Weekly Crypto News Recap - Apr 14, 2023

April 14, 2023

TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK

Ethereum’s Shapella hard fork executed on mainnet

The Shapella hard fork has officially been executed on the Ethereum Mainnet— meaning that Ethereum validators can finally withdraw their staked ETH from the Beacon Chain. The upgrade importantly completes the cycle of Ethereum staking, allowing ETH to be freely staked and unstaked at the validator's discretion. Due to congestion in the exit queue, it would currently take a validator ~12 days to execute a full withdrawal on average. ETH rallied in the aftermath of the upgrade, breaching $2,100.

Apple lets Uniswap’s wallet app out of ‘jail’

Uniswap's iOS wallet has gone live on Apple's App Store after a delay. The startup behind the decentralized exchange protocol originally unveiled the app in early March, but at the time Uniswap said that Apple was holding up approval. Now those concerns appear to have been assuaged given the official listing on the App Store in most countries. Features include digital asset trades, wallet activity tracking, and NFT data.

eToro Announces Crypto, Stock Trading Integration With Twitter

Stock trading is coming to Twitter. And, reportedly, crypto trading too. Via a new partnership with eToro, users can now make use of eToro’s market charts on a range of financial investments, simply by searching for the relevant "cashtag," usually by putting a "$" sign in front of the ticker, like "$TSLA" for Tesla stock. A chart then appears, reflecting the asset’s 24-hour price performance along with a link that says “View on eToro” where users can then view more in-depth market information and purchase the asset, along with other assets offered by the platform.

FTX Recovers $7.3 Billion in Assets, Considers Rebooting Exchange in Q2 This Year

The now-defunct crypto exchange has recovered over $7.3b in cash and liquid crypto assets, an $800m increase from the last report, Andy Dietderich, an attorney for the company, said on Wednesday at a US bankruptcy court hearing in Delaware. More controversially, however, Dietderich added the company is starting to think about pushing forward with an effort to restart the bankrupt crypto exchange. The failed exchange's FTT token soared more than 100% afterwards, but many in the crypto community quickly pushed back at the idea.

BITCOIN

UK forms Bitcoin Policy org to boost BTC education and adoption
Argentina securities regulator approves Bitcoin futures index
David Marcus's Lightspark Unveils Bitcoin Lightning Platform for Business
S&P 500 index, Bitcoin show further signs of decoupling as tech stocks prop up index
With BTC above $30K, MicroStrategy Is Back in the Green
Bitcoin Ordinals community debates fix after inscription validation bug
CoinJoin volume explodes as investors seemingly opt for privacy
Bitcoin Ordinals could become more like NFTs thanks to BRC-721

ETHEREUM

Ethereum Layer 2 Network zkSync Era Jumps to Nearly $250M in Locked Value
Ether Options Trading Volume Surpasses Bitcoin As Shanghai Upgrade Drives Demand for Bullish Bets
Ethereum researcher says staking reveals IP address, sparking privacy concerns
Vitalik Says Ethereum Will Focus On Scalability Post-Shapella
Ethereum Unstaking Requests Pile Up After Shanghai Upgrade, Now at 2-Week Wait
Shapella could bring institutional investors to Ethereum despite risks
Ethereum is burning ETH at a rate of $5.5 billion per year as Shapella upgrade approaches
Etherscan Reconfigures Blockchain Explorer Settings to Filter Out Potential Scams
Ethereum validator cashes in 689 ETH from MEV-Boost relay
Voluntary exit count surges ahead of Shanghai upgrade on Wednesday
Ethereum ‘re-staking’ protocol EigenLayer launches on testnet
Lido Stakers Can Expect Ether Withdrawals 'No Sooner Than Early May'

ALTCOINS

Ripple launches liquidity hub for businesses to bridge the crypto liquidity gap
Arbitrum proposal to return $1 billion in governance tokens slated to fail (and it’s not even close)
Uniswap proposal to launch on Polygon zkEVM is set to pass
ROOK Investors Begin Swapping Tokens for $25M Crypto Treasury
Solana’s Crypto-Ready ‘Saga’ Smartphone Goes on Sale May 8
Ondo Finance Plans Yield-Generating Stablecoin Alternative For Institutional Investors
FTT token price pops as FTX floats possible plan to reopen exchange
New Privacy Blockchain Namada Proposes First Ever Shielded Airdrop to Zcash
Aptos giving $20 million to artists willing to create on its blockchain
LayerZero’s multichain ecosystem grows as airdrop hunters ramp up their efforts
ApeCoin surges 1,950% on South Korean crypto exchange Upbit
Euler Finance Lets Users Redeem Recovered Funds Following $200M Theft
Alameda-linked Ren Protocol Transfers $13M in Bitcoin to FTX Debtors
Ethereum liquid staking governance tokens fall ahead of Shapella upgrade
TRX falls 5% in 24 hours following Binance.US delisting announcement
SushiSwap releases plan to return user funds stolen in $3.3M hack
Uniswap funds DAO incentive improvement project
ROOK Investors Aim to ‘Rage Quit’ Through Plan to Liquidate $25M Crypto Treasury
CoFund tokenizes $10M hotel in Bali via Tokeny
Lending Platform Maple Prepares New U.S. Treasury Pool; MPL Token Rises 23%
BNB Greenfield hits testnet, decentralized storage coming to BNB Chain
Solana Leads Crypto Market Rebound, Jumps 10% Overnight
Aptos Jumps 8% Ahead of $50M Token Unlock
ROOK Token Surges Ahead of $50M Treasury Split Between Community and MEV Tech Builders
Euler Finance Community Weighs Plan to Return Money Recovered From $200M Hack
Community wants Arbitrum Foundation to return 700M ARB to DAO Treasury
ZkSync Rescues Gemholic After Botched Token Sale
Decentralized exchange dYdX announces ’winding down‘ of services for Canadian users
Arbitrum-Based Camelot Crypto Exchange to Deploy V2 Upgrade Saturday
Dogecoin Drops Sharply After Twitter Blue Bird Returns
Arbitrum Amends Foundation Proposal After Failed Vote
Avalanche’s Cortina Upgrade Goes Live on Protocol’s Testnet; AVAX Token Rallies
Aragon’s New DAO Toolkit on Polygon Takes Aim at Voter Apathy
Trader Joe joins top 5 DEX list as Liquidity Book model thrives on Arbitrum

STABLECOINS

Stablecoins Need to Be Regulated Like Commercial Bank Money, Bank of England's Andrew Bailey Says
US needs to regulate stablecoins to keep a strong dollar: Stellar CEO
Tether blacklists validator address that drained MEV bots for $25M
Tether USDT supply reaches $80B for 1st time in almost a year

CRYPTO ECOSYSTEM

Chia Network Submits Registration to U.S. SEC For Proposed IPO
StoneX Taps Coinbase for Offering Nano Crypto Contracts
Privacy-Preserving Payments Shouldn't Be 'Niche', Monero Contributor Justin Ehrenhofer Says
New 1099-DA Reporting Creates More Headaches for Taxpayers
a16z unveils new crypto index that shows adoption outpacing price performance
Paxos’s national banking charter application expired, but it may try again
Ethereum projects launch MEV Blocker to protect users from high prices: Finance Redefined

NFTS / GAMING / METAVERSE

MonkeDAO Plans to Buy Rights to Popular Solana Monkey Business NFT Collection for $2M
Canon to Launch Ethereum Photo NFT Marketplace Cadabra
Bored Ape whale claims $4 million lost in rug pull scam shortly after selling nearly $3 million of the popular NFTs
Mastercard Drops Free NFTs, Launches Web3 Music Accelerator
CryptoPunks’ $211-million hot streak fueled by added liquidity and Blur incentives
Reddit experiences shop outage as it launches third generation of NFTs
Reddit Just Dropped Thousands More NFTs on Polygon From Over 100 Artists
Shiba Inu metaverse details unveiled by official announcement
Adidas ramps up NFT strategy amid a bearish trend
Proof Launches Exclusive NFT Collection for Moonbirds Holders
OpenSea Pro overtakes rival Blur in key metric as volumes and addresses surge

MINING

Montana ‘right to mine’ crypto bill passes the House
Core Scientific adds 900 more mining machines on behalf of LM Funding
Bill limiting incentives for crypto miners passes Texas Senate, moves to House
Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms responds to NYT with cheeky video saying facility doesn’t literally produce CO2
Core Scientific debtors petition bankruptcy court to approve new president
The New York Times' Skewed Bitcoin Mining Exposé Reveals Blatant Bias
Bitcoin miner CleanSpark purchases 45,000 ASICs for $145M
Bitcoin Miner Bitdeer Expected to Finally Go Public This Friday
Bitcoin mining firm Bitmain reportedly fined for tax violations in China
Bitcoin proponents respond to New York Times’ BTC mining report
Bitcoin Miners Will Have Same Rights as Data Centers, Says New Arkansas Bill
Bitcoin Mining Firm Sphere 3D Sues Gryphon Digital Over Spoofing Attack – Here's What Happened
SBI Crypto Sues Riot Blockchain-Owned Data Center for Fraud, Negligence

EXCHANGES

Binance Futures delisting STEPN, Near and Avalanche BUSD perps
Bitrue crypto exchange exploited for $23 million in ether and tokens
Zipmex’s rescue investor now wants to pay only 10 to 20 cents on the dollar
Winklevoss Twins' Gemini Files for Pre-Registration in Canada
Binance to Support Ether Staking Withdrawals From April 19
Gemini submits filing to stay open in Canada
Swiss court gives green light for FTX to sell its European arm
El Salvador Issues Historic First Digital Asset License to Bitfinex Crypto Exchange – Here's What You Need to Know
Bitfinex Securities El Salvador receives Digital Asset Service provider license in El Salvador
Gate.io Crypto Exchange Confirms its SFC License Application
Gemini receives $100M loan from Winklevoss brothers
Coinbase head of exchange departs and plans to start new crypto project: Report
Report: Crypto Exchange Binance in New Partnership that Seeks to Deepen Crypto Adoption in Africa
Zhu Su’s OPNX exchange rolls with wisecracks on its low daily trading volume
Coinbase CEO says Bitcoin Lightning is 'something we’ll integrate'
Binance.US unable to find bank partners in the United States: Report
Binance to Shut Down its Australian Derivatives Services

CAPITAL RAISES

Bankruptcy Trading Platform Xclaim Closes $7M Round as It Adds Crypto Focus
Sei Labs Raises $30M for Trading-Focused Layer 1 Blockchain
CryptoGPT raises funds at a $250 million token valuation

INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT

Digital Asset Firm HashKey Announces Wealth Management Service Launch Amid High Investor Demand – Bull Market Confirmed?
Metalpha raising $100M to offer Grayscale Bitcoin products in Hong Kong
Bitget unveils $100 million venture fund with focus on Asia

TRADFI / TECH

London Stock Exchange Group may provide clearing services for BTC derivatives in Q4
Amazon launches new Bedrock AI service to take on Google and OpenAI
Wisdom Tree, T. Rowe Among TradFi Firms to Test Avalanche's Blockchain Subnet
U.S. Banking Crisis May be Vindication for Crypto Ecosystem: JPMorgan
Tech giant Alibaba to roll out ChatGPT competitor AI
Midjourney Uses Photo Uploads To Help You Craft Prompts
Twitter seems to have blocked all interaction with tweets containing Substack links

CBDC

Montenegro's Central Bank to Test CBDC With Ripple
Presidential hopefuls RFK Jr. and Ron DeSantis rail against FedNow
Bank of England Targets 30-Strong Team for Digital Currency: Report

REGULATORY / COUNTRIES

Zambia to Wrap Crypto Regulation Tests by June: Report
High Hopes for EU’s MiCA Law With Final Vote Imminent
Blockchain Association files brief in Tornado Cash case
Paxos becomes latest crypto company to end services in Canada
SEC Advisory Group Backs Gensler’s Crypto Efforts but Asks for Industry Guidance
Wyoming defends crypto-friendly bank charter regime in Custodia Bank’s lawsuit with Fed
US SEC seeks to expand its Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit
New tax rules could mean a US exodus for crypto companies
Texas lawmakers propose a gold-backed state digital currency
Sushi’s head chef addresses community concerns amid SEC subpoena
U.S. Treasury Misunderstands DeFi AML Compliance Requirements: Coin Center
Thai political party looking at PM race promises $300 in crypto upon victory: Report
Int’l securities body IOSCO prepares crypto regulation report for 2023
Germany plans to issue electronic shares on blockchain, boost startups

ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, GOVERNANCE

Ash Environmental DAO Announces Ash Token Sale To Champion Social Good
Bitcoin’s Energy Transparency Is a Double-Edged Sword: Hut 8 Mining CEO

SURVEYS, HACKS, MISC

DAO Maker exploiter returns after 200 days, sends $600,000 to Tornado Cash
YouTuber Bitboy Ordered to Appear in Court to Face Lawyer’s Harassment Claims
Exploit involving early version of Yearn Finance saw damages of $11.6 million: PeckShield
Blockworks co-founder says he wouldn’t touch CryptoGPT with 10-foot pole
FTX’s bankruptcy lawyers and advisers pocket $32.5M in February
Europe Must Reduce Reliance on US Dollar, Says French President Emmanuel Macron
Sam Bankman-Fried declared Alameda ‘unauditable,’ new report shows
Former FTX US President Reportedly Quit After ‘Protracted Disagreement’ With Bankman-Fried

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