🇺🇸 US DOJ seeks 36-month sentence and $50 million fine for ex-Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao
The US Department of Justice has recommended a 36-month prison sentence alongside a $50 million fine for the former CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao. In response, Zhao’s legal team contends that his incarceration would be unprecedented, citing no prior instances of imprisonment in similar cases. Instead, they proposed an alternative of probation, potentially with home confinement at his residence in Abu Dhabi.
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🟠 Binance faces app removal in the Philippines over regulatory issues
The Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it is working with Google and Apple to remove the Binance app from their app marketplaces for Filipino users, according to an April 23 statement. According to the regulatory chief, Binance’s “sale or offer of unregistered securities to Filipinos and operating as an unregistered broker constitutes a violation of Republic Act no. 8799, or The Securities Regulation Code.”
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💰 Bitcoin Miner Revenue Reached $106.7 Million On The Halving Day
Bitcoin miner revenue experienced a significant boost following the recent halving event, driven by a surge in transaction fees. According to data from Glassnode, on April 20, Bitcoin miner revenue hit a record high of $106.7 million, with 75.444% of it stemming from network transaction fees. The spike in transaction fees was attributed to increased activity on the Runes protocol, particularly in capturing newly minted runes.
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📊 CEX Trading Volumes Nearly Triple Since October 2023: Bybit
Bybit’s Institutional Report 2024 revealed a significant increase in monthly trading volumes across several centralized exchanges (CEXs) from October 2023 to March 2024. Bybit Exchange emerged as one of the fastest-growing platforms, showing a remarkable 264% growth in trading volumes. Additionally, the U.S.-based exchange Coinbase experienced an uptick in volumes, rising by 193%, slightly below the industry’s average growth rate of 255%.
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❄️ Tether brings USDT and gold stablecoins to the TON blockchain
Stablecoin issuer Tether is launching its U.S. dollar-backed USDT and gold-backed XAUT stablecoins on The Open Network blockchain. USDT on TON will go live on April 20, and XAUT on TON will follow in the coming months, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino told The Block. While USDT is available on over a dozen blockchains, TON is the second blockchain XAUT is expanding onto after Ethereum, Ardoino said.
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💰 Binance CEO Richard Teng says this Bitcoin halving is 'unique' due to recent significant events
Binance CEO Richard Teng said that this year’s Bitcoin halving comes amid a positive backdrop for the cryptocurrency and the wider market in general. “In addition to the ETF breakthrough, which has spurred institutional interest and participation, another major current in crypto today is the boom of the Layer 2 and DeFi activity on the Bitcoin network, fueled by the popularity of the Ordinals protocol and Bitcoin inscriptions,” he added.
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💰 Bitcoin's Bullish Trajectory Should Resume After the Halving, Analysts Say
Global asset management firm Alliance Bernstein’s analysts Gautam Chhugani and Mahika Sapra shared their perspectives on the Bitcoin halving in a note to clients on Wednesday. Bernstein predicted in November last year that the price of bitcoin could reach $150,000 by 2025. Chhugani stated at the time that this prediction is driven by optimism of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approving spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
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💰 GBTC outflows overpower other spot bitcoin ETF inflows for third consecutive day
Spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the United States have experienced net outflows for the third consecutive day. Just over $58 million left the products yesterday, lowering the cumulative total net inflow to approximately $12.43 billion. Grayscales converted bitcoin trust, GBTC, was largely responsible for the net outflows — per usual. Nearly $79.4 million left the ETF yesterday, according to data from SoSoValue. The Ark 21Shares Bitcoin ETF also saw net outflows, with some $12.88 million leaving the fund.
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💰 Bitcoin Could Surge to $120K on 'Doomsday Rally,' Trader Says
International politics and the search for an investment hedge could fuel a bitcoin (BTC) surge in the coming months, even after confidence in the largest cryptocurrency was dented by a 10% weekly drop, some traders say. Bitcoin has long been considered a possible hedge against geopolitical events and was originally created in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Some traders say the hedging narrative remains viable despite BTC being highly correlated with traditional market assets for several years.
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🇻🇳 Cryptocurrencies Not Banned, Vietnam Requires Legal Framework for Regulation — Govt Official
A government official from Vietnam has stated that cryptocurrencies are not prohibited. However, the country urgently needs to establish a legal framework to regulate their use, the official said. The Finance Ministry has been tasked with drafting a framework to govern crypto assets, which is due for completion by May 2025.
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🪙 Uniswap Labs hikes swap fee to .25% from .15% on trades through interface
Uniswap Labs has hiked the fee it charges to users for using its interface to trade on the Uniswap protocol from .15% to .25% for most swaps. The change in policy was made on Apr. 10, blockchain data shows, mere hours after Uniswap founder Hayden Adams revealed that the SEC had sent a Wells Notice warning of an incoming lawsuit to the company.
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💰 Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs could launch in Hong Kong before halving
Hong Kong is poised to approve the launch of new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that will directly invest in Bitcoin and Ether potentially as soon as Monday. This key development, as reported by Bloomberg, involves key financial players, including an international branch of China’s Harvest Fund Management Co. and a partnership between Bosera Asset Management (International) Co. and HashKey Capital.
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💰 Bitcoin mining difficulty hits fresh all-time high in final pre-halving adjustment
Bitcoin mining difficulty rose 3.9% late Wednesday to hit a new all-time high in the final adjustment before the halving, estimated to occur on April 20. The difficulty adjustment came at block height 838,656, reaching a record of 86.39 trillion, according to blockchain explorer Mempool. Bitcoin miners appear to be ramping up their hash rate in preparation for block subsidy rewards dropping from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC next week.
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🇪🇺 EU's MiCA Rules Have Had Little Influence on the European Crypto Market, Regulator Says
The European Union's crypto asset regulation, which became law in 2023 and starts to take effect at year-end, has yet to spur any increase in euro-denominated crypto transactions, the bloc's securities regulator said. The 27-nation trading bloc was one of the first regulatory regimes to introduce a comprehensive rulebook for crypto assets, the Markets in Crypto-Assets law. The rules cover crypto assets and stablecoins, with stablecoin provisions set to kick in six months after the others.
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🇺🇸 SEC delays decision on spot 💰 bitcoin ETF options
The Securities and Exchange Commission published a notice Monday saying that it "designates May 29, 2024 as the date by which the Commission shall either approve or disapprove, or institute proceedings to determine whether to disapprove," allowing the New York Stock Exchange to start listing options on spot bitcoin ETFs. Two spot bitcoin ETFs named specifically were Bitwise Bitcoin ETF and the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, but the proposal also opened the door to "any trust that holds Bitcoin."
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🪙 Tether commits to freezing addresses linked to sanctions as scrutiny over USDT misuse grows
Stablecoin issuer Tether the firm would freeze any addresses linked to sanctioned entities. This decision comes in response to reports indicating that some state actors were leveraging Tether’s USDT tokens to circumvent US sanctions. Over the past year, the company has proactively frozen addresses, holding significant amounts of its digital assets involved in unlawful activities. For example, the firm froze 32 addresses holding $873,118.34 connected to illicit activities in Israel and Ukraine last year.
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💰 Grayscale’s Mini-Bitcoin ETF to Have Lowest Fees on The Market
Grayscale’s new mini-Bitcoin exchange-traded fund will be a market leader in terms of fees, according to a recent filing. The world’s largest asset manager is aiming to retain its position as leader of the spot Bitcoin ETF market following a massive exodus of capital from its flagship GBTC product. In order to do this, Grayscale has applied for a smaller Bitcoin ETF with highly competitive fees to compete with its ten rivals.
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💰 Bitwise CIO believes market has not priced in future demand for Bitcoin post-halving
Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan cast doubt on whether current prices truly capture the potential impact of increased demand following Bitcoin’s upcoming halving based on the Efficient Markets Hypothesis (EMH). Hougan raised critical questions about the limitations of EMH in anticipating what the market will be like post-halving. He pointed out that while EMH suggests that Bitcoin’s current price reflects all available information, including the anticipated supply cut from the halving — it does not account for unexpected shifts in market demand.
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💰 After Halving Event, Bitcoin Transaction Fees Soar to Over $240
Upon reaching block height 840,000, when the mining pool Viabtc collected 37.626 bitcoin in fees worth $2.39 million, the expense for onchain transfers climbed, surpassing $240 per transaction. Block 840,003 recorded 16.06 bitcoins in fee payments, and block 840,004 accumulated 24 bitcoins in fees valued at over $1.5 million.
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💰 Bitwise: Bitcoin Halving Is a 'Sell the News' Event, Market Underestimates Long-Term Impact
Asset management firm Bitwise has cautioned that data suggests the upcoming Bitcoin halving is a “sell the news” event. However, the firm explained that the market likely “prices in the short-term impact of the halving but underestimates the long-term impact,” emphasizing that the data “also suggests that, long-term, the halving may be conducive to price appreciation.”
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♦️ Polkadot parachain Polimec aims to transform Web3 fundraising via decentralized platform
Polkadot’s parachain Polimec wants to revolutionize fundraising for Web3 projects through an innovative approach that sets it apart from rivals. Co-founder Kasper Mai Jørgensen further explained that Polimec enables fundraising directly on-chain without intermediaries in a transparent, fully decentralized, and regulatory-compliant manner. The project was conceptualized in 2020 by the team behind KILT Protocol and later became an independent project with its own non-profit organization in June 2022.
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💰 Umoja Partners With Merlin Chain to Launch Bitcoin's First High-Yield Synthetic Dollar
The smart money protocol Umoja has joined forces with the Bitcoin layer two (L2) initiative, Merlin Chain, to roll out a Bitcoin-based high-yield synthetic dollar. The newly introduced stablecoin is engineered to uphold a self-sustaining peg via transparent, onchain trading techniques developed by Umoja.
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🇬🇧 UK to legislate ‘whole host’ of crypto activities starting in the summer
UK Economic Secretary to the Treasury Bim Afolami said the country is working on legislation for crypto regulations permitting several activities. Speaking at the Innovate Finance Global Summit (IFGS) 2024 on April 15, Afolami emphasized the regulatory regime’s far-reaching nature and said the change would bring a “whole host” of crypto activities within regulatory bounds.
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📈Bitget’s Futures Trading Hits $1.4 Trillion in Q1 2024: Report
February’s strong market recovery, particularly with Bitcoin reaching an all-time high aided Bitget’s exchange volume in Q1. Bitget experienced significant growth across its trading volumes and user base in the first quarter of 2024, riding the wave of widespread market resurgence. The Seychelles-headquartered exchange revealed that its futures trading volume soared to around $1.4 trillion, marking a 146% increase, while spot trading volume surged by 113% to exceed $160 billion.
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💰 Bitcoin Plunges to $66K 📉 , Altcoins Tumble 10-15% on Ugly Day for Risk Assets
Cryptocurrencies tumbled Friday as risk-off sentiment in traditional markets amid flared-up geopolitical risks spread over to digital assets. In fast downward afternoon action during U.S. trading, bitcoin (BTC) plunged below $66,000 after having challenged the $71,000 level just hours earlier. At press time, bitcoin had bounced back to $66,700, down more than 5% over the past 24 hours.
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🪙 43 Bitcoin Projects Secure Key Funding in 2024 Attracting Over $127 Million
A fresh wave of capital is finding its way into the crypto world, with a laser focus on Bitcoin. On April 10, the crypto analytics team from Coin98 Analytics unveiled an infographic illustrating that 43 projects dedicated to the Bitcoin ecosystem have successfully attracted funding from prominent investors. The data was sourced from crypto-fundraising.info, an online portal that highlights fundraising activities in the crypto space.
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💰 Hong Kong's Incoming Spot Bitcoin ETFs Could Be 'Big Deal.'
Heightened anticipation for spot-based bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. and the eventual inflows supercharged bitcoin's run-up to new all-time highs, and now Hong Kong regulators reportedly are inching closer to approving similar funds, news that thus far has been mostly unnoticed in crypto circles. These vehicles, however, could open the floodgates for Chinese investors looking for a new haven next to gold and overseas real estate and stocks in which to store their wealth.
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🪙 Vaneck CEO Expects SEC to Reject Spot Ethereum ETF Applications in May
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) faces a May deadline to decide on the approval of spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including applications from asset managers Vaneck and Ark Invest led by Cathie Wood. Several spot bitcoin ETF issuers, including Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, and Fidelity, have also filed to launch a spot ether ETF.
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📣 Crypto Market Cap to Double to $5 Trillion by Year-End: Ripple CEO
The value of the cryptocurrency market could almost double to $5 trillion by the end of the year, propelled by the January approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the U.S. and the mining-reward halving due later this month, according to Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse. “I’m very optimistic. I think the macro trends, the big picture things like the ETFs, they’re driving, for the first time, real institutional money,” Garlinghouse said in an interview with CNBC.
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