The mining pool ViaBTC has auctioned off an "epic satoshi"

The 🥇first satoshi (sat) from a halving block, which is categorized as "epic" due to its rarity, was put up for auction. This block #800,400 was mined by the ViaBTC pool on April 20.

🔨 The auction is organized in partnership with CoinEx and will conclude on April 26. Bids are accepted in Bitcoin, and each subsequent bid must ⬆️ exceed the previous one by at least 5%.

Currently, the highest bid stands at 2.5 BTC (~$167,400).

The SEC delays decision on Franklin Templeton's spot Ethereum ETF

The 🇺🇸 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has prolonged the evaluation period for the application by investment firm Franklin Templeton to introduce a spot Ethereum-based ETF, as reported on the agency's website.

🗒 The revised deadline is set for June 11. By this date, the SEC is required to either approve or deny the application for the new product.

✔️Earlier, the SEC had similarly extended the review timelines for comparable applications from BlackRock and Fidelity.

Tether commits to freezing assets as Venezuela turns to cryptocurrency to evade oil sanctions

💵 Tether has committed to blocking payments to OFAC-sanctioned entities after reports that 🇻🇪 Venezuela's state oil company, PDVSA, has been using its USDT stablecoin to circumvent U.S. sanctions.

➡️ This move comes in response to a Reuters report highlighting PDVSA's use of cryptocurrencies to facilitate oil and fuel exports amid renewed 🇺🇸 U.S. sanctions.

👀 These sanctions, reintroduced due to Venezuela's lack of electoral reforms, require PDVSA's international customers and suppliers to cease transactions by May 31.

✔️As a result, PDVSA has shifted its oil sales to USDT to prevent its funds from being frozen in international accounts.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has directed banks to suspend the accounts of clients associated with Binance, Bybit, KuCoin, and OKX.

🇳🇬 The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has instructed local financial institutions to identify and freeze the accounts of individuals or entities engaged in transactions with cryptocurrency exchanges for a period of six months, according to a circular cited by Cointelegraph.

😳 Bybit, KuCoin, OKX, and Binance were included in the list by the CBN as they lack licenses to operate in Nigeria.

👆 Additionally, the regulator plans to closely monitor USDT transactions on peer-to-peer platforms and aid in apprehending those illicitly involved with cryptocurrency exchanges.

✔️ CBN has announced a ban on regulated financial institutions from dealing with cryptocurrency and facilitating exchange transactions.

Previously, since December 2023, 🏦 banks were permitted to provide services to cryptocurrency companies, including opening accounts and offering settlement services.

Lido investors withdrew $2.5 billion worth of Ether

Lido, a major player in Ethereum's staking market, 🧐 faced a significant setback recently. Investors withdrew a staggering $2.5 billion worth of Ether, marking a decline in Lido's dominance.

🙀 Over 800,000 Ether has been pulled out since March 1, making it the largest outflow among staking services. Lido's market share dropped from 32% in November to below 29%, signaling a ➡️shift in the landscape.

👀 This decline may please decentralization advocates who caution against any single entity gaining too much control over Ethereum.

Lido, a 🕋cornerstone of decentralized finance (DeFi), has seen over $30 billion deposited into its platform. Its staking token, stETH, is widely used across DeFi as collateral. This withdrawal from Lido underscores the 🌪 dynamic nature of the crypto market and the importance of decentralization.

U.S. prosecutors have sought a 36-month incarceration for Changpeng Zhao

Changpeng Zhao, the founder and former CEO of Binance, is facing a 36-month prison term after admitting guilt in breaching 🧺 anti-money laundering regulations, as stated in a plea by U.S. prosecutors.

🤷 This sentence is slightly lighter than initially sought, with prosecutors previously aiming for a more severe punishment of up to 10 years.

Changpeng Zhao expressed remorse for his 😳 "poor decisions" and accepted "full responsibility" for his actions in a letter addressed to the judge.

Transaction fees on the TON network have been reduced by 2.5 times

🧑‍💻 Developers of the blockchain The Open Network (TON) have announced a 2.5-fold ⬇️ reduction in transaction fees within the network. This decision was approved by the validators.

✔️ The size of transaction costs will change depending on the cost of the native token in US dollars. At a price of 1 $TON at $7, the fee for the first transaction with Jettons will be ~$0.06, and for subsequent ones — ~$0.04.

👍 Additionally, starting from April 16, there is a special discount on transactions with USDT based on $TON: 0.02 $TON instead of 0.032 $TON for the first transaction and 0.0145 $TON for subsequent ones.

👀 Currently, Toncoin is trading at $5.5, having decreased by 6.5% over the past 24 hours.

Archax Tokenized a BlackRock Fund on Hedera

The British company Archax has tokenized one of 🪨 BlackRock's funds on the Hedera blockchain.

🤷 Many mistakenly thought that BlackRock was behind the fund's tokenization.

🙀 As a result, the $HBAR token surged more than 100%, ⬆️ rising from $0.08 to $0.17. When it was clarified that this was not the case, the price of $HBAR began 📉 to decline and is currently at $0.11.

Block reported on the completion of the development of a 3-nanometer chip for mining

The Block company of Jack Dorsey, former CEO of ex-Twitter 😁, has completed the development of a three-nanometer chip for 🔨 mining.

🧐 Now the company has started creating a mining system that works on the basis of a chip in which a silicon wafer is integrated.

According to Block, the new chips will help miners 🌴 "survive and thrive" in the fifth era of mining.

BNB Chain developers announced the launch of native staking on BNB Smart Chain

🔗 The BNB Chain ecosystem has announced the addition of native liquid staking (LSDFi) to BNB Smart Chain (BSC). The integration is scheduled from April to early May.

🔜 This is one of the 🪜stages in preparation for the final shutdown of BNB Beacon Chain in June 2024.

➡️Transferring all functions to BSC will optimize the network, enhance efficiency, and reduce security risks.

🙇‍♂️Users will be able to accumulate LSDFi rewards daily alongside revenues from MEV and participation in other 💻 DeFi protocols.

✔️ This will also allow the BNB Chain ecosystem to expand its validator base thanks to triple voting and incentives for partners involved in liquid staking/restaking.

Samourai Wallet Founders Arrested on $100 Million Money Laundering Charges

🇺🇸 U.S. Federal Prosecutors have indicted the creators of 🥷 Samourai Wallet, an anonymous Bitcoin wallet, for allegedly aiding in the laundering of $100 million from illicit activities. Keonn Rodriguez, the CEO, was 🚔 arrested on April 24th in the U.S., while CTO William Lonergan Hill was apprehended in Portugal, with extradition to the U.S. pending.

👝 The wallet is said to have processed funds from individuals under sanctions, cybercriminals, and transactions from darknet marketplaces like 🕸 Silk Road and Hydra, as per the U.S. authorities.

Designed with a focus on 🕶 privacy, Samourai Wallet offered features to conceal the origins of funds and disrupt the traceability of transactions.

🇮🇸 Icelandic law enforcement has helped seize the wallet's servers and domain. Furthermore, authorities have issued a warrant to remove its mobile app from Google Play, where it has been ⬇️ downloaded over 100,000 times.

Runes have dominated the share of Bitcoin transactions

Immediately after the 🚀 launch of the Runes protocol, the share of tokens on it in the total number of daily transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain averaged 70%.

🏔 The largest number of transactions on Runes was recorded on April 23 - 750,428, which accounted for 81% of the total number of Bitcoin transactions.

👀 In the following days, the hype around Runes somewhat ⬇️ decreased, and by April 25, the number of traditional transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain exceeded the movement of Runes tokens, accounting for 51% and 46% respectively.

🤷 On the launch day of Runes, April 20, the average commission size rose to a record value of $128.45.

🧐 In the following days, the size of the fees adjusted closer to previous values. According to BitInfoCharts, this indicator now stands at $12.98.

Pantera Capital is set to raise $1 billion for a new cryptocurrency fund

🐈‍⬛ Pantera Capital, a venture capital firm, is planning to gather $1 billion for its forthcoming cryptocurrency fund, Pantera Fund V, as reported by Bloomberg, based on information from insiders.

💰The fund is slated to invest in early-stage startup equities and tokens. Additionally, Pantera Fund V is looking for limited partners who can bring a minimum of $25 million in capital.

👀 The anticipated size of the fund is $1.25 billion, with a launch date projected for April 2025.

🕐 Previously, Pantera Capital’s Liquid Token Fund reported a 66% profit in the first quarter of 2024. This profit surge was driven by successful investments in Solana ($SOL), Ribbon Finance ($RBN), Aevo (AEVO), and Stacks ($STX).

Consensys initiates legal action against the SEC

🤝 Consensys, the company behind the MetaMask wallet, has initiated a lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

🎭 The MetaMask developer outlined that the lawsuit seeks to establish several key assertions:

▫️Ethereum ($ETH) should not be classified as a security.

▫️The blockchain functions as a global computational platform, rather than an investment vehicle.

▫️ Applications enabling Ethereum transactions should not be regulated as brokers.

▫️The SEC’s position potentially jeopardizes the U.S.'s leadership in critical technology sectors.

Consensys has requested that a federal 🔨 court recognize Ethereum (ETH) as a commodity instead of a security, which would exempt them from SEC oversight.

🗒 On April 10, 2024, Consensys received a "Wells Notice" from the SEC, indicating that MetaMask was operating as an unregistered broker. This type of notice is typically a precursor to legal action by the regulatory body.

Fidelity's spot bitcoin ETF experiences its first outflow

😕 Fidelity’s spot bitcoin ETF experienced its first daily net outflow of $22.61 million since its January debut, per SoSoValue data. This event marks a shift, as multiple U.S. bitcoin funds also faced outflows totaling $217.58 million. Grayscale’s converted ETF led with a $139.37 million loss, followed by Ark Invest and 21Shares at $31.34 million, Valkyrie at $20.16 million, and Bitwise with $6 million.

Contrastingly, Franklin Templeton’s EZBC was the sole fund with a net inflow, ⬆️gaining $1.87 million. BlackRock’s IBIT fund had no new flows, halting its 71-day positive streak, crypto analyst HODL15Capital noted. Bloomberg ETF Analyst James Seyffart remarked that zero flows are not unusual for ETFs.

🤷 In general, it can be concluded that post-bitcoin halving fund inflows have stalled to ETFs.

Solana Experiences Surge in Institutional Interest

CoinShares reports a notable ⬆️ rise in the number of hedge funds and wealth managers who now include Solana in their portfolios, a significant increase compared to earlier in the year.

💰Institutional investors are expanding their investments into altcoins, notably Solana, which has witnessed substantial growth in allocations from both wealth managers and hedge funds.

🤔 Nearly 15% of the investors surveyed indicated they have invested in SOL, marking a noteworthy increase from a January survey where none of the respondents reported investments in the altcoin.

✔️Additionally, Solana ranked third in terms of having the "most compelling growth outlook," with just under 15% of respondents affirming this view, up from just over 10% in the previous survey conducted in January.

Stripe to resume cryptocurrency payments after a six-year hiatus

💲Payment service Stripe has announced that it will add support for USDC stablecoin transactions this summer.

🤵🏻‍♂️Stripe's president and co-founder John Collison explained that transactions are instantly processed on-chain and automatically converted into fiat currency. The company has opened a waitlist.

🤷 In 2018, Stripe ceased using digital assets, citing the high volatility of Bitcoin.

✔️Customers will be able to conduct transactions with USDC on Solana, Ethereum, and Polygon.

Pantera Capital secures Solana in FTX bankruptcy auction

🐈‍⬛ Pantera Capital has won an auction for Solana (SOL) tokens held by the bankrupt FTX, as reported by Bloomberg with information from insiders.

🔨 The auction also saw other unnamed participants acquiring assets, with organizers distributing 2,000 SOL worth approximately $0.29 million.

🤔 The tokens sold at a price higher than the roughly $60 achieved in the previous auction. To put it into perspective, the price of SOL at the time of this report is $142.7, with expectations of more auctions to come.

🗒 In April, the sale of two-thirds of FTX's SOL reserves at a 62% discount in a private sale sparked outrage among FTX creditors. The tokens were 💵 bought by Galaxy Trading, Pantera Capital, and other entities, with access to these tokens to be progressively unlocked over the next four years.

Anticipated $1.4 Trillion Liquidity Boost Could Rekindle Bull Market Next Week 💸

Arthur Hayes has predicted that the U.S. Treasury is poised to potentially release 💰 $1.4 trillion into the financial markets next week from its Treasury General Account (TGA) and via reverse repurchase agreements (RRP).

🔜 Hayes believes that the upcoming May 1 Federal Reserve meeting won't significantly affect market trends. However, he 🤔 suggests that this substantial liquidity infusion from the Treasury has the potential to reignite the bull market.

U.S. senators call to limit cryptocurrencies, because they are the best way to pay for sexual exploitation of children

🚨 U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, alongside Senator Bill Cassidy, has called for stringent actions against the use of cryptocurrencies in child exploitation.

✉️ In a bipartisan letter to the DOJ and DHS, they label crypto as the favored payment method for child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

✍️ The senators cite reports indicating that the anonymity provided by cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Monero significantly aids the trade of CSAM. 📋 A 2021 report highlights Bitcoin as the most utilized currency in such transactions, with over 1,800 unique Bitcoin wallet addresses identified in connection to suspected CSAM offenses.

📨 The letter sets a deadline of May 10 for the DOJ and DHS to respond with their needs and assessments, emphasizing the urgency to address this illicit use of digital currencies and enhance regulatory measures.

Optimism fixes significant testnet vulnerabilities following competitor's alert

🛡 Optimism, a Layer 2 blockchain network, has patched up two ⚠️ critical vulnerabilities in its testnet. These were initially flagged by Offchain Labs, their rival, who discovered potential security threats that could allow attackers to alter the 🔗 chain's history. The issues, reported on March 22, included flaws in the OP Stack fraud-proof mechanism. Optimism addressed the vulnerabilities by updating its testnet on April 25, preventing "subtle attacks" and manipulations.

✔️Despite the rivalry, Offchain Labs acknowledged the complexity of creating secure fraud-proof protocols. Layer 2 testnets serve the vital role of stress-testing the network to uncover such issues before full-scale deployment. Stay alert, stay safe!