Binance eyes return to India as an FIU-compliant platform

Binance is eyeing a comeback to India following a 4-month ban placed on the exchange by the nation’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). Two sources familiar with the development claim that the exchange has agreed to pay a $2 million penalty to the regulator for non-compliance. However, they did not confirm how the fine has been calculated. India, according to a...

Token2049 panelists discuss meme coins’ role in crypto industry development

Participants of the Token2049 conference examined trends in consumer web3 applications, noting the growing role of meme coins. During the Emerging Trends in Consumer web3 Apps panel at Token2049 in Dubai, speakers discussed tokenizing user attention and the role of meme coins in this development. Imran Khan from AllianceDAO noted that a new direction is emerging in the blockchain industry today —attention tokenization,...

Stacks’ co-founder believes layer 2 will drive adoption for 2nd phase of Bitcoin

Muneeb Ali, co-founder of Stacks, shared his perspective on the rapid shift towards a diverse and active phase of innovation within the Bitcoin ecosystem. Ali highlighted a notable shift in the challenges faced by Stacks within the Bitcoin ecosystem, with an increased focus on creativity and solution diversity at a panel during Dubai’s Token2049 event “The biggest problem with...

Solana congestion prompts Ore project to pause mining

To alleviate congestion on the Solana network, the pseudonymous creator of the Ore project, Hardhat Chad, announced an immediate halt to all mining. Ore, a blockchain-based project launched on Solana, is exploring the right distribution method by using a proof-of-work (PoW) token distribution mechanism. The project is experimenting with combining PoW’s security with Solana’s fast transaction...

Bitcoin mining stocks continue to slump ahead of halving

Bitcoin mining companies are facing a notable decrease in stock value in anticipation of the upcoming halving. Shares of Marathon Digital Holdings, Riot Platforms, and CleanSpark have declined for three consecutive days. Marathon Digital Holdings, the largest public Bitcoin miner, lost nearly 25% of its stock value in the past month, while Riot Platforms lost almost 30%. Additionally, the...

ETH positive sentiment rallies, average network fees reach 11-week low

The Ethereum (ETH) price has gained momentum as positive investor sentiment recorded an impressive surge. ETH is up by 0.3% in the past 24 hours and is trading at $3,080 at the time of writing. The asset’s market cap is currently standing at the $370 billion mark. However, Ethereum’s daily trading volume plunged by 21%, dropping to $17.1...

Biblical floods hit Dubai, disrupting Blockchain Life and Token2049

Dubai is grappling with extreme weather conditions that has disrupted the city’s infrastructure at a time when crypto elites have descended on the city for several industry conferences. Crypto conferences such as Blockchain Life and Token2049 encountered an unexpected twist on Apr. 16 as rainfall levels in Dubai surged to record highs within a 24-hour span, prompting adjustments...

EY launches Ethereum-based blockchain solution to streamline business contracts

Accounting firm EY has launched an Ethereum-based blockchain solution to help businesses execute complex agreements efficiently while cutting costs and bolstering security. On April 17, EY announced the launch of the EY OpsChain Contract Manager (OCM), a blockchain-enabled solution designed to overcome barriers like managing multiple business agreements across internal and external operational and technology silos. The blockchain solution...

Spider-Man star Tom Holland’s X account hacked to push crypto scam

The X account of movie star Tom Holland was recently hacked, with attackers using it to falsely promote SPIDER cryptocurrency tokens and Spiderverse NFTs. The account, which boasts more than 7 million followers, was used by bad actors to announce that the Spider-Man star was supposedly launching “Spiderverse” in partnership with the global crypto exchange Binance. The compromised...

Bloomberg analyst predicts capital inflows into Hong Kong ETFs

Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas assessed the prospects for spot cryptocurrency ETFs in Hong Kong. According to the Balchunas, his asset estimate is currently $1 billion for the first two years. The ETF analyst noted this is positive but still far from the $25 billion estimate cited by some analysts. “But a lot depends on infrastructure improvement. We...