Crypto Accountability: Taylor Swift Stands Out Amid Celebrity FTX Scandal

Taylor Swift stands out among celebrities for her thorough investigation of crypto exchange FTX, says the attorney taking legal action against the company's famous endorsers who now face bankruptcy.
> Lawyer Adam Moskowitz has targeted prominent figures like basketball icon Shaquille O'Neal, football celebrity Tom Brady, and "Seinfeld" creator Larry David, among others, in a class action lawsuit alleging their promotion of FTX involved the sale of unregistered securities.
> Moskowitz is pursuing $5 billion in damages and discussed the case during an episode of The Scoop podcast with Frank Chaparro.
> He argues that these high-profile promoters neglected to verify the legality of their actions before endorsing FTX through various advertisements. Continue here.

U.K. Embraces Crypto Future: Digital Asset Regulations and Britcoin on the Horizon

A British legislator has suggested that the United Kingdom may establish digital asset regulations within a year in order to take advantage of the potential benefits that blockchain technology could provide for the private sector and the overall economy.
> During an interview with CNBC on April 17, Andrew Griffith, the Economic Secretary to the U.K. Treasury, expressed the government's long-term vision to enable businesses to harness the potential of crypto assets through a robust regulatory framework.
> For the first time in "many years," Griffith stated, the U.K. government is now capable of regulating the crypto industry in a "sensible" and "balanced" way.
> He seemingly alluded to the country's departure from the European Union. Details here.

Tribe Capital Considers Aiding FTX's Revival

Venture capital firm Tribe Capital is considering whether to aid in the revival of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, in which it previously invested.
> In January, Tribe Capital's co-founder, Arjun Sethi, met with FTX's committee of unsecured creditors to discuss a preliminary proposal, as reported by Bloomberg.
> The venture capital firm contemplated spearheading a $250 million fundraising campaign, contributing $100 million from its own funds and partners.
> Following the initial report on Tuesday afternoon, the value of FTT tokens, previously issued by FTX, rose nearly 19%, according to CoinMarketCap data.
> Neither FTX's committee of unsecured creditors nor Tribe Capital have responded to Fortune's request for comment. More here.

Bitcoin, Ether extend losses after UK Inflation Data, Experts Analyze Key Factors Influencing the Market's Future

> Bitcoin dipped below $30,000 as the wider crypto market experienced a downturn during U.S. trading hours, alongside traditional markets.
> Stocks associated with cryptocurrency and blockchain also experienced significant losses.
> The top cryptocurrency by market capitalization saw a 3.6% drop, trading at $29,440 at the time of writing, according to data from CoinGecko.
> Ether fell below the $2,000 mark, recording a 5% loss over the past day.
> Other altcoins experienced similar declines.
> Binance fell 4.2% in the past day, while Ripple lost 3.7% and Cardano's decreased by just over 4%.
> Cryptocurrency and blockchain-related stocks also suffered, with Coinbase and MicroStrategy leading the downward trend. Continue reading.

Russia's Emerging Crypto Institutions: Revolutionizing Cross-Border Transactions

As the influence of the BRICS nations continues to grow, Russia has announced plans to establish specialized institutions dedicated to mining and facilitating cross-border crypto transactions.
> The country aims to form a "special organization" to utilize digital assets in international business transactions.
> The Central Bank of Russia is already in the process of drafting legislation to enable the use of cryptocurrencies in international trade.
> This development comes as Russia faces increasing economic isolation from the West due to the Ukraine invasion.
> Despite the Russian government's firm stance on domestic cryptocurrency use, international utilization of digital assets is becoming more feasible.
> The country is actively exploring ways to leverage cryptocurrencies for international trade. Details here.

EU's MiCA Regulation: A New Era for Crypto Assets and Digital Wallets

During a debate on Wednesday, legislators from various political parties within the European Union expressed their ongoing support for the pivotal Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation.
> This suggests that the licensing legislation is likely to be approved with ease in Thursday's scheduled vote.
> MiCA, which had its primary political framework established last year, would enable cryptocurrency exchanges and digital wallet providers to offer regulated services throughout the EU.
> It also mandates that stablecoin issuers maintain adequate reserves.
> Key political factions in the European Parliament, including the European People's Party, Socialists and Democrats, Renew Europe, and European Conservatives and Reformists, welcomed the proposed regulation.
> If members of these parties vote in favor, the legislation is expected to secure the necessary majority for passage. More here.

Signature Bank Collapse: Regulator Refutes Crypto's Involvement

New York's chief banking regulator, Superintendent Adrienne Harris, refuted the claim that Signature Bank's failure was due to its involvement in the cryptocurrency sector during her appearance before a congressional committee on Wednesday.
> Harris stated, "It is a misnomer that the failure of Signature Bank was related to crypto."
> Testifying before the House Financial Services Committee's panel on digital assets, financial technology, and inclusion, she explained that customers from various sectors, such as fiduciary trusts and wholesale food vendors, withdrew funds from the bank during a panic last month after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
> Harris emphasized that Signature Bank's failure was not related to its exposure to crypto. Continue here.

Bitcoin Core Contributor Steps Away to Pursue New Startup Idea

Dhruvkaran Mehta, a key contributor to Bitcoin Core, the leading open-source software for connecting to the world's most extensive blockchain, is stepping down from the project to pursue a new Bitcoin-related startup concept.
> Bitcoin Core is dependent on grants, stipends, and the generosity of its contributors.
> As a paid volunteer, Mehta's contribution was funded by grants from Spiral, a Block subsidiary focused on Bitcoin development financing, The Human Rights Foundation, and Gemini, the Winklevoss twins' crypto exchange.
> Since August 2020, Mehta has been working on enhancing Bitcoin's peer-to-peer (P2P) protocol through Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 324 (BIP324).
> The communication between nodes in the Bitcoin network is governed by Bitcoin's P2P protocol, which is currently public and unencrypted, making the network vulnerable to various attacks and security risks. Full report here.

Bitcoin and Ether Drop as Sell Order Hits Binance and UK Inflation Data Surfaces

On Wednesday, Bitcoin experienced a drop in price of 3% over the past 24 hours, as it hovered around $29,300.
> This was due to a massive sell order on Binance, coupled with hot inflation data from the U.K., which resulted in a decline in value.
> The cryptocurrency's market cap also recently fell below $30,000, after having regained its position above this threshold, dipping to as low as $29,045 at one point.
> Traders who were expecting an increase in value were caught off guard, as most of BTC's liquidated positions were long.
> This is based on data from futures and trading platform, Coinglass.
> Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value, followed a similar pattern, dropping below $2,000 for the first time in almost a week.
> It was recently changing hands around $1,981, down over 4% from Tuesday.
> Other major cryptocurrencies also saw a decline in value on Wednesday, including decentralized finance tokens such as Uniswap's UNI and lending platform Aave's AAVE, which both sank 6% and 7%, respectively, to trade at around $5.90 and $74.85.
> Maker's MKR also experienced a decline of 5%, hovering at around $729.31.