The FBI advised US citizens against using unregistered crypto services to transmit assets on April 25. The agency’s warning stated that users should avoid crypto money transmitting services that are not registered as Money Services Businesses (MSBs) under US federal law. Individuals should also avoid services that fail to comply with anti-money laundering (AML) requirements and do not collect know-your-customer (KYC) information. Users should check whether a service is registered as an MSB with the US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). However, even registration is not a ..read more

Terraform Labs (TFL) announced changes to its operations on April 25 in light of a recent court ruling related to the SEC’s case against the company. TFL said it expects to receive a conduct injunction soon that will bar it from certain activities in the US. The company added that it will prepare for the injunction by barring US users from accessing some products and features starting in the week of April 28. TFL called the development “frustrating” and said it is “against geoblocking as a matter of principle” but has no choice but to adapt. The policy change will not affect some projects, inc ..read more

Franklin Templeton has tokenized a $380 million treasuries fund on the Polygon and Stellar blockchains to enable peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers without intermediaries. The company has launched the Franklin OnChain United States Government Money Fund (FOBXX), offering shares as BENJI tokens. Each token represents a share of the FOBXX and is tradable on the public Polygon and Stellar blockchains. This innovation aims to simplify transactions and expand access, allowing investors to manage their assets more flexibly through direct exchanges. Franklin Templeton’s integration of blockchain technology ..read more

Consensys filed a lawsuit against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 25 over allegations that the watchdog has overstepped in its authority in trying to regulate Ethereum (ETH). The lawsuit alleges that the SEC aims to unlawfully regulate Ethereum through enforcement actions against various companies, including Consensys, constituting “aggressive and unlawful” overreach. Consensys intends to prove that the SEC does not have legal authority to regulate ETH, user-controlled software interfaces, or the Ethereum blockchain more broadly. Consensys wants the court to ..read more

Several top Ethereum Layer-2 (L2) networks, such as Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, zkSync, and Starkware, are preparing to integrate Avail’s Data Availability (DA) solution, according to an April 25 statement shared with CryptoSlate. This integration will grant rollup builders access to Avail DA and its ecosystem, facilitating the development of scalable and efficient rollup architectures across the Web3 landscape. L2 integration On Arbitrum, Orbit builders can use Avail DA after its mainnet release, eliminating the need to rely on AnyTrust and its external Data Availability Committee. Nina Rong ..read more

Quick Take MicroStrategy (MSTR) has recently experienced a pullback in its stock price, currently trading around $1,260 per share, down 35% from its recent high of nearly $2,000. This decline is in line with Bitcoin’s (BTC) 8% pullback over the same period. Despite the recent downturn, MicroStrategy’s stock has outperformed Bitcoin year-to-date — with MSTR up 84% compared to BTC’s 44% gain. BTCUSD vs MSTR: (Source: TradingView) Data from the MSTR-tracker shows the “MSTR/BTC Ratio” chart, which illustrates the comparative value between MicroStrategy’s stock price and Bitcoin’s price, which peak ..read more

Institutional investors increasingly sought exposure to crypto during the first quarter of the year following the launch of several US-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in January. The CoinShares Digital Fund Manager survey revealed that these institutional investors have significantly increased their digital asset allocations, reaching 3% in their portfolios. This marks the highest level since the survey’s inception in 2021. Many of these investors attributed their increased exposure to digital asset investments to distributed ledger technology. Additionally, they now perceive d ..read more

Layer-1 blockchains are foundational networks supporting various applications directly on their protocol, while Layer-2 blockchains operate atop these foundational layers, enhancing scalability and efficiency. Comparing the usage and efficiency of EVM-compatible L1 and L2 blockchains and side chains helps us better understand the market values and where most of the DeFi activity comes from. Dune Analytics data analyzed by CryptoSlate showed Polygon, a Layer-2 sidechain, was the leading figure in the DeFi ecosystem, closely followed by BNB Chain, an EVM-compatible Layer-1 blockchain. One of the ..read more

Quick Take Data from Trading Economics shows the United States economy grew at an annualized rate of 1.6% in the first quarter of 2024, falling short of the forecasted 2.5% and slowing down from the previous quarter’s 3.4% growth. Despite the slower pace, the economy continues to expand in an already overheated environment, with inflation persisting above the target level. US GDP Growth Rate: (Source: Trading Economics) US bond yields rose in response to the economic data, with the 2-year Treasury yield surpassing 5%. The front end of the yield curve, particularly the 3-month and 6-month yield ..read more

Quick Take As Bitcoin’s price hovers around $63,000, slightly down over the past 24 hours, the options market is providing insights into shifting investor sentiment ahead of the expiration on April 26. A key development has been the reduction in positive gamma exposure as Bitcoin declined through the heavily traded $65,000 call strike. According to Imran Lakha, a 20-year professional options trader notes: Short gamma reduced on the way down as we went through the big long strike at 65k suggesting volume has been smashed lower, calls are getting dumped Bitcoin Gamma Level: (Source: laevitas ..read more