The “Protocol 20” upgrade, which adds support for Ethereum-style smart contracts to the decade-old payments-focused blockchain, had been delayed by three weeks due to precautions after a bug was found. Source
“The LockBit ransomware variant, like other major ransomware variants, operates in the ‘ransomware-as-a-service’ (RaaS) model, in which administrators, also called developers, design the ransomware, recruit other members — called affiliates — to deploy it, and maintain an online software dashboard called a ‘control panel’ to provide the affiliates with the tools necessary to deploy LockBit,” the DOJ press release said. Source
Galaxy’s institutional trading business is a “share gainer,” said Vafi, citing the upcoming launch of its crypto prime brokerage platform, Galaxy One. Combine that with the price gains surrounding the spot ETFs and the upcoming halving and trading should do well, according to Vafi. Source
“In many emerging countries like Nigeria, Kenya, Philippines and Indonesia, there are billions of users who have MasterCard and Visa cards, but don’t have access to Google Pay,” Shubin said in an interview. “Another problem concerns countries with big market share of Huawei smartphones, since due sanctions from the U.S. government, there are no Google services on top of these phones.” Source
The collapse of FTX, Terra, and Three Arrows have led authorities to frame regulations or guidance to protect customers from inadequacies in the digital asset industry. The HKMA document says firms should hold clients’ digital assets in separate accounts segregated from the firm’s own assets in the event of insolvency. Companies should prevent the use of client assets for the firm’s accounts. Source
The price of ether, the native token to the Ethereum network, rose past $3,000 for the first time since April 2022 on Monday, continuing a recent hot streak. Source
South Korea’s ruling political party and its opposition party are making poll promises related to crypto ahead of the national elections later this year scheduled for April 10. Source
Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value, reached levels not seen for almost two years on Monday as investors anticipated approval of spot ether exchange-traded-funds (ETFs) in the U.S. Ether (ETH) climbed to $2,984 yesterday, the highest level since April 26, 2022, according to data from TradingView. Ether is now hovering around $2,933. In the short term, analysts expect ETH to move higher, possibly reaching $3,600. “We are very close in this move to levels around $3,150-$3,300,” said Kenny Hearn, SwissOne Capital’s chief investment officer. “The next level after that…
With an initial total supply of 10 billion tokens, the fully diluted value (FDV), the theoretical market capitalization if the entirety of its supply were in circulation, of STRK stands at $35 billion. However, the actual market cap, which is the current circulating supply multiplied by the current price, is at $2.32 billion. Source
Besides the convenience of LRTs, the real draw for liquid restaking platforms recently has been “points” – a type of rewards that might entitle users to future token airdrops. While points have nebulous monetary value, they have given rise to an entirely new ecosystem of additional platforms, like Pendle, which let users maximize them through trading strategies that often involve high leverage. Source