ChainComply (Belgium) successfully secured $364K in Pre-Seed funding led by Blockchain Founders Group on 03/29/2024. ChainComply relieves AML teams from stressing over their crypto-exchanges interactions with a quick and easy source of investigation tools.

Parallel (Canada) is proud to announce a $35M investment in Venture funding with Solana Ventures leading the way on 03/28/2024. Parallel is a sci-fi based competitive card game where players build decks and face off, bank energy, and build armies to decide the fate of humanity.

FLock.io (United Kingdom) secured $6M in Seed funding with Lightspeed Faction backing them on 03/28/2024. FLock.io aims to build a decentralized privacy-preserving solution for AI. By replacing the central entity that collects data and organises machine learning with blockchain, FLock aims to empower users to mine insights from their data and monetize at their discretion.

Midas (Germany) raised $8.7M in Seed funding with BlockTower Capital as their lead investor on 03/28/2024. Through Midas, investors gain exposure to investment-grade securities on-chain, while harnessing the full suite of DeFi applications via a permissionless ERC-20 token.

SPIRIT Blockchain Capital Inc. (Canada) successfully secured $406K in Post-IPO Debt financing on 03/28/2024. SPIRIT is transforming global finance through Web3 technology investments and utilizes proven investment strategies for next-generation capital markets and blockchain infrastructure.

peaq (Singapore) announced $15M in Series A funding with Borderless Capital on board as their lead investor on 03/27/2024. Peaq looks to become the blockchain for real-world applications while empowering users to build DePINs and dApps for mobility, connectivity, energy, and more.

BloodLoop (Switzerland) celebrated a $4M Seed investment with Avalanche backing their vision on 03/27/2024. BloodLoop is a 5v5 tactical hero-shooter game, integrated with blockchain technology.

Lockchain.ai secured $4.6M on 04/01/2024 in Seed funding led by Lerer Hippeau, marking a significant milestone in their journey towards revolutionizing blockchain services.

Burnt (XION) raised a staggering $25M in Series A funding from The Spartan Group, reflecting immense confidence in their vision for the future of chain technology. XION empowers developers and brands to create frictionless Web3 experiences, with a Generalized Abstraction layer that removes technical barriers for all users.

Merkle Trade successfully closed a $2.1M seed round backed by Hashed Fund, underscoring the growing interest in DeFi solutions. Merkle Trade is the first-ever gamified perp DEX where users can trade, level up, and unlock instant rewards.

Once again, congratulations to everyone! Follow CryptoWeekly for all the latest updates and deals in crypto, blockchain, AI, and Web3.

This weekend brings significant news concerning Telegram, namely the integration of Toncoin (TON) as a payment method. This move allows advertisers to purchase in-platform ads using Toncoin. It is a key part of the growing strategy by the platform to create a user-friendly environment while also compensating content creators for their work. Telegram is now distributing 50% of ad revenue generated via ads in public channels directly to their owners, a big change compared to the previous methods used by digital platforms to reward content creators.

The integration of Toncoin as a payment method for ad purchases signals its benefits. By utilizing blockchain technology, Telegram aims to provide users with greater autonomy and flexibility. Users can now participate in promotions with even small amounts of Toncoin, making it easier for content creators to engage their audience.

Expanding Utility

Telegram looks to expand the utility of TON tokens, allowing users to purchase and place ads exclusively on channels they intend to use. This individualized approach ensures ads are targeted to specific audiences, thereby enhancing advertising campaign effectiveness and delivering optimal returns for advertisers.

A notable aspect of this update is the effort by Telegram to streamline the rewards and withdrawal process for channel owners. The introduction of fee-free withdrawals underscores the commitment by Telegram toward supporting its creators. This withdrawal service is set to be available soon on the Telegram Fragment exchange, further strengthening the Toncoin ecosystem and new monetization capabilities.

A Strategic Decision

The choice of the TON Blockchain for this initiative is a strategic move for Telegram, leveraging its low fees and high transaction speeds to offer an efficient solution. The ability of the TON Blockchain to process up to 100,000 transactions per second positions it as an ideal foundation for the aforementioned monetization efforts.

Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov highlighted the challenge of monetizing channel ads despite high viewership. The new initiative aims to create a virtuous circle where content owners are rewarded and can reinvest in their channels, fostering a diverse and active media space on Telegram.

By allowing creators to receive Toncoins as payment or reinvestment in their channels, Telegram encourages high-quality content creation and fosters community engagement. The acceptance of TON payments by advertisers and renewed support for in-platform cryptocurrency usage by Telegram signal an innovative business model.

PEPE has garnered significant attention recently, with the total market capitalization of the meme coin soaring to over $3 billion in the last 24 hours. Despite experiencing a slight pullback, this bullish performance remains largely intact.

Market Dynamics Of PEPE

To begin, the total supply of PEPE is diminishing, suggesting an imminent increase in demand as market dynamics unfold. According to CoinMarketCap data, the total market cap for the meme coin surged by 24.6% in the past 24 hours, reaching a peak of $3.44 billion. This surge was followed by a pullback, settling at the aforementioned figures.

In terms of circulating supply, PEPE currently boasts a maximum of 420.69 trillion coins, all of which are already in circulation. Supporting its bullish outlook are indicators such as an RSI of 66 and a 50 EMA standing at $0.0000079.

Can PEPE Surpass SHIB?

The growing popularity of PEPE has sparked speculation that it could potentially surpass Shiba Inu (SHIB). Presently, PEPE holds the 42nd position on the charts, while SHIB holds the 12th position, according to CoinMarketCap. SHIB has maintained a robust market presence and supportive community for an extended period, necessitating PEPE to deliver a significantly more impressive performance to pose a formidable challenge to SHIB.

In any case, investors and traders are showing heightened interest in PEPE, indicating a prevailing sentiment that this upward trajectory continues. Speculation and discussions have emerged regarding whether PEPE can initiate a substantial bullish surge to challenge SHIB as a leading meme coin.

The sales volume of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) has experienced a 4% decrease since the start of March. Within this period, there has been a downturn in the performance of premier NFTs. The leading NFT marketplace, OpenSea, concluded last month with a reduction in its 30-day NFT sales volume.

Data sourced via a Dune Analytics dashboard prepared by Rchen8 indicates that NFT sales on the platform over the past 28 days amounted to $147 million, representing a 4% drop compared to the amount in February which was $153 million.

Declining User Engagement

The decline in the sales volume can be attributed to the consistent decrease in user engagement since the beginning of the year. Up to now this month, 75,000 active users have engaged in at least one transaction on OpenSea. This reflects a 27% decrease compared to the number of active users in February which were just over 103,000 and a 40% decrease compared to January which had approximately 125,000 users. March recorded the lowest monthly user count on OpenSea since July 2021.

Due to reduced user activity, the monthly count of NFTs sold on OpenSea has reached its lowest point so far this year. In the last 28 days, the number of NFTs sold totaled 123,000, marking a whopping 38% decline which also represents the lowest monthly count since May 2021.

Fees Go Up

Interestingly, despite the sluggish user activity and sales volume this month, the monthly fees of the platform, which stem via primary transactions and royalties, have reached their highest level since the beginning of the year. Over the last 28 days, fees through primary transactions and royalties have each amounted to $4 million.

In Q1 2024, the initial two months witnessed increased activity in the NFT vertical, resulting in the growth of floor prices for various NFT collections, including Blue-Chip NFTs. These are distinguished by their high floor price, robust community, and potential for future utility. However, according to the Blue-Chip Index, which provides data reflecting the performance of platforms like OpenSea, the marketplace peaked at 5,800 ETH on March 8th and has since begun to decline.

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes recently advised caution before dismissing all meme coins as stupid, suggesting they can bring notable benefits to the blockchain networks where they emerge. In an interview with Real Vision CEO Raoul Pal on March 30th, Hayes emphasized that meme coins can attract attention and draw in new users and developers to blockchains, thereby adding value to the ecosystem.

Hayes asserted that if meme coins attract attention and talent to the space, then it should be seen as a positive development. He also highlighted Solana and Ethereum as the most promising networks capable of harnessing attention generated by memes.

The Frenzy Continues

Last year, Solana experienced a surge in network activity following a meme coin frenzy in November, leading to the launch of numerous non-meme projects on the network in subsequent months. Similarly, Bitcoin witnessed increased network and development activity after the influx of BRC-20 tokens and Ordinals around the same period.

Pal believes meme coins could become increasingly popular among younger crypto investors, tapping into the gaming mentality prevalent among Gen Z and millennials. It is just gaming with money, remarked Pal.

Both Pal and Hayes anticipate continued attention toward meme coins in the future, with Solana-based meme coin WIF scheduled to be projected on the Las Vegas Sphere in the coming months. WIF recently surpassed Ethereum layer-2 network Arbitrum (ARB) in total market capitalization.

The Issues

However, industry executives warn of numerous risks associated with meme coins. Franklin Templeton, a US investment firm, highlighted the lack of fundamental value or utility in meme coins despite the potential for quick profits.

Similarly, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin expressed disinterest in meme coins but encouraged finding ways to make them useful or charitable instead of simply condemning them. He stressed the importance of embracing the desire for fun within the crypto space.

Despite the risks, meme coins have outperformed other asset classes within the crypto sector in the last month. In the past week, meme coins listed on CoinGecko have seen a collective gain of 20%, surpassing the gains of layer-1 network tokens and decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens.

Bitcoin (BTC) has once again reached the $70,000 mark after dropping below it yesterday, struggling to decisively surpass it during its recovery phase. Various altcoins, including ETH and BNB, have displayed negative performance on a daily basis, while SOL has shown resilience, hovering near $200. Meanwhile, the two most prominent meme coins, DOGE and SHIB, experienced a decrease of approximately 2-3% within a day.

BTC Returns To $70K

Following a relatively calm weekend, the performance of BTC at the start of the business week was optimistic as it surged to $66,000 before skyrocketing to $70,000 on Tuesday. Bulls exerted pressure, propelling the flagship cryptocurrency to a new peak of just under $72,000 on Wednesday. However, it faced strong rejection and quickly retreated to $68,400 shortly after.

Bitcoin then initiated another recovery, approaching $72,000 once more but failed to sustain. Subsequently, it experienced another decline, slipping to $69,200 yesterday. Nonetheless, it has mostly recovered losses and currently sits slightly above $70,000. Market capitalization remains approximately $20 billion short of $1.4 trillion, with its dominance over alternative coins holding steady at 49.7% on CoinGecko.

SOL experienced an overnight gain of nearly 6% and is close to $200 again. TON witnessed a similar increase, rising well above $5. Ripple, Cardano, Avalanche, Polkadot, Chainlink, and Tron also saw gains, albeit more modest. BCH continued its upward trend ahead of its second halving, trading above $600. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization remained relatively stagnant on a daily basis, now standing below $2.8 trillion.

Other Markets

During February, Fidelity decreased the value of its stake in X (formerly Twitter) by 5.7%, while hedge funds turned their attention to Europe in pursuit of the next phase of the stock rally. Projections indicate that US payrolls will maintain a minimum of 200,000 for the fourth consecutive month. Meanwhile, concerns among CLO managers are rising due to the potential selloff of the riskiest bonds following an Altice downgrade.

Elsewhere, Colombian cacao production is on the rise amidst the historic surge in cocoa prices. Cocoa prices have surged recently, prompting discussions about its implications for chocolate lovers. Chinese factory activity also expanded for the first time in six months, with efforts now focused on removing the massive structure at the site of a collapsed bridge.

A recent study highlighted how the spring clock change might influence the response by investors to company earnings. Additionally, Oklahoma troopers had to divert traffic after a barge collided with a bridge, while DC Transit faced service cuts and thousands of layoffs due to a deficit.

The overall exposure in the cryptocurrency sector has reached unprecedented levels as of late, suggesting that coins could experience increased volatility in the near future. The total exposure in cryptocurrencies has similarly reached extraordinary levels as noted by Maartunn, the community manager of CryptoQuant Netherlands. This exposure currently stands at an impressive $51.3 billion.

Looking For Market Stability

In the aforementioned context, open interest refers to the total value of derivative positions associated with digital assets currently active across various exchanges within the sector. When this metric rises, it signifies that investors are actively initiating new positions in the market. Typically, a surge in this metric implies an increase in overall leverage within the sector, potentially leading to heightened volatility in asset prices.

Conversely, a decline in this indicator suggests that investors are either voluntarily closing their positions or being forcibly liquidated by their platforms. A significant drop in the metric could coincide with substantial price movements. However, once the value of this indicator stabilizes, it may contribute to market stability by reducing leverage.

Rising Open Interest

Recent trends indicate a consistent upward trajectory in cryptocurrency open interest. This increase aligns with the recent rallies in Bitcoin and other assets, which typically attract significant market attention and speculation. During the 2021 bull market, open interest in the crypto market also experienced an uptick, with current values surpassing previous peaks.

With the total open interest reaching an all-time high of $51.3 billion, the market is susceptible to increased volatility. Moreover, high levels of open interest often precede sharp price movements in the cryptocurrency market. This volatility could manifest in either direction, suggesting a potential turning point for the market.

Historically, significant declines in Bitcoin prices have coincided with a notable cooldown in open interest. Therefore, the current elevated levels of open interest may indicate a precarious situation for the crypto market.

A recent surge of undisclosed malware has purportedly been targeting gamers and siphoning their Bitcoin (BTC) wallets in a new campaign aimed at both cheaters and players. The malware, as reported by the vx-underground repository on March 28th, is attributed to an unidentified threat actor. It is designed to pilfer login credentials, particularly by users employing pay-to-cheat video game software.

Massive Losses

The attacks have affected various gaming communities, including over 4.9 million accounts associated with Activision Blizzard and its gaming platform Battle.net, as well as accounts via Elite PVPers, a game-focused trading site, and cheat software markets PhantomOverlay and UnknownCheats.

Affected users have reported instances of cryptocurrency drainage, notably through their Electrum BTC wallets, although the precise amount stolen remains undisclosed, according to vx-underground. PhantomOverlay, in a Telegram post dated March 27th, disputed the reported number of hacked accounts, suggesting that a significant portion of the logins retrieved may be invalid. It described the malware as part of a network of free or low-cost software originating via commonly used gaming utilities like latency programs or VPNs.

Damage Control

Described as the most extensive infostealer malware campaign within the gaming and cheating community, PhantomOverlay admitted having suspicions about the source of the malware but acknowledged difficulties in proving its origins.

Activision Blizzard has been in contact with cheat-selling platforms and pledged assistance to the millions of affected users, according to PhantomOverlay. An Activision Blizzard spokesperson stated that while they were aware of claims regarding compromised credentials due to unauthorized software, their servers remain secure. They advised users to change their passwords as a precaution.

Vx-underground noted that fraudulent activity was flagged when unauthorized purchases were made using compromised accounts. PhantomOverlay confirmed reaching out to the alleged victims and identifying additional affected users thereafter.

Following a sentencing hearing in federal court, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the disgraced former CEO of FTX, is set to serve 25 years in prison, as decided by Judge Lewis Kaplan of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Judge Kaplan handed down a total sentence of 240 months and 60 months for seven felony charges. Bankman-Fried, the first individual associated with FTX and Alameda Research to face prison time since the collapse of the exchange in November 2022, was found guilty of witness tampering and perjury during the trial regarding FTX user funds. Despite Sam making light of the situation, Judge Kaplan emphasized the severity of the crime and criticized his behavior during the proceedings.

SBF Regrets How Things Went

The court suggested deducting the time already served by Bankman-Fried, resulting in a remaining prison term of 291 months, and also proposed an $11-billion judgement in addition to the prison sentence. Judge Kaplan highlighted the significant losses incurred by FTX investors, lenders, and customers, amounting to $1.7 billion, $1.3 billion, and $8 billion, respectively.

During the sentencing hearing, the courtroom was filled with members of the public and officials. Bankman-Fried appeared in the uniform of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he has been detained since the revocation of his bail. Despite expressing regret for the events, Bankman-Fried asserted that FTX could have survived if it had not been shut down.

A Harsh Reality

The defense portrayed Sam as a misunderstood individual who made decisions based on calculations rather than malicious intent. However, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos criticized Bankman-Fried for not taking responsibility for his actions.

The sentence handed down by Judge Kaplan fell between the recommendations of various attorneys and prosecutors representing Sam, who proposed maximum sentences of 6.5 and 50 years, respectively. Several other individuals associated with FTX and Alameda have pleaded guilty and accepted deals in the same case. Ryan Salame, the former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, is scheduled for sentencing on May 1st.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) made a significant impact on the technological landscape, transcending its status as merely a buzzword to become a driving force shaping our world. Notable projects like ChatGPT and DALL-E have garnered attention by industry giants such as Microsoft and Google, intensifying the competition to lead in this field.

Decentralized entities like SingularityNet, Ocean Protocol, and Fetch.AI are at the forefront, advocating for democratizing access to AI. Now, these entities are proposing a merger of their blockchain networks, forming the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (ASI).

The Race Is On

The merger, valued at $7.5 billion, aims to create the largest open-sourced decentralized network in the world, accelerating the race towards Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). As part of this alliance, tokens by Fetch.AI, Ocean Protocol, and SingularityNet will all converge into a single $ASI token, enhancing the scale and capabilities of the combined AI network.

Dr. Ben Goertzel, CEO of SingularityNet, emphasized the importance of democratizing AI and avoiding centralized control, stating that the alliance aligns with the vision of open and decentralized AI development. The leadership of the ASI will include figures via the merging entities, operating closely within the tokenomic ecosystem while retaining separate identities.

Challenging The Monopoly

The announcement of the merger has had a significant impact on token values, with OCEAN experiencing a notable surge. This development signifies a challenge to the monopoly over AI technologies that is currently held by Big Tech companies, marking a significant milestone for both the crypto and AI industries.

The ASI aims to leverage the growth of AI projects and challenge the dominance of Big Tech in AI development and monetization. By creating a decentralized infrastructure, the alliance seeks to transform closed-source AI systems into open networks, fostering collaboration towards common goals.

Upon approval, the merger will involve token migrations with specified conversion rates, resulting in a unified token with a substantial market value. Bruce Pon, CEO of Ocean Protocol, sees this combination as a step towards integrating decentralized technologies on a global scale, facilitated by the ASI token.

Munchables, a GameFi venture developed on Blast, recently announced a loss of $62 million due to being hacked. An additional $25 million was safeguarded in a connected vault of Juice Finance because of an apparent typographical error.

By placing the address of the hacker on a blacklist, the network managed to isolate the funds and persuade the attacker to relinquish control of the private keys. However, there are other peculiarities, as on-chain evidence presented by investigator ZachXBT suggests that the perpetrator used various pseudonyms.

An Evil Within

ZachXBT noted on X that four different developers hired by the Munchables team and linked to the exploiter are likely all the same individual, following the incident. Juice Finance users, who utilized a vault and bot system designed to engage in the game and earn valuable points swiftly, were also vulnerable, according to Chief Operating Officer Eric Ryklin.

Juice Finance independently assessed the Munchables code before launching its own product. Ryklin stated that the malicious exploit was not found in their code, nor in their actual audit, before further claiming that this individual implemented an upgrade that went unnoticed and unverified. Doing so essentially granted the individual access to three wallets with unlimited withdrawal capabilities, in addition to possessing the keys to the upgrader and the main deployer wallet, he explained.

Damage Control

Juice and Munchables had shared investors, and both teams maintained regular communication leading up to the theft, Ryklin revealed. The malevolent actor, who was employed by Munchables, was part of a group chat that included the Juice team. Ryklin recollected that they encountered this individual in a developer Discord within the community, and it later transpired post-hack that the team did not own their contracts.

The hacker reportedly inserted three sleeper wallets into the actual contract that went unnoticed initially, Ryklin stated. However, the moment he initiated a transaction, that sleeper wallet would become public, enabling the Blast sequencer to blacklist him. A spokesperson for security firm CertiK stated it was highly unusual that the funds were then returned to the project through a malicious DPRK-affiliated worker, referring to agents of the North Korean government. They assessed it could be a rogue developer who, upon their identity being revealed, decided to return the funds after pressure by the Web3 community to prevent further backlash.

The Texas-based Bitcoin miner, Giga Energy, has expanded its operations into Argentina, aiming to utilize excess energy via natural gas flaring in the local oil fields. According to Giga co-founder Brent Whitehead, this expansion marks a significant milestone for the firm, broadening its operational scope and aligning with its vision to address flaring globally.

Slow And Steady

The new mining site in Argentina, situated in the province of Mendoza, has been undergoing testing since December and has already mined a substantial amount of Bitcoin. The pro-Bitcoin stance of the Argentinian President, Javier Milei, has also helped matters. However, the firm is still awaiting the import of necessary equipment before fully scaling up the operation.

Gas flaring, associated with oil extraction, releases methane, which Giga converts into electricity to power its Bitcoin mining equipment. Giga initiated its Bitcoin mining operations in 2019 and currently has 150 megawatts of container capacity installed in its Texas and Shanghai facilities. The expansion involves placing a large shipping container housing thousands of Bitcoin miners atop an oil well, redirecting excess gas into generators, and utilizing that energy for Bitcoin mining.

A New World For BTC Mining

Argentina possesses the second largest shale gas reserve in the world, contributing to the viability of this venture by Giga. Additionally, the Bitcoin mining operation will reportedly help reduce methane emissions, contributing to environmental sustainability. Exa Tech, an IT services company, will assist Giga with onsite operations, while Phoenix Global Resources, an oil and gas company, will supply the gas required for Bitcoin mining.

As Bitcoin mining firms gear up for the impending halving event, slated for around April 20th, there could be a shift in global hash rate distribution, potentially favoring countries with lower electricity costs and those which tend to favor cryptocurrencies in general, like Argentina and Paraguay.