4/19/24: The Ceremony Begins ⏳👹💬

Author

Valko
April 19, 2024

Top News

  1. Bitcoin halving is less than 70 blocks away (~11 hours)

  2. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says Bitcoin is a ‘fraud’ and ‘Ponzi ‘

  3. Telegram to support digital goods/services for a 30% fee

Specs’ Breakdown

1. Bitcoin halving is less than 70 blocks away (~11 hours)

⌐◪-◪ → GM and Happy Halving Day! I just put the countdown timer on the big screen and cracked a morning beer to celebrate.

This is the 4th Bitcoin halving, and despite strong historical trends, there are tons of mixed opinions out there:

I know this halving is unique, but the only thing I can think about right now is this chart.

Meanwhile, people are asking CZ if the BTC halving is like a stock split, we are still so early.

Let me know how you plan to celebrate in Specs Chat! I’ll be smashing concrete blocks.

2. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says Bitcoin is a ‘fraud’ and ‘Ponzi‘

⌐◪-◪ → JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says Bitcoin is a fraud and a ponzi scheme.

JPMorgan is an authorized participant for BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF.

That’s it, that’s the insight.

3. Telegram to support digital goods/services for a 30% fee

⌐◪-◪ → TON is up nearly 3x over the last year and I’m only getting more bullish.

Telegram’s CEO just made a few announcements about their plans to double down on crypto:

  1. Creators will be tipped in $TON, 70% to creators

  2. Enabling in-app purchases, 70% to developers

  3. Stickers are going on-chain and will earn revenue

This is very timely news, as I was just in Telegram yesterday setting up my Ton wallet and checking out the Fragment marketplace app.

While the UI/UX isn’t the most fluid or intuitive yet, the possibility for Telegram mini-apps is huge, especially from an accessibility angle.

It reminds me of Farcaster Frames, but the major difference here is that Telegram already has over 1 billion monthly active users.

To add to the hype, Tether just announced they’re bringing USDT and gold stablecoins to the TON. Bullish.

Two lingering thoughts:

  1. 30% fee feels steep, no better than Apple AppStore; speaking of which…

  2. Does Apple get a cut or is Telegram trying to skirt Apple’s fees? If so how will Apple react?

Everything Else

⛓️ Crypto & DeFi

  • Heroglyphs Protocol unveils whitepaper before Friday launch

  • Layer N launches liquidity program for apps built on its architecture

  • Bitcoin bounces 5% with halving 10 hours away

  • BitMEX BTC perpetual swap now offers 250x leverage

  • Polymarket traders predict 32% chance of no fed rate cuts this year

  • Binance CEO says this Bitcoin halving is 'unique' due to recent events

  • Avail confirms airdrop plans 1 week after leaked screenshots

  • Ethereum nets $365M Q1 income, on track to $1B annual profit

  • Solana devnet goes down

🏦 Wallstreet & VC

  • Spot Bitcoin ETFs see a five-day outflow streak totaling $319M

  • BlackRock’s ETF makes up 24% of their total net inflows last 4 months

  • Chia network makes progress towards an IPO, says CEO

  • Kraken acquires TradeStation’s crypto arm amid U.S. expansion

  • Coinbase leases larger NY office, abandons Hudson Yards location

🏛️ Legal & Regulatory

  • Avi Eisenberg convicted for $110M Mango Markets exploit

  • SEC amends Justin Sun’s lawsuit, citing extensive travel to the U.S.

  • CZ in 'positive situation' in the U.S., says Binance co-founder Yi He

  • Cat owner sues ‘Shark Cat’ memecoin over using picture w/o approval

  • FTX empties FTT treasury wallet, transferring $250M in assets

  • SEC is 100% investigating Ethereum says Senior Counsel at Consensys

🌎 Rest of the World

🖼️ NFTs & Metaverse

  • Yuga Labs Natalie Stone talks CryptoPunks in NFT Now interview

  • Yuga Labs burns 4,295 HV-MTL NFTs worth $1M in Faraway sale

  • ‘Nyan Heroes’ breaks into top 30 games on Epic Games Store

  • Runes down 20% after surprise crowdfunding announcement

  • PUPs to be featured on OKX’s Runes Market at launch

  • Magic Eden’s Runes protocol to go live on April 23rd

  • XCOPY sells $LAVE 1/1 NFT for 315 ETH ($964.2k)

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