Bitcoin Goes Above $26.3K Over BlackRock ETF Filing

Bitcoin recently re-crossed the US$26,000 mark and soared to its highest level on Friday after news of fund management giant BlackRock filing for a spot bitcoin ETF broke to the public. The jump to $26,300 represented an increase of 5% after the sudden dip in prices prior. In the filing, Coinbase exchange is indicated to be the custodian of bitcoin held in the trust, which may highlight BlackRock’s support for Coinbase as the exchange faces charges from the SEC.

Exchanges Rise In Market Capitalization By Taking Advantage Of FTX Vacuum

While the once-popular FTX exchange has left a void in the cryptocurrency space, other centralized exchanges have been busy increasing their market share and the market capitalization of their exchange tokens by occupying that void. According to crypto analytics platform Nansen, the MX, OKB, and BGB tokens belonging to MEXC, OKX, and Bitget exchange respectively saw an average of 150% increase in market capitalization six months after the collapse of FTX.

BlackRock’s ETF Filing Revives Hope Of Bitcoin Spot ETF Again

The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, recently filed for a Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) which revived hope of a Bitcoin spot ETF coming to fruition after repeated failed attempts by others with US regulators. Signs of institutional optimism are showing with the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) discount being reduced from 44% to 36.6% after the announcement, which shows there is faith that BlackRock could be successful in their proposal.

Prominent CryptoPunk Burned On Ethereum And Revived As An Inscription

CryptoPunk #8611 which sold for 55 ETH, or US$95,000, was permanently removed from circulation on the Ethereum chain before being tied to inscriptions on the Bitcoin network. The NFT was purchased with funds pooled by inscription holders of the Bitcoin Bandits, a Western-themed collection of Ordinals inscriptions. Instead of being an act of decentralized vandalism, the burning was done with the goal of creating a series of inscriptions that corresponds to a slice of ownership of CryptoPunk #8611 without anyone holding the asset.

Goodbye NFT Minting, And Say Hello To ‘Ethscriptions’

Thanks to the popularity of Bitcoin Ordinals Inscriptions, a new way of creating non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has been released on the Ethereum network. Coined as ‘Ethscriptions’ in a nod to the Bitcoin Inscriptions, the new method uses the Ethereum “calldata” function, which is the data within a smart contract, to create a cheaper and less centralized process of creating NFTs as compared to conventional smart contract-based minting. Within hours of the protocol launch that facilitates this new method, over 30,000 Ethscriptions have been created.

Tonkeeper Wallet Adds Swaps And Token Approvals In Latest Update

Tonkeeper, one of the key non-custodial cryptocurrency wallets on The Open Network (TON) has recently upgraded to version 3.2, which improves the user experience with breakthrough features and adds more functions to the platform. Not only can users now swap cryptocurrency assets on the TON network within seconds with low fees on the wallet, they can also accept or deny incoming transactions to keep their wallet safe from potential scams. Plus, the browser now supports sites that are denoted with the ‘.ton’ decentralized domains too.

Total Value Locked On TON Sees Increase Of 2,200%

The total value locked in the TON ecosystem has increased by 2,200% within the last four months, according to decentralized finance analytics DeFiLlama. The current TVL on the TON blockchain currently stands at $18 million, and it can be attributed to a number of initiatives by the project, including the recent DeFi Liquidity Incentive Program, and the increasing continuous support for TON-based projects plus decentralized applications on the network.  

Ribbon Finance Launches Two New Major Developments

Ribbon Finance, a decentralized finance protocol that offers structured crypto products such as derivatives to generate sustainable yields, has recently announced two major developments on the platform. The first is the official launch of its Aevo open mainnet which removes the need for users to hold an Aevo pass to trade on the decentralized options exchange. Secondly, the DEX has also launched BTC derivatives trading with BTC options and perpetual swaps now being available on Aevo.

Blockbank Secures Long-Term Financial Support With DWF Labs

Neo-banking project Blockbank aims to incorporate artificial intelligence together with decentralized and centralized financial offerings to create an AI-powered mobile banking experience, and they recently received a boost to their project via a seven-figure financial commitment with DWF Labs. The influx of resources will be geared towards the development of advanced technology with a focus on user-friendly applications, expanding their market reach via localized services, and boosting their community involvement.

TRON Network Enters Mutual Agreement With DWF Labs

The TRON network, one of the top few Layer-1 blockchains that is dedicated to building the infrastructure of a decentralized internet, has entered into a mutual agreement with DWF Labs to provide more liquidity for the TRON ecosystem and enhance support for the blockchain as a whole. By boosting liquidity on the network, the market maker hopes to contribute to the overall expansion of the blockchain ecosystem, and increase accessibility on the TRON chain.

Orbs Network Celebrates Ton.Vote With A Week Of Freebies And Events

Orbs Network, a public blockchain infrastructure designed for mass usage applications, has recently launched Ton.Vote, an on-chain DAO governance platform built for the TON ecosystem. Ton.Vote makes use of Orbs network’s Layer-3 technology to prevent vote-tampering on the platform, and to celebrate its successful launch, Orbs will be partnering with its launch partners to award prizes to the DAO on the platform with the most votes.

Space ID’s Latest Integration With Bounce Lets Users Bid With SID

Web3 digital identities platform Space ID has recently entered a collaboration with Bounce Finance to integrate with the platform, and allow users with Space IDs (SID) to participate in decentralized auctions on Bounce Finance. The latter is a cross-chain decentralized auction protocol that lets users take part in auctions pertaining to different assets such as tokens and NFTs, real-world collectibles, and even advertising spaces.

ARPA Network’s MainNet Launch Brings Cutting-Edge Cryptography To Ethereum

ARPA Network, a decentralized secure computation network that was previously focused on privacy-preserving Multi-party Computation (MPC) technology, has launched its public MainNet on Ethereum. What makes ARPA MainNet stand out from other blockchains is its BLS Threshold Signature Scheme which is a cutting-edge blockchain development that provides secure and reliable random number generation that improves the security of the system

BIT Crypto Exchange Releases Derivatives Pairs For Cardano

BIT cryptocurrency exchange recently launched derivative options for the Cardano ADA token to its customer base in collaboration with DWF Labs and Darley Technologies. The options are denominated and settled in US dollars, and BIT’s unique unified margin system allows ADA token holders to use their asset as collaterals and trade ADA options at a 15% discount. The exchange will be listing more altcoin options in the coming months.