Circle Unveils Smart Contract Service for Blackrock BUIDL Holders to Convert to USDC

On Thursday, the financial technology firm and stablecoin provider Circle introduced smart contract capabilities aimed at enabling holders of the Blackrock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) to exchange their shares for USDC through Circle. Circle Provides BUIDL Off-Ramp This week, Circle announced it is providing a redemption pathway for BUIDL holders through USDC. BUIDL, […] Source BitcoincryptoexchangeExchanges CryptoX Portal

Avi Eisenberg May Testify in $110M Crypto Fraud Trial, Defense Says

The 28-year old crypto trader could face as much as a 20-year prison sentence if the 15-person jury convicts him on all three counts stemming from his October 2022 trades on the DeFi trading platform Mango Markets, which netted him $110 million in cryptocurrencies. The government seeks to portray that trade as an illegal windfall from market manipulation, while the defense calls it a legitimate trading strategy. Source

Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Hits Record High In Anticipation Of Halving Event

The Bitcoin network mining difficulty has surged nearly 4% to hit an all-time high just a few days before the highly anticipated Halving event. This adjustment, recorded at 86.4 trillion, marks a crucial milestone in the cryptocurrency’s history. Decrypting Bitcoin’s Mining Complexity Notably, Bitcoin mining difficulty measures miners’ complexity in solving mathematical puzzles to validate transactions and add new blocks to the blockchain. This latest surge reflects the increasing computational power dedicated to securing the network as miners brace themselves for the impending Halving event scheduled for April 20. As…

The SEC’s Suit Against Uniswap Is an Opening Attack Against DeFi

“The SEC is very imaginative in the ways that you can be violating their rules,” Bill Hughes, senior counsel and director of global regulatory matters at Consensys, told CoinDesk. Part of the issue, conceivably, is that Uniswap Labs runs the biggest portal onto the Uniswap protocol via uniswap.org. Another potential concern is the UNI governance token, launched to give users some control over protocol governance but could be twisted to look like a securities offering. Source

Circle facilitates USDC swap for BlackRock’s tokenized fund

Circle will allow the direct conversion of BlackRock’s tokenized fund shares into its USDC stablecoin. According to Cricle’s announcement, a new smart contract feature will enable BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) investors to instantly convert their shares to Circle’s USDC stablecoin. The smart contract is designed to offer a “near-instant” off-ramping option for BUIDL, making it accessible to investors around the clock. In March, BlackRock introduced its inaugural tokenized investment vehicle, the BlackRock Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), providing investors access to yields denominated in USD. Specifically, shares are issued as tokens…

‘Fighting for DeFi’: Top Decentralized Exchange Uniswap After Receiving Wells Notice From SEC

One of the biggest decentralized exchange (DEX) platforms says it is “fighting for DeFi” after receiving a Wells Notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In a new blog post, Uniswap (UNI) says it has recently received a Wells Notice from the SEC, meaning that the regulator is planning on taking enforcement actions against the DEX soon. However, UNI says the SEC’s actions appear political in nature, that it won’t be pulling any of its products off the market due to the notice, and that the decentralized finance…

Craig Wright Drops Appeal Against Hodlonaut in Norway

The famously bellicose Wright has been largely quiet in the wake of Judge Mellor’s decision, as has his billionaire benefactor Calvin Ayre. The day after the COPA trial ended, Ayre posted a farewell message on X, saying that the message would be his “last” before taking off on “an adventure I have planned for the last year.” Source

FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Appeals Fraud Conviction

Though Kaplan ordered Bankman-Fried be remanded to a low or medium-security prison near his parents in Northern California, citing his autism as a risk factor for him in a maximum security facility, Bankman-Fried has surprisingly asked to be kept in the notorious Manhattan Detention Center during his appeal process. Source

Bitcoin mining difficulty marks new high before halving

Bitcoin’s mining difficulty achieved a record high of 86.4 trillion amid upcoming halving in April. Data gathered by btc.com showed that Bitcoin’s (BTC) mining difficulty achieved a record high of 86.4 trillion as companies generated massive amounts of computing capacity before the much-anticipated halving event later this month. Mining difficulty refers to the computer-generated power needed to solve complex mathematical equations required for unlocking new Bitcoins. BTC is scheduled to undergo a code change by April 20, and the latest mining difficulty report is the final update before this halving.…