest whale transaction from the past 24 hours was also an exchange inflow, this one towards Bitstamp. Interestingly, the sending address for this one was the same as the Bitso deposit, so the same whale was probably behind both of these moves. The large investor shifted 27,430,000 XRP ($14.5 million) to the exchange in this second move. Naturally, if the whale has made these large moves for selling, they could be a bad sign for the asset’s price. Though, perhaps fortunately for the XRP investors, two exchange outflows have also occurred recently, which may cancel out these inflows. Below are the details of the two larger withdrawals. The addresses involved in the first of the whale exchange withdrawals today | Source: Whale Alert In this move, a whale took out around 26.67 million XRP ($14 million) from Binance. Today’s exchange outflow also involved Binance, with another 20.85 million tokens ($10.6 million) leaving the platform. The fifth and final transfer was the largest during the past day at a whopping 100 million XRP ($53 million), but this move involved unknown wallets on both sides so it’s impossible to say why the move would have been made. Related Reading: Bitcoin Forms Death Cross & TD-9 Sell Signal: Brace For Impact? The reason could have been anything, from a change of wallets to selling through over-the-counter (OTC) means. XRP Price XRP had recovered to $0.57 earlier in the week, but it appears that the coin has lost this progress; it’s back at $0.52 now. The price of the asset appears to have seen a decline over the last few days | Source: XRPUSD on TradingView Featured image from Ole Kloth on Unsplash.com, whale-alert.io, chart from TradingView.com

Ethereum withdraws from centralized exchanges have ramped up over the last week, suggesting a direction for investor sentiment during this time. Given the sheer volume of ETH withdrawn from these exchanges, it is prudent to try to understand what this could mean for the crypto’s price. 260,000 ETH Leaves Exchanges Amid the uncertainty that has plagued the crypto market, Ethereum investors are making moves to secure their positions for better price prospects. Pseudonymous crypto technical analyst Titan of Crypto took to X (formerly Twitter) to share what Ethereum investors are doing about their holdings right. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bears Risk Losing $7.2 Billion If BTC Price Reaches This Level The post revealed that these investors have been withdrawing large amounts of ETH from centralized exchanges. In the one week period that was tracked, the report found that a total of 260,000 ETH were withdrawn from exchanges, which was worth almost $800 million at the time. #Altcoins Crypto exchanges witnessed an outflow of over 260,000 #ETH equivalent to more than $781 million within the past 7 days. It’s time for #Ethereum shine. ✨🌕 pic.twitter.com/jT1aocjvbI — Titan of Crypto (@Washigorira) April 24, 2024 Now, exchange deposits and withdrawals are important for any cryptocurrency because it can often tell how investors are looking at that coin and what they are doing with their holdings. In the case of large deposits to centralized exchanges, it can be very bearish for the price because investors often deposit their coins in order to sell them as exchanges provide deep liquidity. In contrast, withdrawals from exchanges suggest that investors are not looking to sell their ETH. Rather, they are accumulating the coins to wait for better prices before selling. Naturally, this is bullish for the Ethereum price as a diminished selling pressure gives room for the price to recover. In this case, the withdrawals are bullish or the Ethereum price, as investors continue to accumulate. It also signals that investors are expecting a price breakout, and as the withdrawals ramp up, demand could surpass supply, leading to a surge in price. Ethereum Headwinds Still Negative Ethereum, while currently seeing some positive activity from investors, has still not turned completely bullish. For one, there has been a significant decline in its daily trading volume. According to data from Coinmarketcap, Ethereum’s trading volume is down approximately 20% in the last day. Related Reading: Renowned Economist Reveals What Will Happen If Bitcoin Can’t Hold $60,000 This decline in volume suggests a declining interest from investors to actually trade the coin. As such, its price may be negatively affected as attention begins to shift elsewhere, with investors looking for better prospects. Nevertheless, the cryptocurrency still looks bullish for the long term. Ethereum continues to closely mirror the price performance of Bitcoin, which is expected to go on a bull run following the successful completion of its fourth halving event. For now, Ethereum continues to struggle to hold above $3,100 with small gains of 0.18% in the last day. Over the last month, it has suffered multiple crashes, registering a 12.36% loss in the last 30 days. ETH price struggles to hold $3,100 support | Source: ETHUSD on Tradingview.com Featured image from Investopedia, chart from Tradingview.com

According to a recent survey, half of Canadian institutional investors and financial services organizations have actively offered at least one type of cryptocurrency asset product or service to clients in the past year. The study revealed that half of the institutional investors surveyed were exposed to crypto through exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end trusts, or other […]

Eddy Lazzarin, CTO of A16z Crypto, one of the largest cryptocurrency-focused venture capital funds, has criticized the meme coins’ effect on the broad appreciation of the cryptocurrency market. Lazzarin stated that meme coins undermined the “long-term vision of crypto” that has maintained some actors in the space, making it look “like a risky casino.” A16z […]

The United States witnessed its first banking failure of 2024 with the closure of Philadelphia-based Republic First Bank, creating ripples within the cryptocurrency community as Bitcoin, Ether, and various altcoins experienced slight price drops following the announcement. This event has spurred discussions among crypto enthusiasts and investors, with some seeing bank failures as a compelling […]

A new law enabling the National Crime Agency and police to seize, freeze, and destroy crypto assets is now in effect in the UK. Under this law, police can seize crypto from suspects without needing to make an arrest first. Additionally, victims have the right to request the release of funds held in crypto accounts […]

According to Chainalysis’ “Crypto Spring Report,” stablecoin adoption and market importance are seeing a rapid increase in 2024, with a significant rise in the number of addresses holding them and their use in on-chain transactions, making them a global financial asset. Legislation efforts in the U.S., such as the Lummis-Gillibrand Payment Stablecoin Act, aim to […]

The chairman of the Swiss National Bank has expressed reservations about incorporating bitcoin into the central bank’s currency reserves. He stated that no decision has been made yet to invest in bitcoin, underscoring the necessity for currency reserves to be liquid, sustainable, and easily tradable, given their use in international payments. Swiss National Bank on […]

PRESS RELEASE. Excitement is brewing in the heart of Asia as Hong Kong regulators pave the way for a new era of innovation with the recent approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This groundbreaking development underscores Hong Kong’s commitment to becoming a regulated hub for Bitcoin. At the same time, the Bitcoin Conference is […]

The Bank of Russia and Rosfinmonitoring revealed the existence of a ‘know your crypto customer’ system pilot, that aims to link the fiat operations of crypto users with their blockchain actions. The pilot, which has been ongoing since 2023, involves five banks in Russia and is expected to run until April, but can be extended. […]

On Friday, April 26, Acinq announced that its Lightning Network bitcoin wallet, Phoenix, will cease services for U.S. residents from May 3, 2024. This announcement followed closely on the heels of the Samourai Wallet indictment and what is perceived as a targeted U.S. government effort against financial privacy and non-custodial solutions. Lightning Network Platform Phoenix […]

Over the past 90 days, while bitcoin has shown steady performance, 19 other cryptocurrencies have outpaced the leading digital asset in terms of price growth. However, the Altcoin Season Index, which measures the performance of these cryptocurrencies against bitcoin, has dropped from 59 to 39 since early April, signaling that an altcoin season is unlikely […]

As a crypto analyst and frequent investor in the Greek digital currency market, I can confidently recommend Bcash for convenient and secure Bitcoin purchasing in Athens. With 10 strategically located crypto ATM hotspots spanning central Athens and the northern suburbs, Bcash enables instant access to leading cryptocurrencies like BTC, ETH, and USDT. Experience the Leading […]

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Bitwise Asset Management, the largest crypto index fund manager in America, announced today that the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), the firm’s first spot bitcoin ETF, intends to begin trading today, January 11th. BITB will join Bitwise’s comprehensive suite of 18 crypto investment products, which currently includes five other crypto ETFs. “We expect significant demand for […]

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It is no longer unusual to hear that a bank accepts savings in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the like. Or that a loan company helps businesses with crypto. After all, the traditional financial and insurance industries were among the first to adopt cryptocurrencies. The latter ones have found more than one way to incorporate these means of payment […]

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For some people, the word bitcoin still triggers an eye-roll, but by now, most of us know that cryptocurrency is here to stay. With that in mind, it’s a good idea to make sure you’re clued up and well-educated on the topic, especially if you’ve ever considered investing yourself. However, with so much misinformation floating […]

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Today, Fuse Network, an enterprise-grade, use-case agnostic, decentralized EVM-compatible public blockchain, announced Liquify as its newest remote procedure call (RPC) provider and ecosystem partner. Liquify will provide public RPC services – both free and private. RPC nodes help process requests from decentralized applications (dApps). They are vital for improving the usability of web3 and for […]

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Welcome to the world of BITmarkets – a leading cryptocurrency exchange offering a wide range of trading options for both retail traders and corporate clients. In this comprehensive review, we will explore the various features and services provided by BITmarkets, including spot, futures, and margin trading. Whether a seasoned trader or just starting your cryptocurrency […]

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HashKey Exchange, the first licensed retail virtual asset exchange registered in Hong Kong, announced its official launch today. Together with executives from the HKSAR government, top-tier banks, insurers, and Big 4 auditing firms, HashKey held the grand launch in Hong Kong. Strictly adhering to the SFC’s user registration and KYC requirements, the HashKey Exchange platform […]

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Adenasoft, a South Korea-based IT/software company, has just announced the launch of ACE, their new SaaS product designed for cryptocurrency exchanges. ACE fully prepares businesses for exchange operations quickly, taking less than a month to get up and running. ACE offers a comprehensive suite of features that enables crypto exchanges to streamline their operations and […]

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This week, the team of Pods, a provider of structured products for crypto assets, unveiled its latest offering – the ETHphoria Vault. This innovative yield strategy is designed explicitly for ETH enthusiasts who are bullish about its future prospects and want to earn even more from increasing prices. ETHphoria is a low-risk, principal-protected strategy designed […]

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The team of Pods recently announced the mainnet launch of its 3rd strategy on Pods Yield: FUD Vault, which now complements ETHphoria and stETHvv. FUD Vault provides a way for users to benefit from market downturns by offering a mechanism to hedge against significant price drops in ETH while preserving the deposited principal. Who is […]

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DeFi Returns brings comprehensive up-to-date information on DeFi strategies and protocols, to easily compare and analyze their performance. Getting the most reliable data source for historical yield on DeFi, to help users make informed decisions when investing in the ecosystem. All data displayed is sourced from the protocol’s smart contracts directly. The new DeFi Returns […]

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RockX, an Asia-based institutional-grade staking services provider, announced today the broadening of its staking product suite with the addition of a new ether (ETH) native staking solution. This latest offering strengthens RockX’s position as a comprehensive provider of diverse staking needs, maneuvering quickly to the evolving crypto market landscape. Navigating the Ethereum ecosystem presents institutions with […]

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Hex Trust, a regulated institutional-grade crypto-asset custodian, today announced it has partnered with The Sandbox, a leading decentralized gaming virtual world to enable fully-licensed and highly-secure custody of assets such as LAND in The Sandbox’s metaverse. The partnership sees Hex Trust fully integrate LAND into its custody platform, Hex Safe, which supports cryptocurrencies, security tokens, and NFTs. […]

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CoinFlip, a bitcoin ATM and crypto services company, announced today a new offering with the launch of ‘Olliv,’ a self-custody-powered crypto platform. The Olliv platform provides a frictionless way to buy, sell, send, receive, and swap cryptocurrency securely stored on a self-custodial wallet, removing the uncertainty of unknown third-party custodians. By leveraging CoinFlip’s existing network […]

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Deribit, a popular cryptocurrency derivatives platform, has announced the launch of zero-fee spot trading, allowing clients to buy and sell crypto while simultaneously managing risk using other derivatives. Spot trading will start on April, 24th 2023 at 1 PM UTC with three pairs (BTC/USDC, ETH/USDC, and ETH/BTC), providing clients with a simple and free solution […]

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Japan-based banking giant Nomura, announced today that its digital assets subsidiary, Laser Digital, has made a strategic investment in Infinity, a non-custodial interest rate protocol built on Ethereum. Infinity’s wholesale exchange, the first of several planned infrastructures, provides inter-exchange clearing, fixed and floating rate markets, as well as enterprise-grade risk management utilizing hybrid on-chain/off-chain infrastructures […]

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Blocknative, a real-time Ethereum (ETH) infrastructure platform, has newly introduced features including transaction bundle send, cancellation, and replacement support for the Blocknative Builder. Searchers can now submit MEV bundles privately to the Blocknative Builder to be included on-chain. This market utility builds upon Blocknative’s reliable, real-time infrastructure that is systematically important to the Ethereum ecosystem. […]

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Eventus, a provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance and market risk solutions, announced today that cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Deribit has chosen the firm’s Validus platform to provide market abuse monitoring on the exchange. Headquartered in Panama City, Panama, Deribit is one of the largest cryptocurrency options exchanges by volume and open interest, with approximately 90% […]

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Gemini, the popular bitcoin & crypto exchange company, today announced the launch of electronic over-the-counter trading (eOTC), an automated crypto trading solution designed for institutions. The Gemini eOTC solution offers a variety of advantages to institutional traders including: Competitive Pricing & Execution: Liquidity is sourced from top-tier liquidity providers with deep liquidity pools, enabling counterparties […]

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GenTwo Digital, the crypto-asset securitization platform based out of Crypto Valley in Zug, Switzerland, today announced a partnership with Coinbase, the publicly-listed cryptocurrency platform. This new partnership for GenTwo Digital allows all Coinbase crypto assets to be wrapped in bankable financial investment products and enables financial intermediaries to issue certificates such AMCs (Actively Management Certificates). […]

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ThunderCore, a leading blockchain & web3 ecosystem announced today that they are making a new development push, partnering with new validators as the chain rolls out its new crypto staking model. The newest ThunderCore validators include the famous crypto-asset exchange Huobi and one of the earliest staking platforms in the space, MyCointainer. Users of both […]

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Pods, creators of a DeFi platform, announced today that earlier this year, the team raised $5.6M in seed funding to create structured products for crypto-assets. The financing featured investors such as IOSG, Tomahawk, Republic, Framework Ventures, and more. The first strategy on Pods Yield is stETHvv (Ethereum Volatility Vault). stETHvv is a low-risk product focused […]

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Deribit, the popular cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, announced today it has launched a new ‘Proof of Reserves‘ tool for clients using the trading platform. Now, clients are provided with the functionality to verify their assets to be included in Deribit’s overall reserves. How it Works Deribit provides all addresses for all on-chain assets and it delivers […]

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Tenderly, creators of a blockchain development platform, today announced that it is the first web3 development platform to offer simulations through RPC on its Tenderly Web3 Gateway, the company’s production node as a service. Note, Tenderly already processes more than 50 million simulations per month through its Transaction Simulator. Now, the company is introducing the […]

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DFINITY Foundation, the not-for-profit organization contributing to the development of the Internet Computer (IC) — a high-speed, internet-scale public blockchain — has announced today the Internet Computer’s mainnet integration with Bitcoin, bringing smart contract functionality to the cryptocurrency. Now, the Internet Computer can serve as a layer-2 for Bitcoin where smart contracts on the Internet […]

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Nvidia's share price saw a 15% increase after a brief slump during the previous trading week, prompting analysts to speculate about the price movements of AI crypto tokens.

Republic First Bank's 32 branches across the United States will reopen under Fulton Bank starting next week, according to the FDIC.

The creator of the Bored Ape Yacht Club has been struggling with a changing market and still plans to focus on its Otherside metaverse project.

This week’s Crypto Biz examines X’s upcoming payment system, the NYSE’s potential 24/7 trading, Block’s expansion into Bitcoin mining, and more.

The lawyer said he had filed a brief on behalf of 4,701 Coinbase customers for no charge as part of his advocacy work in the crypto space.

New rules under the MiCA framework may encourage big banks to enter the DeFi space, potentially complicating compliance for native crypto projects.

The board includes the CEOs of Adobe, Alphabet, Anthropic, AMD, AWS, IBM, Microsoft and Nvidia, as well as other business, civil rights and academic leaders.

Need to know what happened in crypto today? Here is the latest news on daily trends and events impacting Bitcoin price, blockchain, DeFi, NFTs, Web3 and crypto regulation.

Bitcoin price holds above $63,000 even as regulatory enforcement ramps up and spot BTC ETF outflows raise concern.

Arkham Research notified DeFi wallet owners to look at the addresses and try to retrieve their funds, which have been stuck for months in bridge contracts.

Custodia Bank is challenging a lower court’s ruling in its battle for a Federal Reserve master account.

The U.S. government’s arguments on stablecoins in an unrelated criminal case could bolster Binance’s position in its civil case with the SEC.

Bitcoin and altcoins could be en route to retest their recent strong support levels as bears try to extend the correction.

The exchange is optimizing operations after acquiring ErisX on the eve of crypto winter and expects to save millions.

Bitcoin market inertia is dragging on, and a BTC price drop over the next fortnight would correspond to classic post-halving behavior.

Attendees at Token 2049 in Dubai shared their personal stories on how they became rich.

Bull flags are historically associated with more upside momentum, but Bitcoin price could still use a catalyst before rallying to new highs.

Slim Shady was the latest celebrity to advertise “fortune favors the brave” for Crypto.com following Matt Damon’s ad spot in October 2021.

The European Union’s in-house think tanks says the metaverse can help children heal from diseases.

Mainland Chinese citizens will not be able to purchase Bitcoin and Ether ETFs in Hong Kong because mainland China banned crypto transactions years ago.

Quantum computing is the next most significant disruptive technological leap and its rapid evolution and funding will soon make it a reality.

From April 26, police can transfer seized illicit crypto to wallets controlled by the authorities, with victims able to reclaim funds from the accounts.

The Bitcoin network surpassed 926,000 daily transactions, driven by a growing interest in Runes.

Imaginary Ones co-founder Clement Chia believes that simply adding blockchain to the metaverse doesn’t solve its “purpose” problems.

Nvidia-backed AI startup Synthesia unveils “Expressive Avatars,” enabling AI to convey human emotions and movements for corporate presentations and training.

The arrest of the founders of Samourai Wallet led to widespread concerns in the crypto community that the U.S. government was attempting to crack down on the industry.

Yao Qian, the first director of CBDC development at China’s central bank, is reportedly under investigation for suspected law violations.

The transaction fees are the “wild card” for Bitcoin miners, with the current increase representing a crucial revenue boost for BTC miners, according to TeraWulf’s COO, Nazar Khan.

The trader received a $6.28 million payday trading BONK, $9.51 million trading WIF and $7.04 million from BODEN.

Microsoft and Google’s Q2 earnings reports highlight significant revenue and profit increases driven by their investments and advancements in AI technologies.

Following the halving event on April 19, the price of Bitcoin has displayed a puzzling performance. BTC initially gained nearly 10% to trade as high as $67,020 on April 24. However, in the last two days,  the digital asset’s price has declined by 6.49%, falling below the $63,000 price mark.  As expected, such negative performance has drawn attention from investors and market speculators. In particular, renowned analyst with X handle Rekt Capital has provided a theory on Bitcoin’s price fall and perhaps an insight into the future price movements of the crypto market leader. Related Reading: Timing The Breakout: When Will Bitcoin Escape The Post-Halving Consolidation? BTC Potential Price Decline Ahead? In an X post on April 26, Rekt Capital stated that Bitcoin has now entered the Post-Halving “Danger Zone.” The analyst described this phenomenon as a period during which Bitcoin has historically experienced price corrections after the halving event. Rekt Capital noted that in 2016, Bitcoin recorded these price retraces in the three weeks following the Halving event. During this time, the token’s price declined by 11%.  The analyst postulates that Bitcoin is now in the Post-Halving “Danger Zone” of the current bull cycle following its price fall over the last two days. It is worth stating that if Bitcoin mirrors past price movement in this phase, the token could be heading for $60,000. However, Rekt Capital states that if the crypto market leader experiences such a fate, it will be within the next two weeks.  At the time of writing, Bitcoin trades around $62,672 with a decline of 2.44% in the last day. This price fall underscores BTC’s negative performance in the last month in which it has lost 11.16% of its market value.  BTC trades at $63,023 on the daily chart | Source: BTCUSD chart on Tradingview.com Related Reading: Forbes Unveils 20 Crypto ‘Zombies,’ Declares Ripple And XRP Among The Undead Bitcoin ETFs Record Minor Inflow; Net Outflows Hit $217 Million According to data from SoSoValue, the Bitcoin Spot ETF market recorded net outflows to the tune of $217 million on April 25. Unsurprisingly, Grayscale’s GBTC accounted for $138 million of these figures as its total outflows now approach $17 billion. Notably, for the first time ever, Fidelity’s FBTC and Valkyrie’s BRRR  produced net outflows estimated at $22 million and $20 million, respectively. Meanwhile, ARK Invest’s ARKB and Bitwise’s BITB also experienced a loss in investment on Thursday. Interestingly, all other Bitcoin Spot ETFs recorded zero net flows except Franklin Tempton’s EZBC, which saw a net inflow of $1.87 million. At the time of writing, the BTC spot ETFs have a combined value of $128 billion, reflecting a remarkable growth since their trading debut on January 11. Featured image from The Economic Times, chart from Tradingview

In a controversial report, Forbes unveiled a list of 20 “crypto billion-dollar zombies,” Layer 1 (L1) tokens, which the news outlet defines as crypto assets with substantial valuations but “limited utility beyond speculative trading.”  These cryptocurrencies and projects include Ripple, XRP, Ethereum Classic (ETC), Tezos (XTZ), Algorand (ALGO), and Cardano (ADA), among others.  XRP And Ethereum Classic In The Spotlight Ripple Labs, the company behind XRP, was highlighted as a prominent crypto zombie. Despite XRP’s active trading volume of around $2 billion daily, Forbes asserts that the token’s primary purpose remains “speculative” and “lacking meaningful utility.”  Related Reading: XRP Whales Are Active: Here’s Where They Are Sending Coins However, Ripple Labs and XRP are not alone in this regard. Forbes reveals that 50 blockchains, excluding Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), currently trade at values surpassing $1 billion, with at least 20 of them classified as “functional zombies.” Collectively, these 20 blockchains hold a market value of $116 billion, despite having “limited user bases.” According to Forbes, an example of a “functional zombie” is Ethereum Classic, which maintains the distinction of being the original Ethereum chain.  While ETC has a market value of $4.6 billion, its fee generation in 2023 was less than $41,000, raising questions about the blockchain’s viability for the news organization. Another crypto project in Forbes’ report is Tezos, which raised $230 million through an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017.  Tezos’ XTZ token currently holds a market capitalization of $1.2 billion. However, the blockchain’s fee earnings were meager, with $5,640 in February 2024 and a total of $177,653 for all of 2023.  Algorand, once hailed as an “Ethereum killer” due to its capability of processing 7,500 transactions per second, faces similar challenges.  Despite a market cap of $2 billion and a treasury holding of $500 million, Algorand earned $63,000 in blockchain transaction fees throughout 2023. For Forbes, this casts doubt on its actual adoption and utility. Crypto ‘Zombie’ Blockchains The zombie blockchains are categorized into two groups by Forbes: spin-offs and direct competitors to established blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum.  Spin-off zombies include Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), Monero (XMR), Bitcoin SV (BSV), and Ethereum Classic.  These blockchains, collectively valued at $23 billion, reportedly emerged from “disagreements” among programmers regarding the governance and direction of the original chains.  Forbes notes that when such conflicts arise, hard forks occur, resulting in new networks that share the same transaction history as their predecessors. The agency claims that their market value “often exceeds” their real-world usage. Related Reading: Ethereum Withdrawals From Exchanges Top 260,000 ETH – What This Means For Price Overall, The report highlights a growing disparity between the valuations of certain projects in the cryptocurrency industry and their actual utility and usage. Consequently, Forbes refers to these projects as “zombies.” Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com 

Billionaire investor Anthony Scaramucci, the founder of SkyBridge Capital, recently discussed the viability of financial assets. He took to X, a social media platform previously known as Twitter and owned by Elon Musk, to highlight the decreasing purchasing power of the United States dollar in comparison to the potential of Bitcoin (BTC). US Dollar Vs. Bitcoin Value Performance In the post on X, the SkyBridge Capital founder pointed out that a dollar from 2020 is now only worth about 75 cents, underscoring a significant devaluation due to inflation. Related Reading: Is A $72K Bitcoin Surge On The Horizon? Glassnode’s Latest Analysis Points To An Answer According to Scaramucci, this scenario illustrates why investors should reconsider traditional fiat currencies as a reliable store of value, advocating instead for the inherent benefits of digital assets like Bitcoin. Dollar from 2020 is now worth 75 cents. Buy Bitcoin credit @balajis pic.twitter.com/WzIosKfJv2 — Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) April 26, 2024 Scaramucci’s critique comes at a time when the global economy grapples with heightened inflation rates, which have eroded the real value of fiat money. He specifically cited a “25.14% compounded inflation rate” as a critical indicator of why the dollar is losing ground. In contrast, Bitcoin has not only maintained a strong profile but has also appreciated in value, further cementing its position as a viable hedge against inflation and a potential safe haven for investors. So far, Bitcoin’s market performance has been quite appealing. Particularly, despite the significant downturn experienced in the past few years, the asset has managed to come out of the bloodbath and recently soared to an all-time high above $73,000 in March. This peak performance labels Bitcoin as not just a digital asset but a major player in the global financial landscape. However, despite Scaramucci’s bullish outlook, it’s worth noting that Bitcoin has seen its share of volatility. It has been struggling to maintain its appeal recently, with a modest 0.9% increase in the last 24 hours – a slight recovery from a 2% drop over the past week. BTC Shifting Market Sentiments Further insights into the market’s behavior towards Bitcoin reveal changing dynamics. Data from CryptoQuant highlighted a negative turn in the Bitcoin funding rate for the first time since October 2023, indicating a cooling interest in speculative trading on the asset. This shift suggests that while the long-term outlook might still be strong, short-term investor sentiment has become cautious, possibly awaiting clearer signals before making further commitments. The current market sentiment is also reflected in the technical analysis of a prominent crypto analyst, Ali. In Ali’s recent post on X, a notable mention was made of a “death cross” seen in Bitcoin’s 12-hour chart, where the short-term moving average dips below a long-term counterpart, traditionally a bearish signal. Additionally, the Tom Demark (TD) Sequential indicator points to potential price reversals after a consistent trend, adding another layer of complexity to Bitcoin’s trading strategy. Related Reading: Is Bitcoin’s Rally Over? Leverage Drops As Halving Highs Fade: Report Despite these potentially bearish indicators, on-chain data from Santiment shows an interesting trend: Bitcoin whales have increased their holdings significantly, now owning 25.16% of the total supply. This accumulation suggests that while retail sentiment may be bearish, large-scale investors are seeing the dips as buying opportunities, potentially prepping for a future bullish run. Featured image from Unsplash, Chart from TradingView

Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency in the market, has been trading within a re-accumulation range between the $59,000 and $70,000 price levels for the past month and a half.  Crypto analyst Rekt Capital recently shared its perspective on this phase and its potential duration, drawing from historical patterns and data in a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Related Reading: Is SUI Sinking? TVL Tanks As Crypto Price Fails To Keep Afloat Breakout Timing And Historical Patterns According to Rekt’s analysis, Bitcoin tends to experience a re-accumulation range following the Halving event, which occurs every four years to counteract any inflationary effect on Bitcoin by lowering the reward amount for miners and maintaining scarcity.  Historically, This consolidation phase lasts up to 150 days before Bitcoin breaks into a parabolic uptrend. Based on this pattern, if Bitcoin continues to consolidate for the next 150 days, Rekt suggests a breakout would be expected in September 2024. The ideal duration of a re-accumulation range is crucial in determining Bitcoin’s future trajectory. Rekt Capital noted that when Bitcoin reached a new all-time high (ATH) of $73,700 in mid-March, it accelerated its cycle by 260 days. However, with over 49 days of consolidation, the acceleration has reduced to approximately 210 days. Resetting The Bitcoin Halving Cycle Repeating historical trends, where Bitcoin consolidates for 150 days after the Halving, would still indicate an acceleration in the current cycle, albeit by a lesser extent of 60 days.  Nevertheless, Rekt contends that Bitcoin would ideally need to consolidate for at least 210 days to fully resynchronize with its historical Halving cycles and reset the current acceleration in this cycle to 0. This would bring the rate of acceleration to 0 days and potentially lead to a breakout around November 2024. Related Reading: Analysts Call It: XRP Primed For A 700% Surge – Details The analyst further suggested that to achieve a 200+ day post-Halving consolidation and fully resynchronize with historical Halving cycles, Bitcoin would need to replicate its mid-2023 re-accumulation range, which lasted 224 days before a new uptrend emerged. Rekt concluded: Overall, how long this current Re-Accumulation Range will last will dictate the remaining acceleration in this cycle and ultimately influence where Bitcoin will finally peak in its Bull Market.  The largest cryptocurrency, with a market capitalization of $1.2 billion, is currently trading at $64,400, showing minimal fluctuations compared to Thursday’s price movements.  Recently, Bitcoin has encountered resistance at the $66,000 level, hindering its ability to consolidate above this threshold. Conversely, the $63,400 level may serve as a support base for the cryptocurrency in the event of heightened downward volatility over the weekend. Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

Recent on-chain data has shown a transfer of 456 million DOGE tokens into crypto exchange Coinbase amidst a flurry of Dogecoin whale transactions across various exchanges in the past 24 hours. The price of DOGE has majorly traded below the $0.165 price level in the past seven days despite the price uptick among other meme coins. These recent events of whale transfers, however, appear to be leading to a bearish view towards DOGE. Transfers of this nature into a crypto exchange point to the whales getting ready to sell off their bags, which risks crashing the DOGE price.  Whales Move 456 Million DOGE To Crypto Exchange Whale Alerts, a crypto whale transaction tracker, has shown various instances of whale transactions in recent hours. Amidst these transactions is the transfer of 456.83 million DOGE tokens worth $68.7 million into popular crypto exchange Coinbase. Interestingly, the transfer of DOGE was made to Coinbase in two bouts of 228 million DOGE, each worth over $34 million. Related Reading: Renowned Economist Reveals What Will Happen If Bitcoin Can’t Hold $60,000 However, considering these transactions were sent in quick succession, the nature of their movement points to them being controlled by the same whale entity.  🚨 🚨 228,105,810 #DOGE (34,341,747 USD) transferred from unknown wallet to #Coinbasehttps://t.co/G8TGqtW5Ws — Whale Alert (@whale_alert) April 26, 2024 🚨 🚨 228,725,906 #DOGE (34,435,104 USD) transferred from unknown wallet to #Coinbasehttps://t.co/ACnqjOBCAO — Whale Alert (@whale_alert) April 26, 2024 A further look into the two whale addresses involved, “DFBx6m” and “DCTpBb”, showed that they no longer hold any tokens at the time of writing. This lends additional credibility to the idea that the transfers were made with the intention of selling off tokens. Notably, on-chain data shows that both addresses have been holding their DOGE tokens since last year, considering the last inflow of DOGE occurred on November 1, 2023. During this time, the price of Dogecoin was trading around $0.068. It is worth noting that DOGE has gone on an over 120% price increase since then, putting the holdings at a significant profit. What’s Next For Dogecoin? At the time of writing, DOGE is trading at $0.1511. The crypto is now on a correction path after failing to substantially break above $0.164 in the past week. The recent movement of nearly half a billion Dogecoin suggests major price volatility could be on the horizon. Furthermore, the recent DOGE rally seems to have stalled out as other altcoins and meme coins gain momentum. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bears Risk Losing $7.2 Billion If BTC Price Reaches This Level While DOGE is currently down by 0.64% in the past seven days, Shiba Inu, PEPE, Dogwifhat, and FLOKI are up by 13.8%, 47.5%, and 32.5% in the same timeframe.  The future of DOGE can be hard to predict. As with any meme coin, Dogecoin remains highly speculative. Its price continues to be volatile and heavily influenced by hype and social media. According to a crypto analyst, DOGE could continue to drop in the short term. Other analysts are bullish on DOGE, with analyst Ali Martinez even predicting a rally to the $1 price mark.  DOGE price falls below $0.15 | Source: DOGEUSDT on Tradingview.com Featured image from Bitcoinist, chart from Tradingview.com

As the crypto industry navigates the waves of this bull run, projects like NEAR Protocol (NEAR) are edging forward with new partnerships and developments. NEAR’s remarkable performance has crypto analysts considering that the toke is getting underway for a massive surge. Related Reading: Is SUI Sinking? TVL Tanks As Crypto Price Fails To Keep Afloat Is NEAR Protocol A “Market Leader”? At the beginning of the week, crypto analyst World of Charts recognized a bullish flag pattern formed on NEAR’s monthly chart. According to the analyst, a successful breakout could be followed by a 60-65% bullish wave in the coming days. On Thursday, NEAR tested the $7.00 resistance level, reaching above the $7.50 mark before retracing as the day ended. NEAR breaking out of the bullish flag pattern on Thursday. Source: World of Charts Affirming his previous forecast, the analyst stated that if the token successfully holds above the breakout level, investors could expect the price to move towards $14-$15. Since then, the token has remained above the $7.00 mark, hovering between $7.3-$7.1. Another crypto analyst has been following NEAR’s performance this week similarly. According to Bluntz, the token “has been one of the strongest movers from the lows and will probably be one of the first to make fresh highs.” Moreover, he considers NEAR “one of the better performers” in the top 20 cryptocurrencies. Previously, the trader displayed a chart identifying an ABC zigzag pattern followed by a still-forming impulse wave pattern. NEAR's forming a impulse wave pattern according to the analyst. Source: Bluntz As NEAR broke out of the $7,00 resistance, the analyst reaffirmed his prediction for the token’s movements, considering it “a market leader right now.” Bluntz added that the token kept “plodding along making fresh highs while everything else has stalled out and continued accumulating.” Network Expansion And Price Surge The NEAR Protocol is a Layer-1 “user-friendly and carbon-neutral” blockchain focused on performance, security, and scalability. According to its team, the “blockchain for everyone” was built with “usability in mind.” NEAR’s total value locked (TVL) of $309 million makes it the 16th largest blockchain by this metric. Notably, the network has doubled its TVL since Q4 2023, when it sat in the 25th spot with $128 million. The protocol collaborates with other projects constantly to continue “expanding financial horizons.” Projects like NodeKit and TrueZK have recently integrated NEAR’s solution designed for Ethereum rollups, NEAR DA. Similarly, on Thursday, it announced its partnership with Colombian fintech Lulo X and Peersyst Technology “to redefine the parameters of digital finance.” These collaborations have been seemingly well-received by the NEAR community. Despite being down by 6.25% in the monthly time frame and 65% below its all-time high (ATH) of $20,44 set in January 2022, the blockchain’s token has shown a remarkable performance during this bull run. In the last three months, NEAR has soared over 146%. Moreover, the token’s daily trading volume has increased by 6.5% in the past day, with over $800 million traded. Likewise, its market capitalization has risen 5% during the same timeframe, making it the 17th biggest cryptocurrency by this metric. As of this writing, NEAR is trading at $7.2, representing a 7.3% jump in the last 24 hours and a 26% rise in the past week. Related Reading: Crypto Bull Run Set To Return Next Week, Predicts Arthur Hayes NEAR's performance in the one-week chart. Source: NEARUSDT on TradingView Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

While Bitcoin prices struggle for momentum and are caged inside a narrow range, on-chain data tells a different story. Taking to X, one analyst notes that whales, which are large crypto holders, are actively accumulating the world’s largest coin by market cap.  Bitcoin Whales Accumulating Despite Weakness By the time this data was shared, Bitcoin whales held over 5.1 million BTC worth a staggering $331 billion. That there is still demand when the coin moves in a narrow range flies in the face of recent market weakness and skeptics betting on even more price dumps. Related Reading: After WIF, BONK, BODEN: Top Crypto Trader Now Buys These 2 Memecoins Currently, Bitcoin is inside a range, with caps at $73,800 and $60,000. Despite overall market confidence, the coin has failed to pull higher, breaking above $70,000 even after Halving on April 20. Even though prices are firm, the absence of follow-through after April 21 and 22 hints at weakness. From the BTCUSDT price chart, the coin could explode should it break above the middle BB. If the leg up is accompanied by positive fundamental events, momentum could push the coin to all-time highs. On the flip side, BTC is likely to slip even lower should sellers flow back. The sharp rejection of bulls on April 24 is bearish. As such, this might set a wave of lower lows in motion, taking the coin below April 2023 lows. Traders Panicked Sold, Register Huge Losses Parallel market data shows panic sellers on Binance and OKX, two major crypto exchanges by trading volumes, have dumped a combined 5,137 BTC at a loss over the past two weeks. As data shows, prices have been weaving lower during this time, with bulls failing to counter the dump, especially after two consecutive losses on April 12 and 13. Related Reading: DOGE Price Prediction – Dogecoin Below $0.14 Could Spark Larger Degree Drop Meanwhile, there have been sharp outflows from ARKB, the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). Data shows that ARKB sold 490 BTC, worth $31 million, on April 25. This is the third-largest single-day outflow in history. Recent price pressures on BTC coincide with a marked drop in spot ETF inflows in the second half of April. On April 25, Lookonchain data revealed that GBTC and all the nine spot ETF issuers decreased over 2,100 BTC worth roughly $135 million. Feature image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView

Despite BTC’s recent unimpressive price action, crypto analyst Doctor Profit has shared his bullish sentiment for Bitcoin and the broader crypto market. The analyst further suggested that a parabolic move was imminent and that crypto investors should position themselves accordingly.  Crypto Market Preparing For A “Third Industrial Revolution” Doctor Profit mentioned in an X (formerly Twitter) post that the crypto market “is preparing itself for the third Industrial Revolution,” thereby hinting at a trend reversal for Bitcoin and altcoins soon enough. “Be part of it, or regret for [a] lifetime,” the crypto analyst added as he warned crypto investors of missing this market rally.   Related Reading: HBAR Prices Crashes 35% As BlackRock Denies Any Ties To Hedera In a previous X post, Doctor Profit gave an idea of what to expect from the crypto market (Bitcoin in particular) when it makes its next leg up. He stated that the flagship crypto will rise to $84,000 after it is done trading the sideway range between $60,000 and $72,000. In another X post, he claimed that the super cycle will start after Bitcoin hits $72,000.  Meanwhile, Doctor Profit suggested that the price corrections experienced were normal and usually occur in each crypto cycle. He further remarked that the 10 to 20% price fluctuations weren’t big moves. His statement echoes the sentiment of Alex Thorn, Head of Research at Galaxy Digital, who previously warned that bull markets weren’t “straight lines up.” Bitcoin Is In The Re-Accumulation Period  In a recent X (formerly Twitter) post, crypto analyst Rekt Capital confirmed that Bitcoin is currently in the Re-Accumulation phase, which occurs after the Bitcoin Halving. He further noted that the goal now “is for Bitcoin to move sideways to catch a breather, for the market to cool off after [a] fantastic Pre-Halving price performance.   Related Reading: Why Is The Dogecoin Price Down Today? According to Rekt Capital, this Re-Accumulation period can last for multiple weeks “and even up to 150 days.” The analyst revealed that once this period is over, Bitcoin will experience a breakout from this sideways range, followed by a parabolic uptrend.  This uptrend phase is said to last for over a year. However, with the probability of this being an accelerated market cycle, Rekt Capital remarked that the duration for this uptrend could be cut in half. Crypto analysts like Tom Dunleavy, Partner and Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at MV Capital, predict that the flagship crypto will rise as high as $100,000 when that time comes.  At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at around $64,360, up in the last 24 hours according to data from CoinMarketCap. BTC bears pull down price | Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview.com Featured image from Kapersky, chart from Tradingview.com

On-chain data shows the XRP whales have been active during the past day. Here are the destinations their moves have been heading to. XRP Whales Have Moved Around Big Amounts In Last 24 Hours According to data from the cryptocurrency transaction tracker service Whale Alert, several large XRP transactions have been witnessed on the blockchain in the past day. More specifically, five transfers in total that are of scale often attributed to the whales have occurred on the network inside this window. Since whale transactions involve the transfer of a significant sum of capital, they can sometimes cause fluctuations in the market. Related Reading: 85% Of Altcoins In “Opportunity Zone,” Santiment Reveals The implications any whale transfers might have for the market depend on their intent. However, the exact purpose behind any transfer can be hard to ascertain. Nonetheless, the address details of the transaction may provide at least some hints about the context surrounding it. First, here are the details regarding the oldest XRP whale transfer from the past day: Looks like this massive move only required a minute fee of 0.000015 XRP to be possible | Source: Whale Alert As is visible above, this transaction involved the movement of 29.74 million XRP, worth $15.7 million at the time of the transfer. The sender was an unknown wallet, likely a whale’s address. On the other hand, the receiver was a wallet attached to a known centralized platform: the cryptocurrency exchange Bitso. Thus, the whale here made a deposit to the exchange from their personal address. Investors usually make such transactions whenever they want to use one of the services platforms like these provide, including selling. As such, exchange inflows can prove to be bearish for the price. The second-oldest whale transaction from the past 24 hours was also an exchange inflow, this one towards Bitstamp. Interestingly, the sending address for this one was the same as the Bitso deposit, so the same whale was probably behind both of these moves. The large investor shifted 27,430,000 XRP ($14.5 million) to the exchange in this second move. Naturally, if the whale has made these large moves for selling, they could be a bad sign for the asset’s price. Though, perhaps fortunately for the XRP investors, two exchange outflows have also occurred recently, which may cancel out these inflows. Below are the details of the two larger withdrawals. The addresses involved in the first of the whale exchange withdrawals today | Source: Whale Alert In this move, a whale took out around 26.67 million XRP ($14 million) from Binance. Today’s exchange outflow also involved Binance, with another 20.85 million tokens ($10.6 million) leaving the platform. The fifth and final transfer was the largest during the past day at a whopping 100 million XRP ($53 million), but this move involved unknown wallets on both sides so it’s impossible to say why the move would have been made. Related Reading: Bitcoin Forms Death Cross & TD-9 Sell Signal: Brace For Impact? The reason could have been anything, from a change of wallets to selling through over-the-counter (OTC) means. XRP Price XRP had recovered to $0.57 earlier in the week, but it appears that the coin has lost this progress; it’s back at $0.52 now. The price of the asset appears to have seen a decline over the last few days | Source: XRPUSD on TradingView Featured image from Ole Kloth on Unsplash.com, whale-alert.io, chart from TradingView.com

Ethereum withdraws from centralized exchanges have ramped up over the last week, suggesting a direction for investor sentiment during this time. Given the sheer volume of ETH withdrawn from these exchanges, it is prudent to try to understand what this could mean for the crypto’s price. 260,000 ETH Leaves Exchanges Amid the uncertainty that has plagued the crypto market, Ethereum investors are making moves to secure their positions for better price prospects. Pseudonymous crypto technical analyst Titan of Crypto took to X (formerly Twitter) to share what Ethereum investors are doing about their holdings right. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bears Risk Losing $7.2 Billion If BTC Price Reaches This Level The post revealed that these investors have been withdrawing large amounts of ETH from centralized exchanges. In the one week period that was tracked, the report found that a total of 260,000 ETH were withdrawn from exchanges, which was worth almost $800 million at the time. #Altcoins Crypto exchanges witnessed an outflow of over 260,000 #ETH equivalent to more than $781 million within the past 7 days. It’s time for #Ethereum shine. ✨🌕 pic.twitter.com/jT1aocjvbI — Titan of Crypto (@Washigorira) April 24, 2024 Now, exchange deposits and withdrawals are important for any cryptocurrency because it can often tell how investors are looking at that coin and what they are doing with their holdings. In the case of large deposits to centralized exchanges, it can be very bearish for the price because investors often deposit their coins in order to sell them as exchanges provide deep liquidity. In contrast, withdrawals from exchanges suggest that investors are not looking to sell their ETH. Rather, they are accumulating the coins to wait for better prices before selling. Naturally, this is bullish for the Ethereum price as a diminished selling pressure gives room for the price to recover. In this case, the withdrawals are bullish or the Ethereum price, as investors continue to accumulate. It also signals that investors are expecting a price breakout, and as the withdrawals ramp up, demand could surpass supply, leading to a surge in price. Ethereum Headwinds Still Negative Ethereum, while currently seeing some positive activity from investors, has still not turned completely bullish. For one, there has been a significant decline in its daily trading volume. According to data from Coinmarketcap, Ethereum’s trading volume is down approximately 20% in the last day. Related Reading: Renowned Economist Reveals What Will Happen If Bitcoin Can’t Hold $60,000 This decline in volume suggests a declining interest from investors to actually trade the coin. As such, its price may be negatively affected as attention begins to shift elsewhere, with investors looking for better prospects. Nevertheless, the cryptocurrency still looks bullish for the long term. Ethereum continues to closely mirror the price performance of Bitcoin, which is expected to go on a bull run following the successful completion of its fourth halving event. For now, Ethereum continues to struggle to hold above $3,100 with small gains of 0.18% in the last day. Over the last month, it has suffered multiple crashes, registering a 12.36% loss in the last 30 days. ETH price struggles to hold $3,100 support | Source: ETHUSD on Tradingview.com Featured image from Investopedia, chart from Tradingview.com

According to a recent survey, half of Canadian institutional investors and financial services organizations have actively offered at least one type of cryptocurrency asset product or service to clients in the past year. The study revealed that half of the institutional investors surveyed were exposed to crypto through exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end trusts, or other […]

Eddy Lazzarin, CTO of A16z Crypto, one of the largest cryptocurrency-focused venture capital funds, has criticized the meme coins’ effect on the broad appreciation of the cryptocurrency market. Lazzarin stated that meme coins undermined the “long-term vision of crypto” that has maintained some actors in the space, making it look “like a risky casino.” A16z […]

The United States witnessed its first banking failure of 2024 with the closure of Philadelphia-based Republic First Bank, creating ripples within the cryptocurrency community as Bitcoin, Ether, and various altcoins experienced slight price drops following the announcement. This event has spurred discussions among crypto enthusiasts and investors, with some seeing bank failures as a compelling […]

A new law enabling the National Crime Agency and police to seize, freeze, and destroy crypto assets is now in effect in the UK. Under this law, police can seize crypto from suspects without needing to make an arrest first. Additionally, victims have the right to request the release of funds held in crypto accounts […]

According to Chainalysis’ “Crypto Spring Report,” stablecoin adoption and market importance are seeing a rapid increase in 2024, with a significant rise in the number of addresses holding them and their use in on-chain transactions, making them a global financial asset. Legislation efforts in the U.S., such as the Lummis-Gillibrand Payment Stablecoin Act, aim to […]

The chairman of the Swiss National Bank has expressed reservations about incorporating bitcoin into the central bank’s currency reserves. He stated that no decision has been made yet to invest in bitcoin, underscoring the necessity for currency reserves to be liquid, sustainable, and easily tradable, given their use in international payments. Swiss National Bank on […]

PRESS RELEASE. Excitement is brewing in the heart of Asia as Hong Kong regulators pave the way for a new era of innovation with the recent approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This groundbreaking development underscores Hong Kong’s commitment to becoming a regulated hub for Bitcoin. At the same time, the Bitcoin Conference is […]

The Bank of Russia and Rosfinmonitoring revealed the existence of a ‘know your crypto customer’ system pilot, that aims to link the fiat operations of crypto users with their blockchain actions. The pilot, which has been ongoing since 2023, involves five banks in Russia and is expected to run until April, but can be extended. […]

On Friday, April 26, Acinq announced that its Lightning Network bitcoin wallet, Phoenix, will cease services for U.S. residents from May 3, 2024. This announcement followed closely on the heels of the Samourai Wallet indictment and what is perceived as a targeted U.S. government effort against financial privacy and non-custodial solutions. Lightning Network Platform Phoenix […]

Over the past 90 days, while bitcoin has shown steady performance, 19 other cryptocurrencies have outpaced the leading digital asset in terms of price growth. However, the Altcoin Season Index, which measures the performance of these cryptocurrencies against bitcoin, has dropped from 59 to 39 since early April, signaling that an altcoin season is unlikely […]

Hot news: These changes have happened in the last hour.

In the last one hour Bitcoin is leading the record of among the most popular crypto-currency in the trading ecosystem, it has an decrease of -0.33% from its previous value from 6631.875 dollars now at 6609.990 dollars exchange rate. Next to Bitcoin is T..

The post Bitcoin $6609.990 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 09:08 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: The summaries of the last one hour are the followings:

Bitcoin is leading the rank on the most popular crypto-currency, it has an upsurge of 0.12% in its exchange rate, which means 6668.000 dollars from the 6660.008 dollars earlier. Tether is in the second position as Bitcoin leads the first spot. ..

The post Bitcoin $6668.000 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 08:08 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: Here we summon for you the changes of the market of CryptoCurrency from the last 60 minutes.

In the last hour, Bitcoin is leading the cryptocurrency rank. A fall in the exchange rate was seen from 6663.014 dollars to 6640.360 dollars a -0.34% change. Next to Bitcoin is Tether in the second position..

The post Bitcoin $6640.360 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 07:08 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: Here you can read the new CryptoCurrency report of the last 60 Minutes.

Bitcoin is leading the rank in the last hour as the most popular crypto currency in the trade market, with a recorded fall on its value of about -0.12% in the last hour with a current standing rate of 6674.850 dollars from 6682..

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Hot news: There were a lot of happenings in the last 60 minutes on the Crypto stock exchanges.

Bitcoin is listed as the most popular cryptocurrency in the market. In the last sixty minutes, it had an downswing of -0.19% on its trading price. This means from 6699.038 dollars now at 6686.310 dollars. Tether is..

The post Bitcoin $6686.310 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 05:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: Now we show you the newest summary of 60 minutes.

Bitcoin is now leading the rank on the most popular digital currency in the trade market. It has an decrease of -0% in its exchange rate from 6704.570 dollars now at 6704.570 dollars. Bitcoin is seconded by Tether, in a 60 minutes time it has a drop..

The post Bitcoin $6704.570 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 04:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: Here we summon for you the changes of the market of CryptoCurrency from the last 60 minutes.

Bitcoin was in the top position in the last hour, the exchange rate decreases from 6710.021 dollars to 6709.350. This is a -0.01% recorded change. Tether is at the second position next to Bitcoin, with a re..

The post Bitcoin $6709.350 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 03:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: These changes have happened in the last hour.

Bitcoin was in the top position in the last hour, the exchange rate increases from 6689.711 dollars to 6709.780. This is a 0.3% recorded change. Bitcoin is followed by Tether, with a -0.07% tumble on its trade value in the last one hour, equivalent to 0..

The post Bitcoin $6709.780 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 02:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: Here we summon for you the changes of the market of CryptoCurrency from the last 60 minutes.

The number one cryptocurrency leader is Bitcoin, this data was fetched in the last hour. It has an decrease on its trade value to -0.2%, now at 6687.450 dollars from 6700.852. Tether is at the second positi..

The post Bitcoin $6687.450 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 01:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: These are the changes of the CryptoCurrency market in the last one hour.

Bitcoin is now leading the rank on the most popular digital currency in the trade market. It has an increase of 0.05% in its exchange rate from 6689.215 dollars now at 6692.560 dollars. Tether is next to the leading crypto Bit..

The post Bitcoin $6692.560 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 00:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

As a crypto analyst and frequent investor in the Greek digital currency market, I can confidently recommend Bcash for convenient and secure Bitcoin purchasing in Athens. With 10 strategically located crypto ATM hotspots spanning central Athens and the northern suburbs, Bcash enables instant access to leading cryptocurrencies like BTC, ETH, and USDT. Experience the Leading […]

The post Top 5 Bitcoin ATM Locations in Athens for Fast and Easy Crypto Access appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Bitwise Asset Management, the largest crypto index fund manager in America, announced today that the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), the firm’s first spot bitcoin ETF, intends to begin trading today, January 11th. BITB will join Bitwise’s comprehensive suite of 18 crypto investment products, which currently includes five other crypto ETFs. “We expect significant demand for […]

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It is no longer unusual to hear that a bank accepts savings in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the like. Or that a loan company helps businesses with crypto. After all, the traditional financial and insurance industries were among the first to adopt cryptocurrencies. The latter ones have found more than one way to incorporate these means of payment […]

The post Cryptocurrency Payments for Insurance: Are Insurance Companies Really Embracing Bitcoin and Altcoins? appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

For some people, the word bitcoin still triggers an eye-roll, but by now, most of us know that cryptocurrency is here to stay. With that in mind, it’s a good idea to make sure you’re clued up and well-educated on the topic, especially if you’ve ever considered investing yourself. However, with so much misinformation floating […]

The post 4 Things We’ve Learned About Owning Bitcoin in 2023 appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Today, Fuse Network, an enterprise-grade, use-case agnostic, decentralized EVM-compatible public blockchain, announced Liquify as its newest remote procedure call (RPC) provider and ecosystem partner. Liquify will provide public RPC services – both free and private. RPC nodes help process requests from decentralized applications (dApps). They are vital for improving the usability of web3 and for […]

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Welcome to the world of BITmarkets – a leading cryptocurrency exchange offering a wide range of trading options for both retail traders and corporate clients. In this comprehensive review, we will explore the various features and services provided by BITmarkets, including spot, futures, and margin trading. Whether a seasoned trader or just starting your cryptocurrency […]

The post BITmarkets – Spot, Futures, Margin Trading with 150+ Cryptocurrencies appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

HashKey Exchange, the first licensed retail virtual asset exchange registered in Hong Kong, announced its official launch today. Together with executives from the HKSAR government, top-tier banks, insurers, and Big 4 auditing firms, HashKey held the grand launch in Hong Kong. Strictly adhering to the SFC’s user registration and KYC requirements, the HashKey Exchange platform […]

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Adenasoft, a South Korea-based IT/software company, has just announced the launch of ACE, their new SaaS product designed for cryptocurrency exchanges. ACE fully prepares businesses for exchange operations quickly, taking less than a month to get up and running. ACE offers a comprehensive suite of features that enables crypto exchanges to streamline their operations and […]

The post Adenasoft launches new crypto exchange white label solution: ACE appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

This week, the team of Pods, a provider of structured products for crypto assets, unveiled its latest offering – the ETHphoria Vault. This innovative yield strategy is designed explicitly for ETH enthusiasts who are bullish about its future prospects and want to earn even more from increasing prices. ETHphoria is a low-risk, principal-protected strategy designed […]

The post Maximize Your ETH Investment: The ETHphoria Vault by Pods appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

The team of Pods recently announced the mainnet launch of its 3rd strategy on Pods Yield: FUD Vault, which now complements ETHphoria and stETHvv. FUD Vault provides a way for users to benefit from market downturns by offering a mechanism to hedge against significant price drops in ETH while preserving the deposited principal. Who is […]

The post Crypto traders can mitigate risk with PODS’ FUD Vault – now live on mainnet appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

DeFi Returns brings comprehensive up-to-date information on DeFi strategies and protocols, to easily compare and analyze their performance. Getting the most reliable data source for historical yield on DeFi, to help users make informed decisions when investing in the ecosystem. All data displayed is sourced from the protocol’s smart contracts directly. The new DeFi Returns […]

The post What is DeFi Returns? A new way of DeFi Investing appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

RockX, an Asia-based institutional-grade staking services provider, announced today the broadening of its staking product suite with the addition of a new ether (ETH) native staking solution. This latest offering strengthens RockX’s position as a comprehensive provider of diverse staking needs, maneuvering quickly to the evolving crypto market landscape. Navigating the Ethereum ecosystem presents institutions with […]

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Hex Trust, a regulated institutional-grade crypto-asset custodian, today announced it has partnered with The Sandbox, a leading decentralized gaming virtual world to enable fully-licensed and highly-secure custody of assets such as LAND in The Sandbox’s metaverse. The partnership sees Hex Trust fully integrate LAND into its custody platform, Hex Safe, which supports cryptocurrencies, security tokens, and NFTs. […]

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CoinFlip, a bitcoin ATM and crypto services company, announced today a new offering with the launch of ‘Olliv,’ a self-custody-powered crypto platform. The Olliv platform provides a frictionless way to buy, sell, send, receive, and swap cryptocurrency securely stored on a self-custodial wallet, removing the uncertainty of unknown third-party custodians. By leveraging CoinFlip’s existing network […]

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Deribit, a popular cryptocurrency derivatives platform, has announced the launch of zero-fee spot trading, allowing clients to buy and sell crypto while simultaneously managing risk using other derivatives. Spot trading will start on April, 24th 2023 at 1 PM UTC with three pairs (BTC/USDC, ETH/USDC, and ETH/BTC), providing clients with a simple and free solution […]

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Japan-based banking giant Nomura, announced today that its digital assets subsidiary, Laser Digital, has made a strategic investment in Infinity, a non-custodial interest rate protocol built on Ethereum. Infinity’s wholesale exchange, the first of several planned infrastructures, provides inter-exchange clearing, fixed and floating rate markets, as well as enterprise-grade risk management utilizing hybrid on-chain/off-chain infrastructures […]

The post Nomura’s Laser Digital invests in Infinity, an Ethereum-based money market protocol appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Blocknative, a real-time Ethereum (ETH) infrastructure platform, has newly introduced features including transaction bundle send, cancellation, and replacement support for the Blocknative Builder. Searchers can now submit MEV bundles privately to the Blocknative Builder to be included on-chain. This market utility builds upon Blocknative’s reliable, real-time infrastructure that is systematically important to the Ethereum ecosystem. […]

The post ETH infrastructure platform Blocknative adds TX bundles, cancellation, and replacement support appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Eventus, a provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance and market risk solutions, announced today that cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Deribit has chosen the firm’s Validus platform to provide market abuse monitoring on the exchange. Headquartered in Panama City, Panama, Deribit is one of the largest cryptocurrency options exchanges by volume and open interest, with approximately 90% […]

The post Crypto derivatives exchange Deribit to put in place trade surveillance platform from Eventus appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Gemini, the popular bitcoin & crypto exchange company, today announced the launch of electronic over-the-counter trading (eOTC), an automated crypto trading solution designed for institutions. The Gemini eOTC solution offers a variety of advantages to institutional traders including: Competitive Pricing & Execution: Liquidity is sourced from top-tier liquidity providers with deep liquidity pools, enabling counterparties […]

The post Crypto exchange Gemini launches new electronic OTC trading solution appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

GenTwo Digital, the crypto-asset securitization platform based out of Crypto Valley in Zug, Switzerland, today announced a partnership with Coinbase, the publicly-listed cryptocurrency platform. This new partnership for GenTwo Digital allows all Coinbase crypto assets to be wrapped in bankable financial investment products and enables financial intermediaries to issue certificates such AMCs (Actively Management Certificates). […]

The post Crypto securitization platform GenTwo links to all Coinbase assets appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

ThunderCore, a leading blockchain & web3 ecosystem announced today that they are making a new development push, partnering with new validators as the chain rolls out its new crypto staking model. The newest ThunderCore validators include the famous crypto-asset exchange Huobi and one of the earliest staking platforms in the space, MyCointainer. Users of both […]

The post Blockchain ecosystem ThunderCore teams with Huobi and MyCointainer in node expansion appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Pods, creators of a DeFi platform, announced today that earlier this year, the team raised $5.6M in seed funding to create structured products for crypto-assets. The financing featured investors such as IOSG, Tomahawk, Republic, Framework Ventures, and more. The first strategy on Pods Yield is stETHvv (Ethereum Volatility Vault). stETHvv is a low-risk product focused […]

The post DeFi protocol Pods raises $5.6M to support its structured crypto products dApp appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Deribit, the popular cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, announced today it has launched a new ‘Proof of Reserves‘ tool for clients using the trading platform. Now, clients are provided with the functionality to verify their assets to be included in Deribit’s overall reserves. How it Works Deribit provides all addresses for all on-chain assets and it delivers […]

The post Crypto derivatives exchange Deribit releases new client verification of assets tool appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Tenderly, creators of a blockchain development platform, today announced that it is the first web3 development platform to offer simulations through RPC on its Tenderly Web3 Gateway, the company’s production node as a service. Note, Tenderly already processes more than 50 million simulations per month through its Transaction Simulator. Now, the company is introducing the […]

The post Tenderly introduces TXN simulations on its blockchain gateway for efficient dApp development appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

DFINITY Foundation, the not-for-profit organization contributing to the development of the Internet Computer (IC) — a high-speed, internet-scale public blockchain — has announced today the Internet Computer’s mainnet integration with Bitcoin, bringing smart contract functionality to the cryptocurrency. Now, the Internet Computer can serve as a layer-2 for Bitcoin where smart contracts on the Internet […]

The post DFINITY brings new smart contract functionality to Bitcoin with Internet Computer integration appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Nvidia's share price saw a 15% increase after a brief slump during the previous trading week, prompting analysts to speculate about the price movements of AI crypto tokens.

Republic First Bank's 32 branches across the United States will reopen under Fulton Bank starting next week, according to the FDIC.

The creator of the Bored Ape Yacht Club has been struggling with a changing market and still plans to focus on its Otherside metaverse project.

This week’s Crypto Biz examines X’s upcoming payment system, the NYSE’s potential 24/7 trading, Block’s expansion into Bitcoin mining, and more.

The lawyer said he had filed a brief on behalf of 4,701 Coinbase customers for no charge as part of his advocacy work in the crypto space.

New rules under the MiCA framework may encourage big banks to enter the DeFi space, potentially complicating compliance for native crypto projects.

The board includes the CEOs of Adobe, Alphabet, Anthropic, AMD, AWS, IBM, Microsoft and Nvidia, as well as other business, civil rights and academic leaders.

Need to know what happened in crypto today? Here is the latest news on daily trends and events impacting Bitcoin price, blockchain, DeFi, NFTs, Web3 and crypto regulation.

Bitcoin price holds above $63,000 even as regulatory enforcement ramps up and spot BTC ETF outflows raise concern.

Arkham Research notified DeFi wallet owners to look at the addresses and try to retrieve their funds, which have been stuck for months in bridge contracts.

Custodia Bank is challenging a lower court’s ruling in its battle for a Federal Reserve master account.

The U.S. government’s arguments on stablecoins in an unrelated criminal case could bolster Binance’s position in its civil case with the SEC.

Bitcoin and altcoins could be en route to retest their recent strong support levels as bears try to extend the correction.

The exchange is optimizing operations after acquiring ErisX on the eve of crypto winter and expects to save millions.

Bitcoin market inertia is dragging on, and a BTC price drop over the next fortnight would correspond to classic post-halving behavior.

Attendees at Token 2049 in Dubai shared their personal stories on how they became rich.

Bull flags are historically associated with more upside momentum, but Bitcoin price could still use a catalyst before rallying to new highs.

Slim Shady was the latest celebrity to advertise “fortune favors the brave” for Crypto.com following Matt Damon’s ad spot in October 2021.

The European Union’s in-house think tanks says the metaverse can help children heal from diseases.

Mainland Chinese citizens will not be able to purchase Bitcoin and Ether ETFs in Hong Kong because mainland China banned crypto transactions years ago.

Quantum computing is the next most significant disruptive technological leap and its rapid evolution and funding will soon make it a reality.

From April 26, police can transfer seized illicit crypto to wallets controlled by the authorities, with victims able to reclaim funds from the accounts.

The Bitcoin network surpassed 926,000 daily transactions, driven by a growing interest in Runes.

Imaginary Ones co-founder Clement Chia believes that simply adding blockchain to the metaverse doesn’t solve its “purpose” problems.

Nvidia-backed AI startup Synthesia unveils “Expressive Avatars,” enabling AI to convey human emotions and movements for corporate presentations and training.

The arrest of the founders of Samourai Wallet led to widespread concerns in the crypto community that the U.S. government was attempting to crack down on the industry.

Yao Qian, the first director of CBDC development at China’s central bank, is reportedly under investigation for suspected law violations.

The transaction fees are the “wild card” for Bitcoin miners, with the current increase representing a crucial revenue boost for BTC miners, according to TeraWulf’s COO, Nazar Khan.

The trader received a $6.28 million payday trading BONK, $9.51 million trading WIF and $7.04 million from BODEN.

Microsoft and Google’s Q2 earnings reports highlight significant revenue and profit increases driven by their investments and advancements in AI technologies.

Following the halving event on April 19, the price of Bitcoin has displayed a puzzling performance. BTC initially gained nearly 10% to trade as high as $67,020 on April 24. However, in the last two days,  the digital asset’s price has declined by 6.49%, falling below the $63,000 price mark.  As expected, such negative performance has drawn attention from investors and market speculators. In particular, renowned analyst with X handle Rekt Capital has provided a theory on Bitcoin’s price fall and perhaps an insight into the future price movements of the crypto market leader. Related Reading: Timing The Breakout: When Will Bitcoin Escape The Post-Halving Consolidation? BTC Potential Price Decline Ahead? In an X post on April 26, Rekt Capital stated that Bitcoin has now entered the Post-Halving “Danger Zone.” The analyst described this phenomenon as a period during which Bitcoin has historically experienced price corrections after the halving event. Rekt Capital noted that in 2016, Bitcoin recorded these price retraces in the three weeks following the Halving event. During this time, the token’s price declined by 11%.  The analyst postulates that Bitcoin is now in the Post-Halving “Danger Zone” of the current bull cycle following its price fall over the last two days. It is worth stating that if Bitcoin mirrors past price movement in this phase, the token could be heading for $60,000. However, Rekt Capital states that if the crypto market leader experiences such a fate, it will be within the next two weeks.  At the time of writing, Bitcoin trades around $62,672 with a decline of 2.44% in the last day. This price fall underscores BTC’s negative performance in the last month in which it has lost 11.16% of its market value.  BTC trades at $63,023 on the daily chart | Source: BTCUSD chart on Tradingview.com Related Reading: Forbes Unveils 20 Crypto ‘Zombies,’ Declares Ripple And XRP Among The Undead Bitcoin ETFs Record Minor Inflow; Net Outflows Hit $217 Million According to data from SoSoValue, the Bitcoin Spot ETF market recorded net outflows to the tune of $217 million on April 25. Unsurprisingly, Grayscale’s GBTC accounted for $138 million of these figures as its total outflows now approach $17 billion. Notably, for the first time ever, Fidelity’s FBTC and Valkyrie’s BRRR  produced net outflows estimated at $22 million and $20 million, respectively. Meanwhile, ARK Invest’s ARKB and Bitwise’s BITB also experienced a loss in investment on Thursday. Interestingly, all other Bitcoin Spot ETFs recorded zero net flows except Franklin Tempton’s EZBC, which saw a net inflow of $1.87 million. At the time of writing, the BTC spot ETFs have a combined value of $128 billion, reflecting a remarkable growth since their trading debut on January 11. Featured image from The Economic Times, chart from Tradingview

In a controversial report, Forbes unveiled a list of 20 “crypto billion-dollar zombies,” Layer 1 (L1) tokens, which the news outlet defines as crypto assets with substantial valuations but “limited utility beyond speculative trading.”  These cryptocurrencies and projects include Ripple, XRP, Ethereum Classic (ETC), Tezos (XTZ), Algorand (ALGO), and Cardano (ADA), among others.  XRP And Ethereum Classic In The Spotlight Ripple Labs, the company behind XRP, was highlighted as a prominent crypto zombie. Despite XRP’s active trading volume of around $2 billion daily, Forbes asserts that the token’s primary purpose remains “speculative” and “lacking meaningful utility.”  Related Reading: XRP Whales Are Active: Here’s Where They Are Sending Coins However, Ripple Labs and XRP are not alone in this regard. Forbes reveals that 50 blockchains, excluding Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), currently trade at values surpassing $1 billion, with at least 20 of them classified as “functional zombies.” Collectively, these 20 blockchains hold a market value of $116 billion, despite having “limited user bases.” According to Forbes, an example of a “functional zombie” is Ethereum Classic, which maintains the distinction of being the original Ethereum chain.  While ETC has a market value of $4.6 billion, its fee generation in 2023 was less than $41,000, raising questions about the blockchain’s viability for the news organization. Another crypto project in Forbes’ report is Tezos, which raised $230 million through an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017.  Tezos’ XTZ token currently holds a market capitalization of $1.2 billion. However, the blockchain’s fee earnings were meager, with $5,640 in February 2024 and a total of $177,653 for all of 2023.  Algorand, once hailed as an “Ethereum killer” due to its capability of processing 7,500 transactions per second, faces similar challenges.  Despite a market cap of $2 billion and a treasury holding of $500 million, Algorand earned $63,000 in blockchain transaction fees throughout 2023. For Forbes, this casts doubt on its actual adoption and utility. Crypto ‘Zombie’ Blockchains The zombie blockchains are categorized into two groups by Forbes: spin-offs and direct competitors to established blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum.  Spin-off zombies include Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), Monero (XMR), Bitcoin SV (BSV), and Ethereum Classic.  These blockchains, collectively valued at $23 billion, reportedly emerged from “disagreements” among programmers regarding the governance and direction of the original chains.  Forbes notes that when such conflicts arise, hard forks occur, resulting in new networks that share the same transaction history as their predecessors. The agency claims that their market value “often exceeds” their real-world usage. Related Reading: Ethereum Withdrawals From Exchanges Top 260,000 ETH – What This Means For Price Overall, The report highlights a growing disparity between the valuations of certain projects in the cryptocurrency industry and their actual utility and usage. Consequently, Forbes refers to these projects as “zombies.” Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com 

Billionaire investor Anthony Scaramucci, the founder of SkyBridge Capital, recently discussed the viability of financial assets. He took to X, a social media platform previously known as Twitter and owned by Elon Musk, to highlight the decreasing purchasing power of the United States dollar in comparison to the potential of Bitcoin (BTC). US Dollar Vs. Bitcoin Value Performance In the post on X, the SkyBridge Capital founder pointed out that a dollar from 2020 is now only worth about 75 cents, underscoring a significant devaluation due to inflation. Related Reading: Is A $72K Bitcoin Surge On The Horizon? Glassnode’s Latest Analysis Points To An Answer According to Scaramucci, this scenario illustrates why investors should reconsider traditional fiat currencies as a reliable store of value, advocating instead for the inherent benefits of digital assets like Bitcoin. Dollar from 2020 is now worth 75 cents. Buy Bitcoin credit @balajis pic.twitter.com/WzIosKfJv2 — Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) April 26, 2024 Scaramucci’s critique comes at a time when the global economy grapples with heightened inflation rates, which have eroded the real value of fiat money. He specifically cited a “25.14% compounded inflation rate” as a critical indicator of why the dollar is losing ground. In contrast, Bitcoin has not only maintained a strong profile but has also appreciated in value, further cementing its position as a viable hedge against inflation and a potential safe haven for investors. So far, Bitcoin’s market performance has been quite appealing. Particularly, despite the significant downturn experienced in the past few years, the asset has managed to come out of the bloodbath and recently soared to an all-time high above $73,000 in March. This peak performance labels Bitcoin as not just a digital asset but a major player in the global financial landscape. However, despite Scaramucci’s bullish outlook, it’s worth noting that Bitcoin has seen its share of volatility. It has been struggling to maintain its appeal recently, with a modest 0.9% increase in the last 24 hours – a slight recovery from a 2% drop over the past week. BTC Shifting Market Sentiments Further insights into the market’s behavior towards Bitcoin reveal changing dynamics. Data from CryptoQuant highlighted a negative turn in the Bitcoin funding rate for the first time since October 2023, indicating a cooling interest in speculative trading on the asset. This shift suggests that while the long-term outlook might still be strong, short-term investor sentiment has become cautious, possibly awaiting clearer signals before making further commitments. The current market sentiment is also reflected in the technical analysis of a prominent crypto analyst, Ali. In Ali’s recent post on X, a notable mention was made of a “death cross” seen in Bitcoin’s 12-hour chart, where the short-term moving average dips below a long-term counterpart, traditionally a bearish signal. Additionally, the Tom Demark (TD) Sequential indicator points to potential price reversals after a consistent trend, adding another layer of complexity to Bitcoin’s trading strategy. Related Reading: Is Bitcoin’s Rally Over? Leverage Drops As Halving Highs Fade: Report Despite these potentially bearish indicators, on-chain data from Santiment shows an interesting trend: Bitcoin whales have increased their holdings significantly, now owning 25.16% of the total supply. This accumulation suggests that while retail sentiment may be bearish, large-scale investors are seeing the dips as buying opportunities, potentially prepping for a future bullish run. Featured image from Unsplash, Chart from TradingView

Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency in the market, has been trading within a re-accumulation range between the $59,000 and $70,000 price levels for the past month and a half.  Crypto analyst Rekt Capital recently shared its perspective on this phase and its potential duration, drawing from historical patterns and data in a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Related Reading: Is SUI Sinking? TVL Tanks As Crypto Price Fails To Keep Afloat Breakout Timing And Historical Patterns According to Rekt’s analysis, Bitcoin tends to experience a re-accumulation range following the Halving event, which occurs every four years to counteract any inflationary effect on Bitcoin by lowering the reward amount for miners and maintaining scarcity.  Historically, This consolidation phase lasts up to 150 days before Bitcoin breaks into a parabolic uptrend. Based on this pattern, if Bitcoin continues to consolidate for the next 150 days, Rekt suggests a breakout would be expected in September 2024. The ideal duration of a re-accumulation range is crucial in determining Bitcoin’s future trajectory. Rekt Capital noted that when Bitcoin reached a new all-time high (ATH) of $73,700 in mid-March, it accelerated its cycle by 260 days. However, with over 49 days of consolidation, the acceleration has reduced to approximately 210 days. Resetting The Bitcoin Halving Cycle Repeating historical trends, where Bitcoin consolidates for 150 days after the Halving, would still indicate an acceleration in the current cycle, albeit by a lesser extent of 60 days.  Nevertheless, Rekt contends that Bitcoin would ideally need to consolidate for at least 210 days to fully resynchronize with its historical Halving cycles and reset the current acceleration in this cycle to 0. This would bring the rate of acceleration to 0 days and potentially lead to a breakout around November 2024. Related Reading: Analysts Call It: XRP Primed For A 700% Surge – Details The analyst further suggested that to achieve a 200+ day post-Halving consolidation and fully resynchronize with historical Halving cycles, Bitcoin would need to replicate its mid-2023 re-accumulation range, which lasted 224 days before a new uptrend emerged. Rekt concluded: Overall, how long this current Re-Accumulation Range will last will dictate the remaining acceleration in this cycle and ultimately influence where Bitcoin will finally peak in its Bull Market.  The largest cryptocurrency, with a market capitalization of $1.2 billion, is currently trading at $64,400, showing minimal fluctuations compared to Thursday’s price movements.  Recently, Bitcoin has encountered resistance at the $66,000 level, hindering its ability to consolidate above this threshold. Conversely, the $63,400 level may serve as a support base for the cryptocurrency in the event of heightened downward volatility over the weekend. Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

Recent on-chain data has shown a transfer of 456 million DOGE tokens into crypto exchange Coinbase amidst a flurry of Dogecoin whale transactions across various exchanges in the past 24 hours. The price of DOGE has majorly traded below the $0.165 price level in the past seven days despite the price uptick among other meme coins. These recent events of whale transfers, however, appear to be leading to a bearish view towards DOGE. Transfers of this nature into a crypto exchange point to the whales getting ready to sell off their bags, which risks crashing the DOGE price.  Whales Move 456 Million DOGE To Crypto Exchange Whale Alerts, a crypto whale transaction tracker, has shown various instances of whale transactions in recent hours. Amidst these transactions is the transfer of 456.83 million DOGE tokens worth $68.7 million into popular crypto exchange Coinbase. Interestingly, the transfer of DOGE was made to Coinbase in two bouts of 228 million DOGE, each worth over $34 million. Related Reading: Renowned Economist Reveals What Will Happen If Bitcoin Can’t Hold $60,000 However, considering these transactions were sent in quick succession, the nature of their movement points to them being controlled by the same whale entity.  🚨 🚨 228,105,810 #DOGE (34,341,747 USD) transferred from unknown wallet to #Coinbasehttps://t.co/G8TGqtW5Ws — Whale Alert (@whale_alert) April 26, 2024 🚨 🚨 228,725,906 #DOGE (34,435,104 USD) transferred from unknown wallet to #Coinbasehttps://t.co/ACnqjOBCAO — Whale Alert (@whale_alert) April 26, 2024 A further look into the two whale addresses involved, “DFBx6m” and “DCTpBb”, showed that they no longer hold any tokens at the time of writing. This lends additional credibility to the idea that the transfers were made with the intention of selling off tokens. Notably, on-chain data shows that both addresses have been holding their DOGE tokens since last year, considering the last inflow of DOGE occurred on November 1, 2023. During this time, the price of Dogecoin was trading around $0.068. It is worth noting that DOGE has gone on an over 120% price increase since then, putting the holdings at a significant profit. What’s Next For Dogecoin? At the time of writing, DOGE is trading at $0.1511. The crypto is now on a correction path after failing to substantially break above $0.164 in the past week. The recent movement of nearly half a billion Dogecoin suggests major price volatility could be on the horizon. Furthermore, the recent DOGE rally seems to have stalled out as other altcoins and meme coins gain momentum. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bears Risk Losing $7.2 Billion If BTC Price Reaches This Level While DOGE is currently down by 0.64% in the past seven days, Shiba Inu, PEPE, Dogwifhat, and FLOKI are up by 13.8%, 47.5%, and 32.5% in the same timeframe.  The future of DOGE can be hard to predict. As with any meme coin, Dogecoin remains highly speculative. Its price continues to be volatile and heavily influenced by hype and social media. According to a crypto analyst, DOGE could continue to drop in the short term. Other analysts are bullish on DOGE, with analyst Ali Martinez even predicting a rally to the $1 price mark.  DOGE price falls below $0.15 | Source: DOGEUSDT on Tradingview.com Featured image from Bitcoinist, chart from Tradingview.com

As the crypto industry navigates the waves of this bull run, projects like NEAR Protocol (NEAR) are edging forward with new partnerships and developments. NEAR’s remarkable performance has crypto analysts considering that the toke is getting underway for a massive surge. Related Reading: Is SUI Sinking? TVL Tanks As Crypto Price Fails To Keep Afloat Is NEAR Protocol A “Market Leader”? At the beginning of the week, crypto analyst World of Charts recognized a bullish flag pattern formed on NEAR’s monthly chart. According to the analyst, a successful breakout could be followed by a 60-65% bullish wave in the coming days. On Thursday, NEAR tested the $7.00 resistance level, reaching above the $7.50 mark before retracing as the day ended. NEAR breaking out of the bullish flag pattern on Thursday. Source: World of Charts Affirming his previous forecast, the analyst stated that if the token successfully holds above the breakout level, investors could expect the price to move towards $14-$15. Since then, the token has remained above the $7.00 mark, hovering between $7.3-$7.1. Another crypto analyst has been following NEAR’s performance this week similarly. According to Bluntz, the token “has been one of the strongest movers from the lows and will probably be one of the first to make fresh highs.” Moreover, he considers NEAR “one of the better performers” in the top 20 cryptocurrencies. Previously, the trader displayed a chart identifying an ABC zigzag pattern followed by a still-forming impulse wave pattern. NEAR's forming a impulse wave pattern according to the analyst. Source: Bluntz As NEAR broke out of the $7,00 resistance, the analyst reaffirmed his prediction for the token’s movements, considering it “a market leader right now.” Bluntz added that the token kept “plodding along making fresh highs while everything else has stalled out and continued accumulating.” Network Expansion And Price Surge The NEAR Protocol is a Layer-1 “user-friendly and carbon-neutral” blockchain focused on performance, security, and scalability. According to its team, the “blockchain for everyone” was built with “usability in mind.” NEAR’s total value locked (TVL) of $309 million makes it the 16th largest blockchain by this metric. Notably, the network has doubled its TVL since Q4 2023, when it sat in the 25th spot with $128 million. The protocol collaborates with other projects constantly to continue “expanding financial horizons.” Projects like NodeKit and TrueZK have recently integrated NEAR’s solution designed for Ethereum rollups, NEAR DA. Similarly, on Thursday, it announced its partnership with Colombian fintech Lulo X and Peersyst Technology “to redefine the parameters of digital finance.” These collaborations have been seemingly well-received by the NEAR community. Despite being down by 6.25% in the monthly time frame and 65% below its all-time high (ATH) of $20,44 set in January 2022, the blockchain’s token has shown a remarkable performance during this bull run. In the last three months, NEAR has soared over 146%. Moreover, the token’s daily trading volume has increased by 6.5% in the past day, with over $800 million traded. Likewise, its market capitalization has risen 5% during the same timeframe, making it the 17th biggest cryptocurrency by this metric. As of this writing, NEAR is trading at $7.2, representing a 7.3% jump in the last 24 hours and a 26% rise in the past week. Related Reading: Crypto Bull Run Set To Return Next Week, Predicts Arthur Hayes NEAR's performance in the one-week chart. Source: NEARUSDT on TradingView Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

While Bitcoin prices struggle for momentum and are caged inside a narrow range, on-chain data tells a different story. Taking to X, one analyst notes that whales, which are large crypto holders, are actively accumulating the world’s largest coin by market cap.  Bitcoin Whales Accumulating Despite Weakness By the time this data was shared, Bitcoin whales held over 5.1 million BTC worth a staggering $331 billion. That there is still demand when the coin moves in a narrow range flies in the face of recent market weakness and skeptics betting on even more price dumps. Related Reading: After WIF, BONK, BODEN: Top Crypto Trader Now Buys These 2 Memecoins Currently, Bitcoin is inside a range, with caps at $73,800 and $60,000. Despite overall market confidence, the coin has failed to pull higher, breaking above $70,000 even after Halving on April 20. Even though prices are firm, the absence of follow-through after April 21 and 22 hints at weakness. From the BTCUSDT price chart, the coin could explode should it break above the middle BB. If the leg up is accompanied by positive fundamental events, momentum could push the coin to all-time highs. On the flip side, BTC is likely to slip even lower should sellers flow back. The sharp rejection of bulls on April 24 is bearish. As such, this might set a wave of lower lows in motion, taking the coin below April 2023 lows. Traders Panicked Sold, Register Huge Losses Parallel market data shows panic sellers on Binance and OKX, two major crypto exchanges by trading volumes, have dumped a combined 5,137 BTC at a loss over the past two weeks. As data shows, prices have been weaving lower during this time, with bulls failing to counter the dump, especially after two consecutive losses on April 12 and 13. Related Reading: DOGE Price Prediction – Dogecoin Below $0.14 Could Spark Larger Degree Drop Meanwhile, there have been sharp outflows from ARKB, the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). Data shows that ARKB sold 490 BTC, worth $31 million, on April 25. This is the third-largest single-day outflow in history. Recent price pressures on BTC coincide with a marked drop in spot ETF inflows in the second half of April. On April 25, Lookonchain data revealed that GBTC and all the nine spot ETF issuers decreased over 2,100 BTC worth roughly $135 million. Feature image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView

Despite BTC’s recent unimpressive price action, crypto analyst Doctor Profit has shared his bullish sentiment for Bitcoin and the broader crypto market. The analyst further suggested that a parabolic move was imminent and that crypto investors should position themselves accordingly.  Crypto Market Preparing For A “Third Industrial Revolution” Doctor Profit mentioned in an X (formerly Twitter) post that the crypto market “is preparing itself for the third Industrial Revolution,” thereby hinting at a trend reversal for Bitcoin and altcoins soon enough. “Be part of it, or regret for [a] lifetime,” the crypto analyst added as he warned crypto investors of missing this market rally.   Related Reading: HBAR Prices Crashes 35% As BlackRock Denies Any Ties To Hedera In a previous X post, Doctor Profit gave an idea of what to expect from the crypto market (Bitcoin in particular) when it makes its next leg up. He stated that the flagship crypto will rise to $84,000 after it is done trading the sideway range between $60,000 and $72,000. In another X post, he claimed that the super cycle will start after Bitcoin hits $72,000.  Meanwhile, Doctor Profit suggested that the price corrections experienced were normal and usually occur in each crypto cycle. He further remarked that the 10 to 20% price fluctuations weren’t big moves. His statement echoes the sentiment of Alex Thorn, Head of Research at Galaxy Digital, who previously warned that bull markets weren’t “straight lines up.” Bitcoin Is In The Re-Accumulation Period  In a recent X (formerly Twitter) post, crypto analyst Rekt Capital confirmed that Bitcoin is currently in the Re-Accumulation phase, which occurs after the Bitcoin Halving. He further noted that the goal now “is for Bitcoin to move sideways to catch a breather, for the market to cool off after [a] fantastic Pre-Halving price performance.   Related Reading: Why Is The Dogecoin Price Down Today? According to Rekt Capital, this Re-Accumulation period can last for multiple weeks “and even up to 150 days.” The analyst revealed that once this period is over, Bitcoin will experience a breakout from this sideways range, followed by a parabolic uptrend.  This uptrend phase is said to last for over a year. However, with the probability of this being an accelerated market cycle, Rekt Capital remarked that the duration for this uptrend could be cut in half. Crypto analysts like Tom Dunleavy, Partner and Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at MV Capital, predict that the flagship crypto will rise as high as $100,000 when that time comes.  At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at around $64,360, up in the last 24 hours according to data from CoinMarketCap. BTC bears pull down price | Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview.com Featured image from Kapersky, chart from Tradingview.com

On-chain data shows the XRP whales have been active during the past day. Here are the destinations their moves have been heading to. XRP Whales Have Moved Around Big Amounts In Last 24 Hours According to data from the cryptocurrency transaction tracker service Whale Alert, several large XRP transactions have been witnessed on the blockchain in the past day. More specifically, five transfers in total that are of scale often attributed to the whales have occurred on the network inside this window. Since whale transactions involve the transfer of a significant sum of capital, they can sometimes cause fluctuations in the market. Related Reading: 85% Of Altcoins In “Opportunity Zone,” Santiment Reveals The implications any whale transfers might have for the market depend on their intent. However, the exact purpose behind any transfer can be hard to ascertain. Nonetheless, the address details of the transaction may provide at least some hints about the context surrounding it. First, here are the details regarding the oldest XRP whale transfer from the past day: Looks like this massive move only required a minute fee of 0.000015 XRP to be possible | Source: Whale Alert As is visible above, this transaction involved the movement of 29.74 million XRP, worth $15.7 million at the time of the transfer. The sender was an unknown wallet, likely a whale’s address. On the other hand, the receiver was a wallet attached to a known centralized platform: the cryptocurrency exchange Bitso. Thus, the whale here made a deposit to the exchange from their personal address. Investors usually make such transactions whenever they want to use one of the services platforms like these provide, including selling. As such, exchange inflows can prove to be bearish for the price. The second-oldest whale transaction from the past 24 hours was also an exchange inflow, this one towards Bitstamp. Interestingly, the sending address for this one was the same as the Bitso deposit, so the same whale was probably behind both of these moves. The large investor shifted 27,430,000 XRP ($14.5 million) to the exchange in this second move. Naturally, if the whale has made these large moves for selling, they could be a bad sign for the asset’s price. Though, perhaps fortunately for the XRP investors, two exchange outflows have also occurred recently, which may cancel out these inflows. Below are the details of the two larger withdrawals. The addresses involved in the first of the whale exchange withdrawals today | Source: Whale Alert In this move, a whale took out around 26.67 million XRP ($14 million) from Binance. Today’s exchange outflow also involved Binance, with another 20.85 million tokens ($10.6 million) leaving the platform. The fifth and final transfer was the largest during the past day at a whopping 100 million XRP ($53 million), but this move involved unknown wallets on both sides so it’s impossible to say why the move would have been made. Related Reading: Bitcoin Forms Death Cross & TD-9 Sell Signal: Brace For Impact? The reason could have been anything, from a change of wallets to selling through over-the-counter (OTC) means. XRP Price XRP had recovered to $0.57 earlier in the week, but it appears that the coin has lost this progress; it’s back at $0.52 now. The price of the asset appears to have seen a decline over the last few days | Source: XRPUSD on TradingView Featured image from Ole Kloth on Unsplash.com, whale-alert.io, chart from TradingView.com

Ethereum withdraws from centralized exchanges have ramped up over the last week, suggesting a direction for investor sentiment during this time. Given the sheer volume of ETH withdrawn from these exchanges, it is prudent to try to understand what this could mean for the crypto’s price. 260,000 ETH Leaves Exchanges Amid the uncertainty that has plagued the crypto market, Ethereum investors are making moves to secure their positions for better price prospects. Pseudonymous crypto technical analyst Titan of Crypto took to X (formerly Twitter) to share what Ethereum investors are doing about their holdings right. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bears Risk Losing $7.2 Billion If BTC Price Reaches This Level The post revealed that these investors have been withdrawing large amounts of ETH from centralized exchanges. In the one week period that was tracked, the report found that a total of 260,000 ETH were withdrawn from exchanges, which was worth almost $800 million at the time. #Altcoins Crypto exchanges witnessed an outflow of over 260,000 #ETH equivalent to more than $781 million within the past 7 days. It’s time for #Ethereum shine. ✨🌕 pic.twitter.com/jT1aocjvbI — Titan of Crypto (@Washigorira) April 24, 2024 Now, exchange deposits and withdrawals are important for any cryptocurrency because it can often tell how investors are looking at that coin and what they are doing with their holdings. In the case of large deposits to centralized exchanges, it can be very bearish for the price because investors often deposit their coins in order to sell them as exchanges provide deep liquidity. In contrast, withdrawals from exchanges suggest that investors are not looking to sell their ETH. Rather, they are accumulating the coins to wait for better prices before selling. Naturally, this is bullish for the Ethereum price as a diminished selling pressure gives room for the price to recover. In this case, the withdrawals are bullish or the Ethereum price, as investors continue to accumulate. It also signals that investors are expecting a price breakout, and as the withdrawals ramp up, demand could surpass supply, leading to a surge in price. Ethereum Headwinds Still Negative Ethereum, while currently seeing some positive activity from investors, has still not turned completely bullish. For one, there has been a significant decline in its daily trading volume. According to data from Coinmarketcap, Ethereum’s trading volume is down approximately 20% in the last day. Related Reading: Renowned Economist Reveals What Will Happen If Bitcoin Can’t Hold $60,000 This decline in volume suggests a declining interest from investors to actually trade the coin. As such, its price may be negatively affected as attention begins to shift elsewhere, with investors looking for better prospects. Nevertheless, the cryptocurrency still looks bullish for the long term. Ethereum continues to closely mirror the price performance of Bitcoin, which is expected to go on a bull run following the successful completion of its fourth halving event. For now, Ethereum continues to struggle to hold above $3,100 with small gains of 0.18% in the last day. Over the last month, it has suffered multiple crashes, registering a 12.36% loss in the last 30 days. ETH price struggles to hold $3,100 support | Source: ETHUSD on Tradingview.com Featured image from Investopedia, chart from Tradingview.com

According to a recent survey, half of Canadian institutional investors and financial services organizations have actively offered at least one type of cryptocurrency asset product or service to clients in the past year. The study revealed that half of the institutional investors surveyed were exposed to crypto through exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end trusts, or other […]

Eddy Lazzarin, CTO of A16z Crypto, one of the largest cryptocurrency-focused venture capital funds, has criticized the meme coins’ effect on the broad appreciation of the cryptocurrency market. Lazzarin stated that meme coins undermined the “long-term vision of crypto” that has maintained some actors in the space, making it look “like a risky casino.” A16z […]

The United States witnessed its first banking failure of 2024 with the closure of Philadelphia-based Republic First Bank, creating ripples within the cryptocurrency community as Bitcoin, Ether, and various altcoins experienced slight price drops following the announcement. This event has spurred discussions among crypto enthusiasts and investors, with some seeing bank failures as a compelling […]

A new law enabling the National Crime Agency and police to seize, freeze, and destroy crypto assets is now in effect in the UK. Under this law, police can seize crypto from suspects without needing to make an arrest first. Additionally, victims have the right to request the release of funds held in crypto accounts […]

According to Chainalysis’ “Crypto Spring Report,” stablecoin adoption and market importance are seeing a rapid increase in 2024, with a significant rise in the number of addresses holding them and their use in on-chain transactions, making them a global financial asset. Legislation efforts in the U.S., such as the Lummis-Gillibrand Payment Stablecoin Act, aim to […]

The chairman of the Swiss National Bank has expressed reservations about incorporating bitcoin into the central bank’s currency reserves. He stated that no decision has been made yet to invest in bitcoin, underscoring the necessity for currency reserves to be liquid, sustainable, and easily tradable, given their use in international payments. Swiss National Bank on […]

PRESS RELEASE. Excitement is brewing in the heart of Asia as Hong Kong regulators pave the way for a new era of innovation with the recent approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This groundbreaking development underscores Hong Kong’s commitment to becoming a regulated hub for Bitcoin. At the same time, the Bitcoin Conference is […]

The Bank of Russia and Rosfinmonitoring revealed the existence of a ‘know your crypto customer’ system pilot, that aims to link the fiat operations of crypto users with their blockchain actions. The pilot, which has been ongoing since 2023, involves five banks in Russia and is expected to run until April, but can be extended. […]

On Friday, April 26, Acinq announced that its Lightning Network bitcoin wallet, Phoenix, will cease services for U.S. residents from May 3, 2024. This announcement followed closely on the heels of the Samourai Wallet indictment and what is perceived as a targeted U.S. government effort against financial privacy and non-custodial solutions. Lightning Network Platform Phoenix […]

Over the past 90 days, while bitcoin has shown steady performance, 19 other cryptocurrencies have outpaced the leading digital asset in terms of price growth. However, the Altcoin Season Index, which measures the performance of these cryptocurrencies against bitcoin, has dropped from 59 to 39 since early April, signaling that an altcoin season is unlikely […]

Crypto.com has postponed the planned launch of its app in South Korea due to scrutiny by the regulators on the exchange's anti-money laundering practices. According to a local media publication Segye Ilbo, Korean financial authorities have initiated an emergency on-site inspection of the crypto exchange.

Anti-Money Laundering Concerns

The inspection, conducted by the Financial Intelligence Unit under the Financial Services Commission, followed the discovery of anti-money laundering-related concerns in the data submitted by Crypto.com.

Crypto.com has emphasized its commitment to maintaining proper anti-money laundering standards, according to a report by Coindesk. The firm mentioned that it adheres to the "highest" standards. However, it intends to postpone the launch of the new service to ensure that Korean regulators are fully apprised of its policies, procedures, systems, and controls.

The exchange had announced plans to launch a local mobile application facilitating coin trading next week. According to the firm, the service promises competitive pricing and support for various virtual asset transactions. Crypto.com obtained approval to operate in South Korea in 2022. However, regulatory hurdles have proved challenging for the crypto exchange.

Early this month, Crypto.com announced the decision to debut the new app in South Korea, describing it as a specialized trading platform specifically designed for the Korean market. Commenting about the launch, Eric Anziani, the Chief Operating Officer of Crypto.com, highlighted Korea's tech-savvy population and its adoption of innovation as key factors driving this decision.

Anziani mentioned: "The first product we will be launching in Korea is the crypto.com app, which is our most popular product globally. It's a fully mobile product offering a convenient and safe way to buy, sell, and store digital assets, including non-fungible tokens, enabling Korean customers to access global prices in a regulated manner."

Navigating Korean Crypto Regulations

Moreover, the company aims to support Korean creators and artists through potential partnerships, leveraging the country's influence as a cultural powerhouse. Continuing talks with local banks, Crypto.com plans to establish partnerships for account authentication, a regulatory requirement in Korea.

Presently, the Korean cryptocurrency market has five won-based exchanges authorized by financial authorities. By entering this market, Crypto.com will offer users an alternative trading platform while fostering competition and innovation in the local cryptocurrency sector.

This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.

Ripple Labs has formally opposed the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) proposition to levy a substantial fine of nearly $2 billion against the company linked to the XRP Ledger blockchain. Filed yesterday (Monday), Ripple's opposition challenges the SEC's proposal, which seeks to persuade a New York judge to impose the hefty penalty.

Legal Battle between Ripple and SEC

The SEC's proposal outlines a fine totalling $1.95 billion, comprising $876 million for disgorgement, $198 million for prejudgment interest, and a civil penalty of $876 million. The basis for the SEC's case stems from allegations that Ripple Labs violated federal securities laws through its institutional sales of XRP. Notably, the court ruled in favour of Ripple on some fronts, dismissing parallel claims by the SEC regarding the legality of XRP sales on exchanges and algorithms.

Ripple's opposition document includes a redacted paragraph concerning its revenue from institutional sales, the income taxes it paid, and its incurred losses. Within this segment, Ripple asserts that it had no gains to disgorge, positioning it as a crucial argument in its defence against the SEC's proposed penalties.

“The Court should deny the SEC’s requests for an injunction, for disgorgement, and for pre-judgment interest, and should impose a civil penalty of no more than $10 million,” the filing said.

🚨 BREAKING SEC VS. RIPPLE NEWS:#Ripple has filed a Motion to Strike new expert materials the SEC submitted in support of its Motion for Remedies and Entry of Final Judgment! FINAL JUDGEMENT! 🥳🎉Source: https://t.co/QgmUZcL0aX pic.twitter.com/uaFAluXMG2

— 𝓐𝓶𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓮 (@_Crypto_Barbie) April 22, 2024

Anticipating Rise in Cryptocurrency Integration

Meanwhile, Ripple has upgraded its crypto-enabled cross-border payments solution, known as Ripple Payments, as reported by Finance Magnates. This enhancement aims to improve enterprise-grade blockchain infrastructure. In a statement released today, the cross-border remittance network highlights the ongoing shift in the global financial space, with increasing investment from companies and legacy payment institutions in blockchain integration.

It's anticipated that over 80% of global financial firms will incorporate cryptocurrencies into their operations within the next three years. Currently, Ripple offers expanded access to its extensive global network, spanning over 70 crypto and traditional payout markets, resulting in nearly 100% global payout coverage through a single onboarding process.

This article was written by Tareq Sikder at www.financemagnates.com.

Strike, a payments application utilizing the Bitcoin blockchain, has launched its services in Europe, enabling customers in the region to engage in buying, selling, and withdrawing bitcoin (BTC). The announcement was made today (Wednesday).

Expanding Operations across Continents

Having recently expanded its operations to Africa, Strike has already established its presence in Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America. However, availability may vary by country, and interested customers are encouraged to check their local iOS or Android app stores for accessibility, as some regions may be excluded from the expansion.

“As the third-largest economy globally … Europe presents vast opportunities for bitcoin adoption,” Strike said in a press release. “We’ve seen the demand and heard the feedback first-hand from the community.”

Blockchain technology is reshaping global payments with its security and efficiency. Unlike traditional methods prone to fraud, blockchain's decentralized ledger ensures secure transactions. Advanced cryptographic techniques like digital signatures bolster security further.

Eliminating intermediaries, blockchain enables direct peer-to-peer transactions, expediting settlements and reducing costs. Cross-border payments, often costly and time-consuming, stand to benefit greatly from blockchain's streamlined approach. With its potential to simplify and secure transactions, blockchain emerges as a disruptive force in the global payment landscape.

🚨LATEST: Bitcoin Payment App Strike Expands to Europe, Boosting Crypto Accessibility https://t.co/5p4jJ6qpDX

— CryptoCrunchApp (News Feed) (@GoCryptoCrunch) April 24, 2024

Introducing Bitcoin-Powered Payment Solution for European Market

Developed by Chicago-based Zap Solutions under the leadership of entrepreneur Jack Mallers, Strike was initially introduced in the United States in 2020. Similar to widely used online payment platforms such as Cash App or PayPal, Strike facilitates global money transfers for its users. Notably, Strike distinguishes itself by leveraging the Bitcoin blockchain, which enables swifter and more cost-effective transactions compared to conventional alternatives.

In Europe, customers will have the convenience of conducting BTC transactions directly with euro deposits via SEPA, the region’s payments provider. Recipients of these funds will have the flexibility to opt for receiving the value in either bitcoin, euro, or, in select areas, Tether’s USDT stablecoin.

This article was written by Tareq Sikder at www.financemagnates.com.

US prosecutors have proposed a 36-month prison sentence for Binance's former CEO, Changpeng Zhao. According to a report by CNBC, the prosecutors argued that such a sentence, which is double the advisory guidelines, reflects the seriousness of the charges against Zhao.

The recommendation, outlined in a sentencing memorandum filed with the Western District Court of Washington, highlights the severity of the accusations against Zhao, who stepped down from his position last November following a plea deal with the US Department of Justice.

US Prosecutors' Charges against Zhao

US prosecutors said a 36-month custodial sentence is necessary to underscore the seriousness of the charges against Zhao, which include failure to implement anti-money laundering measures as mandated by the Bank Secrecy Act. The memorandum emphasized Zhao's alleged role in allowing Binance to process transactions involving unlawful activities, including those from sanctioned countries.

The case against Zhao occurs amidst a backdrop of legal challenges for Binance, with the exchange facing lawsuits from both the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Allegations include mishandling customer assets and operating an illegal, unregistered exchange in the US. Authorities have also ordered Binance to pay hefty fines, with Zhao agreeing to a $50 million penalty as part of the plea deal. However, he has not publicly commented on the recent developments. Zhao's official sentencing is scheduled for April 30.

Binance CEO's Legal Struggle

In January, a federal judge rejected a travel request from Zhao to visit his home in the United Arab Emirates for a family emergency. The judge deemed him a significant flight risk due to his immense wealth and ties to the UAE, despite offering to post his $4.5 billion equity in Binance as security for his return.

In November, Zhao pleaded guilty in a Seattle federal court to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program at Binance. As part of the case, Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion in penalties.

In a letter to Judge Richard Jones dated December 22, Zhao's lawyers requested permission for him to travel to Abu Dhabi on January 4 for one to four weeks due to a family emergency. However, federal prosecutors did not consent to Zhao's request, leading to a hearing on December 29, when Judge Jones denied the travel bid.

This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.

The Middle East has emerged as a hotspot for cryptocurrency adoption, according to a recent report by Bitget Research. The average daily number of crypto traders in the region soared to 500,000 in 2024. This figure represents an increase of 166% year-over-year.

Crypto in the Middle East

This surge in crypto adoption is driven by several factors, such as favorable regulatory frameworks, the approval of Bitcoin ETFs, and the overall bullish sentiment in the cryptocurrency market. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) leads, with 72% of crypto users actively investing in Bitcoin.

Centralized crypto exchanges globally have experienced an increase in the number of users from the Middle East. According to Bitget Research, these exchanges recorded over 500,000 daily active users on average in February 2024. This figure represents a substantial jump from the previous year. The UAE's crypto-friendly policies and the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs have played an important role in crypto adoption.

Although centralized exchanges dominate, decentralized platforms have gained momentum among Middle Eastern crypto users. Decentralized exchanges built on blockchains like Solana, BSC, and Ethereum are becoming the go-to digital platforms for P2P trading. Trust Wallet, MetaMask, and Bitget Wallet are among the top choices in digital wallets.

Bitget Report: Middle East Crypto Market Surges, Daily Traders Up 166% in Year https://t.co/LBVs0UdlxD

— Jared Kirui (@JaredLopta79285) April 22, 2024

Speaking about the report, Gracy Chen, the Managing Director of Bitget, mentioned: “We are excited about the potential of the Middle East market and anticipate continued growth in both users and market size. The UAE, in particular, holds significant importance as a base within the region.”

“It has emerged as a hub for cryptocurrency talents, funds, and enterprises while also steadily gaining global influence in the crypto space. We look forward to contributing to and witnessing the further development of this dynamic market."

Steady Rise in Crypto Adoption

Generally, Bitget Research's report highlighted a positive outlook for the future of cryptocurrency adoption in the Middle East. The report projects that the region's daily active users will continue to rise, reaching an estimated 700,000 by the end of 2024.

Recently, Binance secured a fully operating virtual-asset service provider license from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. The exchange's journey began with an Operational MVP license obtained by its local unit, Binance FZE, in mid-2023. This license allowed the exchange to offer broker-dealer services and virtual-asset derivative trading to institutional and individual investors.

This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.

The Philippines' securities regulator has taken enforcement action against Binance, ordering Google and Apple to remove their apps from their respective app stores. This action follows allegations that Binance offered unregistered securities to Filipino investors.

Philippines' SEC Targets Binance's Apps

The Philippines' Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), through its Chairperson, Emilio Aquino, highlighted the threat posed to the security of investors' funds by continued access to Binance's sites and apps.

The regulator alleged that Binance's presence in the app stores facilitates the spread of its illegal activities in the country. This action is a response to findings that the exchange promoted its services to attract funds from Filipinos despite lacking the necessary licensing from the regulator.

🚨PHILIPPINES SEC GOES TO WAR AGAINST BINANCE🚨Blocking Binance will “prevent the further proliferation of its illegal activities in the country”- According to a post on the regulator’s official website, The Philippines version of the SEC is actively working with… https://t.co/kDCxReyoZ7 pic.twitter.com/IooxO752Jv

— BSCN (@BSCNews) April 23, 2024

The latest enforcement action in the Philippines adds to Binance's mounting legal challenges, including the recent replacement of its CEO and a hefty fine imposed by the US government against the exchange for alleged violation of anti-money laundering regulations.

Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO of Binance, awaits sentencing on charges related to violating the Bank Secrecy Act. Furthermore, the exchange is entangled in legal battles with both the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over purported mishandling of customer assets.

The Philippines' SEC has advised investors holding assets in Binance to promptly close their positions or transfer them to registered exchanges or wallets within the country.

Binance Grapples with Legal Hurdles

Last month, the Philippines' SEC blocked Binance's operations as an investment and trading platform due to claims that the exchange lacked the required license. According to the watchdog, Binance has continued its activities despite warnings issued since November 2023.

In a meeting held on March 12, the SEC formally requested the National Telecommunications Commission to block Binance's website and associated web pages. Aquino emphasized the threat posed to Filipino investors' funds by allowing continued access to the platform.

Binance's failure to secure the necessary license from the SEC contradicts the Philippines' regulations, which mandate companies secure approvals before soliciting investments and operating securities exchanges. Additionally, the exchange's extensive social media promotional campaigns targeting Filipino investors have raised concerns about compliance and investor protection.

This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.

Hut 8, the result of a merger with US Bitcoin Corporation last November, has garnered attention due to its diversified business model, according to a research report by Benchmark released today (Monday).

A Close Look at Revenue Streams and Crypto Reserves

Benchmark analysts highlighted the company's various revenue streams, including self-mining, managed services, hosting, and involvement in high-performance computing and artificial intelligence sectors. Initiating coverage on Hut 8, Benchmark issued a buy rating with a $12 price target. At the time of publication, Hut 8's shares were trading 5.2% higher at $8.47.

The report also noted Hut 8's bitcoin holdings, ranking second among listed miners as of March 31, with 9,102 bitcoins held in reserve. This substantial bitcoin reserve not only provides the company with a substantial liquidity cushion but also positions it to benefit from price rallies in the cryptocurrency market.

Broker Benchmark initiated coverage of $BTC miner @Hut8Corp with a buy rating and a $12 price target. It said the company was more diversified following its merger with US Bitcoin Corporation. @willcanny99 reports.https://t.co/fsRstb2FXP

— CoinDesk (@CoinDesk) April 22, 2024

“Hut trades at a discount to its bitcoin mining peers that we expect to shrink as the company executes on its self-mining expansion plans,” Mark Palmer, an analyst, wrote. “Management has focused on actions aimed at reducing the company’s cost of mining bitcoin and its realized cost of energy and increasing its cash flow.”

Hut 8's crypto holdings are valued at approximately $592 million, which accounts for about 82% of its market capitalization.

Shutting Down Alberta Facility for Cost Savings

Hut 8 recently closed its Bitcoin mining facility in Alberta, Canada, as part of its efforts to optimize operations and improve financial performance, as reported by Finance Magnates. The company has planned to relocate efficient miners to its Medicine Hat site while retiring old and inefficient ones. This move is expected to increase the company's cash flow, reduce mining costs, and boost Bitcoin production by approximately 11% per EH.

This article was written by Tareq Sikder at www.financemagnates.com.

Worldcoin is eying a potential partnership with artificial intelligence research firm OpenAI, according to a report by Bloomberg. This latest development arrives despite the regulatory hurdles facing the digital identity platform over privacy concerns. Through its parent company, Tools for Humanity, the cryptocurrency project plans to expand its services.

Navigating Regulatory Challenges

Recently, Spain and Portugal raised concerns over the inclusion of children in the project's iris scanning initiative, prompting regulatory action. Previously, the project collaborated with cybersecurity firm Okta Inc. to offer an authentication service. Worldcoin's identity systems support solutions for validating individuals in the digital world dominated by AI.

With the rising adoption of AI, the need to distinguish between humans and bots is important. Sam Altman, the Co-Founder of Worldcoin, is renowned for his involvement with OpenAI. Currently, he serves as the company's CEO. Amidst regulatory challenges, Tools for Humanity is enhancing its product. The firm is planning to launch a layer-2 blockchain called World Chain and improve the orb device.

However, despite a successful fundraising round last year, Tools for Humanity is reportedly facing uncertainty in tapping into the crypto market for additional funding. Market volatility and pricing fluctuations have prompted a reevaluation of planned token sales.

Driving Future Growth in AI

Meanwhile, OpenAI recently hosted top executives from Fortune 500 companies in major business hubs like San Francisco, New York, and London to pitch AI services. At the center of this initiative is OpenAI's enterprise-grade chatbot, designed to cater to specific industry needs ranging from finance to healthcare and energy.

OpenAI is proactively reaching out to corporate clients to offer customized AI solutions while assuring data security. The firm's CEO, Sam Altman, and COO, Brad Lightcap, emphasized the value of personalized services and direct engagement with the tech giant.

Beyond corporate clientele, OpenAI is also eyeing Hollywood with video creation tools and offerings like ChatGPT Enterprise and the Sora video creation tool. However, concerns loom regarding AI's reliability and copyright implications in content creation.

This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.

Consensys, a United States-based blockchain firm, has initiated legal action against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a bid to deter the regulator from overseeing the Ethereum blockchain. Filed yesterday (Thursday), the lawsuit termed the efforts of the regulator a “campaign to seize control over the future of cryptocurrency.”

A Strategic Lawsuit

The lawsuit argued that if the SEC continues to exert its authority over Ethereum, it would bring the blockchain to a halt, “crippling one of the internet’s greatest innovations.”

Consensys revealed that its actions against the SEC followed its receipt of a Wells Notice on April 10, indicating that the regulator is preparing to bring enforcement actions against the company over the services of its MetaMask wallet. The company highlighted that MetaMask is not a broker and “neither holds customers’ digital assets nor carries out any transaction functions.”

Today, Consensys took an important step towards preserving access to ether and by extension the Ethereum blockchain in the U.S. We are suing the SEC and fighting back against its overzealous regulatory overreach. You can find more of my thoughts here: https://t.co/VmvOsrCxjw… https://t.co/5IubZo69FW

— Joseph Lubin (@ethereumJoseph) April 25, 2024

Clarifying Regulations

With the lawsuit, the blockchain company is seeking the Texas federal court’s ruling that Ethereum is not a security and not under the authority of the SEC. Furthermore, it needs the assurance that any investigation into the company on the premises of Ethereum as a security “would violate” its Fifth Amendment rights and the Administrative Procedures Act. Additionally, the lawsuit seeks the ruling that MetaMask is not a broker and that the staking services offered by the platform do not violate securities laws.

“The SEC’s unlawful seizure of authority over ETH would spell disaster for the Ethereum network, and for Consensys,” the lawsuit noted.

The status of Ethereum hangs in the balance as the SEC’s Chair, Gary Gensler, earlier said that many digital currencies are unregistered securities and fall under the regulator’s purview. Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency that the regulator considers a commodity, giving its regulatory rights to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Meanwhile, Coinbase sued the SEC over the clarification of crypto-centric rules. However, the regulator took action against a number of crypto companies over lapses in regulations and is now fighting legal battles with multiple big names like Ripple, Coinbase, and Binance.

This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.

Tigran Gambaryan, the detained Binance executive in Nigeria, will remain in custody until a bail hearing on May 17. Meanwhile, his trial is scheduled for May 2.

More Jail Time in Nigeria

The extension of Gambaryan’s remand was granted by the Nigerian court yesterday (Tuesday) amid opposition from federal prosecutors to the appeal for bail. The crypto exchange’s executive has already pleaded not guilty to charges of tax evasion and money laundering.

Gambaryan holds the position of Head of Financial Crime Compliance at the crypto exchange. He and another fellow Binance executive, Nadeem Anjarwalla, who holds the position of its African Regional Manager, traveled to Nigeria in an official capacity earlier this year but were detained by local authorities.

Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission brought four counts of tax evasion charges against the exchange and the two detained executives. The charges primarily blame the defendants for non-payment of value-added tax, income tax, and failure to file tax returns. The exchange has been accused of aiding Nigerians in evading tax through its platform.

In an earlier statement, the exchange made it clear that the two executives were wrongly blamed as they did not have any decision-making authority.

The Great Escape

Meanwhile, Anjarwalla, one of the detained defendants and a citizen of both the UK and Kenya, escaped detention earlier this month and reportedly fled the country. Although his UK travel documents were seized by Nigerian authorities, he allegedly used Kenyan credentials to flee the country on a Middle Eastern airline.

Several local Nigerian publications recently reported on Anjarwalla’s arrest in Kenya and possible extradition to Nigeria to face trial. However, Anjarwalla’s wife came out and denied all these reports.

Yuki Gambaryan, the wife of Gambaryan, launched a petition requesting the US State Department, Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Nigerian government, and US President Joe Biden to return her husband to the US.

This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.

The Bitcoin halving just took place at block number 840,000. This event today reduced the mining reward for each block to 3.125 Bitcoins from 6.25 Bitcoins. New Bitcoins are introduced into circulation through these mining rewards.

Another Bitcoin Halving

Halving is one of the most significant events in the cryptocurrency world and occurs approximately every four years, specifically after every 210,000 blocks. It greatly reduces the supply of Bitcoin, thus helping to control inflation by maintaining scarcity.

Bitcoin was created on 3 January 2009. Initially, the reward for mining each block was 50 Bitcoins. The mining reward was first halved on 28 November 2012 in the first halving event. The next halving event took place on 9 July 2016, reducing the mining reward to 12.5 Bitcoins per block, while the third halving on 11 May 2020 reduced it further to 6.25 Bitcoins.

Now, the reward for mining each Bitcoin block is 3.125 Bitcoins.

The Cap of 21 Million Bitcoins

Bitcoin operates on a proof-of-work consensus mechanism, and according to the algorithm, a halving must occur every 210,000 blocks until all 21 million Bitcoins are mined. It is estimated that the next Bitcoin halving will happen in 2028.

To alter this pre-set algorithm, a majority of Bitcoin miners, more than 50 percent, must agree, which is nearly impossible given Bitcoin's decentralized and extensive network.

Currently, around 19 million Bitcoins have already been mined, leaving only 2 million more to be mined.

The halving of Bitcoin supply has a significant impact on the cryptocurrency's price. Historically, it has been one of the major price drivers, with Bitcoin prices surging around the event. The event affects Bitcoin miners' operations, as a reduction in the reward by half without a corresponding significant price increase, affects the cash flow of the mining operations.

This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.

The long-awaited day of the 4th phase of Bitcoin's halving is looming in the cryptocurrency sector. The countdown to this event shows that it could happen around the final hours of Friday evening if you are located in the Americas or Saturday morning if you are in Asia or Europe.

According to the market metrics, the event is much anticipated and should be discounted well in advance of its actual occurrence. In contrast to unpredictable overnight barrages of rockets in the heat of the Middle East, the halving event has a clear outcome; the amount of BTC rewards that miners get for completing a block will be reduced in half to 3.125 BTC from the current 6.25.

This will inevitably lead to less supply from miners, but does it change the liquidity of the overall market? We will attempt to answer that question in the coming paragraphs, and while at it, we will highlight some challenges related to the current geopolitical landscape and the resulting jittery market conditions we have recently observed.

Are Previous Halvings Linked to Liquidity Squeezes?

Every time 210,000 blocks are mined, the Bitcoin network's protocol cuts the amount of new rewards in half. As highlighted by the institutional research team at Coinbase, therefore, the newly minted supply will drop from 900 Bitcoins per day to 450 Bitcoins per day. At current market prices ($65,000 per BTC), this equates to roughly $30,000,000 worth of new supply per day or $900,000,000 per month.

These figures are rather low compared to the average daily trading volumes across crypto exchanges, especially since the launch of BTC ETF trading, which triggered increased interest in the asset class.

The amount of tradable Bitcoin has been on the rise during the recent bull run that accelerated since early Q4 2023. According to the team at Coinbase Institutional Research, active BTC supply, defined as Bitcoin moved in the past three months, rose to 1.3 million. This figure is in comparison to 150,000, which was mined during that time.

In a statement shared with Finance Magnates, Coinbase's Research Analyst, David Han, mentioned that the decline in BTC mining issuance could create new supply-side dynamics that are constructive in the longer term.

Han expressed his doubts as to whether that can result in an imminent supply crunch: “We find that the largest contributors to increased BTC supply during bull markets come from long-term wallets beginning to activate instead of from newly mined BTC.”

Crypto and Fiat Liquidity Cycles – the Signal and the Noise

A widely held belief in the cryptocurrency community is that halving events are usually followed by a significant rally in the value of their digital assets. While there is some historical correlation to corroborate this notion, science has long established that correlation does not imply causation.

The logical fallacy where two events that occur at a similar time have a cause-effect relationship is at the center of spurious relationships: two events can be correlated, but that connection may not be causal.

With only three halving events behind us and a fourth one brewing, one can observe correlations, but not necessarily cause-effect relationships. Halving events don’t perfectly coincide with central bank liquifying cycles, but as the chart below shows, there is some food for thought for risk-management teams and traders alike.

Around the first halving in 2012, the Fed launched the third chapter of its post-financial crisis quantitative easing program (QE3), shortly followed by the first US debt ceiling crisis and the loss of the reserve currency issuer’s AAA rating.

The second one, in 2016, was followed by the Bank of England’s post-Brexit ramp-up of bond buying in tandem with the ECB’s asset purchase program. Fast-forward to 2020, and we all remember the central bank and fiscal policy bazookas firing left and right with fiat liquidity so ample that it ultimately caused the sharpest spike in inflationary pressures globally since the 1970s.

Geopolitical Blocks

It was an early morning in the Middle East, as a well-telegraphed attack by Iran had been unleashed upon Israel. With all other financial markets closed, it was up to crypto to reflect the current state of mind (or compute).

The old Wall Street saying, “up the stairs, down the elevator,” came to mind as BTC and ETH dropped in tandem in rapidly dwindling liquidity conditions. That night, Coinbase registered about $2 billion worth of liquidations, the company’s institutional research team highlighted in a recent weekly market call.

In contrast to the rather gradual price action that unfolded in the aftermath of the October 7th attack on Israel by Hamas, the Iranian attack, despite being well-telegraphed before the weekend, did result in material price action across the crypto market.

At one point, Pax Gold, a crypto token supposed to be fully backed by gold, spiked about $1,000 at a time when the physical gold market, which is underpinning the coin's value, wasn’t open. The magnitude of the attack certainly surprised market participants, while some automatic “stop trading” commands must have been unleashed across algorithmic trading strategies.

Events centered around geopolitical stress have certainly caused some leveraged players to rethink, not only in the crypto market. Jerome Powell's, the Chair of the Federal Reserve of the United States, higher rates for a longer period re-pivot raise questions about a widely expected easing of monetary policy.

Speech by Chair Powell on the economic outlook @StanfordGSB: https://t.co/y6oLUN0LYwWatch live: https://t.co/a0ApMRHum2

— Federal Reserve (@federalreserve) April 3, 2024

To Bid, or Not to Bid

As the halving cycles come and go, the impact of these events could lessen in time. Since most bitcoins have already been mined, the current market liquidity state is much more about the existing supply of BTC on the market than newly mined coins.

A supply crunch overnight is the least likely event, and if very recent history is any guide, geopolitical tensions can create more volatility or liquidity waves on cryptocurrency and traditional financial markets.

Guided by risk-on and risk-off flows, cryptocurrencies have been defying the trend occasionally, but at their core they remain a high-risk asset with a digital store of value component behind it. Only time will tell whether or not that narrative has become a well-established characteristic, but so far, so good.

As the halving event comes and passes us by, it is the central banks that will have the ball in their court: ready to do whatever it takes to address inflationary challenges or supply more fiat liquidity to the monetary system.

With Bitcoin ETFs breaking new ground, the liquidity situation for the king of crypto has significantly improved. As David Han outlined: “Net US spot ETFs inflows to date approximately offset the BTC that was mined in the previous six months.”

This article was written by Victor Golovtchenko at www.financemagnates.com.

Federal prosecutors charged Samurai Wallet founders, Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, with conspiracy to commit money laundering yesterday (Wednesday), marking another development in the US government's ongoing efforts to address the use of crypto mixing tools potentially exploited by illicit actors and foreign entities to conceal financial transactions.

Facing Legal Action over Alleged Transactions

According to a press release issued on Wednesday, Rodriguez and Hill stand accused of developing, marketing, and operating the mixer, purportedly facilitating more than $100 million in money laundering transactions from illegal dark web markets. The release further alleges that Samourai Wallet facilitated approximately $2 billion in "unlawful transactions" from 2015 to the present.

Prosecutors have claimed that Rodriguez and Hill accrued around $4.5 million in fees for their mixing services, with different features carrying various pool fees, as outlined in the indictment. The charges against the duo include conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business, carrying potential maximum sentences of 20 years and five years, respectively.

Rodriguez was reportedly arrested on Wednesday morning and is expected to be arraigned in Pennsylvania today or tomorrow, while Hill, the Chief Technology Officer of Samourai Wallet, was apprehended in Portugal and will face extradition to the US.

Federal prosecutors have charged Samurai Wallet founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill with conspiracy to commit money laundering 🚨According to a press release, the pair developed, marketed and operated the mixer, which "facilitated more than $100 million in money… pic.twitter.com/wOY8iZR95y

— Waivly (@Waivly) April 24, 2024

Website Seized Following Developer Indictment

The Samourai Wallet website, previously hosted in Iceland, has been seized, along with a seizure warrant issued for the mobile application on the Google Play Store. The website's homepage now displays a warning from US officials following the developers' indictment.

The Department of Justice's press release highlighted that Samourai Wallet had been under development since 2015, alleging that Rodriguez and Hill actively encouraged users to launder criminal proceeds through the mixer, citing social media posts and private messages. The mobile application reportedly garnered over 100,000 downloads.

This article was written by Tareq Sikder at www.financemagnates.com.

Thailand is planning to block unauthorized cryptocurrency service providers to fight online crime. The Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is partnering with Thai government agencies to prevent criminals from utilizing crypto exchanges for illicit activities, including money laundering.

Thailand Warns about Unregistered Crypto Platforms

According to the press release, Pornanong Busaratrakul, the Secretary General of the SEC, recently disclosed plans to submit information about unauthorized crypto service providers to the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society.

The regulator's decision reflects similar actions taken by other countries like India and the Philippines. The SEC is strengthening its commitment to protecting investors and safeguarding the financial system by taking action against unregistered crypto service providers in Thailand.

In light of this development, the SEC has urged users of unauthorized platforms to promptly withdraw their assets. Additionally, the commission has cautioned investors against using services offered by unauthorized digital asset operators, as they may not be protected by law.

Besides that, the Thai securities watchdog has encouraged crypto traders to verify the legitimacy of digital asset operators by consulting its list of licensed businesses or using the "SEC Check First" application. Any suspicious activities can be reported to the SEC's Complaint and Whistleblower Center for further investigation.

Global Crypto Regulation Shifts

While Thailand reinforces its regulations on crypto exchanges, digital asset platforms in Europe are also facing regulatory scrutiny. For instance, the recently adopted Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation mandates the European Commission to assess the feasibility of decentralized finance for specific regulations by the end of the year.

In South Korea, the country's financial regulator is preparing to adopt significant laws for virtual asset service providers (VASP), targeting the employment of executives in the sector.

Specifically, these regulations would necessitate the vetting of executives before they assume roles within the VASP firms. This action is aimed at granting the Financial Services Commission (FSC) authority over personnel matters within the crypto industry.

Should these proposals be enacted, companies seeking to renew their VASP licenses would face heightened scrutiny regarding their personnel decisions. The FSC will have the mandate to suspend the VASP licenses if there is an ongoing investigation targeting the executives.

This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.

The legal battle between Ripple and the SEC over allegations of illegal sale of cryptocurrencies has reached a crucial step as the long-awaited trial starts today (Tuesday). The SEC first accused Ripple Labs of offering unregistered securities in December 2020.

Ripple's defense is based on the argument that its native cryptocurrency, XRP, should not be classified as a security. As the trial begins, the crypto sector is eagerly awaiting the outcome, which could have significant implications for the future of Ripple and the broader digital asset industry, CryptoPotato reported.

A Prolonged Legal Dispute

This trial represents an important moment for both parties, as a federal judge will ultimately determine the outcome of the dispute. Despite facing legal challenges, Ripple has garnered some favorable rulings in the run-up to the trial, fueling optimism among its supporters.

A favorable ruling for Ripple could boost investor confidence and pave the way for regulatory clarity surrounding XRP. However, a ruling in favor of the SEC could negatively impact Ripple, potentially resulting in regulatory sanctions. It could also cast doubt on the legitimacy of XRP as a digital asset.

Recently, the SEC sought nearly $2 billion in fines and penalties from the crypto company, Finance Magnates reported. In a motion filed in court in New York, the SEC requested substantial fines and penalties totaling $1.95 billion from Ripple Labs. Despite initial charges against the firm's CEO and Co-Founder being dropped last October, the company faces scrutiny from the regulators.

SEC Demands Financial Transparency

Additionally, the SEC is pushing Ripple to provide financial statements for the years 2022 and 2023 and documents disclosing the sale of XRP to institutions. The securities watchdog argues that the presiding judge previously identified these sales as unregistered securities offerings. Besides that, the SEC wants a clarification on the proceeds from institutional sales.

Ripple's Chief Legal Officer, Stuart Alderoty, has criticized the regulator's tactics, accusing it of issuing false and misleading statements aimed at punishing Ripple and intimidating the broader crypto industry.

While charges against Ripple's CEO and Co-Founder were dropped last October, the company continues to face scrutiny over its XRP sales. The latest motion filed by the SEC underscores the regulator's determination to hold Ripple accountable for alleged violation of securities regulations.

This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.

CoinW Exchange, a notable presence within the digital asset trading domain, is undergoing changes as it observes its sixth-year anniversary. Situated in Dubai, the exchange has revealed an exhaustive rebranding effort alongside the debut of its Proprietary Trading (Prop Trading) product.

Introducing Prop Trading for Profit Opportunities

Having cemented its position within the digital assets trading industry, CoinW Exchange is now set to enter a fresh phase of development. A centrepiece of its transformation is the launch of the Prop Trading product, an offering aimed at providing traders with expanded avenues for profit optimization. This new product is set to play a role in CoinW Exchange's strategic outlook for the future according to the firm.

According to Sonic, the Director of CoinW PropTrading: "We have a host of exciting plans in the pipeline that promise to revolutionize the way digital assets are traded. We hope CPT can bring more opportunities to talented traders who are short of fund. CoinW will be the place that they can truly shine."

Challenges and Opportunities: UAE's Crypto Journey

A recent survey by KuCoin sheds light on the growing cryptocurrency landscape in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as reported by Finance Magnates. Despite challenges, 59% of UAE crypto users view it as a long-term investment and 35% use it for portfolio diversification. Additionally, 29% see crypto as a more convenient asset storage method than traditional banks, and 22% use it for daily transactions.

Challenges include market volatility (52%), trust issues with crypto platforms (48%), and a lack of education (26%). However, the UAE benefits from strong financial infrastructure, cultural openness, regulatory favorability, access to capital, a skilled workforce, and global networks, positioning it as a promising hub for crypto industry growth.

Amidst escalating tensions, MetaQuotes is reportedly tightening restrictions on the use of MetaTrader platforms, although no official confirmation has been issued. This has led to the abrupt termination of partnerships between many proprietary trading firms and their brokerage partners. The primary concern appears to be the presence of active US clients onboarded by these platforms.

Proprietary trading has been predominantly linked with unregulated entities. However, regulated brokerages such as OANDA, Axi, and Hantec Markets have recently ventured into this space, keeping their services outside the US jurisdiction and under offshore regulatory entities.

This article was written by Tareq Sikder at www.financemagnates.com.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States is seeking $4.7 billion in disgorgement and prejudgment interest from bankrupt Terraform Labs and its co-founder Do Kwon. The regulator is further seeking civil penalties of $420 million from Terraform and $100 million from Kwon.

The Regulator Seeks a Hefty Sum

The regulator’s request for monetary recovery and penalties was revealed in a motion it filed last Friday with the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The motion also seeks a ban on Kwon from serving as an officer or director of a securities issuer. He is also required to provide complete details of all his accounts and assets.

Meanwhile, legal representatives of Terraform and Kwon have filed briefs for potential remedies in the civil case simultaneously, suggesting a maximum monetary penalty of $3.5 million from the company and $800,000 from Kwon.

However, the court has yet to rule on the newly filed motion. In an earlier ruling, the US court found Terraform Labs and Kwon liable for fraud in the case brought by the SEC.

The trial against Kwon in the US proceeded in his absence.

“Defendants have not shown remorse for their conduct, nor can there be any doubt that they are in the position where additional violations are not only possible but likely are already occurring,” the motion by the SEC noted.

“The Court should send an unequivocal message that this sort of brazen misconduct, and Defendants’ misbegotten attempt to excuse their behavior by crafting new rules and standards of behavior for crypto markets in contravention of the federal securities laws [...] will not be tolerated.”

Kwon’s Fate Hangs in the Balance

Kwon was known for building Terraform Labs. However, the two cryptocurrencies of the project, TerraUSD and Luna, collapsed in 2022, resulting in the wipeout of about $37 billion in value. The collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin triggered the shuttering and collapse of several other cryptocurrency companies.

He disappeared immediately from public sight after the collapse of his company but was arrested in Montenegro last year while traveling with fake travel documents. Both South Korea and the United States have been trying to extradite him. Meanwhile, he was released from the Montenegro prison on bail due to some technical issues in the extradition ruling against him.

This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.

Ontario's Superior Court of Justice has certified a class action lawsuit against Binance, according to a report by Advisor.ca. The lawsuit alleges that Binance Holdings Limited violated securities law by offering crypto derivative products to retail investors without proper registration.

Regulatory Scrutiny

This latest development occurred amid increasing scrutiny from regulatory authorities, including the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). In 2021, Binance promised to cease operations with Canadian investors in response to the OSC's scrutiny and later agreed to an undertaking with the OSC to halt trading activities in Ontario. However, the OSC's investigation into possible regulatory breaches by the exchange is ongoing, with no formal allegations yet made against the company.

The court noted that regulators have previously categorized crypto contracts as securities or derivatives, suggesting that the marketing of such contracts falls under securities law. This classification paves the way for the plaintiffs' claims of violation of securities law against Binance. Moreover, the court dismissed Binance's argument that it was merely a facilitator of trades between users, highlighting evidence that investors traded directly with Binance.

Investors who purchased cryptocurrency derivative contracts from Binance starting September 13, 2019, are considered members of the class affected by the lawsuit. The case highlights the importance of regulatory compliance and investor protection in the rapidly evolving cryptocurrency trading landscape.

Binance Faces Regulatory Pressure in Canada

Last year, Binance terminated its operations in Canada due to stringent regulations, particularly concerning stablecoins. Canada's regulations regarding cryptocurrencies took a new turn when the Canadian Securities Administrators classified stablecoins as "securities and/or derivatives."

This action barred regulated crypto exchanges from offering services involving stablecoins, a significant component of the crypto market. Additionally, the province of Ontario mandated the registration of all cryptocurrency exchanges operating within its jurisdiction.

Binance, acknowledging the evolving regulatory landscape, cited the new guidance related to stablecoins and investor limits as the main reason for its exit from the Canadian market. The exchange emphasized that the regulatory environment in Canada had rendered its operations untenable.

Binance is not alone in its departure from Canada. Other prominent crypto exchanges, including Paxos and OKX, have opted to end their services for Canadian users due to regulatory pressure. However, exchanges such as Gemini, Coinbase, and Kraken are actively seeking authorization to strengthen their presence in the region.

This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.

The Tokyo-based financial services company Monex Group has completed its acquisition of a majority stake in 3iQ Digital Holdings, a Canadian crypto asset manager. The acquisition, initially announced in December 2023, has resulted in 3iQ and its subsidiaries becoming part of the Monex Group.

Monex Group Acquires Majority Stake in Canadian Crypto Asset Manager 3iQ

To support 3iQ's rapid business expansion, Monex Group has also invested $7.5 million in 3iQ's Managed Account Platform (QMAP). QMAP offers institutional investors access to a diverse range of crypto hedge funds, featuring alpha-oriented strategies tailored to meet the complex demands of global institutions. This investment significantly strengthens 3iQ's institutional digital asset management position.

The company was the first to launch a Bitcoin fund on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada. It further assisted CoinShares in creating a cryptocurrency ETF. Now, it will expand its crypto services under the Monex umbrella.

QMAP employs a stringent due diligence process to select fund managers with proven track records of generating alpha and effectively managing risks across various market cycles. These managers bring institutional backgrounds, specialized expertise, and operational excellence to the table.

"I have high [hopes] that QMAP will quickly become the leading platform for sophisticated investors to invest in a diversified suite of crypto hedge funds,” Yuko Seimei, the CEO of Monex Group, stated.

The platform's managed account structure allows 3iQ direct control over assets, enhancing transparency and risk management capabilities. This approach eliminates the extra layer of fees typically found in traditional fund-of-funds structures, enabling investors to customize their allocations or choose from pre-designed model portfolios at no additional cost.

“Together with Monex, we aim to create a superior investor experience that sets new standards globally,” added Pascal St. Jean, the President of 3iQ. "With a seasoned team, we remain committed to upholding our firm's decade-long tradition of developing cutting-edge investment solutions for institutional investors.”

The acquisition of 3iQ and investment in QMAP align with Monex Group's goal of strengthening its asset management business. Recently, the company has expanded its operations in the APAC region, planning to increase employment in the sales department by 80%.

This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

Argo Blockchain (LSE: ARB; NASDAQ: ARBK), a cryptocurrency mining company, has released its 2023 financial results, revealing a year marked by strategic adjustments amidst industry challenges. However, despite achieving a modest gross profit, net income was negative for another consecutive year.

Argo Blockchain Tried to Weather Crypto Storm, Cuts Debt by 63% in 2023

The company mined 1,760 Bitcoin throughout the year, averaging 4.8 Bitcoin per day, despite facing increased global hashrate and network difficulty.

Annual revenues reached $50.6 million, a decline of 14% from the previous year, as the mining margin decreased to 43% from 54% in 2022. However, Argo made significant strides in optimizing its operations, increasing its hash rate by 0.3 EH/s through the introduction of ePIC BlockMiners at its Quebec facilities and generating $7.2 million in power credits through strategic energy curtailment at the Helios location.

The company reported a net loss of $35 million for 2023, a substantial improvement from the $229 million loss in 2022. This was largely due to a reduction of 49% in interest expenses, achieved through debt management efforts. By year-end, Argo had reduced its debt owed to Galaxy Digital to $23.5 million, with a total debt standing at $66.2 million.

"Despite a turbulent market, we have worked hard to strengthen our balance sheet and reduce Argo's debt burden by $22 million, or 63%, and improve our cash positions,” commented Thomas Chippas, the CEO of Argo.

In early 2024, Argo successfully raised $9.9 million through a share placement with institutional investors and sold its Mirabel, Quebec data center for $6.1 million, using the proceeds to reduce debt further. Preliminary Q1 2024 results show continued growth, with 319 Bitcoin mined and revenues nearing $17 million.

Mining Operations Post-Halving

As the cryptocurrency industry continues to evolve after the recent halving, Argo Blockchain remains focused on navigating challenges, optimizing operations, and positioning itself for long-term success in the competitive mining landscape.

“We exited the Bitcoin halving with a stronger balance sheet and leaner operations, and we are optimistic about the ongoing growth and development of Argo with a clear objective of delivering shareholder value,” Chippas added.

However, the new operating environment is not easy. After the fourth halving, Bitcoin recently underwent its initial difficulty adjustment, experiencing a rise of 1.99% and elevating the mining difficulty to a new record. The network’s difficulty level increased from 86.39 trillion to 88.10 trillion.

This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

Hot news: These changes have happened in the last hour.

In the last one hour Bitcoin is leading the record of among the most popular crypto-currency in the trading ecosystem, it has an decrease of -0.33% from its previous value from 6631.875 dollars now at 6609.990 dollars exchange rate. Next to Bitcoin is T..

The post Bitcoin $6609.990 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 09:08 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: The summaries of the last one hour are the followings:

Bitcoin is leading the rank on the most popular crypto-currency, it has an upsurge of 0.12% in its exchange rate, which means 6668.000 dollars from the 6660.008 dollars earlier. Tether is in the second position as Bitcoin leads the first spot. ..

The post Bitcoin $6668.000 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 08:08 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: Here we summon for you the changes of the market of CryptoCurrency from the last 60 minutes.

In the last hour, Bitcoin is leading the cryptocurrency rank. A fall in the exchange rate was seen from 6663.014 dollars to 6640.360 dollars a -0.34% change. Next to Bitcoin is Tether in the second position..

The post Bitcoin $6640.360 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 07:08 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: Here you can read the new CryptoCurrency report of the last 60 Minutes.

Bitcoin is leading the rank in the last hour as the most popular crypto currency in the trade market, with a recorded fall on its value of about -0.12% in the last hour with a current standing rate of 6674.850 dollars from 6682..

The post Bitcoin $6674.850 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 06:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: There were a lot of happenings in the last 60 minutes on the Crypto stock exchanges.

Bitcoin is listed as the most popular cryptocurrency in the market. In the last sixty minutes, it had an downswing of -0.19% on its trading price. This means from 6699.038 dollars now at 6686.310 dollars. Tether is..

The post Bitcoin $6686.310 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 05:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: Now we show you the newest summary of 60 minutes.

Bitcoin is now leading the rank on the most popular digital currency in the trade market. It has an decrease of -0% in its exchange rate from 6704.570 dollars now at 6704.570 dollars. Bitcoin is seconded by Tether, in a 60 minutes time it has a drop..

The post Bitcoin $6704.570 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 04:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: Here we summon for you the changes of the market of CryptoCurrency from the last 60 minutes.

Bitcoin was in the top position in the last hour, the exchange rate decreases from 6710.021 dollars to 6709.350. This is a -0.01% recorded change. Tether is at the second position next to Bitcoin, with a re..

The post Bitcoin $6709.350 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 03:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: These changes have happened in the last hour.

Bitcoin was in the top position in the last hour, the exchange rate increases from 6689.711 dollars to 6709.780. This is a 0.3% recorded change. Bitcoin is followed by Tether, with a -0.07% tumble on its trade value in the last one hour, equivalent to 0..

The post Bitcoin $6709.780 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 02:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: Here we summon for you the changes of the market of CryptoCurrency from the last 60 minutes.

The number one cryptocurrency leader is Bitcoin, this data was fetched in the last hour. It has an decrease on its trade value to -0.2%, now at 6687.450 dollars from 6700.852. Tether is at the second positi..

The post Bitcoin $6687.450 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 01:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: These are the changes of the CryptoCurrency market in the last one hour.

Bitcoin is now leading the rank on the most popular digital currency in the trade market. It has an increase of 0.05% in its exchange rate from 6689.215 dollars now at 6692.560 dollars. Tether is next to the leading crypto Bit..

The post Bitcoin $6692.560 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 00:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

As a crypto analyst and frequent investor in the Greek digital currency market, I can confidently recommend Bcash for convenient and secure Bitcoin purchasing in Athens. With 10 strategically located crypto ATM hotspots spanning central Athens and the northern suburbs, Bcash enables instant access to leading cryptocurrencies like BTC, ETH, and USDT. Experience the Leading […]

The post Top 5 Bitcoin ATM Locations in Athens for Fast and Easy Crypto Access appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Bitwise Asset Management, the largest crypto index fund manager in America, announced today that the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), the firm’s first spot bitcoin ETF, intends to begin trading today, January 11th. BITB will join Bitwise’s comprehensive suite of 18 crypto investment products, which currently includes five other crypto ETFs. “We expect significant demand for […]

The post Bitwise launching spot bitcoin ETF (BITB) appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

It is no longer unusual to hear that a bank accepts savings in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the like. Or that a loan company helps businesses with crypto. After all, the traditional financial and insurance industries were among the first to adopt cryptocurrencies. The latter ones have found more than one way to incorporate these means of payment […]

The post Cryptocurrency Payments for Insurance: Are Insurance Companies Really Embracing Bitcoin and Altcoins? appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

For some people, the word bitcoin still triggers an eye-roll, but by now, most of us know that cryptocurrency is here to stay. With that in mind, it’s a good idea to make sure you’re clued up and well-educated on the topic, especially if you’ve ever considered investing yourself. However, with so much misinformation floating […]

The post 4 Things We’ve Learned About Owning Bitcoin in 2023 appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Today, Fuse Network, an enterprise-grade, use-case agnostic, decentralized EVM-compatible public blockchain, announced Liquify as its newest remote procedure call (RPC) provider and ecosystem partner. Liquify will provide public RPC services – both free and private. RPC nodes help process requests from decentralized applications (dApps). They are vital for improving the usability of web3 and for […]

The post Fuse Network welcomes Liquify as new blockchain infrastructure partner appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Welcome to the world of BITmarkets – a leading cryptocurrency exchange offering a wide range of trading options for both retail traders and corporate clients. In this comprehensive review, we will explore the various features and services provided by BITmarkets, including spot, futures, and margin trading. Whether a seasoned trader or just starting your cryptocurrency […]

The post BITmarkets – Spot, Futures, Margin Trading with 150+ Cryptocurrencies appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

HashKey Exchange, the first licensed retail virtual asset exchange registered in Hong Kong, announced its official launch today. Together with executives from the HKSAR government, top-tier banks, insurers, and Big 4 auditing firms, HashKey held the grand launch in Hong Kong. Strictly adhering to the SFC’s user registration and KYC requirements, the HashKey Exchange platform […]

The post Hong Kong’s first licensed crypto exchange HashKey is now live appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Adenasoft, a South Korea-based IT/software company, has just announced the launch of ACE, their new SaaS product designed for cryptocurrency exchanges. ACE fully prepares businesses for exchange operations quickly, taking less than a month to get up and running. ACE offers a comprehensive suite of features that enables crypto exchanges to streamline their operations and […]

The post Adenasoft launches new crypto exchange white label solution: ACE appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

This week, the team of Pods, a provider of structured products for crypto assets, unveiled its latest offering – the ETHphoria Vault. This innovative yield strategy is designed explicitly for ETH enthusiasts who are bullish about its future prospects and want to earn even more from increasing prices. ETHphoria is a low-risk, principal-protected strategy designed […]

The post Maximize Your ETH Investment: The ETHphoria Vault by Pods appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

The team of Pods recently announced the mainnet launch of its 3rd strategy on Pods Yield: FUD Vault, which now complements ETHphoria and stETHvv. FUD Vault provides a way for users to benefit from market downturns by offering a mechanism to hedge against significant price drops in ETH while preserving the deposited principal. Who is […]

The post Crypto traders can mitigate risk with PODS’ FUD Vault – now live on mainnet appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

DeFi Returns brings comprehensive up-to-date information on DeFi strategies and protocols, to easily compare and analyze their performance. Getting the most reliable data source for historical yield on DeFi, to help users make informed decisions when investing in the ecosystem. All data displayed is sourced from the protocol’s smart contracts directly. The new DeFi Returns […]

The post What is DeFi Returns? A new way of DeFi Investing appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

RockX, an Asia-based institutional-grade staking services provider, announced today the broadening of its staking product suite with the addition of a new ether (ETH) native staking solution. This latest offering strengthens RockX’s position as a comprehensive provider of diverse staking needs, maneuvering quickly to the evolving crypto market landscape. Navigating the Ethereum ecosystem presents institutions with […]

The post RockX broadens suite with launch of new ether (ETH) native staking solution appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Hex Trust, a regulated institutional-grade crypto-asset custodian, today announced it has partnered with The Sandbox, a leading decentralized gaming virtual world to enable fully-licensed and highly-secure custody of assets such as LAND in The Sandbox’s metaverse. The partnership sees Hex Trust fully integrate LAND into its custody platform, Hex Safe, which supports cryptocurrencies, security tokens, and NFTs. […]

The post The Sandbox teams with Hex Trust for licensed, secure custody of its virtual assets appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

CoinFlip, a bitcoin ATM and crypto services company, announced today a new offering with the launch of ‘Olliv,’ a self-custody-powered crypto platform. The Olliv platform provides a frictionless way to buy, sell, send, receive, and swap cryptocurrency securely stored on a self-custodial wallet, removing the uncertainty of unknown third-party custodians. By leveraging CoinFlip’s existing network […]

The post CoinFlip launches new self-custodial cryptocurrency wallet platform ‘Olliv’ appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Deribit, a popular cryptocurrency derivatives platform, has announced the launch of zero-fee spot trading, allowing clients to buy and sell crypto while simultaneously managing risk using other derivatives. Spot trading will start on April, 24th 2023 at 1 PM UTC with three pairs (BTC/USDC, ETH/USDC, and ETH/BTC), providing clients with a simple and free solution […]

The post Crypto derivatives exchange Deribit to launch zero-fee spot trading appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Japan-based banking giant Nomura, announced today that its digital assets subsidiary, Laser Digital, has made a strategic investment in Infinity, a non-custodial interest rate protocol built on Ethereum. Infinity’s wholesale exchange, the first of several planned infrastructures, provides inter-exchange clearing, fixed and floating rate markets, as well as enterprise-grade risk management utilizing hybrid on-chain/off-chain infrastructures […]

The post Nomura’s Laser Digital invests in Infinity, an Ethereum-based money market protocol appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Blocknative, a real-time Ethereum (ETH) infrastructure platform, has newly introduced features including transaction bundle send, cancellation, and replacement support for the Blocknative Builder. Searchers can now submit MEV bundles privately to the Blocknative Builder to be included on-chain. This market utility builds upon Blocknative’s reliable, real-time infrastructure that is systematically important to the Ethereum ecosystem. […]

The post ETH infrastructure platform Blocknative adds TX bundles, cancellation, and replacement support appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Eventus, a provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance and market risk solutions, announced today that cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Deribit has chosen the firm’s Validus platform to provide market abuse monitoring on the exchange. Headquartered in Panama City, Panama, Deribit is one of the largest cryptocurrency options exchanges by volume and open interest, with approximately 90% […]

The post Crypto derivatives exchange Deribit to put in place trade surveillance platform from Eventus appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Gemini, the popular bitcoin & crypto exchange company, today announced the launch of electronic over-the-counter trading (eOTC), an automated crypto trading solution designed for institutions. The Gemini eOTC solution offers a variety of advantages to institutional traders including: Competitive Pricing & Execution: Liquidity is sourced from top-tier liquidity providers with deep liquidity pools, enabling counterparties […]

The post Crypto exchange Gemini launches new electronic OTC trading solution appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

GenTwo Digital, the crypto-asset securitization platform based out of Crypto Valley in Zug, Switzerland, today announced a partnership with Coinbase, the publicly-listed cryptocurrency platform. This new partnership for GenTwo Digital allows all Coinbase crypto assets to be wrapped in bankable financial investment products and enables financial intermediaries to issue certificates such AMCs (Actively Management Certificates). […]

The post Crypto securitization platform GenTwo links to all Coinbase assets appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

ThunderCore, a leading blockchain & web3 ecosystem announced today that they are making a new development push, partnering with new validators as the chain rolls out its new crypto staking model. The newest ThunderCore validators include the famous crypto-asset exchange Huobi and one of the earliest staking platforms in the space, MyCointainer. Users of both […]

The post Blockchain ecosystem ThunderCore teams with Huobi and MyCointainer in node expansion appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Pods, creators of a DeFi platform, announced today that earlier this year, the team raised $5.6M in seed funding to create structured products for crypto-assets. The financing featured investors such as IOSG, Tomahawk, Republic, Framework Ventures, and more. The first strategy on Pods Yield is stETHvv (Ethereum Volatility Vault). stETHvv is a low-risk product focused […]

The post DeFi protocol Pods raises $5.6M to support its structured crypto products dApp appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Deribit, the popular cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, announced today it has launched a new ‘Proof of Reserves‘ tool for clients using the trading platform. Now, clients are provided with the functionality to verify their assets to be included in Deribit’s overall reserves. How it Works Deribit provides all addresses for all on-chain assets and it delivers […]

The post Crypto derivatives exchange Deribit releases new client verification of assets tool appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Tenderly, creators of a blockchain development platform, today announced that it is the first web3 development platform to offer simulations through RPC on its Tenderly Web3 Gateway, the company’s production node as a service. Note, Tenderly already processes more than 50 million simulations per month through its Transaction Simulator. Now, the company is introducing the […]

The post Tenderly introduces TXN simulations on its blockchain gateway for efficient dApp development appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

DFINITY Foundation, the not-for-profit organization contributing to the development of the Internet Computer (IC) — a high-speed, internet-scale public blockchain — has announced today the Internet Computer’s mainnet integration with Bitcoin, bringing smart contract functionality to the cryptocurrency. Now, the Internet Computer can serve as a layer-2 for Bitcoin where smart contracts on the Internet […]

The post DFINITY brings new smart contract functionality to Bitcoin with Internet Computer integration appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Nvidia's share price saw a 15% increase after a brief slump during the previous trading week, prompting analysts to speculate about the price movements of AI crypto tokens.

Republic First Bank's 32 branches across the United States will reopen under Fulton Bank starting next week, according to the FDIC.

The creator of the Bored Ape Yacht Club has been struggling with a changing market and still plans to focus on its Otherside metaverse project.

This week’s Crypto Biz examines X’s upcoming payment system, the NYSE’s potential 24/7 trading, Block’s expansion into Bitcoin mining, and more.

The lawyer said he had filed a brief on behalf of 4,701 Coinbase customers for no charge as part of his advocacy work in the crypto space.

New rules under the MiCA framework may encourage big banks to enter the DeFi space, potentially complicating compliance for native crypto projects.

The board includes the CEOs of Adobe, Alphabet, Anthropic, AMD, AWS, IBM, Microsoft and Nvidia, as well as other business, civil rights and academic leaders.

Need to know what happened in crypto today? Here is the latest news on daily trends and events impacting Bitcoin price, blockchain, DeFi, NFTs, Web3 and crypto regulation.

Bitcoin price holds above $63,000 even as regulatory enforcement ramps up and spot BTC ETF outflows raise concern.

Arkham Research notified DeFi wallet owners to look at the addresses and try to retrieve their funds, which have been stuck for months in bridge contracts.

Custodia Bank is challenging a lower court’s ruling in its battle for a Federal Reserve master account.

The U.S. government’s arguments on stablecoins in an unrelated criminal case could bolster Binance’s position in its civil case with the SEC.

Bitcoin and altcoins could be en route to retest their recent strong support levels as bears try to extend the correction.

The exchange is optimizing operations after acquiring ErisX on the eve of crypto winter and expects to save millions.

Bitcoin market inertia is dragging on, and a BTC price drop over the next fortnight would correspond to classic post-halving behavior.

Attendees at Token 2049 in Dubai shared their personal stories on how they became rich.

Bull flags are historically associated with more upside momentum, but Bitcoin price could still use a catalyst before rallying to new highs.

Slim Shady was the latest celebrity to advertise “fortune favors the brave” for Crypto.com following Matt Damon’s ad spot in October 2021.

The European Union’s in-house think tanks says the metaverse can help children heal from diseases.

Mainland Chinese citizens will not be able to purchase Bitcoin and Ether ETFs in Hong Kong because mainland China banned crypto transactions years ago.

Quantum computing is the next most significant disruptive technological leap and its rapid evolution and funding will soon make it a reality.

From April 26, police can transfer seized illicit crypto to wallets controlled by the authorities, with victims able to reclaim funds from the accounts.

The Bitcoin network surpassed 926,000 daily transactions, driven by a growing interest in Runes.

Imaginary Ones co-founder Clement Chia believes that simply adding blockchain to the metaverse doesn’t solve its “purpose” problems.

Nvidia-backed AI startup Synthesia unveils “Expressive Avatars,” enabling AI to convey human emotions and movements for corporate presentations and training.

The arrest of the founders of Samourai Wallet led to widespread concerns in the crypto community that the U.S. government was attempting to crack down on the industry.

Yao Qian, the first director of CBDC development at China’s central bank, is reportedly under investigation for suspected law violations.

The transaction fees are the “wild card” for Bitcoin miners, with the current increase representing a crucial revenue boost for BTC miners, according to TeraWulf’s COO, Nazar Khan.

The trader received a $6.28 million payday trading BONK, $9.51 million trading WIF and $7.04 million from BODEN.

Microsoft and Google’s Q2 earnings reports highlight significant revenue and profit increases driven by their investments and advancements in AI technologies.

Following the halving event on April 19, the price of Bitcoin has displayed a puzzling performance. BTC initially gained nearly 10% to trade as high as $67,020 on April 24. However, in the last two days,  the digital asset’s price has declined by 6.49%, falling below the $63,000 price mark.  As expected, such negative performance has drawn attention from investors and market speculators. In particular, renowned analyst with X handle Rekt Capital has provided a theory on Bitcoin’s price fall and perhaps an insight into the future price movements of the crypto market leader. Related Reading: Timing The Breakout: When Will Bitcoin Escape The Post-Halving Consolidation? BTC Potential Price Decline Ahead? In an X post on April 26, Rekt Capital stated that Bitcoin has now entered the Post-Halving “Danger Zone.” The analyst described this phenomenon as a period during which Bitcoin has historically experienced price corrections after the halving event. Rekt Capital noted that in 2016, Bitcoin recorded these price retraces in the three weeks following the Halving event. During this time, the token’s price declined by 11%.  The analyst postulates that Bitcoin is now in the Post-Halving “Danger Zone” of the current bull cycle following its price fall over the last two days. It is worth stating that if Bitcoin mirrors past price movement in this phase, the token could be heading for $60,000. However, Rekt Capital states that if the crypto market leader experiences such a fate, it will be within the next two weeks.  At the time of writing, Bitcoin trades around $62,672 with a decline of 2.44% in the last day. This price fall underscores BTC’s negative performance in the last month in which it has lost 11.16% of its market value.  BTC trades at $63,023 on the daily chart | Source: BTCUSD chart on Tradingview.com Related Reading: Forbes Unveils 20 Crypto ‘Zombies,’ Declares Ripple And XRP Among The Undead Bitcoin ETFs Record Minor Inflow; Net Outflows Hit $217 Million According to data from SoSoValue, the Bitcoin Spot ETF market recorded net outflows to the tune of $217 million on April 25. Unsurprisingly, Grayscale’s GBTC accounted for $138 million of these figures as its total outflows now approach $17 billion. Notably, for the first time ever, Fidelity’s FBTC and Valkyrie’s BRRR  produced net outflows estimated at $22 million and $20 million, respectively. Meanwhile, ARK Invest’s ARKB and Bitwise’s BITB also experienced a loss in investment on Thursday. Interestingly, all other Bitcoin Spot ETFs recorded zero net flows except Franklin Tempton’s EZBC, which saw a net inflow of $1.87 million. At the time of writing, the BTC spot ETFs have a combined value of $128 billion, reflecting a remarkable growth since their trading debut on January 11. Featured image from The Economic Times, chart from Tradingview

In a controversial report, Forbes unveiled a list of 20 “crypto billion-dollar zombies,” Layer 1 (L1) tokens, which the news outlet defines as crypto assets with substantial valuations but “limited utility beyond speculative trading.”  These cryptocurrencies and projects include Ripple, XRP, Ethereum Classic (ETC), Tezos (XTZ), Algorand (ALGO), and Cardano (ADA), among others.  XRP And Ethereum Classic In The Spotlight Ripple Labs, the company behind XRP, was highlighted as a prominent crypto zombie. Despite XRP’s active trading volume of around $2 billion daily, Forbes asserts that the token’s primary purpose remains “speculative” and “lacking meaningful utility.”  Related Reading: XRP Whales Are Active: Here’s Where They Are Sending Coins However, Ripple Labs and XRP are not alone in this regard. Forbes reveals that 50 blockchains, excluding Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), currently trade at values surpassing $1 billion, with at least 20 of them classified as “functional zombies.” Collectively, these 20 blockchains hold a market value of $116 billion, despite having “limited user bases.” According to Forbes, an example of a “functional zombie” is Ethereum Classic, which maintains the distinction of being the original Ethereum chain.  While ETC has a market value of $4.6 billion, its fee generation in 2023 was less than $41,000, raising questions about the blockchain’s viability for the news organization. Another crypto project in Forbes’ report is Tezos, which raised $230 million through an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017.  Tezos’ XTZ token currently holds a market capitalization of $1.2 billion. However, the blockchain’s fee earnings were meager, with $5,640 in February 2024 and a total of $177,653 for all of 2023.  Algorand, once hailed as an “Ethereum killer” due to its capability of processing 7,500 transactions per second, faces similar challenges.  Despite a market cap of $2 billion and a treasury holding of $500 million, Algorand earned $63,000 in blockchain transaction fees throughout 2023. For Forbes, this casts doubt on its actual adoption and utility. Crypto ‘Zombie’ Blockchains The zombie blockchains are categorized into two groups by Forbes: spin-offs and direct competitors to established blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum.  Spin-off zombies include Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), Monero (XMR), Bitcoin SV (BSV), and Ethereum Classic.  These blockchains, collectively valued at $23 billion, reportedly emerged from “disagreements” among programmers regarding the governance and direction of the original chains.  Forbes notes that when such conflicts arise, hard forks occur, resulting in new networks that share the same transaction history as their predecessors. The agency claims that their market value “often exceeds” their real-world usage. Related Reading: Ethereum Withdrawals From Exchanges Top 260,000 ETH – What This Means For Price Overall, The report highlights a growing disparity between the valuations of certain projects in the cryptocurrency industry and their actual utility and usage. Consequently, Forbes refers to these projects as “zombies.” Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com 

Billionaire investor Anthony Scaramucci, the founder of SkyBridge Capital, recently discussed the viability of financial assets. He took to X, a social media platform previously known as Twitter and owned by Elon Musk, to highlight the decreasing purchasing power of the United States dollar in comparison to the potential of Bitcoin (BTC). US Dollar Vs. Bitcoin Value Performance In the post on X, the SkyBridge Capital founder pointed out that a dollar from 2020 is now only worth about 75 cents, underscoring a significant devaluation due to inflation. Related Reading: Is A $72K Bitcoin Surge On The Horizon? Glassnode’s Latest Analysis Points To An Answer According to Scaramucci, this scenario illustrates why investors should reconsider traditional fiat currencies as a reliable store of value, advocating instead for the inherent benefits of digital assets like Bitcoin. Dollar from 2020 is now worth 75 cents. Buy Bitcoin credit @balajis pic.twitter.com/WzIosKfJv2 — Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) April 26, 2024 Scaramucci’s critique comes at a time when the global economy grapples with heightened inflation rates, which have eroded the real value of fiat money. He specifically cited a “25.14% compounded inflation rate” as a critical indicator of why the dollar is losing ground. In contrast, Bitcoin has not only maintained a strong profile but has also appreciated in value, further cementing its position as a viable hedge against inflation and a potential safe haven for investors. So far, Bitcoin’s market performance has been quite appealing. Particularly, despite the significant downturn experienced in the past few years, the asset has managed to come out of the bloodbath and recently soared to an all-time high above $73,000 in March. This peak performance labels Bitcoin as not just a digital asset but a major player in the global financial landscape. However, despite Scaramucci’s bullish outlook, it’s worth noting that Bitcoin has seen its share of volatility. It has been struggling to maintain its appeal recently, with a modest 0.9% increase in the last 24 hours – a slight recovery from a 2% drop over the past week. BTC Shifting Market Sentiments Further insights into the market’s behavior towards Bitcoin reveal changing dynamics. Data from CryptoQuant highlighted a negative turn in the Bitcoin funding rate for the first time since October 2023, indicating a cooling interest in speculative trading on the asset. This shift suggests that while the long-term outlook might still be strong, short-term investor sentiment has become cautious, possibly awaiting clearer signals before making further commitments. The current market sentiment is also reflected in the technical analysis of a prominent crypto analyst, Ali. In Ali’s recent post on X, a notable mention was made of a “death cross” seen in Bitcoin’s 12-hour chart, where the short-term moving average dips below a long-term counterpart, traditionally a bearish signal. Additionally, the Tom Demark (TD) Sequential indicator points to potential price reversals after a consistent trend, adding another layer of complexity to Bitcoin’s trading strategy. Related Reading: Is Bitcoin’s Rally Over? Leverage Drops As Halving Highs Fade: Report Despite these potentially bearish indicators, on-chain data from Santiment shows an interesting trend: Bitcoin whales have increased their holdings significantly, now owning 25.16% of the total supply. This accumulation suggests that while retail sentiment may be bearish, large-scale investors are seeing the dips as buying opportunities, potentially prepping for a future bullish run. Featured image from Unsplash, Chart from TradingView

Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency in the market, has been trading within a re-accumulation range between the $59,000 and $70,000 price levels for the past month and a half.  Crypto analyst Rekt Capital recently shared its perspective on this phase and its potential duration, drawing from historical patterns and data in a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Related Reading: Is SUI Sinking? TVL Tanks As Crypto Price Fails To Keep Afloat Breakout Timing And Historical Patterns According to Rekt’s analysis, Bitcoin tends to experience a re-accumulation range following the Halving event, which occurs every four years to counteract any inflationary effect on Bitcoin by lowering the reward amount for miners and maintaining scarcity.  Historically, This consolidation phase lasts up to 150 days before Bitcoin breaks into a parabolic uptrend. Based on this pattern, if Bitcoin continues to consolidate for the next 150 days, Rekt suggests a breakout would be expected in September 2024. The ideal duration of a re-accumulation range is crucial in determining Bitcoin’s future trajectory. Rekt Capital noted that when Bitcoin reached a new all-time high (ATH) of $73,700 in mid-March, it accelerated its cycle by 260 days. However, with over 49 days of consolidation, the acceleration has reduced to approximately 210 days. Resetting The Bitcoin Halving Cycle Repeating historical trends, where Bitcoin consolidates for 150 days after the Halving, would still indicate an acceleration in the current cycle, albeit by a lesser extent of 60 days.  Nevertheless, Rekt contends that Bitcoin would ideally need to consolidate for at least 210 days to fully resynchronize with its historical Halving cycles and reset the current acceleration in this cycle to 0. This would bring the rate of acceleration to 0 days and potentially lead to a breakout around November 2024. Related Reading: Analysts Call It: XRP Primed For A 700% Surge – Details The analyst further suggested that to achieve a 200+ day post-Halving consolidation and fully resynchronize with historical Halving cycles, Bitcoin would need to replicate its mid-2023 re-accumulation range, which lasted 224 days before a new uptrend emerged. Rekt concluded: Overall, how long this current Re-Accumulation Range will last will dictate the remaining acceleration in this cycle and ultimately influence where Bitcoin will finally peak in its Bull Market.  The largest cryptocurrency, with a market capitalization of $1.2 billion, is currently trading at $64,400, showing minimal fluctuations compared to Thursday’s price movements.  Recently, Bitcoin has encountered resistance at the $66,000 level, hindering its ability to consolidate above this threshold. Conversely, the $63,400 level may serve as a support base for the cryptocurrency in the event of heightened downward volatility over the weekend. Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

Recent on-chain data has shown a transfer of 456 million DOGE tokens into crypto exchange Coinbase amidst a flurry of Dogecoin whale transactions across various exchanges in the past 24 hours. The price of DOGE has majorly traded below the $0.165 price level in the past seven days despite the price uptick among other meme coins. These recent events of whale transfers, however, appear to be leading to a bearish view towards DOGE. Transfers of this nature into a crypto exchange point to the whales getting ready to sell off their bags, which risks crashing the DOGE price.  Whales Move 456 Million DOGE To Crypto Exchange Whale Alerts, a crypto whale transaction tracker, has shown various instances of whale transactions in recent hours. Amidst these transactions is the transfer of 456.83 million DOGE tokens worth $68.7 million into popular crypto exchange Coinbase. Interestingly, the transfer of DOGE was made to Coinbase in two bouts of 228 million DOGE, each worth over $34 million. Related Reading: Renowned Economist Reveals What Will Happen If Bitcoin Can’t Hold $60,000 However, considering these transactions were sent in quick succession, the nature of their movement points to them being controlled by the same whale entity.  🚨 🚨 228,105,810 #DOGE (34,341,747 USD) transferred from unknown wallet to #Coinbasehttps://t.co/G8TGqtW5Ws — Whale Alert (@whale_alert) April 26, 2024 🚨 🚨 228,725,906 #DOGE (34,435,104 USD) transferred from unknown wallet to #Coinbasehttps://t.co/ACnqjOBCAO — Whale Alert (@whale_alert) April 26, 2024 A further look into the two whale addresses involved, “DFBx6m” and “DCTpBb”, showed that they no longer hold any tokens at the time of writing. This lends additional credibility to the idea that the transfers were made with the intention of selling off tokens. Notably, on-chain data shows that both addresses have been holding their DOGE tokens since last year, considering the last inflow of DOGE occurred on November 1, 2023. During this time, the price of Dogecoin was trading around $0.068. It is worth noting that DOGE has gone on an over 120% price increase since then, putting the holdings at a significant profit. What’s Next For Dogecoin? At the time of writing, DOGE is trading at $0.1511. The crypto is now on a correction path after failing to substantially break above $0.164 in the past week. The recent movement of nearly half a billion Dogecoin suggests major price volatility could be on the horizon. Furthermore, the recent DOGE rally seems to have stalled out as other altcoins and meme coins gain momentum. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bears Risk Losing $7.2 Billion If BTC Price Reaches This Level While DOGE is currently down by 0.64% in the past seven days, Shiba Inu, PEPE, Dogwifhat, and FLOKI are up by 13.8%, 47.5%, and 32.5% in the same timeframe.  The future of DOGE can be hard to predict. As with any meme coin, Dogecoin remains highly speculative. Its price continues to be volatile and heavily influenced by hype and social media. According to a crypto analyst, DOGE could continue to drop in the short term. Other analysts are bullish on DOGE, with analyst Ali Martinez even predicting a rally to the $1 price mark.  DOGE price falls below $0.15 | Source: DOGEUSDT on Tradingview.com Featured image from Bitcoinist, chart from Tradingview.com

As the crypto industry navigates the waves of this bull run, projects like NEAR Protocol (NEAR) are edging forward with new partnerships and developments. NEAR’s remarkable performance has crypto analysts considering that the toke is getting underway for a massive surge. Related Reading: Is SUI Sinking? TVL Tanks As Crypto Price Fails To Keep Afloat Is NEAR Protocol A “Market Leader”? At the beginning of the week, crypto analyst World of Charts recognized a bullish flag pattern formed on NEAR’s monthly chart. According to the analyst, a successful breakout could be followed by a 60-65% bullish wave in the coming days. On Thursday, NEAR tested the $7.00 resistance level, reaching above the $7.50 mark before retracing as the day ended. NEAR breaking out of the bullish flag pattern on Thursday. Source: World of Charts Affirming his previous forecast, the analyst stated that if the token successfully holds above the breakout level, investors could expect the price to move towards $14-$15. Since then, the token has remained above the $7.00 mark, hovering between $7.3-$7.1. Another crypto analyst has been following NEAR’s performance this week similarly. According to Bluntz, the token “has been one of the strongest movers from the lows and will probably be one of the first to make fresh highs.” Moreover, he considers NEAR “one of the better performers” in the top 20 cryptocurrencies. Previously, the trader displayed a chart identifying an ABC zigzag pattern followed by a still-forming impulse wave pattern. NEAR's forming a impulse wave pattern according to the analyst. Source: Bluntz As NEAR broke out of the $7,00 resistance, the analyst reaffirmed his prediction for the token’s movements, considering it “a market leader right now.” Bluntz added that the token kept “plodding along making fresh highs while everything else has stalled out and continued accumulating.” Network Expansion And Price Surge The NEAR Protocol is a Layer-1 “user-friendly and carbon-neutral” blockchain focused on performance, security, and scalability. According to its team, the “blockchain for everyone” was built with “usability in mind.” NEAR’s total value locked (TVL) of $309 million makes it the 16th largest blockchain by this metric. Notably, the network has doubled its TVL since Q4 2023, when it sat in the 25th spot with $128 million. The protocol collaborates with other projects constantly to continue “expanding financial horizons.” Projects like NodeKit and TrueZK have recently integrated NEAR’s solution designed for Ethereum rollups, NEAR DA. Similarly, on Thursday, it announced its partnership with Colombian fintech Lulo X and Peersyst Technology “to redefine the parameters of digital finance.” These collaborations have been seemingly well-received by the NEAR community. Despite being down by 6.25% in the monthly time frame and 65% below its all-time high (ATH) of $20,44 set in January 2022, the blockchain’s token has shown a remarkable performance during this bull run. In the last three months, NEAR has soared over 146%. Moreover, the token’s daily trading volume has increased by 6.5% in the past day, with over $800 million traded. Likewise, its market capitalization has risen 5% during the same timeframe, making it the 17th biggest cryptocurrency by this metric. As of this writing, NEAR is trading at $7.2, representing a 7.3% jump in the last 24 hours and a 26% rise in the past week. Related Reading: Crypto Bull Run Set To Return Next Week, Predicts Arthur Hayes NEAR's performance in the one-week chart. Source: NEARUSDT on TradingView Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

While Bitcoin prices struggle for momentum and are caged inside a narrow range, on-chain data tells a different story. Taking to X, one analyst notes that whales, which are large crypto holders, are actively accumulating the world’s largest coin by market cap.  Bitcoin Whales Accumulating Despite Weakness By the time this data was shared, Bitcoin whales held over 5.1 million BTC worth a staggering $331 billion. That there is still demand when the coin moves in a narrow range flies in the face of recent market weakness and skeptics betting on even more price dumps. Related Reading: After WIF, BONK, BODEN: Top Crypto Trader Now Buys These 2 Memecoins Currently, Bitcoin is inside a range, with caps at $73,800 and $60,000. Despite overall market confidence, the coin has failed to pull higher, breaking above $70,000 even after Halving on April 20. Even though prices are firm, the absence of follow-through after April 21 and 22 hints at weakness. From the BTCUSDT price chart, the coin could explode should it break above the middle BB. If the leg up is accompanied by positive fundamental events, momentum could push the coin to all-time highs. On the flip side, BTC is likely to slip even lower should sellers flow back. The sharp rejection of bulls on April 24 is bearish. As such, this might set a wave of lower lows in motion, taking the coin below April 2023 lows. Traders Panicked Sold, Register Huge Losses Parallel market data shows panic sellers on Binance and OKX, two major crypto exchanges by trading volumes, have dumped a combined 5,137 BTC at a loss over the past two weeks. As data shows, prices have been weaving lower during this time, with bulls failing to counter the dump, especially after two consecutive losses on April 12 and 13. Related Reading: DOGE Price Prediction – Dogecoin Below $0.14 Could Spark Larger Degree Drop Meanwhile, there have been sharp outflows from ARKB, the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). Data shows that ARKB sold 490 BTC, worth $31 million, on April 25. This is the third-largest single-day outflow in history. Recent price pressures on BTC coincide with a marked drop in spot ETF inflows in the second half of April. On April 25, Lookonchain data revealed that GBTC and all the nine spot ETF issuers decreased over 2,100 BTC worth roughly $135 million. Feature image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView

Despite BTC’s recent unimpressive price action, crypto analyst Doctor Profit has shared his bullish sentiment for Bitcoin and the broader crypto market. The analyst further suggested that a parabolic move was imminent and that crypto investors should position themselves accordingly.  Crypto Market Preparing For A “Third Industrial Revolution” Doctor Profit mentioned in an X (formerly Twitter) post that the crypto market “is preparing itself for the third Industrial Revolution,” thereby hinting at a trend reversal for Bitcoin and altcoins soon enough. “Be part of it, or regret for [a] lifetime,” the crypto analyst added as he warned crypto investors of missing this market rally.   Related Reading: HBAR Prices Crashes 35% As BlackRock Denies Any Ties To Hedera In a previous X post, Doctor Profit gave an idea of what to expect from the crypto market (Bitcoin in particular) when it makes its next leg up. He stated that the flagship crypto will rise to $84,000 after it is done trading the sideway range between $60,000 and $72,000. In another X post, he claimed that the super cycle will start after Bitcoin hits $72,000.  Meanwhile, Doctor Profit suggested that the price corrections experienced were normal and usually occur in each crypto cycle. He further remarked that the 10 to 20% price fluctuations weren’t big moves. His statement echoes the sentiment of Alex Thorn, Head of Research at Galaxy Digital, who previously warned that bull markets weren’t “straight lines up.” Bitcoin Is In The Re-Accumulation Period  In a recent X (formerly Twitter) post, crypto analyst Rekt Capital confirmed that Bitcoin is currently in the Re-Accumulation phase, which occurs after the Bitcoin Halving. He further noted that the goal now “is for Bitcoin to move sideways to catch a breather, for the market to cool off after [a] fantastic Pre-Halving price performance.   Related Reading: Why Is The Dogecoin Price Down Today? According to Rekt Capital, this Re-Accumulation period can last for multiple weeks “and even up to 150 days.” The analyst revealed that once this period is over, Bitcoin will experience a breakout from this sideways range, followed by a parabolic uptrend.  This uptrend phase is said to last for over a year. However, with the probability of this being an accelerated market cycle, Rekt Capital remarked that the duration for this uptrend could be cut in half. Crypto analysts like Tom Dunleavy, Partner and Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at MV Capital, predict that the flagship crypto will rise as high as $100,000 when that time comes.  At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at around $64,360, up in the last 24 hours according to data from CoinMarketCap. BTC bears pull down price | Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview.com Featured image from Kapersky, chart from Tradingview.com

On-chain data shows the XRP whales have been active during the past day. Here are the destinations their moves have been heading to. XRP Whales Have Moved Around Big Amounts In Last 24 Hours According to data from the cryptocurrency transaction tracker service Whale Alert, several large XRP transactions have been witnessed on the blockchain in the past day. More specifically, five transfers in total that are of scale often attributed to the whales have occurred on the network inside this window. Since whale transactions involve the transfer of a significant sum of capital, they can sometimes cause fluctuations in the market. Related Reading: 85% Of Altcoins In “Opportunity Zone,” Santiment Reveals The implications any whale transfers might have for the market depend on their intent. However, the exact purpose behind any transfer can be hard to ascertain. Nonetheless, the address details of the transaction may provide at least some hints about the context surrounding it. First, here are the details regarding the oldest XRP whale transfer from the past day: Looks like this massive move only required a minute fee of 0.000015 XRP to be possible | Source: Whale Alert As is visible above, this transaction involved the movement of 29.74 million XRP, worth $15.7 million at the time of the transfer. The sender was an unknown wallet, likely a whale’s address. On the other hand, the receiver was a wallet attached to a known centralized platform: the cryptocurrency exchange Bitso. Thus, the whale here made a deposit to the exchange from their personal address. Investors usually make such transactions whenever they want to use one of the services platforms like these provide, including selling. As such, exchange inflows can prove to be bearish for the price. The second-oldest whale transaction from the past 24 hours was also an exchange inflow, this one towards Bitstamp. Interestingly, the sending address for this one was the same as the Bitso deposit, so the same whale was probably behind both of these moves. The large investor shifted 27,430,000 XRP ($14.5 million) to the exchange in this second move. Naturally, if the whale has made these large moves for selling, they could be a bad sign for the asset’s price. Though, perhaps fortunately for the XRP investors, two exchange outflows have also occurred recently, which may cancel out these inflows. Below are the details of the two larger withdrawals. The addresses involved in the first of the whale exchange withdrawals today | Source: Whale Alert In this move, a whale took out around 26.67 million XRP ($14 million) from Binance. Today’s exchange outflow also involved Binance, with another 20.85 million tokens ($10.6 million) leaving the platform. The fifth and final transfer was the largest during the past day at a whopping 100 million XRP ($53 million), but this move involved unknown wallets on both sides so it’s impossible to say why the move would have been made. Related Reading: Bitcoin Forms Death Cross & TD-9 Sell Signal: Brace For Impact? The reason could have been anything, from a change of wallets to selling through over-the-counter (OTC) means. XRP Price XRP had recovered to $0.57 earlier in the week, but it appears that the coin has lost this progress; it’s back at $0.52 now. The price of the asset appears to have seen a decline over the last few days | Source: XRPUSD on TradingView Featured image from Ole Kloth on Unsplash.com, whale-alert.io, chart from TradingView.com

Ethereum withdraws from centralized exchanges have ramped up over the last week, suggesting a direction for investor sentiment during this time. Given the sheer volume of ETH withdrawn from these exchanges, it is prudent to try to understand what this could mean for the crypto’s price. 260,000 ETH Leaves Exchanges Amid the uncertainty that has plagued the crypto market, Ethereum investors are making moves to secure their positions for better price prospects. Pseudonymous crypto technical analyst Titan of Crypto took to X (formerly Twitter) to share what Ethereum investors are doing about their holdings right. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bears Risk Losing $7.2 Billion If BTC Price Reaches This Level The post revealed that these investors have been withdrawing large amounts of ETH from centralized exchanges. In the one week period that was tracked, the report found that a total of 260,000 ETH were withdrawn from exchanges, which was worth almost $800 million at the time. #Altcoins Crypto exchanges witnessed an outflow of over 260,000 #ETH equivalent to more than $781 million within the past 7 days. It’s time for #Ethereum shine. ✨🌕 pic.twitter.com/jT1aocjvbI — Titan of Crypto (@Washigorira) April 24, 2024 Now, exchange deposits and withdrawals are important for any cryptocurrency because it can often tell how investors are looking at that coin and what they are doing with their holdings. In the case of large deposits to centralized exchanges, it can be very bearish for the price because investors often deposit their coins in order to sell them as exchanges provide deep liquidity. In contrast, withdrawals from exchanges suggest that investors are not looking to sell their ETH. Rather, they are accumulating the coins to wait for better prices before selling. Naturally, this is bullish for the Ethereum price as a diminished selling pressure gives room for the price to recover. In this case, the withdrawals are bullish or the Ethereum price, as investors continue to accumulate. It also signals that investors are expecting a price breakout, and as the withdrawals ramp up, demand could surpass supply, leading to a surge in price. Ethereum Headwinds Still Negative Ethereum, while currently seeing some positive activity from investors, has still not turned completely bullish. For one, there has been a significant decline in its daily trading volume. According to data from Coinmarketcap, Ethereum’s trading volume is down approximately 20% in the last day. Related Reading: Renowned Economist Reveals What Will Happen If Bitcoin Can’t Hold $60,000 This decline in volume suggests a declining interest from investors to actually trade the coin. As such, its price may be negatively affected as attention begins to shift elsewhere, with investors looking for better prospects. Nevertheless, the cryptocurrency still looks bullish for the long term. Ethereum continues to closely mirror the price performance of Bitcoin, which is expected to go on a bull run following the successful completion of its fourth halving event. For now, Ethereum continues to struggle to hold above $3,100 with small gains of 0.18% in the last day. Over the last month, it has suffered multiple crashes, registering a 12.36% loss in the last 30 days. ETH price struggles to hold $3,100 support | Source: ETHUSD on Tradingview.com Featured image from Investopedia, chart from Tradingview.com

According to a recent survey, half of Canadian institutional investors and financial services organizations have actively offered at least one type of cryptocurrency asset product or service to clients in the past year. The study revealed that half of the institutional investors surveyed were exposed to crypto through exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end trusts, or other […]

Eddy Lazzarin, CTO of A16z Crypto, one of the largest cryptocurrency-focused venture capital funds, has criticized the meme coins’ effect on the broad appreciation of the cryptocurrency market. Lazzarin stated that meme coins undermined the “long-term vision of crypto” that has maintained some actors in the space, making it look “like a risky casino.” A16z […]

The United States witnessed its first banking failure of 2024 with the closure of Philadelphia-based Republic First Bank, creating ripples within the cryptocurrency community as Bitcoin, Ether, and various altcoins experienced slight price drops following the announcement. This event has spurred discussions among crypto enthusiasts and investors, with some seeing bank failures as a compelling […]

A new law enabling the National Crime Agency and police to seize, freeze, and destroy crypto assets is now in effect in the UK. Under this law, police can seize crypto from suspects without needing to make an arrest first. Additionally, victims have the right to request the release of funds held in crypto accounts […]

According to Chainalysis’ “Crypto Spring Report,” stablecoin adoption and market importance are seeing a rapid increase in 2024, with a significant rise in the number of addresses holding them and their use in on-chain transactions, making them a global financial asset. Legislation efforts in the U.S., such as the Lummis-Gillibrand Payment Stablecoin Act, aim to […]

The chairman of the Swiss National Bank has expressed reservations about incorporating bitcoin into the central bank’s currency reserves. He stated that no decision has been made yet to invest in bitcoin, underscoring the necessity for currency reserves to be liquid, sustainable, and easily tradable, given their use in international payments. Swiss National Bank on […]

PRESS RELEASE. Excitement is brewing in the heart of Asia as Hong Kong regulators pave the way for a new era of innovation with the recent approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This groundbreaking development underscores Hong Kong’s commitment to becoming a regulated hub for Bitcoin. At the same time, the Bitcoin Conference is […]

The Bank of Russia and Rosfinmonitoring revealed the existence of a ‘know your crypto customer’ system pilot, that aims to link the fiat operations of crypto users with their blockchain actions. The pilot, which has been ongoing since 2023, involves five banks in Russia and is expected to run until April, but can be extended. […]

On Friday, April 26, Acinq announced that its Lightning Network bitcoin wallet, Phoenix, will cease services for U.S. residents from May 3, 2024. This announcement followed closely on the heels of the Samourai Wallet indictment and what is perceived as a targeted U.S. government effort against financial privacy and non-custodial solutions. Lightning Network Platform Phoenix […]

Over the past 90 days, while bitcoin has shown steady performance, 19 other cryptocurrencies have outpaced the leading digital asset in terms of price growth. However, the Altcoin Season Index, which measures the performance of these cryptocurrencies against bitcoin, has dropped from 59 to 39 since early April, signaling that an altcoin season is unlikely […]

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A group of Bitcoin advocates in Switzerland are urging the country's central bank to add Bitcoin to its reserves. They aim to hold a referendum to amend the constitution to require Bitcoin reserves.

ViaBTC has not only mined Bitcoin’s fourth halving block, but it has also mined the fourth ever “epic sat”.

HRF Chief Strategy Officer Alex Gladstein says the Finney Freedom Prize should inspire people to be like Hal Finney, the first major Bitcoin advocate.

The countdown to Bitcoin’s 4th halving has begun. Tune in to the Bitcoin Halving Livestream powered by Kraken.

MicroStrategy World and the Bitcoin for Corporations conference is set to gather leaders of Fortune 1000 companies to educate on trends in AI and analytics, and the strategic advantages of integrating Bitcoin into business operations.

A short list of little known facts about Bitcoin's supply schedule and past halvings.

A look at the halving through the lens of holidays and what their cultural significance is. From "The Halving Issue."

Strong demand is pouring in to bitcoin as its new supply creation gets cut in half, forecasting higher prices to come.

An analysis of the potential for mining pools to fight over the halving block to capture the value of the Epic rare sat by reorging the blockchain. From "The Halving Issue."

When it comes to bitcoin custody, there are many options for maximizing the security ceiling. Exploring how individuals and institutions can safely hold bitcoin using different methods.

The halving is a pivotal economic and cultural moment every four years for the Bitcoin network, fundamentally altering the economics of the ecosystem. Announcing "The Halving Issue."

A look at how the halving has evolved from an event shifting the economics of Bitcoin's supply to a holiday celebrated by Bitcoiners world-wide every four years.

In a sit down with Bitcoin Magazine just days before the Halving, CEO of Marathon Digital Holdings Fred Thiel articulates his plan to capitalize on the main byproduct of mining bitcoin: heat.

The worlds largest asset manager continues to market and educate new investors on its spot Bitcoin ETF.

A breakdown of Taproot Wizard's recent CatVM proposal, what it actually is, and what it could be useful for.

What lies after Bitcoin’s 4th halving? Read on to understand its economic and operational impacts for the Bitcoin mining sector.

Hong Kong's hotly anticipated spot bitcoin ETFs are expected to launch by end of April, potentially yielding up to $25 billion in capital inflows according to industry analysts.

A retrospective look at the recent Bitcoin Policy Summit in Washington, D.C.

Bitcoin fell below $60,000 amid fears of global conflict. Analyst Dylan LeClair unpacks whether this represents a true shift in momentum, or simply a bull market correction as bitcoin moves higher.

Alexander “Akin” Fernandez’s Azteco provides Bitcoin users around the world a way to get their hands on “synthetic money” without revealing their identity, creating a world in which bitcoin is so ubiquitous and easy to use that it’s boring.

Crypto.com has postponed the planned launch of its app in South Korea due to scrutiny by the regulators on the exchange's anti-money laundering practices. According to a local media publication Segye Ilbo, Korean financial authorities have initiated an emergency on-site inspection of the crypto exchange.

Anti-Money Laundering Concerns

The inspection, conducted by the Financial Intelligence Unit under the Financial Services Commission, followed the discovery of anti-money laundering-related concerns in the data submitted by Crypto.com.

Crypto.com has emphasized its commitment to maintaining proper anti-money laundering standards, according to a report by Coindesk. The firm mentioned that it adheres to the "highest" standards. However, it intends to postpone the launch of the new service to ensure that Korean regulators are fully apprised of its policies, procedures, systems, and controls.

The exchange had announced plans to launch a local mobile application facilitating coin trading next week. According to the firm, the service promises competitive pricing and support for various virtual asset transactions. Crypto.com obtained approval to operate in South Korea in 2022. However, regulatory hurdles have proved challenging for the crypto exchange.

Early this month, Crypto.com announced the decision to debut the new app in South Korea, describing it as a specialized trading platform specifically designed for the Korean market. Commenting about the launch, Eric Anziani, the Chief Operating Officer of Crypto.com, highlighted Korea's tech-savvy population and its adoption of innovation as key factors driving this decision.

Anziani mentioned: "The first product we will be launching in Korea is the crypto.com app, which is our most popular product globally. It's a fully mobile product offering a convenient and safe way to buy, sell, and store digital assets, including non-fungible tokens, enabling Korean customers to access global prices in a regulated manner."

Navigating Korean Crypto Regulations

Moreover, the company aims to support Korean creators and artists through potential partnerships, leveraging the country's influence as a cultural powerhouse. Continuing talks with local banks, Crypto.com plans to establish partnerships for account authentication, a regulatory requirement in Korea.

Presently, the Korean cryptocurrency market has five won-based exchanges authorized by financial authorities. By entering this market, Crypto.com will offer users an alternative trading platform while fostering competition and innovation in the local cryptocurrency sector.

This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.

Ripple Labs has formally opposed the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) proposition to levy a substantial fine of nearly $2 billion against the company linked to the XRP Ledger blockchain. Filed yesterday (Monday), Ripple's opposition challenges the SEC's proposal, which seeks to persuade a New York judge to impose the hefty penalty.

Legal Battle between Ripple and SEC

The SEC's proposal outlines a fine totalling $1.95 billion, comprising $876 million for disgorgement, $198 million for prejudgment interest, and a civil penalty of $876 million. The basis for the SEC's case stems from allegations that Ripple Labs violated federal securities laws through its institutional sales of XRP. Notably, the court ruled in favour of Ripple on some fronts, dismissing parallel claims by the SEC regarding the legality of XRP sales on exchanges and algorithms.

Ripple's opposition document includes a redacted paragraph concerning its revenue from institutional sales, the income taxes it paid, and its incurred losses. Within this segment, Ripple asserts that it had no gains to disgorge, positioning it as a crucial argument in its defence against the SEC's proposed penalties.

“The Court should deny the SEC’s requests for an injunction, for disgorgement, and for pre-judgment interest, and should impose a civil penalty of no more than $10 million,” the filing said.

🚨 BREAKING SEC VS. RIPPLE NEWS:#Ripple has filed a Motion to Strike new expert materials the SEC submitted in support of its Motion for Remedies and Entry of Final Judgment! FINAL JUDGEMENT! 🥳🎉Source: https://t.co/QgmUZcL0aX pic.twitter.com/uaFAluXMG2

— 𝓐𝓶𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓮 (@_Crypto_Barbie) April 22, 2024

Anticipating Rise in Cryptocurrency Integration

Meanwhile, Ripple has upgraded its crypto-enabled cross-border payments solution, known as Ripple Payments, as reported by Finance Magnates. This enhancement aims to improve enterprise-grade blockchain infrastructure. In a statement released today, the cross-border remittance network highlights the ongoing shift in the global financial space, with increasing investment from companies and legacy payment institutions in blockchain integration.

It's anticipated that over 80% of global financial firms will incorporate cryptocurrencies into their operations within the next three years. Currently, Ripple offers expanded access to its extensive global network, spanning over 70 crypto and traditional payout markets, resulting in nearly 100% global payout coverage through a single onboarding process.

This article was written by Tareq Sikder at www.financemagnates.com.

Strike, a payments application utilizing the Bitcoin blockchain, has launched its services in Europe, enabling customers in the region to engage in buying, selling, and withdrawing bitcoin (BTC). The announcement was made today (Wednesday).

Expanding Operations across Continents

Having recently expanded its operations to Africa, Strike has already established its presence in Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America. However, availability may vary by country, and interested customers are encouraged to check their local iOS or Android app stores for accessibility, as some regions may be excluded from the expansion.

“As the third-largest economy globally … Europe presents vast opportunities for bitcoin adoption,” Strike said in a press release. “We’ve seen the demand and heard the feedback first-hand from the community.”

Blockchain technology is reshaping global payments with its security and efficiency. Unlike traditional methods prone to fraud, blockchain's decentralized ledger ensures secure transactions. Advanced cryptographic techniques like digital signatures bolster security further.

Eliminating intermediaries, blockchain enables direct peer-to-peer transactions, expediting settlements and reducing costs. Cross-border payments, often costly and time-consuming, stand to benefit greatly from blockchain's streamlined approach. With its potential to simplify and secure transactions, blockchain emerges as a disruptive force in the global payment landscape.

🚨LATEST: Bitcoin Payment App Strike Expands to Europe, Boosting Crypto Accessibility https://t.co/5p4jJ6qpDX

— CryptoCrunchApp (News Feed) (@GoCryptoCrunch) April 24, 2024

Introducing Bitcoin-Powered Payment Solution for European Market

Developed by Chicago-based Zap Solutions under the leadership of entrepreneur Jack Mallers, Strike was initially introduced in the United States in 2020. Similar to widely used online payment platforms such as Cash App or PayPal, Strike facilitates global money transfers for its users. Notably, Strike distinguishes itself by leveraging the Bitcoin blockchain, which enables swifter and more cost-effective transactions compared to conventional alternatives.

In Europe, customers will have the convenience of conducting BTC transactions directly with euro deposits via SEPA, the region’s payments provider. Recipients of these funds will have the flexibility to opt for receiving the value in either bitcoin, euro, or, in select areas, Tether’s USDT stablecoin.

This article was written by Tareq Sikder at www.financemagnates.com.

US prosecutors have proposed a 36-month prison sentence for Binance's former CEO, Changpeng Zhao. According to a report by CNBC, the prosecutors argued that such a sentence, which is double the advisory guidelines, reflects the seriousness of the charges against Zhao.

The recommendation, outlined in a sentencing memorandum filed with the Western District Court of Washington, highlights the severity of the accusations against Zhao, who stepped down from his position last November following a plea deal with the US Department of Justice.

US Prosecutors' Charges against Zhao

US prosecutors said a 36-month custodial sentence is necessary to underscore the seriousness of the charges against Zhao, which include failure to implement anti-money laundering measures as mandated by the Bank Secrecy Act. The memorandum emphasized Zhao's alleged role in allowing Binance to process transactions involving unlawful activities, including those from sanctioned countries.

The case against Zhao occurs amidst a backdrop of legal challenges for Binance, with the exchange facing lawsuits from both the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Allegations include mishandling customer assets and operating an illegal, unregistered exchange in the US. Authorities have also ordered Binance to pay hefty fines, with Zhao agreeing to a $50 million penalty as part of the plea deal. However, he has not publicly commented on the recent developments. Zhao's official sentencing is scheduled for April 30.

Binance CEO's Legal Struggle

In January, a federal judge rejected a travel request from Zhao to visit his home in the United Arab Emirates for a family emergency. The judge deemed him a significant flight risk due to his immense wealth and ties to the UAE, despite offering to post his $4.5 billion equity in Binance as security for his return.

In November, Zhao pleaded guilty in a Seattle federal court to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program at Binance. As part of the case, Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion in penalties.

In a letter to Judge Richard Jones dated December 22, Zhao's lawyers requested permission for him to travel to Abu Dhabi on January 4 for one to four weeks due to a family emergency. However, federal prosecutors did not consent to Zhao's request, leading to a hearing on December 29, when Judge Jones denied the travel bid.

This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.

The Middle East has emerged as a hotspot for cryptocurrency adoption, according to a recent report by Bitget Research. The average daily number of crypto traders in the region soared to 500,000 in 2024. This figure represents an increase of 166% year-over-year.

Crypto in the Middle East

This surge in crypto adoption is driven by several factors, such as favorable regulatory frameworks, the approval of Bitcoin ETFs, and the overall bullish sentiment in the cryptocurrency market. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) leads, with 72% of crypto users actively investing in Bitcoin.

Centralized crypto exchanges globally have experienced an increase in the number of users from the Middle East. According to Bitget Research, these exchanges recorded over 500,000 daily active users on average in February 2024. This figure represents a substantial jump from the previous year. The UAE's crypto-friendly policies and the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs have played an important role in crypto adoption.

Although centralized exchanges dominate, decentralized platforms have gained momentum among Middle Eastern crypto users. Decentralized exchanges built on blockchains like Solana, BSC, and Ethereum are becoming the go-to digital platforms for P2P trading. Trust Wallet, MetaMask, and Bitget Wallet are among the top choices in digital wallets.

Bitget Report: Middle East Crypto Market Surges, Daily Traders Up 166% in Year https://t.co/LBVs0UdlxD

— Jared Kirui (@JaredLopta79285) April 22, 2024

Speaking about the report, Gracy Chen, the Managing Director of Bitget, mentioned: “We are excited about the potential of the Middle East market and anticipate continued growth in both users and market size. The UAE, in particular, holds significant importance as a base within the region.”

“It has emerged as a hub for cryptocurrency talents, funds, and enterprises while also steadily gaining global influence in the crypto space. We look forward to contributing to and witnessing the further development of this dynamic market."

Steady Rise in Crypto Adoption

Generally, Bitget Research's report highlighted a positive outlook for the future of cryptocurrency adoption in the Middle East. The report projects that the region's daily active users will continue to rise, reaching an estimated 700,000 by the end of 2024.

Recently, Binance secured a fully operating virtual-asset service provider license from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. The exchange's journey began with an Operational MVP license obtained by its local unit, Binance FZE, in mid-2023. This license allowed the exchange to offer broker-dealer services and virtual-asset derivative trading to institutional and individual investors.

This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.

The Philippines' securities regulator has taken enforcement action against Binance, ordering Google and Apple to remove their apps from their respective app stores. This action follows allegations that Binance offered unregistered securities to Filipino investors.

Philippines' SEC Targets Binance's Apps

The Philippines' Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), through its Chairperson, Emilio Aquino, highlighted the threat posed to the security of investors' funds by continued access to Binance's sites and apps.

The regulator alleged that Binance's presence in the app stores facilitates the spread of its illegal activities in the country. This action is a response to findings that the exchange promoted its services to attract funds from Filipinos despite lacking the necessary licensing from the regulator.

🚨PHILIPPINES SEC GOES TO WAR AGAINST BINANCE🚨Blocking Binance will “prevent the further proliferation of its illegal activities in the country”- According to a post on the regulator’s official website, The Philippines version of the SEC is actively working with… https://t.co/kDCxReyoZ7 pic.twitter.com/IooxO752Jv

— BSCN (@BSCNews) April 23, 2024

The latest enforcement action in the Philippines adds to Binance's mounting legal challenges, including the recent replacement of its CEO and a hefty fine imposed by the US government against the exchange for alleged violation of anti-money laundering regulations.

Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO of Binance, awaits sentencing on charges related to violating the Bank Secrecy Act. Furthermore, the exchange is entangled in legal battles with both the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over purported mishandling of customer assets.

The Philippines' SEC has advised investors holding assets in Binance to promptly close their positions or transfer them to registered exchanges or wallets within the country.

Binance Grapples with Legal Hurdles

Last month, the Philippines' SEC blocked Binance's operations as an investment and trading platform due to claims that the exchange lacked the required license. According to the watchdog, Binance has continued its activities despite warnings issued since November 2023.

In a meeting held on March 12, the SEC formally requested the National Telecommunications Commission to block Binance's website and associated web pages. Aquino emphasized the threat posed to Filipino investors' funds by allowing continued access to the platform.

Binance's failure to secure the necessary license from the SEC contradicts the Philippines' regulations, which mandate companies secure approvals before soliciting investments and operating securities exchanges. Additionally, the exchange's extensive social media promotional campaigns targeting Filipino investors have raised concerns about compliance and investor protection.

This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.

Hut 8, the result of a merger with US Bitcoin Corporation last November, has garnered attention due to its diversified business model, according to a research report by Benchmark released today (Monday).

A Close Look at Revenue Streams and Crypto Reserves

Benchmark analysts highlighted the company's various revenue streams, including self-mining, managed services, hosting, and involvement in high-performance computing and artificial intelligence sectors. Initiating coverage on Hut 8, Benchmark issued a buy rating with a $12 price target. At the time of publication, Hut 8's shares were trading 5.2% higher at $8.47.

The report also noted Hut 8's bitcoin holdings, ranking second among listed miners as of March 31, with 9,102 bitcoins held in reserve. This substantial bitcoin reserve not only provides the company with a substantial liquidity cushion but also positions it to benefit from price rallies in the cryptocurrency market.

Broker Benchmark initiated coverage of $BTC miner @Hut8Corp with a buy rating and a $12 price target. It said the company was more diversified following its merger with US Bitcoin Corporation. @willcanny99 reports.https://t.co/fsRstb2FXP

— CoinDesk (@CoinDesk) April 22, 2024

“Hut trades at a discount to its bitcoin mining peers that we expect to shrink as the company executes on its self-mining expansion plans,” Mark Palmer, an analyst, wrote. “Management has focused on actions aimed at reducing the company’s cost of mining bitcoin and its realized cost of energy and increasing its cash flow.”

Hut 8's crypto holdings are valued at approximately $592 million, which accounts for about 82% of its market capitalization.

Shutting Down Alberta Facility for Cost Savings

Hut 8 recently closed its Bitcoin mining facility in Alberta, Canada, as part of its efforts to optimize operations and improve financial performance, as reported by Finance Magnates. The company has planned to relocate efficient miners to its Medicine Hat site while retiring old and inefficient ones. This move is expected to increase the company's cash flow, reduce mining costs, and boost Bitcoin production by approximately 11% per EH.

This article was written by Tareq Sikder at www.financemagnates.com.

Worldcoin is eying a potential partnership with artificial intelligence research firm OpenAI, according to a report by Bloomberg. This latest development arrives despite the regulatory hurdles facing the digital identity platform over privacy concerns. Through its parent company, Tools for Humanity, the cryptocurrency project plans to expand its services.

Navigating Regulatory Challenges

Recently, Spain and Portugal raised concerns over the inclusion of children in the project's iris scanning initiative, prompting regulatory action. Previously, the project collaborated with cybersecurity firm Okta Inc. to offer an authentication service. Worldcoin's identity systems support solutions for validating individuals in the digital world dominated by AI.

With the rising adoption of AI, the need to distinguish between humans and bots is important. Sam Altman, the Co-Founder of Worldcoin, is renowned for his involvement with OpenAI. Currently, he serves as the company's CEO. Amidst regulatory challenges, Tools for Humanity is enhancing its product. The firm is planning to launch a layer-2 blockchain called World Chain and improve the orb device.

However, despite a successful fundraising round last year, Tools for Humanity is reportedly facing uncertainty in tapping into the crypto market for additional funding. Market volatility and pricing fluctuations have prompted a reevaluation of planned token sales.

Driving Future Growth in AI

Meanwhile, OpenAI recently hosted top executives from Fortune 500 companies in major business hubs like San Francisco, New York, and London to pitch AI services. At the center of this initiative is OpenAI's enterprise-grade chatbot, designed to cater to specific industry needs ranging from finance to healthcare and energy.

OpenAI is proactively reaching out to corporate clients to offer customized AI solutions while assuring data security. The firm's CEO, Sam Altman, and COO, Brad Lightcap, emphasized the value of personalized services and direct engagement with the tech giant.

Beyond corporate clientele, OpenAI is also eyeing Hollywood with video creation tools and offerings like ChatGPT Enterprise and the Sora video creation tool. However, concerns loom regarding AI's reliability and copyright implications in content creation.

This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.

Consensys, a United States-based blockchain firm, has initiated legal action against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a bid to deter the regulator from overseeing the Ethereum blockchain. Filed yesterday (Thursday), the lawsuit termed the efforts of the regulator a “campaign to seize control over the future of cryptocurrency.”

A Strategic Lawsuit

The lawsuit argued that if the SEC continues to exert its authority over Ethereum, it would bring the blockchain to a halt, “crippling one of the internet’s greatest innovations.”

Consensys revealed that its actions against the SEC followed its receipt of a Wells Notice on April 10, indicating that the regulator is preparing to bring enforcement actions against the company over the services of its MetaMask wallet. The company highlighted that MetaMask is not a broker and “neither holds customers’ digital assets nor carries out any transaction functions.”

Today, Consensys took an important step towards preserving access to ether and by extension the Ethereum blockchain in the U.S. We are suing the SEC and fighting back against its overzealous regulatory overreach. You can find more of my thoughts here: https://t.co/VmvOsrCxjw… https://t.co/5IubZo69FW

— Joseph Lubin (@ethereumJoseph) April 25, 2024

Clarifying Regulations

With the lawsuit, the blockchain company is seeking the Texas federal court’s ruling that Ethereum is not a security and not under the authority of the SEC. Furthermore, it needs the assurance that any investigation into the company on the premises of Ethereum as a security “would violate” its Fifth Amendment rights and the Administrative Procedures Act. Additionally, the lawsuit seeks the ruling that MetaMask is not a broker and that the staking services offered by the platform do not violate securities laws.

“The SEC’s unlawful seizure of authority over ETH would spell disaster for the Ethereum network, and for Consensys,” the lawsuit noted.

The status of Ethereum hangs in the balance as the SEC’s Chair, Gary Gensler, earlier said that many digital currencies are unregistered securities and fall under the regulator’s purview. Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency that the regulator considers a commodity, giving its regulatory rights to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Meanwhile, Coinbase sued the SEC over the clarification of crypto-centric rules. However, the regulator took action against a number of crypto companies over lapses in regulations and is now fighting legal battles with multiple big names like Ripple, Coinbase, and Binance.

This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.

Tigran Gambaryan, the detained Binance executive in Nigeria, will remain in custody until a bail hearing on May 17. Meanwhile, his trial is scheduled for May 2.

More Jail Time in Nigeria

The extension of Gambaryan’s remand was granted by the Nigerian court yesterday (Tuesday) amid opposition from federal prosecutors to the appeal for bail. The crypto exchange’s executive has already pleaded not guilty to charges of tax evasion and money laundering.

Gambaryan holds the position of Head of Financial Crime Compliance at the crypto exchange. He and another fellow Binance executive, Nadeem Anjarwalla, who holds the position of its African Regional Manager, traveled to Nigeria in an official capacity earlier this year but were detained by local authorities.

Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission brought four counts of tax evasion charges against the exchange and the two detained executives. The charges primarily blame the defendants for non-payment of value-added tax, income tax, and failure to file tax returns. The exchange has been accused of aiding Nigerians in evading tax through its platform.

In an earlier statement, the exchange made it clear that the two executives were wrongly blamed as they did not have any decision-making authority.

The Great Escape

Meanwhile, Anjarwalla, one of the detained defendants and a citizen of both the UK and Kenya, escaped detention earlier this month and reportedly fled the country. Although his UK travel documents were seized by Nigerian authorities, he allegedly used Kenyan credentials to flee the country on a Middle Eastern airline.

Several local Nigerian publications recently reported on Anjarwalla’s arrest in Kenya and possible extradition to Nigeria to face trial. However, Anjarwalla’s wife came out and denied all these reports.

Yuki Gambaryan, the wife of Gambaryan, launched a petition requesting the US State Department, Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Nigerian government, and US President Joe Biden to return her husband to the US.

This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.

The Bitcoin halving just took place at block number 840,000. This event today reduced the mining reward for each block to 3.125 Bitcoins from 6.25 Bitcoins. New Bitcoins are introduced into circulation through these mining rewards.

Another Bitcoin Halving

Halving is one of the most significant events in the cryptocurrency world and occurs approximately every four years, specifically after every 210,000 blocks. It greatly reduces the supply of Bitcoin, thus helping to control inflation by maintaining scarcity.

Bitcoin was created on 3 January 2009. Initially, the reward for mining each block was 50 Bitcoins. The mining reward was first halved on 28 November 2012 in the first halving event. The next halving event took place on 9 July 2016, reducing the mining reward to 12.5 Bitcoins per block, while the third halving on 11 May 2020 reduced it further to 6.25 Bitcoins.

Now, the reward for mining each Bitcoin block is 3.125 Bitcoins.

The Cap of 21 Million Bitcoins

Bitcoin operates on a proof-of-work consensus mechanism, and according to the algorithm, a halving must occur every 210,000 blocks until all 21 million Bitcoins are mined. It is estimated that the next Bitcoin halving will happen in 2028.

To alter this pre-set algorithm, a majority of Bitcoin miners, more than 50 percent, must agree, which is nearly impossible given Bitcoin's decentralized and extensive network.

Currently, around 19 million Bitcoins have already been mined, leaving only 2 million more to be mined.

The halving of Bitcoin supply has a significant impact on the cryptocurrency's price. Historically, it has been one of the major price drivers, with Bitcoin prices surging around the event. The event affects Bitcoin miners' operations, as a reduction in the reward by half without a corresponding significant price increase, affects the cash flow of the mining operations.

This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.

The long-awaited day of the 4th phase of Bitcoin's halving is looming in the cryptocurrency sector. The countdown to this event shows that it could happen around the final hours of Friday evening if you are located in the Americas or Saturday morning if you are in Asia or Europe.

According to the market metrics, the event is much anticipated and should be discounted well in advance of its actual occurrence. In contrast to unpredictable overnight barrages of rockets in the heat of the Middle East, the halving event has a clear outcome; the amount of BTC rewards that miners get for completing a block will be reduced in half to 3.125 BTC from the current 6.25.

This will inevitably lead to less supply from miners, but does it change the liquidity of the overall market? We will attempt to answer that question in the coming paragraphs, and while at it, we will highlight some challenges related to the current geopolitical landscape and the resulting jittery market conditions we have recently observed.

Are Previous Halvings Linked to Liquidity Squeezes?

Every time 210,000 blocks are mined, the Bitcoin network's protocol cuts the amount of new rewards in half. As highlighted by the institutional research team at Coinbase, therefore, the newly minted supply will drop from 900 Bitcoins per day to 450 Bitcoins per day. At current market prices ($65,000 per BTC), this equates to roughly $30,000,000 worth of new supply per day or $900,000,000 per month.

These figures are rather low compared to the average daily trading volumes across crypto exchanges, especially since the launch of BTC ETF trading, which triggered increased interest in the asset class.

The amount of tradable Bitcoin has been on the rise during the recent bull run that accelerated since early Q4 2023. According to the team at Coinbase Institutional Research, active BTC supply, defined as Bitcoin moved in the past three months, rose to 1.3 million. This figure is in comparison to 150,000, which was mined during that time.

In a statement shared with Finance Magnates, Coinbase's Research Analyst, David Han, mentioned that the decline in BTC mining issuance could create new supply-side dynamics that are constructive in the longer term.

Han expressed his doubts as to whether that can result in an imminent supply crunch: “We find that the largest contributors to increased BTC supply during bull markets come from long-term wallets beginning to activate instead of from newly mined BTC.”

Crypto and Fiat Liquidity Cycles – the Signal and the Noise

A widely held belief in the cryptocurrency community is that halving events are usually followed by a significant rally in the value of their digital assets. While there is some historical correlation to corroborate this notion, science has long established that correlation does not imply causation.

The logical fallacy where two events that occur at a similar time have a cause-effect relationship is at the center of spurious relationships: two events can be correlated, but that connection may not be causal.

With only three halving events behind us and a fourth one brewing, one can observe correlations, but not necessarily cause-effect relationships. Halving events don’t perfectly coincide with central bank liquifying cycles, but as the chart below shows, there is some food for thought for risk-management teams and traders alike.

Around the first halving in 2012, the Fed launched the third chapter of its post-financial crisis quantitative easing program (QE3), shortly followed by the first US debt ceiling crisis and the loss of the reserve currency issuer’s AAA rating.

The second one, in 2016, was followed by the Bank of England’s post-Brexit ramp-up of bond buying in tandem with the ECB’s asset purchase program. Fast-forward to 2020, and we all remember the central bank and fiscal policy bazookas firing left and right with fiat liquidity so ample that it ultimately caused the sharpest spike in inflationary pressures globally since the 1970s.

Geopolitical Blocks

It was an early morning in the Middle East, as a well-telegraphed attack by Iran had been unleashed upon Israel. With all other financial markets closed, it was up to crypto to reflect the current state of mind (or compute).

The old Wall Street saying, “up the stairs, down the elevator,” came to mind as BTC and ETH dropped in tandem in rapidly dwindling liquidity conditions. That night, Coinbase registered about $2 billion worth of liquidations, the company’s institutional research team highlighted in a recent weekly market call.

In contrast to the rather gradual price action that unfolded in the aftermath of the October 7th attack on Israel by Hamas, the Iranian attack, despite being well-telegraphed before the weekend, did result in material price action across the crypto market.

At one point, Pax Gold, a crypto token supposed to be fully backed by gold, spiked about $1,000 at a time when the physical gold market, which is underpinning the coin's value, wasn’t open. The magnitude of the attack certainly surprised market participants, while some automatic “stop trading” commands must have been unleashed across algorithmic trading strategies.

Events centered around geopolitical stress have certainly caused some leveraged players to rethink, not only in the crypto market. Jerome Powell's, the Chair of the Federal Reserve of the United States, higher rates for a longer period re-pivot raise questions about a widely expected easing of monetary policy.

Speech by Chair Powell on the economic outlook @StanfordGSB: https://t.co/y6oLUN0LYwWatch live: https://t.co/a0ApMRHum2

— Federal Reserve (@federalreserve) April 3, 2024

To Bid, or Not to Bid

As the halving cycles come and go, the impact of these events could lessen in time. Since most bitcoins have already been mined, the current market liquidity state is much more about the existing supply of BTC on the market than newly mined coins.

A supply crunch overnight is the least likely event, and if very recent history is any guide, geopolitical tensions can create more volatility or liquidity waves on cryptocurrency and traditional financial markets.

Guided by risk-on and risk-off flows, cryptocurrencies have been defying the trend occasionally, but at their core they remain a high-risk asset with a digital store of value component behind it. Only time will tell whether or not that narrative has become a well-established characteristic, but so far, so good.

As the halving event comes and passes us by, it is the central banks that will have the ball in their court: ready to do whatever it takes to address inflationary challenges or supply more fiat liquidity to the monetary system.

With Bitcoin ETFs breaking new ground, the liquidity situation for the king of crypto has significantly improved. As David Han outlined: “Net US spot ETFs inflows to date approximately offset the BTC that was mined in the previous six months.”

This article was written by Victor Golovtchenko at www.financemagnates.com.

Federal prosecutors charged Samurai Wallet founders, Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, with conspiracy to commit money laundering yesterday (Wednesday), marking another development in the US government's ongoing efforts to address the use of crypto mixing tools potentially exploited by illicit actors and foreign entities to conceal financial transactions.

Facing Legal Action over Alleged Transactions

According to a press release issued on Wednesday, Rodriguez and Hill stand accused of developing, marketing, and operating the mixer, purportedly facilitating more than $100 million in money laundering transactions from illegal dark web markets. The release further alleges that Samourai Wallet facilitated approximately $2 billion in "unlawful transactions" from 2015 to the present.

Prosecutors have claimed that Rodriguez and Hill accrued around $4.5 million in fees for their mixing services, with different features carrying various pool fees, as outlined in the indictment. The charges against the duo include conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business, carrying potential maximum sentences of 20 years and five years, respectively.

Rodriguez was reportedly arrested on Wednesday morning and is expected to be arraigned in Pennsylvania today or tomorrow, while Hill, the Chief Technology Officer of Samourai Wallet, was apprehended in Portugal and will face extradition to the US.

Federal prosecutors have charged Samurai Wallet founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill with conspiracy to commit money laundering 🚨According to a press release, the pair developed, marketed and operated the mixer, which "facilitated more than $100 million in money… pic.twitter.com/wOY8iZR95y

— Waivly (@Waivly) April 24, 2024

Website Seized Following Developer Indictment

The Samourai Wallet website, previously hosted in Iceland, has been seized, along with a seizure warrant issued for the mobile application on the Google Play Store. The website's homepage now displays a warning from US officials following the developers' indictment.

The Department of Justice's press release highlighted that Samourai Wallet had been under development since 2015, alleging that Rodriguez and Hill actively encouraged users to launder criminal proceeds through the mixer, citing social media posts and private messages. The mobile application reportedly garnered over 100,000 downloads.

This article was written by Tareq Sikder at www.financemagnates.com.

Thailand is planning to block unauthorized cryptocurrency service providers to fight online crime. The Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is partnering with Thai government agencies to prevent criminals from utilizing crypto exchanges for illicit activities, including money laundering.

Thailand Warns about Unregistered Crypto Platforms

According to the press release, Pornanong Busaratrakul, the Secretary General of the SEC, recently disclosed plans to submit information about unauthorized crypto service providers to the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society.

The regulator's decision reflects similar actions taken by other countries like India and the Philippines. The SEC is strengthening its commitment to protecting investors and safeguarding the financial system by taking action against unregistered crypto service providers in Thailand.

In light of this development, the SEC has urged users of unauthorized platforms to promptly withdraw their assets. Additionally, the commission has cautioned investors against using services offered by unauthorized digital asset operators, as they may not be protected by law.

Besides that, the Thai securities watchdog has encouraged crypto traders to verify the legitimacy of digital asset operators by consulting its list of licensed businesses or using the "SEC Check First" application. Any suspicious activities can be reported to the SEC's Complaint and Whistleblower Center for further investigation.

Global Crypto Regulation Shifts

While Thailand reinforces its regulations on crypto exchanges, digital asset platforms in Europe are also facing regulatory scrutiny. For instance, the recently adopted Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation mandates the European Commission to assess the feasibility of decentralized finance for specific regulations by the end of the year.

In South Korea, the country's financial regulator is preparing to adopt significant laws for virtual asset service providers (VASP), targeting the employment of executives in the sector.

Specifically, these regulations would necessitate the vetting of executives before they assume roles within the VASP firms. This action is aimed at granting the Financial Services Commission (FSC) authority over personnel matters within the crypto industry.

Should these proposals be enacted, companies seeking to renew their VASP licenses would face heightened scrutiny regarding their personnel decisions. The FSC will have the mandate to suspend the VASP licenses if there is an ongoing investigation targeting the executives.

This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.

The legal battle between Ripple and the SEC over allegations of illegal sale of cryptocurrencies has reached a crucial step as the long-awaited trial starts today (Tuesday). The SEC first accused Ripple Labs of offering unregistered securities in December 2020.

Ripple's defense is based on the argument that its native cryptocurrency, XRP, should not be classified as a security. As the trial begins, the crypto sector is eagerly awaiting the outcome, which could have significant implications for the future of Ripple and the broader digital asset industry, CryptoPotato reported.

A Prolonged Legal Dispute

This trial represents an important moment for both parties, as a federal judge will ultimately determine the outcome of the dispute. Despite facing legal challenges, Ripple has garnered some favorable rulings in the run-up to the trial, fueling optimism among its supporters.

A favorable ruling for Ripple could boost investor confidence and pave the way for regulatory clarity surrounding XRP. However, a ruling in favor of the SEC could negatively impact Ripple, potentially resulting in regulatory sanctions. It could also cast doubt on the legitimacy of XRP as a digital asset.

Recently, the SEC sought nearly $2 billion in fines and penalties from the crypto company, Finance Magnates reported. In a motion filed in court in New York, the SEC requested substantial fines and penalties totaling $1.95 billion from Ripple Labs. Despite initial charges against the firm's CEO and Co-Founder being dropped last October, the company faces scrutiny from the regulators.

SEC Demands Financial Transparency

Additionally, the SEC is pushing Ripple to provide financial statements for the years 2022 and 2023 and documents disclosing the sale of XRP to institutions. The securities watchdog argues that the presiding judge previously identified these sales as unregistered securities offerings. Besides that, the SEC wants a clarification on the proceeds from institutional sales.

Ripple's Chief Legal Officer, Stuart Alderoty, has criticized the regulator's tactics, accusing it of issuing false and misleading statements aimed at punishing Ripple and intimidating the broader crypto industry.

While charges against Ripple's CEO and Co-Founder were dropped last October, the company continues to face scrutiny over its XRP sales. The latest motion filed by the SEC underscores the regulator's determination to hold Ripple accountable for alleged violation of securities regulations.

This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.

CoinW Exchange, a notable presence within the digital asset trading domain, is undergoing changes as it observes its sixth-year anniversary. Situated in Dubai, the exchange has revealed an exhaustive rebranding effort alongside the debut of its Proprietary Trading (Prop Trading) product.

Introducing Prop Trading for Profit Opportunities

Having cemented its position within the digital assets trading industry, CoinW Exchange is now set to enter a fresh phase of development. A centrepiece of its transformation is the launch of the Prop Trading product, an offering aimed at providing traders with expanded avenues for profit optimization. This new product is set to play a role in CoinW Exchange's strategic outlook for the future according to the firm.

According to Sonic, the Director of CoinW PropTrading: "We have a host of exciting plans in the pipeline that promise to revolutionize the way digital assets are traded. We hope CPT can bring more opportunities to talented traders who are short of fund. CoinW will be the place that they can truly shine."

Challenges and Opportunities: UAE's Crypto Journey

A recent survey by KuCoin sheds light on the growing cryptocurrency landscape in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as reported by Finance Magnates. Despite challenges, 59% of UAE crypto users view it as a long-term investment and 35% use it for portfolio diversification. Additionally, 29% see crypto as a more convenient asset storage method than traditional banks, and 22% use it for daily transactions.

Challenges include market volatility (52%), trust issues with crypto platforms (48%), and a lack of education (26%). However, the UAE benefits from strong financial infrastructure, cultural openness, regulatory favorability, access to capital, a skilled workforce, and global networks, positioning it as a promising hub for crypto industry growth.

Amidst escalating tensions, MetaQuotes is reportedly tightening restrictions on the use of MetaTrader platforms, although no official confirmation has been issued. This has led to the abrupt termination of partnerships between many proprietary trading firms and their brokerage partners. The primary concern appears to be the presence of active US clients onboarded by these platforms.

Proprietary trading has been predominantly linked with unregulated entities. However, regulated brokerages such as OANDA, Axi, and Hantec Markets have recently ventured into this space, keeping their services outside the US jurisdiction and under offshore regulatory entities.

This article was written by Tareq Sikder at www.financemagnates.com.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States is seeking $4.7 billion in disgorgement and prejudgment interest from bankrupt Terraform Labs and its co-founder Do Kwon. The regulator is further seeking civil penalties of $420 million from Terraform and $100 million from Kwon.

The Regulator Seeks a Hefty Sum

The regulator’s request for monetary recovery and penalties was revealed in a motion it filed last Friday with the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The motion also seeks a ban on Kwon from serving as an officer or director of a securities issuer. He is also required to provide complete details of all his accounts and assets.

Meanwhile, legal representatives of Terraform and Kwon have filed briefs for potential remedies in the civil case simultaneously, suggesting a maximum monetary penalty of $3.5 million from the company and $800,000 from Kwon.

However, the court has yet to rule on the newly filed motion. In an earlier ruling, the US court found Terraform Labs and Kwon liable for fraud in the case brought by the SEC.

The trial against Kwon in the US proceeded in his absence.

“Defendants have not shown remorse for their conduct, nor can there be any doubt that they are in the position where additional violations are not only possible but likely are already occurring,” the motion by the SEC noted.

“The Court should send an unequivocal message that this sort of brazen misconduct, and Defendants’ misbegotten attempt to excuse their behavior by crafting new rules and standards of behavior for crypto markets in contravention of the federal securities laws [...] will not be tolerated.”

Kwon’s Fate Hangs in the Balance

Kwon was known for building Terraform Labs. However, the two cryptocurrencies of the project, TerraUSD and Luna, collapsed in 2022, resulting in the wipeout of about $37 billion in value. The collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin triggered the shuttering and collapse of several other cryptocurrency companies.

He disappeared immediately from public sight after the collapse of his company but was arrested in Montenegro last year while traveling with fake travel documents. Both South Korea and the United States have been trying to extradite him. Meanwhile, he was released from the Montenegro prison on bail due to some technical issues in the extradition ruling against him.

This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.

Ontario's Superior Court of Justice has certified a class action lawsuit against Binance, according to a report by Advisor.ca. The lawsuit alleges that Binance Holdings Limited violated securities law by offering crypto derivative products to retail investors without proper registration.

Regulatory Scrutiny

This latest development occurred amid increasing scrutiny from regulatory authorities, including the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). In 2021, Binance promised to cease operations with Canadian investors in response to the OSC's scrutiny and later agreed to an undertaking with the OSC to halt trading activities in Ontario. However, the OSC's investigation into possible regulatory breaches by the exchange is ongoing, with no formal allegations yet made against the company.

The court noted that regulators have previously categorized crypto contracts as securities or derivatives, suggesting that the marketing of such contracts falls under securities law. This classification paves the way for the plaintiffs' claims of violation of securities law against Binance. Moreover, the court dismissed Binance's argument that it was merely a facilitator of trades between users, highlighting evidence that investors traded directly with Binance.

Investors who purchased cryptocurrency derivative contracts from Binance starting September 13, 2019, are considered members of the class affected by the lawsuit. The case highlights the importance of regulatory compliance and investor protection in the rapidly evolving cryptocurrency trading landscape.

Binance Faces Regulatory Pressure in Canada

Last year, Binance terminated its operations in Canada due to stringent regulations, particularly concerning stablecoins. Canada's regulations regarding cryptocurrencies took a new turn when the Canadian Securities Administrators classified stablecoins as "securities and/or derivatives."

This action barred regulated crypto exchanges from offering services involving stablecoins, a significant component of the crypto market. Additionally, the province of Ontario mandated the registration of all cryptocurrency exchanges operating within its jurisdiction.

Binance, acknowledging the evolving regulatory landscape, cited the new guidance related to stablecoins and investor limits as the main reason for its exit from the Canadian market. The exchange emphasized that the regulatory environment in Canada had rendered its operations untenable.

Binance is not alone in its departure from Canada. Other prominent crypto exchanges, including Paxos and OKX, have opted to end their services for Canadian users due to regulatory pressure. However, exchanges such as Gemini, Coinbase, and Kraken are actively seeking authorization to strengthen their presence in the region.

This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.

The Tokyo-based financial services company Monex Group has completed its acquisition of a majority stake in 3iQ Digital Holdings, a Canadian crypto asset manager. The acquisition, initially announced in December 2023, has resulted in 3iQ and its subsidiaries becoming part of the Monex Group.

Monex Group Acquires Majority Stake in Canadian Crypto Asset Manager 3iQ

To support 3iQ's rapid business expansion, Monex Group has also invested $7.5 million in 3iQ's Managed Account Platform (QMAP). QMAP offers institutional investors access to a diverse range of crypto hedge funds, featuring alpha-oriented strategies tailored to meet the complex demands of global institutions. This investment significantly strengthens 3iQ's institutional digital asset management position.

The company was the first to launch a Bitcoin fund on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada. It further assisted CoinShares in creating a cryptocurrency ETF. Now, it will expand its crypto services under the Monex umbrella.

QMAP employs a stringent due diligence process to select fund managers with proven track records of generating alpha and effectively managing risks across various market cycles. These managers bring institutional backgrounds, specialized expertise, and operational excellence to the table.

"I have high [hopes] that QMAP will quickly become the leading platform for sophisticated investors to invest in a diversified suite of crypto hedge funds,” Yuko Seimei, the CEO of Monex Group, stated.

The platform's managed account structure allows 3iQ direct control over assets, enhancing transparency and risk management capabilities. This approach eliminates the extra layer of fees typically found in traditional fund-of-funds structures, enabling investors to customize their allocations or choose from pre-designed model portfolios at no additional cost.

“Together with Monex, we aim to create a superior investor experience that sets new standards globally,” added Pascal St. Jean, the President of 3iQ. "With a seasoned team, we remain committed to upholding our firm's decade-long tradition of developing cutting-edge investment solutions for institutional investors.”

The acquisition of 3iQ and investment in QMAP align with Monex Group's goal of strengthening its asset management business. Recently, the company has expanded its operations in the APAC region, planning to increase employment in the sales department by 80%.

This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

Argo Blockchain (LSE: ARB; NASDAQ: ARBK), a cryptocurrency mining company, has released its 2023 financial results, revealing a year marked by strategic adjustments amidst industry challenges. However, despite achieving a modest gross profit, net income was negative for another consecutive year.

Argo Blockchain Tried to Weather Crypto Storm, Cuts Debt by 63% in 2023

The company mined 1,760 Bitcoin throughout the year, averaging 4.8 Bitcoin per day, despite facing increased global hashrate and network difficulty.

Annual revenues reached $50.6 million, a decline of 14% from the previous year, as the mining margin decreased to 43% from 54% in 2022. However, Argo made significant strides in optimizing its operations, increasing its hash rate by 0.3 EH/s through the introduction of ePIC BlockMiners at its Quebec facilities and generating $7.2 million in power credits through strategic energy curtailment at the Helios location.

The company reported a net loss of $35 million for 2023, a substantial improvement from the $229 million loss in 2022. This was largely due to a reduction of 49% in interest expenses, achieved through debt management efforts. By year-end, Argo had reduced its debt owed to Galaxy Digital to $23.5 million, with a total debt standing at $66.2 million.

"Despite a turbulent market, we have worked hard to strengthen our balance sheet and reduce Argo's debt burden by $22 million, or 63%, and improve our cash positions,” commented Thomas Chippas, the CEO of Argo.

In early 2024, Argo successfully raised $9.9 million through a share placement with institutional investors and sold its Mirabel, Quebec data center for $6.1 million, using the proceeds to reduce debt further. Preliminary Q1 2024 results show continued growth, with 319 Bitcoin mined and revenues nearing $17 million.

Mining Operations Post-Halving

As the cryptocurrency industry continues to evolve after the recent halving, Argo Blockchain remains focused on navigating challenges, optimizing operations, and positioning itself for long-term success in the competitive mining landscape.

“We exited the Bitcoin halving with a stronger balance sheet and leaner operations, and we are optimistic about the ongoing growth and development of Argo with a clear objective of delivering shareholder value,” Chippas added.

However, the new operating environment is not easy. After the fourth halving, Bitcoin recently underwent its initial difficulty adjustment, experiencing a rise of 1.99% and elevating the mining difficulty to a new record. The network’s difficulty level increased from 86.39 trillion to 88.10 trillion.

This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

Hot news: These changes have happened in the last hour.

In the last one hour Bitcoin is leading the record of among the most popular crypto-currency in the trading ecosystem, it has an decrease of -0.33% from its previous value from 6631.875 dollars now at 6609.990 dollars exchange rate. Next to Bitcoin is T..

The post Bitcoin $6609.990 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 09:08 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: The summaries of the last one hour are the followings:

Bitcoin is leading the rank on the most popular crypto-currency, it has an upsurge of 0.12% in its exchange rate, which means 6668.000 dollars from the 6660.008 dollars earlier. Tether is in the second position as Bitcoin leads the first spot. ..

The post Bitcoin $6668.000 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 08:08 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: Here we summon for you the changes of the market of CryptoCurrency from the last 60 minutes.

In the last hour, Bitcoin is leading the cryptocurrency rank. A fall in the exchange rate was seen from 6663.014 dollars to 6640.360 dollars a -0.34% change. Next to Bitcoin is Tether in the second position..

The post Bitcoin $6640.360 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 07:08 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: Here you can read the new CryptoCurrency report of the last 60 Minutes.

Bitcoin is leading the rank in the last hour as the most popular crypto currency in the trade market, with a recorded fall on its value of about -0.12% in the last hour with a current standing rate of 6674.850 dollars from 6682..

The post Bitcoin $6674.850 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 06:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: There were a lot of happenings in the last 60 minutes on the Crypto stock exchanges.

Bitcoin is listed as the most popular cryptocurrency in the market. In the last sixty minutes, it had an downswing of -0.19% on its trading price. This means from 6699.038 dollars now at 6686.310 dollars. Tether is..

The post Bitcoin $6686.310 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 05:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: Now we show you the newest summary of 60 minutes.

Bitcoin is now leading the rank on the most popular digital currency in the trade market. It has an decrease of -0% in its exchange rate from 6704.570 dollars now at 6704.570 dollars. Bitcoin is seconded by Tether, in a 60 minutes time it has a drop..

The post Bitcoin $6704.570 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 04:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: Here we summon for you the changes of the market of CryptoCurrency from the last 60 minutes.

Bitcoin was in the top position in the last hour, the exchange rate decreases from 6710.021 dollars to 6709.350. This is a -0.01% recorded change. Tether is at the second position next to Bitcoin, with a re..

The post Bitcoin $6709.350 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 03:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: These changes have happened in the last hour.

Bitcoin was in the top position in the last hour, the exchange rate increases from 6689.711 dollars to 6709.780. This is a 0.3% recorded change. Bitcoin is followed by Tether, with a -0.07% tumble on its trade value in the last one hour, equivalent to 0..

The post Bitcoin $6709.780 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 02:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: Here we summon for you the changes of the market of CryptoCurrency from the last 60 minutes.

The number one cryptocurrency leader is Bitcoin, this data was fetched in the last hour. It has an decrease on its trade value to -0.2%, now at 6687.450 dollars from 6700.852. Tether is at the second positi..

The post Bitcoin $6687.450 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 01:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

Hot news: These are the changes of the CryptoCurrency market in the last one hour.

Bitcoin is now leading the rank on the most popular digital currency in the trade market. It has an increase of 0.05% in its exchange rate from 6689.215 dollars now at 6692.560 dollars. Tether is next to the leading crypto Bit..

The post Bitcoin $6692.560 – CryptoCurrency Trading Report – 24.09.2018 00:07 appeared first on CryptoCurrency Blog.

As a crypto analyst and frequent investor in the Greek digital currency market, I can confidently recommend Bcash for convenient and secure Bitcoin purchasing in Athens. With 10 strategically located crypto ATM hotspots spanning central Athens and the northern suburbs, Bcash enables instant access to leading cryptocurrencies like BTC, ETH, and USDT. Experience the Leading […]

The post Top 5 Bitcoin ATM Locations in Athens for Fast and Easy Crypto Access appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Bitwise Asset Management, the largest crypto index fund manager in America, announced today that the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), the firm’s first spot bitcoin ETF, intends to begin trading today, January 11th. BITB will join Bitwise’s comprehensive suite of 18 crypto investment products, which currently includes five other crypto ETFs. “We expect significant demand for […]

The post Bitwise launching spot bitcoin ETF (BITB) appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

It is no longer unusual to hear that a bank accepts savings in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the like. Or that a loan company helps businesses with crypto. After all, the traditional financial and insurance industries were among the first to adopt cryptocurrencies. The latter ones have found more than one way to incorporate these means of payment […]

The post Cryptocurrency Payments for Insurance: Are Insurance Companies Really Embracing Bitcoin and Altcoins? appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

For some people, the word bitcoin still triggers an eye-roll, but by now, most of us know that cryptocurrency is here to stay. With that in mind, it’s a good idea to make sure you’re clued up and well-educated on the topic, especially if you’ve ever considered investing yourself. However, with so much misinformation floating […]

The post 4 Things We’ve Learned About Owning Bitcoin in 2023 appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Today, Fuse Network, an enterprise-grade, use-case agnostic, decentralized EVM-compatible public blockchain, announced Liquify as its newest remote procedure call (RPC) provider and ecosystem partner. Liquify will provide public RPC services – both free and private. RPC nodes help process requests from decentralized applications (dApps). They are vital for improving the usability of web3 and for […]

The post Fuse Network welcomes Liquify as new blockchain infrastructure partner appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Welcome to the world of BITmarkets – a leading cryptocurrency exchange offering a wide range of trading options for both retail traders and corporate clients. In this comprehensive review, we will explore the various features and services provided by BITmarkets, including spot, futures, and margin trading. Whether a seasoned trader or just starting your cryptocurrency […]

The post BITmarkets – Spot, Futures, Margin Trading with 150+ Cryptocurrencies appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

HashKey Exchange, the first licensed retail virtual asset exchange registered in Hong Kong, announced its official launch today. Together with executives from the HKSAR government, top-tier banks, insurers, and Big 4 auditing firms, HashKey held the grand launch in Hong Kong. Strictly adhering to the SFC’s user registration and KYC requirements, the HashKey Exchange platform […]

The post Hong Kong’s first licensed crypto exchange HashKey is now live appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Adenasoft, a South Korea-based IT/software company, has just announced the launch of ACE, their new SaaS product designed for cryptocurrency exchanges. ACE fully prepares businesses for exchange operations quickly, taking less than a month to get up and running. ACE offers a comprehensive suite of features that enables crypto exchanges to streamline their operations and […]

The post Adenasoft launches new crypto exchange white label solution: ACE appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

This week, the team of Pods, a provider of structured products for crypto assets, unveiled its latest offering – the ETHphoria Vault. This innovative yield strategy is designed explicitly for ETH enthusiasts who are bullish about its future prospects and want to earn even more from increasing prices. ETHphoria is a low-risk, principal-protected strategy designed […]

The post Maximize Your ETH Investment: The ETHphoria Vault by Pods appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

The team of Pods recently announced the mainnet launch of its 3rd strategy on Pods Yield: FUD Vault, which now complements ETHphoria and stETHvv. FUD Vault provides a way for users to benefit from market downturns by offering a mechanism to hedge against significant price drops in ETH while preserving the deposited principal. Who is […]

The post Crypto traders can mitigate risk with PODS’ FUD Vault – now live on mainnet appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

DeFi Returns brings comprehensive up-to-date information on DeFi strategies and protocols, to easily compare and analyze their performance. Getting the most reliable data source for historical yield on DeFi, to help users make informed decisions when investing in the ecosystem. All data displayed is sourced from the protocol’s smart contracts directly. The new DeFi Returns […]

The post What is DeFi Returns? A new way of DeFi Investing appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

RockX, an Asia-based institutional-grade staking services provider, announced today the broadening of its staking product suite with the addition of a new ether (ETH) native staking solution. This latest offering strengthens RockX’s position as a comprehensive provider of diverse staking needs, maneuvering quickly to the evolving crypto market landscape. Navigating the Ethereum ecosystem presents institutions with […]

The post RockX broadens suite with launch of new ether (ETH) native staking solution appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Hex Trust, a regulated institutional-grade crypto-asset custodian, today announced it has partnered with The Sandbox, a leading decentralized gaming virtual world to enable fully-licensed and highly-secure custody of assets such as LAND in The Sandbox’s metaverse. The partnership sees Hex Trust fully integrate LAND into its custody platform, Hex Safe, which supports cryptocurrencies, security tokens, and NFTs. […]

The post The Sandbox teams with Hex Trust for licensed, secure custody of its virtual assets appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

CoinFlip, a bitcoin ATM and crypto services company, announced today a new offering with the launch of ‘Olliv,’ a self-custody-powered crypto platform. The Olliv platform provides a frictionless way to buy, sell, send, receive, and swap cryptocurrency securely stored on a self-custodial wallet, removing the uncertainty of unknown third-party custodians. By leveraging CoinFlip’s existing network […]

The post CoinFlip launches new self-custodial cryptocurrency wallet platform ‘Olliv’ appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Deribit, a popular cryptocurrency derivatives platform, has announced the launch of zero-fee spot trading, allowing clients to buy and sell crypto while simultaneously managing risk using other derivatives. Spot trading will start on April, 24th 2023 at 1 PM UTC with three pairs (BTC/USDC, ETH/USDC, and ETH/BTC), providing clients with a simple and free solution […]

The post Crypto derivatives exchange Deribit to launch zero-fee spot trading appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Japan-based banking giant Nomura, announced today that its digital assets subsidiary, Laser Digital, has made a strategic investment in Infinity, a non-custodial interest rate protocol built on Ethereum. Infinity’s wholesale exchange, the first of several planned infrastructures, provides inter-exchange clearing, fixed and floating rate markets, as well as enterprise-grade risk management utilizing hybrid on-chain/off-chain infrastructures […]

The post Nomura’s Laser Digital invests in Infinity, an Ethereum-based money market protocol appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Blocknative, a real-time Ethereum (ETH) infrastructure platform, has newly introduced features including transaction bundle send, cancellation, and replacement support for the Blocknative Builder. Searchers can now submit MEV bundles privately to the Blocknative Builder to be included on-chain. This market utility builds upon Blocknative’s reliable, real-time infrastructure that is systematically important to the Ethereum ecosystem. […]

The post ETH infrastructure platform Blocknative adds TX bundles, cancellation, and replacement support appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Eventus, a provider of multi-asset class trade surveillance and market risk solutions, announced today that cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Deribit has chosen the firm’s Validus platform to provide market abuse monitoring on the exchange. Headquartered in Panama City, Panama, Deribit is one of the largest cryptocurrency options exchanges by volume and open interest, with approximately 90% […]

The post Crypto derivatives exchange Deribit to put in place trade surveillance platform from Eventus appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Gemini, the popular bitcoin & crypto exchange company, today announced the launch of electronic over-the-counter trading (eOTC), an automated crypto trading solution designed for institutions. The Gemini eOTC solution offers a variety of advantages to institutional traders including: Competitive Pricing & Execution: Liquidity is sourced from top-tier liquidity providers with deep liquidity pools, enabling counterparties […]

The post Crypto exchange Gemini launches new electronic OTC trading solution appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

GenTwo Digital, the crypto-asset securitization platform based out of Crypto Valley in Zug, Switzerland, today announced a partnership with Coinbase, the publicly-listed cryptocurrency platform. This new partnership for GenTwo Digital allows all Coinbase crypto assets to be wrapped in bankable financial investment products and enables financial intermediaries to issue certificates such AMCs (Actively Management Certificates). […]

The post Crypto securitization platform GenTwo links to all Coinbase assets appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

ThunderCore, a leading blockchain & web3 ecosystem announced today that they are making a new development push, partnering with new validators as the chain rolls out its new crypto staking model. The newest ThunderCore validators include the famous crypto-asset exchange Huobi and one of the earliest staking platforms in the space, MyCointainer. Users of both […]

The post Blockchain ecosystem ThunderCore teams with Huobi and MyCointainer in node expansion appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Pods, creators of a DeFi platform, announced today that earlier this year, the team raised $5.6M in seed funding to create structured products for crypto-assets. The financing featured investors such as IOSG, Tomahawk, Republic, Framework Ventures, and more. The first strategy on Pods Yield is stETHvv (Ethereum Volatility Vault). stETHvv is a low-risk product focused […]

The post DeFi protocol Pods raises $5.6M to support its structured crypto products dApp appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Deribit, the popular cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, announced today it has launched a new ‘Proof of Reserves‘ tool for clients using the trading platform. Now, clients are provided with the functionality to verify their assets to be included in Deribit’s overall reserves. How it Works Deribit provides all addresses for all on-chain assets and it delivers […]

The post Crypto derivatives exchange Deribit releases new client verification of assets tool appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Tenderly, creators of a blockchain development platform, today announced that it is the first web3 development platform to offer simulations through RPC on its Tenderly Web3 Gateway, the company’s production node as a service. Note, Tenderly already processes more than 50 million simulations per month through its Transaction Simulator. Now, the company is introducing the […]

The post Tenderly introduces TXN simulations on its blockchain gateway for efficient dApp development appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

DFINITY Foundation, the not-for-profit organization contributing to the development of the Internet Computer (IC) — a high-speed, internet-scale public blockchain — has announced today the Internet Computer’s mainnet integration with Bitcoin, bringing smart contract functionality to the cryptocurrency. Now, the Internet Computer can serve as a layer-2 for Bitcoin where smart contracts on the Internet […]

The post DFINITY brings new smart contract functionality to Bitcoin with Internet Computer integration appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

Nvidia's share price saw a 15% increase after a brief slump during the previous trading week, prompting analysts to speculate about the price movements of AI crypto tokens.

Republic First Bank's 32 branches across the United States will reopen under Fulton Bank starting next week, according to the FDIC.

The creator of the Bored Ape Yacht Club has been struggling with a changing market and still plans to focus on its Otherside metaverse project.

This week’s Crypto Biz examines X’s upcoming payment system, the NYSE’s potential 24/7 trading, Block’s expansion into Bitcoin mining, and more.

The lawyer said he had filed a brief on behalf of 4,701 Coinbase customers for no charge as part of his advocacy work in the crypto space.

New rules under the MiCA framework may encourage big banks to enter the DeFi space, potentially complicating compliance for native crypto projects.

The board includes the CEOs of Adobe, Alphabet, Anthropic, AMD, AWS, IBM, Microsoft and Nvidia, as well as other business, civil rights and academic leaders.

Need to know what happened in crypto today? Here is the latest news on daily trends and events impacting Bitcoin price, blockchain, DeFi, NFTs, Web3 and crypto regulation.

Bitcoin price holds above $63,000 even as regulatory enforcement ramps up and spot BTC ETF outflows raise concern.

Arkham Research notified DeFi wallet owners to look at the addresses and try to retrieve their funds, which have been stuck for months in bridge contracts.

Custodia Bank is challenging a lower court’s ruling in its battle for a Federal Reserve master account.

The U.S. government’s arguments on stablecoins in an unrelated criminal case could bolster Binance’s position in its civil case with the SEC.

Bitcoin and altcoins could be en route to retest their recent strong support levels as bears try to extend the correction.

The exchange is optimizing operations after acquiring ErisX on the eve of crypto winter and expects to save millions.

Bitcoin market inertia is dragging on, and a BTC price drop over the next fortnight would correspond to classic post-halving behavior.

Attendees at Token 2049 in Dubai shared their personal stories on how they became rich.

Bull flags are historically associated with more upside momentum, but Bitcoin price could still use a catalyst before rallying to new highs.

Slim Shady was the latest celebrity to advertise “fortune favors the brave” for Crypto.com following Matt Damon’s ad spot in October 2021.

The European Union’s in-house think tanks says the metaverse can help children heal from diseases.

Mainland Chinese citizens will not be able to purchase Bitcoin and Ether ETFs in Hong Kong because mainland China banned crypto transactions years ago.

Quantum computing is the next most significant disruptive technological leap and its rapid evolution and funding will soon make it a reality.

From April 26, police can transfer seized illicit crypto to wallets controlled by the authorities, with victims able to reclaim funds from the accounts.

The Bitcoin network surpassed 926,000 daily transactions, driven by a growing interest in Runes.

Imaginary Ones co-founder Clement Chia believes that simply adding blockchain to the metaverse doesn’t solve its “purpose” problems.

Nvidia-backed AI startup Synthesia unveils “Expressive Avatars,” enabling AI to convey human emotions and movements for corporate presentations and training.

The arrest of the founders of Samourai Wallet led to widespread concerns in the crypto community that the U.S. government was attempting to crack down on the industry.

Yao Qian, the first director of CBDC development at China’s central bank, is reportedly under investigation for suspected law violations.

The transaction fees are the “wild card” for Bitcoin miners, with the current increase representing a crucial revenue boost for BTC miners, according to TeraWulf’s COO, Nazar Khan.

The trader received a $6.28 million payday trading BONK, $9.51 million trading WIF and $7.04 million from BODEN.

Microsoft and Google’s Q2 earnings reports highlight significant revenue and profit increases driven by their investments and advancements in AI technologies.