Jay Mazini, also known as Jabara Igbara, who claimed to be a crypto millionaire on Instagram, has been sentenced to seven years in prison by U.S. District Judge Frederic Block for wire fraud and money laundering. He must also forfeit $10 million.

Labelled a crypto con man by the Office of the United States Attorney, Igbara, 28, admitted to carrying out multiple fraud schemes, scamming investors of at least $8 million. He pleaded guilty in November 2022.

Caught Red Handed

According to United States Attorney Breon Peace, the prosecution of Igbara revealed him as a fraudster who exploited his social media popularity to deceive investors, particularly through his religious community, and spend their money recklessly. Peace hopes the sentence will deter fraudsters like Igbara when it comes to exploiting investors for personal gain.

Thomas Fattorusso, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, described Igbara as a con man who duped the New York Muslim community out of millions and squandered the funds on personal expenses and gambling. Fattorusso emphasized that Igbara will face consequences for his crimes.

Exploiting The Community

Between 2019 to 2021, Igbara, under the alias Jay Mazini, amassed nearly one million followers on Instagram, portraying himself as a successful investor and devout Muslim. He flaunted his supposed wealth by giving away large sums of cash in videos posted on Instagram.

Operating through Halal Capital LLC, Igbara orchestrated an investment fraud scheme targeting Muslim-Americans in New York, soliciting funds for fake investments in various ventures. In reality, he ran a Ponzi scheme, using the funds for personal expenses and gambling.

To sustain the illusion of profitability and retain investors, Igbara initiated a second fraudulent scheme, offering above-market prices for cryptocurrencies on social media. After receiving crypto through his victims, he fabricated wire transfer confirmations to deceive them into believing they had been paid, while pocketing the crypto himself.

Scheduled for May 27th, 2024, Solana (SOL) is poised to unveil the mainnet beta along with a crucial patch aimed at addressing various persistent bugs within the network. The forthcoming beta iteration, labeled v1.18, focuses on resolving congestion issues that have recently brought the network to a standstill.

Addressing Key Concerns

Solana is currently evaluating new solutions to alleviate network congestion. The surge in traffic, particularly because of high-volume meme coin-related bot transactions, has significantly strained capacity, leading to a decline in network speed and an increase in transaction failures within the cryptocurrency sphere. In response, the Solana development team, in collaboration with Anza, introduced devnet version 1.18.11 on April 13th. Presently, this version is undergoing validation by the necessary validators in preparation for the beta launch of the mainnet, scheduled for late May.

In addition to regular testing, version 1.17.31 was deployed on April 15th to address network congestion issues. These adjustments were swiftly recommended for implementation by validators. The strategizer release represents one of several efforts made to stabilize the network amidst significant fluctuations in transaction volume.

Still A Ways To Go

While Solana has made strides in technological enhancements, it continues to grapple with market volatility. In early April, the cryptocurrency experienced a substantial price drop of over 22%, plummeting to $116. However, it has since shown signs of recovery, with its price now hovering around $154.86. These fluctuations underscore the challenges and uncertainties inherent in the digital currency market.

The latest update by Solana aims to bolster network capacity to meet increasing demands and enhance system security. With the impending release of Millennium v1.18, the community is closer than ever to achieving its primary objectives. Continuous scrutiny of these developments by the community and stakeholders ensures the creation of a functional, accessible, and replicable network.

As technical updates coincide with market recovery, Solana remains committed to safeguarding network infrastructure and navigating market dynamics remains pivotal to its growth and stability.

After the latest halving, the inflation rate of Bitcoin (BTC) has now dropped to 0.83%, lower than that of gold, making BTC the scarcest asset in history. The block rewards for miners have been permanently reduced by half, marking the fourth halving. This adjustment brings the block rewards down to 3.125 BTC compared to the previous amount of 6.25 BTC.

The Importance Of The Halving

The block rewards, the only way new cryptocurrency is minted, are distributed to miners at a near-constant rate, irrespective of mining conditions, thanks to the coded Difficulty concept in the network. When miners increase computing power, the network adjusts the Difficulty to maintain the desired pace of block rewards distribution.

As a result, the Bitcoin supply grows almost continuously between halving events. Consequently, the Issuance, or the amount of cryptocurrency miners produce daily, remains relatively constant. Therefore, the inflation rate of Bitcoin also remains stable within these Halving periods, halving alongside the Issuance during halving events.

Scarcity Matters

Bitcoin is scarce because of its fixed supply limit of 21 million coins, enforced by its protocol. This scarcity is further emphasized by the periodic halving events, which reduce the rate of new coin creation, making a whole Bitcoin increasingly difficult to obtain over time.

With the latest halving, the aforementioned inflation rate has once again decreased. In the last epoch, the annualized inflation rate was about 1.7%, which has now dropped to 0.85% in the new epoch. This achievement places Bitcoin ahead of gold, as its steady-state issuance rate is now lower than the precious metal, marking a historic moment in the comparison of the scarcest assets.

Archax, Ownera, and The HBAR Foundation recently facilitated the initial tokenization of the BlackRock Money Market Fund (MMF) on the Hedera blockchain, marking a significant milestone in the real-world assets (RWAs) domain.

The Importance Of MMFs

In a historic moment for the RWAs industry, Archax, a digital asset exchange based in London, successfully digitized the BlackRock ICS US Treasury MMF on the Hedera (HBAR) blockchain. Collaborating with the HBAR Foundation and the institutional-grade digital assets platform Ownera, Archax brought the MMF onto the Hedera network.

MMFs play a pivotal role in boosting the RWAs sector, offering attractive investment options characterized by institutional stability and yield. Tokenized MMFs allow for share trading on exchanges like Archax, offering additional benefits such as instant transfer and collateral deployment, beyond traditional subscriptions and redemptions.

HBAR Surges

Shayne Higdon, CEO of The HBAR Foundation, expressed confidence in Hedera and its innovative as well as reliable infrastructure, emphasizing its unmatched speed, security, and cost-effectiveness for institutional-grade tokenization, enabled by Archax.

Following the announcement, the price of HBAR surged to a four-week high, increasing by over 46% to reach $0.1314 on Tuesday. Preceding the news, the token traded around $0.087 and has now reached its highest level since March 27th. CoinGecko data indicates a more than 600% spike in the 24-hour trading volume of HBAR, surpassing $346 million.

Jack Dorsey unveiled that Block (formerly Square) is broadening its Bitcoin (BTC) mining endeavors, as the company will no longer simply design chips as they will also be developing an entire BTC mining system going forward. The new mining system will reportedly tap into solar, hydro, and geothermal energy to run Bitcoin mines across Africa.

Improving Accessibility

The global tech company recently announced the completion of its proprietary three-nanometer Bitcoin mining chip and its ongoing collaboration with a leading global semiconductor foundry for the design of said chip. Additionally, Block revealed intentions to expand the scope of its mining project to encompass system design, aiming to address challenges identified through discussions with various bitcoin miners. Their objective is to foster mining decentralization by offering both standalone mining chips and complete mining systems.

The overall mission statement emphasizes democratizing access to Bitcoin mining, making the process of creating new BTC more accessible to a wider audience. Dorsey initially expressed this sentiment when Block ventured into mining hardware in 2021, highlighting the complexity and lack of incentive for individuals to engage in mining.

Addressing Key Concerns

Concerns within the crypto community regarding hardware vulnerabilities and the concentration of ASIC chip manufacturing in China have also influenced this new initiative. By decentralizing the supply of mining hardware and the distribution of hashrate, Block aims to enhance industry competition and mitigate network stability risks.

To address barriers to entry such as cost and availability of mining rigs, Block aims to improve reliability and user experience by focusing on issues like heat dissipation and noise reduction. The recent announcement coincides with the most recent Bitcoin halving, a significant event that occurs approximately every four years, reducing the issuance of new BTC.

Dorsey views the accessibility of the mining process as essential for a fully decentralized and permissionless future, emphasizing the importance of decentralization for network resilience. Block has also previously supported Gridless, a company operating Bitcoin mines powered by renewable energy sources in Africa.

Scammers tend to exploit the frenzy around meme coins by capitalizing on increased risk tolerance driven by FOMO. ZachXBT acknowledged this and recently claimed that 12 Solana presale meme coin projects have been completely abandoned in the last month, collectively raising $26.7 million via investors.

Meme Coins Continue To Nosedive

In a post on X dated April 21st, ZachXBT singled out the aforementioned projects and cautioned investors against engaging with any future projects by the listed founders. These projects faced a downturn shortly after launch, with some failing to release an actual token.

The LIKE project, led by pseudonymous founder pokeee.eth, raised 52,220 Solana (SOL), equivalent to $7.7 million. However, its value plummeted by over 90% within the first eight hours of trading, now suffering a 99.2% decline compared to its launch price.

Elsewhere, the meme coin MOONKE, initiated by another anonymous figure, RockyXBT, faced a similar fate, witnessing a drop of over 99% in value shortly after its $500 million initial valuation. Finally, another project by founder Jared_eth, raising 4,567 SOL worth approximately $812,000, failed to launch a token.

Scammers On The Rise

A study by cybersecurity firm Blockaid found that 50% of presale tokens on the Solana blockchain between November 2023 and February 2024 were malicious, attributing the rise in scammer activity to increased presale token adoption during February and March, driven by the massive popularity of meme coins as well as FOMO in general.

Individuals like Jared_eth and Bluekirbyftm, mentioned by ZachXBT, were identified as scammers. In March, a notable incident involved a Solana presale token when the developer of meme coin Slerf claimed to have mistakenly burned the entire presale allocation due to a fat finger burn error. Market enthusiasm for meme coins has declined in recent weeks, with several Solana-based tokens experiencing slides of over 40%, such as WIF.

Two attorneys with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Michael Welsh and Joseph Watkins, stepped down following reprimands and criticism by a federal judge for their gross abuse of authority in a notable cryptocurrency case.

SEC In Hot Water

Welsh and Watkins co-founded Digital Licensing Inc., creators of DEBT Box, a cryptocurrency platform. Welsh was the lead attorney in a case against him. Both resigned after an SEC official warned them of termination if they stayed.

The lawsuit against DEBT Box was marred by inaccuracies, false claims, and insufficient evidence. Federal District Court Judge Robert Shelby, overseeing the case, criticized the agency for misconduct in March. The head of SEC enforcement has since apologized for these errors. In July, the SEC accused DEBT Box and its executives of defrauding investors of at least $49 million. 

More Than Meets The Eye

The asset freeze was lifted after Shelby found possible materially false and misleading statements by the SEC. He penalized the agency for gross abuse of authority and ordered payment of some of the legal fees.

Shelby criticized the arguments made by Welsh and the evidence presented by Watkins and his team. Watkins was the lead investigator on the case. For instance, Welsh claimed DEBT Box had closed its bank accounts and moved assets overseas, which the court found to be untrue.

An SEC investigator attributed the error to miscommunication, and Welsh apologized to the court. In December, SEC enforcement chief Gurbir Grewal apologized to the court for the conduct of his department. He appointed new lawyers to the case and mandated training for the enforcement staff.

The US Senate has given the green light to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), prompting discussions among privacy advocates and the cryptocurrency community. This provision empowers the government to gather data via major tech giants like Google and Meta without needing warrants.

Privacy Under Threat

The measure passed with a 60-34 vote and now awaits endorsement by President Joe Biden to prolong surveillance authority for another two years. Unsurprisingly, this move has unsettled the crypto community, which values privacy and decentralization, due to the broad scope of these surveillance capabilities.

Outside of the crypto sphere, several detractors, including Senator Ron Wyden, fear Section 702 could be abused to gather superfluous data on US citizens and violate their right to freedom and privacy. Conversely, some legislators, such as Senator Elizabeth Warren, argue that monitoring the crypto industry is crucial for regulatory oversight.

A Turning Point

With the renewal of Section 702, crypto enterprises could very well encounter increased regulatory scrutiny by entities like the SEC, CFTC, and DOJ, ensuring compliance with surveillance and data collection standards.

Despite the risk of misuse, there are instances of collaboration between crypto firms and law enforcement to combat illicit activities. For instance, the CEO of Tether has cooperated with the FBI and the Secret Service in counter-terrorism financing efforts.

As debates around Section 702 persist, the crypto sector finds itself at a pivotal moment. The extension of the law could challenge the core tenets of privacy and decentralization fundamental to cryptocurrency, prompting concerns about government intervention in innovative technologies.

Adidas has decided to persist in its dedication to the metaverse, debuting various NFTs (non-fungible tokens) as other companies retreat. While interest in NFTs and the metaverse has waned, numerous companies are scaling back their involvement, with prominent departures such as the termination of the Starbucks Odyssey Web3 initiative.

Adidas Going All In

Adidas bucks this trend by staying engaged in the metaverse through its recent collaboration with the move-to-earn application STEPN. So far, they have introduced 1,000 NFTs representing Adidas sneakers on the Solana blockchain. These digital assets, essential for engaging in reward-earning activities via STEPN, debuted at 10,000 GMT each, equivalent to approximately $2,400 at current exchange rates.

Evgeniy Medvedev spearheads the Web3 initiatives for Adidas, leveraging his prior experience which he earned during his time at Rarible. Additionally, the brand was featured in Crypto The Game, a Web3 survival game show offering Adidas tracksuits as prizes in a special challenge. Lastly, the contentious conclusion to Crypto The Game saw one participant walk away with a whopping 80 Ether.

Interest In NFTs Still Persists

Several sports companies have delved into the realm of NFTs, embracing the digital trend. Among them, Adidas stands out with its release of NFTs representing sneakers on the Solana blockchain, alongside its partnership with tSTEPN. Additionally, other notable players like Nike, UFC, and the NBA have all explored the potential of NFTs, leveraging them for fan engagement, collectibles, and digital memorabilia.

Outside the realm of sports, TRON Founder Justin Sun made headlines with a new music release, collaborating with renowned composer Hans Zimmer. This development occurs amidst legal scrutiny by the SEC, which is pursuing Sun for alleged securities violations. The collaboration, described as a groundbreaking fusion of blockchain and musical creativity, stemmed via an in-depth conversation between Zimmer and Sun early last year.

Elsewhere, PayPal is instituting changes, as it will no longer cover NFTs under its Purchase Protection Program starting May 20th. Moreover, the NFT marketplace Magic Eden is preparing for a new partnership with the blockchain Base on April 25th.

Scallop received a strategic investment by DWF Labs on April 22nd. Scallop is the pioneering next generation P2P money market for the Sui ecosystem and is also the first DeFi protocol to receive an official grant by the Sui Foundation.

MetaBlox Labs secured an undisclosed investment by SamsungNext on April 22nd. MetaBlox is delivering enterprise-grade WiFi roaming to the public worldwide, ensuring uninterrupted, low-cost access to Web3 and the metaverse compared to cellular services.

Only1 attracted a $1,300,000 strategic investment by Newman Capital on April 21st. Only1 is the first NFT-powered social platform built on the Solana blockchain.

SatScreener secured a $500,000 pre-seed investment by Sora Ventures on April 20th. By offering extensive analytics on various facets of Bitcoin, SatScreener provides valuable insights for investors navigating the crypto market.

Superlogic received a substantial $7,600,000 strategic investment by Nima Capital LLC on April 18th. Superlogic is tailored for enterprise clients on a SaaS basis, and it seamlessly integrates with existing CRM, CDP, and traditional loyalty management systems.

Lambda Finance obtained an angel investment of $1,800,000 by AladdinDAO on April 18th. Lambda is a Bitcoin-oriented USD stablecoin protocol that empowers BTC holders to tap into DeFi-based wealth building opportunities.

Plena - Crypto Super App received an undisclosed investment of $5,000,000 on April 17th. Plena is a cutting-edge crypto super app that combines the security of self-custodial wallets with the convenience of a centralized application. It allows users to invest in over 100,000 cryptocurrencies, facilitating transactions, asset swaps, and bridging with just a single tap.

Zeko secured a $3,000,000 pre-seed investment by Signum Capital on April 17th. Zeko is a Layer 2 ZK Rollup ecosystem tailored for zero-knowledge applications (zkApps), settled by Mina Protocol.

Usual attracted a significant $7,000,000 strategic investment by IOSG on April 17th. Usual aims to tackle prevalent stablecoin market challenges by redistributing profits to the community, providing token holders with real yields generated by the RWAs.

Ord.io received a $2,000,000 pre-seed investment by Sora Ventures on April 17th. Ord allows users to participate in the selection and voting process for inscriptions, contributing to the creation of a dynamic and community-driven marketplace experience.

Aark Digital secured a $6,000,000 seed investment by HashKey Capital on April 17th. Aark Digital allows any whitelisted asset to be used as collateral for perpetual contract transactions.

Nebra received a $4,500,000 seed investment by Nascent on April 17th. Nebra is pioneering the development of the first proof aggregation service on Ethereum.

Bitcoin (BTC) experienced significant fluctuations in the days leading up to the highly-anticipated fourth halving but has since stabilized. Meanwhile, Tether announced the launch of its two largest stablecoins on the Ton network, impacting the price of TON with an initial surge followed by a significant decline, currently down by around 12%.

Conversely, ICP surged by 13%, trading above $14, while ADA rose by 7%, nearing $0.5. Other larger-cap alternative cryptocurrencies are also experiencing gains, albeit more modestly. The total cryptocurrency market cap remains stable at around $2.450 trillion on CoinGecko.

Stability Post-Halving

Bitcoin encountered downward price movements starting last Friday, dropping to $65,000. While it saw a partial recovery the following day, it then dipped further to $61,000 amidst escalating tensions between Israel and Iran. The flagship crypto continued to lose value throughout the business week, with the recent attack on Iran leading to another price decline, pushing BTC below $60,000. However, it swiftly rebounded, reaching $65,000 as Iran indicated a lack of immediate retaliation. The past 24 hours have been less eventful despite the anticipation surrounding the fourth halving.

The completion of the halving event occurred recently, reducing block rewards to 3.125 BTC. Thus far, the price of Bitcoin has maintained relative stability, hovering around $64,000, with a market capitalization exceeding $1.250 trillion and dominance over alternative cryptocurrencies at 51.5% on CoinGecko.

Other Markets

As a result of the ongoing international conflict, The S&P 500 index stands at 4,967.23, showing a decrease of 0.88%, while the Nasdaq index records 15,282.01, marking a decrease of 2.05%. Crude oil prices are at 83.24, reflecting an increase of 0.62%, and the Euro is trading at 1.07, up by 0.12%. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones index is at 37,986.40, indicating a rise of 0.56%, and the Russell 2000 index is at 1,947.66, up by 0.24%. Gold prices are at 2,406.70, showing an increase of 0.36%, and silver is at 28.69, up by 1.57%. 

Elsewhere, Shanghai reports robust economic growth primarily driven by its industrial sector. Additionally, various Chinese companies are facing increasing scrutiny amid trade investigations. The Federal Reserve is also expected to maintain patience on interest rate cuts, supported by the upcoming release of its preferred inflation gauge. Earnings reports by major companies coincide with a crucial juncture in the stock market, with some valuations beginning to falter amidst concerns in debt markets.

Finally, Tesla announced massive workforce reductions and price cuts in response to slowing sales and growing inventories. The United States also passed new sanctions on Iran as part of a foreign aid package, and Petrobras settled a dispute by endorsing a 50% dividend payout.

Bitcoin (BTC) has successfully undergone its fourth-ever halving event after reaching its 840,000th block, marking the point where mining rewards are halved once more. The significant event witnessed a decrease in Bitcoin miner rewards, dropping to 3.125 BTC per mined block compared to the previous 6.25 BTC.

Billionaire investor Tim Draper believes that the halving will help drive the price of Bitcoin to $250,000 or more, a prediction he has consistently made, particularly in 2022. Elsewhere, Bitcoin enthusiast Herbert Sim stated that there are other factors currently affecting price speculation, and that the halving is not the sole factor to consider.

Mining Rewards Decreased Once More

Starting today, Bitcoin miners will receive 3.125 BTC per mined block, as previously mentioned. This is a programmed process within the Bitcoin protocol occurring every 210,000 blocks mined, roughly every four years. The previous three halvings took place in 2012, 2016, and 2020, resulting in significant reductions in mining rewards over time. The initial Bitcoin halving in 2012 reduced the block reward 25 BTC.

The primary objective of the Bitcoin halving is to control scarcity and regulate the inflationary supply of Bitcoin. Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous founder of Bitcoin, incorporated this mechanism into the code. By halving mining rewards, this process effectively slows down the rate of new Bitcoin creation. The system will persist until approximately 2140 when all Bitcoin is mined.

Plenty Of Anticipation

Major Bitcoin miners have been preparing for the event. Marathon Digital recently announced its intention to acquire a 200-megawatt (MW) Bitcoin mining facility in Texas for $87.3 million. In December 2023, competitor Bitcoin mining firm Riot Platforms purchased 66,560 mining rigs through manufacturer MicroBT in one of the largest expansions of hash rate in history.

In any case, the Bitcoin halving is a crucial event that historically indicates a shift in the market, typically initiating a bullish trend over the following months. Despite short-term forecasts of price volatility within the crypto community, there is optimism about the long-term price potential of both BTC and the crypto industry in general.