WuBlockchain Weekly: Hong Kong's Bitcoin Spot ETF Set to Launch and Top10 News

1. U.S. March Unadjusted CPI Data Released, Exceeds Expectations link

The U.S. non-seasonally adjusted CPI (Consumer Price Index) for March rose by 3.5% year-on-year, slightly exceeding expectations of 3.4% and higher than the previous month’s value of 3.2%. Meanwhile, the core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased by 3.8% year-on-year in March, also surpassing expectations of 3.7% but unchanged from the previous month’s value.

The March CPI rate represents the highest level since September 2023. Following the release of the March CPI data, the market-implied probability of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve in June has decreased. The probability of the Fed keeping rates unchanged in May is 98.4%, while the probability of no change in June stands at 76.8%.

2. Bitcoin Miners’ BTC Inventory Drops to Three-Year Low link

CoinMetrics data shows that the amount of Bitcoin held by miners this week has dropped to 1.794 million coins, marking the lowest level since 2021. Since November last year, miner balances have decreased by 27,000 coins, contrasting with the accumulation seen before the last halving in May 2020. Additionally, over the past five months, Bitcoin hash rate has increased by 45%, a significant rise compared to the 15% growth observed before the last halving.

3. Hong Kong Bitcoin Spot ETF Expected to Launch by End of April link

In the early hours of April 10, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission updated the list of virtual asset management fund companies on its official website, adding JPMorgan International Asset Management Limited (JPMorgan International) and Huaxia Fund (Hong Kong) Limited. Tencent Finance’s “First Line” exclusively learned from different sources that the urgent update of the virtual asset management fund list by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission on April 10 was due to its plan to announce the first batch of Hong Kong’s Bitcoin spot ETFs on April 15. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission originally planned to approve a total of 4 Bitcoin spot ETFs in the first batch, including JPMorgan International, Huaxia Fund, Bosh Fund, and Wellington Financial, among others. Following Hong Kong’s process, after the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission approves the first batch of Bitcoin spot ETFs on April 15, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will need approximately 2 weeks to prepare for product listing and related matters.

4. Vitalik Showcases Ethereum Ecosystem Map, Excluding L2s that Don’t Utilize ETH DA link

Vitalik’s presentation in Hong Kong showcased various components of the Ethereum ecosystem, including the Arbitrum ecosystem, the Optimism (OP) ecosystem (including OP and Base), the Starknet ecosystem, zkSync, Metis, Linea, Scroll, the Polygon ecosystem, and Fuel. Notably absent were solutions that do not rely on ETH as the primary asset, such as those using Celestia as the DA. The presentation also did not include Blast, which is currently gaining traction.

5. Uniswap Labs Receives Wells Notice from SEC link

Uniswap founder Hayden Adams announced that Uniswap Labs received a Wells Notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 11th. Hayden Adams expressed that he was not surprised but felt frustrated, disappointed, and prepared to fight back. He believes that the product they provide is legal and that their work is historically justified. However, he criticized the SEC for not making clear and sensible rules over time and instead choosing to focus on targeting long-term builders like Uniswap and Coinbase. Meanwhile, he noted that certain entities like FTX seem to operate without consequences. Hayden emphasized the need to battle against U.S. government agencies to protect their company and the industry, anticipating that this struggle could extend for years, potentially reaching the Supreme Court.

6. Tether Reports $6.2 Billion Net Profit for 2023, with a Staff of Only Around 100 link

Bitwise CEO Teddy Fusaro, citing Maelstrom data, revealed that stablecoin issuer Tether’s net profit in 2023 amounted to approximately $6.2 billion. This figure represents 78% of Goldman Sachs’ ($7.9 billion) and 72% of Morgan Stanley’s ($8.5 billion) net profits, respectively. Remarkably, Tether achieves this with only around 100 employees, a stark contrast to Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, which employ approximately 49,000 and 82,000 individuals, respectively.

7. Binance’s Weekly Summary

a. Binance Makes Debut in “2024 Global Unicorn Rankings” TOP10 link

According to the latest “2024 Global Unicorn List” released by the Hurun Research Institute, Binance has entered the top 10 rankings for the first time, securing the ninth position. Binance is also the only blockchain enterprise and the youngest company in the top 10 list. Additionally, Binance ranks sixth in the list of unicorns with the highest value growth, with a value increase of 99 billion RMB.

In contrast, OpenSea ranks third in the list of unicorns with the most significant value decline, with a decrease of 83 billion RMB, while Ripple ranks tenth with a decrease of 28 billion RMB.

Furthermore, among the major industry representatives of global unicorns in the blockchain sector, aside from Binance, there are Dunamu (the parent company of Upbit) and Ripple.

b. Binance Chief Compliance Officer: Working with Nigeria to Ensure Release of Detained Executives link

Binance’s Chief Compliance Officer, Noah Perlman, stated that Binance is making every effort to “collaborate” with the Nigerian government to ensure the release of the detained financial crime investigator, Tigran Gambaryan. Perlman expressed “optimism” about Binance reaching a solution with the Nigerian government to release Tigran Gambaryan but declined to disclose specific details.

8. Paraguay Suspends Proposed Crypto Mining Ban link

Paraguayan senators have halted progress on the cryptocurrency mining ban and are considering selling surplus energy from the Itaipu hydroelectric plant to miners instead of exporting it to Brazil and Argentina. Senator Salyn Buzarquis highlighted in a letter to Congress on April 8 that licensed mining operations are expected to bring in over $125 million in revenue for the National Electricity Administration (ANDE) by 2025. Previously, several Paraguayan lawmakers proposed a bill seeking to temporarily ban cryptocurrency mining operations in the country, alleging that it was stealing electricity and disrupting the nation’s power supply.

9. Arthur Hayes: Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Prices Likely to Plummet Around Halving link

Arthur Hayes’ latest blog post suggests his personal belief that overall Bitcoin and cryptocurrency prices will experience significant drops around the time of the halving. Given that halving occurs during a period of tighter than usual USD liquidity, this could add momentum to the frenzy of selling crypto assets. However, after May 1st, the QT rhythm slows down and returns to the usual narrative driven by asset inflation initiated by financial tomfoolery from the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury Department.

10. Ripple CEO Forecasts Cryptocurrency Market Cap Doubling This Year link

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse anticipates that the total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market will double this year, surpassing $5 trillion. This projection is based on various macro factors, including the debut of the first U.S. physically-backed Bitcoin ETF, the Bitcoin halving, and potentially positive regulatory developments in the United States.

Fundraising

Monad Labs secured a $225 million financing round led by Paradigm. link
Alpen Labs, a Bitcoin Layer 2 developer, completed a $10.6 million financing round with Ribbit Capital leading. link
Binance Labs announced its investment in BounceBit, a Bitcoin re-staking infrastructure platform. link
Uplink, a platform by DePIN, completed a $10 million financing round led by Framework Ventures. link
Kiki World, a Web3 beauty startup, completed a $7 million seed round with participation from a16z Crypto. link
Tomo, a SocialFi application, raised $3.5 million in seed financing led by Polychain Capital. link
Thesis, after securing Series A financing, announced the launch of a Bitcoin Layer 2 solution named Mezo. link
Lumoz completed a $6 million token financing round at a $120 million valuation, with participation from OKX Ventures. link
Today, a Web3 social simulation game, completed a $5 million seed financing round. link
Ritual, a decentralized AI network project, received a multi-million dollar investment from Polychain Capital. link
Sortium, a Web3 game studio, announced a financing round of over $4 million with Signum Growth leading. link
GPU.net completed a $5.25 million Series A financing round. link
Auradine raised $80 million in Series B financing with participation from StepStone Group and Marathon Digital. link
Sapien completed a $5 million seed financing round with Primitive Ventures and Animoca participating. link

Learn more, check out crypto-fundraising.info.