💸 BlackRock Extends BTC ETF Inflows Lead as Category Demand Slows

💻 BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) continues to attract assets, outperforming its competitors in the U.S. spot BTC ETF market.

With over $15.3 billion in net inflows since its launch on Jan. 11, IBIT is well-positioned to surpass Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC) in assets under management.

💡 Experts attribute IBIT’s success to BlackRock’s strong brand, competitive fees, and extensive distribution network, appealing to institutional investors. As the cryptocurrency space gains more institutional interest, IBIT is expected to maintain its leadership position in the digital asset management space.

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💸💸 Tether Expands Stablecoin Offerings to TON Network

💡 Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin, USDT, has announced the expansion of its USDT and XAUT tokens to The Open Network (TON). This integration aims to facilitate seamless peer-to-peer payments and enhance financial experiences for Telegram’s substantial user base.

👕 By bringing its stablecoins to the TON ecosystem, Tether seeks to increase liquidity and activity within the network. Users will now have the opportunity to utilize USDT and XAUT in various decentralized finance (DeFi) applications on TON.

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💸 JPMorgan Predicts Bitcoin Price Drop Post-Halving

💻 JPMorgan, in a recent research report, has forecasted a weakening in BTC’s price following the upcoming block subsidy halving event, expected to occur around April 19–20.

The bank’s analysis of open interest in Bitcoin futures suggests that the cryptocurrency remains overbought.

🔵 According to JPMorgan, the current Bitcoin price of approximately $61,200 is still above its volatility-adjusted comparison with gold ($45,000) and its projected post-halving production cost of $42,000. The report also highlights subdued venture capital funding in the crypto market despite the recent resurgence.

👕 Mining companies are expected to be the most affected by the halving, with the bank anticipating a significant drop in the hash rate and consolidation among Bitcoin miners. Some mining firms may also seek to diversify into low energy cost regions to deploy their inefficient mining rigs and salvage value.

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🕯 Bitcoin Transaction Fees Skyrocket Above $100, Sparking Sell-Off Concerns

📈 Following the recent Bitcoin halving event, average transaction fees on the network have surged past $100 for the first time, reaching $105.69 in the last 24 hours. While miners benefit from higher fees, users and investors face negative consequences, such as holding unspendable dust balances and facing difficulties withdrawing from exchanges.

💬 The increased costs could also diminish profits in Bitcoin’s DeFi ecosystem and incentivize a sell-off for fiat or other cryptocurrencies. As the market awaits a potential drop in demand for block space, users must currently pay four times the world’s average daily income per BTC transaction.

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💸 Bitcoin Halving Arrives, Sparking Surge in Transaction Fees

🔵 The much-anticipated Bitcoin halving, occurring once every four years, took place on Saturday, April 22, at 00:09 UTC. As the 840,000th block was added to the Bitcoin blockchain, the event cut the rewards miners receive for creating new Bitcoin in half.

💻 While Bitcoin’s price remained relatively stable above $63,000, transaction fees on the network skyrocketed due to the launch of a new protocol called Runes. Developed by Casey Rodarmor, the creator of the Ordinals platform, Runes enables the minting of digital tokens atop the Bitcoin blockchain. Speculators rushed to etch these tokens, leading to a flurry of transactions and record-high fees.

👕 The halving block itself saw a staggering 37.6-BTC fee (worth over $2.4 million), with fees remaining significantly higher than normal in the following hour. The intense competition among miners and users to be part of this historic event has put unprecedented stress on the Bitcoin network, showcasing its potential for new use cases and revenue streams in the post-halving era.

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💸 👉 Runes Protocol Launches on Bitcoin, Sending Fees Soaring As Users Rush to Mint Tokens

🔵 Bitcoin’s halving event was overshadowed by the launch of Runes Protocol, allowing users to mint tokens on Bitcoin. Developed by Casey Rodarmor, creator of Ordinals, Runes protocol enables minting fungible tokens, unlike Ordinals’ nonfungible assets.

👕 Within hours, over $4.95 million in fees were paid to mint rare Runes projects like PEPE, WIT, and HONKERS. With hundreds of projects vying for attention, traders discussed strategies like acquiring early projects or those with pre-mined tokens reserved for creators. However, determining long-term value remains challenging in this chaotic, newfound meme coin ecosystem on Bitcoin.

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💸 Halving Excitement in Bitcoin Has Ended: What to Expect in Price From Now On?

🔵 Bitcoin’s hotly anticipated halving event occurred smoothly, reducing mining rewards by 50%. While the price remained stable at $64,000 post-halving, analysts expect the impact to unfold over time. Kok Kee Chong of AsiaNext believes the halving was “priced in” and a rally could follow if institutional interest continues.

👕 However, Edward Chin of Parataxis Capital cautions that macroeconomic pressures such as interest rate hikes and geopolitical tensions may lead to a price decline in the near-term until clarity emerges. For now, he sees ETF fund flows as the primary price driver for Bitcoin.

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🕯 FTX Estate to Proceed With the Sale of Locked Solana Tokens via Auction

🌐 The bankrupt crypto exchange FTX is auctioning off its remaining holdings of locked Solana (SOL) tokens, rather than selling at a fixed price. This follows two recent sales totaling $4.5 billion, with tokens sold at around $60 each to firms like Galaxy Digital—significantly below Solana’s current $150 price.

📊 Mike Cagney’s Figure Markets plans an investment vehicle to bid on the auction. While the locked tokens can’t be sold immediately, the potential discount has drawn interest from speculators betting Solana’s price will rise before the unlocking period.

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💸 Bitcoin Miners May Shift Focus to AI After Halving, CoinShares Says

💻 Bitcoin miners may pivot toward AI in energy-rich areas after the recent halving, according to CoinShares. With Bitcoin’s reduced mining rewards, operational costs for miners will nearly double to around $53,000 per Bitcoin.

Some major mining firms like BitDigital and Hive are already generating revenue from AI workloads.

💡 CoinShares suggests mining could gravitate to stranded energy sites, while AI investments grow in more stable locations, as miners seek higher profitability post-halving. The hash rate is projected to drop 10% initially as unprofitable miners go offline.

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💸 Opinion: Here’s How ETH Holders Could Push Price to a 12% Rally

📈 Ether’s (ETH) price has stabilized above $3,000 after recent losses, but a rally could be brewing thanks to holders refusing to sell. Data shows active deposits on the Ethereum network, which signal investors’ intention to sell, have dropped to a seven-month low.

🕯 Additionally, there has been a $2-billion shift from short-term to mid-term holders (one to three months), suggesting investors are opting to hold rather than take profits.

🖥 Technically, if Ether can break above the $3,376 level, representing a 50% Fibonacci retracement, it could continue rallying toward $3,582, a 12% gain from current prices. However, if it fails to clear $3,376, ETH risks dropping back below $3,000.

🛍 The resilience of Ether holders avoiding selling pressure is setting up a potential 12% price rally if the key $3,376 resistance can be overcome in the near-term.

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💡 BlackRock Predicts How Much the Fed Will Cut Interest Rates This Year

👕 BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, predicts the U.S. Federal Reserve could cut interest rates twice in 2024 as inflation cools.

👕 Rick Rieder, BlackRock’s chief investment officer of global fixed income, believes the Fed can achieve this despite recent stronger economic data. Market expectations currently price in around 40 basis points of rate cuts by the end of the year.

📎Rieder says BlackRock is reducing interest rate risk by favoring shorter-term investments for now but sees an opportunity to extend maturities once inflation reports show improvement and employment slows.

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👮‍♀️ Do Kwon, Terraform Labs Should Get $5.3B Fine, SEC Tells Court

🔵 The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked a New York court to impose a massive $5.3-billion fine on Do Kwon and Terraform Labs over their roles in the $40-billion collapse of the Terra ecosystem last year.

🔵 The SEC states this “conservative” fine amount is a reasonable approximation of Kwon and Terraform’s “ill-gotten gains” from misleading investors about the stability of the TerraUSD stablecoin and Terra blockchain.

📎 The total includes $4.74 billion in disgorgement of profits and interest, as well as $520 million in civil penalties split between Terraform ($420 million) and Kwon ($100 million) personally.

Beyond the fines, the SEC is also seeking injunctions to permanently ban Kwon from serving as an officer of a public company and prohibit him and Terraform from selling any more crypto asset securities.

🔵 The SEC justified these measures by alleging Kwon has shown no remorse, with Terraform’s new CEO testifying they continue selling tokens, which the SEC called a “frank acknowledgment of likely recidivism.”

👕 Kwon’s lawyers argue he has no profits to disgorge, while Terraform says it should only face “appropriate” penalties provable in the U.S., given its bankruptcy status.

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💻 BlackRock tokenizes Money Market Fund on Hedera; HBAR Soars

👕 BlackRock tokenized shares of its money market fund on the Hedera blockchain in a major milestone for real-world asset tokenization. Enabled by Archax exchange, Ownera and the HBAR Foundation, it allows trading tokenized fund shares with benefits like instant transfer.

👕 The news sent Hedera’s HBAR token soaring over 46% to a four-week high above $0.13 as trading volume spiked over 600%, signaling confidence in Hedera’s ability to tokenize traditional assets for institutions like BlackRock.

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🌐 Ripple Says $10M Penalty Enough, Rejects SEC’s Ask of $1.95B Fine in Final Judgment

❓ Ripple Labs has opposed the SEC’s proposed $1.95-billion penalty in their long-running case, calling it “administrative overreach.” While the court found Ripple violated securities laws through institutional XRP sales, it dismissed broader allegations. Ripple argues the SEC’s requested $876-million disgorgement and $876-million civil penalty are excessive, stating:

“The Court should impose a civil penalty of no more than $10 million.”

🔖 Ripple claims it had no gains to disgorge after accounting for factors such as taxes and losses. The pushback highlights the high stakes as the case approaches final judgement.

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🌐❓ What Are Airdrop Scams?

⚠️ Airdrop scams lure victims with promises of free crypto tokens, then steal their funds. Common tactics include phishing websites mimicking legitimate airdrops, impersonating exchanges or influencers, and sending unsolicited tokens to trick users into visiting malicious sites.

🔴 To avoid falling victim, be wary of unrealistic promises, requests to connect wallets, or share private keys/seed phrases, projects lacking transparency, and phishing attempts impersonating reputable entities.

‼️ Never interact with or try to sell unexpected tokens in your wallet. Verify airdrops through official channels before participating. If an airdrop seems too good to be true, it likely is a scam aiming to drain your crypto holdings.

#ScamDecoded

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🛍⚠️What Is a 51% Attack?

❓A 51% attack occurs when an entity controls the majority (at least 51%) of a blockchain network’s mining hash rate or computing power. This allows the attacker to prevent new transactions from being confirmed, enable double-spending of coins, and potentially reverse their own transactions.

While extremely difficult on large networks like Bitcoin due to the massive amount of required hash power, 51% attacks are more feasible on smaller proof-of-work blockchains with lower hash rates. Notable examples include attacks on Monacoin, Bitcoin Gold, and ZenCash.

🛡 To defend against 51% attacks, cryptocurrencies rely on having a highly decentralized network of miners, making it improbable for any single entity to amass that much computing power. Larger networks with more miners are inherently securer against these attacks.

ℹ️ While concerning, 51% attacks can be prevented by networks quickly upgrading protocols and consensus rules if such an event occurs. Overall, they pose a potential risk that robust cryptocurrencies aim to make computationally infeasible.

#ScamDecoded

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❗️ What Is Crypto Market Sentiment?

In this edition of #Basics we will discuss the concept of crypto market sentiment.

🔵 In simple terms, it refers to the overall attitudes and emotions investors have toward a cryptocurrency. It considers the hype, fear, and opinions around a coin or project, which can significantly influence price despite not necessarily reflecting fundamentals.

💡 Market sentiment analysis involves tracking social media, news, transaction activity, and other data points to gauge feelings and predict potential price movements. While sentiment doesn’t always align with reality, monitoring it can provide valuable insights when combined with technical and fundamental analysis.

🎥 Major drivers of crypto market sentiment include influencer comments, community engagement, whale transactions, and mainstream media coverage. Analyzing collective market sentiment allows traders to better understand market psychology and potential upcoming trends for trading or investment decisions.

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💸 ARK Sells Last of Its ProShares Bitcoin Futures ETF Shares

🔵 ARK Invest has fully exited its position in the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF. The investment firm sold its remaining 237,983 BITO shares worth $6.7 million from its ARKW fund on Thursday.

💻 ARK had originally purchased over 4 million BITO shares late last year as a short-term play, anticipating the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF that it could swap into.

💡 After steadily trimming its BITO holdings in January, ARK sold its final shares this week. The firm’s own Ark 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) is now ARKW’s largest holding at 10.4% of the fund’s value.

The sale comes as ARK continues positioning its funds while awaiting the elusive approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF product in the United States market.

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💸🕯 DTCC Cuts Bitcoin ETF Collateral by 100%

ℹ️ The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has announced it will provide zero collateral for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency ETFs from April 30, 2024, cutting their collateral valuation by 100%.

📊 While not impacting lending by individual brokers, the move signals caution from the DTCC toward extending credit against crypto-backed products. The news modestly impacted crypto markets, with Bitcoin briefly dipping amid some negative sentiment, though analysts urged ignoring “baseless panic” over the DTCC’s internal decision.

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💸 Peter Brandt Signals Potential End of Bull Run

🔵 Veteran trader Peter Brandt has issued a sobering analysis indicating Bitcoin’s bull run may have reached its peak around $72,723 in March. Examining diminishing exponential growth across previous cycles, Brandt argues the current run exhibits “exponential decay”—with each cycle seeing around 80% less momentum than the last.

💡 This data implies Bitcoin could retrace significantly, potentially revisiting the $30,000 range, before setting up for future long-term gains akin to historical patterns in gold markets after major corrections.

💡 While optimistic overall, Brandt cautions there is a 25% chance the current cycle has topped out, urging investors to consider the data objectively.

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