Weekly Round-Up #94 | Bringing you up to speed with the top stuff!

The Latest Bitcoin Halving and Its Long-Term Implications

Last Friday, the block rewards for Bitcoin mining officially decreased, an event known as Bitcoin halving. This occurs every four years, and this latest one has reduced miner rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. The milestone 840,000th block was mined by ViaBTC that evening. While these halvings historically boost Bitcoin's price, this time, it remained stable at around $63,783. There's uncertainty about future trends, with experts predicting a peak between late 2024 and early 2025. Alongside its impact on prices, the halving will affect mining companies, leading to challenges, especially for those with weaker finances. Some well-prepared entities may acquire machinery or even companies in the coming months.

Binance's Dubai Arm to Serve Retail and Institutional Investors with VASP License

Binance, last week obtained a Virtual Asset Securities Provider (VASP) license from Dubai. This allows their Dubai arm to serve both retail and institutional investors, with plans to introduce new lending and borrowing options like virtual asset loans. Richard Teng, the current CEO, expressed excitement over the license, emphasizing their commitment to transforming finance responsibly. In other news, Binance transferred all assets from its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) to Circle’s USDC stablecoin for enhanced reliability. However, tensions persist with Nigeria following the detention of their compliance officer, Tigran Gambaryan, prompting involvement from the White House in resolving the situation.

FTX's Treasury Value Significantly Reduced as Assets Moved to New Wallet

FTX, in the throes of bankruptcy, shifted its assets from its FTT treasury to a new wallet on April 18. This significantly reduced the treasury's value, now holding only around $205 million compared to its previous $612 million. The once-valuable FTT token, which granted perks to users during FTX's heyday, has suffered a drastic 98% decline since the exchange's collapse, attributed to manipulation revealed during the trial of former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. Regulatory troubles persist for FTX, as the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission extended the suspension of its European subsidiary license until September 2024, hindering its ability to offer services or take on new clients. However, the firm must honor pending transactions and reimburse clients as per regulatory mandates.

Catch up on our published articles for the week!

NEWS

• Bitcoin Rebounds to $62K as Crypto Market Eases, Analyst Speculates Effects of Iran-Israeli Conflict >>> Learn more
• Arkansas State House Advances Legislation to Regulate Cryptocurrency Mining >>> Learn more
• New Report: Web3 Investment Surges by 55% in Q1 2024, Signals Growing Confidence in Blockchain Technology >>> Learn more
• OMNI Token Plummets Over 55% After Airdrop; Fake Token Exit Scam Adds to Woes >>> Learn more
• Binance Converts Entire $1 Billion Emergency Fund to USDC for Enhanced Reliability >>> Learn more
• Upbit Suspends Large Crypto Transactions Due to Ten&Ten Service Disruption >>> Learn more
• BlackRock’s $iBIT Will Overtake Grayscale’s $GBTC in Asset Portfolio Size Soon – Analyst >>> Learn more
• U.S. Bitcoin ETFs Experience Third Consecutive Day of Net Outflows For the Second Time Since Inception >>> Learn more
• Binance.US Appoints Former US-Federal Reserve Bank CCO to its Board of Directors >>> Learn more
• Debt Repayment Turns Sour: Crypto Whale Loses $4 Million After Selling $33 Million in ETH >>> Learn more
• BlackRock’s $IBIT ETF Bucks Trend with Continuous Inflows Amidst Market Stagnation In The Past Five Days >>> Learn more
• U.K. Government Set to Introduce New Crypto Laws Covering Staking, Stablecoins, and More by Mid-2024 >>> Learn more
• Hong Kong Set to Welcome Crypto Spot ETFs as Three Issuers Secure Regulatory Approvals >>> Learn more
• Germany’s Biggest Federal Bank Set to Provide Cryptocurrency Custody Services to Its Customers >>> Learn more
  

ARTICLES

• Spotlight on Grayscale: Analysing the U.S. SEC’s Decision to Let Bitcoin ETFs Shine >>> Learn more
  
• The Cryptocurrencies vs Securities Dilemma: Why U.S. SEC Needs to Revise its Stance On Crypto >>> Learn more.
  
• Everything You Need to Know About Bitcoin Halving >>> Learn more.
  
• Exploring the Top 10 Blockchains by On-Chain Transaction Volume >>> Learn more.
  

Spotlight on interesting projects

Tezoro

Tezoro is a non-custodial service that allows you to reduce the risk of losing your crypto by ~100 times by creating a backup: a smart contract that can withdraw crypto from your wallet and transfer it to a backup address even if you've already lost access to your wallet or died.Tezoro is a non-custodial service. It helps you to prepare your backup, and you confirm it via your MetaMask and deploy it directly to the blockchain.

Nobody, including Tezoro, can change the amount or replace the backup address. The only thing you allow it to do is initiate the transfer at the moment you need it.

For more information, visit https://tezoro.io/

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