By Christopher Hamman
The crypto space may be humming along, but the US Government may also be planning to end things, according to Robert Kennedy Jr., who like his famous uncle President John F. Kennedy and father, Robert F. Kennedy, is planning a presidential run next year.
That said, digital images of former President Donald Trump in prison garb are causing quite a stir, with NFT prices jumping around.
The days of free candy at Digital Currency Group’s Foundry are over, with Bitcoin mining becoming a paid service, and crypto trading volumes are down 80% from last month.
These are the decentralized diaries!
Bitcoin Sentiment Remained Positive, as Prices Cross $30k
Despite ongoing regulatory pressure and reduced US crypto trading volumes, Bitcoin’s support level has buoyed the top token past $30k. As of 04/11/23, Bitcoin’s price is $30,230.85 from a $27,468.25 support level. It appears Bitcoin’s volatility days are here again!
Ethereum (ETH), with its Shanghai upgrade, is receiving special attention from the markets with prices at $1,855.31, Solana (SOL) at $20.21, Polkadot (DOT) at $6.15, and Avalanche (AVAX) at $17.51.
Immunefi Report Identified 73.3% of Rug Pulls in Q1 2023 on BNB Chain
According to the “Crypto Losses in Q1 2023” report of blockchain security firm Immunefi, 73.3% of “rug pulls”, a type of scam that sees developers disappear without a trace, occurred on the BNB Chain.
The blockchain security firm also indicated that rug pulls are far less of a problem than hacks and exploits that recently plagued the general crypto space.
Google Cloud and Celo Foundation Announced Their Partnership
As part of efforts to improve innovation and boost innovation in the Web3 space, the Celo Foundation, the organization behind the mobile-focused Celo blockchain, announced a partnership with Google Cloud.
Per the partnership, Google Cloud’s team will guide developers in Celo’s “Founders in Residence” program, while Celo will continue to provide leadership in green blockchain solutions. Google Cloud will also provide credits for projects for Cloud and Firebase users building on Celo’s platform.
Celo is the first “carbon-negative” Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchain.
Trump “Criminal” NFTs Gain Popularity as the Former President Faces Legal Issues
While former American President Trump had his day in court, several criminal-themed Trump “criminal” NFTs were on the uptick and became popular.
Trump’s official NFT collection also gained value, but the jumpsuits, iron bars, and other jail-themed NFT items gained traction.
The official digital trading cards are more expensive than the Trump criminal collection, with prices going as high as 0.404 ETH ($1,862).
Digital Currency Group Ended its Foundry Free Mining Service
Following the FTX situation and credit issues with Genesis, digital asset behemoth Digital Currency Group ended Foundry USA’s free Bitcoin mining service.
DCG created Foundry to be a “free forever” service, but it will become a paid service with a 29.4% share of the global Bitcoin mining pool.
US Presidential Candidate Warned Against FedNow, CBDCs
As the US Presidential Candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. filed for participation in the 2024 Presidential race, he spoke out against FedNow, the Fed’s real-time payment platform, and plans to launch a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
The New York-based lawyer and nephew of former President JFK cited surveillance of transactions as a part of CBDC functions, and that” The central bank will have the power to enforce dollar limits on our transactions restricting where you can send money, where you can spend it, and when money expires.”
Former Genesis CEO Joined New Cryptocurrency Derivatives Exchange
Michael Moro, the former CEO of troubled crypto lender Genesis, joined Ankex, a new “hybrid” derivatives exchange backed by Qredo, a crypto solutions firm.
The Panama-based Ankex provides wallet self-custody with the latency and liquidity we know centralized exchanges for.
Crypto Trading Volumes in US Down by 80% in Three Weeks
In related news, data from Kaiko, a crypto research firm, indicates that crypto trading volumes from exchanges fell to $621,853,315 on April 2 from $3,223,723,564 on March 24, when the traditional financial space looked towards crypto as a haven.
The declines are partly due to the continued government crackdowns on crypto firms. While much of the actions haven’t panned out, the government’s moves spooked investors who responded with a “wait-and-see” approach as offshore crypto activities become increasingly popular.
Tether Rebutted Claims of Exposure to Signature
Following allegations of exposure to Signature Bank, stablecoin issuer Tether reiterated it had no ties or holdings to or with Silvergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, or Signature Bank.
The last quarter that required Tether to submit attestations of its reserves ended last month.
Although the stablecoin firm has no legal obligation to indicate its holdings, it maintains a transparency page where everything is available for all to see.
Several State regulators went After Yield.ai
The state financial regulators of Alabama, Texas, and Montana jointly filed enforcement actions against Yield.ai, a DeFi trading platform, and its owner Stefan Ciopraga.
Yield.ai offers investors consistent returns of up to 2.2%, backed by AI trading activities. The state regulators allege the platform is a Ponzi scheme. Montana’s regulator cited the platform’s “Yieldbot’s” development on the BNB chain, giving it potential access to staking services that could provide the required 2.2%.
Montana’s Commissioner of Securities, Troy Downing indicated that AIs development is exciting, but scammers ” are attempting to capitalize on the excitement by developing high-tech ploys to deceive investors”.
