Hong Kong approves Bitcoin and Ether ETFs
On Monday, Hong Kong regulators gave the green light for the
launch of spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs, asset managers announced,
following the trend set by the US earlier this year. Approvals came
from three fund managers, including ChinaAMC, which also plans to
offer virtual asset management services, with OSL Digital
Securities acting as custodian. Harvest Global and Bosera
International also received authorization for their Bitcoin and
Ether ETFs. This advancement positions Hong Kong as a potential
regulated center for crypto assets, competing with Dubai and
Singapore.
$126 million outflow in crypto funds marks first withdrawal in
three weeks
Crypto funds managed by major firms such as BlackRock
(NASDAQ:IBIT), Bitwise (AMEX:BITB), Fidelity (AMEX:FBTC), Grayscale
(AMEX:GBTC), ProShares (AMEX:BITO), and 21Shares (AMEX:ARKB) faced
global outflows of $126 million last week, as reported by
CoinShares. This value contrasts with the record withdrawal of
nearly one billion dollars in the week ending on March 22.
According to James Butterfill of CoinShares, stagnation in positive
price dynamics led to increased caution among investors, reflected
in a drop in ETP/ETF activity from 40% to 31% of total volume on
trusted exchanges. US crypto funds had a particularly challenging
week, with $145 million in outflows, while Germany saw inflows of
$29 million.
Bitcoin partially recovers after sharp weekend drop driven by
geopolitical tensions
Over the weekend, Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) experienced a sharp drop
to $61,300, motivated by geopolitical tensions. The decline was
attributed to tensions in the Middle East, with market sentiment
improving after the announcement of a temporary cessation of
hostilities. After recovering to $66,600, Bitcoin was down -3% to
$63,828 at the time of writing. The next Bitcoin halving event is
expected on April 20 and will halve the rewards offered to network
miners. The Bitcoin halving event is also cited by analysts as a
factor triggering a temporary selling reaction.
Movement of 50 old Bitcoins sparks speculation about miner activity
Earlier today, 50 bitcoins, valued at $3.3 million and untouched
for nearly 14 years, were transferred, indicating possible activity
from an early Bitcoin miner. The bitcoins, mined in April 2010,
were split into two transactions: 17 BTC went to a wallet that may
be linked to an exchange, and 33 BTC went to a new address,
possibly to maintain the original miner’s balance privacy.
Solana rolls out critical update to address congestion and
stabilize prices
Solana (COIN:SOLUSD) developers deployed an emergency update,
version 1.18.11, to combat network congestion issues and recent
market value declines. The infrastructure team led by Anza invited
validators to test the new solution on Solana’s testnet. Recently,
the network has faced high transaction failure rates and bot
interference, causing delays in various launches. However,
improvements have been noted, with the Phantom wallet reporting a
significant increase in transaction success rate. Despite the
updates, Solana’s price recorded a steep decline of -8.52% in the
last 24 hours, influenced by a bearish market, with potential
larger repercussions if congestion issues persist.
Vitalik Buterin emphasizes the importance of privacy in crypto
transactions
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum (COIN:ETHUSD),
reiterated the importance of privacy in crypto transactions, using
the RailGun tool to protect his movements. According to Wu
Blockchain, Buterin transferred 100 ETH to RailGun, highlighting
his recurrent use of the tool over the past six months. After his
statements, privacy-focused assets like Monero (COIN:XMRUSD) and
Zcash (COIN:ZECUSD) saw price increases before falling again.
Buterin praised RailGun’s ability to balance privacy and security,
citing the potential of privacy technologies in promoting a more
trustworthy and transparent environment in DeFi.
Ripple unveils loan protocol proposal on XRP Ledger to bolster DeFi
Ripple is advancing the expansion of DeFi functionalities on the
XRP Ledger (XRPL) with a new loan protocol proposal named 0066
XLS—66d. Currently under public review on GitHub, this protocol
aims to create a censorship-resistant DeFi ecosystem on XRPL. It
introduces a flexible lending mechanism, allowing users to
contribute tokens like XRP (COIN:XRPUSD), Wrapped BTC
(COIN:WBTCUSD), and wETH to a lending pool and negotiate loan terms
off-chain. The proposal also emphasizes security and transparency,
empowering practical applications and facilitating the construction
of decentralized lending apps.
Upcoming crypto token unlocks and potential market impact
This week, we will observe significant unlocks of crypto tokens
that may influence market dynamics. Unlocking is a process in which
tokens previously restricted due to funding rounds become available
for sale. This process can potentially affect token prices if
increased supply pressures sales, especially if there is limited
liquidity or if early investors decide to take profits. Key unlocks
include tokens from projects like Starknet, Arbitrum (COIN:ARBUSD),
ApeCoin (COIN:APEUSD), Pixels (GATE:PIXELUSDT), Axie Infinity
(COIN:AXSUSD), Manta Network and ImmutableX (COIN:IMXUSD).
German bank LBBW introduces cryptocurrency custody services in
partnership with Bitpanda
Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW), Germany’s largest federal
bank, revealed plans to launch an “investment-as-a-service”
infrastructure aimed at its corporate and institutional clients for
cryptocurrency custody and acquisition. In collaboration with the
Austrian exchange Bitpanda, LBBW is preparing to start a custody
pilot project in the second half of 2024, starting with bitcoin
(COIN:BTCUSD) and ether (COIN:ETHUSD). This partnership will enable
LBBW to offer trading and custody services for digital assets,
ensuring high security standards and meeting the growing demand for
digital assets among its clients.
UK prepares legislation to regulate cryptocurrencies and
stablecoins
Economic Secretary Bim Afolami announced at the Innovate Finance
Global Summit that the UK government plans to introduce legislation
covering stablecoins and other crypto activities such as staking,
exchange, and custody by mid-year. The new regulation, following a
2023 bill, will for the first time include exchanges’ operations
and custody of crypto assets within its regulatory scope. The
Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England have already
begun consultations on this regime.
Norway proposes legislation to regulate data centers and limit
cryptocurrency mining
The Norwegian government is introducing legislation to regulate
data centers, primarily aiming to restrict cryptocurrency mining
due to its high energy consumption. According to a report from
local news agency VG, Ministers Karianne Tung of Digitization and
Terje Aasland of Energy stated that the new law will require data
center operators to register with local regulators. Aasland
emphasized that cryptocurrency mining is unwanted in Norway due to
its significant greenhouse gas emissions. The measure aims to close
the door to businesses deemed harmful to the environment.
Adidas and Stepn launch NFT collection based on sports icons
Adidas (TG:ADS), known for its sportswear and shoes, announced a
collaboration with the fitness app Stepn, operating on the Solana
blockchain. The partnership begins with a series of 1,000 NFTs
called “Stepn x Adidas Genesis Sneakers,” inspired by Adidas’ most
famous running silhouettes. This collection marks the beginning of
several joint brand initiatives over a year, including more NFT and
physical product releases. The first series of the collection will
be launched on April 17 through the NFT marketplace Mooar, linked
to Stepn. Adidas has experience in partnerships in the web3 space,
having previously collaborated with entities such as Coinbase,
Bored Ape Yacht Club, and Bugatti. Stepn, an app that allows users
to earn cryptocurrencies by walking or running, has previously
partnered with Asics in 2022.
Avalon raises $10 million to launch crypto MMO
Avalon, a cryptographic game development studio, raised $10
million in a funding round led by Bitkraft Ventures and Hashed to
launch a massively multiplayer online game. The game, also titled
“Avalon,” is being developed in collaboration with AI pioneers
Didimo and Inworld AI. According to CEO Sean Pinnock, the game will
use Unreal Engine 5 and allow players to create game content with
AI assistance. The company also promises to release a collection of
AI-based avatar NFTs.
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