Solana Labs introduces ChatGPT Plugin for easy navigation of Solana Blockchain

Solana Labs, the company responsible for the development of the Solana blockchain, is venturing into the realm of artificial intelligence by introducing a ChatGPT plugin. This new plugin will leverage OpenAI's conversational chatbot technology to enable users to search the Solana blockchain. Upon its release, the ChatGPT user interface will allow users to perform a range of tasks, such as checking wallet balances, transferring tokens, and purchasing NFTs. This integration is expected to simplify navigation of the Solana blockchain for users. According to Noah Gundotra, a software engineer at Solana Labs, the plugin utilizes public data and code. The company's efforts in this domain are intended to promote safe and easily understandable standards concerning large language models and transaction processing. More here.

Arkham Intel wrongly reported Mt. Gox and US gov Bitcoin transfers, causing BTC price to fall,

Bitcoin experienced a rapid drop in price by around 7% within an hour on April 26, going from $29,850 to $27,789. According to media reports, this was attributed to an incorrect alert sent by blockchain analytics company Arkham Intelligence, which mistakenly claimed that Bitcoin wallets linked to Mt. Gox and the U.S. government were transferring large amounts of the cryptocurrency. Initially, Arkham acknowledged the mistake and stated that it was due to a bug fix that caused a false alert to be sent to a small group of users on their analytics platform. However, the alert was shared by the popular crypto news alert account DB or Tier10k. More here.

Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission to Release Guidelines for Virtual-Asset Exchanges

Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission is set to unveil more information about the city's dynamic cryptocurrency framework in the coming month. During a recent event, the Chief Executive Officer Julia Leung stated that guidelines for the licensing system for virtual-asset exchanges would be made available in May. Leung further mentioned that the consultation process for the regulatory framework received an overwhelming response, with over 150 participants sharing their views on the matter. The upcoming licensing regime for crypto platforms is expected to allow retail investors to trade major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether, which will take effect on June 1. Hong Kong's vision is to establish a digital-asset center to further enhance its reputation as a financial hub. More here.

Matrixport analysis shows limited impact of Mt. Gox Haul on Bitcoin price

According to a report by crypto-services provider Matrixport, Bitcoin experienced an 8% decline on Wednesday afternoon due to rumors of transactions involving wallets linked to the defunct crypto exchange, Mt. Gox, and the US government. Matrixport analyzed the potential market impact of the Mt. Gox haul and concluded that it would have limited effect on Bitcoin's price. However, investors should still be aware of the eventual distribution of the 850,000 stolen bitcoins, valued at $17.8 billion today, from the hack that occurred in 2014. Markus Thielen, head of research at Matrixport, wrote, "Since not all of the stolen BTC could be recovered, only a fraction of the original amount held by creditors will be compensated."
Creditors will receive a base payment with four options to receive the remainder of their funds. More here.

Standard Chartered's Zodia Custody sees dilution of ownership in funding round

Zodia Custody Ltd., a spin-off crypto custodial unit of Standard Chartered, has successfully closed a funding round of $36 million led by Japan's SBI Holdings, according to a statement from the digital-asset firm on Thursday. This marks a dilution of Standard Chartered's ownership over its subsidiary, as the London-based Zodia was previously supported solely by Standard Chartered and Northern Trust, with the former owning a 90% stake in the business. While the exact ownership details after the round have not been disclosed, Zodia Custody CEO Julian Sawyer has confirmed that Standard Chartered remains the majority owner. The series A fundraise also saw participation from the bank's venture arm SC Ventures, following the launch of Zodia's business in Japan as a joint venture with SBI Holdings in February. More here.

Google Cloud and Polygon Labs Partner to Expand Web3 Infrastructure

Google Cloud has announced a significant partnership with Polygon Labs, a software developer that supports the Polygon ecosystem of blockchains. According to a statement released on Thursday, Google Cloud will be adding support for Polygon, a collection of layer-2 blockchains built on top of Ethereum, to its Blockchain Node Engine, which currently supports only Ethereum and Solana. Ryan Wyatt, President of Polygon Labs, expressed his optimism about the collaboration, stating, "Google Cloud supporting all of the Polygon protocols is a step in the right direction to help onboard more people into Web3." In addition to this, Google Cloud will create infrastructure to support Polygon zkEVM, a new blockchain within the Polygon ecosystem, and help developers deploy application-specific blockchains using Polygon tech on its servers by the end of Q3. Full report here.

HMRC proposes changes to tax treatment of DeFi transactions

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is inviting public opinion on a proposed amendment to the tax treatment of decentralized finance (DeFi) lending and staking. Following a call for evidence in 2022, the regulatory body is seeking views from the public on how DeFi transactions should be treated for tax purposes. The proposed changes would ensure that DeFi transactions are not treated as disposals for tax purposes unless crypto assets are "economically disposed of in a non-DeFi transaction". The proposal also includes treating all DeFi returns as revenue in nature and subject to a new miscellaneous income charge to avoid administrative burdens. More here.

Coinbase fights back: Navigating the SEC lawsuit threat and Crypto regulation disputes

Coinbase Global Inc. is taking steps to prevent the SEC from filing a lawsuit against the firm, emphasizing the challenges the agency might face in such a legal battle. In a detailed response to the SEC's March Wells notice, which indicated the regulator's intention to initiate an enforcement action, Coinbase warned that it would be "a well-resourced adversary that will necessarily be motivated to exhaust all avenues." However, the company's Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, stated that Coinbase would prefer to avoid a lawsuit altogether. The SEC, led by Chair Gary Gensler, has consistently maintained that most digital assets are securities and that crypto firms must adhere to existing regulations. More here.

Bitcoin's remarkable recovery: Rebounding from 8% drop amid market turmoil

Bitcoin experienced a significant rebound in the last 24 hours, recovering from an approximately 8% decline that pushed its price down from near $30,000 to almost $27,000 on Wednesday. Ether approached $2,000, registering a 5% increase over the past 24 hours, based on Coingecko data. Yesterday's dramatic plunge in Bitcoin's value coincided with erroneous reports from well-known crypto news Twitter account "DB," which claimed that Mt. Gox and U.S. government wallets were conducting transactions, referencing market intelligence platform Arkham. The alerts from Arkham were later clarified to be due to an error that occurred after fixing a bug. As of Thursday evening, the world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization is trading at approximately $29,666.