Cryptocurrency Prices Today: Markets surge marginally in green as Bitcoin, Ethereum rise

In rupee terms, Bitcoin rose 2.02 percent to trade at Rs 33,22,183, while Ethereum rose 0.19 percent to Rs 2,37,499.9. Cardano rose 2.95 percent to Rs 91.55 and Avalanche rose 0.24 percent to Rs 6,180. Polkadot gained 0.92 percent to Rs 1,715.65 and Litecoin was up 3.26 percent to Rs 9,825 in the last 24 hours. Tether dipped 0.11 percent to Rs 78.3. Memecoin SHIB rose 27.02 percent, while Dogecoin increased 7.95 percent to trade at Rs 12.52. Terra (LUNA) tumbled by 1.64 percent to Rs 4,368. Read more here.

Ray Dalio: Bitcoin and Crypto Get 'Too Much Attention'

Ray Dalio, arguably the most famous hedge fund manager in the world, indicated he is not putting too much faith in cryptocurrency as a hedge for anything. In an interview on "The David Rubinstein Show" on Bloomberg, Dalio reiterated that he thinks some governments will outlaw cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin—a point on which he's been proven correct—and implied that its market capitalization is too large. He also lumped the asset class's most fervent proponents in with goldbugs. "So, I think too much attention is spent on crypto," he said. Read more here.

US Treasury Department Warns of NFT Risk in Art-Related Money Laundering

The U.S. Department of the Treasury warned that non-fungible tokens (NFT) may become a tool for money laundering in the high-value art market in a recent study. The 40-page report, published in accordance with the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, found there is some evidence to suggest high-value art is involved in money laundering, but likely not in any terrorist financing. However, the document did suggest NFTs could be used to facilitate more illicit transactions in the art market. Read here.

Crypto Miner Merkle Among First to Get Bitmain’s Newest Liquid Cooling Mining Rigs

Privately-held miner Merkle Standard will be one of the first crypto miners in the US to get Bitmain’s newest mining rig, the S19 Pro+ Hydro, which uses liquid cooling technology. The new cooling technology can reduce heat, power consumption, and noise, as well as extend the lifespan of the machines. California-based Merkle has signed a deal with Bitmain, one of the world’s largest bitcoin mining rig manufacturers, to get a shipment of 4,449 of the newest mining computers in May, and expects the machines to add about 840 petahash per second (PH/s) of mining power to the company. Read more here.