Weekly Headlines 2023.4 W1
“I don’t buy bitcoin today for what might happen tomorrow. I buy bitcoin today for what might happen in 2033.” – Caitlin Long, Custodia bank founder
Weekly News Report:
News
1. Decentralized exchange dYdX announces ‘winding down’ of services for Canadian users
– Cryptocurrency derivatives exchange dYdX has announced it will be restricting Canadian user accounts over the next seven days in a move to exit the market.
2. Binance Australia Derivatives license canceled by securities regulator
– The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has canceled the license of Binance Australia Derivatives after a targeted review of Binance’s operations in the country.
3. Arbitrum-Based Camelot Crypto Exchange to Deploy V2 Upgrade Saturday
– The v2 upgrade will include a new concentrated liquidity automated market maker aimed at making trading for the Camelot ecosystem more efficient.
4. Happy 48th Birthday, Satoshi Nakamoto
– Satoshi entered a birth date when they registered the pseudonym with The P2P Foundation. Satoshi’s birthday is, according to that registration, April 5, 1975.
5. Binance Rejected Justin Sun’s Offer to Buy His Huobi Stake: Source
– Binance has no interest in buying Huobi due to its rumored ties to China, according to a person familiar with the situation.
6. U.S. Bitcoin Corp. Expected to Settle With City to Resume Mining in Niagara Falls
– The firm is currently trying to complete a merger with Canadian Hut 8 Mining.
7. Polkadot Registers Trademark for Blockchain Communication Platform
– Polkadot has filed a trademark registration for what appears to be a blockchain-based messaging application, according to a recent filing.
8. OPNX Exchange, Which Offers FTX Claims Trading, Led by Three Arrows Founders, Is Now Live
– OPNX, a first-of-its-kind, crypto-focused exchange that lets users trade claims of bankrupt crypto companies, is now live, CEO Leslie Lamb said in a tweet Tuesday.
9. Satellite orbiting Earth participates in the Ethereum KZG ceremony
– The blockchain-powered satellite Cryptosat will be the contributor of the thousands that have already participated in the Ethereum KZG ceremony to do so from outer space.
10. Bitcoin Halving 2024 Is Just 1 Year Away and This Is Not April Fool’s Day Joke
– The most significant event in the history of the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain – the Halving event – is now slated for April 2024, implying that it is exactly a year away.
11. Italy Data Regulator Imposes Ban on ChatGPT for Allegedly Breaching Data Privacy
– Italy has become the first Western nation to officially ban the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT over privacy concerns.
Institution
1. Swiss Government-Owned Bank PostFinance to Offer Customers Crypto
– PostFinance will begin offering its 2.5 million customers access to buy, store and sell bitcoin and ether, thanks to a partnership with Switzerland’s Sygnum Bank.
2. US crackdown will push crypto ‘center of gravity’ to Hong Kong: Kaiko CEO
– Kaiko CEO Ambre Soubiran said that Hong Kong’s friendly approach might make the city the “center of gravity” for cryptocurrency trading and investments.
3. Binance vs. CFTC: Latest court battle could alter crypto landscape in US
– The CFTC lawsuit against Binance could prove to be the beginning of the end for the crypto exchange in the United States, according to many market pundits.
Market
1. Dogecoin Drops After Elon Musk’s Twitter Stops Using Its Dog Logo
– DOGE surged on April 3 after Elon Musk’s social-media company inexplicably removed its blue bird logo, replacing it with dogecoin’s mascot. Dogecoin dropped after Twitter stopped using the cryptocurrency’s mascot as its logo.
2. Stablecoin Tether’s Market Capitalization Nears Record High of $83B
– The market cap has increased by 20% this year mainly on account of aggressive issuance on Ethereum’s rival, Tron.
3. Uniswap Topped Coinbase’s Trading Volume in March During USDC Depeg, U.S. Crackdown
– Uniswap handled more than $70 billion of trading in March, exceeding centralized exchange Coinbase’s $49.2 billion
4. Avalanche’s Cortina Upgrade Goes Live on Protocol’s Testnet; AVAX Token Rallies
– Avalanche’s AVAX token has rallied 2% over the past 24 hours after the layer 1 protocol’s Cortina upgrade went live on its testnet Thursday.
5. MicroStrategy adds another 1,045 Bitcoin to its growing crypto treasury
– MicroStrategy buys another 1,045 Bitcoin for $29.3 million, taking its total holdings to 140,000 BTC worth over $12.6 billion.
6. Marathon Digital posts quarterly record of 2,195 Bitcoin mined in Q1
– With a new quarterly production record, Marathon Digital is now on track to meet its mid-year target of 23 exahashes.
7. Ether Rallies to 8-Month High, Gains Ground Against Bitcoin
– Ether rose to an eight-month high on Tuesday, outshining market leader bitcoin as U.S. stock futures traded higher while the dollar index dipped.
8. Bitcoin’s Huge Surge Pushes Crypto Market Cap to $1.19T, the Highest Since June
– The total market capitalization for all cryptocurrencies has climbed to the highest level since June, helped by bitcoin’s massive 70% rally to begin the year.
9. Potential Fed pivot has crypto and macro analysts ultra-bullish on Bitcoin’s price prospects
– Fidelity’s head of macro suggests that the end of the Fed’s quantitative tightening policy could be bullish for Bitcoin and gold.
10. Locked Value Climbs on zkSync Era Climbs Past $100M
– The newly launched zkSync Era blockchain is seeing brisk activity as value locked on the network crossed $100 million this past weekend amid a flurry of new token releases.
11. Internet Computer Issues ‘Liquid Bitcoin,’ for Faster, Cheaper BTC Transactions
– ckBTC brings layer-2 capabilities to Bitcoin, while also ensuring greater security and decentralization than other BTC-pegged tokens, developers say.
12. Dogecoin Soars After Twitter Replaces Its Blue Bird Logo With the Token’s Dog
– DOGE surged more than 35% after Elon Musk’s Twitter replaced the social-media platform’s familiar blue bird atop its homepage with the cryptocurrency’s iconic Shiba Inu dog logo.
DeFi
1. Deposits to zkSync surpass $110M as its DeFi ecosystem explodes
– The total amount of funds bridged to zkSync reached $115 million within 10 days of the public mainnet launch as users rushed to farm the airdrop of the Ethereum rollup’s expected native token, according to L2BEAT data.
2. Arbitrum Airdrop Shows Interest in DeFi, Researcher Says
– DappRadar’s Pedro Herrera says decentralized finance may be benefiting from the troubles at traditional banks and regulators’ actions against centralized exchanges.
NFT
1. David Bowie unreleased record debuts as music NFT
– Gala Music, a Web3 startup subsidiary, is launching 3,003 NFTs on April 14, with an unreleased version of David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” included.
2. Phygital NFT store debuts in Dubai Mall
– An innovative NFT store brings the world of digital art and NFTs to the heart of Dubai.
3. NFT marketplace LooksRare launches v2, reducing fees from 2% to 0.5%
– The previous version of the nonfungible token marketplace will be sunsetted by April 13, 2023.
4. NFT Airline Tickets Are Beginning to Take Off
– Customers of Buenos Aires-based Flybondi now have the option to activate NFT versions of their tickets via tech that uses Algorand.
5. OpenSea Launches OpenSea Pro, Courting Professional NFT Traders
– As part of the launch, creator fees will return to the main OpenSea platform at 2.5%, while Pro users will have zero fees.
Metaverse
OKX launches metaverse training session with football star Rúben Dias
– The experience will allow fans to connect with Dias, and experience training techniques and coaching tips in virtual reality.
DAO
OpenAI needs a DAO to manage ChatGPT
– A decentralized autonomous organization could help solve concerns over issues, including ChatGPT’s political biases and its potential for abuse.
Web3
1. OpenSea Goes Pro, Ralph Lauren Takes Crypto
– Plus, investments in blockchain games and metaverse projects totaled $739 million for the quarter.
2. Japan Approves Web3 White Paper to Promote Industry Growth in the Country
– The document proposes more tax reforms, clearer accounting standards and a DAO law.
3. Ralph Lauren Miami Store to Accept Crypto Payments
– The brand is also partnering with Web3 community Poolsuite to release a co-branded NFT collection.
4. Polygon’s Mission ‘Has Always Been Mass Adoption of Web3,’ Co-Founder Says
– Polygon, the Ethereum-based layer 2 blockchain, is focused on going mainstream, said Sandeep Nailwal, the platform’s co-founder.
April 8, 2023