{"id":589,"date":"2024-04-20T11:00:22","date_gmt":"2024-04-20T11:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wagecan.com\/blog\/?p=589"},"modified":"2024-04-20T16:46:04","modified_gmt":"2024-04-20T16:46:04","slug":"biweekly-headlines-2024-apr-w2-w3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wagecan.com\/blog\/2024\/04\/20\/biweekly-headlines-2024-apr-w2-w3\/","title":{"rendered":"Biweekly Headlines 2024 Apr W2 \u2013 W3"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201c#Bitcoin block reward Halved to 3.125 #BTC!\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Biweekly News Roundup<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Bitcoin and Halving Events<\/strong>\n
      \n
    • History of Bitcoin halvings and their historical performance impact<\/strong>\n
        \n
      • Bitcoin completed the fourth halving in its 15-year history. The system will continue until roughly 2140 when all Bitcoin is mined.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Recent price movements in relation to geopolitical events and macroeconomic conditions<\/strong>\n
          \n
        • BTC briefly went under $60,000 for the second time this week as Israel launched strike on Iran.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Crypto markets will be driven by macro factors in the short term, including rising geopolitical tensions, higher interest rates for longer, reflation and ballooning national debts.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • BTC continues to outperform major assets, with a 130% increase in six months, and ETH is up 89%, surpassing Nvidia and the S&P 500.
          <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Ethereum Network Developments<\/strong>\n
            \n
          • Ethereum’s profit, revenue growth, and transaction volume<\/strong>\n
              \n
            • Ethereum is on the path to $1B in annualized profits after it netted income of $365M in Q1, coming alongside a year-on-year quarterly revenue growth of 155%.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Impact of Ethereum liquid restaking on DeFi’s total value locked (TVL)<\/strong>\n
                \n
              • Ethereum liquid restaking drove DeFi TVL to $100B in the first quarter. DeFi total value locked surged from a Q4 2023 low of $36B to peak at almost $97B in the first quarter of 2024.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Since the beginning of the year, it has increased by 81% to a two-year high of $98B last week.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Messari reported slightly higher TVL figures on April 18, noting that DeFi collateral increased by 65.6% quarter-on-quarter to reach $101B.
                <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Stablecoins Expansion<\/strong>\n
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                • Growth in stablecoin supply and its impact on the crypto market<\/strong>\n
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                  • The supply of leading stablecoins USDT and USDC grew by $10B in the past 30 days, twice the inflows to bitcoin ETFs during the same time.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Stablecoin market shares and regulatory developments<\/strong>\n
                      \n
                    • Bernstein said the stablecoin market supply currently stands at $150B, with USDT and USDC dominating the market with shares of 75% and 22% respectively.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • The U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry is bullish U.S. stablecoin law will pass this year.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • U.S. senators introduced the Lummis-Gillibrand Payment Stablecoin Act prohibiting unbacked algorithmic stablecoins among other regulatory frameworks.
                      <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • <\/strong>Institutional Involvement and Regulatory Updates<\/strong>
                      • Investments by educational endowments and corporate asset managers in cryptocurrencies<\/strong>
                        • Endowments at prestigious educational institutions such as Harvard, Yale, Stanford and MIT have all invested in crypto assets and Bitcoin starting at least in 2018.<\/li><\/ul>
                          • Institutional investors, asset managers and banks are racing to bring financial assets on-chain in a market estimated to grow to $16T in value.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n
                              \n
                            • Developments in crypto regulations by various countries and their expected impacts<\/strong>
                              • The European Securities and Markets Authority said that the announcement of the MiCA regulation has not caused an increase in euro volumes at the current juncture but could constitute a potential growth driver once implemented in 2024.<\/li><\/ul>\n
                                  \n
                                • Canada is aiming to have the OECD standard for crypto asset tax reporting in place by 2027, as agreed with 46 other countries.
                                  <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                • <\/strong>Crypto Markets and Investment Tools<\/strong>
                                  • Performance of major cryptocurrencies<\/strong>
                                    • The value of the cryptocurrency market could almost double to $5T by the end of the year, according to Ripple CEO. Bitcoin Bollinger Band signal suggests BTC could double to around $140K by July.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n
                                        \n
                                      • New financial tools and platforms, including crypto ETFs in various global regions<\/strong>
                                        • Hong Kong regulators approved bitcoin and ether ETFs on April 15. Matrixport expects Hong Kong-listed Bitcoin ETFs could unlock up to $25B in demand.<\/li><\/ul>
                                          • Europe, Singapore, Australia and Dubai also have approved bitcoin ETFs available in their respective regions.<\/li><\/ul>
                                            • The U.K. will soon allow crypto-traded notes to be traded on the London Stock Exchange starting in May, while Australia is expected to approve them in June this year.<\/li><\/ul>\n
                                                \n
                                              • New Zealand\u2019s Ministry of Commerce and Consumer Affairs has proposed a series of measures to embrace crypto innovations and nurture the ecosystem\u2019s growth in the island nation.
                                                <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                              • Blockchain Infrastructure<\/strong>\n
                                                  \n
                                                • Role and growth of blockchain layers<\/strong>
                                                  • Circle has expanded support for USDC to Ethereum zero-knowledge layer-2 solution zkSync.<\/li><\/ul>\n
                                                      \n
                                                    • Coinbase layer-2 network Base has seen a strong start to April with active addresses outpacing Arbitrum. It comes as Base recently surpassed the $4B mark in total value locked on the protocol.
                                                      <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                                    • <\/strong>Blockchain and Web3 Events<\/strong>\n
                                                        \n
                                                      • Notable blockchain and Web3 events and their key highlights, including predictions and new launches<\/strong>\n
                                                          \n
                                                        • From Tim Draper’s $250K BTC prediction to Ubisoft\u2019s newest web3 game, PARIS BLOCKCHAIN WEEK, the leading blockchain and Web3 event in Europe, celebrated its 5th edition from 9 – 11 April 2024.
                                                          <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                                        • <\/strong>NFT Market Developments<\/strong>\n
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                                                          • Market dynamics of NFTs, including significant downturns and changes in buyer and seller protections<\/strong>
                                                            • Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs are currently experiencing what may be the worst downturn in their history with the floor price falling over 90% from ATH, hitting its lowest level since 2021.<\/li><\/ul>\n
                                                                \n
                                                              • Effective May 20, 2024, PayPal will no longer offer buyer protection for NFT purchases and will limit seller protection for transactions involving NFTs valued at over $10,000.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                                                                April 20, 2024<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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