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
  • Russia Allow Cross Border Crypto Payments
  • Animoca Brands x Layer Zero
  • Doodles Launches Super Pass for Doodles TV
• Project of the Day
• Crypto Corner
• Market Sentiment & Predictions
• Business & Political Insights 

Market Watch

Top Gainers

• XRP ($XRP): +7.2%
• BOOK OF MEME ($BOME):  +4.9%
• Stelar ($XLM):  +4.5%

Top Losers

• Sei ($SEI): -8.1%
• Theta Network  ($THETA): -7.2%
• Immutable ($IMX): -5.6%

Trending Crypto Sectors/Categories

• Cat-Themed
• Tap to Earn
• Pump.fun Ecosystem

Total Crypto Market Cap – 2.486 Trillion

Fear and Greed Index – 61

Top NFT Sale

• CryptoPunks #5050 Sold for 39 ETH 

Highlights of the Day

Russia Allow Cross Border Crypto Payments

In light of growing difficulties with foreign payments due to US sanctions, the Russian government is moving to regulate cryptocurrencies. The new regulations treat digital currencies as foreign currency assets, allowing their use for international transactions while regulating their purchase.

Details of the New Crypto Regulations in Russia

The legislation introduces a structured approach to trading, mining, and issuing cryptocurrencies. It requires Russians to declare their crypto holdings, with the central bank overseeing the industry. The bank will also issue licenses for certain crypto activities and impose annual limits on individual crypto purchases.

Animoca Brands x Layer Zero

In a groundbreaking move, Animoca Brands has announced a strategic partnership with Layer Zero Labs, signaling a major step forward in their quest to enhance their ecosystem. Notably, the announcement has already been met with considerable excitement among Web3 creators, who see this partnership as a catalyst for new opportunities and advancements. 

Partnership Details 

As part of this multi-year partnership between Animoca Brands and Layer Zero Labs, Animoca Brands will integrate Layer Zero’s advanced protocol into its diverse platforms, which encompass digital content, gaming, and entertainment, among others. This integration aims to enhance the connectivity and efficiency of these platforms.

Doodles Launches Super Pass for Doodles TV

To kick things off for its recently introduced token-gated media platform, Doodles have launched the Doodles TV Super Pass. This NFT pass is now available for minting on the Base chain and is designed to provide early access to exclusive content and events from prominent artists. 

What is the Super Pass?

The Doodles TV Super Pass is a unique NFT pass that grants holders early access to content before it becomes available on mainstream platforms. This includes early access to content such as three upcoming music videos, an animated special preview of “Dullsville and the Doodleverse” by Scott “Burnt Toast” Martin with music by Pharrell Williams, and four exclusive pieces of artwork.

Project of the Day

Arbitrum

Arbitrum ($ARB) is an Ethereum layer-two scaling solution that utilizes optimistic rollups to enhance speed, scalability, and cost-efficiency. By offloading most computation and storage tasks off-chain, Arbitrum offers higher throughput and lower fees while maintaining Ethereum’s security and compatibility.

Currently, $ARB has a market cap exceeding $2.27 billion and is priced around $0.68. Since its launch in March last year, $ARB reached an all-time high of over $2.25 in January but has recently retraced to its support level of $0.65. Despite these fluctuations, the project’s scalability and cost-effectiveness suggest a positive long-term outlook, with expectations for increased adoption and development on its platform.

Crazy Day in Crypto

• The U.S. government’s $2 billion Bitcoin transfer on Monday caused the cryptocurrency’s price to fall below $67,000.
• On Monday, Solana’s Pump-dot-fun platform generated more revenue than the entire Ethereum network, marking a significant achievement for the Solana ecosystem.
• Last week, Solana exceeded Ethereum in total weekly fees for the first time, earning $25 million compared to Ethereum’s $21 million, fueled by a surge in celebrity coin trading.

Market Sentiment & Predictions

• According to CryptoQuant, Bitcoin exchange reserves have dropped to around 28 million coins, their lowest in years, amid a sustained price surge as Bitcoin tests $70,000.

Business Talks & Political Insights

• Nader Al-Naji, founder of the controversial crypto social network BitClout, is facing fraud charges from both the SEC and DOJ for allegedly deceiving investors and misusing their funds.

Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock’s digital asset head, indicated that the company has no immediate plans to launch a Solana ETF, citing concerns about the market’s maturity, as well as recent outages and network issues with Solana.