Kategorie: Crypto Markets

• MilkyWay secures $5M funding led by Binance Labs and Polychain Capital.
• MilkyWay boasts 156,000+ milkTIA holders and integrates with 10+ DeFi protocols.
• Binance co-founder emphasizes support for MilkyWay’s growth in the Celestia ecosystem.

MilkyWay, a liquid staking protocol operating within Celestia’s ecosystem, has achieved a significant milestone after successfully raising $5 million in its just concluded seed funding round.

The seed funding round was backed by notable investors like Binance Labs and Polychain Capital marking a pivotal moment in MilkyWay’s journey towards enhancing liquidity and utility for Celestia (TIA) token holders.

MilkyWay’s rise to prominence

MilkyWay, spearheaded by a team of seasoned engineers from various renowned projects, has swiftly emerged as a frontrunner in the liquid staking arena.

MilkyWay’s primary objective is to augment liquidity, composability, and utility for TIA token holders, ultimately driving capital efficiency. Through seamless integration with over ten DeFi protocols, the platform offers users a comprehensive suite of financial services, including trading, leveraging, lending, and borrowing.

Boasting over 156,000 milkTIA holders and facilitating the staking of over 2.6 million TIA tokens, the platform has garnered trust and recognition within the blockchain community.

Investor confidence and strategic backing

The $5 million seed round, led by Polychain Capital and with participation from Binance Labs and other prominent investors, underscores the robust confidence in MilkyWay’s vision.

Yi He, the Co-Founder of Binance and Head of Binance Labs, expressed strong support for MilkyWay’s growth trajectory, emphasizing the importance of fostering innovation within the Celestia ecosystem.

With its innovative approach and the strategic partnerships, MilkyWay is poised to lead the liquid staking revolution within the modular blockchain ecosystem. The platform’s commitment to enhancing liquidity and utility for TIA token holders reflects a broader trend towards unlocking the full potential of staked assets in decentralized finance.

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• MicroStrategy stock was down 10% on Tuesday, while Coinbase and other crypto stocks also dumped.
• Bitcoin price traded to lows of $60,600 before seeing a slight recovery.

MicroStrategy, Coinbase, Riot Platforms and Marathon Digital stocks are among crypto-related stocks seeing downside pressure amid Bitcoin’s price struggles.

MicroStrategy stock dumps 10%

Coinbase’s COIN was down 3% in early trading on Tuesday, hovering around $211.74 while MicroStrategy’s MSTR stock had dumped over 10% to $1,152. The share price of the Michael Saylor led company has declined more than 29% in the past 30 days.

Today’s double-digit dump for the MicroStrategy stock price comes a day after the company reported a net loss in Q1.

Despite the impairment loss, the BTC buying software intelligence firm reported adding more coins to its holdings. That includes the 122 BTC the company acquired for $7.8 million in April to bring its total haul to 214,400 BTC.

As BTC struggles, mining stocks see red

Bitcoin price has struggled since its recent halving and traded near $60k on Tuesday.

The declines came as spot ETF volumes fell, with Hong Kong’s debut of its spot BTC and spot ETH exchange-traded funds seeing volumes and assets that were much lower than anticipated in the days leading to their launch.

Read more here: BTC slips amid tough debut for Hong Kong spot ETFs

Crypto stocks that surged in the pre-halving rally are also seeing a retreat. BTC mining stocks Marathon Digital (MARA), Riot Platforms (RIOT) and Bitfarms (BITF) are all down between 4% and 6% in Tuesday trading.

Hut 8 Corp (HUT) and HIVE Digital (HIVE) are also down today, with their stock prices shedding 4% each. Elsewhere, Bitcoin mining machine maker Ebang International (EBON) was just in the green at +1%, while its competitor Canaan Inc (CAN) traded at -6%.

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• Samourai Wallet founders have been charged with money laundering and operating an unlicensed business.
• Keonne Rodriguez, one of the co-founders, was released on a $1M bond after pleading not guilty in NYC court.
• The legal proceedings raise concerns about the future of non-custodial crypto services in the U.S.

During an appearance at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Wednesday, Samourai Wallet co-founder Keonne Rodriguez entered a plea of not guilty to the charges brought against him and his associate William Hill and an assistant U.S. Attorneys agreed to the $1 million bond, with travel restrictions.

The lawsuit against Rodriguez and his associate William Hill alleges that Samourai Wallet facilitated over $100 million in money laundering transactions from illegal dark web markets. The two were arrested on April 24 in different jurisdictions.

Keonne Rodriguez’s bail terms

Despite being released on a $1 million bond, Rodriguez was restricted to only travel to certain areas of New York and Pennsylvania. He will be confined to his residence in Harmony, Pennsylvania, and required to wear a location monitoring device.

Additionally, Rodriguez is prohibited from engaging in any cryptocurrency transactions without prior approval from the court.

Rodriguez’s case is scheduled to proceed in the Southern District Court of New York, with Rodriguez set to appear again on May 14 with the involvement of Judge Richard M. Berman, known for presiding over high-profile cases, adding to the weight of the proceedings.

The outcome of the legal proceedings against could have far-reaching implications for the cryptocurrency industry.

William Hill, the co-accused and chief technology officer of Samourai Wallet, despite being arrested on the same day as Rodriguez has not yet been presented in a any U.S. courtroom. This could be because of Hill having been arrested in Portugal meaning authorities are possibly working through extradition proceedings.

Implications of the Samourai Wallet legal proceedings

The arrests and subsequent legal proceedings against Rodriguez and Hill have sparked debates regarding the definition of non-custodial wallets as money service businesses.

The allegations of Samourai Wallet facilitating money laundering transactions from illegal dark web markets raise questions about the broader implications for self-custodial tools in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

As reported earlier, Self-custodial crypto wallets like Wasabi Wallet and Phoenix have gone ahead to restrict U.S. users fearing legal proceedings following the arrest and prosecution of the Samourai Wallet founders and a possible Metamask investigation.

The case challenges the interpretation of guidelines issued by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) regarding money transmission services with the Department of Justice (DOJ) arguing that the operation of Samourai Wallet’s services, including the broadcasting of transactions and collection of fees, falls within the scope of a money service business.

The indictment also raises concerns about potential efforts to KYC (Know Your Customer) the Bitcoin network, with implications for miners, node operators, and other entities involved in cryptocurrency transactions.

The FBI has already issued a public service announcement urging caution regarding cryptocurrency money service businesses that do not require KYC information.

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• Dogwifhat (WIF) was listed on Bybit crypto exchange today.
• Immediately after listing the meme coin’s price hit $41.85 before quickly retracing.
• At press time, Dogwifhat (WIF) was trading at $2.61, down 6.13% in the past 24 hours.

Dogwifhat (WIF), the latest sensation in the world of meme coins, caused a frenzy on the Bybit exchange shortly after its listing.

Within minutes of trading going live, the price of Dogwifhat skyrocketed by a staggering 1,450%, reaching a high of $41.85. The surge was, however, short-lived as the price quickly retreated back to $2.64, aligning with the token’s price across the broader market.

Dogwifhat explosive surge first day on Bybit

Dogwifhat (WIF) trading on Bybit commenced at 8:50 a.m. ET on Bybit and in just over 10 minutes, the token’s price surged from $2.70 to its peak of $41.85, marking an extraordinary spike.

Interestingly, the sudden price increase was confined solely to Bybit, with no notable impact on other major exchanges like Binance.

CoinGecko data reveals that Binance facilitates a significant portion of Dogwifhat’s trading volume, yet its price remained unaffected by the Bybit surge.

The Dogwifhat (WIF) meme coin sensation

Dogwifhat, adorned with the image of a dog donning a hat, quickly gained traction amid the recent memecoin trading frenzy.

Notable traders and influencers, including Hsaka and Ansem, threw their support behind Dogwifhat, contributing to its popularity.

Moreover, the coin’s community rallied to raise $700,000 to showcase Dogwifhat’s image on the iconic Las Vegas sphere for a week, although the execution of this plan remains uncertain.

With its brief but monumental surge on Bybit, Dogwifhat (WIF) continues to captivate the attention of crypto enthusiasts and meme coin aficionados alike.

However, despite its transient glory on Bybit, the coin’s journey in the volatile world of cryptocurrencies remains unpredictable, leaving investors and supporters eagerly anticipating its next move.

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• EigenLayer’s token EIGEN will launch in May, with a total supply of 1.67 billion tokens.
• The Eigen Foundation has announced an airdrop for the community, set for May.

The Eigen Foundation, the non-profit supporting the development of restaking protocol EigenLayer, has announced the launch and distribution of the native token EIGEN.

Alongside the announcement for the token, the foundation and the Eigen Labs team unveiled the EigenLayer whitepaper. The project, which attracted investment from Binance Labs and a16z early this year, has seen tremendous growth in terms of staked Ether (ETH).

EIGEN token launch and airdrop

According to today’s announcement, the Eigen Foundation will launch the EIGEN token in May. An airdrop for the community of stakers on EigenLayer will also go live.

The new token is set at a total supply of 1.67 billion, with 45% of the EIGEN tokens allocated to the community.

Today the @eigenfoundation introduces EIGEN, based on research by @eigen_labs, alongside a Season 1 Stakedrop.

EIGEN is the Universal Intersubjective Work Token, complementing ETH as the Universal Objective Work Token in EigenLayer.

See the full Eigen Foundation announcement: https://t.co/ZxswOiwWyR

— EigenLayer (@eigenlayer) April 29, 2024

Per the details in a blog post summarizing the distribution, 15% of supply will go to stakedrops, another 15% set aside for community initiatives and a similar amount (15%) allocated to the EigenLayer ecosystem development.

The EIGEN airdrop Season 1 will see the community get a chance to grab a share of 5% of the token supply. This allocation goes to stakedrop participants captured in a snapshot taken on March 15, 2024. Claims for this airdrop begin on May 10, with 90% of the tokens claimable for up to 120 days.

The next batch, which is the remaining 10%, will go live will 30 days after the first phase claim window ends.

Meanwhile, the Eigen Foundation has earmarked 29.5% of supply for investors and 25.5% for early contributors.

Allocations to investors and early contributors face a 3-year crypto vesting period, with total lockup in year 1. The next two years will include an unlock rate of 4% per month.

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