Arbitrum's total transaction volume on Uniswap exceeds $150 billion

👀 The Ethereum Layer 2 protocol Arbitrum has exceeded $150 billion in transaction volume on the decentralized exchange Uniswap, marking it as the first Layer 2 to reach this milestone on the DEX, according to a social media post by Uniswap Labs on Monday.

✔️ Blockchain analytics platform DeFiLlama indicates that Arbitrum's total value locked (TVL) stands at $2.64 billion, positioning it as the largest Layer 2 by TVL and the fifth largest overall protocol by TVL, trailing behind Solana, BSC, Tron, and Ethereum Layer 1.

🚀 Ethereum network saw the creation of 196.71 thousand new addresses, on May 4, 2024, marking the largest single-day increase since October 8, 2022, according to Santiment.

Analysts believe this should be viewed as a sign of a 🐂 bullish market.

MetaMask has introduced "smart transactions" to protect against MEV bots.

🦊 The feature, called Smart Transactions, will allow the use of a "virtual mempool" to place transactions before they enter the blockchain.

👀 It is expected that this solution will protect against certain MEV strategies using bots. The option will also provide instant preliminary transaction modeling, which will help reduce gas costs.

☑️ Smart Transactions are not enabled by default—users decide whether to activate the feature themselves.

Poloniex hacker moves funds for the first time

On May 7, 🧐 the hacker responsible for last year's breach of the cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex transferred 100 ETH (about $308,000) to the 🌪 Tornado Cash mixer.

👀 This is the first instance of the hacker attempting to launder the assets stolen on November 10, 2023. At that time, Poloniex lost nearly $125 million in cryptocurrencies due to the attack.

✔️ Tornado Cash co-founders Roman Storm and Roman Semenov are still under investigation for allegedly facilitating money laundering by criminals and sanctioned individuals.

Revolut launches cryptocurrency exchange platform

🔥 Revolut has unveiled Revolut X, a standalone cryptocurrency platform tailored for experienced traders. This new offering enhances user experience with streamlined fund transfers, low trading fees, and an initial 0% fee for makers and 0.09% for takers, regardless of trade volume.

🚀 At launch, Revolut X provides access to over 100 tokens, starting with the digital assets available in its retail app, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP, with plans to expand this offering in the near future.

✔️ The service is currently available to UK users who have a retail account with the app, allowing them to use their existing login credentials. Users can exchange fiat currency for cryptocurrencies and vice versa between Revolut X and the main Revolut platform freely and without additional fees.

🌐 Aiming to challenge the top players in the cryptocurrency exchange market, Revolut now serves over 40 million users globally.

The CFTC has announced more regulatory actions against crypto projects.

🇺🇸 US CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam predicts a surge in regulatory enforcement within the next 6-24 months due to the growing crypto market and the current uncertain regulatory climate. 👀He emphasizes the need for Congress to act, especially regarding stablecoin regulation, but notes the challenges in passing legislation.

✔️ Meanwhile, Robinhood and Consensys have received Wells notices from the SEC, indicating possible enforcement actions related to their crypto operations. This points to heightened regulatory scrutiny as agencies like the SEC and CFTC navigate their roles in overseeing the crypto space.🧐

The SEC has postponed the decision on the spot Ethereum ETF from Invesco and Galaxy, and inflows into Bitcoin ETFs in the USA have continued for the second consecutive day.

🇺🇸 The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has extended the review period for an application to launch a spot Ethereum ETF by Invesco and Galaxy, as reported on the agency's website.

👀 The next deadline is July 5, 2024.

✔️ On April 23, the SEC postponed the decision on a spot Ethereum-ETF by Franklin Templeton with a deadline set for June 11. Previously, the regulator extended the review period for a similar application from BlackRock.

In May, the final deadlines for proposals from VanEck and Grayscale are due.

👍 Meanwhile, inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs continued for the second consecutive day, amounting to $217 million.

FTX plans to return users their funds plus compensation.

😎 FTX has proposed a new reorganization plan, under which 98% of its creditors will receive 118% of their funds.

The remaining creditors will receive 100% refund plus 9% compensation for ⏳ "time value of investments."

👀 This plan must be approved by the court. If approved, the funds will be distributed to users within 60 days.

After the sale of all assets, the exchange will have up to $16.3 billion, and FTX owes clients about $11 billion.

LocalMonero has announced its closure

😳 The LocalMonero platform has announced its closure after seven years of operation.

The platform will cease operations on May 14th.

LocalMonero is the largest P2P platform for Monero users.

Crypto sector's influence in US politics grows

👥 Super PACs linked to the cryptocurrency sector have amassed over $102 million, making them one of the top contributors to the 2024 US elections. This includes significant funding from corporations like Coinbase and Ripple Labs, leveraging unlimited spending allowed by the Citizens United ruling.

🎯 Their aim? To support crypto-friendly candidates and combat stringent regulations. Notably, this sector has seen success in most of the primary races they've intervened in so far.

💼 On the corporate side, leaders like Brian Armstrong of Coinbase openly admit to using financial clout to shape electoral outcomes, emphasizing a strategy that prioritizes corporate profits over public interests.

📈 Despite controversies and ongoing legal battles with regulatory bodies like the SEC, these PACs are gearing up to heavily influence the upcoming general elections, seeking the adoption of laws beneficial to the industry in the future.

The administrator of the LockBit ransomware has been identified as Dmitry Khoroshev, a 31-year-old from Voronezh, known by the aliases LockBitSupp and 🦀 putinkrab.

🧐 The FBI, NCA, and Europol revealed that Khoroshev generated $100 M through his illicit operations, with his ransom demands surpassing $500 million.

🇬🇧The UK, 🇺🇸USA, and 🇦🇺 Australia have implemented sanctions against Khoroshev, including asset freezes and travel bans. Additionally, authorities are offering a $10 million reward for information that leads to his arrest.

👀 The US has previously indicted five other LockBit affiliates: Artur Sungatov, Ivan Kondratyev (Bassterlord), Ruslan Astamirov, Mikhail Matveyev (Wazawaka), and Mikhail Vasilyev. Following a successful operation, law enforcement disclosed that the breach and control of LockBit's infrastructure yielded more decryption keys than initially reported. On February 20th, the NCA confiscated part of the LockBit encryptor’s infrastructure and seized 200 related crypto wallets.

Bitcoin has established a local bottom at $56,500 and may reach $150,000 by the end of this year - Standard Chartered

💪 The situation has improved, with Bitcoin possibly having established a low at $56,500, according to Standard Chartered.

🤷 Experts have revised their previous forecast, which anticipated a drop to the $50,000-$52,000 range.

📈 They have confirmed a target of $150,000 by the end of the year and $200,000 by the end of 2025.

🏦 The reason for the change was a less hawkish-than-expected decision by the Federal Reserve and positive signals in the U.S. employment report.

Aragon co-founder launches "next-gen" crypto wallet

The Tuyo project has introduced a self-custodial cryptocurrency storage app focused on DeFi.

👝 Positioned as a non-custodial wallet of the next generation, it combines the convenience of centralized exchanges with user freedom "without any compromises."

👀 Tuyo was co-founded by Aragon's Jorge Izquierdo and Alejandro Parespaya, former head of digital products at Allfunds.

✔️ The creators pointed out that most novice cryptocurrency investors start and end their journey on centralized exchanges (CEXs) due to the simplicity and convenience of these platforms.

👍 Therefore, the Tuyo developers aimed to free users from unnecessary technical details. According to them, they have greatly simplified conducting online transactions while providing access to DeFi services like yield farming.

Binance helped arrest ZKasino fraud suspect

🧑‍💻 The investigative team at Binance was instrumental in the apprehension of a suspect linked to the ZKasino blockchain casino fraud. The individual was arrested on April 29 by the Netherlands' Fiscal Information and Investigation Service.

📝 Binance's team conducted an analysis of smart contracts and employed both on-chain and OSINT tools to pinpoint the account of the 26-year-old suspect, who was revealed to be the founder of the platform, known by the pseudonym Derivatives Ape. 🧐 The findings were then passed on to law enforcement authorities. The company highlighted the crucial role of the community in aiding the arrest of the criminal.

🚔 Following the arrest of Derivatives Ape and the confiscation of his cryptocurrency, there was still movement of some ZKasino 💵 assets, suggesting the involvement of additional accomplices in the scam.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler discussed key issues in a recent CNBC interview:

▪️The SEC manages a capital market worth $110 trillion, with cryptocurrencies representing only a minor segment.

▪️There is significant concealment of information by digital asset issuers and prevalent fraud within the cryptocurrency sector is avialable.

▪️Despite its modest scale, the crypto market garners an excessive amount of media attention, resulting in a disproportionate number of inquiries directed at it.

▪️The decision about Ethereum is currently pending.

▪️Legally, the majority of cryptocurrencies are classified as securities.

The number of BTC addresses making deposits on exchanges decreased to 12.8 thousand addresses for the first time since August 2015.

I wonder when investors will start selling the coins. Maybe when BTC will be $1,000,000? 👀

🐃 The current bull cycle of the cryptocurrency market may be shorter than previous ones and is unlikely to end in a major altcoin rally. This was announced by 10x Research analysts.

🤷 According to analysts, large volumes of token unlocks of almost $2 billion over the next ten weeks could have an extremely negative impact on altcoins.

An American mining company has opened a data center in Argentina to mine bitcoin using energy from 🔥 burning associated gas.

This would power 1,200 ASIC miners from a thermal power plant, which would burn gas that would have been burned anyway, and its heat would wastefully heat the atmosphere, exacerbating the 🌳greenhouse effect.

We previously reported that the coal company 🔨 mined 425 BTC, also using its own surplus energy. It seems that green mining is becoming a trend.

Taiwanese authorities have implemented new strict cryptocurrency regulations. The key aspects of these regulations are:

1️⃣ Digital asset service providers who do not register with the regulatory bodies and fail to meet anti-money laundering standards may be subjected to up to 2 years of imprisonment.

2️⃣ Individuals utilizing virtual asset accounts for illegal activities could receive prison terms of 6 months to 5 years.

3️⃣ Infringements of licensing regulations could lead to penalties as high as 50 million Taiwanese dollars (approximately $1.54 million).