Shiba Inu, an Ethereum-based ecosystem featuring the second-largest token SHIB, has successfully raised $12 million in a recent token sale aimed at constructing a privacy-centric blockchain, as per a press release on Monday.

The investment round saw participation from notable investors including Comma 3 Ventures, Big Brain Holdings, Cypher Capital, Shima Capital, Hercules Ventures, Animoca Brands, Morningstar Ventures, Woodstock Fund, DWF Ventures, Polygon Ventures, Stake Capital, Illuminati Digital Capital, Primal Capital, Mechanism Capital, and Spirit Dao. These investors acquired the new network’s forthcoming utility and governance token, TREAT.

The token sale was conducted by Shiba Inu Mint S.A., an ecosystem development company registered in Panama, according to the press release.

The fundraising initiative follows a previous report by CoinDesk in February, revealing that Shiba Inu developers were collaborating with cryptography firm Zama to develop a privacy-focused network atop Shibarium, the ecosystem’s Ethereum-based layer-2 blockchain. This new network is set to utilize Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE), a privacy tool enabling developers to utilize data on untrusted domains without requiring decryption.

SHIB, the associated token, experienced a 2.2% increase over the past 24 hours, mirroring the general uptrend of the CoinDesk 20 Index. With a market capitalization of nearly $16 billion, SHIB currently ranks as the 12th-largest cryptocurrency.

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Market volatility has led to over $152 million in cryptocurrency liquidations over the past day, with the wider cryptocurrency market witnessing over $290 million in liquidations within the same period. Of these liquidations, approximately $154 million were from long positions.

Bitcoin’s liquidations soared to over $108 million as the asset dipped below the $60,000 mark before rebounding. Presently, it struggles to maintain its position above $64,000. Coinglass data reveals that liquidations were almost evenly split between bitcoin longs and shorts, totaling just over $54 million and $53 million, respectively.

The largest digital asset by market capitalization increased by around 5.3% in the past 24 hours, trading at $64,739 at 5:22 a.m. ET, according to The Block’s Price Page. The GM 30 Index, representing a selection of the top 30 cryptocurrencies, rose by 4.46% to 129.97 in the same period.

According to The Block’s halving countdown, Bitcoin’s upcoming halving event, where the miners’ block subsidy reward gets halved, is less than 100 blocks away. Analysts from 21Shares suggested that Bitcoin may continue in a lateral movement until geopolitical concerns, such as conflicts in the Middle East and control of oil transportation routes, stabilize.

The analysts observed that if geopolitical risks stabilize, bitcoin is expected to continue its upward trend post-halving. This is anticipated to be supported by increasing institutional interest in digital assets, particularly driven by U.S. spots and recently approved Hong Kong ETFs.

Coinbase analyst David Han emphasized the impact of macroeconomic factors, particularly heightened geopolitical tensions, on short-term crypto activity. “The recent elevated correlation of altcoins against bitcoin underlines this, indicating bitcoin’s anchor role in the space even as it firms its position as a macro asset,” Han stated in this week’s Coinbase Monthly Outlook report.

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Tether announced its intention to enhance peer-to-peer payments on Telegram by extending its dollar-pegged USDT and gold-backed XAUT tokens to the TON network, catering to Telegram’s vast user base 900 million.

Originally initiated by Telegram, the TON network has experienced rapid expansion, fueled by incentives to onboard Telegram users. Tether, the entity behind the $108 billion market cap USDT, disclosed plans to integrate the dollar-pegged stablecoin and its gold-backed counterpart XAUT natively on The Open Network (TON), a blockchain closely associated with the messaging app Telegram.

Tether’s transparency page revealed that $10 million worth of USDT has been authorized on the TON blockchain, with $3 million already issued. This strategic move aims to facilitate “borderless, peer-to-peer payments” among Telegram’s extensive user base and bolster the burgeoning TON ecosystem, enabling users to leverage the stablecoins in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.

Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, emphasized the significance of this expansion, stating that the launch of USDT and XAUT on TON would enable seamless value transfer. This move aims to increase activity and liquidity while offering users a financial experience akin to those found in the traditional financial system.

The Open Network operates as a decentralized layer-1 network initially spearheaded by Telegram but operating independently due to regulatory concerns. Recent months have witnessed a surge in TON’s ecosystem, propelled by incentives for Telegram user adoption, with monthly active addresses surpassing 1.7 million from less than 100,000 six months ago.

Despite a momentary dip of up to 15% in the TON token following the announcement, it remains up 7% over the past 24 hours and has tripled in price this year, amassing a market capitalization of nearly $25 billion. Telegram’s crypto wallet supports various blockchains for deposits and withdrawals, with trading fees substantially reduced to encourage TON adoption.

Ramp Network, a fintech firm bridging crypto with traditional banking infrastructure, announced plans to facilitate purchases and withdrawals of USDT on TON following the announcement. Starting with fiat-to-USDT on TON on its platform, Ramp Network intends to integrate with third-party wallets supporting TON-based assets and later incorporate off-ramp capabilities.

Szymon Sypniewicz, CEO of Ramp Network, articulated the company’s vision, stating, “Crypto transactions should be as simple as texting,” underscoring the potential to enhance the lives of millions within the TON ecosystem through accessible, low-cost crypto transactions.

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