Global Crypto Weekly News
In this post, we review April 2023 and list some of the most important news events happening in crypto and their potential impact. We mention the recent developments on the Ethereum chain and examine the latest hacks that plague the industry
In this post, we review April 2023 and list some of the most important news events happening in crypto and their potential impact. We mention the recent developments on the Ethereum chain and examine the latest hacks that plague the industry and the well-being of everyday users in crypto.
Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade
Vishal Chawla
For starters, perhaps the most anticipated news event of last week was the implementation of the Shapella upgrade on Ethereum that optimizes the network's gas fees. This hard fork marks the first major change since The Ethereum Merge, which was executed on September 15, 2022.
This is, in our opinion, a good thing, as the lowering of the gas fees on the Ethereum network will make the global network, in the end, more scalable, just as intended. Attracting more users drives increased adoption and enhances blockchain transactions' overall value.
Also, with this new upgrade, users and validators are allowed to withdraw their staked ETH held on the network. This release of previously inaccessible funds has sparked speculation in the markets.
Twitter Partners with eToro
In other news, the social media platform Twitter has partnered with Fintech company eToro to expand its Cashtag feature ($), providing real-time information about stock and cryptocurrency prices. This new partnership allows the users of the beloved bird app to see relevant data and offers the option to invest through eToro via Twitter.
The ability to invest in cryptocurrency via eToro directly on Twitter could drive up mainstream adoption yet again. Twitter has an active user count of 353.9 million and is expected to keep growing, so as Twitter breaks out of its shell and more and more people are getting exposed, could it be that the interest in online digital assets keeps growing with it?
Arbitrum Proposal Failed
Adam James
Another important news event in decentralized finance was the failed proposal by the Arbitrum community to reallocate the 700 million ARB governance tokens, valued at over $1 billion, that were previously allocated to the Arbitrum Foundation without any approval from the DAO. The proposal received 84.01% of the total votes against it and only 14.57% in favor.
This symbolic proposal has demonstrated that governance of the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) is in the hands of the few rather than the many, and the main takeaway from these events is perhaps the legitimacy and effectiveness of DAO governance, especially when a small group of individuals holds a significant amount of voting power. This speaks of an oligopoly in decentralized finance, which goes against the core idea of cryptocurrency that aims to empower people.
FTX Possible Relaunch
Dietrich Knauth/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/YG22IBZRKNJZNO2MBV5LFVRJSI.jpg)
The latest news on the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which went bankrupt in November 2022, suggests a possible relaunch in the future. Prominent figures, such as Zane Tackett, the former head of institutional sales at FTX, have voiced support for the idea that FTX should resurrect with all the products it offered before its collapse.
This proposal is supported by FTX's legal team, which plans to submit a reorganization plan in July. Confirmation of the plan is expected by Q2 2024, as the company has recovered $7.3 billion in distributable assets, including cash and cryptocurrency.
If the relaunch plan goes ahead, it could potentially restore confidence in the cryptocurrency exchange industry, which has had its fair share of failures in recent years. But not only that, the failed exchange was also an innovator in the space and perhaps the most user-friendly interface of all, despite their total incompetence. What will happen in the future is anyone's best guess, but we will patiently await new updates on this story.
Hacks plague the crypto space.
Vishal Chawla
At last, we end on a sad note, as this week has been highly profitable for hackers. Several high-profile hacks have taken place, including the hack of the South Korean exchange GDAC, which reported losing approximately $13 million in an attack on their hot wallets.
Moreover, DeFi hacks were rampant, with household names like Yearn Finance and Aave being exploited. Yearn lost over $10 million in stablecoins, including ETH and stablecoins. Also, the lending protocol Hundred Finance suffered a $7 million loss in a security breach, bringing the total loss of hacked funds to well over $30 million.
All those hacks are a stark reminder of the importance of security measurements that users and protocols have to take in this industry. While the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies can offer many benefits, it also places greater responsibility on individuals to safeguard their funds.
Conclusion
In conclusion, April 2023 has been a mix of positive and a few negative news events for the crypto industry. In light of the positive developments: the implementation of the Shapella upgrade on Ethereum, and the partnership between Twitter and eToro, there is potential for increased mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies, something we are eager to see…
Stay tuned for more news and analysis in the next edition weekly news recap!
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