Author: Michelle Lazo

CoinPoker, a crypto betting app, has recently abolished all withdrawal fees on its platform, aligning itself with industry trends seen in online gambling sites like Rollbit.

This strategic move is expected to enhance CoinPoker’s competitiveness and potentially attract more users over time, especially as it offers similar features to Rollbit and introduces unique propositions such as poker games against human opponents.

The elimination of withdrawal fees, coupled with the recent success of gambling coins like Rollbit, could drive positive momentum for CoinPoker’s native CHP token.

The platform’s official announcement emphasized that only blockchain network fees will apply to withdrawals, highlighting a user-centric approach aimed at fostering growth and stability.

Previously, CoinPoker imposed nominal withdrawal fees to support site security and stability. However, advancements in security measures now allow the platform to waive these fees without compromising user experience or safety.

Currently ranked 90th globally in the poker category by SimilarWeb, CoinPoker has seen steady growth, rising 14 places between February and March. With its strong user experience and unique offerings, CoinPoker is poised to climb further in industry rankings.

The platform’s Crypto Series of Poker tournament, featuring a guaranteed prize pool of $1 million, has garnered significant attention, attracting renowned players like Tony G. who recently won over $300,000.

As CoinPoker solidifies its position as a leading destination for crypto-friendly poker, it stands to gain market share from competitors like Rollbit. This potential growth trajectory could also bolster the value of CoinPoker’s CHP token.

Despite recent declines, CHP has shown resilience, prompting investor interest following the withdrawal fee announcement. With consistent platform expansion, CHP may mirror the success of Rollbit’s RLB token, which has surged by 670% over the past year.

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Turnkey, a company specializing in building wallet infrastructure for blockchain developers, announced a successful $15 million Series A funding round led by Lightspeed Faction and Galaxy Ventures.

Founded by former Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) employees who contributed to the development of the U.S. crypto exchange’s custody service, Turnkey aims to assist application developers in constructing user-friendly blockchain wallets. The funding round, disclosed on Tuesday, saw participation from notable investors including Sequoia, Coinbase Ventures, Alchemy, Figment Capital, and Mirana Ventures. This round, finalized last October, follows a $7.5 million seed round in 2022.

CEO Bryce Ferguson explained, “At its simplest level, Turnkey provides secure, flexible, and scalable wallet infrastructure, offering developers a comprehensive toolkit for wallet-related tasks and cryptographic transactions.”

Ferguson highlighted the inspiration behind Turnkey’s inception, stemming from the realization at Coinbase that many crypto custodians treated cryptocurrency solely as a “buy-and-hold investment,” lacking the flexibility for users to actively utilize their assets. Turnkey’s objective is to empower custodians with tools enabling end-users to exercise greater control over their assets securely.

Released to the public in August, Turnkey’s product suite caters to various needs, serving as the backbone for applications requiring wallets and transaction signing, both for individual users and businesses. Notable clients include Alchemy, utilizing Turnkey to power its “wallet-as-a-service” offering, and enterprise-focused wallets like Mural, facilitating user-friendly invoicing and global payments.

Turnkey also caters to financial firms, with trading terminals embedding Turnkey’s wallets for transactional purposes. Additionally, individual users leverage Turnkey for broad transaction signing.

Ferguson emphasized Turnkey’s comprehensive approach, stating, “We built all of the wallet infrastructure from the ground up,” highlighting the platform’s ability to generate cryptographic key pairs and provide extensive tooling for accessing and managing these keys.

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Welcome to “Epoch V” of Bitcoin. The fourth successful halving of Bitcoin occurred on April 20, marking a programmed reduction in the amount of new bitcoin entering circulation through mining. As celebrations ensue worldwide, attention turns to what lies ahead.

Coinciding with the halving was the launch of Runes, a protocol facilitating the creation of meme coins on Bitcoin. This launch saw hundreds of tokens introduced, contributing over $80 million in fees to bitcoin miners. This surge in trading activity has driven transaction costs on Bitcoin to over $70 on average, a staggering 1,395.8% increase over the trailing 30-day average, according to TokenTerminal.

Some foresee “Epoch V,” leading up to the next halving in 2028, as the period when Bitcoin layer 2 solutions like the Lightning Network will gain traction. Bitcoin fees hit an all-time high of $128 on April 20, prompting many to explore alternative solutions. Bitcoin Core developer Ava Chow stated, “High fee environments will prompt people to look into them,” referring to Lightning and other layer 2 options.

A recent Messari report emphasized the necessity of layer-2 solutions for Bitcoin amidst rising on-chain activity, signaling a shift from Bitcoin as merely “digital gold” to a platform for innovation.

The launch of the Ordinals protocol last year, enabling new data storage methods on Bitcoin’s smallest units (satoshis), has catalyzed this shift. BitVM allows off-chain computation, Babylon facilitates staking and earning yield on BTC, while layer 2s like Stacks and Merlin host decentralized apps and meme coins.

Post-halving, tokens associated with Bitcoin layer 2s have outperformed BTC. For instance, Elastos  rose 11%, SatoshiVM  climbed 5%, and Stacks  gained nearly 20% to $2.87, partly driven by the anticipated Nakamoto upgrade.

While market dynamics may drive action to Bitcoin’s secondary layers, challenges persist. Higher BTC fees may price out users with low balances from platforms like Lightning, necessitating workarounds such as custodial services. Concerns arise over the erosion of sovereignty and anonymity with custodial Lightning solutions.

This landscape reflects the legacy of the Blocksize Wars, where the decision to prioritize layer 2 scaling over block size increases set Bitcoin’s current trajectory.

As Chow remarks, the choice between block size and transaction size adjustments represents a fundamental divide in Bitcoin’s scaling debate, shaping its evolution to date.

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