Weekly NFT sales hit $109m: Ethereum, Polygon lead charge despite decline in buyers

The non-fungible token, or NFT, market saw a 7.68% boost in sales volume this week, hitting $109 million, with notable activity on Ethereum (ETH) and Polygon (MATIC) blockchains. However, this uptick came against a backdrop of massively declining numbers of NFT buyers and sellers, which plunged by 68.00% and 67.78%, respectively. Interestingly, even as the number of...

OpenSea trading volumes nosedive as ETH activity falls to 2021 levels

NFT marketplace OpenSea is seeing user activity drop on its platform to its lowest level since 2021. The NFT platform, once hailed as the leading NFT marketplace, is now struggling to hold its dominance as newer platforms like Magic Eden and Blur are capturing more activity. Data from Token terminal show that OpenSea’s NFT trading volumes have nosedived 33% over the past...

Trader loses over $180k in USDC, ANDY to phishing attack

A cryptocurrency investor recently fell victim to a phishing attack on Ethereum, eventually losing over $180,000 in USD Coin (USDC) and ANDY (ANDY), a recently launched meme coin inspired by Pepe. Data from Etherscan reveals that the attack occurred on April 23 in nearly one hour, lasting from 05:39 to 06:29 UTC. Transaction data confirms that the...

Hedgey Finance hacked for $44.7m on Arbitrum, Ethereum

On-chain token infrastructure provider Hedgey Finance suffered two exploits as attackers leveraged a bug in its token claims contract. According to alerts from security startup Cyvers, Hedgey Finance was hacked on April 19 across the Ethereum (ETH) and Arbitrutm (ARB) blockchains. Cyvers reported that the first attack was deployed on ETH’s chain, and hackers stole around $1.9...

Token2024: Ava Labs CEO says Avalanche was ‘never ever’ marketed as ETH killer

Emin Gün Sirer of Ava Labs says Avalanche was never marketed as an “Ethereum killer,” stressing though its ability to deploy independent blockchains, unlike Ethereum. The head of Ava Labs, Emin Gün Sirer, says Avalanche “was never ever” designed to be an “Ethereum killer,” adding that the definition was developed by marketing managers at Consensys, a blockchain tech firm...

Token2049: Crypto experts highlight Ethereum blockchain problems

At the Token2049 conference, blockchain experts debated the Ethereum chain’s current problems. Experts from the blockchain industry discussed the latest innovations and development opportunities during a panel discussion at the Token2049 conference in Dubai. The discussion participants also touched upon the Ethereum blockchain, which is considered the dominant smart contract platform. According to the panelists, Ethereum has...

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...

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...

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...

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...