81. Former CEO of Binance sentenced
Crypto Corner
Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO of Binance, has been sentenced to four months in prison. He pleaded guilty in November to violating U.S. money laundering laws. Despite being free to travel within the United States on a $175 million bond, Zhao will now serve a four-month prison sentence.
Efforts to attach U.S. stablecoin rules to the FAA reauthorization bill have been put on hold again, as congressional leaders reportedly rejected amendments, dashing hopes for a swift resolution.
BlackRock's BUIDL token has emerged as the largest tokenized treasury fund, reaching $375 million in value and surpassing Franklin Templeton's previous record.
The Liquid Restaking Protocol, Renzo, has airdropped its REZ token, which debuted with a market cap of $289 million. Within the first hour after the claims went live, the token saw trading volume amounting to $75 million.
NFT Spotlight
NFT of the week: #13 Moscow
STYLE Protocol has successfully secured $2.5 million in seed funding to revolutionize NFTs in the gaming industry.
Yuga Labs and Moonbirds have introduced enhanced NFT holder rights, offering exclusive NFT privileges, 3D avatars, and physical collectibles to enhance user experience.
Despite a decrease in trading volume post-halving and high network fees, the latest Motoko Sentinel collection has gained traction, showcasing increased trading activity.
Bitcoin dominates NFT sales over the past 30 days, surpassing 24 other blockchain competitors in transaction volume.
Investors in Trump's Mugshot NFTs receive unique Bitcoin Ordinals, augmenting the NFTs with exclusive digital assets and perks such as dinners and trading cards.
Bitcoin Buzz
Bitcoin's price is under pressure, with bears pushing it toward sub-$60,000 levels. This follows a surge in daily crypto liquidations, nearing $300 million.
The crypto markets experience a downturn as Grayscale transfers more than $245 million worth of Bitcoin to Coinbase, sparking concerns and affecting market sentiment.
Roger Ver, known as "Bitcoin Jesus," faces charges of tax evasion and was arrested in Spain following a $50 million tax fraud indictment unsealed by the U.S. Department of Justice.
MicroStrategy continues to reinforce its position as the largest Bitcoin holder among public companies, adding 122 BTC to its holdings in April, according to its latest quarterly report, bringing its total to 214,400 BTC. The company's persistent investment underscores its ongoing bullish stance on Bitcoin.
The competition between Grayscale and BlackRock for the top spot in the Bitcoin ETF market is heating up, with the gap between their ETFs narrowing to $1.5 billion.
Bitcoin has achieved a new record by processing 1.6 million confirmed payments in a single day. This surge in transaction volume can be attributed in part to the launch of Bitcoin Runes.
Bitcoin Miners’ Marvels
Amid declining Bitcoin miner earnings, Iris Energy has boosted its hashrate to 9 EH/s.
Coal miner Alliance Resource, valued at $2.8 billion, has ventured into crypto mining and has mined 425 BTC using excess power it generates.
A new Russian law is set to legalize industrial crypto mining while imposing limits on private mining activities.
Thai authorities have seized crypto mining devices worth over $5 million as part of an investigation into electricity theft.
Bitcoin miners' average revenue per block has declined by 25% in just 3 days, dropping to 3.83 BTC.
Quote Of The Week:
“Well done is better than well said.” -Benjamin Franklin
Have a great remainder of your week!