Top news this week
FTX EU launches withdrawal website to pay European users
The European arm of FTX has launched a website for allow customers in Europe to submit withdrawal requests. It comes nearly five months after the global trading platform collapsed and filed for bankruptcy in early November. Meanwhile, in the United States, lawyers for former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried have entered a not guilty plea on five additional charges, including allegations of bribery in China. Out on bail since being handed over to US custody from the Bahamas, Bankman-Fried is now forbidden to use any smartphone with internet access as part of a new court agreement.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak signed a Open letter signed by over 2,600 tech industry leaders and researchers who request a temporary suspension of any further development of artificial intelligence (AI). The petition shared concerns that AI with competitive human intelligence may pose serious dangers to society and humanity. He urged all AI companies to "immediately stop" developing AI systems that are more powerful than GPT-4 for at least six months. Although supported by many, the petition has divided the tech community at large over stopping development.
Binance and CZ Sued by CFTC for US Regulatory Violations
A lawsuit has been filed by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission against Binance and its CEO, Changpeng "CZ" Zhao. Claims against the crypto exchange include failing to register with regulators, non-compliant transactions, obscuring the location of its executive offices, and transacting for people in the United States since 2019, despite a policy of blocking or restricting clients in the country. The CEO of Binance has rejected the accusationsarguing that the cryptocurrency exchange "does not trade for profit or 'manipulate' the market under any circumstances," but primarily to cover expenses in fiat or other cryptocurrencies using its cryptocurrency income.
read also
The United States and South Korea requested the extradition of Terra co-founder Do Kwon
US and South Korean authorities have made efforts to have Terra co-founder Do Kwon extradited after his arrest in Montenegro. According to Montenegrin Justice Minister Marko Kovač, decisions on Kwon's custody will go to Montenegro's highest court and will be based on a number of factors, including the severity, location and timing of the alleged criminal offences. During custody of him in Montenegro, Kwon can face harsh conditions in the country's penal system, as prison conditions have not changed from those described in a 2020 human rights report from the US State Department.
'The withdrawals are coming!' — Ethereum developers confirm epoch of Shapella fork
Ethereum core developers shared more details about the highly anticipated Shapella hard fork, which allow validators to withdraw staked Ether from the Beacon Chain. Shapella will take effect at epoch 194.048, which is scheduled for 10:27 pm UTC on April 12. Withdrawals will be enabled by Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 4895 by "pushing" staked Ether from the Beacon Chain to the execution layer. There are 17.81 million Ether staked on the Beacon Chain, with various mechanisms in place to ensure that a rush of Ether does not disrupt the market.
Winners and losers
At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) I sat down $28,358Ether (ETH) in $1,821 and XRP in $0.53. Total market capitalization is $1.18 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.
Among the largest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are XRP (XRP) at 25.40%, stellar (XLM) at 25.12%, and Conflux (CFX) at 22.77%.
The top three altcoin losers of the week are SingularityNET (AGIX) at -12.85%, batteries (STX) at -10.19%, and Mina (MINE) at -7.20%.
For more information on cryptocurrency prices, be sure to read Cointelegraph Market Analysis.
read also
most memorable quotes
“When I think about AI, it amazes me that we are talking so much about regulating cryptocurrency and nothing about regulating AI. I mean, I think the government has it completely upside down."
mike novogratzCEO of Galaxy Digital
“I believe that NFTs can contribute to preserving Indonesia's cultural heritage while enhancing virtual tourism.”
Muhammad Neil El Himamvice president of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesia
“Advanced AI could represent a profound change in the history of life on Earth, and it must be planned and managed with due care and resources.”
“As recent global financial events continue to unfold, many may also reassess their reliance on traditional financial institutions. […] and turn to alternative assets like Bitcoin.”
Lasanka PereraCEO of Independent Reserve Singapore
“[DeFi] KYC is about transparency and accountability. I don't think it's a problem for most people. I am sure that 99% of people have nothing to hide.
this is budorinHacken CEO
"Never let fear stop progress and beware of anyone trying to take control of any central authority."
brayan armstrongCoinbase CEO
prediction of the week
Bitcoin Price Hits $28,500 on PCE Data as Macro 'Accumulation Zone' Ends
Bitcoin recovered recent losses following encouraging macroeconomic data from the United States, with February's Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) index modestly exceeding expectations in some areas, a sign of progress against inflation.
Moving to higher time frames, optimism was no less evident among traders. Caleb Franzen, a senior market analyst at Cubic Analytics, wrote on Twitter:
“Bitcoin's 24-month Williams%R oscillator is set to close above the 'oversold' threshold for March, marking the end of previous bear markets. The long-term bullish odds are improving, as long as we stay above the lower bound."
FUD of the week
Italy blocks ChatGPT and investigates alleged violations
The Italian watchdog in charge of data protection has announced that it is temporarily blocking the ChatGPT artificial intelligence chatbot and is opening an investigation into alleged violations of data privacy rules, including a recent data breach suffered by the AI platform on March 20. The Italian agency highlighted several problems for the decision, such as the lack of information for users about OpenAI data collection and the absence of an age verification function within the application to avoid minors. The agency further noted that the information provided by the AI chatbot is not always accurate and inaccurate handling of personal data may occur.
A Mysterious Entity May Be Collecting IP Addresses Of BTC Users: Bitcoin Developer
An unknown person or group may be collect IP addresses of Bitcoin users and linking them to their BTC addresses, compromising their privacy, according to Bitcoin app developer pseudonym 0xB10C. The entity has been active since March 2018 and its IP addresses have appeared in various public posts by Bitcoin node operators in recent years. In an interview with Cointelegraph, 0xB10C stated that the vulnerability does not only affect users running their own nodes. Even users who trust a third-party server through a wallet like Electrum or Mycelium can still fall victim.
Jake Paul-backed SafeMoon gets hacked after introducing a bug in the update
SafeMoon, a project previously backed by celebrities and social influencers, such as Jake Paul and Soulja Boy, announced that its liquidity pool (LP) had been compromised. Blockchain researcher PeckShield narrowed the issue down to a recent public recording feature introduced in the latest update that supposedly allows users to record tokens from other addresses. The attacker used the vulnerability to remove SafeMoon tokens, causing an artificial increase in the token price.
Best Cointelegraph Features
Web3 Gamer: Shrapnel Surprises At GDC, Hot Take On Undead Blocks, Second Trip
Could the tide finally turn? as more Web2 game companies start to dabble in Web3?
Crypto Wendy on Smashing the SEC, Sexism, and How Underdogs Can Win: Hall of Flame
Crypto Wendy taught herself how to trade crypto in 2017 as the perfect 24/7 job to accommodate the demands of raising her young daughter.
The Secret to Selling to Male VCs: Female Crypto Founders Take Off
There are many structural problems. holding back female founders in the male-dominated tech industry, but there are also benefits to being a woman in the space.
Subscribe
The most compelling reads on blockchain. Delivered once a week.
