Here are the top crypto news of the day curated by CoinChapter.com.
Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Hits All-Time High Before Halving
Bitcoin’s mining difficulty has reached an all-time high just over a week before the upcoming halving event. The mining difficulty, which measures the computational power required to mine new bitcoins, has climbed to 86.39 trillion hashes.
The crypto industry sees this difficulty as a positive development. It indicates that the Bitcoin network is becoming more secure as more computing power is devoted to mining.
The halving event, scheduled for April 20, 2024, will cut Bitcoin’s block rewards in half, from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per block. This is expected to lead to greater scarcity of Bitcoin, potentially driving up its price. The increase in mining difficulty suggests that only the most efficient and powerful mining operations will remain active after the halving.
Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Withdrawals Hit Record Low
The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) has seen a significant drop in net outflows. It hit a record low of $17.5 million on April 10. This is a substantial decrease from the $303 million and $155 million net outflows seen on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.
The decline in GBTC outflows has helped the Bitcoin ETF segment turn positive, with net inflows of $124 million. Despite the overall net outflow of $16 billion from GBTC, the US spot Bitcoin fund category has still managed to attract $12.5 billion in net inflows since the launch of these funds three months ago.
Another Crypto News Today: Ark Invest: Bitcoin Bull Run in ‘Early to Mid Stages’
According to Ark Invest’s latest Bitcoin market report, the current Bitcoin rally is in the “early to mid stages of a bull market.” The report cites Bitcoin’s MVRV (market value to realized value) Z-score, a metric used to identify periods of under or overvaluation.
The report also highlights the growing momentum of Bitcoin scaling solutions, such as roll-ups and sidechains, with more than 50 independent projects building on the Bitcoin base layer. Ark Invest believes these developments could continue to support the current bullish cycle for Bitcoin.
Hong Kong Set to Approve Bitcoin ETFs, Luring Chinese Investors
Hong Kong regulators are reportedly preparing to approve the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs as early as April 15. This would provide mainland Chinese investors with a compliant way to access the cryptocurrency market.
The potential approval of these ETFs could open the floodgates for a fresh influx of liquidity into the early stages of the current Bitcoin bull run. Mainland Chinese investors are known to have a strong appetite for Bitcoin. They view it as a viable alternative asset to hold.
The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has been working to balance its efforts to educate investors on crypto fraud risks. The SFC desires to establish Hong Kong as a hub for Web3 development. The approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs is expected to bolster the city’s reputation as a vibrant marketplace for digital assets.
Less Than 50% Chance of Ethereum ETF Approval In May: JP Morgan
JP Morgan has reiterated that the U.S. SEC’s approval of a spot Ethereum ETF in May has less than 50% chance. He cited the SEC’s investigation into companies associated with the Ethereum Foundation. The bank believes the most likely outcome is that the SEC will eventually lose any litigation and approve spot Ether ETFs, but not in May.
One of the reasons cited by JP Morgan for the SEC’s hesitance is the declining concentration in staking on the Ethereum network, which raises the chance that Ether will avoid being designated as a security.
Crypto News Today: Notcoin Reveals Token Launch Plans and Conversion Rates
The Telegram-based game Notcoin has shared details about its upcoming token launch on The Open Network (TON), scheduled for around April 20. The team has revealed that the conversion rate for players’ in-game coins will be 1,000 in-game coins to 1 Notcoin (NOT) token.
Notcoin plans to mint 102,719,221,714 NOT tokens. Additionally, the team allotted approximately 80.2 billion to players/miners and 22.5 billion to fund future development. The team also plans to purge suspicious accounts that used automated bots to manipulate the game.
In the future, Notcoin will allow external projects to buy NOT tokens and pay them into the game. This is an evolution of the existing model, where players earn in-game coins for engaging in various project-related activities.
Solana Project Marginfi Sees $214M in Withdrawals After CEO Resigns
Marginfi, a decentralized lending protocol on the Solana network, has seen a significant exodus of funds. This massive withdrawal follows the resignation of its founder and CEO, Edgar Pavlovsky. CEO cited disagreements with Marginfi’s internal and external practices as the reasons for his departure.
The withdrawal of funds has exceeded $214 million. Solend, a competing Solana lending protocol, further exacerbated this situation. It offers airdrops to users who transfer their funds from Marginfi.
Marginfi also faced criticism from the Solana staking pool SolBlaze for allegedly mismanaging BLZE reward tokens.
Despite the turmoil, Marginfi has expressed a willingness to mend fences with SolBlaze and reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the partnership.
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