Today's Headlines
- The Federal Reserve announces maintaining the benchmark interest rate, meeting market expectations.
- NFT sales in April decreased by over 31% compared to the previous month.
- BlackRock: Sovereign wealth funds and pension funds may buy Bitcoin ETF in the coming months.
- Animoca Brands co-founder proposes "ApeCoin Ventures" plan to create a $10 million fund in collaboration with ApeCoin.
- Synthetix founder proposes launching Infinex on May 13, subject to on-chain voting approval.
- Klumi Ventures plans to launch two Web3 startup investment funds with a total size of $115 million.
- Web3 game Shadow War completes a $5 million financing round, led by Momentum 6.
- Bitcoin spot ETF saw a total net outflow of $564 million yesterday, reaching a historical high.
Regulatory Policies
The Federal Reserve announces maintaining the benchmark interest rate, meeting market expectations
The Federal Reserve announced its latest interest rate decision, maintaining the federal funds rate target range at 5.25% to 5.50%, meeting market expectations. Recent U.S. economic data indicates that the U.S. economic growth is significantly lower than expected, while unexpected rebound in U.S. prices are the main reasons for the Federal Reserve's decision to "stand still" and continue to observe.
U.S. Commerce Department data showed that the U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annual rate of 1.6% in the first quarter of this year, lower than the market's general expectations. In terms of prices, the first-quarter core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, excluding food and energy, grew at an annualized rate of 3.7%, exceeding the expected 3.4%, marking the first quarterly growth in a year, indicating persistent core inflation. These factors have led to a continuous cooling of market expectations for the Fed's interest rate cuts this year. Traders currently expect the Fed to cut interest rates only once this year, far below the expected number of about 6 times at the beginning of the year.
U.S. lawmakers urge SEC to approve options for Bitcoin spot ETF
U.S. lawmakers urge the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve options for Bitcoin spot ETF. Typically, such options are approved a few days after the issuance of spot ETFs.
NFT
NFT sales in April decreased by over 31% compared to the previous month
NFT sales in April were approximately $1.15 billion, a decrease of 31.26% from March. The number of NFT buyers also decreased by 51.88%, while the number of sellers decreased by 45.72% during the same period. Among the 24 blockchain networks for minting NFTs, Bitcoin became the leader last month, with sales reaching $597.62 million. However, the NFT sales based on BTC still decreased by 4.3% compared to March; Ethereum NFT sales decreased significantly to $247.32 million, a 56.8% decrease from the previous month; NFT sales based on SOL decreased by 39.4% to just over $159 million.
Project Updates
BlackRock: Sovereign wealth funds and pension funds may buy Bitcoin ETF in the coming months
Robert Mitchnick, head of digital assets at BlackRock, stated in an interview that in the coming months, sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and endowment funds may start trading Bitcoin spot ETFs. Robert said that many interested companies are conducting ongoing due diligence and research discussions, and BlackRock is playing a role from an educational perspective.
Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu initiated the "ApeCoin Ventures" proposal. The proposal suggests that Animoca Brands' early-stage venture capital department, Animoca Ventures, proposes to establish ApeCoin Ventures to combine Animoca Ventures' historical expertise with the community's strong influence to expand the visibility and adoption of ApeCoin.
In a 1:1 matching structure, the proposal suggests deploying $5 million worth of APE from ApeCoin DAO and matching it with $5 million in fiat currency from Animoca Ventures to create a $10 million combined fund. By co-investing in early-stage Web3 enterprises, both parties will promote and encourage the comprehensive utility and adoption of ApeCoin. Its investment strategy targets seed and Series A financing stage companies, prioritizing those that can integrate ApeCoin into their ecosystems.
The development team behind Aave, Aave Labs, released three temperature check proposals on the Aave governance forum, outlining Aave's vision for the next 5-7 years, known as Aave 2030. Key points in the proposal include:
- Aave Protocol V4 development proposal. Building on V3, Aave V4 proposes a series of improvements, including a new architecture design to enhance modularity and optimize capital efficiency; introducing a unified liquidity layer to seamlessly integrate the native stablecoin GHO; optimizing the liquidation engine and risk management tools, among others. Aave Labs plans to start V4 development in Q2 2024 and release it around mid-2025.
- A new visual identity system proposal for Aave. The proposal introduces a new visual identity system for Aave, aiming to provide a unified and futuristic visual image for various projects in the Aave ecosystem, enabling them to stand out in the increasingly competitive landscape. The new design inherits Aave's friendly ghost image, symbolizing its enduring innovative genes.
- Aave 2030 vision proposal. The proposal outlines Aave's vision for the next 5-7 years, with Aave Labs aiming to drive the Aave protocol to become one of the most important financial infrastructures in the Web3 era. Key initiatives include advancing V4 development, expanding GHO applications, and strengthening connections with real-world assets, among others.
Bitcoin mining company Stronghold is seeking to sell all or part of the company's shares
Pennsylvania-based publicly traded Bitcoin mining company Stronghold announced during its earnings conference call that the company is exploring the possibility of selling all or part of its shares to "maximize shareholder value." Stronghold's stock traded at around $3 on Wednesday, with a current market value of nearly $40 million.
friend.tech v2 airdrop may introduce NFT
Decentralized social media platform Friend.tech is preparing to release V2 on May 3 and conduct an airdrop. However, a leaked smart contract shows that the airdrop may introduce NFT, meaning that recipients of the airdrop tokens, apart from certain whitelisted protocol addresses, will be unable to sell or exchange the airdropped tokens. It is reported that the new tokens will be rewarded to users who stake ETH and Points tokens in the Friend.tech smart contract.
Optimism announced on the X platform that in the fourth round of retroactive public goods funding, they will introduce a new governance experiment called "Deliberative Processes." This process aims to take an iterative approach, transferring most governance responsibilities from the Optimism Foundation to the Optimism Collective, making the foundation one of many contributors proposing system changes. The deliberative process will help involve representative ordinary people or users in governance decisions and provide space for thoughtful discussions. Each round will test some assumptions, and the results will guide the design of future rounds and/or other parts of the governance system.
Synthetix founder: proposes launching Infinex on May 13, subject to on-chain voting approval
Synthetix founder Kain Warwick announced the official launch of the decentralized perpetual contract exchange Infinex on May 13. This is an "account activation," allowing Infinex users to access their self-custody accounts on the platform. Warwick stated that May 13 is his proposal, submitted to the Synthetix protocol management DAO, and still requires on-chain voting approval to launch.
Decentralized AI data network Masa will collaborate with CoinList to launch a new MASA staking plan next week, allowing users to lock MASA tokens for 3, 6, or 9 months and receive annualized returns of 15%, 20%, and up to 25% respectively. Upon confirming the staking selection, users will immediately start accumulating token rewards, and any user can check their total staked balance, track the number of tokens to be received after expiration, and view the end date of each staking period at any time.
io.net team member hushky disclosed token airdrop information on the official Discord platform, with specific allocations as follows: Ignition event Season 1 Worker: 7.5 million tokens; Ignition event Season 2 Worker: 7.5 million tokens; Discord/Galxe/content creators/KOL/other marketing partners and activities: 7.5 million tokens; Airdrop swap with Aethir project: 2.5 million tokens (tentative, final results depend on the IO token market price at the time)
Exchanges
Binance Nigeria money laundering case trial postponed to May 17
According to a spokesperson for the Tigran Gambaryan family, the trial of the Binance Nigeria money laundering case has been postponed to May 17. Tigran Gambaryan is currently in Kuje prison awaiting a bail hearing on May 17, with the trial originally scheduled for today. Gambaryan is the compliance chief of Binance. In February this year, he was detained in Nigeria along with Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance's regional manager for Africa. A month later, Nigerian authorities charged Binance and its executives with money laundering and tax evasion.
Coinbase International Exchange: AEVO-PERP, ENA-PERP, and ETHFI-PERP now in full trading mode
Coinbase International Exchange and Coinbase Advanced's AEVO-PERP, ENA-PERP, and ETHFI-PERP markets are now in full trading mode, with limit, market, stop, and stop-limit orders all available.
Investment
Klumi Ventures plans to launch two Web3 startup investment funds with a total size of $115 million
Klumi Ventures announced that it has obtained a financial license issued by the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), allowing the company to invest in tokens and make equity investments in early-stage Web3 startups. Klumi Ventures is launching two funds, with one $100 million fund specifically targeting emerging technologies and the decentralized industry. The other $15 million fund for qualified investors is planned for seed and pre-seed investments in Web3 startups.
Multi-chain liquidity restaking protocol BedRock completes financing, led by OKX Ventures
The multi-chain liquidity restaking protocol Bedrock has completed a financing round, led by OKX Ventures, LongHash Ventures, and Comma3 Ventures, with participation from Waterdrip Capital, Lbank Labs, Amber Group, ArcheFund, Whale Ground, and angel investors including Fisher Yu, co-founder of Babylon.
Bedrock's total locked value (TVL) on Ethereum (uniETH) and IoTeX (uniIOTX) has exceeded $200 million. It has launched a native cross-chain restaking service and deployed it on multiple chains including Arbitrum, Linea, Scroll, and Manta, with plans to expand to more chains in the future. Additionally, Bedrock will soon release the first liquidity staking Bitcoin based on the Babylon protocol (uniBTC), providing users with Bitcoin staking services. Bedrock aims to achieve the next stage of growth through its liquidity staking Bitcoin (uniBTC) and expects to introduce this service before the launch of the Babylon mainnet to break through the limitations of staking innovation.
Web3 game Shadow War completes $5 million financing, led by Momentum 6
Swedish game studio Patriots Division has raised $5 million for its Web3 game Shadow War in seed and Series A financing rounds, with Series A led by Momentum 6 and participation from iAngels, Cointelligence Fund, Xborg, Andromeda VC, Cogitent Ventures, and Cluster Capital.
Shadow War is a sci-fi 5v5 third-person action game inspired by popular games like "Overwatch" and "League of Legends," emphasizing a fusion of futurism, fantasy, action, and competition. It focuses on melee combat and tactical strategy, aiming to reward skill-based players while avoiding pay-to-win elements that hinder competitive integrity.
SocialFi startup Matera completes $3.6 million financing, with participation from The Sandbox
Web3 startup Matera has successfully raised $3.6 million, with support from Sidedoor Ventures, HighCass Crypto, Medusa Ventures, The Sandbox, and Saxon Partners, among others. Matera plans to develop blockchain infrastructure, including a DeFi platform, protocol layer, and L2 network. The funds raised will be used to build a creator platform that combines DeFi with social media to address common monetization challenges in the creator economy. Matera currently supports creators on X, enabling them to raise funds and profit from their loyal fan base, and plans to integrate and expand to other social media platforms.
Web3 wine market Baxus completes $5 million seed round financing, led by Multicoin Capital
Web3 wine market Baxus has completed a $5 million strategic round of financing, led by Multicoin Capital, with participation from Solana Ventures, Narwhal Ventures, FJ Labs, and a group of angel investors. Baxus aims to connect buyers and sellers by integrating the market into one application to solve market inefficiencies. The company states that using open Web3 payment infrastructure can reduce costs and increase transparency. Its Web3 market is built on the Solana blockchain, allowing buyers to transact using credit cards, ACH, wire transfers, or cryptocurrencies including USDC. Baxus launched a beta version last summer and has facilitated $8 million in transactions to date.
Web3 content distribution platform Metale Protocol recently announced the completion of a $2 million seed round extension financing, bringing its total seed round financing to $4 million. The financing was completed in the first quarter of this year, with Aipollo Capital, Waterdrip Capital, Ultiverse Dao leading the round and several experienced entrepreneurs participating. Metale Protocol is building a decentralized content distribution platform, aiming to build decentralized content storage and rights confirmation protocols on the blockchain and develop an application ecosystem on the network to provide decentralized paid playback, crowdfunding governance, traffic acquisition, data analysis, AI creation tools, and other services for the content industry.
Important Data
Bitcoin spot ETF saw a total net outflow of $564 million yesterday, reaching a new historical high
Yesterday (May 1, US Eastern Time), the Bitcoin spot ETF saw a total net outflow of $564 million. Grayscale's (GBTC) ETF had a net outflow of $167 million, bringing its historical net outflow to $17.47 billion.
As of the time of writing, the net asset value of the Bitcoin spot ETF is $47.079 billion, with an ETF net asset ratio (market value as a percentage of total Bitcoin market value) of 4.17%. The historical cumulative net inflow has reached $11.217 billion.
VanEck: About $175 billion worth of Bitcoin held by ETFs, various countries, and companies
Investment company VanEck stated in a recent report that approximately $175 billion worth of Bitcoin is held by various ETFs, different countries, and publicly listed and private companies, accounting for about 15% of the total Bitcoin supply. According to CoinGecko data, as of Wednesday, the total market value of Bitcoin is approximately $1.2 trillion. Over the past week, the price of the world's largest cryptocurrency has dropped from over $64,000 to around $57,000. VanEck launched a spot Bitcoin ETF in January, currently managing assets worth $600 million. The company stated in the report that the potential of Bitcoin as a store of value is increasingly recognized by hedge funds, asset management companies, and endowment funds. Additionally, more and more merchants and companies now accept Bitcoin as a payment method, and infrastructure development is making it more convenient for ordinary people to use Bitcoin.
Market: Bitcoin breaks through $58,000, Ethereum breaks through $3,000
Bitcoin has broken through $58,000, currently trading at $58,178.25, with a daily increase of 1.0%. Ethereum has broken through $3,000, currently trading at $2,991.33, with a daily increase of 3.6%.
Data from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange website shows that the total turnover of 6 Hong Kong's first batch of virtual asset spot ETFs today was HK$68.4 million, including:
- Huaxia Bitcoin ETF (3042.HK) closed at HK$7.245 today, down 8.87%, with a turnover of HK$33.14 million;
- Huaxia Ethereum ETF (3046.HK) closed at HK$7.175 today, down 7.66%, with a turnover of HK$2.62 million;
- CSOP Bitcoin Spot ETF (3439.HK) closed at HK$7.265 today, down 8.62%, with a turnover of HK$20.26 million;
- CSOP Ethereum Spot ETF (3179.HK) closed at HK$7.195 today, down 7.40%, with a turnover of HK$1.72 million;
- Bosera HashKey Bitcoin ETF (3008.HK) closed at HK$45.120 today, down 9.00%, with a turnover of HK$10.31 million;
- Bosera HashKey Ethereum ETF (3009.HK) closed at HK$22.9 today, down 7.66%, with a turnover of HK$0.35 million.
Market: JTO breaks through $3.50, with a 24-hour increase of over 20%
JTO has broken through $3.50, currently trading at $3.52, with a 24-hour increase of 20.5%.
The average return of all cryptocurrency sector indices in the past 7 days is around -10%, with the most resilient sector being Layer2, which has a weekly return rate of -4.99%. Following that are the Payment and NFT sector indices, with weekly return rates of -5.3% and -6.64% respectively. The Layer2 sector index includes ten constituent coins such as MATIC, MNT, IMX, OP, and ARB. It is worth noting that the SoSo Value cryptocurrency index is compiled by the platform by selecting mainstream constituent coins representing different sub-sectors of the cryptocurrency field, aiming to measure the performance of different sectors in the cryptocurrency market over a certain period of time.
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