Author: Faith Yakubu

Bitcoin Cash witnessed a significant surge, jumping over 10% in value after the completion of its blockchain’s halving process. The digital currency has been steadily climbing since the beginning of the year, with a notable 23% increase over the past week and an impressive 43% surge in the last month, as reported by CryptoSlate.

At the time of reporting, BCH was trading at $673, marking its highest level since May 2021. Market analysts attribute this surge to various factors, including the recent halving event and the prevailing bullish market sentiment.

Bitcoin Cash Halving

Bitcoin Cash, a proof-of-work blockchain network that forked from Bitcoin in 2017, aims to facilitate faster and cheaper transactions but has seen limited adoption in the crypto community. The recent halving, occurring at block height 840,000, reduced miner rewards from 6.25 BCH to 3.125 BCH per block.

Following the halving, Bitcoin Unlimited data indicates that the network has confirmed 840,017 blocks, with approximately 17 blocks validated since the event. Moreover, OKLink data shows a spike in BCH’s network mining difficulty to its highest level since 2019 at 761,589.2, while miner rewards have decreased from an average of 0.0003 to 0.00017 at the time of reporting.

Potential Implications for Bitcoin

Market experts view Bitcoin Cash’s halving as a potential precursor to Bitcoin’s upcoming halving, scheduled for April 20. During this event, Bitcoin’s miner block rewards will be halved from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.

Notably, industry players such as asset management firm Grayscale and Hut 8 Mining CEO Asher Genoot have highlighted the significant impact this upcoming halving event may have on the broader cryptocurrency landscape.

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Google has initiated legal proceedings against a group of individuals accused of orchestrating a scheme to defraud over 100,000 people worldwide through counterfeit cryptocurrency apps distributed on its Google Play store. The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York on April 4, reflects Google’s commitment to combatting crypto scams and establishing legal safeguards for user protection.

The defendants, identified as Yunfeng Sun and Hongnam Cheung, allegedly operated a fraudulent operation by uploading at least 87 fake investment and crypto exchange apps on Google Play. These individuals purportedly provided false information about their identities, locations, and the nature of their apps.

Halimah DeLaine Prado, Google’s general counsel, underscored the significance of the lawsuit in addressing crypto fraud, which has inflicted significant losses in the US. Google aims to leverage its resources to safeguard users and deter fraudulent activities.

The legal action utilizes civil claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, alongside breach of contract claims. The lawsuit outlines the defendants’ methods to attract users, including text messaging campaigns, online videos, and affiliate marketing.

Despite the counterfeit apps’ appearance of legitimacy, users allegedly encountered difficulties withdrawing their funds, with some being misled into paying additional fees to access earnings. The accused scammers attempted to legitimize their apps by facilitating small initial withdrawals and publishing news releases, but users encountered obstacles when attempting to retrieve larger investments.

Google has responded to these deceptive practices by bolstering its cybersecurity measures, forming partnerships with law enforcement, and establishing a dedicated team to identify fraud. The company claims damages exceeding $75,000 due to investigative and safety enhancement costs.

Through the lawsuit, Google seeks damages and a permanent injunction barring the defendants and their affiliates from accessing Google services or creating accounts. This legal action forms part of Google’s broader strategy to protect users and uphold platform integrity amidst rising online scams and cybersecurity threats.

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The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), known as the central bank for central banks, has unveiled Project Agorá, an initiative aimed at delving deeper into blockchain technology to enhance the monetary system.

Hyun Song Shin, BIS Economic Adviser and Head of Research highlighted the potential of tokenization, stating, “Tokenization combines the record-keeping function of a traditional database with the rules and logic that govern transfers.” Project Agorá aims to leverage tokenization to improve existing capabilities and introduce new functionalities to the monetary system while upholding its core principles.

The project boasts collaboration from leading central banks including the Bank of France, Bank of Japan, Bank of Korea, Bank of Mexico, Swiss National Bank, Bank of England, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Together with a consortium of private financial firms convened by the Institute of International Finance (IIF), they will explore the seamless integration of tokenized commercial bank deposits with tokenized wholesale central bank money within a “public-private programmable core financial platform.”

The envisioned infrastructure holds promise for enhancing the monetary system and unlocking new possibilities through smart contracts and programmability. By overcoming structural inefficiencies, especially in cross-border payments, the initiative seeks to streamline operations and improve efficiency.

Cecilia Skingsley, Head of the BIS Innovation Hub, emphasized the project’s goal of creating a common payment infrastructure that brings together various elements of the financial system for improved efficiency.

The collaborative effort will involve testing the technology within the operational, regulatory, and legal frameworks of participating currencies, along with financial companies operating in those jurisdictions. Additionally, the project aims to address challenges related to financial integrity controls, such as anti-money laundering measures and customer verification.

Project Agorá represents the BIS Innovation Hub’s experimental approach to exploring and delivering public goods to the global central banking community. Moving forward, the BIS plans to invite regulated financial institutions to join the project, aiming to include several institutions representing each of the seven participating currencies. Specific instructions and requirements for interested parties will be provided in due course.

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Amid the ongoing crypto bull market, the top crypto exchange insurance funds have seen a remarkable surge in value, exceeding $1 billion.

As of April 3, Binance’s Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), comprising Bitcoin, BNB, Tether, and TrueUSD (TUSD) balances, has surpassed $2.03 billion, soaring from its initial balance of $1 billion in January 2022. Similarly, Bitget’s protection fund, initially set at $300 million when launched in November 2022, has now grown to $612 million due to the appreciation of its Bitcoin holdings. Over the past year, Bitcoin has witnessed a 136% surge, while BNB has seen a 79.36% increase, contributing to the growth of these insurance funds amidst the crypto bull run.

While most exchanges offer some form of insurance protection for users, only Binance and Bitget have disclosed their on-chain addresses. Huobi (now HTX) previously announced a reserve of 20,000 BTC ($1.32 billion) in an independent address in 2019, aimed at addressing extreme security incidents. However, it remains unclear if the exchange still holds this balance, especially after suffering several exploits last year resulting in significant losses.

Crypto exchange OKX operates a $700 million “Risk Shield” program for user protection, although the composition of this amount in terms of tokens, stablecoins, or fiat funds is unclear. Conversely, exchanges like Coinbase provide insurance based on customers’ geographical location and the nature of their funds, whether in fiat or crypto.

Some exchanges may choose not to disclose on-chain addresses for various reasons, including concerns about cybersecurity attacks or potential deception, as seen in the case of the defunct exchange FTX. Former FTX chief technology officer Gary Wang revealed that FTX’s claimed $100 million insurance fund in 2021 was fabricated and did not contain any FTX Token (FTT). This underscores the importance of transparency and accountability in the crypto exchange ecosystem.

While on-chain addresses provide insight into the assets held by exchanges, they do not account for off-chain liabilities. In response to such concerns, jurisdictions like Hong Kong have mandated crypto exchanges to offer insurance covering up to 50% of users’ fiat and crypto assets, ensuring greater protection for investors.

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The stablecoin supply within the layer-1 blockchain network Solana has experienced a steady rise since the start of the year, surpassing the $3 billion milestone in recent days.

Data sourced from the blockchain analytics platform Artemis reveals a 55.72% increase in stablecoin supply over the last three months, now totaling $3.12 billion on the network.

While this figure is notably lower than the balance recorded in 2022, when over $6 billion worth of assets were present on the blockchain, it marks a significant recovery from the low point of $1.4 billion during the bear market. The recent upward trend signals a resurgence in activity.

Moreover, stablecoin transfer volume on Solana has surged by an impressive 164%, reaching $1.4 trillion, underscoring the network’s robust activity levels.

USDC Dominance

A breakdown of stablecoins on Solana highlights the dominance of Circle’s USD Coin (USDC), which accounts for 73% of such assets on the network.

Recent data from Artemis shows USDC’s substantial share of stablecoin transfer volume, amounting to $63.69 billion on April 2, overshadowing USDT’s $812.41 million. EURC ranks third with a volume of less than $100,000.

The rise of USDC’s dominance on Solana correlates with Circle’s introduction of its Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) on the network on March 26.

Reasons Behind Solana’s Stablecoin Surge

Stablecoins serve as a vital bridge between traditional fiat currencies and digital assets. The increasing stablecoin supply indicates heightened liquidity and suggests a rise in capital inflow.

Market analysts attribute this surge to the influx of capital into the network, coinciding with the hype surrounding meme coins and the expanding DeFi activity within the Solana ecosystem.

Despite past controversies involving Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, the Solana blockchain ecosystem has witnessed significant growth over the past year. This growth has attracted a wave of new users and forged substantial partnerships with major global financial entities like Visa and Shopify.

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