Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | April 20, 2024

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Crypto Market Update

Table of Contents

Bitcoin and Blockchain Updates

• 2024 Bitcoin Halving: Market and Mining Impact
• Runes Protocol Influences Bitcoin's Fee Economy
• Bitcoin Halving and Runes Drive Record High Fees
• Injective's IIP-392 Upgrade to Boost INJ Token

Regulatory and Legal Updates

• Spoofed Coinbase Site Leads to Multi-Million Fraud
• IRS Drafts New Crypto Reporting Form for 2025
• Coin Center Challenges Stablecoin Regulation Act
• SEC Expands Lawsuit Against Justin Sun in US

Exchange and Platform Developments

• HashKey to Cease Binance Transactions in May
• Fjord Foundry's LBP Raises $15 Million for FJO
• TON's Funding Boosts DeFi and dApp Developers

2024 Bitcoin Halving: Market and Mining Impact

The 2024 Bitcoin halving, the fourth event of its kind, significantly changed the landscape for Bitcoin, though it’s a bit different from the previous halvings. Specifically, before the halving, there was unprecedented institutional involvement and a remarkable pre-halving price surge to $73,600. The global crypto user base has risen by at least 400% since the 2020 halving. Miners are now better positioned, benefiting from lower costs and increased control over their operations, as well as a 54.5% use of renewable energy sources for mining. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs also made their debut, significantly impacting market dynamics.

Post-halving, Bitcoin didn’t see a clear movement, with its price staying around $64,000. Despite the halving reducing miner rewards from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC, market reactions remain mixed with predictions ranging from a rise to $1 million to a fall to $42,000, reflecting the halving's profound impact on both market psychology and mining economics.

Runes Protocol Influences Bitcoin's Fee Economy

The Runes protocol, introduced by Casey Rodarmor, has significantly impacted Bitcoin, particularly noticeable around the Bitcoin halving events. Rodarmor, renowned for the Ordinals protocol, facilitated a similar system with Runes, allowing the creation of both fungible and meme-like tokens directly on Bitcoin's blockchain. This new protocol drew immediate attention, amassing about 78.6 BTC in fees shortly after its launch, and is seen as a potential boost for Bitcoin's fee economy, which is crucial as block rewards diminish. 

Key projects like UNCOMMON•GOODS and DOG•GO•TO•THE•MOON were among the first to be minted, generating substantial interest and debate over their long-term value within the community. There's an emerging trend of pre-mining tokens, with speculations that these might hold more significant value due to the scarcity of token allocation. Additionally, Runes has sparked discussions on its potential to enhance Bitcoin's long-term security by providing alternative revenue streams for miners, crucial at a time when miner's Bitcoin holdings are low.

Bitcoin Halving and Runes Drive Record High Fees

Bitcoin's recent halving block, marked by the introduction of the Runes Protocol, led to record-high fees totaling $2.4 million. The halving reduced miner rewards and drew substantial activity from users racing to inscribe rare assets. Runes, a new token creation method, and the pursuit of the first-ever mined satoshi also contributed to the frenzy.  

Injective's IIP-392 Upgrade to Boost INJ Token

Injective has proposed the IIP-392 blockchain upgrade to make its INJ token one of the most deflationary cryptocurrencies. The proposal includes significant changes to token economics, such as altering inflation rate limits and increasing the estimated rate of inflation. Stakeholders and validators have a limited time to vote on these revolutionary changes that could reshape Injective's token economy.  

Spoofed Coinbase Site Leads to Multi-Million Fraud

Chirag Tomar, an Indian citizen, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges in the U.S. for creating a spoofed Coinbase website and stealing over $9.5 million in cryptocurrency from 542 victims. Court documents reveal his extravagant spending on luxury items and travel, funded by his fraudulent activities. Tomar awaits sentencing. 

IRS Drafts New Crypto Reporting Form for 2025

The IRS introduced the 2025 draft Form 1099-DA for digital asset reporting, effective in 2026. Brokers will issue the form for all digital asset sales, including tokens and stablecoins. Challenges include ensuring accurate cost basis determination and addressing decentralized finance complexities. Critics express concerns over privacy implications and increased administrative burdens for brokers. Taxpayers face heightened scrutiny for previous underreported crypto income.  

Coin Center Challenges Stablecoin Regulation Act

Coin Center, a U.S.-based crypto advocacy group, opposes the Lummis-Gillibrand Payment Stablecoin Act, citing concerns about its ban on algorithmic stablecoins violating free speech rights. They consider it unnecessary and anti-innovation, advocating for regulatory compliance instead. They support the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act's moratorium approach. Legislative efforts continue to address stablecoin regulations.  

SEC Expands Lawsuit Against Justin Sun in US

The SEC has revised its lawsuit against Justin Sun, alleging jurisdiction over his US activities, particularly in NYC, Boston, and San Francisco. The lawsuit accuses Sun of promoting unregistered securities to US consumers and engaging in manipulative trading practices. Despite this, TRX and BTT token prices have only shown minor fluctuations, with TRX increasing by 0.47% and BTT increasing by 2.5% in the past 24 hours.  

HashKey to Cease Binance Transactions in May

HashKey, a Hong Kong crypto exchange, will halt Binance-related transactions in May due to a policy change. Whitelisted unhosted wallet transfers are exempt. Recently clearing regulatory hurdles, HashKey made strides including clearing for a Bitcoin ETF launch and unveiling a global trading platform licensed in Bermuda for international operations, except in China and the U.S.  

Fjord Foundry's LBP Raises $15 Million for FJO

Token launchpad Fjord Foundry successfully raised over $15 million in its FJO pre-sale through the Liquidity Bootstrapping Pool (LBP) model. The FJO token's price started at $5.36 and closed at $2.32, with a near $24 million trading volume and over $17 million in liquidity. Additionally, investors have claimed 88% of the 7.5 million FJO tokens sold.  

TON's Funding Boosts DeFi and dApp Developers

TON introduces the Open League (OL) Funding Scheme for DeFi and dApp developers, offering substantial financial assistance. Eligibility criteria consider factors like TVL and team expertise. Projects can receive $480,000 to $530,000. The initiative aims to accelerate research and development in the Web 3 sector, supporting innovative blockchain solutions and ecosystem growth.