The Arkansas Senate has greenlit a resolution introducing legislation to impose fees on crypto miners for excessive energy consumption, Arkansas Times reported on April 15. The proposed legislation introduces a tiered fee structure to the emerging industry. Miners consuming 1 MW to 2.49 MW of energy would face a fee of $25,000. For energy usage between 2.5 MW and 4.99 MW, the cost would be $50,000. Miners utilizing 5 MW to 10 MW would incur a $75,000 fee, while those exceeding 10 MW would pay $100,000. Moreover, the legislation stated that the generated funds would be directed to agencies like ..read more

The Polkadot community is exploring a substantial $8.8 million sponsorship opportunity with Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami Football Club. This move aims to capitalize on the football club’s extensive global reach and exposure while strategically showcasing the capabilities of the Polkadot ecosystem. Moreover, it represents the latest strategic effort by the Polkadot community toward elevating the blockchain network’s visibility beyond the crypto industry through sports-related marketing endeavors. The David Beckham-owned club is a powerhouse within the American soccer league, boasting one of the m ..read more

Quick Take Data from Coinglass shows that Bitcoin is currently facing a challenging month, as it experiences a significant drawdown of over 11.2% in April. So far, this marks the worst-performing month for Bitcoin since August 2023, when it saw a similar drawdown of approximately 11.3%. To find a more severe monthly decline, one would need to look back to November 2022, when Bitcoin experienced a 16.2% drawdown during the FTX collapse. Prior to this current downturn, Bitcoin had enjoyed a seven-month streak of consecutive gains from September to March. Bitcoin Monthly Returns: (Source: Coingla ..read more

Ethereum fell against Bitcoin to its lowest point in three years amid the carnage that followed Bitcoin’s fall from $70,000 over the weekend. The ETH-BTC chart reached as low as 0.0462 BTC on Saturday, April 13, down 24% from the year-to-date high of 0.085 BTC. ETH-BTC 2022 – 2024 Ethereum’s all-time high against Bitcoin came in 2017 when it touched 0.16 BTC before closing the year around similar levels to now at 0.048 BTC. It has since recorded lows around 0.018 BTC in late 2019 before rising significantly throughout the 2020 – 2021 bull market. ETH-BTC historical chart The cycle peak of 0.08 ..read more

Crypto exchange OKX finally opened its  Ethereum layer-2 network X Layer mainnet to the general public on April 15. The scaling solution’s testnet was launched in November 2023 to much acclaim and was built with Polygon’s Chain Development Kit (CDK). This toolkit empowers developers to construct their chains using zero-knowledge technology. OKX Chief Marketing Officer Haider Rafique explained that the firm built its layer-2 network because it believes the “best way to achieve mainstream adoption is to help scale the largest existing Web3 community, Ethereum, instead of competing ..read more

Quick Take Bitcoin has experienced a notable downturn in recent days. It is currently trading around $63,000, approximately 15% below its all-time high. The past five days have seen a 10% decline, causing concern among investors. Various factors, such as the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) surpassing expectations and escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, have propelled US yields across the curve and pushed the DXY index above 106. During this drawdown, the market has witnessed high liquidations, particularly on the long side, in addition to coins flowing back onto exchanges. Short ..read more

Quick Take Farside data indicates that Bitcoin (BTC) Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) experienced an outflow of $36.7 million on April 15. Notably, Grayscale GBTC recorded an outflow of $110.1 million, contributing to their total net outflow reaching $16,382.2 billion. Conversely, BlackRock IBIT attracted $73.4 million in inflows, bolstering its net inflow to $15,329.0 billion. Fidelity recorded two straight days of zero net flows after breaking its inflow streak. Bitcoin ETF Flow Table: (Source: Farside) Despite this recent outflow, the overall net inflows across all ETFs remained robust, totalin ..read more

Bitcoin saw a significant dip over the weekend, with BTC dropping from $70,090 on April 11 to $64,400 on April 13. Despite the initial fears of a broader conflict in the Middle East developing and a potential market downturn beginning, Bitcoin’s price managed to stabilize at around $66,000 as of April 15. To understand the nature of these fluctuations — whether they indicate a mere short-term correction or signal a more significant shift — it is crucial to examine the behaviors of different market participants, particularly short-term and long-term holders. Short-term holders (STHs) and l ..read more

The provincial government of Buenos Aires has formally accused Worldcoin of violating consumer laws through “abusive clauses” in its user agreement. According to the notice, Worldcoin’s unfair agreement allegedly allows it to interrupt services without offering repair or reimbursement. The government also claims that Worldcoin requires users to surrender their rights to collective complaints and instead applies Cayman Island laws to residents of Argentina. Furthermore, any disputes supposedly must be resolved through arbitration in California. Worldcoin’s application of outside regulations all ..read more

Crypto commentator ZachXBT criticized an annual fee that X now requires from new accounts. ZachXBT wrote on April 15 that the new policy will not eliminate bot account-driven scams because “hundreds of business verified scam accounts” come online weekly. Scammers reportedly pay thousands of dollars for the fake accounts. He said that he is not opposed to Elon Musk’s management of X but is not confident that the social media platform understands the extent of the black market for verified accounts. He also warned that the policy “kills user growth.” As evidence of the widespread nature of scam ..read more