Top Stories

Bitcoin Miners Reap Profits As Mining Difficulty Hits 3-Month Low

Bitcoin miners have received a boost in profits after the scheduled difficulty level adjustment resulted in a positive balance, which is the first time since February that the difficulty has decreased. The current mining difficulty level is at 48T (trillions), and this change affects the miners' profitability, as less competition for the reward means increased estimated income for those still connected to the network. 

Top Exchange Set to Return Terra Classic (LUNC) Tokens Stolen on Terraport

Terraport, the first decentralized finance exchange developed on the Terra Classic layer-2 network, may be revived as the project promises to return stolen LUNC funds secured off-chain. The hack resulted in the theft of about 15.1 billion LUNC, causing the promising DeFi project to halt operations. 

Bitcoin Adoption Continues to Soar As the Number of Non-zero Addresses Reaches All-time High

According to data from Glassnode, Bitcoin adoption continues to soar as the number of Non-Zero Addresses reaches an ATH of ~46.1M. When comparing for growth across Epochs, Glassnode points a decline in relative growth, but an increase in absolute growth as the number of Non-Zero Addresses continues to expand.

Ripple Board Member Hints Coinbase’s Next Move

Asheesh Birla, a board member at Ripple, has hinted that Coinbase is transitioning from a crypto exchange to a crypto-enabled banking service, with a mission to build a more fair, efficient, accessible, and transparent financial system for digital assets. Coinbase has also stated its dedication to partnering with high bar regulators across US and non-US jurisdictions to update the financial system.

Ethereum Eyes $2,000 As Traders Convert PEPE Profits to ETH

The Ethereum (ETH) price has decoupled from the rest of the crypto market, rising over 3.56% in the last 24 hours and eyeing a move above $2,000 levels. This development comes as active deposits on the Ethereum blockchain network shoot to a 1.5-year high, with a large number of crypto traders converting their PEPE profits into ETH. 

Universities Have Almost Missed the Boat on Web3

Despite the exponential growth of the Web3 industry, most universities are still hesitant to integrate decentralized finance and Web3 education into their curricula. The risks of exploring fast-developing Web3 technologies, including fluid regulatory environments and malicious actors, have made universities reluctant to invest resources in Web3 coursework.

SEC Issues Record Whistleblower Award of $279M

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has awarded its largest-ever whistleblower award to an unnamed individual, totaling $279 million. The award is more than double the previous record of $114 million and is funded by an investor protection fund established by Congress. 

Ethereum Foundation and Vitalik Buterin Move 15K ETH

Ethereum Foundation and its creator Vitalik Buterin transferred a significant amount of ETH to crypto exchange Kraken. Vitalik Buterin transferred 200 ETH, and Ethereum Foundation transferred 15,000 ETH. This raised concerns in the crypto community that the move could lead to a crash in ETH and meme coin prices, as similar large transfers by Ethereum Foundation have caused significant price drops in the past.

Binance Suspends Market Order Functions For SHIB, FLOKI, PEPE

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has announced the suspension of market order functions for selected spot and margin trading pairs, including meme coins such as Shiba Inu (SHIB), FLOKI, and PEPE, from May 7 until further notice.

Voyager Digital Provides Update on Reimbursement Plan for Creditors

Voyager Digital, the now-defunct crypto lender, has informed creditors that they can expect to receive their initial cash and crypto distributions "within the next few weeks." This update comes after Binance's withdrawal from the Voyager Digital deal on April 25. 

Market Watch 

As of press time, according to Cointime data:

BTC 's live price is $29,034.14 USD, jumped by 0.03% in the last 24 hours;

ETH’s live price is $1,910.00 USD, dropped by 0.32% in the last 24 hours;

BNB’s live price is $323.42 USD, dropped by 0.48% in the last 24 hours;

XRP's live price is $0.4586 USD, dropped by 0.33% in the last 24 hours.