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💰 Bitcoin options 'in line with previous halvings' and bullishly pricing calls higher than puts: analyst The positioning of bitcoin options is in line with previous halvings, with the market skewing bullish and pricing calls at higher levels versus puts for the end-of-June 2024 expiry, an analyst said. A put-call options ratio below one indicates that the call volume exceeds the put volume, signifying bullish sentiment in the market. The bitcoin put-call skew is negative as of May and beyond, which means calls are relatively more expensive — indicating bullish sentiment. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

💰 ViaBTC's 'epic sat' from fourth Bitcoin halving block sells for 33.3 BTC ($2.13 million) An "epic sat"—an exceptionally rare satoshi, the smallest unit of bitcoin, from Bitcoin's fourth halving block—sold for over $2 million. This milestone not only signifies Bitcoin's fourth halving but also includes a block identified as an epic 'Rare Satoshi' by the Ordinals numbering system," CoinEx Global wrote on the satoshi's auction page, adding on social media, "This auction isn't just a bidding event; it marked the community recognition, media attention and widespread embrace of Bitcoin." Source 🔍 More Crypto News

🪙 Tether Will Freeze Venezuelan Wallets Being Used to Evade US Sanctions Tether has announced that all wallets associated with Venezuela’s attempts to bypass U.S. sanctions on oil exports will be frozen. The decision follows recent reports indicating an increased use of Tether’s USDT by Venezuela’s state-run oil company, PDVSA, to avoid sanctions imposed by the United States. According to a Reuters report, Venezuela’s state-run oil company, PDVSA, transitioned to using Tether’s USDT after facing renewed sanctions on its oil exports. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

💰 Bitcoin Runes made up 57.7% of transactions on halving day Bitcoin halving, Runes have sparked intense debate and speculation by embedding rich data within Bitcoin's ledger, shifting how users interact with the blockchain. By leveraging transaction augmentation, Runes can enhance transactions with diverse data, from simple messages to complex scripts, showing a remarkable capability distinct from other Bitcoin-enhancements like Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

💰 Mt. Gox's Looming $9B Payout Could Weigh on Bitcoin Prices, K33 Research Warns The crypto market has mostly shrugged off last week's correction, but there's a possible catalyst ahead that could weigh on prices through the next few weeks, putting a rally higher in jeopardy. Mt. Gox, a crypto exchange that imploded due to a hack in 2014, is gearing toward distributing 142,000 bitcoin (BTC) worth roughly $9.5 billion and 143,000 bitcoin cash (BCH) worth $73 million to creditors, posing a substantial overhang on digital asset prices. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

🇺🇸 US 💰 Bitcoin Mining Stocks Surge After the Halving On Monday, crypto-related stocks in the United States saw significant increases, reflecting a broader market rally just days after the Bitcoin halving. According to data from Google Finance, the country’s five largest publicly traded Bitcoin miners, including Marathon Digital (MARA), CleanSpark (CLSK), Riot Platforms (RIOT), Cipher Mining (CIFR), and Hut 8 (HUT), all witnessed substantial gains over the April 22 trading day. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

💰 Standard Chartered Analyst Predicts Bitcoin Price By Year End Can Reach $150,000 Geoff Kendrick of Standard Chartered emphasizes the transformative impact of these developments, citing increased optimism within the financial sector and the broader cryptocurrency landscape. Kendrick predicts a target of $150,000 for Bitcoin price by year end, reflecting a bullish outlook even in the absence of similar performance from other cryptocurrencies. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

💰 BlackRock Spot Bitcoin ETF Surpasses MicroStrategy, Holds $18B in 273,596 BTC The global investment management firm now boasts an impressive stash of 273,596 BTC, valued at a staggering $18 billion, all earmarked for its spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). This significant accumulation positions BlackRock spot Bitcoin ETF as a formidable force in the market, overshadowing competitors and solidifying its status as a major player in the cryptocurrency investment arena. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

🇪🇺 MiCA will transform the EU into a crypto adoption hub this year Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) was signed into law in June 2023, a framework for twenty-seven countries was finally in place. Although this was a landmark piece of legislation for a region that represents nearly twenty percent of the global economy, MiCA is serving as the beginning of a twelve to eighteen-month process of transition, transformation, and customization; that’s because MiCA includes a “substantial number of Level 2 and Level 3 measures,” as noted by the European Securities and Markets Authorities, that still must be developed and refined. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

💰 93 Blocks, $71 Million in Fees: Bitcoin Mining Revenue Booms Post-Halving Since the halving, miners have successfully extracted 93 blocks, accumulating a significant 1,087.99 bitcoins valued at approximately $71.04 million solely from transaction fees. As of 2:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday, the current metrics indicate a high-priority transaction cost of 492 satoshis per virtual byte (sat/vB), equivalent to $44.83 per transfer. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

🇰🇷 Crypto.com denies reports that South Korean regulator is delaying local unit leadership change Crypto.com has denied a local media report that said the firm might have encountered a roadblock in entering the South Korean crypto market, as the local financial regulator could be deferring the approval of a local entity's transition of executive leadership. The global cryptocurrency exchange announced on April 2 that it is launching a local trading platform in South Korea, which hosts one of the largest crypto markets in the world. The Source 🔍 More Crypto News

💰 After Halving Event, Bitcoin Transaction Fees Soar to Over $240 Upon reaching block height 840,000, when the mining pool Viabtc collected 37.626 bitcoin in fees worth $2.39 million, the expense for onchain transfers climbed, surpassing $240 per transaction. Block 840,003 recorded 16.06 bitcoins in fee payments, and block 840,004 accumulated 24 bitcoins in fees valued at over $1.5 million. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

💰 Bitcoin Miners Ramp Up Hashrate as Halving Nears, Network Hits 653 EH/s Record Just before the upcoming block reward halving, with only 72 blocks left until reaching block height 840,000, bitcoin miners have significantly boosted their hashrate. As of 8:50 a.m. EDT on April 19, 2024, the hashrate soared to a record 653 exahash per second (EH/s). Source 🔍 More Crypto News

💰 Bitcoin Halving Is Not a Bullish Event, Says 10x Research Analyst Bearish signals are looming over the crypto market these days and will almost certainly push prices down in the short term, well-known research analyst Markus Thielen said. “We don't have the typical drivers anymore that really brought prices from the $40,000 to the $70,000 region,” he said. The main reason behind this, he added, is the spot bitcoin ETFs, which have seen little to no new inflows over the past few weeks as investors have moved past the initial euphoria of the January launch. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

💰 Bitcoin to Hit $122,000 in 2024, Predicts Finder’s Latest Survey of Experts Finder’s latest survey on bitcoin’s (BTC) price involved a unique panel of 31 crypto and fintech experts. The results suggest that BTC could reach a peak of $122,000 in 2024, and then settle at $109,000 by year’s end. Nick Ranga, the senior crypto and forex analyst at Forextraders, attributes the current uptick in BTC’s value to growing institutional engagement. Ranga is among those experts who foresee BTC reaching its zenith once more in 2024, ultimately closing the year around the $100,000 mark per unit. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

🏦 Kraken launches self-custodial mobile wallet and releases its open-source code The crypto exchange giant Kraken released a self-custodial mobile wallet called Kraken Wallet, and it even published the app's code at launch. Kraken Wallet lets users manage their NFTs, tokens and DeFi positions across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Optimism, Base, Arbitrum, Polygon and Dogecoin, according to a release from Kraken. Users can also connect to popular decentralized applications and access round-the-clock customer service support. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

💰 Funding rate turns negative as Bitcoin drops below $64k In the volatile world of cryptocurrency, perpetual futures are a go-to for many traders. These contracts don't expire, relying instead on a mechanism called the funding rate to balance market forces. Recently, Bitcoin's perpetual futures saw a dramatic shift. Typically steadied by consistent positive funding rates, a sudden plunge into negative territory coincided with geopolitical turmoil and a significant drop in Bitcoin's price. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

💰 Bybit Report Suggests Bitcoin Exchanges to Run Dry in 9 Months As the crypto landscape evolves, a significant tightening in bitcoin’s available supply on exchanges has emerged, hinting at just nine months of reserves left. Bybit’s latest halving report unveils the reasons behind this tightening grip, indicating a looming scarcity that could reshape market dynamics. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

🇭🇰 Hong Kong spot bitcoin ETFs could go live as soon as this month: OSL Hong Kong asset managers, including units of China Asset Management (ChinaAMC) and Harvest Global, may soon launch their spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds as early as later this month, OSL confirmed with The Block today. “Reports suggest a spot ETF may start in late April, with a spot ETF following shortly after,” said Patrick Pan, chairman of the board and CEO of OSL. “All parties are working expeditiously to complete the process. However, exact dates remain unconfirmed at this time.” Source 🔍 More Crypto News

🪙 Ethereum validator queue hits highest level since September 2023 Staking on Ethereum has become all the rage recently with the recent popularization of restaking, which we talked about a bit last week. In a fun update, EigenLayer did launch on the Ethereum mainnet last week along with its EigenDA data availability layer. Coinbase Cloud and Google Cloud are among the protocol’s first operators, and it announced six actively validated services that will be secured through EigenLayer’s restaking on Friday. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

🇭🇰 Hong Kong approves first batch of spot bitcoin, ether ETFs in drive to become crypto hub Hong Kong approved the applications of several spot bitcoin and ether exchange-traded funds on Monday, as the region continues its drive to become a regional crypto hub. China Asset Management, a major Chinese asset manager, said that its Hong Kong unit has received approval in principle from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission to offer retail asset management services related to spot crypto ETFs. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

🇳🇬 Nigeria’s 🟠 Binance crackdown threatens Web3 industry Nigeria is feeling the consequences of actions against Binance executives, with investors withdrawing from deals and partnerships, particularly in the web3 sector. They mention Nigeria’s perceived lack of safety for business and government hostility, citing the Binance case as evidence, according to Lucky Uwakwe, the chairman of Nigeria's Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee (BICCoN). Source 🔍 More Crypto News

🇬🇧 Chinese Fraud Victims Seek Government Aid in Recovering 61,000 BTC Seized by UK Law Enforcement A group of Chinese victims of a $6 billion fraud scheme have requested assistance from their country’s foreign ministry in recovering 61,000 bitcoins, seized from a fraudster and her associate. The fraud victims have strongly opposed attempts to transfer the ownership of these bitcoins to the U.K. government. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

💰 Bitcoin’s halving countdown continues with one week to go Bitcoin’s next halving event is now just one week or approximately 1,000 blocks away, according to The Block’s Bitcoin Halving Countdown page. The estimated countdown is based on Bitcoin's average block generation time of 10 minutes, setting a potential date of April 20 at around 9 a.m. UTC (5 a.m. ET), to reach the next halving block height of 840,000, as things stand. Bitcoin’s next halving event will see the subsidy reward for miners on the network drop from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per block. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

💰 Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs could launch in Hong Kong before halving Hong Kong is poised to approve the launch of new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that will directly invest in Bitcoin and Ether potentially as soon as Monday. This key development, as reported by Bloomberg, involves key financial players, including an international branch of China’s Harvest Fund Management Co. and a partnership between Bosera Asset Management (International) Co. and HashKey Capital. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

🪙 Chainlink launches Transporter bridging app for moving crypto cross-chain Decentralized computing platform Chainlink has launched a bridging app for moving crypto tokens and messages between blockchains, powered by its cross-chain interoperability protocol. Built in collaboration with the Chainlink Foundation and developer Chainlink Labs, the “Transporter” app aims to provide a user-friendly interface for submitting and monitoring cross-chain transactions on CCIP, according to a statement shared with The Block. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

💰 Bitcoin price gains despite a pullback in global markets as ECB holds rates steady Bitcoin's price gained on Thursday after the European Central Bank (ECB) voted to keep interest rates on hold for the fifth consecutive meeting. Although bitcoin typically closely tracks risk-on assets like major equity indices, the cryptocurrency's upward trajectory came as global markets inched down. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell for a fourth day in a row, the S&P 500 declined 1% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.1%. In Europe, the regional Stoxx 600 index fell 0.7%, and London's FTSE fell 0.67%. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

💰 Hong Kong's Incoming Spot Bitcoin ETFs Could Be 'Big Deal.' Heightened anticipation for spot-based bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. and the eventual inflows supercharged bitcoin's run-up to new all-time highs, and now Hong Kong regulators reportedly are inching closer to approving similar funds, news that thus far has been mostly unnoticed in crypto circles. These vehicles, however, could open the floodgates for Chinese investors looking for a new haven next to gold and overseas real estate and stocks in which to store their wealth. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

🪙 VanEck, CoinShares CEOs doubt SEC will approve spot Ethereum ETFs: CNBC Firms that gained the Securities and Exchange Commission's approval for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund are not feeling very confident that the agency will greenlight proposals for an ether product, according to reporting from CNBC. VanEck CEO Jan van Eck told CNBC in an interview posted on Tuesday that he expected the VanEck Ethereum ETF to be rejected in May – the first deadline approaching for when the SEC will decide whether to allow those products to pass. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

📊 VanEck CEO Says Transaction Fee Is Bigger Story Than Bitcoin or Ethereum ETFs The CEO of VanEck – the global investment firm whose Bitcoin Trust (HODL) is among the almost dozen spot bitcoin ETFs – thinks the cryptocurrency industry should focus more on transaction fees and not so much on Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) or their related exchange-traded funds. Jan van Eck said on CoinDesk's "Markets Daily" that the transaction fees on the Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains are unpredictable, making it harder to build applications in those ecosystems. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

🪙 Ether outperforms bitcoin and sustains rally, amid surge in short liquidations Ether has maintained its rally while outperforming bitcoin as market volatility prompts a surge in short liquidations. Ether short positions bore the brunt of market volatility damage as the digital asset rose above the $3,600 mark on Monday. According to Coinglass data, there were over $27 million in ether short liquidations in the past 24 hours. In the wider cryptocurrency market, there have been over $204 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

💰 Bitcoin’s latest rally driven by ‘huge accumulation’ Bitcoin’s (BTC) latest rally was driven by “huge accumulation” as investor appetite remains high despite five days of trading in the red over the past week, according to CryptoQuant research. Just three days ago, Bitcoin was trading at roughly $65,500 as markets closed on Friday. However, a sustained rally over the weekend took prices to $72,500 before US markets opened for trading on Monday. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

🪙 Ether options point to bullish market sentiment for end of April The options market seems to have taken on more bullish positions in the largest cohort of ether options open interest by expiration date, contracts for the end-of-April expiry. Some $3.3 billion of notional ether options set to expire, according to Deribit data, and roughly two-thirds of that amount have been placed on calls, or bullish bets on price. "Call strikes are clustered between $3,700 - $4,000, showing an upside bias and underlying bullish sentiment in the market," Wintermute OTC Trader Jake Ostrovskis told The Block. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

⬜️ Ripple CEO expects crypto market cap to double by year-end: CNBC Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the entire cryptocurrency market capitalization will likely double by the end of 2024, according to a CNBC report on Sunday. The current global crypto market cap stands at around $2.59 trillion, CoinMarketCap data showed. Garlinghouse told CNBC that he is “very optimistic” about macroeconomic trends in crypto such as the emergence of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF), which he said has brought forth “real” institutional investments in crypto for the first time. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

🪙 Ethereum’s Q1 2024 Revenue Soars to $1.2 Billion, Marking 155% YoY Increase Ethereum posted an impressive performance in the first quarter of 2024. As per Coin98’s Ethereum Q1 2024 Financial Report, the blockchain network clocked in a massive surge in income statement metrics. Fees and revenue witnessed a 1.8 times increase quarter-over-quarter (QoQ), while earnings tripled over the same period. This financial momentum is essentially aligned with significant advancements in network and ecosystem metrics. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

💰 World’s First Bitcoin ETF Has Lost 20% of Assets Since BlackRock Approval The Purpose Bitcoin ETF (BTCC) – the world’s first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund – has struggled to compete with its U.S. counterparts since its January debut. The Canadian fund has lost 20% of its Bitcoin (BTC) under management over the past three months, despite rising demand and record-high prices for the asset during that time. In BTC terms, the amount is fairly average by historical standards. Since launching in February 2021, the firm’s holdings have mostly oscillated between 20,000 and 40,000 BTC, remaining relatively stagnant throughout 2023 at around 23,000. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

💰 BlackRock Adds Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, UBS as APs for Bitcoin ETF BlackRock (BLK) has added five additional authorized participants (APs) to the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), bringing the total number to nine as the fund continues to attract billions of dollars from investors. The new APs include Wall Street banking giants Goldman Sachs, Citadel Securities, Citigroup and UBS as well as clearing house ABN AMRO, according to a prospectus filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). They join Jane Street Capital, JP Morgan, Masquarie and Virtu Americas. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

💰 Terraform co-founder Do Kwon found liable for civil fraud: reports A jury has found that both Terraform Labs and its cofounder, Do Hyeong Kwon, misled investors and are found liable for civil fraud, according to multiple reports. Deliberations began Friday afternoon after both sides made closing arguments in the morning, according to reporting from Coinage. The trial lasted two weeks. The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Terraform and Kwon in February 2023 over the algorithmic stablecoin Terra USD, which collapsed in a dramatic fashion a year earlier. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

🪙 Uniswap hits a historic $2 trillion in trading volume The world's most popular decentralized exchange by trading volume announced it has passed a whopping $2 trillion in total trading volume. Uniswap Labs announced that the cumulative trading volume transacted using its protocol had hit the historic mark. Since its founding in 2018, Uniswap has been one of the most used DeFi applications on the Ethereum blockchain and the leading decentralized exchange, or DEX, by trading volume. Source 🔍 More Crypto News

💰 Bitcoin Adds 4.5% as Stocks Reverse Lower on Hawkish Fed Commentary It was a day of positive divergence for crypto bulls as stocks tumbled late in the U.S. trading session while bitcoin (BTC) managed to erase most of the week's losses. In late afternoon action, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were each lower by nearly 1% – not a huge loss, but about a 2% reversal off of earlier session highs. Behind the moves lower were hawkish comments from Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari. Source 🔍 More Crypto News