GBTC Grayscale Bitcoin Trust BTC

Paradigm seeks record funding for new Web3 fund

Paradigm, a leading venture capital firm focused on Web3, is advancing to raise a new investment fund, targeting between $750 million and $850 million. This move could mark the largest fund since the crypto market turmoil in May 2022, according to Bloomberg. Paradigm’s step is seen as a positive sign for the cryptocurrency sector’s recovery, reflecting the firm’s continued confidence in the potential of Web3 and crypto innovation, despite previous market highs and lows.

KBW initiates coverage of Robinhood with cautious forecasts

KBW has begun covering Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ:HOOD) shares with a neutral market outlook and a target price of $20, questioning the duration of the retail trading surge. Despite a 150% increase in share price driven by retail engagement in the first quarter, the brokerage anticipates a normalization in trading activity. With a modest but growing market share in the self-directed brokerage market, Robinhood still has potential to outperform sector growth as its core audience evolves.

Bitcoin faces market uncertainties

After reaching records in March, Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) has slowed its pace below $66,000. As of Wednesday morning, it’s trading with a slight increase of 0.40% around $65,702. The significant drop observed on Tuesday was influenced by the rise in US Treasury yields and the outlook that the Fed may delay interest rate cuts, along with mass liquidations typical of bull runs. Meanwhile, Ether (COIN:ETHUSD) remains close to $3,300 at the time of writing. The increase in Treasury yields reflects concerns about inflation and an economy stronger than expected, which generally moves investments away from riskier assets. Despite the correction, the market had already anticipated this movement before the next halving on April 22. Fernando Pereira, analyst at Bitget, observes that Bitcoin is currently at a critical support level, corresponding to its 2021 all-time high of $65,000. This level could induce some buying pressure, although the market shows a prevailing selling trend. “Drops of up to 30% in the coming weeks are perfectly plausible,” states Pereira, indicating a cautious scenario among investors.

Ark Invest’s ARKB surpasses GBTC in daily outflows

For the first time, Ark Invest 21shares’ spot Bitcoin ETF (AMEX:ARKB) exceeded the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (AMEX:GBTC) in daily net outflows, with $87.5 million on April 2, against GBTC’s $81.9 million. Despite this, Bitcoin ETFs experienced a total net inflow of $40.3 million on that day, marking a recovery from the previous day’s negative flows. This event occurs in a context where the SEC approved several spot Bitcoin ETFs, impacting Grayscale’s GBTC due to the competitive fees of new ETFs like ARKB, which charges only 0.21%.

Goldman Sachs maintains skepticism towards cryptocurrency

Despite the growing adoption of cryptocurrencies by other major financial names, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) remains steadfast in its critical view of the sector. Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani, investment lead in the bank’s wealth management division, reaffirms her longstanding skeptical stance, particularly towards Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) and other digital assets, denying seeing value in them or classifying them as viable investments. Even with traditional investors’ growing interest in cryptocurrencies, the bank challenges the trend, highlighting the difficulty in assessing their true value and criticizing the perceived hypocrisy in the cryptocurrency sector.

Binance defends executive detained in Nigeria

Binance has stated that Tigran Gambaryan, its compliance head detained in Nigeria, does not influence the company’s decisions and should not be blamed for current negotiations with Nigerian authorities. Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, regional manager for Africa, were detained in February, although Anjarwalla has escaped detention. Both face tax evasion charges by Nigeria and are contesting the violation of their human rights in court. Binance requests that Gambaryan be exempt from responsibility as discussions with the government continue.

Bitfinex introduces volatility futures for Bitcoin and Ether

Bitfinex has announced new perpetual futures that allow trading based on the anticipated volatility of Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) and Ether (COIN:ETHUSD), using Volmex indices that reflect 30-day price turbulence expectations. Similar to the stock market’s VIX index, these futures offer traders the opportunity to speculate on the price fluctuations of major cryptocurrencies, using contracts settled in tether (COIN:USDTUSD), enabling complex strategies without the need for extensive options experience.

Wormhole launches governance token airdrop

Wormhole has initiated an airdrop of 617 million governance tokens W to reward its early users. The token debuted at $1.66 on Solana’s DEX OpenBook, reaching a market cap of $2.98 billion. Following the launch, OpenBook experienced congestion, making access difficult. The tokens represent 6% of the total, with additional allocations for contributors and the foundation’s treasury. W will be launched on Ethereum and layer 2 networks, enabling multi-chain governance voting.

Ethena Labs’ ENA token sees explosive growth

The governance token ENA, from Ethena Labs, has seen a significant increase of 49% in the last 24 hours, raising its value to about $0.93. Recently launched on April 2 at approximately $0.60, ENA supports Ethena Labs’ DeFi protocol, which promotes a “synthetic dollar” yielding $1.3 billion. Its appreciation resulted in a market value of $1.3 billion, placing it 67th in market capitalization, highlighted by inclusion on Binance and praise from Arthur Hayes, former CEO of BitMEX, who predicts a potential price up to $10.

Relm Insurance introduces innovative cryptocurrency coverage

Relm Insurance, regulated by Bermuda, has introduced a range of cryptocurrency insurances, from digital wallet protection to investment management. Besides operating in sectors like cannabis and psychedelics, Relm now offers five types of insurances for the digital asset sector, including protection against cyber crimes and losses in online wallets, as well as specific insurances for crypto asset fund managers. The company also introduces innovations like coverage for Ethereum staking losses due to inactivity penalties.

China launches blockchain platform to strengthen Belt and Road Initiative

China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a cornerstone of its diplomacy since 2013 aimed at expanding Chinese global influence, marks a decade of existence by introducing an advanced blockchain platform intended to enhance international collaboration and simplify operations among participating countries. Led by Conflux Network and the Shanghai ShuTu Blockchain Research Institute, this new approach aims to minimize trade barriers and increase efficiency in international transactions. This move underscores China’s commitment to blockchain innovation, despite its restrictive policies towards cryptocurrencies.

Celestia introduces Blobstream to expand Arbitrum’s capabilities

Celestia (COIN:TIAUSD) has unveiled Blobstream, an innovative tool for the Arbitrum ecosystem, designed to facilitate the development of custom chains, known as Orbit, using Celestia for data availability. This technology enables both Layer 2 chains, which integrate directly with Ethereum, and Layer 3 chains, based on Arbitrum One Layer 2. Blobstream optimizes the use of Celestia’s data availability sampling (DAS) service for Layer 2 and 3 rollups, simplifying development in Arbitrum by eliminating the need for a data availability committee. Developed in partnership with Succinct Labs, Blobstream represents a significant step towards facilitating decentralized application construction within the Ethereum ecosystem.

IoTeX secures $50 million to boost DePIN ecosystem

IoTeX, a decentralized platform focusing on physical infrastructure, has secured a $50 million investment from a venture capital group to expand its ecosystem. Led by SNZ Capital and others, the funding will be allocated to the IOTX token (COIN:IOTXUSD) and projects on IoTeX, which connects smart devices to blockchains. Known for its modular technology and infrastructure solutions, IoTeX is advancing the Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN) sector with initiatives like accelerator programs and strategic partnerships, promising continued innovation and growth.

Gasp completes funding round with support from major investors

Gasp (formerly known as Mangata Finance), a cross-chain exchange protocol, closed a funding round backed by major investors like Polychain Capital and CMS Holdings, with Cluster Capital taking the largest share of 30%. Without a lead investor, the round, which started in November and concluded recently, valued the Gasp token (HITB:GASPUSD) at $80 million. The funding, structured as a SAFE, aims to expand the protocol that will facilitate atomic swaps between multiple blockchains.

Agora raises $12 million for dollar-linked stablecoin

Startup Agora has raised $12 million in its seed phase, led by Dragonfly Capital with support from General Catalyst and Robot Ventures. Focused on launching a dollar-linked stablecoin, backed by safe assets and establishing partnerships in the crypto sector, Agora initially targets customers outside the US. Nick Van Eck, co-founder of Agora, joins the project with backing from VanEck, which will manage the stablecoin’s reserves.