Author: Kristen Moran

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In the ongoing battle for dominance in the cryptocurrency investment landscape, BlackRock’s spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) is making significant strides toward overtaking Grayscale as the largest crypto-based investment vehicle.

Three months since the inception of spot bitcoin ETF trading, BlackRock’s IBIT fund is steadily closing the gap on Grayscale’s fund in terms of assets under management (AUM). Trackinsight data compiled by The Block Data Dashboard reveals that as of Tuesday, BlackRock’s IBIT fund boasted $18.2 billion in AUM, compared to Grayscale’s $23.2 billion.

Despite Grayscale’s higher fees relative to its competitors, its GBTC fund has experienced consistent capital outflows since its launch in January. Two months ago, Grayscale’s fund held approximately $23.4 billion in AUM, whereas BlackRock’s stood at $4.4 billion, indicating a substantial narrowing of the gap in AUM between the two.

Grayscale’s ETF initially launched with nearly $30 billion in AUM, attributed to the conversion of its flagship fund. However, the declining AUM is partly attributed to Genesis selling GBTC shares, according to Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg.

Furthermore, Grayscale’s fund has witnessed a gradual decline in trading volume market share, dropping from approximately 50% at the launch of spot bitcoin ETFs on January 11 to 23.5% as of Tuesday.

In contrast, BlackRock’s ETF has been gaining momentum, evidenced by its $128.7 million inflows on Tuesday, while Grayscale’s fund experienced $154.9 million in outflows.

Fidelity’s spot bitcoin ETF holds the third position in terms of trading volume market share and AUM, further intensifying the competition in the burgeoning cryptocurrency ETF market.

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According to a recent report by JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), the likelihood of approval for spot ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in May remains uncertain, with no more than a 50% chance of approval. The report suggests that if the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) does not approve these products next month, litigation against the regulatory body is probable.

JPMorgan reaffirms its stance, initially expressed in January, that approval for spot ether ETFs is unlikely in the upcoming month. The SEC is expected to make final decisions on certain ETF applications by May 23, following its approval of spot bitcoin (BTC) ETFs earlier this year, sparking speculation about potential approval for ether ETFs.

Analysts at JPMorgan, led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, anticipate potential litigation against the SEC if spot ether ETFs are not approved in May. They suggest that the SEC is likely to face legal challenges, similar to previous cases involving Grayscale and Ripple, and eventually approve spot ether ETFs, albeit not in May.

The report highlights one reason why the SEC might face difficulties in any potential litigation: the decreasing concentration in staking on the Ethereum network, which reduces the likelihood of Ether being classified as a security.

Additionally, JPMorgan points out in a recent report that the share of staked ether held by Lido has continued to decline, alleviating concerns about network concentration.

The investigation by the SEC into companies associated with the Ethereum Foundation aligns with JPMorgan’s cautious outlook, reinforcing the uncertainty surrounding spot ether ETF approval in May.

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Over the past 24 hours, the top ten memecoins native to the Solana network have all seen declines, accompanied by a decrease in the value of Sol, the network’s native cryptocurrency, by over 3%.

Among the notable decreases, Dogwifhat saw a decline of 5%, while Bonk experienced a drop of 3.5%. Book of Meme faced a significant downturn of 10%, and Jeo Boden’s value decreased by 1.3%. Cat in a Dogs World suffered the most substantial decline, plummeting by 18.9%, followed by Popcat with an 18.0% decrease. Myro encountered a 5.0% drop, while Wen and Slerf both experienced declines of 14.4% and 7.4%, respectively. Additionally, Catcoin saw a decrease of 7.7% in its value.

As a result, the entire Solana memecoin market cap now stands at $8.3 billion, constituting 12% of the total memecoin market value, estimated at around $64 billion, according to Coingecko data.

Furthermore, the daily moving average of non-vote transactions on the Solana network has fallen to approximately 24 million, marking a multi-week low. This decline in transactions coincides with congestion on the Solana network, attributed to spam transactions.

Despite the decrease in memecoin prices, the popularity of on-chain memecoin trading on Solana led to a new all-time high in on-chain volumes, measured in U.S. dollar terms, on Friday.

Solana Liquidations Spike

Sol, the native cryptocurrency of the Solana network, experienced a decline of over 3% in the past 24 hours, trading at $175 at 9:22 a.m. ET, according to The Block’s Price Page.

Notably, Sol long positions bore the brunt of Monday’s market volatility, with over $4.33 million in Sol long liquidations recorded in the past 24 hours out of a total of $4.81 million in liquidations across the wider cryptocurrency market, which saw over $173 million in liquidations over the same period, according to Coinglass data.

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Toncoin (TON) has overtaken Cardano’s ADA to claim the ninth position in market capitalization. With its recent surge, can Toncoin sustain its upward momentum and potentially surpass Dogecoin next?

Toncoin’s Ascendancy to 9th Place

Following a remarkable 13% daily price surge, Toncoin reached $6.65 by 1:45 p.m (UTC), securing the ninth spot among cryptocurrencies with a market capitalization of $23 billion, surpassing ADA’s $22 billion market cap, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

The rally coincided with TON Society developers allocating $5 million Toncoin to incentivize users for identity verification using palm scanning technology. This initiative aims to enable digital identity verification for Telegram users over the next five years, offering one million TON to participants in the proof-of-personhood program.

Toncoin’s increased traction has outpaced Cardano’s ADA, with TON witnessing a remarkable 135% surge over the past month, while ADA faced a 15% decline.

Zooming out, Toncoin has surged 183% year-to-date (YTD), contrasting ADA’s 1.30% YTD decrease.

Toncoin’s Initiatives for Growth

Toncoin initiated a $115 million community incentive program on March 20, allocating $38 million for token mining and user incentives, $22 million for airdrops, $15 million for The League developer ecosystem, and $40 million for liquidity pool boosts, aiming to stimulate user adoption.

In contrast, Cardano’s ADA saw subdued interest this year, with investor attention diverted towards Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and major blockchain upgrades such as Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade.

Sustaining Momentum: Toncoin vs. Dogecoin

Toncoin’s performance has eclipsed that of Dogecoin significantly. Toncoin surged 130% in the past month, while DOGE only recorded a 14.8% gain. Year-to-date, TON has surged by 177%, whereas DOGE’s price has increased by 108%, according to TradingView.

Toncoin’s utility within the Telegram messaging app offers a direct avenue for price appreciation with increasing user adoption, unlike Dogecoin, which relies primarily on speculative demand.

Concerns and Considerations

However, Toncoin’s token distribution could raise concerns among retail investors. Data from CoinCarp suggests that over 60% of Toncoin is held by the top 10 holders, while the 100 richest holders control 93% of the supply. This concentration of ownership may impact market dynamics and investor sentiment moving forward.

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Mezo, an innovative Bitcoin “economic layer” developed by Thesis, has successfully raised $21 million in funding, the company announced.

Accepting deposits in BTC, TBTC, and WBTC, Mezo emerges from stealth mode with substantial financial backing, primarily led by Pantera Capital. Other investors participating in the funding round include Multicoin Capital, Hack VC, ParaFi Capital, Nascent, Draper Associates, Primitive Ventures, and Asymmetric Ventures.

Matt Luongo, CEO of Thesis and founder of Mezo, revealed that the fundraising for Mezo commenced in December and concluded recently. The $21 million funding was secured through two tranches, although specific details regarding valuation and the structure of the round remain undisclosed. Nevertheless, Mezo will introduce its native token.

What is Mezo?

Described as a Bitcoin “economic layer,” Mezo aims to build an ecosystem of applications tailored to users’ economic needs, spanning from groceries to tuition. Luongo articulated the ambition of Mezo to extend the Bitcoin network, aiming to incorporate approximately 25% of the world’s economy onto the blockchain, a scale comparable to the current size of the US economy.

Utilizing “proof of HODL” as its consensus mechanism, Mezo enables users to secure the network by staking BTC and MEZO tokens. This approach aligns Mezo economically with BTC holders, who can stake and earn rewards for their participation in running the network.

With over $26 million in total value locked through bitcoin deposits, Mezo has initiated its operations, emphasizing the importance of locking bitcoin deposits for accruing a higher HODL score, which functions as a points program.

Moreover, upon joining Mezo, users receive five one-time invitations to extend to their friends, with the platform subsequently distributing reciprocal earnings based on the duration and amount of their friends’ Bitcoin deposits made through these invitations.

In addition to BTC, Mezo supports deposits of TBTC and WBTC, both wrapped bitcoin variants developed by Thesis.

The funding round for Mezo elevates the total funding for all Thesis projects to over $90 million, according to Luongo. Currently, 48 individuals are engaged in Thesis projects, with plans underway to nearly double the headcount for this year.

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Uniswap, the premier decentralized exchange (DEX), has achieved a remarkable milestone by reaching $2 trillion in total trading volume as of 11:55 a.m. UTC on April 5, according to insights from a Dune Analytics dashboard maintained by Zach Wong, the strategy and operations lead at Uniswap. This significant volume includes transactions conducted on several blockchains that support Uniswap, such as Ethereum, Polygon, Optimism, Arbitrum, Celo, BNB Chain, Base, Blast, and the Avalanche Network.

Uniswap’s Rapid Growth: Achieving the Second Trillion in Record Time

Since its inception in November 2018, Uniswap initially required 42 months to hit the $1 trillion trading volume mark by May 2022. Impressively, the platform managed to secure its second trillion in trading volume in under 24 months thereafter, demonstrating robust growth despite increasing competition within the decentralized exchange landscape.

In the past week alone, Uniswap has reported a staggering $21.6 billion in trading volume, as per a Dune Analytics dashboard by Fredrik Haga, a co-founder of the platform. This places Uniswap at the forefront of the DEX market, far ahead of its closest competitor, PancakeSwap, which recorded $9.6 billion in trading volume. Other DEXs such as Curve, Balancer, and Trader Joe also feature prominently, with trading volumes ranging between $800 million to $1.8 billion.

Challenging Centralized Exchanges

Uniswap’s record-breaking transaction volume positions it as a formidable competitor to centralized exchange giants like Binance and Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN). Data from The Block illustrates that while Binance continues to experience higher trading volume peaks, Uniswap has showcased consistent growth and an increasing trust among traders in decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions.

Notably, in early 2024, Uniswap’s trading volume witnessed a significant increase, narrowing the gap with Coinbase’s volume and occasionally surpassing it. This trend underscores a broader shift among investors towards platforms that facilitate direct, wallet-to-wallet trades and offer enhanced control over personal assets.

The peak in Uniswap’s trading volume, especially around March 2024, indicates that during periods of heightened market activity, traders are progressively opting for DEXs over their centralized counterparts as reliable trading venues.

A research study conducted last year further highlighted Uniswap’s competitive edge, revealing that it possesses deeper liquidity for several key cryptocurrency trading pairs than even the largest centralized exchanges, including Binance and Coinbase. On the popular trading pair of Ethereum against US dollars (USD), Uniswap was found to have twice the liquidity of both Binance and Coinbase. Moreover, for the Ethereum against Bitcoin trading pair, Uniswap’s liquidity was three times that of Binance and an impressive 4.5 times that of Coinbase, showcasing its substantial market presence and trader preference.

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PayPal has unveiled a new service allowing its U.S. clients to conduct cross-border money transfers utilizing the company’s PYUSD stablecoin.

Commencing Thursday, users of the company’s international payments service, Xoom, based in the U.S., can convert PYUSD to USD and subsequently send funds to “recipients in approximately 160 countries” without incurring transaction fees, PayPal stated.

Silicon Valley-based payments behemoth PayPal is once again expanding the utility of its PYUSD stablecoin, aiming to facilitate more efficient international transactions.

The move signifies PayPal’s confidence in the market’s appetite for more cost-effective methods of sending international money transfers. Referencing a World Bank report, PayPal noted that the “global average cost of sending $200 is just over 6%.”

In addition to promoting the use of its stablecoin, launched last year, PayPal aims to establish itself as a reputable entity in the realm of digital assets, aligning with the evolving landscape of cryptocurrency adoption worldwide.

Jose Fernandez da Ponte, PayPal’s Senior Vice President of the blockchain, cryptocurrency, and digital currency group, emphasized the significance of enabling U.S. Xoom users to fund cross-border money transfers using PYUSD, furthering the company’s objective of mainstream cryptocurrency adoption.

Amid PayPal’s announcement, the stablecoin market appears to be gaining momentum. Ripple recently disclosed its plans to introduce a stablecoin primarily targeting enterprise clients, foreseeing the stablecoin market potentially reaching $2.8 trillion by 2028.

Presently, Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC stablecoins dominate the market in terms of supply, according to data from The Block Data Dashboard.

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Coinbase has announced securing a restricted dealer license in Canada, marking a significant milestone for the U.S.-based exchange. This makes Coinbase the first and largest international cryptocurrency exchange to be registered in the country.

Having officially launched in Canada nearly eight months ago, Coinbase’s latest announcement of securing registration as a restricted dealer underscores its commitment to expanding its presence in global markets outside the United States. This move aligns with Coinbase’s strategy amidst challenges it has faced in its home market, including regulatory scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Expressing enthusiasm about obtaining the restricted dealer license, Coinbase highlighted its collaboration with Canadian banks, investment advisors, and pension funds. The company emphasized its dedication to facilitating the successful navigation of the evolving digital asset landscape for these entities.

Coinbase’s efforts in Canada have been bolstered by the appointment of a country director approximately a year ago. Additionally, the exchange cited a study it contributed to, revealing that nearly one-third of Canadians would be more inclined to purchase cryptocurrency if there were more regulatory measures in place.

As of late last year, WonderFi held control over almost half of all regulated exchanges operating in Canada, reflecting the growing interest and participation in the cryptocurrency market within the country.

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Binance, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange, has announced its decision to discontinue support for Bitcoin non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on its marketplace by April 18, as stated in an April 4 announcement.

Effective April 18, users will no longer have the option to buy, deposit, bid on, or list NFTs on the Binance NFT Marketplace via the Bitcoin network, according to the exchange. Additionally, all impacted listing orders will be automatically canceled at 06:00 (UTC) on April 18. Furthermore, support for airdrops, benefits, or other utilities associated with the Bitcoin NFTs will cease by April 10.

The move comes less than a year after Binance initially enabled support for these digital assets and is attributed to the exchange’s ongoing efforts to streamline its product offerings within the NFT marketplace. However, Binance did not provide details regarding whether trading volumes or user demand influenced the decision.

Although the NFT marketplace enjoyed early success, particularly due to its association with the exchange and public figures like Cristiano Ronaldo, it has faced challenges in garnering significant adoption compared to competitors like Blur.

Binance is also contending with regulatory hurdles in various jurisdictions, including a record fine of over $4 billion in the United States and a cessation of operations within the country. Consequently, the exchange has been reassessing its operational approach, including the appointment of a seven-member board of directors led by Gabriel Abed, the former ambassador of Barbados to the UAE.

Despite Binance’s decision to end support for Bitcoin NFTs, the broader market for Bitcoin-based NFTs continues to thrive. Innovations within Bitcoin’s ecosystem, including Ordinals (Bitcoin NFTs), new fungible tokens standards like BRC-20 and Runes, Bitcoin Layer 2s, and other Bitcoin DeFi primitives, have contributed to this growth. Data from CryptoSlam indicates that Bitcoin NFT sales amounted to $6.37 million within the past 24 hours, marking the second-highest figure in the industry.

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Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Invest, suggests that Bitcoin’s meteoric rise in price this year is not solely attributed to the introduction of Bitcoin ETFs. Instead, Wood argues that Bitcoin is gaining traction as a “flight to safety” amidst concerns about depreciating fiat currencies.

In an interview with CNBC shared on April 3, Wood emphasized that Bitcoin serves as both a risk-on and risk-off investment. She highlighted the significance of fiat currency devaluation as a driving force behind Bitcoin’s price surge.

While the launch of exchange-traded funds has garnered attention, Wood believes that the broader global economic landscape is playing a pivotal role. She pointed to instances of currency devaluations, such as those observed with the Nigerian naira and Egyptian pound, which have lost considerable value against the U.S. dollar due to deliberate government interventions rather than market forces.

Wood characterizes Bitcoin as a hedge against devaluation and loss of purchasing power, positioning it as an insurance policy against unfavorable fiscal and monetary policies adopted by governments. She draws parallels with previous financial crises, such as the U.S. regional banking crisis in 2023 and the Greek financial crisis in 2013, to underscore Bitcoin’s role as a safeguard against adverse economic conditions.

While ARK’s ETF product competes with major asset managers, recent data showed uncharacteristic net outflows of nearly $90 million. Wood attributes this to quarterly rebalancing flows and remains optimistic about Bitcoin’s long-term prospects, predicting a $1 million price target by 2030 fueled by institutional adoption.

Despite the fluctuations in fund flows, Wood maintains her bullish stance on Bitcoin, emphasizing its value proposition as a hedge against government fiscal policies and currency devaluation.

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