BTC is currently trading around $63,600 and ETH around $3,050. Notable gainers in the last 24 hours are INJ, GALA, and IMX. The global crypto market cap is $2.42T up 4.8% over the last day. DeFi Total Value Locked is ~$85b and BTC dominance is around 56%.
Crypto prices are bouncing as we approach the Bitcoin halving, despite continued concerns around persistent inflation, moderating spot Bitcoin ETF inflows, and conflict in the Middle East. Positively, the Bitcoin halving, which will see block rewards cut in half from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC, is expected to occur on April 20th at 00:59 UTC and has historically acted as a large positive catalyst for the price of Bitcoin. And while the marginal decline in network emissions is lower than in prior halvings and Bitcoin’s price is higher as a percentage of previous all-time highs than before, there are some notable and unique positives, including greater access to Bitcoin through the ETFs as well as an explosion of innovation on Bitcoin that includes the launch of the new Bitcoin fungible token standard Runes that will go live at the halving.
Notable news includes: Binance revealed plans to restart operations in India and separately received full operational approval to provide crypto services in Dubai; Binance unveiled a new launchpad for early web3 project access; Binance converted $1b of its SAFU emergency fund into USDC; Kraken rolled out a self-custody wallet; Tether reorganized into four divisions as it expands beyond stablecoins; Bored Ape creator Yuga Labs sold the IP for games HV-MTL and Legends of the Mara; Aptos partnered with Microsoft, Brevan Howard, and SK Telecom to offer institutions a gateway to DeFi; Worldcoin unveiled plans to launch an Ethereum layer 2 that will prioritize verified users’ transactions; Centrifuge laid out plans to build a real-world asset lending protocol for institutions on Base; smart accounts provider Safe acquired crypto business wallet provider Multis; and, a jury began deliberations in the trial of the Mango Markets exploiter.
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Author:
Brian Rudick, Senior Strategist | Twitter, Telegram, LinkedIn
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