Weekly News Highlights | Ethereum Cancun upgrade is expected to take place later this year; Tether has issued an additional 15 billion USDT since the beginning of the year

Organizer: Xi Angxiang, ChainCatcher

Important News

1. Ethereum Cancun Upgrade Expected to Take Place Later This Year

During a meeting of Ethereum core developers on Thursday, developers stated that they are preparing for the next upgrade of Ethereum, which will involve code modifications to the blockchain's consensus layer. This upgrade is referred to as "Cancun-Deneb," and it is expected to occur later this year.

The most significant change anticipated in the Ethereum Cancun upgrade will be Ethereum Improvement Proposal EIP-4844, also known as "proto-danksharding." EIP-4844 aims to enable temporary storage and retrieval of off-chain data through Ethereum nodes to meet the data and storage needs of blockchain applications. If successfully activated, EIP-4844 is expected to reduce transaction costs for Layer 2 solutions, including Optimism and Arbitrum.

Additionally, EIP-4844 has already been tested on four development networks. During the conference call, developers announced that a fifth test network will be launched this Friday. (The Block)

2. Data: Tether Has Issued an Additional $15 Billion USDT Since the Beginning of This Year

Data from Blockworks Research shows that Tether's stablecoin market share has reached 63%, the highest point in two years. Additionally, the market capitalization of USDT reached $81.5 billion on Thursday, marking the highest level since May 2022, and is currently $2 billion short of its historical peak of $83.4 billion.

Data also indicates that Tether has issued an additional $15 billion USDT since the beginning of 2023. However, most of the USDT is currently on the Tron blockchain (over $45 billion), accounting for more than half (55.4%) of the total supply. (Source Link)

3. Coinbase L2 Network Base Plans to Launch Mainnet in 2023

According to TechCrunch, Coinbase's Layer 2 network Base plans to launch its mainnet in 2023. Jesse Pollak, head of Base and Coinbase Protocol, stated that the recent plan is to bring Base to the mainnet and decentralize it. (Source Link)

4. Distributed Stablecoin Project HOPE Launches on Ethereum Mainnet

According to ChainCatcher, the distributed stablecoin project HOPE has announced the launch of a multi-protocol application for all users. Users can now visit app.hope.money to experience protocols and features such as HopeSwap, HOPE staking, and DAO governance.

Users can exchange HOPE with crypto assets like LT in HopeSwap, provide liquidity to earn transaction fee shares, and receive $LT rewards through liquidity mining. HOPE holders can also earn LT rewards through single-token staking without worrying about impermanent loss.

LT holders can lock LT to receive veLT. veLT holders can gain LT reward bonuses and governance voting rights. LT rewards will begin to be released after April 20 at 08:00 (UTC+8).

5. Privacy Network Iron Fish to Launch Mainnet at Midnight, Testnet Users to Receive Airdrop

According to ChainCatcher, the privacy public chain Iron Fish announced that it will launch its mainnet at 09:00 PDT on April 20 (00:00 Beijing time on April 21), and all eligible testnet users will receive an airdrop.

Iron Fish will release 42 million tokens in the genesis block of the mainnet, with a total supply cap of 256,970,400 tokens. Of the initially released 42 million tokens, 2.25% will be allocated for testnet airdrops; future airdrops will also account for 2.25%; Pre-Seed round investors will receive 5.1%; Seed round investors will receive 9.9%; Series A investors will receive 14.5%; advisors will receive 0.6%; the core team will receive 37.4%; IF Labs will receive 5%; tokens for future donations will account for 5%; and the Iron Fish Foundation will receive 18%. Tokens allocated to personnel including investors, advisors, and employees will be locked for 12 months and then released over 12 months. (Source Link)

6. Cool Cats Founder Announces Departure from Cool Cats Project

Cool Cats founder @Lynqoid tweeted about leaving the project, stating that he will no longer work for Cool Cats but will remain on the board and continue to focus on the Cool Cats project while providing advice and assistance as much as possible. (Source Link)

7. Coinbase Has Obtained Bermuda License, May Launch Offshore Derivatives Exchange

According to ChainCatcher, Coinbase has announced in a blog post that it has obtained a license from the Bermuda Monetary Authority. Coinbase stated, "Bermuda is one of the first financial centers to implement comprehensive digital asset regulation since 2018, known for its rigorous, transparent, compliant, and cooperative regulatory environment."

It is reported that the acquisition of the relevant license may be related to an upcoming offshore exchange. Coinbase has been exploring the launch of an offshore derivatives trading platform for trading perpetual swap products related to cryptocurrencies. A report from Fortune indicated that the exchange could launch as early as next week. (Source Link)

8. Gemini Appoints APAC Head and Opens Office in India, May Launch Derivatives Exchange in APAC

US-based cryptocurrency exchange Gemini recently announced the appointment of its global CTO Pravjit Tiwana as the CEO for the Asia-Pacific region. Tiwana will lead Gemini's new product launches in the region and ensure financial stability. Additionally, as part of its growth plan in the Asia-Pacific region, Gemini will open an office in India. The company stated that this office will become Gemini's second-largest engineering center after the US and will expand its existing offices in the US, UK, Ireland, and Singapore.

It is reported that Gemini has set a "grand" international growth plan in the Asia-Pacific region this year, initially involving the establishment of product and engineering teams in India, as well as expanding its business teams in India and Singapore.

Earlier reports indicated that Gemini was preparing to launch an overseas derivatives exchange to offer perpetual futures. A source familiar with the matter recently told The Block that the new derivatives platform will launch from the Asia-Pacific region. (Source Link)

9. Sui to Launch Mainnet on May 3, Testnet Version Updated to v0.32.0

According to ChainCatcher, Sui Network announced today that it will officially launch its mainnet on May 3. Additionally, Sui has released version v0.32.0 and launched both the Devnet and Testnet. (Source Link)

10. Aptos Launches Delegated Staking Feature

Aptos tweeted that it has launched delegated staking, allowing users to delegate their staking rights to trusted network validators and earn rewards as individuals.

Token holders can help secure the network by delegating at least 11 APT to validators without having to run their own validators. This feature was developed by the Bware Labs team. (Source Link)

11. US Congressman Questions SEC Chair: The Latter Refuses to Clarify Whether ETH is a Commodity or Security

During a supervisory hearing on digital asset regulation held by the U.S. House Digital Assets Subcommittee, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry repeatedly asked SEC Chair Gary Gensler whether "ETH is a commodity or a security," to which Gensler repeatedly refused to provide a clear answer.

Patrick McHenry believes that Gensler's climate disclosure rules and his enforcement of digital asset regulation have weakened capital markets and stifled innovation. (Source Link)

12. Twitter Inc. Has Been Renamed to X Corp.

Twitter Inc. has informed the court that it has been renamed to X Corp. in another state. The entity is registered in Nevada, rather than its previous registration in Delaware.

While users still see the Twitter name on mobile and desktop platforms, a legal document submitted last week indicated that "Twitter Inc. has merged into X Corp and no longer exists."

Previous Report stated that Twitter has merged with a new company called X Corp. and is no longer an independent company. According to state filing records, X Corp. was established in Nevada on March 9, and Musk is the president of the company and its parent company X Holdings Corp. (Source Link)

13. Telegram Wallet Now Supports User Transactions of Bitcoin

Telegram users can now buy, withdraw, and exchange Bitcoin (BTC), a feature developed and provided by a third party.

On April 21, the Telegram wallet bot @wallet announced that users can now directly purchase, withdraw, trade Bitcoin, and conduct Bitcoin P2P transactions through its updated web interface.

It is important to note that wallet bots and similar services are created by third-party developers using Telegram's open bot API, rather than being developed by Telegram itself. (Source Link)

14. CryptoPunks Floor Price Falls Below $100,000, Hitting a New Low Since June 2022

According to data from NFT Price Floor, the floor price of CryptoPunks has fallen below $100,000. The current floor price is 49.5 ETH (approximately $91,800), the lowest price since June 2022. (Source Link)

15. Arbitrum: Will Airdrop Tokens to Eligible DAOs in the Ecosystem and Test Their Wallet Transactions

Arbitrum tweeted that it will distribute initial token allocations to eligible DAOs in the ecosystem.

Currently, most DAOs have publicly confirmed their target addresses for receiving ARB airdrops, and testing of transactions for publicly provided treasury wallets will begin today, with full distribution expected later this week, while waiting for some DAOs to provide addresses. This token distribution is not from the Arbitrum DAO treasury or the foundation wallet, but is part of the initial airdrop. (Source Link)

16. Twitter Now Offers Paid Subscription Feature, No Revenue Share for One Year

According to a tweet screenshot posted by Twitter user @BroLeonAus, Twitter has launched a paid subscription feature, allowing users to view paid content posted by creators after subscribing. After subscribing, users will receive a public subscription badge. This paid subscription system was implemented on April 20.

Earlier reports from Reuters on April 13 indicated that Musk announced Twitter would open a paid subscription feature to users, including for long texts and long videos. During the initial 12 months of service launch, content creators will receive all subscription revenue except for mobile platform fees (30% cut from iOS or Android stores), and Twitter will not take any cut from this. The web version will allow creators to retain 92% of the revenue. However, Google rejected Musk's claim, stating that it has reduced the service fee for all subscriptions on Google Play from 30% to 15%. (Source Link)

Important Financing/Venture Capital News

1. Core DAO Partners with Bitget and MEXC to Launch $200 Million Ecosystem Fund

Core DAO has announced the launch of a $200 million ecosystem fund aimed at accelerating the development of decentralized applications and protocols based on the Core layer 1 blockchain. The fund is supported by strategic partners such as cryptocurrency exchange Bitget and MEXC.

It is reported that the Core DAO ecosystem fund distinguishes itself from its industry peers by not adopting a grant-based system, where projects are primarily required to commit to building on specific protocols to receive funding. Instead, the ecosystem fund will incentivize each project to achieve pre-agreed customized benchmarks, providing tangible value to the core community. (Source Link)

2. Bitcoin Financial Services Provider Unchained Completes $60 Million Series B Financing, Led by Valor Equity Partners

According to Cointelegraph, Bitcoin financial services provider Unchained has announced the completion of $60 million in Series B financing, led by Valor Equity Partners, with participation from NYDIG, Trammell Venture Partners, Ecliptic Capital, and Highland Capital Partners.

It is reported that Unchained Capital will utilize the native multi-signature feature of the Bitcoin network to provide clients with shared control over Bitcoin between their own private keys and those held by Unchained or other financial service companies. (Source Link)

3. Layer 1 Public Chain Berachain Completes $42 Million Financing, Led by Polychain Capital, with Participation from OKX Ventures

According to official news, Layer 1 public chain Berachain has completed $42 million in financing, led by Polychain Capital, with participation from OKX Ventures, Hack VC, Dao5, Tribe Capital, Shima Capital, Robot Ventures, Goldentree Asset Management, Dragonfly Capital's former partners, Celestia founder Mustafa Al-Bassam, Tendermint co-founder Zaki Manian, and over 20 other DeFi project founders.

It is reported that Berachain is a Layer 1 blockchain compatible with EVM built on the Cosmos SDK and uses a Proof of Liquidity consensus mechanism for protection. The Berachain token economy introduces a three-token system for the Bera network, which includes the network gas token BERA, the ecological algorithmic stablecoin HONEY, and the non-transferable Bera governance token BGT. Currently, the Berachain project's Discord community has over 50,000 members, and more than 100 teams are building new and existing protocols on the recently released local version of the development network (Devnet). The Berachain ecosystem has over $250 million in total locked value and will launch a public incentive testnet in the coming weeks. (Source Link)

4. Metaverse Company XRSPACE Completes $25 Million Financing, Foxconn Leads

Taiwan-based metaverse company XRSPACE has announced the completion of a new round of $25 million financing, led by Foxconn. The company will use the new funds for the development of next-generation 3D live streaming and social experiences.

XRSPACE was founded in 2017 and primarily provides social metaverse experiences through its platform "XRSPACE MANOVA," aiming to change the way people connect, work, and entertain. Users must wear virtual reality headsets to connect with each other through complementary applications PartyOn and GOXR. (Source Link)

5. iZUMi Finance Completes $22 Million Financing through Solv V3, with Participation from NextGen Digital Venture, Incuba Alpha, and Others

One-stop liquidity-as-a-service DeFi protocol iZUMi Finance has announced the completion of $22 million in financing. Regarding the fundraising method, iZUMi Finance issued the "iZUMi zk-Fund" series of products (SFT, semi-homogenized tokens) through the strategic partner Solv Protocol's latest paradigm protocol Solv V3, receiving support from funds and individual investors including Unicode Digital, NextGen Digital Venture, Bella Protocol, and Incuba Alpha, raising a total of $22 million in mainstream digital currency assets such as ETH, stETH, USDC, and USDT.

iZUMi Finance will use this round of financing to support early liquidity for iZiSwap Pro on the zkSync Era network. iZiSwap Pro is iZUMi Finance's on-chain order book DEX product, utilizing iZUMi's innovative Discrete Liquidity AMM (DL-AMM) model, fully on-chain, achieving 100% decentralization. (Source Link)

6. Staking Provider P2P.org Completes $23 Million Financing, with Participation from Jump Crypto

Staking service provider P2P.org has completed $23 million in financing, with participation from Jump Crypto, cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, and digital asset bank Sygnum.

P2P.org is developing a new infrastructure platform aimed at intermediaries, rather than its existing services focused on direct holders. The company stated that it will use this funding to develop blockchain infrastructure to enhance user experiences in staking as well as research and development expansion plans. (Source Link)

7. On-Chain Insurance Company Nayms Completes $12 Million Private Placement Financing, Led by UDHC

UK-based on-chain insurance company Nayms has announced the completion of $12 million in private placement financing at an $80 million valuation, led by UDHC, with participation from long-term supporters such as New Form, Tokentus, and Keyrock. (Source Link)