President Joe Biden has signed off on the controversial bill that expands the surveillance powers granted to United States government agencies which critics worry could severely impact the privacy of American citizens. 

On April 20, the U.S. Senate voted 60-34 in favor of passing legislation that reauthorizes, extends, and amends Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) for an additional two years. President Biden signed it into law a day later. 

Champions of the bill, including President Biden and a swathe of members from both sides of the aisle said the bill was essential in aiding counter-terrorism efforts and preserving the national security interests of the U.S.

“Allowing FISA to expire would have been dangerous. It’s an important part of our national security toolkit and helps law enforcement stop terrorist attacks, drug trafficking, and violent extremism,” said Democrat Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, speaking on the Senate floor.

The bill’s critics, however, said that the reauthorization and amendment of FISA would usher in a new era of surveillance and vastly expand spying powers afforded to government agencies including the National Security Agency (NSA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Central Intelligence AGency (CIA).

In an April 20 post to X, Elizabeth Goitein — the co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice — lashed out at members who voted in favor of the bill, saying they had “sold out American civil liberties.”

Source: Elizabeth Goitein

“The provision effectively grants the NSA access to the communications equipment of almost any U.S. business, plus huge numbers of organizations and individuals. It’s a gift to any president who may wish to spy on political enemies, journalists, ideological opponents,” wrote Goitein.

“This is a shameful moment in the history of the United States Congress.”

Related: NSA ’just days from taking over the internet’ warns Edward Snowden

Currently, U.S. agencies such as the NSA can force internet service providers such as Google and Verizon to hand over sensitive data concerning their targets.

Now that the bill has been signed into law by President Biden, the U.S. government will be able to go far beyond its current scope of surveillance and force a swathe of companies and individuals that provide internet-related services to assist with surveillance.

The bill initially received strong pushback from privacy-conscious Republicans and Democrats alike but was passed through the House of Representatives on April 13. An amendment to the bill — requesting that the security agencies require a warrant for all internet-based surveillance — was also shot down by a slim margin in the House.

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden said the reauthorization of FISA section 702, meant that America had “lost something important,” and described the legislation as being unconstitutional.

On April 13, Democratic Senator Ron Wyden described the bill as one of the most “dramatic and terrifying expansions of government surveillance authority in history.”

Magazine: Creating ‘good’ AGI that won’t kill us all — Crypto’s Artificial Superintelligence Alliance

Base creator Jesse Pollak believes memes will be key to onboarding millions of users to his Coinbase-adjacent layer-2 network, which has already tripled in total value locked since March. 

During a memecoin hackathon in New York on April 20, Pollak said memes are an important part of the on-chain economy, adding that he is “excited to see more based memes proliferate to help bring the world on-chain.”

“There’s been a ton of energy on Base,” said Pollak, adding:

“One thing that has really stood out to us is that we’re seeing these memes today onboard thousands and thousands of people into this new economy.” 

The growth in memecoins and transactions on Base surged following the Ethereum Dencun upgrade in mid-March which reduced fees on layer-2 networks.

As a result, Base total value locked has surged almost 250% since the beginning of March, hitting an all-time high of $1.61 billion on April 21, according to DefiLlama.

Base TVL 2024. Source: DeFiLlama

Pollak said that aside from speculation, memes creators on Base have also bred countless new ways to onboard people to their communities. 

“And what that’s creating is this kind of Cambrian explosion of onboarding experiments where people are taking tons and tons of shots on goal to say ‘how do we get our culture into the hands of more people.’”

“The thing we’ve built more conviction on is that in the years ahead we’re actually going to see these memes bring in millions more people [to Base] — they’re going to be one of the biggest drivers because they’re doing that work constantly to onboard more and more folks through that in a really creative way,” he added. 

Source: Jesse Pollak

He added that there were “hundreds of teams and hundreds of sub-cultures” that are evolving, building, and creating, “bringing their culture and energy into this economy,” and capital market.

Related: 12 Solana presale memecoins abandoned after just a month

The most popular memecoin on Base at the moment is BRETT which has a market cap of $567 million and saw a price explosion of 7,780% since the beginning of March.

Other large-cap memecoins on the Coinbase blockchain include DEGEN with a market cap of $435 million and TOSHI with $185 million, according to CoinGecko.

Blockchains such as Solana and Base have become a magnet for memecoin degens in recent months due to their high throughput and low fees.

However, an in-depth investigation by Cointelegraph revealed that 16.7% of new Base memecoins were scams, and more than 90% of them have vulnerabilities.

Magazine: 1 in 6 new Base meme coins are scams, 91% have vulnerabilities

Blockchain-based gambling project ZKasino is being slammed on X for moving $33 million worth of investor and user funds to staking protocol Lido — a sudden change from its original plan to return the funds.

In an April 20 blog post, ZKasino announced its network had gone live. More than 10,000 users who had bridged a collective 10,515 Ether (ETH) to the network in a bid to collect more of its ZKasino (ZKAS) token were expecting they could get their ETH back as originally promised.

Instead, ZKasino’s post said it “made changes from our initial plan” and all bridged ETH was converted to ZKAS at a “discounted rate of $0.055” on a 15-month vesting schedule.

It claimed the changes were “done as a favour” so it could “provide a seamless transition” as its chain doesn’t use ETH. Users also noticed it had changed the wording on its website, removing a statement that said the ETH “would be returned.”

These concerns were further intensified after an on-chain transfer showing ZKasino moved all of its users’ 10,515 ETH into the staking protocol Lido.

Source: Ember

Meanwhile, an anonymous crypto developer known as “cygaar” claims that the blockchain ZKasino released was “an Arbitrum Nitro chain that took 2 minutes to deploy” and didn’t use zero knowledge technology or EigenDA despite its claim that it would.

Source: cygaar

On X, hundreds of posts from apparent ZKasino users who pitched money toward the project are now alleging the project is an exit scam.

Some have even spread the personal information and address of ZKasino’s founder known on X as “Derivatives Monke,” using it to call for legal action.

More controversy

Venture capital firm Big Brain has added to the controversy as well, claiming in an April 21 X post that ZKasino “appears to be fraudulent” and it “never invested in ZKasino” but was offered a pro-rata token distribution that it had not received and “will not opt to receive.”

This came after ZKasino claimed in an X post last month to have closed a Series A investment round at a $350 million valuation with backing from crypto exchange MEXC and venture firm Big Brain Holdings, among others.

Source: Big Brain Holdings

Meanwhile, crypto outlet TechFlow reported on April 21 that MEXC said (translated) it was “just one of the investors” and ZKasino’s “behavior has nothing to do with us. As an investor, we are also victims.”

Related: Solana memecoin frenzy raises questions about crypto utility, reputation

ZKasino, its founder, its parent firm ZigZag Labs and MEXC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

ZKasino has been largely mute on X through the backlash. The project posted a humdrum update about integrating EIP-3074 on X.

Derivatives Monke has replied to an X user who criticized Monke over ZKasino’s recent decision and in another post, shared his project’s latest X post with the caption “keep building.”

Web3 Gamer: Bitcoin Halving will pump games, Shrapnel’s ‘simple’ secret revealed

Several Swiss-based Bitcoiners are renewing attempts to get the Swiss National Bank to hold Bitcoin (BTC) in its reserves by holding a referendum to change the country’s constitution — but they will need to convince more than 100,000 locals to sign a petition first.

Adding Bitcoin to the central bank’s reserves would help protect the country’s “sovereignty and neutrality” in an increasingly uncertain world, said Yves Bennaïm, founder and chairman of 2B4CH, a not-for-profit think tank that is leading the charge. 

“We are in the process of completing the organizational preparations for the committee and preparing the documents that must be submitted to the State Chancellery in order to start the process,” Bennaïm told Swiss news outlet Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) on April 20.

However, 100,000 signatures from Swiss nationals are needed within 18 months for a referendum to be held on issues brought about by Swiss nationals or groups — a threshold that plagued 2B4CH’s first attempt in October 2021.

2B4CH first launched the “Bitcoin Initiative” around that time, stating its mission was to dding Bitcoin as a reserve currency to Article 99-3 of the Swiss Federal Constitution.

Switzerland boasts a population of 8.77 million, meaning about 1.15% of locals will need to sign the petition.

Source: Remou Herek

“By including Bitcoin in its reserves, Switzerland would mark its independence from the European Central Bank. Such a step would strengthen our neutrality,” said Luzius Meisser, president of the Bitcoin-focused trading platform Bitcoin Suisse who is assisting Bennaïm with the initiative.

Meisser will try to convince the Swiss National Bank about the benefits of adding Bitcoin to its balance sheet in an April 26 meeting. He’ll have three minutes to plead his case.

The executive previously tried to convince the central bank to buy $1.1 billion (1 billion Swiss francs) of Bitcoin each month as an alternative to German government bonds in March 2022, according to NZZ.

However, Swiss National Bank Chair Thomas Jordan reportedly said Bitcoin didn’t meet the requirements for SNB to add it as a reserve currency in April 2022.

Related: Crypto adoption is booming, but not in the US or Europe — Bitcoin Builders 2023

Meisser is now claiming that Switzerland would be $32.9 billion (30 billion Swiss francs) richer, had the central bank followed his suggestion in 2022 and that leaving it any later risks the chances of other central banks swooping in on Bitcoin, forcing Switzerland to buy at “significantly higher prices than everyone else,” he said.

However, Leon Curti, head of research at asset manager Digital Asset Solutions, is hopeful the recent approvals for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the United States and Hong Kong will influence the Swiss National Bank into investing in Bitcoin.

The NZZ article brought about a positive response from Joana Cotar, a German politician and Bitcoin activist who strongly opposes a European Union-backed digital currency.

Cointelegraph reached out to 2B4CH but didn’t receive an immediate response.

Magazine: Bitcoin in Senegal: Why is this African country using BTC?

$60 million worth of Tether (USDT) has already been issued on The Open Network (TON) since its it began supporting the blockchain on April 19, making it the 11th largest blockchain for Tether out of 16. 

On April 19, the stablecoin issuer announced a collaboration with the TON Foundation at the Token2049 crypto conference in Dubai that would see Tether begin to be minted on TON. 

The firm also revealed it has launched the gold-pegged Tether Gold (XAUT) stablecoin on TON as well.

The Open Network team said that cross-border payments were instant, free, and as easy as sending a text message to Telegram’s 900 million users in a post on X.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino commented in a post on X on April 21 that it had made a “great start” with $35 million USDT issued on TON.

However, according to the Tether Transparency report, the authorized supply issued on TON has grown to $60 million as of 11:30 pm UTC on April 21. 

Source: Paolo Ardoino

The collaboration allows Telegram’s users to send transfers freely and instantly between all platform users, “all you need to do is send a DM [direct message], no need for a blockchain address, and no need to download a new app,” the messaging company stated.

USDT on TON will be accompanied by fully integrated on-ramps from most fiat currencies globally at launch, it added before stating that soon, integrated global off-ramps will enable users to withdraw supported fiat currencies directly to bank accounts or cards.

However, the majority of Tether’s $109.8 billion circulating supply is on the Tron (TRX) network which has $57.8 billion. Ethereum has $51 billion USDT in circulation, a number that has been dwindling as more Tether is deployed on different blockchains to alleviate high network fees on Ethereum.

USDT issuance on various blockchains. Source: Tether Transparency Report

Solana is the third largest network supporting Tether with $1.9 billion issued. The stablecoin has also been issued on Avalanche, Omni, Cosmos, Tezos, Near, EOS, and Celo, among others.

Related: Binance’s $1B emergency ‘SAFU’ fund now makes up 3% of UDSC supply

Tether has a market share of 69% of the entire stablecoin market capitalization which is around $159.5 billion, according to CoinGecko.

Its closest rival Circle has a share of 21% for its stablecoin, USD Coin (USDC), of which there are $33.7 billion in circulation.

Toncoin (TON) prices reacted to the announcement with a 22% spike but quickly returned to previous levels. The asset is trading down 1.6% on the day at $6.13 at the time of writing, according to CoinGecko.

Magazine: The real risks to Ethena’s stablecoin model are not the ones you think

At least 12 Solana presale memecoins have been “completely abandoned” in the last 30 days after raising a combined $26.7 million from investors, according to figures shared by independent blockchain sleuth ZachXBT. 

In an April 21 post to X, ZachXBT highlighted 12 Solana memecoin projects that raised funds through the controversial presale method, many of which have since plunged significantly since launch, and one which appears not to have launched any token at all. 

Source: ZachXBT

According to ZachXBT, the most costly “abandoned” presale project was a memecoin dubbed ‘I like this coin’ which sported the ticker LIKE.

The project’s pseudonymous founder pokeee.eth raised a staggering 52,220 Solana (SOL) ($7.7 million at current prices) for the memecoin and launched the coin on March 17 with a market capitalization of $577 million, however, the meme coin’s value plunged rapidly, falling more than 90% in the first 8 hours.

As of the time of publication, LIKE is down 99.2% from its launch price. Notably, the memecoin’s official X account hasn’t made a single new post since March 31 — and pokeee.eth hasn’t mentioned the coin since then either.

The second-largest alleged abandoned presale is for a token called MOONKE.

Launched by another pseudonymous founder RockyXBT on March 20 to an outsized valuation of nearly $500 million, MOONKE soon charted a similar path to LIKE, plummeting more than 99% from its launch price in a matter of hours.

The MOONKE memecoin failed to gain traction. Source: Birdeye

One project that raised 4,567 SOL ($812,000 at current prices) never even launched a token.

Cointelegraph contacted both Pokeee and RockyXBT for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Related: What are memecoins good for? Social signaling, says Avalanche founder

The market’s enthusiasm for memecoins has dwindled somewhat in recent weeks, with several of the larger Solana-based memecoins including dogwifhat (WIF) sliding more than 40% since April 1.

Solana memecoin market leader Dogwifhat has tumbled more than 40% since April 1. Source: CoinGecko

At the time, last month’s memecoin frenzy saw several market pundits draw comparisons to Ethereum initial coin offering (ICO) era boom of 2017 where hundreds of crypto projects raised millions of dollars but ultimately most failed to deliver.

One of the most notable Solana pre-sale debacles in recent months came in March, when the developer of a memecoin called Slerf claimed to have accidentally burned the entire pre-sale allocation of the memecoin SLERF in a “fat finger” burn error.

Despite the Slerf dev burning a staggering total of 535,000 SOL (worth around $10 million at the time) the coin soon quickly became a cult favorite among memecoin investors, who rallied behind the token and saw it rally to a peak of around $750 million market cap.

Magazine: 1 in 6 new Base meme coins are scams, 91% have vulnerabilities

The average fees paid on Bitcoin have sharply fallen just a day after reaching a record average of $128 on April 20 — the day of the fourth Bitcoin halving.

As of April 21, Bitcoin (BTC) fees have fallen to an average of $8-10 for medium-priority transactions, according to mempool.space.

Average daily transaction fee on Bitcoin over the last 5 years. Source: Y Charts

Only one day before, Bitcoin clocked $78.3 million in total fees, beating Ethereum by over 24 times according to Crypto Fees.

The day included a staggering 37.7 Bitcoin ($2.4 million) paid to Bitcoin miner ViaBTC in the Bitcoin halving block at block height 840,000 — making it the most sought-after piece of digital real estate in the network’s 15-year history.

Much of the demand at block 840,000 came from memecoin and nonfungible token enthusiasts competing to inscribe and etch rare satoshis via the Runes protocol — a new token standard that launched at the halving block.

3050 transactions were included in that block, meaning the average user paid a little under $800.

Largest fees by blockchains and decentralized finance projects on April 20. Source: Crypto Fees

The higher-than-normal block fees continued until about block 840,200, according to mempool.space, however, block fees have since fallen to around 1-2 Bitcoin.

Related: Bitcoin halving 2024: How to keep BTC mining efficient as rewards decrease

The large block fee payouts to miners throughout on halving day meant they weren’t initially impacted by the block subsidy halving from 6.25 Bitcoin to 3.125 Bitcoin.

But that’s no longer the case now that the average block fee is well below 3.125.

Source: Total fees for block 840,266 came out at 1.64 BTC. With the new block subsidy of 3.125, total rewards came out at 4.76 BTC. Source: mempool.space

Meanwhile, fees on Bitcoin have now topped Ethereum for six consecutive days between April 15-20, with its 7-day fee average now at $17.8 million.

The halving event didn't have a material impact on Bitcoin's price, which is up 1.5% since then to $64,840, according to CoinGecko.

Magazine: Get Bitcoin or die tryin’: Why hip hop stars love crypto

Australia is primed for its next wave of crypto “unicorns” — startups with a billion-dollar valuation — but not until there is more regulatory clarity around crypto, according to Coinbase’s APAC managing director John O’Loghlen.

“I don’t think the penny’s dropped in Canberra or on the high street in terms of just how much great human capital there is in Australia,” O’Loghlen told Cointelegraph — referring to policymakers and large institutional players.

“It’s really important that we get this clarity in legislation around digital assets so that the sector can be properly funded and give the VC community and other investors certainty around it so that we can keep building the next Illuvium or Immutable.”

While O’Logheln acknowledged there while there had been some regulatory advancements — including the Treasury’s October 2023 consultation paper and an informal regulatory meeting with policymakers at the Blockchain APAC Summit in March — he says it’s still lagging behind a huge uptick in retail and institutional demand for crypto.

According to a 2024 investor survey from Australian crypto exchange Independent Reserve, approximately 27.5% of all Australians — 7.15 million people — now own cryptocurrency. The survey found that 35% of all Australian crypto investors put around $500 per month into digital assets.

27.5% of Australians currently own crypto. Source: Independent Reserve

O’Loghlen also pointed to the growing demand for the utility of stablecoins, digital remittances, and a swathe of other capital-efficient applications of crypto in the Australian fintech industry as prime breeding grounds for the next multi-billion crypto company.

“Some of these companies are really going to be next Canva, the next Xero, the next Atlassian, or the next Afterpay,” he said, naming several multibillion-dollar valuation companies in Australia.

O’Loghlen also sees a significant increase in demand for crypto products on the retail side — with two main sectors piquing his attention.

The first is from an increase in interest in self-managed retirement funds divesting into crypto, which O’Loghlen said were considerable, despite being small relative to the size of their portfolio.

“Even if it's [0.5%] or 1% allocation, when that audience invests, the size of that investment is a considerable multiple of the [younger] cohorts, because their assets under management are significantly sized.”

The next most interesting cohort of investors coming into the market is what O’Loghlen called “HENRYs” — an internal acronym that stands for “High Earners Not Rich Yet.”

“These are working professionals who don’t have a whole lot of debt, don’t have a don’t have a large mortgage — they’ve got good earning potential and they’re really taking time to educate themselves on crypto,” he said.

Looking ahead, O’Loghlen revealed that Coinbase would be looking to expand its Stand with Crypto campaign to Australia later this year.

He said Coinbase plans to fly in members of its senior leadership to host several events to better help regulators and policymakers understand the potential upsides to cryptocurrency in the country.

Source: Stand With Crypto

“It’s important that people in Canberra — government representatives and policymakers — can see the real use cases for entrepreneurs and founders who are saving money and getting utility out of crypto,” he said.

O’Loghlen’s comments echo those of Kraken Australia’s MD Johnathon Miller, who told Cointelegraph that current market conditions mark an “inflection point” for crypto in Australia.

Magazine: Synthetix founder Kain Warwick: It’s DeFi that’s wrong, not the market

Bitcoin (BTC) recovered sharply from the intra-week lows and is likely to close the halving week with a minor loss of roughly 1%. According to Farside Investors data, the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds witnessed an inflow of $30.4 million a day before the halving, halting the five successive days of outflows.

The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) has seen the majority of outflows, while BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has continually attracted investments. Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said in a X post that the IBIT has seen “69 days of straight inflows.”

Crypto market data daily view. Source: Coin360

The Bitcoin ETFs inflows are likely to grow from strength to strength in 2024. Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley believes that several wealth management firms will own Bitcoin ETFs by the end of 2024. He highlighted that the firms were “long only” and will be “an amazing new constituent in the Bitcoin space.”

Will Bitcoin and altcoins overcome their respective overhead resistance levels? Let’s study the top 5 cryptocurrencies that look strong on the charts and may do so.

Bitcoin price analysis

Bitcoin’s recovery has reached the 20-day exponential moving average ($65,850), an important level to keep an eye on.

BTC/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

If the price turns down sharply from the moving averages, it will signal that bears are selling on rallies. That could result in a retest of the $60,775 to $59,600 support zone. Buyers are expected to defend this zone with all their might because a breakdown could accelerate selling. The BTC/USDT pair may then plummet to the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level of $54,298.

Contrarily, if the price breaks above the moving averages, it will suggest that the pair may swing between $60,775 and $73,777 for some more time. The bulls will have to drive the price above the overhead resistance to open the doors for a rally to $84,000.

BTC/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

The moving averages have completed a bullish crossover on the 4-hour chart, suggesting that the bulls have the edge in the near term. The pair could face resistance between $67,000 and $68,000, but if this zone is cleared, the next stop may be $71,000.

This optimistic view will be negated if the price turns down and breaks below the moving averages. That could signal aggressive selling on rallies. The pair may slide to $63,000 and subsequently to $60,775.

Binance Coin price analysis

Binance Coin (BNB) has been range-bound between $495 and $635 for the past few days, indicating a balance between supply and demand.

BNB/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

Buyers pushed the price above the moving averages on April 20, indicating that the selling pressure is reducing. The BNB/USDT pair could move toward the overhead resistance of $635, where the bears are likely to sell aggressively. If the price turns down sharply from $635, the range-bound action may continue for a while longer.

The next trending move is likely to begin on a break above $635 or below $495. If the $635 level is taken out, the pair may start its journey toward $692. On the downside, a slide below $495 could sink the pair to $460.

BNB/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

The 20-EMA has started to turn up on the 4-hour chart, and the RSI is in the positive territory, indicating that bulls are attempting a comeback. There is a minor resistance at $585, but if this level is crossed, the pair may reach $600 and then $635. The bears are likely to mount a strong defense near $635.

The positive view will be invalidated in the near term if the price turns down and breaks below the moving averages. The pair may then slump to $540 and later to $510.

Near Protocol price analysis

Near Protocol (NEAR) has been falling inside a descending channel pattern, indicating that the trend favors the bears.

NEAR/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

However, the rise above the 20-day EMA ($6.15) suggests that the selling pressure may be reducing in the short term. The NEAR/USDT pair will attempt a rally to the resistance line, where the bears are likely to sell aggressively. If the price turns down sharply from the resistance line, it will signal that the pair may remain inside the channel.

If buyers want to gain the upper hand, they will have to drive the pair above the channel. That will signal a short-term trend change, and the pair may rally to $8 and then to $9.

NEAR/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

After a long struggle, the pair broke above the $5.90 level, indicating that bulls have a slight edge. The price may turn down and retest $5.90, but if bulls flip this level into support, the pair may reach the resistance line.

Alternatively, if the price turns down sharply and breaks below the moving averages, it will suggest that the breakout above $5.90 may have been a bull trap. That could drag the price down to $5 and later to the support line of the channel.

Related: Why is Ether (ETH) price up today?

Mantle price analysis

Mantle (MNT) broke out of the 20-day EMA ($1.18) on April 20 after staying between the moving averages for several days. This suggests that bulls are trying to take charge.

MNT/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

However, the long wick on the April 21 candlestick shows that the bears have not yet given up and are attempting to pull the price back below the 20-day EMA. If they do that, it may trap the aggressive bulls and yank the price down to the 50-day SMA ($1.09). A break below this level could sink the MNT/USDT pair to $1.

On the contrary, if the price maintains above the 20-day EMA, it will suggest that the bulls are defending the level. The pair may then rise to the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level of $1.32, and if this level is scaled, the next stop could be $1.51.

MNT/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

The bulls have pushed the price above the symmetrical triangle pattern, indicating that the correction may have ended. If the price rebounds off the 20-EMA, it will increase the possibility of a rally above $1.25. The pair may then rise to $1.32.

Meanwhile, the bears are likely to have other plans. They will try to tug the price back into the triangle. That may trap the bulls, and a break below the triangle will tilt the advantage in favor of the bears. The pair may then tumble to $1.

Render price analysis

Render (RNDR) has been in a corrective phase for several days, but the bulls are trying to make a comeback by pushing the price above the downtrend line.

RNDR/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView

The 20-day EMA ($8.90) has flattened out, and the RSI has risen to the midpoint, suggesting that the bears are losing their grip. If the price maintains above the 20-day EMA, the RNDR/USDT pair is likely to rise to the 50-day SMA ($9.95) and then to $12.

Instead, if the price turns down and sustains below the 20-day EMA, it will suggest that the breakout may have been a fake move. The bears will then try to pull the price to $7 and later to $6.

RNDR/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

The moving averages have completed a bullish crossover, indicating advantage to buyers. However, the bears may pose a strong challenge at $9.50. If the price turns down from the overhead resistance but takes support at the 20-EMA, it will suggest a change in sentiment from selling on rallies to buying on dips. That will enhance the prospects of a rally to $10.50.

Contrary to this assumption, a break and close below the moving averages will suggest that the recent breakout was a bull trap. The pair may then descend to $7.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Ether futures ETFs, explained

Ether futures ETFs are investment funds that track Ethereum futures contracts, not Ethereum itself.

Consider a contract that commits to purchasing Ethereum at a specific price at a future time. These derivative contracts are traded via Ether (ETH) futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs), providing a regulated method of investing in Ethereum using a brokerage account.

In 2021, the first Ether futures ETFs were introduced in Canada. Although futures-based ETFs have been approved, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not yet approved a spot Ether ETF in the country.

Asset management companies oversee Ether futures ETFs. The major issuers offering Ether futures ETFs are Bitwise, VanEck and ProShares. These firms take care of the complexities involved in purchasing and disposing of futures contracts, controlling rollovers to preserve exposure and ensuring the ETF complies with legal requirements.

How Ether futures ETFs work

Without actually holding the cryptocurrency, investors can speculate on Ethereum’s future price using Ether futures ETFs. 

Rather than retaining tangible assets, Ether futures ETFs make investments in futures contracts. These contracts are commitments to buy or sell ether on a predetermined future date for a predetermined price. Without having to deal with wallets or cryptocurrency exchanges, investors can be exposed to Ethereum’s price fluctuations by purchasing these contracts through the ETF, which simply pools investors’ money to acquire them.

Assume an Ether futures ETF has a contract to purchase 100 ETH at a price of $4,000 each in three months. The ETF gains profit, and its share price rises if Ether reaches $4,500 by the contract’s expiration date. In contrast, the ETF experiences a loss if ETH’s price falls to $3,500.

A crucial point to remember is that Ether futures ETFs continuously manage their contracts by rolling them over to preserve exposure. This means they purchase new contracts with later expiration dates and sell the ones that are about to expire. The price of the ETF and the real spot price of Ether may differ slightly as a result of this process.

How to invest in Ether futures ETFs

To invest in an Ether futures ETF, select a brokerage, find the desired ETF, such as the VanEck Ethereum Strategy ETF, research it thoroughly and place an order to complete the purchase.

Here are the general steps involved in investing in Ether futures ETFs, using the VanEck Ethereum Strategy ETF as an example. The VanEck Ethereum Strategy ETF offers regulated exposure to Ether futures, streamlining direct ownership complexities, and its C-Corporation (C-Corp) structure enhances tax efficiency for investors.

Select a brokerage

The first step involves creating an account on a brokerage platform (e.g., Fidelity, Robinhood, Vanguard, and Charles Schwab) that allows trading of ETFs. 

Find the ETF

Use its ticker symbol to look for the VanEck Ethereum Strategy ETF or any other Ether futures ETF. The VanEck ETF’s ticker symbol is EFUT.

Research about the ETF

Conduct due diligence on the chosen ETF before purchasing. Read the fact sheet and prospectus, as well as the holdings, fees and risks related to futures contracts.

Place an order

Buy the desired number of shares of the Ether futures ETF by placing a buy order, just like you would with traditional stock. To complete the purchase, specify your order type, such as a limit or market order.

Keep an eye on your investment

Following purchase, monitor the ETF’s performance; remember that Ether futures ETFs carry the inherited cryptocurrency volatility that may reflect in their share price.

Why a C-Corp may mean tax benefits for Ether futures ETF investors?

C-Corp structured Ether futures ETFs may offer significant tax benefits to long-term investors compared to traditional regulated investment companies (RICs).

Traditional corporations, or C-corps, are liable to both corporate and shareholder dividend double taxation. They allow for the distribution of profits to be flexible and offset future gains with losses. In contrast, RICs are special investment companies that must distribute the majority of their profits to shareholders but are subject to pass-through taxation, avoiding company-level tax.

The capacity of C-Corps like VanEck Ethereum Strategy ETF to carry forward losses to balance off future gains may help investors pay less in taxes. Additionally, more money may stay invested and compound over time because they are also not required to distribute capital gains to investors. 

Moreover, an investor’s after-tax returns can be further increased because payouts from a C-Corp Ether futures ETF are frequently taxed at the lower long-term capital gains rate as opposed to regular income rates.

Advantages of Ether futures ETFs

Ether futures ETFs offer a convenient way to trade Ethereum without needing cryptocurrency wallets, providing regulatory protection and potential tax benefits while also serving as a hedge against traditional assets and allowing speculation on market downturns.

Just like regular stocks, Ether futures ETFs can be bought and sold through traditional brokerage accounts, eliminating the need to configure cryptocurrency wallets and use exchanges.

By operating within pre-existing regulatory frameworks, Ether futures ETFs provide investors with a degree of protection and oversight that may not be as robust as in direct cryptocurrency markets.

Moreover, by introducing cryptocurrency exposure into a diversified portfolio, these ETFs may act as a hedge against conventional assets and provide investors access to the Ethereum ecosystem’s development potential.

As opposed to actually owning ETH, Ether futures ETFs may provide considerable tax benefits in some jurisdictions. Gains and losses may be treated differently, potentially reducing investors’ tax burden. Additionally, investors can speculate on a drop in the price of Ethereum with futures-based ETFs. This offers chances to profit from market downturns or protect other investments in a portfolio.

Risks associated with Ether futures ETFs

Investing in Ether futures ETFs entails risks due to price discrepancies with ETH, exacerbated by its volatility and complexity, along with management fees and potential liquidity issues.

The price of Ether futures ETFs may not always coincide with the spot price of Ethereum because they monitor futures contracts. Furthermore, contango — a scenario in which futures prices exceed the spot price — may occur. Because it continuously rolls over contracts, this can gradually reduce the ETF’s returns.

ETH is highly volatile, just like other cryptocurrencies. Ether futures ETFs are more risky investments since they inherit this volatility from actual Ethereum. Additionally, some investors would find it hard to understand and invest in these financial instruments due to the high level of complexity involved.

Furthermore, Ether futures ETFs charge management fees, which add to overall investment cost like any ETF. These fees can eat into potential returns. In addition, certain Ether futures ETFs may have lower trading volumes than Bitcoin futures ETFs, making it difficult to buy or sell shares at desired prices, especially in large quantities.

Bitcoin (BTC) is supplying some classic memes this week — and it goes beyond the “4/20” halving date.

Thanks to the success of the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), market observers are celebrating a halving which has been “almost too perfect.”

A meme-filled Bitcoin halving

BTC price action may be firmly sideways this halving, but its timing is giving some a feeling that it was all meant to be.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Eric Balchunas, a dedicated ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, revealed a curious halving day coincidence.

Not only did the seminal event hit on April 20 — “4/20,” a key meme date in itself — but the largest United States spot Bitcoin ETF sealed 69 days of straight inflows.

“It’s a little too perfect,” Balchunas summarized.

The Bitcoin ETFs have seen a marked slowdown in inflows since hitting their peak in March. Despite this, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), the largest ETF by assets under management, has yet to see a single day of outflows.

The latest data covering ETF flows, including from United Kingdom-based investment firm Farside, meanwhile shows momentum tentatively returning toward the end of last week.

On April 19, IBIT took in just under $30 million, while the second-largest ETF, operated by Fidelity Investments, managed nearly $55 million.

Outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), an ongoing topic of debate in themselves, were modest on the day at $45.8 million.

Bitcoin ETF flows (screenshot). Source: Farside Bitcoin ETF performance divides opinion

Recent form 13F filings, meanwhile, have led to concerns that Bitcoin ETFs have not managed to permeate the mainstream majority.

Related: BTC price bounces at support that fueled 2023 bull market

Discussing first-quarter allocation data, Jim Bianco, creator of macro research firm Biacno Research, described it as a “disappointment.”

“Unrealized gains are shrinking fast,” he added in an X thread about ETF investor gains versus current BTC price action.

Bitcoin ETF cumulative flows. Source: Jim Bianco/X

Countering this, Balchunas suggested that asset managers would treat the products like “hot sauce.”

“IBIT now has about 60 holders reported but they only account for a tiny 0.4% of total shares out,” he wrote in an X thread.

“Shows that most of the bites are nibbles but there are a LOT of fish. This in tune with the high daily # of trades as well and our thesis that this is gonna be used like hot sauce for 60/40 ppl, just gonna add a little bit.”

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley has predicted that wealth management firms will increase their Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in terms of holdings. The prediction comes at a time when Bitcoin ETFs are expected to gain even more traction after the halving. 

Horsley’s prediction aligns with the broader market belief that there is increasing demand for ETFs, given that Bitcoin BTC investments in the United States exchange-traded funds (ETFs) market recorded a net positive inflow right before the Bitcoin halving day following five consecutive days of drain.

BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) is closing the gap with Grayscale’s, standing just $2 billion shy. This positions BlackRock to potentially surpass Grayscale as the world’s largest Bitcoin fund. Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) experienced a 68-day period of value decline, shedding nearly $16 billion and reducing its assets to $19.4 billion.

Source:  Hunter Horsley

In contrast, IBIT saw continuous asset growth, reaching approximately $17.3 billion in total assets. However, notable capital outflows have been observed from Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin ETF. Over the last five days alone, investors withdrew $89.9 million, contributing to a net outflow of $1.6 billion since January.

Despite its early lead, Grayscale’s supremacy in the Bitcoin ETF market seems to be diminishing. Fidelity and BlackRock quickly gained substantial market shares from the onset of trading. For instance, Fidelity and BlackRock Bitcoin ETFs experienced net inflows of $37.3 million and $18.7 million in the same week, providing relief to some of the market’s liquidity issues.

Related: Bitcoin mining stocks saw spikes across the board ahead of halving event

Bitwise CEO describes the adoption of Bitcoin ETFs by registered investment advisers (RIAs) and multifamily offices as “stealthy but significant.” He notes that major financial entities are discreetly conducting thorough assessments of the Bitcoin market.

According to Farside data, GBTC saw outflows of $17.5 million on April 10, a significant decrease from the $154.9 million outflows recorded on April 9. The previous low was on Feb. 26 when GBTC outflowed $22.4 million. The daily GBTC outflow average since January is $257.8 million.

GBTC launched in 2015 and converted to an ETF in January, alongside the launch of nine other spot Bitcoin ETFs after Grayscale won a lawsuit against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, forcing it to review a GBTC conversion bid it previously denied.

Bankrupt crypto lending firm Genesis recently offloaded approximately 36 million GBTC shares to acquire 32,041 Bitcoin.

Magazine: Get Bitcoin or die tryin’: Why hip hop stars love crypto

Hong Kong-based investment firm Victory Securities has disclosed its proposed fees to investors for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) following the recent approval of cryptocurrency ETF products within the region.

The announcement comes even though the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has not yet published the list of approved ETF issuers.

The fees for Victory Securities' customers purchasing Ethereum and Bitcoin ETF shares in the primary market will be set at 0.5% to 1% of the total transaction, with a minimum fee of $850, according to an extract of the translated report shared by Wu Blockchain on April 20.

For investors interested in buying and selling existing ETF shares on the secondary market, the fees will be 0.15% for online transactions and 0.25% for telephone transactions.

Source: Wu Blockchain

The fees are comparable to the competitive rates provided by United States asset managers offering spot Bitcoin ETFs. Although fees are currently waived until August, asset manager Franklin Templeton has set its fee at 0.19%, while other ETFs range between 0.20% and 0.90%. 

The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) imposes a notably higher fee at 1.5%.

On April 15, Cointelegraph reported that Hong Kong has become the latest country to approve spot ETFs for Bitcoin and Ether.

Related: Hong Kong spot Bitcoin ETF approval draws praise and caution from industry players

At least three offshore Chinese asset managers, including Hong Kong units of Harvest Fund Management, Bosera Asset Management and China Asset Management (ChinaAMC), plan to launch their spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs soon.

While the approval saw praise from many in the crypto community including local Hong Kong exchanges, others were more skeptical of the ETF's success within the region.

"Mainland China investors probably won’t be eligible to buy Hong Kong-listed spot bitcoin and ether ETFs as they are barred from buying virtual assets," Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas recently stated in an April 17 post on X.

Magazine: Get Bitcoin or die tryin’: Why hip hop stars love crypto

Grayscale Investments' has declared its upcoming "mini" version of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) will be almost a tenth cheaper than the current GBTC fees, making it the cheapest product among the approved spot Bitcoin ETFs.

However, investors shouldn’t get their hopes up yet, according to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas.

“This is pro-forma financials and as such hypothetical,” Balchunas declared in an April 20 post on X, explaining that while changes are possible before launch, the fees were intended to catch investors’ attention.

“The good news is they had to pick a number for this and knew ppl would be watching and they decided on 15bps,” he explained.

Source: Eric Balchunas

Grayscale has proposed fees for its new Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC) to be set at one-tenth of the current 1.5% fee for GBTC, according to a recent filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

With a suggested fee of 0.15%, it is positioning its ETF to have the lowest fees among the 11 approved spot Bitcoin ETFs introduced in January, closely followed by Franklin Templeton at 0.19%. 

Following behind are the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) and VanEck Bitcoin Trust (HODL), both at 0.20%.

CEO of crypto-focused reviews portal Apollo, Thomas Fahrer, told his 42,900 X followers in an April 21 post that Grayscale "offering cheap" alternative fees was necessary to compensate for the large amount of GBTC outflows.

“Grayscale has lost 315K BTC in outflows since launching, and they needed to plug the leak,” he said.

Related: Bitcoin halving hype breaks week-long ETFs outflow streak

This comes amid many investors withdrawing funds from the GBTC product since the launch of Bitcoin ETFs in January, which offer a more competitive fee for Bitcoin exposure.

Since the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs on Jan.11, GBTC has seen approximately $16.73 billion of outflows, according to Farside data.

Cointelegraph recently reported that the shares of the new Bitcoin trust are planned to be distributed to existing GBTC shareholders, as GBTC will also contribute an undisclosed amount of Bitcoin to the new trust.

Magazine: a16z snubs crypto, Mango Markets exploiter found guilty and Worldcoin launches blockchain network: Hodler’s Digest, April 14-20

Top Stories This Week

Grayscale spot Bitcoin ETF halves before BTC halving

Major Bitcoin investor Grayscale Investments saw its spot BTC exchange-traded fund (ETF) holdings drop 50% ahead of the anticipated Bitcoin halving event.

On April 16, Bitcoin holdings in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC) shrunk by one-half from 619,220 BTC on the first day of trading on Jan. 11.

The spot Bitcoin ETF held 309,871 BTC on its 66th day of trading, down 50% of the amount since the trading debut, according to GBTC data.

The GBTC halving came just two days before the much-anticipated Bitcoin halving, which will reduce the mining reward by 50% from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.

Occurring once every four years, or once in 210,000 blocks, the Bitcoin halving is a major event, often tied to subsequent rallies in the crypto market.

The two events do not correlate but make for another coincidence in the chronology of Bitcoin-related occurrences.

Worldcoin launches its own human-centric blockchain network

Worldcoin, an identity coin startup founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has furthered its human-centric approach to the Web3 space with its new blockchain network, World Chain. 

On April 17, Worldcoin announced World Chain, which is a new blockchain initiative designed to prioritize human users, enhance efficiency and foster real-world utility in Web3 applications.

Worldcoin recently surpassed 10 million World IDs created and 75 million completed transactions, signaling the projects rapid expansion. 

Its own dedicated network has been designed to scale alongside the broader Ethereum network as a layer 2 to meet the projects needs.

Cointelegraph spoke with Tiago Sada, the head of operations at Worldcoin, to better understand the projects intention with its network and how it plans to keep humans in the center.

Sada said that while, technically, World Chain will act similarly to Ethereum and any other L2, its nuance is that it prioritizes humans over bots, with blockchains often facing congestion due to bot activity.

Usually, the way it works is that every account is fighting for block space. Usually, since bots can move faster and they can outbid humans, he said, the networks get saturated with all the transactions for bots, and humans have whatever is left many times, they cant even get in.

Andreessen Horowitz raises $7.2B for new venture funds

Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) said it raised $7.2 billion to invest across several tech sectors, including gaming and artificial intelligence but isnt putting any more toward crypto.

The firms Growth venture strategy a bundle of funds backing a range of early-stage startups will receive the largest chunk of the raise at $3.75 billion. 

Its Infrastructure and Apps strategies will, respectively, receive $1.25 billion and $1 billion, a16z said in an April 16 statement.

Its Infrastructure strategy mostly focuses on funding teams in the AI, computing and data industries, while the Apps funds focus on consumer, enterprise and fintech application builders.

The remaining $1.2 billion will be evenly split between Games, its gaming-focused fund, and its new American Dynamism fund, which invests in founders and companies supporting United States national interests in aerospace, defense, safety, education and manufacturing.

Its $4.5 billion crypto-focused fund didnt receive any additional funding.

Cyprus keeps FTX Europe license suspended until September

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission has extended the suspension of FTX Europes license, prohibiting the firm from offering services until September.

Cyprus securities regulator officially announced the news on April 16, declaring that FTX Europe must proceed with necessary actions to comply with the relevant provisions of the Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law.

As part of the regulatory decision, FTX Europe is banned from providing investment services as well as entering into any business transaction with any person or accepting any new clients. 

The firm is also prohibited from advertising investment services, as per the announcement.

Token holders approve $7.5 billion AI merger

Token holders of SingularityNET, Fetch.ai and Ocean protocols approved a $7.5 billion merger that would create a combined Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (ASI) project.

The Fetch.AI (FET) token will become the ASI token with a total supply of 2.6 billion. 

Meanwhile, SingularityNET (AGIX) and Ocean (OCEAN) tokens will be converted into ASI at approximate ratios of 0.43:1, with ASI tokens having a combined value of $7.5 billion post-merger, according to the April 16 announcement.

The ASI is scheduled for launch on May 24. 

Our mission is to create a decentralized AI infrastructure at scale, ensuring ethical and trustworthy practices, said Humayun Sheikh, chairman of the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance and CEO of Fetch.ai.

Winners and Losers

At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $63,444, Ether (ETH) at $3,072 and XRP (XRP) at $0.49. The total market cap is at $2.28 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the three best-performing altcoins of the week were ONDO (ONDO) at 6.79%, UNUS SED LEO (LEO) at -0.33% and OKB (OKB) at -1.63%.The top three altcoin losers of the week were ORDI (ORDI) at -39.37%, Ethena (ENA) at -36.72% and Bittensor (TAO) at -33.85%.

For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraphs market analysis.

Read also Columns Socios boss goal? To knock crypto out of the park Features Billions are spent marketing crypto to sports fans Is it worth it? Most Memorable Quotations

I always tell people that if you buy Bitcoin and you are trying to predict what the price is in an hour or a day, a week, or even a month, thats probably a fools errand. Instead, what you should think about is, This is a savings technology.

Anthony Pompliano, founder and partner at Pomp Investments

With only 2 million Bitcoins left, if we assume a daily inflow of $500 million to Bitcoin Spot ETFs, the equivalent of around 7,142 Bitcoin will leave exchange reserves daily, suggesting that it will only take nine months to consume all of the remaining reserves.

Bybit, cryptocurrency exchange

Don’t expect a lot of flows I saw one estimate of $25b thats insane. We think theyll be lucky to get $500m.

Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg

Unfortunately, a small fee for new user write access is the only way to curb the relentless onslaught of bots.

Elon Musk, owner of X and CEO of Tesla

AI and Gaming have garnered the most resounding revival of venture capital enthusiasm among the categories.

QuickNode, blockchain development platform, and Artemis, an on-chain analytics provider

“With the bond market now projecting less than three cuts and 10-year Treasury yields surpassing 4.50%, we may have arrived at a crucial tipping point for risk assets.”

Markus Thielen, founder of blockchain analytics firm 10x Research

Prediction of the Week

Bitcoin miners could dump $5B in BTC after halving

Bitcoin miners could potentially liquidate $5 billion worth of BTC after the halving, the head of research at 10x Research, Markus Thielen, calculated in an April 13 analyst note.

The overhang from this selling could last four to six months, explaining why Bitcoin might go sideways for the next few months as it has done following past halvings, he added.

Thielen said that the same could happen again, with crypto markets potentially facing a significant challenge in a six-month summer lull.

Bitcoin prices remained range-bound between $9,000 and $11,500 in the five months that followed the 2020 halving.

FUD of the Week Bitcoin price falls under $62K amid wavering spot BTC ETF demand

Bitcoins price fell 3% on April 16 as crypto investors entered a risk-off mode amid stagnating ETF demand.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed local BTC price lows of $61,709 on Binance shortly after the Wall Street open on April 16.

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Bitcoin joined U.S. stock indexes in heading lower on the day, as the U.S. Dollar Index reached a six-month high of 106.17.

On April 15, capital flows into the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $36.7 million in net outflows, according to data from Farside Investors.

Mango Markets exploiter found guilty after jury deliberations

A jury has found Avraham Avi Eisenberg, the crypto user responsible for a $110 million exploit of the Mango Markets decentralized exchange, guilty of fraud and market manipulation.

In an April 18 ruling in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, a group of jurors announced that Eisenberg had been found guilty of wire fraud, commodities fraud and commodities manipulation. 

The decision followed hours of deliberations after closing arguments on April 17. 

During a two-week trial, Eisenbergs legal team claimed that he did not commit any crimes but orchestrated a successful and legal trading strategy, which resulted in roughly $110 million from Mango Markets.

He returned roughly $67 million of the funds after the exploit but retained more than $40 million following a governance vote by the community. 

Prosecutors argued that Eisenbergs actions constituted fraud.

IRS investigation chief expects uptick in crypto tax evasion this year

The United States Internal Revenue Service says its gearing up for a significant rise in crypto tax crime cases going forward, as the deadline for U.S. citizens to file their taxes was on April 15. 

Speaking to CNBC at the Chainalysis Links event in New York, IRS criminal investigation chief Guy Ficco said his agency was getting ready to deal with an uptick in cases of tax fraud and evasion that have come along with it.

Theres going to be a lot more charged Title 26 crypto cases this year and moving forward, he said.

A Title 26 tax code refers to citizens who willfully evade paying taxes by lying or obfuscating their reporting documents.

Ficco said that crypto had previously been used mostly as a tool in financial crimes such as fraud, scams, and money laundering however, he said his agency had recently observed a drastic uptick in pure crypto tax crimes and expected even more in the near future.

Top Magazine Pieces of the Week

6 Questions for Kieren James-Lubin, who wants us to get on the same page about grandma

You may have heard of Joseph Lubin, the Ethereum co-founder presently serving as the CEO of Consensys. But dont confuse him for Kieren James-Lubin, the entrepreneurs highly successful son, who co-founded BlockApps in 2015.

Get Bitcoin or die tryin: Why hip hop stars love crypto

From Snoop Dogg to Ghostface Killah, hip hop and Web3 make a perfect pair. So, why do rappers love crypto?

The real risks to Ethenas stablecoin model (are not the ones you think)

Ethena can only secure industry trust by demonstrating resilience under adverse market conditions. Like now.

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The tax evasion trial in a Nigerian court involving cryptocurrency exchange Binance and two of its executives has been adjourned to May 17. This delay occurred because the exchange had not yet been formally served with the charges.

According to local news agency BusinessDay, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has not served Binance with tax evasion charges. The FIRS lawyer argued that Gambaryan should represent Binance as the primary defendant, had been served, given that both Binance and its executives were charged together.

However, Gambaryan’s lawyer, Chukwuka Ikuazom, objected, citing Nigerian law, stating he couldn’t plead until Binance, the primary defendant, was served. Judge Emeka Nwite adjourned the proceedings for May 17, when he will give a ruling.

Binance and its executives, including Tigran Gambaryan, a 39-year-old U.S. citizen serving as head of financial crime compliance, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, a 37-year-old British-Kenyan regional manager for Africa, were arrested on Feb. 28, and charged with four counts of tax evasion during a visit to Nigeria.

The arrest came after the federal government banned cryptocurrency channels as part of a campaign to curb currency speculation. The court mandated that Binance give the Nigerian government access to data and details of Nigerian traders using its platform.

The charges involve Binance’s failure to register with Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) for tax remittance. Gambaryan was present in an Abuja court on Friday but did not enter a plea. However, Anjarwalla wasn’t present as he had escaped detention and left the country in March 2024.

Related: USA to forge AI partnership with Nigeria for economic growth

Apart from the tax evasion trial, Binance and its executives face charges of laundering over $35 million by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The trial is set to resume on May 2.

Binance, which was not represented in court and had no immediate comment, said on Thursday at the Token2049 crypto conference in Dubai, that it is working closely with Nigeria authorities following the detention of Gambaryan.

Meanwhile, a federal high court in Abuja, Nigeria, has again postponed the bail application hearing for Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan, who remains in custody at the Kuje correctional center.

However, Gambaryan is also suing the government for violating his fundamental human rights. Gambaryan’s motion claims that his detention in Nigeria and the confiscation of his passport violates the country’s constitution, which guarantees an individual’s right to personal liberty.

Magazine: US enforcement agencies are turning up the heat on crypto-related crime

The fourth-ever Bitcoin halving, which occurred on April 20, could give rise to the “most bullish” Bitcoin cycle, based on historical chart patterns combined with the presence of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

For the first time in crypto history, Bitcoin's (BTC) price reached a new all-time high of above $73,600 on March 13, before the halving event. Historically, Bitcoin price rallied to new highs in 518 to 546 days after previous halving events.

The pre-halving all-time high, combined with institutional inflows from the ten United States spot Bitcoin ETFs, created the “most bullish setup” for Bitcoin, according to Sukhveer Sanghera, founder and CEO of Earth Wallet. He told Cointelegraph:

“The combination of nearly all BTC having been mined, early investor via ETFs, increasing demand for inflation hedges, and increased utility — all fundamental aspects of Bitcoin’s value proposition are stronger than ever before.”

BTC/USD, 1-week chart, with halving events. Source: Rekt Capital

Bitcoin price fell 5.6% on the weekly chart, to trade above $63,600, as of 9:58 a.m. in UTC. The world’s first cryptocurrency only rose 2.85% during the past month but rallied over 50% since the beginning of 2024, TradingView data shows.

BTC/USD, YTD chart. Source: TradingView

While Bitcoin’s price action is expected to be bullish in the long term, halvings are historically preceded by short-term corrections.

Bitcoin price could see the end of the current drawdown if price manages to rise above the $65,000 resistance, according to Temujin Louie, the CEO of Wanchain. He told Cointelegraph:

“Historically, Bitcoin halvings were followed by a slump. Expect to see continued consolidation so long as support around $58,000 holds. If BTC breaks recent highs, look for a rapid increase to $80,000, $90,000, or even $100,000 as investors favor round numbers.”

Related: New Bitcoin whales, ETFs are up only 1.6% in unrealized profit — Is the BTC bottom in?

Bitcoin ETF inflows see temporary slump ahead of the halving

The past month’s lagging price action is mainly attributed to slowing Bitcoin accumulation in the ten U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, as net inflows have turned negative on the week of the halving.

The U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $398 million worth of negative net outflows during the halving week, down from over $199 million worth of net positive inflows during the previous week, according to Dune.

Bitcoin ETF net flows. Source: Dune

Despite the temporary slump, the ten Bitcoin ETFs cumulatively amassed over 835,000 BTC worth $53.5 billion, which is 4.24% of the current Bitcoin supply.

The narrative around Bitcoin’s price action remains positive, despite the temporary slump in ETF inflows, which signals new investors preparing to gain BTC exposure, according to Jonas Simanavicius, co-founder and CTO at Syntropy:

“Early adopters from large capital institutions have entered the market, and it is taking time for the next wave of institutions to prepare their inflows. While big banks predict some downward movement in BTC post-halving, I see strength in BTC due to potential new money inflows and its positioning as a hedge against inflation.

Simanavicius added that Bitcoin is increasingly viewed as a “hedge against political tensions” amid escalating global conflicts, which could bolster its status as a safe haven asset.

Related: Bitcoin supply to run out on exchanges in 9 months — Bybit

The United States of America (U.S.A) and Nigeria are poised to engage in discussions on the digital economy, emerging technology, and the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) to explore potential partnership opportunities.

During the closing ceremony of a four-day Workshop on National Artificial Intelligence Strategy in Abuja, Mr. Arthur Brown, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy, revealed this information. Brown stated that within two weeks, senior officials from the U.S. government would convene in Abuja for a conference organized by the U.S.-Nigeria Bi-National Commission.

Providing further details on the upcoming meeting, the deputy chief of mission said the United States aims to capitalize on the momentum generated by a four-day workshop by organizing an AI conference in Lagos.

The partnership aims to strengthen economic ties and ensure that AI deployment is safe, secure, transparent, and trustworthy. Through its diverse agencies, Brown expressed that the United States is prepared to collaborate with Nigeria as equitable partners to advance initiatives spanning talent development, infrastructure, research, and innovation.

He lauded Nigeria for endorsing a significant United Nations resolution on AI and committed to the ongoing partnership between the U.S. government and Nigeria regarding the economy.

Addressing the workshop’s conclusion, Dr. Bosun Tijani, the Minister of Communications Innovation and Digital Economy, emphasized the importance of African governments and leaders taking decisive action to support their aspirations and strategies.

According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers study, artificial Intelligence could contribute $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030, with approximately $3 trillion attributed to enhanced productivity and $9.1 trillion arising from novel goods and services.

Related: Mark Zuckerberg says Meta wearables that read brain signals are coming soon

Speaking on anticipated revenue generation and job creation, Tijani emphasized that rather than prioritizing revenue, Nigeria should focus on establishing effective governance for AI, recognizing it as a critical tool to enhance productivity across sectors.

In partnership with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), the Ministry orchestrated a four-day Artificial Intelligence workshop to craft a collaborative framework for implementing AI in the nation.

The four-day artificial intelligence workshop led to the launching of Nigeria’s first Multilingual large language model (LLM) as the country pushes forward to take a leadership position in artificial intelligence development in Africa.

In August 2023, the Nigerian government invited scientists of Nigerian heritage, as well as globally renowned experts who have worked within the Nigerian market, to collaborate in formulating its National Artificial Intelligence Strategy.

Magazine: How to get better crypto predictions from ChatGPT, Humane AI pin slammed: AI Eye

The fourth-ever Bitcoin halving occurred a few hours ago at the 840,000th block. The halving is considered the most important economic mechanism influencing Bitcoin (BTC) supply and creating scarcity for the asset.

The Bitcoin network’s fourth halving event, reduced block issuance rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per mined block, effectively slashing Bitcoin’s issuance rate in half.

The halving is a crucial mechanism for Bitcoin’s scarcity and market valuation, according to Karim Chaib, the CEO of crypto platform Dopamine App. Chaib told Cointelegraph:

“Scarcity is a fundamental economic principle that affects the value of an asset. By programmatically ensuring that the supply of Bitcoin increases at a slower rate over time, the halving events underscore Bitcoin's scarcity.”

The halving is hard-coded in Bitcoin’s code base, which happens every 210,000 blocks mined, which equates to roughly every four years.

The Bitcoin network witnessed its first halving in 2012 when the Bitcoin’s issuance rate was reduced from 50 BTC to 25 BTC per mined block. The last two halvings occurred in 2016 and 2020, significantly slashing Bitcoin’s issuance rate to the current 3.125 BTC.

This hard-coded scarcity makes Bitcoin stand out from traditional store-of-value assets, according to Chaib, who told Cointelegraph:

“This programmed scarcity is a key feature that differentiates Bitcoin from traditional assets like gold, which can become less scarce as new means of extraction and production are developed. Bitcoin, by contrast, has a capped supply of 21 million coins, making it fundamentally inflation-proof.”

Related: Bitcoin supply to run out on exchanges in 9 months — Bybit

Is Bitcoin the next gold?

Bitcoin’s economic design and halving mechanism are effective mathematical methods to make Bitcoin a deflationary asset, which makes it the first reliable alternative to gold, according to Jonas Simanavicius, co-founder and CTO at Syntropy. He told Cointelegraph:

“Gold has served for thousands of years as the primary store of wealth because it is difficult to increase its supply and it is global... Nothing else came close to having a predictably slow-growing supply—until Bitcoin.”

Bitcoin price rose 122% during the past year, while Gold price rose 19%. During 2024, Bitcoin is up over 51% year-to-date (YTD), while Gold price increased 15% YTD, according to TradingView.

BTC/GOLD, Year-to-date chart. Source: TradingView

Precious metals and real estate were considered the best store of value assets throughout the years. But the digital age is seeking more liquid assets for faster movements, which will ultimately benefit Bitcoin, said Simanavicius:

“Over time, Bitcoin has not only survived, but its backing power of extensive computation and decentralization has also grown so strong that more people and institutions recognize this security, and the benefits such as immediate transactability, geopolitical decentralization, and ease of carry outweigh those of other asset classes.”

Related: Top five BTC miners not selling despite Bitcoin halving

Another Bitcoin halving has come and gone, the fourth so far, and this one was like no other before it, with institutional investment playing a key role for the very first time.

Bitcoin halvings have been historically associated with one essential similarity — a subsequent spike in BTC price, which often occurs some time after the halving.

While the community has yet to find out whether the fourth halving will follow the same path, some things are already different about the Bitcoin halving 2024.

Crypto user base up at least 400% since the 2020 halving

While the speed of new Bitcoin generation has decreased since the first halving, the demand has not stood still.

Since the previous Bitcoin halving — which occurred in May 2020 — the global crypto user base has added at least around 400 million users, based on various sources.

In 2020, the number of crypto owners worldwide counted around 100 million users, according to the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) estimations. By the end of 2023, the number of global crypto users surged to as high as 580 million people, as estimated by crypto exchange Crypto.com.

Global cryptocurrency users from January 2023 to December 2023. Source. Crypto.com

Despite Bitcoin being the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and the oldest, it apparently has fewer users than the entire crypto ecosystem.

According to data from Technopedia, approximately 2.7% of the global population is estimated to own Bitcoin as of 2024, which translates to around 219 million people. If accurate, the estimated figure is up around 208% from 71 million Bitcoin users four years ago, as calculated by Crypto.com.

With Bitcoin or most other cryptocurrencies, most user count estimations can not be 100% accurate, as on-chain transaction analysis is often incapable of differentiating between long-term holders and lost BTC, as well as other factors.

2024 pre-halving Bitcoin rally has not been seen before

One of the biggest differences between the fourth Bitcoin halving and the three past halvings is that the price has seen extraordinary growth pre-halving in 2024.

In the previous cycles, Bitcoin price recorded breakouts after the halving rather than before, and new all-time highs came roughly one year following the halving date.

For example, Bitcoin didn’t break out above the previously set ATH of $20,000 before the 2020 halving. In that cycle, the Bitcoin price only crossed ATH 10 months after halving. The picture is much different this time around.

In the current cycle, Bitcoin reached all-time highs right before the halving event, setting a record of $73,600 on March 13, 2024.

Such a breakout has never been seen before, and multiple analysts agree, including eToro crypto analyst Simon Peters.

Miners ‘better shaped’ for halving this time

The never-seen-before Bitcoin price appreciation pre-halving has potentially had a positive impact on the mining industry as miners obtained more control over mining costs.

“In comparison to the previous halving, it appears miners are in better shape overall in terms of lower levels of debt and potentially better control over their costs, such as electricity,” Fidelity Digital Assets’ director of research Chris Kuiper told Cointelegraph, adding:

“What’s also helping miners this cycle is the price appreciation before the halving — something that also hasn’t been seen in previous cycles.”

Since the third halving in May 2020, Bitcoin mining energy consumption has significantly increased, surging from around 50 Terawatt hours (Twh) to 99 Twh on April 18, 2024.

Bitcoin energy consumption. Source: Digiconomist

At the same time, the amount of Bitcoin network’s energy consumption powered by renewable energy sources has also increased, with renewables accounting for 54.5% BTC mining consumption as of January 2024, according to Bitcoin ESG Forecast. As of September 2020, this figure stood at 39%, according to data from CCAF.

First Bitcoin halving with spot BTC ETFs in the U.S.

One of the most straightforward things about Bitcoin halving 2024 is that this halving is the first ever with BTC exchange-traded funds (ETF) enabled in the United States.

After many years of efforts, spot Bitcoin ETFs debuted trading in January 2024, opening exposure to Bitcoin for institutional investors.

Related: Not just the halving: Why analysts are bullish on Bitcoin in 2024

According to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen “blockbuster success,” which apparently reflects a spike in demand for Bitcoin.

Source: Eric Balchunas

Since the first day of trading, all ten spot Bitcoin ETFs combined have increased their holdings by at least 220,000 BTC, which is worth around $14 billion at the time of writing.

BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF has attracted the biggest amount of inflows among 10 BTC ETFs, with its holdings surging more than 10,000% from just 2,621 BTC on the trading debut to 273,140 BTC on April 18.

M2 CEO Stefan Kimmel said:

Looking at the broader landscape, while halving garners attention, we are cognizant that it's just a part of a larger narrative. The confluence of ETFs, quantitative easing, and halving will define the future contours of the market.

Bitcoin became more globally decentralized and secure

Bitcoin has also significantly improved in terms of network security and decentralization. Since 2020 — when most new Bitcoin was mined in Mainland China — Bitcoin has emerged as a more distributed network.

Just four years ago, Bitcoin mining in China amounted to nearly 80% of Bitcoin’s total mining hash rate globally. As of February 2024, the biggest Bitcoin mining countries are the United States with 40% of the total hashrate, as well as China and Russia, accounting for 15% and 12%, respectively, according to Hashlab Mining founder Jaran Mellerud.

Geographic distribution of Bitcoin hash rate between September 2019 and January 2022. Source: CBECI

“This geographic decentralization is continuing as miners migrate to Africa and Latin America to take advantage of cheaper electricity prices,” Mellerud said.

Additionally, the Bitcoin blockchain has become more resistant to attacks as its hash rate has surged five times since the previous halving.

“It now requires five times more computing power and associated electricity supply, electrical infrastructure, and mining hardware to attack the network,” Hashlab Mining founder noted.

Magazine: Bitcoin Halving will pump games, Shrapnel’s ‘simple’ secret revealed: Web3 Gamer