Crypto Weekly 4/21/2024

A weekly summary of the latest crypto news...

Crypto weekly is co-authored by @serdave 

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PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD

- Crypto Market Cap ($2.5T): +2% / +41%  
- BTC ($64,803): +1% / +53%
- ETH ($3,146): +2% / +38%
- SOL ($149): +5% / +46%
- UNI ($7.69): +6% / +5%
- MATIC ($0.71): +3% / -27% 
- Tether Mkt Cap ($110B): +2% / +20%  
- USDC Mkt Cap ($34B): +5% / +39%  
- BTC / ETH Dominance: 51% / 15%

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THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO

- The bitcoin halving took place on April 19th, reducing the mining-reward in half to 450 BTC per day and 3.125 BTC per block. Bitcoin undergoes a halving roughly every 4 years, as part of a reduced emissions schedule as it reaches its supply cap of 21 million. Link. Link.

- The IRS released an early draft of a new form, Form 1099-DA, for brokers and exchanges to report sales of digital assets. The IRS included unhosted wallet providers in its broker definition. Link. Form 1099-A Draft. 

- A competing BRC-20 standard from the creator of Bitcoin Ordinals called Runes went live on the bitcoin protocol, introducing a new framework for inscribing non-fungible tokens on the bitcoin blockchain. Network activity surged, and transaction fees on bitcoin rose from $4 to $12. Link. Link. Blog Post . 

- Senators Lummis and Gillibrand introduced the Payment Stablecoin Act, a regulatory framework for stablecoins. It would require stablecoins to be backed by one-to-one cash or cash-equivalent reserves, and effectively outlaws algorithmic stablecoins. Link. Press Release. 

- Avraham Eisenberg was convicted of fraud for his role in the $110 million exploit of DeFi protocol Mango Markets. Eisenberg faces more than 20 years in prison. Link. 

- Blur was the top NFT marketplace in Q1 with 27% market share and $1.5 billion of trading volume. Magic Eden was second, though it had more volumes than Blur in March. Link. Report. 

- Bitcoin core contributor Hal Finney will posthumously be the first recipient of an award named in his honor from the Human Rights Foundation. Link. 

- A group of FTX investors settled a civil case against former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, in exchange for his cooperation in a class action case against celebrities who promoted the platform, including Shaquille O’Neal and Tom Brady. Link. Link. 

- Messaging app Telegram is partnering with Tether to allow its users to send crypto payments from its app using the USDT stablecoin. Link. Link. 

- UK financial institutions are piloting an experimental shared ledger to track banking payments using tokenized deposits and securities. Barclays, Lloyds, Citigroup, Mastercard and Visa are involved in the pilot. Link. 

- Coinbase’s board is shrinking from 8 to 7 members, as Kathryn Haun retires from her position after 7 years on the board. Link. Tweet. 

- Worldcoin is launching its own Layer 2 called World Chain, utilizing Optimism infrastructure. World Chain’s native token will be ETH, and its WLD token can be used for gas fees. Link. Link. 

- Yuga Labs, the creator of Bored Ape Yacht Club, sold two of its gaming IPs, HV-MTL and Legends of the Mara, to web3 gaming studio Faraway. Link. Tweet. 

- Wallet infrastructure provider Safe acquired crypto treasury management platform Multis. Link.

- Samczsun, a pseudonymous white hat hacker, launched SEAL-ISAC, a free platform that connects crypto users with experts on cybersecurity threats, attacks, and responses. Link. Tweet.

- Adidas is releasing a 1,000 NFT collection with Solana-based fitness app Stepn, based on Adidas’s most iconic sneaker collections. Link.