It has been a busy day in terms of news, so let us catch you up on the latest and greatest.
Today’s Agenda:
- Market Watch
- Highlights of the Day
- Surge in Phishing Scam Thefts Rocks Base
- Wormhole to Launch its Token Tomorrow
- Binance Announces a Memecoin Competition
- Project of the Day
- Crypto Corner
- BTC Milestones and Momentum
- Business and Political Insights
Market Watch
Top Gainers
- Ethena ($ENA): +43.7%
- Flare ($FLR) : +9.2%
- Litecoin ($LTC): +6.9%
Top Losers
- Aptos ($APT): -13.8%
- Core ($CORE): -13.4%
- Gate ($GT): -10.9%
Trending Crypto Sectors/Categories
- Layer 3 (L3)
- NFT Marketplace
- Gaming Platform
Total Crypto Market Cap – 2.582 Trillion
Fear and Greed Index – 71
Top NFT Sale
- CryptoPunks #4063 Sold for 60 ETH
Highlights of the Day
Surge in Phishing Scam Thefts Rocks Base
Base, a leading platform in the digital realm, has experienced a significant surge in phishing scam thefts, particularly evident in the stark increase seen in March compared to January. This surge, coinciding with the memecoin craze, has propelled Base’s total value locked above $32 billion but has also provided fertile ground for fraudulent activities.
Phishing Losses on Base
In March alone, approximately $335 million was stolen by phishing scammers on Base, marking a 334% increase from the previous month and an astonishing 1880% spike from January’s figures.
Wormhole to Launch its Token Tomorrow
Wormhole is set to unveil its $W token tomorrow, initiating an airdrop and potentially reaching a market cap of nearly $3 billion at launch. Following the airdrop, the $W token will swiftly become available for trading on various exchanges, including Binance, Kraken, Bitget, OKX, Backpack, and Gateio. More exchanges are expected to join this list soon.
Airdrop Details
The $W token airdrop is set to kick off tomorrow at 11:30 am UTC. Wormhole has provided detailed plans for this event, with eligibility extending to over 400,000 wallets. In total, 617.3 million $W tokens have been allocated for the initial community and ecosystem airdrop, aimed at incentivizing early users within the Solana, Ethereum, and other blockchain communities.
Binance Announces a Memecoin Competition
Binance is making a bold move to capitalize on the current frenzy surrounding memecoins. While Solana and Base dominate the memecoin scene, Binance refuses to be left out. To attract memecoin developers to its BNB Chain, Binance has launched the Meme Innovation Battle, boasting a tempting $1 million prize pool.
The Meme Innovation Battle
The Meme Innovation Battle offers memecoin developers on the BNB Chain significant rewards, distributed based on trading milestones. Criteria include total trading volume, number of token holders, and market cap. At the end of the competition, the developer of the top-performing memecoin, as determined by the criteria, will receive 40% of the rewards, with 30% going to second place, 15% to third place, and the remainder divided evenly among fourth to tenth place.
Project of the Day
Ethena
Ethena ($ENA) is a synthetic dollar protocol on Ethereum that introduces USDe, offering a decentralized and scalable currency through the innovative ‘Internet Bond.’ Leveraging Ethereum staking and derivatives, USDe ensures a stable, censorship-resistant medium of exchange, filling critical gaps in DeFi and reducing systemic risks. Additionally, Ethena provides a crypto-native alternative to traditional banking systems, complemented by the creation of the ‘Internet Bond,’ enabling global access to a dollar-denominated savings instrument.
The $ENA token functions as the governance token for Ethena. Today, the project initiated the launch of its token, dispersing 750 million tokens through an airdrop to eligible users, constituting 5% of its total supply of 15 billion. As for its market performance, $ENA currently maintains a market cap surpassing $1.2 billion, with its value hovering above $0.8.
Crazy Day in Crypto
- Bitcoin’s price falls today due to profit-taking and increased futures liquidations, aligning with the standard pre-halving retracement pattern.
- Forbes lists the top wealthiest individuals in crypto, led by Satoshi Nakamoto, followed by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, Coinbase co-founder Brian Armstrong, Tether executives, and anonymous Bitcoin whales with significant holdings.
- Paradigm, a crypto-focused venture capital firm, is reportedly in talks with investors to raise $750-850 million for a new fund, potentially one of the largest fundraisers in the industry since the recent crypto downturn.
BTC Milestones and Momentum
- Q1 2024 saw US spot Bitcoin ETFs exceed $100 billion in trading volume, with Blackrock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust leading the charge, followed by Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust and the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.
- March saw a notable 50% increase in crypto venture capital fundraising, reaching $2.1 billion, the highest since November 2021, yet still below the peak of nearly $3.3 billion seen in March 2021.
- With the Bitcoin halving event nearing, miners experienced a significant increase in earnings from mining rewards and fees, accumulating over $2 billion in revenue in March.
Business Talks & Political Insights
- Despite the rising prices and increased participation from traditional finance giants, Goldman Sachs’ Chief Investment Officer maintains the company’s skeptical stance on cryptocurrencies, noting the lack of client interest in the asset class.
- VanEck to manage the reserve fund for Agora Dollar (AUSD), a new stablecoin venture that secured $12 million in funding led by Dragonfly, aiming to disrupt the market with a customer-centric approach.
The US authorities have transferred 30,174 Bitcoin to Coinbase, equivalent to $2.1 billion, confiscated from the Silk Road website—a digital underground marketplace notorious for facilitating money laundering and illicit drug transactions.
