Author - James Lim

Ethereum startup Aligned Layer clinches $2.6m in venture capital

Aligned Layer, a startup touted as a “universal verification layer for Ethereum,” confirmed Sunday, April 14, that it raised $2.6 million in seed funding. Lemniscap, a seven-year-old firm that has backed multiple companies in the crypto blockchain space, led the effort. The firm previously led the $2.4-million funding round for web3 startup Safary in January. Bankless Ventures...

Biden, Trump meme coins are on wildly different trajectories

A meme coin parodying President Joe Biden is up almost 271% over the last 30 days. Meanwhile, digital assets tied to former President Donald Trump — scheduled to appear in criminal court Monday, April 15 — are plummeting in value. Sales volumes for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on Ethereum hit $536 million in the last 30 days, according to...

Iran-Israel conflict brings bear market, SEC to sue Uniswap, Bankman-Fried plans appeal | Weekly Recap

The unfolding conflict between Iran and Israel contributed to a collapse in crypto prices on Sunday, April 14. Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission sent a Wells Notice to Uniswap, declaring intentions to sue the exchange amid increased regulatory efforts. Meanwhile, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried seeks to appeal his sentencing. The calm before the storm The...

Hong Kong approves spot Bitcoin, Ethereum ETFs by Bosera and HashKey

HashKey and Bosera International have received conditional approval from the Hong Kong regulator for two spot crypto ETFs, marking a pivotal moment for Asian investors. HashKey Capital and Bosera International have secured conditional approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to offer spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the region. In...

New phishing Exodus campaign targets Chinese crypto investors

Cybersecurity analysts have uncovered a new phishing campaign targeting crypto users by deploying FatalRAT alongside Clipper and Keylogger malware. Cyble Research and Intelligence Labs have uncovered a novel phishing campaign targeting Chinese crypto investors and organizations, with an emphasis on users of the Exodus crypto wallet. In a blog article, the cybersecurity experts revealed that unidentified threat actors...

KPMG says Germans ramping crypto investments as Bitcoin halving nears

A recent KPMG study shows a renewed enthusiasm among German investors for the cryptocurrency market. The latest uptick in investment comes after a challenging year for the sector and just as the market anticipates the upcoming Bitcoin halving event in mid-April 2024. The report, which surveyed approximately 2,400 private crypto investors across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, sheds light...

German federal bank to offer crypto to institutional and corporate clients

Germany’s largest federal bank is set to launch crypto custody services in collaboration with crypto exchange Bitpanda, targeting institutional and corporate clients. Germany’s biggest state-backed lender with over $350 billion in assets under management, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW), will launch crypto custody services for its institutional and corporate clients in the second half of 2024 in a...

Aave fork on Blast mistakenly liquidated $26m

An Aave fork on Blast network liquidated user positions worth over $26 million due to an erroneous threshold change. Pac Finance, an iteration of decentralized finance (defi) lender Aave on Coinbase’s layer-2 chain Blast, attempted to adjust its loan-to-value (LTV) parameters on April 11. Instead, the Aave fork unknowingly reduced its liquidation threshold. The result was a...

US government tops global Bitcoin holdings with $15b in assets

The U.S. government is the largest Bitcoin holder among nations worldwide, with approximately $14.7 billion worth of BTC. According to Arkham data, the U.S. government currently holds 212,847 BTC in its treasury wallets, just behind MicroStrategy, which owns 214,246 BTC, which is currently valued at $14.8 billion. Apart from Bitcoin, the U.S. has collected significant quantities of other digital currencies, including Ethereum (ETH)...

Anza introduces updates to tackle congestion on Solana network

Anza has introduced updates in version 1.18.11 of its validator client to address Solana’s network congestion issues. Validator clients are crucial software tools used in proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchains such as Solana (SOL) and Ethereum (ETH), enabling validators to authenticate transactions and uphold network rules. According to a representative from Anza, an update aims to solve Solana’s congestion issues. “The...