An “epic sat,” an extremely rare satoshi (the smallest unit of Bitcoin) from the network’s fourth halving block, was recently sold for over $2 million.
On April 25, the crypto mining pool ViaBTC successfully auctioned off “Sat 1,968,750,000,000,000” for 33.3 BTC, approximately $2.13 million, on the cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx Global.
ViaBTC’s Rare Satoshi Auctioned
CoinEx Global announced that its partner, the ViaBTC mining pool, successfully mined the 840,000th block. This milestone marked Bitcoin’s fourth halving and featured a block identified as an epic “Rare Satoshi.”
According to CoinEx, this event was not just a bidding event but part of Bitcoin’s blockchain history, showing the community’s acknowledgment, media coverage, and wider acceptance of the asset and the

Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has publicly apologized for what he described as “poor decisions” and has taken “full responsibility” for his actions.
Meanwhile, Binance co-founder He Yi said that while he acknowledges that CZ may have made mistakes, his biggest one was ignorance.
CZ Issues Apology and Appeals for Second Chance
Following his November 2023 settlement of charges with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Changpeng Zhao (CZ) is scheduled for sentencing on April 30. The DOJ has requested a 36-month sentence despite CZ previously waiving his right to appeal any sentence up to 18 months.
In a letter addressed to Judge Richard A. Jones of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington on April 24, Zhao acknowledged his

Tether has announced that all wallets associated with Venezuela’s attempts to bypass U.S. sanctions on oil exports will be frozen.
The decision follows recent reports indicating an increased use of Tether’s USDT by Venezuela’s state-run oil company, PDVSA, to avoid sanctions imposed by the United States.
Venezuela’s PDVSA Turns to Tether Amid Sanctions
According to a Reuters report, Venezuela’s state-run oil company, PDVSA, transitioned to using Tether’s USDT after facing renewed sanctions on its oil exports.
Tether took a similar stance in December last year, freezing 161 wallets in compliance with U.S. sanctions.
A spokesperson for the stablecoin issuer emphasized the company’s commitment to upholding sanctions by stating, “Tether respects the OFAC SDN list and is

Bitcoin layer 2 solution tokens have demonstrated superior performance to BTC following the highly anticipated halving of the mining reward on the blockchain.
Since the event, these tokens have surged by 5% to 20%, outpacing the top crypto by market cap.
Stacks (STX) Takes Center Stage
According to CoinGecko data, the market cap for Bitcoin layer 2 solutions is $4.3 billion, marking a 5.6% increase in the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, the trading volume is $184 million.
Stacks (STX), a Bitcoin layer 2 solution, has been among the top-performing cryptocurrencies in the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data. The STX token has surged almost 20% to $2.87 since the halving event.
Bitcoin, on the other hand, has not experienced significant growth. The token is up slightly over

Crypto privacy protocol Railgun has denied accusations that it is being used by North Korea and other United States-sanctioned entities to launder digital assets.
This development comes as the crypto privacy protocol nears $1B total volume.
Railgun Denies Lazarus Group Association
Responding to claims made by crypto reporter Colin Wu through an X post, Railgun denied allegations linking it to the North Korean hacker group Lazarus Group.
“The North Korean hacker group Lazarus Group is also a user of the coin mixer Railgun,” the post stated. “Railgun is seen as the main alternative to Tornado Cash after the sanctions were imposed on it,” the team added.
Wu’s post referenced an FBI statement from January 2023 that accused Railgun of being used to launder over $60 million

Bybit’s Institutional Report 2024 revealed a significant increase in monthly trading volumes across several centralized exchanges (CEXs) from October 2023 to March 2024.
During that timeframe, the crypto sector’s market cap surged from slightly above $1 trillion to over $2.5 trillion.
Bullish Trends and BTC as a Hedge
According to the report, OKX’s trading volumes have soared by an impressive 278% since October of last year, with Binance following closely behind with a 239% increase.
Bybit Exchange emerged as one of the fastest-growing platforms, showing a remarkable 264% growth in trading volumes. Additionally, the U.S.-based exchange Coinbase experienced an uptick in volumes, rising by 193%, slightly below the industry’s average growth rate of 255%.
The substantial

Kraken, the second-largest crypto exchange in the U.S., has introduced its self-custodial mobile wallet.
Dubbed Kraken Wallet, the product follows in the footsteps of prominent platforms such as Binance, OKX, Coinbase, Bitget, and Bybit.
Kraken Wallet’s Focus on Privacy and Self-Custody
Kraken Wallet offers users a solution for managing their tokens, NFTs, and DeFi across blockchain networks such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polygon, Dogecoin, Base, Solana, and Arbitrum. In addition, users can connect to popular decentralized applications and access 24/7 customer service support.
Kraken released the Wallet’s code on the developer platform GitHub. This shows the company’s commitment to transparency since it invites third-party reviews and contributions to strengthen the wallet’s

Ernst & Young (EY) has launched OpsChain Contract Manager (OCM), an Ethereum solution that leverages zero-knowledge proofs technology.
The solution will help private businesses efficiently manage and execute intricate business agreements while ensuring confidentiality, timeliness, and cost-effectiveness.
EY Launches the OpsChain Contract Manager
EY, one of the top “big four” accounting firms alongside Deloitte, KPMG, and PwC, has been exploring the business applications of zero-knowledge proofs (zk proofs) since at least 2018.
OpsChain Contract Manager (OCM) is tailored to facilitate the secure management of business contracts on a public blockchain. By leveraging zero-knowledge proofs, OCM ensures contract integrity and confidentiality while enhancing efficiency and

The Korean crypto markets have recently experienced a surge in trade volume, reaching heights not seen in over two years.
According to a report from Kaiko, the first quarter of 2024 marked an important milestone as the South Korean Won (KRW) surpassed the U.S. Dollar (USD) in terms of cumulative trade volume.
Competition and Shifting Dynamics
This surge in trading activity comes amid fierce competition among Korean exchanges and shifting market dynamics. Upbit, a major player in the South Korean crypto scene, has historically held a dominant position since early 2021, with an average market share of 82% over the past three years.
However, the landscape has become increasingly competitive, particularly during the recent bull run. Rivals such as Bithumb and Korbit have

MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor has sold up to 370,000 shares of his brainchild over the past four months. This follows his entry into a stock-sale agreement with the company last year.
Under the agreement, he has the authorization to unload up to 400,000 shares until April of this year.
Saylor to Offload 400,000 Shares
Michael Saylor has successfully cashed in 370,000 shares, totaling about $372.7 million in value, from this year’s stock sales. This accounts for over 90% of the agreed-upon 400,000 shares outlined in last summer’s September agreement with MicroStrategy.
Under this agreement, known as a 10b5-1 plan, Saylor could sell up to 5,000 shares daily from January 2 to April 25. These shares were tied to a vested stock option set to expire on April 30, 2024. So

Yuga Labs, creator of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection, has announced the sale of the intellectual property rights for two of its games.
This move is part of Yuga Labs’ previously declared commitment to refocus its organizational efforts.
Yuga Labs Hands Over Gaming IPs to Faraway
In an April 17 announcement on X, Yuga Labs revealed the decision to transfer the IP rights of HV-MTL and Legends of the Mara to Faraway.

We have some exciting news to share. Our friends @Farawaygg are acquiring the HV-MTL and LoTM brands, where they’ll focus on rewarding these communities. To help manage this transition, @EverydayZukini will be joining the Faraway team as the new CPO.
More info in the thread… https://t.co/twXnFsUYG1
— Yuga Labs (@yugalabs) April 17, 2024

Spencer

A federal jury has convicted crypto trader Avraham Eisenberg of fraud and market manipulation.
The charges stemmed from Eisenberg’s exploitation of Mango Markets, a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol built on the Solana blockchain.
Eisenberg Convicted for Market Manipulation
Eisenberg, 28, was found guilty by jurors in a federal court in Manhattan on charges of commodities fraud, commodities manipulation, and wire fraud.
“Avraham Eisenberg executed a manipulative trading scheme on a cryptocurrency exchange, defrauding the exchange and its investors out of $110 million,” stated Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
This marks the U.S. Department of Justice’s first criminal case targeting cryptocurrency market manipulation.
Mango

Binance has announced that it is converting its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) into Circle’s USD Coin (USDC).
Following the $1B conversion into USDC, this stash now makes up approximately 3% of Circle’s total circulating supply, which is $32.6 billion.
SAFU Assets Shift to USDC for Stability
In an April 18 announcement by Binance, the exchange emphasized the importance of SAFU in its ecosystem.
Binance stated, “SAFU continues to be a core part of our responsibility to the ecosystem, and we continue to evolve to meet market conditions head-on. Today, we are transferring 100% of SAFU’s assets to USDC.”

Today, all SAFU assets will be converted to $USDC, bolstering reliability and stability at $1bn.
Read more 👇 https://t.co/Dggl3CdQYU
— Binance (@binance) April 18, 2024

The X account of famous actor Tom Holland, which has over 7 million followers, was recently hacked.
The attackers used his platform to promote a fake cryptocurrency and NFT scheme.
Fake ‘Spiderverse’ Partnership with Binance
The compromised account was used to announce a partnership with the global crypto exchange Binance, supposedly launching “Spiderverse” tokens.
A link to a fake website was attached, enticing users to gain early access to the fake SPIDER cryptocurrency and Spiderverse NFTs.

Tom Holland’s Twitter/X account has been hacked. pic.twitter.com/ZPRYI6GXgK
— Cosmic Marvel (@cosmic_marvel) April 16, 2024

Early screenshots captured by followers also revealed changes to Holland’s bio, including a link to a fake partnership website.
A mysterious selfie of a

The Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), formerly a leading Ethereum non-fungible token (NFT) market collection, has witnessed a significant decrease in its floor price.
This downturn signifies a reduction exceeding 90% from its historical peak, noted approximately two and a half years ago. BAYC is nearing a sub-10 NFT floor price, a development attributed to a 50% decline since March 1st alone.
BAYC Floor Price Plummets Below 11 ETH
According to data from NFT Price Floor, on Monday, April 15, the floor price of Bored Ape NFTs momentarily sank below 11 ETH, settling at 10.9 ETH, equivalent to about $34,000. This sudden dip represents a decline of 12.08% in just a single day.
The last time BAYC witnessed such a low floor price was in early August 2021, when it dipped to 9.5 ETH.

The upcoming Bitcoin halving event is expected to follow the pattern of “buy-the-rumor, sell-the-news,” according to the Crypto.com CEO.
The exec believes that in the long term, however, the halving, which is currently slated for April 20, will positively impact Bitcoin’s price.
Bitcoin Halving’s Long-Term Impact Will Be Positive
In a recent Bloomberg interview, Kris Marszalek, CEO of Crypto.com, shared his thoughts on the Bitcoin halving, saying that while there will be selling pressure initially, the long-term impact will be positive on the asset’s price.
The upcoming halving is expected to reduce the mining rewards by half, a challenge for miners. Many miners have been preparing for months, accumulating BTC and upgrading their equipment to meet the increased

The crypto sleuth ZachXBT has warned about a group of scammers who are attempting to lure more victims by using millions in stolen funds in a new scheme.
The investigation found that the same group who stole from projects like Magnate, Kokomo, Lendora, and Solfire is now back with a new project on Blast, Leaper Finance.
Multi-Million Dollar Rug Pull Scam Network
According to ZachXBT’s findings disclosed in a thread on X, the group has a history of executing rug pulls and is responsible for those that targeted users of Magnate ($6.5 million), Kokomo ($4 million), Solfire ($4.8 million), and Lendora.
“In the past they let the TVL grow to 7 figs before stealing all of users funds deposited to the protocol and falsify KYC documents + use low tier audit firms.” ZachXBT

Binance executive Nadeem Anjarwalla is facing extradition from Kenya following his escape from custody in Nigeria.
He was spotted after a manhunt was launched from Nigeria that led the authorities to Kenya, where his whereabouts were discovered.
Binance Executive Set to Be Extradited
According to a local report, the Nigerian government is working on extraditing Anjarwalla back to Nigeria in collaboration with Interpol and Kenyan authorities. The Binance executive will face charges related to the alleged manipulation of the Naira and the facilitation of illicit funds transactions through Binance.
Anjarwalla reportedly escaped from Nigeria by boarding a Middle Eastern airline from Abuja. Despite his U.K. passport being held by Nigerian authorities, he managed to board the

Wally Adeyemo, Undersecretary of the U.S. Treasury, released an official statement saying Russia is increasingly resorting to alternative payment methods, such as the stablecoin Tether (USDT), to evade sanctions and sustain its military operations.
The hearing, titled “Countering Illicit Finance, Terrorism, and Sanctions Evasion,” marks the committee’s second discussion on the topic within the last six months.
Russia Employs Tether to Evade Sanctions
In his testimony, Ademayo shed light on the exploitation of crypto assets by terrorist groups and rogue states to obscure their financial activities.
He noted instances like al-Qaeda’s Bitcoin use and transactions between Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force and Hamas. There was also concern about Russia’s increased

Pac Finance, a lending app on Blast, has had its users report a $24 million liquidation on April 11 due to a sudden change in parameters by the developer wallet.
Mass liquidations are common for leveraged traders who borrow crypto, but they often occur due to fluctuations in the market, not protocol parameter changes.
Pac Finance LTV Change Leads to Liquidation
Pac Finance is a platform where crypto holders can earn interest by lending their assets. The app implements a loan-to-value ratio (LTV), which limits borrowers to loans equivalent to a certain percentage of their collateral to ensure repayment. Typically, the development team announces changes to the LTV beforehand.
However, on April 11 at 1:06 am UTC, according to Blast network’s blockchain data, a developer

BlackRock’s IBIT spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) has crossed the $15 billion mark in total inflows, a new high since it began trading on January 11.
However, the overall daily inflows for spot Bitcoin ETFs have been decelerating since their peak on March 12, when they were $1.05 billion.
BlackRock’s IBIT Daily Inflows Surge
BlackRock’s IBIT recorded its largest single daily inflow since April 5, totaling $192.1 million, pushing its total inflows to $15.1 billion, according to Farside data.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas mentioned that IBIT has surged over 50% and brought in $15 billion in new capital within just three months. Balchunas noted that the figure is double that of any other 421 BlackRock ETFs, highlighting its success in the market.

$IBIT is up

Voyager Digital has announced the recovery of $484.35 million from settlements with FTX, Three Arrows Capital (3AC), and Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance.
The announcement was part of a status update submitted to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, outlining the efforts to recover and allocate assets to creditors following the company’s financial decline.
$450 Million FTX Settlement and Major Recoveries
According to an April 9 filing, approximately $450 million of the reclaimed funds came from a settlement with FTX.
This agreement, inclusive of interest, accounts for roughly 25% of Voyager’s creditors’ original claims. The company plans to distribute this amount in an upcoming round, providing much-needed relief to its

Edgar Pavlovsky, the founder of MarginFi, announced his resignation on Wednesday following an internal dispute within the protocol’s builder, Mrgn.
Pavlovsky’s abrupt exit resulted in withdrawals from investors, causing MarginFi’s Total Value Locked (TVL) to plummet by $120 million.
Uninterrupted Operations
Pavlovsky announced his resignation from MarginFi, expressing dissatisfaction with internal and external practices. He stepped away from all aspects of MarginFi, including working on the protocol and its research arm.

I resigned from mrgn today. From working on marginfi, from the research arm, from it all.
It’s a world class team — it really is — but I don’t agree with the way things have been done internally or externally. I’ve said it many times and I’ll say it

The core technical team behind the Filecoin-based STFIL protocol said that they are under investigation by Chinese authorities.
Over the past couple of days, there have been unforeseen updates to the protocol, along with funds transfers to different addresses.
Mysterious Token Transfers and Upgrades
The news came out in a public post by STFIL Protocol on X, revealing that they believe the STFIL core technical team is under investigation by local Chinese police. They mentioned that lawyers have been hired to understand the current situation and provide legal assistance to detained individuals.

We believe that the STFIL core technical team is under investigation by local Chinese police, and we understand lawyers have been hired to understand the current situation and

Chinese mainland-based equity funds are reported to have filed applications to introduce spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) through their Hong Kong subsidiaries.
The development comes amid a month-long surge in crypto prices and heightened efforts by Hong Kong to establish itself as a global fintech hub.
China Equity Funds Apply for Bitcoin ETFs
According to Security Times, a Chinese state-owned newspaper, not all the companies applying have been named. However, it has been confirmed that Harvest Fund Management’s Hong Kong branch is among those awaiting approval from the Securities & Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong since January.
Harvest Fund Management’s Hong Kong division introduced futures crypto ETFs in December 2022, marking the first futures crypto ETFs

In an effort to protect its decentralized crypto exchange (DEX) against potential security threats, the dYdX community has approved a proposal to stake 20 million DYDX tokens.
This decision comes amidst a surge in trading activity experienced by the platform.
dYdX Proposes Enhanced Security Measures
The proposal presented by dYdX emphasized the necessity of increasing the platform’s security measures in the face of increasing deposits and trading volumes.
dYdX stated that it has a total value locked (TVL) of approximately $140 million on the dYdX Chain, with over 114 million DYDX tokens staked, valued at approximately $456 million at the market price of $4.
The proposal stated that despite this staking activity, the rate at which DYDX was being staked to validators had

An anonymous cryptocurrency investor with the username “Sell When Over” on X has reported a loss of $800,000 due to two allegedly malicious Google Chrome browser extensions.
The investor first raised the alarm with a post on X, revealing that they had discovered a loss of $500,000 from multiple wallet applications.
Chrome Extension Attack Leads to $800k Loss
“Think I got extension attacked, with two suspicious extensions that appeared on my Chrome browser,” they disclosed. Further investigation by the victim uncovered the extent of the compromise, amounting to a loss of $800,000. They suspected a compromise in their Google Chrome browser, potentially involving a keylogger targeting specific crypto wallet extensions.

Total compromise appears to be about $800k. I suspect

Decentralized applications (dApps) saw a rise of 77% in activity in the first quarter of 2024 and a 7 million total daily active user wallet count.
This growth comes as Bitcoin hit an all-time high in Q1 2024, reaching above $73,000.
DApp Activity Resurges
According to DappRadar, the recent increase in new users shows a strong recovery, indicating the end of the longest bear market experienced.
The growth has been attributed to the approval of U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which sent BTC to multiple new all-time highs.
DappRadar also noted the renewed interest in non-fungible tokens (NFTs) throughout 2023, following a drop in usage in 2022. The unique active daily users’ wallet counts surged to 4.8 million in 2023, doubling from 2022. In addition, NFTs

A recent report by Coinbase Research uncovered that restaking has emerged as the second-largest sector in decentralized finance (DeFi) on Ethereum.
The study highlights EigenLayer’s restaking protocol as an important component for new services and middleware on the Ethereum network, potentially offering significant ETH rewards for validators in the future.
EigenLayer’s Restaking Protocol
Ethereum’s proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism is the largest economic security fund in the crypto space, with nearly $112 billion. While validators securing the network traditionally earned base rewards on locked-up ETH, the introduction of liquid staked tokens (LSTs) paved the way for participants to engage with DeFi by trading or leveraging their staked assets.
EigenLayer’s

Ethena Labs, the creators of USDe, have incorporated Bitcoin (BTC) as backing into their synthetic dollar-pegged offering.
This move aims to scale USDe’s supply from its current $2 billion mark.
BTC to Boost Scalability and Liquidity
The announcement, made through an April 4 thread on X, highlighted the strategic importance of incorporating BTC as a backing asset.

Excited to announce that Ethena has onboarded BTC as a backing asset to USDe
This is a crucial unlock which will enable USDe to scale significantly from the current $2bn supply pic.twitter.com/FOZRWBrVZV
— Ethena Labs (@ethena_labs) April 4, 2024

Ethena Labs emphasized BTC’s role in enhancing USDe’s scalability, citing its expanding open interest in major exchanges. Over the past year, BTC’s open interest has