Weekly Update: 24th of April
What happened between the 17th and 24th of April?
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, obtains its Virtual Asset Provider license in Dubai. Read more
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seeks $5.3B in disgorgement and civil penalties against Terraform Labs and founder Do Kwon. Read more
Bitcoin completed its fourth Bitcoin Halving, decreasing its daily emissions from ~900 to ~450 Bitcoin. Read more
BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF IBIT is on the brink of surpassing Grayscale after a little over three months of trading. Read more
Binance obtains its crypto-license in Dubai
On April 18th, Bloomberg reported that cryptocurrency exchange Binance had successfully secured its Virtual Asset Provider (VASP) license in Dubai. Over the past few months, Binance has been pursuing this license, although facing some challenges. Local authorities insisted that Changpeng Zhao (CZ), co-founder of Binance who recently pleaded guilty to failing to maintain adequate AML protocols, gave up his voting rights in the exchange’s entity in Dubai. Binance's new CEO, Richard Teng, confirmed the approval of the VASP license while refuting claims that CZ had indeed forfeited his voting rights, dismissing it as speculative.
The SEC seeks $5.3 billion from Do Kwon and Terraform Labs
On April 19th, the SEC filed a request demanding that Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, and Terraform Labs itself, pay approximately $4.7 billion in disgorgement, along with $520 million in civil penalties. Of this amount, $420 million is allocated to Terraform Labs, while $100 million is reserved for Do Kwon. This request follows shortly after a jury determined both parties liable for fraud in a case brought by the SEC. Currently, Do Kwon remains in Montenegro, awaiting extradition to either the US or South Korea, as he faces potential charges in both jurisdictions.
Bitcoin undergoes its fourth Bitcoin Halving
On April 20th, Bitcoin completed its fourth Halving, decreasing its daily emissions from ~900 to 450 Bitcoin, reducing its inflation and further increasing its scarcity. Market participants have eagerly awaited this event for months, as the Halving typically coincides with a bull market. With the Halving now complete, market participants will closely follow the market, particularly Bitcoin, as Bitcoin’s price will remain a major factor in the continuation of the bull run. The Bitcoin Halving did not immediately affect Bitcoin’s price as it increased by 1% on the day of the Halving.
BlackRock’s IBIT ETF about to surpass Grayscale’s GBTC ETF
After just over three months of trading, it appears inevitable that BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF IBIT will soon surpass Grayscale's GBTC. Over the past few months, Grayscale has witnessed a consistent outflow, with over 317,000 Bitcoin, representing 50% of its holdings, leaving the ETF. In contrast, BlackRock has experienced net inflows every trading day, accumulating approximately 273,000 Bitcoin. The difference between these two ETFs is currently only 31,000 Bitcoin, and if the current pace of inflows and outflows persists, we could witness IBIT overtaking GBTC in just two months.
In other digital assets news
Stablecoin issuer Tether launches USDT on the TON blockchain, issuing over $60M in just three days.
As Bitcoin Halving closed in, gas fees on Bitcoin skyrocketed to an average of ~$120 per transaction on the day itself as traders and investors tried desperately to be included in the Halving Block.
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