April: Crypto, AI advancements, and blockchain innovation take center stage

Get up-to-date with the latest trends in crypto, Bitcoin, AI, and beyond. Oraichain's "Market Insights" series delivers a monthly snapshot of the hottest narratives shaping the blockchain space. Dive into April's market news and discover what's driving innovation.

Major News

Russia Takes the Podium

Russia has surged to become the world's second-biggest cryptocurrency miner, overtaking Kazakhstan, which introduced restrictions on crypto mining activities in 2022 and now ranks ninth. (Source: The Moscow Times)

Solana Telegram Trading Bot Shut Down After Users Drained of $523K

Last week, a significant incident took place that resulted in over 300 Solana users experiencing financial losses. At first, there were suspicions among some users that the popular Telegram trading bot BONKbot might be responsible for exposing their private keys. (Source: Decrypt)

Ripple launching USD-backed Stablecoin

Ripple is set to introduce a stablecoin tied to the US dollar. This stablecoin will be fully supported by deposits in US dollars, as well as US government bonds and cash equivalents. In order to build trust and ensure reliability, Ripple has committed to providing monthly attestations by third-party auditors. (Source: Ripple)

Tether Makes a Move on TON

Sending money between friends on Telegram just got simpler. Thanks to Tether, a well-known stablecoin, users can make instant peer-to-peer payments directly within chats. (Source: TON)

FTX Creditors Inch Closer to Repayment

The deadline for creditors to file their claims will be extended, giving them more time until at least June 2024. The value of these claims will be determined by the prices on November 11, 2022, which might be considerably lower than the current prices. (Source: The Block)

Google Cracks Down on Crypto Scammers

In a move to protect users, Google has filed a lawsuit against a group of alleged crypto scammers. These individuals are accused of uploading fake investment and exchange apps onto the Google Play Store, defrauding over 100,000 people worldwide. (Source: CNBC)

Uniswap Hits a Milestone

Uniswap (UNI) has surpassed a whopping $2 trillion in total trading volume since its launch in 2018. This solidifies its position as a leading DeFi application on the Ethereum blockchain and a top contender in the DEX space. (Source: Uniswap)

US CPI Rate Slightly Exceeds Expectations, Resulting in Crypto Market Retreat

The United States announced that the unseasonally adjusted CPI annual rate for March was 3.5%, slightly surpassing expectations of 3.40%. Consequently, the cryptocurrency market faced a setback with Bitcoin witnessing a 2% decline as its price dropped by 1,440 USD, from 69,000 USD to 67,559 USD, while altcoins experienced notable decreases of 5-10%. (Source: Various)

Crypto in the Courts

In a bold move, Consensys, a private blockchain software technology company, has filed a lawsuit against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding regulations impacting Ethereum. (Source: Various)

Industry Events

TOKEN2049 Dubai (April 18-19)

Despite torrential rain, this leading crypto conference in Dubai attracted over 500 industry speakers from 200+ blockchain and web3 companies. Attendees participated in insightful panel discussions, keynotes, workshops, and networking opportunities.

The topics mentioned and discussed throughout the event are also diverse from liquid staking and restaking, Tether and USDT, network states to memecoin, crypto AI, DePIN… (Source: Various)

Paris Blockchain Week 2024

With more than 8,500 attendees from 75 countries and territories, this year's event is expected to reach 10,000 spectators, 500 speakers and guests, 400 press and media units to report and 300 partners. Sponsor. 

Paris Blockchain Week will also have interesting side events, including hackathons, meetings with project founders and investment fund representatives, award ceremonies, and many other side events. (Source: Various)

Bitcoin in April

Price Rollercoaster

After ending March on a high note at $71,280 (a 16.34% increase), Bitcoin took a sharp turn downwards in April. The month closed with a decrease of up to 15.4%, marking the biggest monthly drop since June 2022. (Source: Various)

Bitcoin's Fourth Halving Completed

As pre-programmed, Bitcoin underwent its fourth halving on April 20th, 2024. This event, occurring every four years, reduces the block reward for miners, effectively limiting the new supply of Bitcoin. Following the halving, the reward dropped from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per block. (Source: Various)

Asia Embraces Spot Bitcoin ETFs in Hong Kong

In a significant development, Hong Kong became the first Asian market to launch spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs in April. These Exchange Traded Funds allow retail investors to trade these cryptocurrencies at their current market prices. The ETFs were issued by three Chinese firms on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. (Source: CNBC)

Top Bitcoin layer 2 coins have risen 5% to 20% since halving, outperforming BTC

While Bitcoin experienced a price decline, top layer 2 coins (built on top of Bitcoin for faster transactions) saw gains. STX (Stacks Network) surged nearly 20%, while ELA (Elastos) and SAVM (SatoshiVM) rose by 11% and 5% respectively, all since the halving event. (Source: CoinDesk)

AI in April

AI is one of the central themes of TOKEN2049 Dubai 

AI and blockchain stole the show at TOKEN2049 Dubai. Decentralized GPU cloud computing (DePIN) was seen as a key solution for AI's massive processing needs, with companies like Render Network showcasing its potential in web3. This powerful duo promises more efficient, secure, and scalable systems, paving the way for a more decentralized and collaborative technological future. (Source: Bybit Learn)

AI Crypto Tokens Eye Nvidia's Rise

Nvidia's stock price soared 15% in just a week, leaving analysts wondering if AI crypto tokens will be next in line for a surge. Historically, strong Nvidia performance has coincided with gains in AI-powered cryptocurrencies. However, these tokens have recently experienced price dips. (Source: Cointelegraph)

AI Supergroup Emerges

Tokenholders approved a $7.5 billion merger combining SingularityNET, Fetch.ai, and Ocean Protocol. This "Artificial Superintelligence Alliance" (ASI) aims to create a decentralized AI infrastructure with a focus on ethical and transparent practices. Their combined expertise spans AI agents for commercial use, advanced language learning models, and secure AI data sharing. (Source: Cointelegraph)

Wrapping up

April's crypto market offered a rollercoaster ride of price swings, industry gatherings, and advancements in AI. Follow orai.io and stay tuned for our next reports as we explore what lies ahead!