On Apr 18, 2024, 14:15 PM(UTC). According to Binance Market Data, BNB has crossed the 550 USDT benchmark and is now trading at 550 USDT, with a 2.79% increase in 24 hours.

Binance aims to democratize the cryptocurrency project launch process with its unique 'Megadrop' platform, as confirmed by co-founder He Yi at the recent Binance Chinese Meetup in Dubai. The platform is designed to provide a level playing field for promising projects, aside from the titan projects, and accommodate user participation. The innovative framework requires participants to provide genuine accounts and addresses that have passed the KYC process. In doing so, Binance foresees the creation of more opportunities for its network of users. 

He Yi, the co-founder of Binance, dispelled concerns over the regulatory status of Binance's co-founder, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), in the United States during the Binance Chinese Meetup held in Dubai. Yi elaborated that CZ's current standing in the US is largely peaceful and past regulatory pressures have been internally anticipated. She believes the existing situation to be the most optimal outcome given the circumstances

He Yi, the co-founder of Binance, clarified Binance's position on cryptocurrency track listing during the "Binance Clubhouse" event on April 18th. In response to a question about whether Binance exhibits any preference in terms of a currency's listing track, He Yi stressed that Binance does not favor any particular track and maintains a stance of neutrality.

On Apr 18, 2024, 12:31 PM (UTC). According to Binance Market Data, Bitcoin has dropped below 62,000 USDT and is now trading at 61,930.011719 USDT, with a 0.85% decrease in 24 hours.

On Apr 18, 2024, 11:26 AM (UTC). According to Binance Market Data, Bitcoin has crossed the 63,000 USDT benchmark and is now trading at 63,008.578125 USDT, with a 0.04% decrease in 24 hours.

According to Foresight News, blockchain interoperability developer Union Labs is planning to integrate with AggLayer to facilitate interoperability between the Polygon and Cosmos ecosystems and their Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC). AggLayer is a blockchain aggregation layer launched by Polygon Labs this year, with a focus on unifying liquidity. In November 2023, Union Labs secured $4 million in seed funding, led by Galileo, Semantic Ventures, Tioga Capital, and Nascent. Other investors included Lightshift and Chorus One. Union Labs plans to launch its mainnet later this year.

According to CryptoPotato, the meme coin sector has experienced a significant downturn, with its market cap decreasing by approximately 5% in the last 24 hours. Despite this, the upcoming Bitcoin halving could potentially trigger a rally, offering a potential rebound for meme coins due to their volatility and tendency to follow Bitcoin's price trends. The cryptocurrency market has been undergoing a severe correction in recent days, with Bitcoin briefly dropping to $60,000 and Ethereum dipping below the $3,000 level. The meme coin sector has been hit even harder, with its market cap losing around 5% in the past 24 hours, currently standing at approximately $47 billion. Leading assets such as Dogecoin and Shiba Inu have seen weekly decreases of 27% and 22% respectively. Other meme coins, including Dogwifhat, Pepe, Floki Inu, and Bonk Inu, have also experienced double-digit drops. However, Solana-based meme coins Slerf and Cat in a Dogs World have not seen such significant drops. Earlier this week, Cat in a Dogs World saw a 100% daily price spike, with its market capitalization briefly exceeding $500 million. Despite the current negative trends, traders should remember that the meme coin sector is highly volatile and could see a resurgence in the near future. One key factor that could fuel a substantial revival is the upcoming Bitcoin halving. This event, during which miners will start receiving half the amount of Bitcoin for validating blocks on the blockchain, is scheduled for April 19. Historically, the halving has been followed by a massive bull run for Bitcoin and the entire market, with many analysts expecting a similar scenario in the coming months. This could result in a rally for numerous altcoins and meme coins, as they often follow the price trajectory of Bitcoin.

According to Blockworks, EigenLayer, with over $12 billion in total value locked (TVL), launched its mainnet last week, bringing its vision of a restaking ecosystem on Ethereum closer to reality. The launch, however, came with slashing and in-protocol payments disabled, as the protocol aims to allow the marketplace to 'develop and stabilize'. This move has left potential restakers, validators, and actively validated service (AVS) operators uncertain about the potential risks the protocol could pose in the future. In a recent report, Ethereum node operator Chorus One attempted to predict some of these risks. The report suggests that EigenLayer could face pressures towards centralization, which could potentially lead to far-reaching black-swan events within Ethereum. The most catastrophic event speculated is a slashing cascade, which occurs when an operator running one of EigenLayer’s AVSs is penalized, leading to a portion of their stake being confiscated. If a significant amount of ether is locked in EigenLayer and a large operator suffers a major slashing event, it could lead to a cascade of slashing damage. In a worst-case scenario, this could compromise the security of the Ethereum network. However, the report also notes that slashing on Ethereum is somewhat rare and most slashing scenarios are caused by human error. Another potential negative outcome of EigenLayer’s launch, according to the Chorus One team, is centralization. On EigenLayer, AVSs can choose which operators to work with. Chorus One predicts AVSs will pick the operators with the largest amount of pooled security to offer, which will be professional node operators and liquid restaking projects. This could lead to big operators benefiting from economies of scale to achieve higher margins, causing their portion of the total supply to grow further. The report also highlights the unpredictable nature of the yield generated by AVSs. While running AVSs on testnet, Chorus One found hidden costs from things like data storage or cloud computing, which could make margins slim for running some AVSs. Despite these potential risks, Chorus One continues to draw delegations as it grows its presence as an EigenLayer operator.

According to BlockBeats, Tether announced on April 18th the establishment of four new independent business divisions. These divisions will focus on data, finance, energy, and education. Tether Data, a strategic investment of the technology department, will concentrate on the development and strategic investment of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and peer-to-peer platforms. Tether Finance, the digital asset services department, will serve as the cornerstone of Tether's traditional stablecoin products and financial services. It is committed to promoting technology to democratize the global financial system. Tether Power, the sustainable Bitcoin mining and energy department, will venture into sustainable Bitcoin mining business to ensure the integrity of the world's most powerful currency network. Lastly, Tether Edu, the digital education and transformation advancement department, is dedicated to expanding the prevalence of global digital skills education.

According to PANews, a spokesperson for Paxos has clarified that the recent decoupling of the Pax Dollar (USDP) stablecoin was due to issues with pricing aggregators, not the protocol itself. These platforms extract pricing data from trading venues. Yesterday, prices at certain venues surged dramatically, affecting the price of USDP on pricing aggregators. Paxos does not control the markets or trading activities of other trading venues. Despite temporary price fluctuations, USDP will always be redeemable through Paxos at fair value. Data from CoinMarketCap indicates that the decoupling occurred on April 17th during a significant increase in USDP's market value. The market value of USDP briefly rose from $140 million to $181 million, with the token reaching $1.29. The market value of USDP fell back to $140 million when it returned to parity with the dollar. The current market value of USDP is $134 million.

According to Foresight News, Gavin Wood, the founder of Polkadot, has announced the release of the 'Initial Jam Specifications: A Proposal for the Future of Polkadot' in the grey paper. Jam, an acronym for Join-Accumulate Machine, is a semi-consistent, scalable, trustless virtual machine. It combines elements of Polkadot and Ethereum protocols, providing a global singleton permissionless object environment similar to the Ethereum smart contract environment. It also features secure sideband computing parallel to the scalable node network. The overall service model provided is primarily driven by Polkadot's underlying architecture. Jam allows anyone to deploy code as a service on it, charging fees based on the resources used by the code. Alternatively, it may introduce a CoreChains service compatible with Polkadot.

On Apr 18, 2024, 10:14 AM(UTC). According to Binance Market Data, BNB has dropped below 540 USDT and is now trading at 539.599976 USDT, with a 0.42% decrease in 24 hours.

According to Foresight News, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand has initiated a consultation process on digital cash, set to conclude on July 26. The consultation document invites citizens to provide feedback on the design of digital cash, whether it should bear interest, and if there should be a holding limit. The central bank is considering a holding limit of 2000 US dollars, similar to the digital Euro benchmark. Digital cash will be distributed by the private sector, and New Zealanders will have the option to choose the services they use. Furthermore, digital cash will be priced in New Zealand dollars and can be exchanged 1:1 with physical cash, available round the clock.

According to Foresight News, Skynet Trading Limited, a firm specializing in digital asset trading and algorithmic software development, has successfully secured investments from Seier Capital and Edessa Capital. Further details about the investment, such as the amount and terms, were not disclosed in the report. Skynet Trading Limited continues to make strides in the digital asset trading and software development industry, and this new investment will likely aid in further advancements and growth for the company.

The global cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $2.31T, down by -0.06% over the last day, according to CoinMarketCap data. Bitcoin (BTC) has been trading between $59,678 and $63,534 over the past 24 hours. As of 09:30 AM (UTC) today, BTC is trading at $61,464, down by -3.23%. Most major cryptocurrencies by market cap are trading lower. Market outperformers include OMNI, BLZ, and ACA, up by 2343%, 19%, and 9%, respectively. Top stories of the day: A New Era for Token Launches: Binance Unveils Megadrop Platform Featuring Web3 Quests and Airdrops  Meme Coin Sector Experiences Downturn, Potential Rebound Expected  Tether Announces Establishment of Four New Independent Business Divisions  Bitcoin ETFs Show Decrease in Institutional Holders, But No Long-Term Concerns  South Korean Won Surpasses US Dollar in Crypto Market Trading Volume, Predicts Kaiko Paxos Spokesperson Attributes Recent Pax Dollar (USDP) Decoupling To Pricing Aggregator Issues  New Zealand Reserve Bank Seeks Public Consultation On Digital Cash  Bitcoin Pioneer Recalls First Halving in 2012 Amidst Current Price Drop  Dogecoin Price Set For Potential Surge To All-Time High  Fed Chair's Comments Impact Crypto Market, Interest Rate Cuts Unlikely Market movers: ETH: $2998.01 (-2.88%) BNB: $544.6 (-0.57%) SOL: $130.58 (-6.47%) XRP: $0.4894 (-1.83%) DOGE: $0.14418 (-8.95%) ADA: $0.4423 (-3.51%) SHIB: $0.00002176 (-3.37%) AVAX: $33.85 (-3.48%) TRX: $0.10946 (-2.98%) WBTC: $61576.25 (-3.14%) Top gainers on Binance: OMNI/USDT (+2343%) BLZ/USDT (+19%) ACA/USDT (+9%)

According to Foresight News, the Arkansas State Legislature in the United States has passed two bills that could potentially restrict cryptocurrency mining within the state. However, these bills have not yet been confirmed as official laws. Further details about the potential impact of these bills on the cryptocurrency industry in Arkansas are yet to be revealed.

According to Foresight News, TON, a prominent blockchain platform, has hinted at an upcoming significant announcement. The teaser includes logos of Tether, AMM protocol STON.fi, staking protocol Tonstakers, and Fanzee Labs, a network studio offering sports and entertainment gaming experiences. The inclusion of these logos suggests that the announcement may involve collaborations or partnerships with these entities. However, the specifics of the announcement have not been disclosed yet. Tether is a well-known stablecoin in the cryptocurrency market, STON.fi is an Automated Market Maker (AMM) protocol, Tonstakers is a staking protocol, and Fanzee Labs is a network studio that provides sports and entertainment gaming experiences. The anticipation of this announcement has sparked interest and speculation within the blockchain and cryptocurrency communities. More details are expected to be revealed soon.

On Apr 18, 2024, 09:13 AM(UTC). According to Binance Market Data, Ethereum has crossed the 3,000 USDT benchmark and is now trading at 3,005.199951 USDT, with a 2.34% decrease in 24 hours.

According to an official announcement: Binance heralds a new era in token launches with the unveiling of 'Binance Megadrop', an interactive token launch platform that merges Binance’s 'Simple Earn' and 'Web3 Wallet' features, aiming to revolutionize the airdrop experience. With Megadrop, Binance users can subscribe to BNB Locked Products or complete tasks in Web3 Wallet for an earlier opportunity to earn rewards from chosen Web3 projects before they get listed on Binance Exchange. The inaugural project on Binance Megadrop will be BounceBit (BB), a BTC restaking chain. With the details as follows: - Token Name: BounceBit (BB) - Maximum Token Supply: 2,100,000,000 BB - Megadrop Token Rewards: 168,000,000 BB (8% of the maximum token supply) - Initial Circulating Supply: 409,500,000 BB (19.5% of the maximum token supply) Users can start participating in Binance Megadrop by logging into their Binance account, ensuring they have an active Binance Web3 Wallet, subscribing to BNB Locked Products, and/or completing the Web3 Quests to gather scores. User's Megadrop rewards will be calculated based on the proportion of their Total Score to the Total Scores of all qualifying users.