The US economic calendar is brimming with activity this week, with the Federal Reserve reacting to rising PCE, PPI, and CPI inflation data.

Moreover, the central bank’s decision and upcoming economic data releases will provide insights into the inflation battle and the broader US economic trajectory, shaping market sentiment for the months ahead.

Additionally, a raft of earnings reports from more than 20% of the S&P 500 will be coming in this week.

Economic Events to Watch

All eyes are on Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell who kicks off a two-day meeting on Tuesday. Federal Open Market Committee policymakers are expected to keep rates at 5.25% to 5.5% when it concludes on Wednesday.

Interest rates in the US have remained unchanged since last July as inflation remains stubbornly high, above the Fed’s 2% target.

Powell will hold his usual press conference on Wednesday to discuss the details of the decision and the current frustrating inflation pressures.

Moreover, last week’s GDP report showed slow economic growth but higher inflation, which spooked markets at the time.

“Just about every major headwind is converging this week,” commented macroeconomic outlet the Kobeissi Letter.

This week is going to be absolutely wild:

The Fed will react for the FIRST time to rising PCE, PPI, and CPI inflation data.

This includes Fed Chair Powell’s Q&A after the first 2 month increase in inflation since September 2023.

Meanwhile, over 20% of the S&P 500 will be…

— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) April 28, 2024

As for economic data, Friday will see the release of the April jobs report which is expected to show unemployment at 3.8%. However, this is in line with the expectations, so no major surprises are anticipated there.

Consumer confidence, ISM manufacturing, and payroll reports will also be released this week.

Several major companies, including Apple, Amazon, AMD, and MasterCard, will release their quarterly earnings reports this week, adding to the market volatility.

Crypto Market Outlook

Digital asset markets have been relatively inactive over the weekend following a 4.4% decline since the same time last week.

Total capitalization has slightly declined to $2.4 trillion, with minor trading volumes in Asia on Monday morning.

Bitcoin has dipped 2% on the day in a fall to under $62,000, but it remains within the sideways channel it formed at the end of February.

Ethereum prices hit a two-week high over the weekend of $3,342 but the asset had started to retreat Monday morning, dropping by 3% to $3,200.

The altcoins were a sea of red in what is potentially shaping up to be a volatile week for crypto markets, which could see larger losses if rates remain unchanged.

The post Where Will Wild Week of Economic Events and Fed Rate Decision Drive Crypto Markets?  appeared first on CryptoPotato.

TL;DR

Post-halving, Bitcoin dipped to $62,500 but analysts foresee a rally influenced by financial institutions’ involvement and historical trends.

Upgrades to Shiba Inu’s Shibarium include a new user interface and a planned hard fork to optimize transaction processes.

Ripple’s ongoing SEC lawsuit and potential $100 million settlement may impact XRP’s price, with the possibility of a bull run if resolved favorably.

BTC Price Outlook

Despite the brief surge above the $67K level in the days after the BTC halving, the price of the primary cryptocurrency has been experiencing a downfall lately. Over the weekend, it hovered around the $63,000-$64,000 range before dipping to its current mark of $62,000 (per CoinGecko’s data). As CryptoPotato reported, this harmed over-leveraged traders and triggered over $100 million in liquidations.

BTC Price, Source: CoinGecko

Nevertheless, numerous analysts remain optimistic that BTC is posed for a substantial rally in the near future, citing the halving and other factors. The event, which slashed the rewards distributed to miners for verifying new blocks on the blockchain in half, has historically been a precursor of a major resurgence of the entire crypto market.

If you are curious to learn how the halving made BTC rarer than gold and how it may result in a bull run, please check our latest video below:

Shiba Inu Updates

The popular meme coin made the headlines last week after disclosing major upgrades on its layer-2 scaling solution – Shibarium. The team introduced a new user interface (UI) that allows compatibility with self-custody wallets, including Coinbase Wallet, MetaMask, and Trust Wallet. 

The developers also announced that the network will undergo a key update on May 2 via an “upcoming hard fork.” The advancement aims to improve user experience, implement quicker block processing times, and empower the community of developers and innovators.

“We are also smoothing out transaction fee variations during high traffic times, making costs more predictable and fair for everyone. This ensures our platform remains affordable and accessible,” the team added.

What are the Odds of an XRP Rally?

Despite the start of the trial between Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), XRP’s price keeps trading in the red, down 5% in a week and plunging by 20% in a month.

XRP Price, Source: CoinGecko

Many consider the lawsuit’s outcome as an essential factor that could propel a bull run for the asset (in the event of a decisive Ripple victory, of course). So far, the company has secured three partial court wins, and some see the SEC as the underdog in the legal spat. 

It remains unclear when the case will be officially closed. The American lawyer Jeremy Hogan recently suggested that the two parties may shake hands on a $100 million settlement. 

The post Major Shiba Inu (SHIB) Updates, Bitcoin (BTC) Price Decline, and More: Bits Recap April 29 appeared first on CryptoPotato.

More than 45,000 over-leveraged traders have been liquidated in the past 24 hours as the cryptocurrency market turned red again.

Some of the biggest daily losers come from the ever-volatile meme coin industry, with BONK, PEPE, and FLOKI leading the adverse trend.

Bitcoin/Price/Chart. Source: TradingView

CryptoPotato reported the substantial gains charted by most larger-cap cryptocurrencies yesterday, with bitcoin jumping above $64,000 a couple of times.

However, the asset failed to overcome that level decisively and the bears have reemerged since then. In a matter of hours, they pushed the primary digital asset to a 10-day low of well beneath $62,000.

Despite recovering some ground since then, BTC still trades in the red, having lost more than 2% of its value.

The landscape around the altcoins is even worse. Solana leads the trend with a 5% decline that has pushed it south to $136. Ethereum, which was among the top performers yesterday, has retraced by 3.2% and now struggles to remain above $3,200.

Even more losses are evident from representatives of the meme coin realm. BONK has dumped by almost 10%, followed by PEPE (down by 8.5%), and FLOKI (-7.5%).

Naturally, these declines have harmed over-leveraged traders, with over 45,000 speculative market participants getting liquidated in the past day alone.

The total value of wrecked positions is just over $100 million. The largest single one took place on OKX and was worth nearly $3 million.

Despite the overall bearish sentiment in the market, there are still some positive signs and developments on the bitcoin front that might reverse the recent downward trajectory.

The post Over 45,000 Liquidated Traders as Bitcoin (BTC) Slides Below $62K and Meme Coins Bleed Out appeared first on CryptoPotato.

United States prosecutors have alleged that two co-founders developed a crypto mining service called Samourai Wallet that conducted unlawful transactions worth $2 billion.

The co-founders each face charges of money laundering and unlicensed money transmitting business, with the former carrying a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

Samourai Wallet Allegedly a ‘Safe Haven’ for Criminals

According to a press release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York, executives of Samourai Wallet CEO Keonne Rodriguez and chief technology officer William Lonergan Hill, who both double as co-founders, were arrested on April 24, 2024.

Rodriguez was apprehended in the United States, while Hill’s detention happened in Portugal, with the press release stating that the US will seek his extradition.

In addition, authorities seized Samourai’s domain and servers, with the application no longer available for download in the United States, after a seizure warrant was issued on the Google Play Store. Before the seizure, the Samourai mobile app had over 100,000 downloads.

Rodriguez and Hill developed and operated Samourai between 2015 and 2024, which had two features – a cryptocurrency mixer called Whirlpool and a hopping service called Ricochet.

As alleged by prosecutors, both features helped to obfuscate the source of criminal proceeds, serving as a “safe haven” for criminals looking to launder illicit funds. Prosecutors further claimed that the defendants “intended and well knew, a substantial portion of the funds that Samourai processed were criminal proceeds passed through Samourai for purposes of concealment.”

Through Whirlpool and Ricochet, Samourai reportedly executed more than $2 billion worth of unlawful transactions and laundered $100 million in crime proceeds from illegal dark web markets.

Furthermore, Rodriguez and Hill, through tweets and private messages, allegedly “encouraged and openly invited users to launder criminal proceeds” using Samourai. The executives made $4.5 million in fees from Whirlpool and Ricochet, as stated in the press release.

US Authorities Intensify Crackdown on Crypto Mixers

Rodriguez and Hill are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business, with each of the charges carrying a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and five years, respectively.

According to a statement from James Smith, the FBI Assistant Director in Charge:

“Threat actors utilize technology to evade law enforcement detection and create environments conducive to criminal activity.  For almost 10 years, Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill allegedly operated a mobile cryptocurrency mixing platform which provided other criminals a virtual haven for the clandestine exchange of illicit funds.”

The US government continues to crackdown on crypto mixers, which is believed to be used by notorious criminal elements such as Lazarus Group, for money laudering.

In March, federal prosecutors scored a victory against Roman Sterlingov, operator of the crypto mixer Bitcoin Fog. Sterlingov was found guilty of charges relating to money laundering.

Other cryptocurrency mixers such as Tornado Cash and Blender.io were previously sanctioned by the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), with the executives of the former accused of laundering over $1 billion.

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DYDX, the native token of the dYdX Chain, has evolved from a governance-only coin to a dynamic, multifaceted asset within six months of its launch.

According to a blog post by the dYdX Foundation, DYDX has become the powerhouse of the layer-1 blockchain, enabling decentralized governance and allowing users to stake their tokens for rewards.

A Timeline of DYDX’s Launch

DYDX was launched in October 2023 alongside the dYdX Chain. Before that, the dYdX Foundation had launched DYDX (now ethDYDX) in August 2021. ethDYDX serves as a governance token for the Ethereum-based layer-2 protocol dYdX v3.

In September 2023, the dYdX community voted to adopt DYDX as the native token of the dYdX Chain. To this effect, a wethDYDX smart contract was deployed to serve as a bridge for token holders to convert their ethDYDX to DYDX.

At the time of writing, more than 75% of all ethDYDX have been converted to DYDX and migrated to the dYdX Chain. With 25% left, the circulating supply of ethDYDX now sits at roughly 247 million.

Staking DYDX

dYdX Chain was designed with a staking reward mechanism that distributes 100% of the protocol’s fees, paid predominantly in Circle (USDC), to stakers.

“This mechanism not only incentivizes the provision of security but also opens up various practical use cases for Stakers. Specifically, they can reinvest their USDC staking rewards into crypto or other assets or use the USDC as collateral for trading on the dYdX Chain with just a few clicks,” said the dYdX Foundation.

More than 18,900 DYDX stakers are receiving rewards, with $20 million disbursed so far. Around 149 million DYDX, representing 14.9% of the total supply, are staked to active set validators on the dYdX Chain with an annual percentage yield of 18%.

The Journey So Far

Earlier this month, the dYdX community approved a proposal to liquid-stake 20 million DYDX to reduce the chance of malicious attacks, improve network security, and decentralize validator operations. Rewards from the liquid staking would auto-compound USDC, be automatically converted into DYDX, and then re-staked to generate additional yield.

The dYdX Chain now has over $120 billion in cumulative trading volume with increasing staked assets. Community members have also initiated 55 governance proposals, indicating active participation in the network’s decision-making process.

Meanwhile, DYDX has a total supply of 1 billion tokens, a circulating supply of 501 million DYDX, and a five-year token distribution schedule.

The post Here’s How Much DYDX Has Evolved Since its Launch appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Binance’s dominance in Bitcoin trading outside the U.S. is dwindling as offshore exchanges expand their reach and regulatory landscapes evolve, reshaping the competitive dynamics of the digital asset industry.

According to data from Kaiko, Binance, once dominating Bitcoin trading markets outside the U.S., has witnessed a decline in its share of BTC trading over the past year, dropping from 81.3% to 55.3%.

Binance Loses Global Market Share

Similarly, Binance’s proportion fell from 58% to 50.5% for smaller tokens and altcoins. Kaiko attributed these changes to Binance’s discontinuation of its large-scale Bitcoin zero-fee promotion implemented last year.

Smaller exchanges such as Bybit and OKX have gained momentum as trade volumes recovered, leading to less concentration in offshore markets.

Over the past year, Bybit’s portion of global Bitcoin trading outside the U.S. surged to 9.3% from 2%, while OKX’s share rose to 7.3% from 3%.

The shift in market dynamics comes amid various developments in cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin’s fourth halving event over the weekend.

Despite the anticipation surrounding the event, its short-term impact has been mixed. Bitcoin has slightly outperformed its previous halvings in the first couple of days, up over 3% since the event. However, historical data suggests that while short-term impacts may vary, the long-term trajectory remains bullish.

One notable development following the halving was the increase in transaction fees on the Bitcoin network. The average network fee surged to an all-time high of $146, surpassing Ethereum’s average fee of $3 on the same day.

Meanwhile, funding rates for bitcoin perpetual contracts remained neutral despite briefly dipping into negative territory before the halving. However, open interest in these perpetual contracts remains high, exceeding $10 billion.

Binance’s Efforts to Rebuild Its Reputation

While Bybit and OKX have grown their presence in Asian markets, Binance has been dealing with legal challenges. In November, the company’s co-founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to U.S. anti-money laundering and sanctions breaches.

Binance, under new leadership by Richard Teng, a former Singaporean regulator, is currently working to improve its image amid U.S. regulatory scrutiny. The exchange has implemented stricter token listing criteria and formed a board of directors as part of this effort.

Meanwhile, as geopolitical tensions escalate in the Middle East, the demand for safe-haven assets has increased. Despite this, bitcoin has failed to attract significant inflows. Its value dropped by 6% in April, while traditional safe-haven assets like gold and the U.S. dollar rallied.

Kaiko explains that this could be attributed to the halving, which historically results in increased short-term volatility. The report also acknowledges that several other factors influence bitcoin’s performance during major market events.

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Bitcoin’s fourth halving is already in the history books, and the block rewards have been reduced to 3.125 BTC. Although historically the event has been named the catalyst of a new bull cycle, there’s a lot of controversy now, with many claiming that the effects of this halving are declining.

Aside from that, though, there are many other bullish developments on the Bitcoin front that might get you excited in the coming months.

If you’re still feeling bearish, you need to know this:…

— Lark Davis (@TheCryptoLark) April 27, 2024

ETF Developments

Perhaps the most bullish news this year came in mid-January when the US Securities and Exchange Commission finally greenlighted nearly a dozen spot Bitcoin ETFs to start trading on local exchanges. In a matter of just a few months, these products, led by BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC, attracted billions of dollars worth of BTC.

This demand led to an inevitable price increase for spot BTC prices, as the cryptocurrency nearly doubled its USD value and charted a new all-time high ahead of the halving for the first time ever.

However, as the inflows dried out and even started to turn negative on a few occasions, BTC’s price ascent was halted, and the asset fell by about ten grand since those March peaks. Reports on the matter claim that those ETFs are essential for bitcoin to keep growing as an asset.

But this declining ETF trend could soon change, at least according to the next three items on our list.

The United States’ oldest and one of its largest banking organizations – BNY Mellon – recently disclosed exposure to some of the spot BTC ETFs trading on local soil. BNY has been a long-time supporter of the cryptocurrency industry, even when most US banks were publicly criticizing or ignoring it.

The second bullish development related to the US ETF market came from another banking behemoth – Morgan Stanley. According to a recent report, the Wall Street giant is contemplating allowing its 15,000 brokers to recommend clients to purchase spot Bitcoin ETF funds.

ETFs Outside the US

While the US demand might be slowing down, at least for now, there are more bullish developments on that front from other jurisdictions. Hong Kong is all ready to have its own spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs soon, even though the effects will probably be smaller, given the market’s size compared to the US.

Analysts such as Lark Davis believe the launch of spot ETFs in Hong Kong will create a “massive ripple effect” across the entire Asian continent, and more countries will follow suit.

The post Feeling Bearish? Here Are Three Bullish Developments for Bitcoin’s Future appeared first on CryptoPotato.

The portion of Bitcoin miner revenue coming from transaction fees has fallen significantly after surging on the day of the last halving event.

A CryptoQuant report revealed that transaction fees now represent 35% of total miner revenue, a significant decline from the 75% recorded on April 19.

Transaction Fees Surge During Halving

The fourth Bitcoin halving, which took place last Friday, slashed miner block rewards by half to 3.125 bitcoins (BTC), resulting in daily issuance falling from an average of 900 BTC to 450 BTC.

On the halving day, daily miner revenue spiked to $100 million, stemming from a notable spike in transaction fees. Daily fees on the Bitcoin network surged to 1,258 BTC ($80 million), a level never seen before, representing 75% of the total revenue for that day.

One major propeller of the high transaction fees was the Runes protocol, which drove network activity after it was launched on the Bitcoin halving block. Runes allows the issuance and transfer of fungible tokens through the storage of data in OP RETURN codes. The use of the codes on the halving day hit a record high of 512,000 as users flocked to the Runes Protocol.

A Significant Fall in Fees

In less than 24 hours after the halving, transaction fees returned to lower levels and remained there. Fees currently constitute 35% of total miner revenue, while the latter now hovers around $50 million, a 35% decline from pre-halving record-high levels of roughly $78 million.

According to YCharts data, Bitcoin transaction fees have fallen from $80 million on April 20 to $6 million. Over the past week, they have hovered around an average of $16 million, with the lowest figure seen on April 26.

Higher transaction fees and rising BTC prices will help miners stay afloat since their block rewards have been cut in half. With fees plummeting by the day and BTC struggling to move past $64,000, some miners may soon be forced to quit.

Nevertheless, CryptoQuant said it is too early to see any long-term effects of the halving on the network hashrate as miners appear to be running their operations at the same rate before the halving. The Bitcoin network hashrate is at 617 EH/s, while its hashprice is now at $0.07 per TH/s, the lowest since October.

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A piece of notebook paper featuring the phrase “Buy Bitcoin,” famously seen in the background during a broadcast featuring then-United States Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen in 2017, has been sold for 16 BTC, equivalent to approximately $1.027 million.

The auction, held at PubKey, a Bitcoin-themed bar in New York City, was organized and facilitated by the auction house Scarce.City.

Iconic “Buy Bitcoin” Sign Sold in Auction

The highest bidder, known pseudonymously as “Squirrekkywrath,” acquired the sign in a week-long auction. The auction was organized by Christian Langalis, also known as the “Bitcoin Sign Guy,” who posted it on the auction platform Scarce.City and attended the event himself.

Scarce.City noted that the transaction set a record amount for the platform. After Scarce City’s 15% fee deduction, Langalis is expected to receive approximately $875,000, equivalent to 13.6 BTC.

And that’s a wrap on one of the most ICONIC pieces of Bitcoin history.

Made a little history of our own … meet the official new https://t.co/rNz9DWL5WE record. pic.twitter.com/3ixQmEHbd0

— Scarce.City (@scarcedotcity) April 24, 2024

The iconic “Buy Bitcoin” sign on a ye­llow legal pad symbolized Bitcoin’s arrival in the global financial landscape­. This physical artifact is one of the few wide­ly recognized symbols of Bitcoin, given its primarily digital nature­. The auctioned notepad also include­s Langalis’ original notes and sketches of the­ sign from that historic day.

At the time of the famous incident, Langalis was reportedly a 22-year-old intern at the Cato Institute. The funds raised from the auction will support Langalis’ new venture, Tirrel Corp, which focuses on creating a Bitcoin Lightning network wallet on Urbit.

“Buy Bitcoin” Sign Replicas Sold For 0.8 BTC Each

In 2019, Langalis created and sold 21 replicas of the iconic “Buy Bitcoin” sign, which fetched an average price of 0.8 BTC each. Today, this would be valued at approximately $51,300 per piece.

According to the listing, these replicas are proudly displayed in the offices of venture firms such as Paradigm, Blockchain Capital, Castle Island Ventures, and the crypto think-tank Coin Center.

After Langalis held up the sign during a 2017 House Financial Services hearing, he was escorted out of the building for violating committee rules. However, the image of the sign quickly spread across the internet. Following the event, bitcoin’s price surged by 3.7% at the time of the broadcast.

Since then, bitcoin’s value has skyrocketed, going from around $2,700 in July 2017 to a peak of over $73,000 last month. This increase has been in part due to significant regulatory decisions in the United States, including allowing the launch of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds earlier this year.

The post ‘Buy Bitcoin’ Sign Held at Janet Yellen’s 2017 Speech Sells for $1M appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Bitcoin’s price actions were quite bearish for the past few days once again as the asset fell to $62,300 yesterday but managed to regain almost two grand since then.

The altcoins have also turned green today, with ETH jumping above $3,300 and SOL reclaiming the $140 level.

BTC Challenges $64K

It was just over a week ago when BTC went through its fourth halving, slashing the block rewards by half for the miners. At the time, the asset’s price had experienced tons of volatility amid the escalating tension between Iran and Israel.

After a massive drop to under $59,500, the cryptocurrency jumped by more than five grand and went above $65,000 last weekend. It kept climbing in the first few days of the business week and spiked above $67,000 on a couple of occasions.

However, that was short-lived, and the bears quickly reversed its trajectory. Wednesday was particularly painful as bitcoin dumped to $62,800. It bounced off to $65,000 on Thursday but was driven south once again, dropping to $62,400 on Saturday.

Nevertheless, the bulls have managed to intervene, and BTC now trades close to $64,000. Its market capitalization has neared $1.260 trillion, but its dominance over the alts has been reduced to 50.1%.

Bitcoin/Price/Chart. Source: TradingView Alts See Green

The declining BTC dominance metric means that most alts have outperformed the largest cryptocurrency. Ethereum is a prime example. The largest altcoin is up by more than 6% in the past 24 hours and trades above $3,300. Solana and Toncoin have charted similar gains that have pushed them to $143 and $5.5, respectively.

Further daily increases are evident from MATIC, NEAR, ICP, ETC, ARB, IMX, and MKR.

The total crypto market cap, which had declined by over $150 billion in just a few days by Saturday, is now above $2.5 trillion, having gained $60 billion overnight.

Cryptocurrency Market Overview. Source: QuantifyCrypto

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Upbit, a cryptocurrency platform based in South Korea, is responsible for over 80% of the country’s trading activity and has become among the world’s leading five exchanges in terms of trading volume.

According to a Bloomberg report, Upbit’s customers were responsible for nearly a fifth of the total deposits from its major banking partners last year.

Upbit’s Dominance Sparks Concerns

Upbit’s dominance has drawn criticism and concerns, particularly as South Korea moves to enact new legislation aimed at protecting investors following the TerraUSD stablecoin collapse in 2022.

The upcoming regulations, set to be enforced in July under the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, will impose strict requirements on crypto exchanges, including measures to increase reserves, enhance investor protection, and monitor suspicious transactions.

The concerns stem from the fear that these regulations could cement Upbit’s position as the undisputed leader in the Korean market.

Nam HyeonJoon, a spokesperson for Bithumb, Korea’s second-largest trading platform, highlighted the challenges posed by the new regulatory framework, citing the substantial capital and manpower required for compliance.

Simon Seojoon Kim, CEO of Hashed, a Korea-based venture capital firm, echoed these sentiments, noting that well-resourced exchanges like Upbit may find it easier to meet the new standards, potentially widening the gap between market leaders and smaller competitors.

The regulatory challenges have already affected international exchanges eyeing entry into the Korean market. Singapore-based Crypto.com recently announced a delay in its planned launch in South Korea, citing the need for further communication with regulators.

The decision came after reports of regulatory scrutiny, with concerns raised about anti-money laundering practices.

Since the crypto law passed last June, smaller exchanges like Huobi Korea, Cashierest, and Coinbit have closed. Analyst Min Seung Kim from Korbit Research expects Upbit to easily meet new regulations, noting that competition is increasingly focused on the top exchange.

South Korea’s Crypto Craze

Despite the regulatory landscape, South Korea’s appetite for crypto shows no signs of decreasing. More than six million Koreans, representing over 10% of the population, actively trade cryptocurrencies, and the won is emerging as the most traded currency against crypto-assets globally.

The country remains a hotbed of activity for crypto enthusiasts. “I invested more in stocks before, but now I’m all in crypto,” remarked Ho Chan Chung, head of marketing at Korean analytics firm CryptoQuant.

Launched in 2017 by Dunamu Inc., Upbit has quickly become a key player in the crypto market. According to CCData, its trading volume globally has surged to nearly 5%, up from 1.4% in January 2021. Backed by Kakao Corp. and Woori Technology Investment, Upbit reached a peak valuation of $15.7 billion during the pandemic.

The post Upbit Dominates South Korea’s Crypto Market, Ranking Top 5 Globally: Report appeared first on CryptoPotato.

SlowMist, in collaboration with imToken, has uncovered a new breed of cryptocurrency scam that targets users in physical offline transactions, utilizing USDT as the mode of payment.

This fraudulent scheme operates by tampering with Ethereum node Remote Procedure Calls (RPC) to defraud unsuspecting victims.

Scammer’s Strategy

Initially, the scammer persuades the target to download the legitimate imToken wallet and fosters trust by transferring 1 USDT and a small amount of ETH as bait.

Subsequently, the scammer instructs the user to redirect their ETH RPC URL to a node controlled by the former, particularly using the modified node. Through this manipulation, the bad actor then falsifies the user’s USDT balance to make it seem as though funds have been deposited.

However, when the user attempts to transfer out the USDT, they discover they’ve already been deceived. But, by then, the scammer has disappeared without a trace, according to SlowMist’s findings.

The blockchain security firm also revealed that Tenderly’s Fork feature is not only capable of modifying balances but also contract information thereby posing an even graver threat to users.

As such, understanding RPC is crucial in comprehending the mechanism of such scams, SlowMist observed. RPC serves as a medium to interact with blockchain networks, enabling users to perform various actions such as checking balances and creating transactions. Typically, wallets connect to secure nodes by default, but connecting to untrusted nodes can lead to malicious modifications, resulting in financial losses.

Suspect Address Flagged for Pig Butchering Scam

Further analysis by MistTrack revealed the depth of the scam’s operations. Investigation into a known victim’s wallet address (0x9a7…Ce4) shows that they received 1 USDT and 0.002 ETH from another address (0x4df…54b).

This address, in turn, has transferred 1 USDT to multiple addresses, indicating repeated fraudulent activities. These addresses are flagged as “Pig Butchering Scammers” by MistTrack, and are associated with various trading platforms, and implicated in multiple scam incidents.

The post SlowMist Exposes Scam Using Malicious RPC Node Modifications appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Ripple’s price has yet to show a sign of recovery and is continuing its overall bearish trend. If things are to change, the price should soon begin its recovery, as the market is in a critical area.

Technical Analysis

By TradingRage

The USDT Paired Chart

Against USDT, XRP has dropped aggressively below the 200-day moving average around the $0.6 level and has yet to climb above. However, the $0.5 support zone has held the price, and the market is consolidating above it.

If the price breaks above the 200-day moving average, investors can be hopeful that a bullish trend will finally begin. On the other hand, a breakdown of the $0.5 level can aggravate the bearish trend, and the market could decline to much lower values.

Source: TradingView The BTC Paired Chart

Looking at the BTC pair’s daily timeframe, the price has been making lower highs and lows since the beginning of 2024. However, the 800 SAT support zone has recently held the cryptocurrency, preventing it from a further correction.

The Relative Strength Index is also sowing values below 50%, but is experiencing a recovery. If the RSI rises above 50%, the market could finally begin its rebound toward the 1200 SAT.

Source: TradingView

The post XRP Bull Run Nowhere to Be Seen as Bears Eye $0.5 Next: Ripple Price Analysis appeared first on CryptoPotato.

TL;DR

The meme coin sector has experienced significant growth, with Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) leading, while newer tokens like dogwifhat (WIF) and Pepe (PEPE) gain traction through strong community support.

Analysts remain optimistic about the realm’s potential, particularly post-Bitcoin halving, which has historically triggered market surges.

Which Meme Coin May Join the Prestigious Club?

The meme coin sector has been making great strides during the latest bull cycle, with its market capitalization briefly surpassing $60 billion. The progress is thanks to popular assets such as Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB), which remain quite trending among investors, as well as new sensations, including dogwifhat (WIF), Bonk Inu (BONK), Pepe (PEPE), and others.

Currently, DOGE and SHIB account for over 60% of the cohort’s market capitalization, and they are the only meme coins to have ever crossed the $10 billion mark. As such, we decided to ask ChatGPT whether another asset of that type can reach the milestone.

The AI-powered chatbot estimated that success on the front can be fueled by strong community support, viral social media presence, and increased investor interest. WIF and PEPE are some of the meme coins that have gained a solid supporter base.

The dogwifhat community recently raised $650,000 to put the token’s logo on the Sphere – a famous entertainment arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. In addition, the token received backing from prominent industry participants, such as Arthur Hayes.

However, a study conducted a few months ago estimated that Shiba Inu is the meme coin with the strongest community base, while DOGE and PEPE round up the top 3 list. 

The frog-themed digital asset currently has a market cap of over $3 billion, making it the biggest contender of the leading ones.

Expectations of an Overall Meme Coin Bull Run

Numerous analysts remain optimistic that the meme coin sector is yet to flourish during the bull cycle. One factor to possibly contribute is the Bitcoin halving which took place last week.

The event, following which miners’ rewards distributed for validating blocks on the blockchain were deducted in half, has historically been a precursor for a major resurgence for the entire cryptocurrency industry.

One meme coin to be particularly poised for a price ascent in the near future is Shiba Inu. The numerous elements suggesting that the self-proclaimed Dogecoin-killer is yet to experience fresh gains include its aggressive burning mechanism, the development of the layer-2 scaling solution Shibarium, and the predominantly negative SHIB exchange netflow on a weekly scale.

The post We Asked ChatGPT Which Will be the Next Meme Coin to Hit $10B Market Cap appeared first on CryptoPotato.

The lending market for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has witnessed an unprecedented surge, hitting a quarterly high of $2.13 billion in Q1, marking a significant 43.6% quarter-over-quarter growth.

According to data from CoinGecko, five of the six top platforms are seeing increased volumes.

Blend Dominates with 92.9% Market Share

In January, the NFT lending market hit a record $0.9 billion monthly volume, exceeding the previous peak of $0.85 billion in June 2023. Blend emerged as the top NFT lending platform, with a 92.9% market share and a monthly lending volume of $562.33 million in March 2024.

Since its launch in May 2023, Blend has consistently dominated the market, with its monthly share ranging from 88.8% to 96.5%. In Q1 2024, Blend’s lending volume surged by 49.2% quarter-on-quarter to reach $2.02 billion.

Arcade and NFTfi followed as the next most popular platforms, holding 2.8% and 2.2% market share, respectively, with lending volumes of $16.94 million and $13.32 million in March 2024.

Arcade recorded a new quarterly high of $39.46 million in Q1 2024, marking a 37.1% increase quarter-on-quarter, while NFTfi saw a 48.3% rise in lending volume to reach $35.88 million.

The remaining platforms, including X2Y2, BendDAO, and Parallel Finance, held smaller market shares ranging from 0.5% to 0.8%.

Incentives and Bitcoin Ordinals Influence

To drive more user interaction, NFT lending platforms are introducing fresh incentives to stimulate trading activities. In a recent move, Arcade, backed by Pantera Capital, introduced its “Clash of Clans” airdrop program in late February.

The initiative aims to distribute ARCD tokens to 4,000 wallets, each entitled to claim 750 ARCD tokens. Similarly, other platforms like X2Y2 and BendDAO have also initiated token launches for their community members.

Looking ahead, CoinGecko stated that the impact of increasingly popular Bitcoin Ordinals on the NFT lending market is a trend worth monitoring. While Ethereum NFT collections currently dominate loan originations, the evolving landscape may see a shift in dynamics.

Blend, established in May 2023, operates on a peer-to-peer lending model. It enables borrowers to use their NFTs as collateral while seeking lenders offering competitive interest rates.

Although the loans feature fixed interest rates, they do not have expiration dates. This flexibility allows borrowers to repay at their convenience, while lenders can exit their positions by auctioning off the collateralized NFTs through a Dutch auction mechanism.

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In yet another milestone for the Bitcoin network, its daily transactions peaked at 927,000, surpassing the previous record of 724,000 set in December 2023, according to findings by Intotheblock.

The launch of Runes sparked a rapid increase, demonstrating growing interest and utility in cryptocurrencies, setting a new all-time high in Bitcoin’s transaction activity.

Runes, a new token standard on the Bitcoin blockchain, has dominated transactions since its launch following the halving on April 20, accounting for over two-thirds of all Bitcoin transactions. With more than 2.38 million transactions processed, Runes make up 68% of the total.

Bitcoin hit a new all-time high in daily transactions!

Following the launch of Runes, The number of Bitcoin transactions has increased rapidly, hitting 927,000 on Tuesday. This breaks the previous high of 724k set in December of 2023 pic.twitter.com/30JXbrLmdR

— IntoTheBlock (@intotheblock) April 26, 2024

This data, sourced from a Dune Analytics dashboard shared by blockchain research firm Crypto Koryo, indicated the significant adoption and usage of Runes alongside traditional Bitcoin transactions, including ordinary peer-to-peer transactions, BRC-20s, and Ordinals.

Runes experienced its highest activity, surpassing 750,000 transactions on April 23. However, the following day saw a significant decrease, with the transaction count dropping to 312,000, less than half of the previous day’s total.

Industry experts appear to be divided on whether Runes will offer a sustainable revenue source for Bitcoin miners.

The new protocol, introduced by Ordinals Creator Casey Rodarmor, is promoted as a more efficient way to generate tokens on the Bitcoin network compared to BRC-20.

However, certain commentators, such as Nikita Zhavoronkov from Blockchair, have criticized the amount of block space Runes transactions are occupying, suggesting Bitcoin has deviated from Satoshi Nakamoto’s original vision as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system.

The post Bitcoin Breaks Daily Transaction Record Days After Halving appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs have been a major catalyst in driving BTC to establish an all-time high months before its fourth halving. According to a new report by Ecoinometrics, Bitcoin cannot grow further without those products.

These funds appear to have “stopped accumulating coins” (in aggregate) for more than a month, which can be a cause of concern for the leading asset’s future price trajectory.

Bitcoin’s Growth Hinges on ETFs

From January to mid-March, spot Bitcoin ETFs managed to accumulate 200,000 BTC, despite significant outflows from Grayscale. This accumulation coincided with bitcoin’s price surge from $40,000 to $75,000.

However, the inflow of BTC into ETFs stopped, leading to a halt in price movement.

The report stated,

“If you’re wondering why bitcoin is stuck in the $60k range, look no further. The ETFs have stopped accumulating coins for a while now. They are the only game in town. No demand from them means no price appreciation.”

Despite the lack of action in the past thirty days, Ecoinometrics said that investors should not lose sight of the big picture. Its report further said that bitcoin is the only hedge investors need against debasement.

Bitcoin Best Bet Against Debasement?

Analyzing the performance of bitcoin, gold, and the NASDAQ over the last decade, adjusted for the growth of the global monetary base, the report found that the yellow metal remains flat, merely keeping pace with global liquidity despite hitting new all-time highs. This represents the baseline level of hedging against debasement.

On the other hand, the NASDAQ has seen a threefold increase, which is commendable. However, bitcoin has outperformed both by a significant margin, boasting a staggering 44-fold increase in value. This highlighted bitcoin’s effectiveness as a hedge in today’s economic climate.

However, certain counterarguments exist by prominent industry experts. Crypto analytics platform Kaiko, for one, said that bitcoin has failed to attract safe-haven flows even in the face of increased demand for such assets amidst the conflict in the Middle East.

The post Bitcoin Cannot Grow Without the Spot Bitcoin ETFs: Report appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Bitcoin’s price recovery attempts from the business week have come to a halt as the asset slumped to $62,400 earlier before bouncing off to around $63,000 as of now.

The altcoins are in no better shape, with most of the market turning red today. The total crypto market cap is down by $150 billion in two days.

BTC Dumps to $63K

Bitcoin’s price actions before and after the fourth halving, which was completed last Friday, have been quite underwhelming. The asset recovered some ground after the Iran-Israel attacks and stood above $65,000 when the block rewards were reduced.

It even started climbing in the following days and challenged $67,000 on a few occasions. Yet, it didn’t see much success there amid the growing ETF outflows.

Just the opposite, BTC started to lose value rapidly in the past few days, which culminated in a substantial price decline to a multi-day low of $62,400 earlier today.

Despite recovering some ground, bitcoin still struggles to reclaim $63,000. Its market cap has slipped to $1.240 trillion on CoinGecko, while its dominance over the altcoins stands still below 51%.

Bitcoin/Price/Chart 26.04.2024 Alts Turn Red

The alternative coins space is in a dire state today as well. The most violent price decline from a larger-cap alt comes from Solana. The token has dropped by over 5% in a day and struggles below $140 now. Dogecoin (-3.5%), Cardano (-3.2%), Avalanche (-3.6%), Shiba Inu (-3.1%), and Polkadot (-2.75%) follow suit.

ETH, BNB, XRP, and TON are also in the red but in a less violent manner. Tron’s native token is among the few alts in the green today, charting a 3% increase.

However, most other lower- and mid-cap alts have posted significant losses over the past day as well. As such, the total crypto market cap is down by $50 billion overnight and $150 billion since Thursday to under $2.450 trillion on CG.

Cryptocurrency Market Overview. Source: QuantifyCrypto

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A meme coin trader has reportedly cashed out over $22 million in profits from multiple positions in meme-themed tokens on the Solana blockchain.

According to blockchain analysis firm Lookonchain, the actions of a trader identified as “paulo.sol” on the Solana Name Service account were flagged on April 26.

Meme Coin Trader Profits Over $22 Million

The meme coin trader achieved profitable outcomes from assets like Dogwifhat (WIF), Jeo Boden (BODEN), and Bonk (BONK).

They initiated their investment in BONK as early as November 11, 2023, after observing its upward trajectory. Employing a strategy of purchasing during downturns and selling during peaks, they executed swing trades, resulting in an accumulation of approximately $6.28 million in profits from trading BONK.

What a legend!

paulo.sol has realized profits of $9.51M on $WIF , $7.04M on $boden and $6.28M on $BONK .

1/ Let’s dig into his trades to see what he’s buying. pic.twitter.com/2axUwHb3el

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) April 26, 2024

Recognizing the potential in WIF and BODEN, the trader didn’t enter these tokens at launch but started accumulating them during upward movements. They purchased WIF on December 4, 2023, and initiated BODEN trades on March 6. As a result, the trader realized profits of $9.51 million from WIF trades and $7.04 million from BODEN transactions.

They got approximately $22.83 million from flipping Solana-based meme tokens. While significant profits have already been secured, the trader currently has $7.6 million in BODEN tokens and $5.7 million in WIF.

Furthermore, the trader expanded their meme coin portfolio by investing in additional tokens. They allocated $1.77 million to POPCAT and nearly $6 million to PUPS, subsequently becoming the largest holder of PUPS on the Solana blockchain.

Traders Capitalize on Solana Meme Coin Frenzy

Community members have applauded the trader for the impressive moves in the crypto market. One user noted that the trader’s success was not merely luck but rather a demonstration of their unwavering belief compared to others.

Another user commended the trader for exhibiting “diamond” hands, a term used to describe traders who can maintain their positions even in challenging market conditions.

The trader is among many who have profited from the Solana meme coin frenzy. On April 3, another trader turned $13,000 into $2 million within one hour. In this case, they purchased 499.9 million MOEW using 4 Ether just 10 minutes after MOEW was listed on decentralized exchanges (DEXs). Less than an hour later, they sold 111.65 million MOEW for 99 ETH ($328,000) and were left with 388.24 million MOEW.

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Pantera Capital is seeking to secure $1 billion for its new fund, ‘The Panter Fund V. ‘ It is designed to provide investors with exposure to a wide range of blockchain-based assets.

A new report by Bloomberg revealed that the new fund is expected to launch in April 2025.

Pantera Fund V

The Pantera Fund V has been designed to be an all-encompassing product, differing from the digital asset investment manager’s previous funds with more specific investment focuses such as the Liquid Token Fund, Early Stage Token Fund, Bitcoin Fund, and Venture Funds. Qualified investors must allocate a minimum of $1 million, with the first close scheduled for April 1, 2025.

Limited partners are expected to contribute a minimum of $25 million to participate in the fund.

Its website states,

“Fund V offers exposure to the full spectrum of blockchain assets. The venture-style Fund will invest in venture equity, early-stage tokens, and liquid tokens.”

The fund, if successful, would become the largest raised since the sector’s collapse amidst scandals and bankruptcies in 2022, according to the report. The fund managers encountered significant difficulties in raising new capital last year, but this appears to be changing as the sentiment of key players improves.

With the market recovery, Pantera’s new fund is expected to match the size of its last one, which raised about $1.25 billion two years ago.

Pantera Capital Scores Discounted Solana Tokens

In addition to the new fund, Pantera Capital also emerged as one of the successful bidders for another batch of discounted Solana tokens. They were auctioned by the administrators overseeing the bankruptcy of the now-defunct FTX cryptocurrency exchange.

Approximately 2,000 SOL tokens were sold this week, though this information hasn’t been publicly disclosed. Neither Pantera nor the FTX estate spokespeople have commented on the sale yet. Earlier this month, the FTX estate disposed nearly two-thirds of a $2.6 billion stash of Solana tokens at a discounted rate, attracting interest from Pantera and Galaxy Digital, as reported by insiders.

The 41 million SOL tokens being sold are locked under a pre-agreed vesting period spanning four years. Despite previous auctions fetching roughly $60 per token, sources reveal that these recent coins were sold at a higher price. More auctions are expected to follow.

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