Top Stories This Week<\/strong><\/h2>\nEthereum\u2019s Shapella hard fork executed on mainnet<\/strong><\/h3>\nThe Ethereum blockchain\u2019s mainnet, also referred to as the Beacon Chain, implemented the Shapella hard fork on April 12<\/a>. The upgrade made fund withdrawals possible for those who have staked the network\u2019s Ether (ETH) asset. Within the first hour of the hard fork, a total of 12,859 Ether were unlocked in 4,333 withdrawals, according to Ethereum block explorer beaconchai.in. Nearly a day after the upgrade, ETH surpassed the $2,000 price point<\/a>.<\/p>\nFTX has recovered $7.3B in assets, will consider rebooting exchange<\/strong><\/h3>\nA comeback for FTX is on the table, according to the legal team of the bankrupted crypto exchange. In an April 12 hearing, FTX\u2019s lawyers said the company had already recovered about $7.3 billion in liquid assets and was considering restarting its crypto exchange operations<\/a> in the second quarter of 2024, suggesting a reboot as early as April. After the news broke, FTX token (FTT) surged over 112%. Meanwhile in Europe, a Swiss court approved the sale<\/a> of the firm\u2019s European operations.<\/p>\nOpenAI finds fresh support from Japan amid global country-wide bans<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\nJapan is interested in potentially using technology<\/a> from artificial intelligence (AI) outfit OpenAI \u2014 the creator of chatbot ChatGPT \u2014 depending on the resolution of issues relating to cybersecurity and privacy. The interest was expressed by Japan\u2019s chief cabinet secretary, Hirokazu Matsuno. Sam Altman, OpenAI\u2019s CEO, aims to work with Japan to build technology for the country. OpenAI has faced opposition from multiple countries, however. The artificial intelligence race has also accelerated this week with Amazon, Alibaba and Twitter working on their own AI initiatives<\/a>.<\/p>\n\nRead also<\/p>\n
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\n Features<\/span><\/p>\nSouth Korea\u2019s unique and amazing crypto universe<\/p>\n
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\n Features<\/span><\/p>\nLushsux: A decade of ass-whoopin\u2019 and skullduggery in a single NFT\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/strong>Twitter to launch crypto and stock trading in partnership with eToro<\/strong><\/h3>\nTwitter is reportedly planning to introduce a new feature<\/a> that lets users trade cryptocurrencies and stocks. The feature will allow users to browse market charts for a wider variety of financial instruments, as well as purchase or sell crypto and other assets through Twitter\u2019s partner fintech firm, eToro. Musk had earlier floated the idea of making Twitter a \u201csuper app,\u201d offering users access to several online services in one place.<\/p>\nMastercard launches NFT-gated musician accelerator program<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\nMastercard is one of several traditional finance companies that have ventured into the Web3 arena in recent years. Most recently, on April 12, the company announced its new artist accelerator program<\/a> with a Web3 twist: The program is NFT-gated and, therefore, only accessible to holders of its Mastercard Music Pass NFT. The NFT is limited-edition and free until the end of the month for both musicians and fans, while the program was created in partnership with Polygon.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Paul-Chan-1024x682.png\")
<\/figure>\nWinners and Losers<\/strong><\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/WL-apr-15-01-1024x826.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nAt the end of the week, Bitcoin (<\/strong>BTC<\/strong><\/a>)<\/strong> is at $30,439<\/strong>, Ether (<\/strong>ETH<\/strong><\/a>)<\/strong> at $2,105<\/strong> and XRP<\/strong><\/a> at $0.52<\/strong>. The total market cap is at $1.28<\/strong> trillion, according<\/a> to CoinMarketCap.<\/p>\nAmong the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Injective (INJ)<\/strong> at 54.92%, WOO Network (WOO)<\/strong> at 46.91% and Arbitrum (ARB)<\/strong> at 42.04%.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\nThe top three altcoin losers of the week are Enjin Coin (ENJ)<\/strong> at -6.49%, Basic Attention Token (BAT)<\/strong> at -2.89% and BitTorrent New (BTT) <\/strong>at -1.19%. <\/p>\nFor more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph\u2019s market analysis<\/a>.<\/p>\n\nRead also<\/p>\n
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\n Features<\/span><\/p>\nBest and worst countries for crypto taxes \u2014 plus crypto tax tips<\/p>\n
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n
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\n Features<\/span><\/p>\nFrom Director of the United States Mint to the Very First Bitcoin IRA Customer<\/p>\n
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Most Memorable Quotations<\/strong>
<\/h2>\n\n\u201cIf we want a strong U.S. dollar globally, a U.S. dollar stablecoin is a way to see that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Denelle Dixon<\/strong><\/a>, CEO of the Stellar Development Foundation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\u201cBitcoin is a gambling token, and it doesn\u2019t have any intrinsic value.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Warren Buffett<\/strong><\/a>, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\u201cThere is a very natural tendency to borrow traditional financial industry regulations to apply to crypto. Crypto is different from banks and traditional financial industries.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Changpeng Zhao<\/strong><\/a>, CEO of Binance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\u201c[NFT warranties] will provide a sense of security and trust, which will encourage more non-native crypto users to join the Web3 space with minimal risk.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
George Basiladze<\/strong><\/a>, CEO of Wert<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\u201cThe road of innovation and technological change has never been smooth sailing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Paul Chan<\/strong><\/a>, financial secretary of Hong Kong<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\u201cThere is no difference in privacy or surveillance whether you are using your Visa card or a CBDC.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Aaron Klein<\/strong><\/a>, former chief economist of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee<\/strong><\/p>\nPrediction of the Week\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\nBitcoin price spikes above $31K as Ethereum gains spark \u2018altseason\u2019 calls<\/strong><\/h3>\nBitcoin enjoyed some positive action this week<\/a>, poking through the $31,000 price level, according to Cointelegraph\u2019s BTC price index. Micha\u00ebl van de Poppe, CEO and founder of trading firm Eight, pointed to a few price points of potential interest.<\/p>\n\u201cBitcoin looks strong, but will have some shallow corrections in an upward trend,\u201d he noted via an April 14 tweet. \u201cI\u2019ve marked $31.7-32K as important resistance point.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, $25K was the level everyone wanted to buy. This will probably shift to $28.5K, and then nobody buys. I\u2019d prefer to focus on $29.7K,\u201d van de Poppe added.<\/p>\n
The Ethereum blockchain\u2019s native asset, ETH, also enjoyed some positive price action during the week. Excitement at the potential prospect of some form of altseason was expressed in the crypto community this week.<\/p>\n
FUD of the Week\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Warren-Buffett-1024x682.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/h3>\nHacker mints 1 quadrillion yUSDT after exploiting old Yearn.finance contract<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\nA hacker exploited an old contract from Yearn Finance, creating a massive amount of the stablecoin yUSDT tokens<\/a>, according to blockchain security firm PeckShield. The hacker swapped the yUSDT to other stablecoins, allowing them to take hold of $11.6 million worth of stablecoins. At least 1,000 Ether ($2 million) has been transferred to the crypto mixer Tornado Cash.<\/p>\n<\/strong>Crypto exchange Bitrue suffers $23M hack due to hot wallet exploit<\/strong><\/h3>\nAlmost $23 million was pilfered from centralized crypto exchange Bitrue<\/a> due to an exploit. The outfit saw its hot wallet hacked but was able to limit the damage after swiftly jumping into action. The apprehended sum totals less than 5% of funds on the exchange, and the outfit has suspended withdrawals while performing an investigation, with withdrawals planned for resumption on April 18. The hack did not affect the platform\u2019s other wallets, according to Bitrue. \u201cAll identified users who are affected by this incident will be compensated in full,\u201d the exchange also noted.<\/p>\nUS court issues summons to Tron\u2019s Justin Sun, threatens default judgment if no response<\/strong><\/h3>\nA United States court has issued a summons to Tron founder Justin Sun\u2019s Singapore address<\/a> in connection to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) civil case. In March, the SEC filed a civil lawsuit<\/a> against Sun, the Tron Foundation, the BitTorrent Foundation and Rainberry over the \u201corchestration of the unregistered offer and sale, manipulative trading, and unlawful touting\u201d of Tron TRX as a crypto asset security. Sun will face \u201cjudgment by default\u201d if he does not get in touch with SEC attorney Adam Gottlieb within a certain time window.<\/p>\nBest Cointelegraph Features<\/strong><\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Denelle-Dixon-1024x682.png\")
<\/figure>\nZK-rollups are \u2018the endgame\u2019 for scaling blockchains: Polygon Miden founder<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\nHe got his start in ZK-rollups after<\/a> Vitalik Buterin saw his work on Eth Research \u2014 now he\u2019s heading up Polygon\u2019s game-changing ZK project Miden.<\/p>\n<\/strong>Why join a blockchain gaming guild? Fun, profit and create better games<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The Ethereum blockchain\u2019s mainnet, also referred to as the Beacon Chain, implemented the Shapella hard fork on April 12<\/a>. The upgrade made fund withdrawals possible for those who have staked the network\u2019s Ether (ETH) asset. Within the first hour of the hard fork, a total of 12,859 Ether were unlocked in 4,333 withdrawals, according to Ethereum block explorer beaconchai.in. Nearly a day after the upgrade, ETH surpassed the $2,000 price point<\/a>.<\/p>\n A comeback for FTX is on the table, according to the legal team of the bankrupted crypto exchange. In an April 12 hearing, FTX\u2019s lawyers said the company had already recovered about $7.3 billion in liquid assets and was considering restarting its crypto exchange operations<\/a> in the second quarter of 2024, suggesting a reboot as early as April. After the news broke, FTX token (FTT) surged over 112%. Meanwhile in Europe, a Swiss court approved the sale<\/a> of the firm\u2019s European operations.<\/p>\n Japan is interested in potentially using technology<\/a> from artificial intelligence (AI) outfit OpenAI \u2014 the creator of chatbot ChatGPT \u2014 depending on the resolution of issues relating to cybersecurity and privacy. The interest was expressed by Japan\u2019s chief cabinet secretary, Hirokazu Matsuno. Sam Altman, OpenAI\u2019s CEO, aims to work with Japan to build technology for the country. OpenAI has faced opposition from multiple countries, however. The artificial intelligence race has also accelerated this week with Amazon, Alibaba and Twitter working on their own AI initiatives<\/a>.<\/p>\n Read also<\/p>\n South Korea\u2019s unique and amazing crypto universe<\/p>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n Lushsux: A decade of ass-whoopin\u2019 and skullduggery in a single NFT\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Twitter is reportedly planning to introduce a new feature<\/a> that lets users trade cryptocurrencies and stocks. The feature will allow users to browse market charts for a wider variety of financial instruments, as well as purchase or sell crypto and other assets through Twitter\u2019s partner fintech firm, eToro. Musk had earlier floated the idea of making Twitter a \u201csuper app,\u201d offering users access to several online services in one place.<\/p>\n Mastercard is one of several traditional finance companies that have ventured into the Web3 arena in recent years. Most recently, on April 12, the company announced its new artist accelerator program<\/a> with a Web3 twist: The program is NFT-gated and, therefore, only accessible to holders of its Mastercard Music Pass NFT. The NFT is limited-edition and free until the end of the month for both musicians and fans, while the program was created in partnership with Polygon.<\/p>\n At the end of the week, Bitcoin (<\/strong>BTC<\/strong><\/a>)<\/strong> is at $30,439<\/strong>, Ether (<\/strong>ETH<\/strong><\/a>)<\/strong> at $2,105<\/strong> and XRP<\/strong><\/a> at $0.52<\/strong>. The total market cap is at $1.28<\/strong> trillion, according<\/a> to CoinMarketCap.<\/p>\n Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Injective (INJ)<\/strong> at 54.92%, WOO Network (WOO)<\/strong> at 46.91% and Arbitrum (ARB)<\/strong> at 42.04%.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The top three altcoin losers of the week are Enjin Coin (ENJ)<\/strong> at -6.49%, Basic Attention Token (BAT)<\/strong> at -2.89% and BitTorrent New (BTT) <\/strong>at -1.19%. <\/p>\n For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph\u2019s market analysis<\/a>.<\/p>\n Read also<\/p>\n Best and worst countries for crypto taxes \u2014 plus crypto tax tips<\/p>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n From Director of the United States Mint to the Very First Bitcoin IRA Customer<\/p>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIf we want a strong U.S. dollar globally, a U.S. dollar stablecoin is a way to see that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Denelle Dixon<\/strong><\/a>, CEO of the Stellar Development Foundation<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cBitcoin is a gambling token, and it doesn\u2019t have any intrinsic value.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Warren Buffett<\/strong><\/a>, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThere is a very natural tendency to borrow traditional financial industry regulations to apply to crypto. Crypto is different from banks and traditional financial industries.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Changpeng Zhao<\/strong><\/a>, CEO of Binance<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201c[NFT warranties] will provide a sense of security and trust, which will encourage more non-native crypto users to join the Web3 space with minimal risk.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n George Basiladze<\/strong><\/a>, CEO of Wert<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe road of innovation and technological change has never been smooth sailing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Paul Chan<\/strong><\/a>, financial secretary of Hong Kong<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThere is no difference in privacy or surveillance whether you are using your Visa card or a CBDC.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Aaron Klein<\/strong><\/a>, former chief economist of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee<\/strong><\/p>\n Bitcoin enjoyed some positive action this week<\/a>, poking through the $31,000 price level, according to Cointelegraph\u2019s BTC price index. Micha\u00ebl van de Poppe, CEO and founder of trading firm Eight, pointed to a few price points of potential interest.<\/p>\n \u201cBitcoin looks strong, but will have some shallow corrections in an upward trend,\u201d he noted via an April 14 tweet. \u201cI\u2019ve marked $31.7-32K as important resistance point.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, $25K was the level everyone wanted to buy. This will probably shift to $28.5K, and then nobody buys. I\u2019d prefer to focus on $29.7K,\u201d van de Poppe added.<\/p>\n The Ethereum blockchain\u2019s native asset, ETH, also enjoyed some positive price action during the week. Excitement at the potential prospect of some form of altseason was expressed in the crypto community this week.<\/p>\n A hacker exploited an old contract from Yearn Finance, creating a massive amount of the stablecoin yUSDT tokens<\/a>, according to blockchain security firm PeckShield. The hacker swapped the yUSDT to other stablecoins, allowing them to take hold of $11.6 million worth of stablecoins. At least 1,000 Ether ($2 million) has been transferred to the crypto mixer Tornado Cash.<\/p>\n Almost $23 million was pilfered from centralized crypto exchange Bitrue<\/a> due to an exploit. The outfit saw its hot wallet hacked but was able to limit the damage after swiftly jumping into action. The apprehended sum totals less than 5% of funds on the exchange, and the outfit has suspended withdrawals while performing an investigation, with withdrawals planned for resumption on April 18. The hack did not affect the platform\u2019s other wallets, according to Bitrue. \u201cAll identified users who are affected by this incident will be compensated in full,\u201d the exchange also noted.<\/p>\n A United States court has issued a summons to Tron founder Justin Sun\u2019s Singapore address<\/a> in connection to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) civil case. In March, the SEC filed a civil lawsuit<\/a> against Sun, the Tron Foundation, the BitTorrent Foundation and Rainberry over the \u201corchestration of the unregistered offer and sale, manipulative trading, and unlawful touting\u201d of Tron TRX as a crypto asset security. Sun will face \u201cjudgment by default\u201d if he does not get in touch with SEC attorney Adam Gottlieb within a certain time window.<\/p>\n He got his start in ZK-rollups after<\/a> Vitalik Buterin saw his work on Eth Research \u2014 now he\u2019s heading up Polygon\u2019s game-changing ZK project Miden.<\/p>\nFTX has recovered $7.3B in assets, will consider rebooting exchange<\/strong><\/h3>\n
OpenAI finds fresh support from Japan amid global country-wide bans<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n Features<\/span><\/p>\n
\n Features<\/span><\/p>\n<\/strong>Twitter to launch crypto and stock trading in partnership with eToro<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Mastercard launches NFT-gated musician accelerator program<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/figure>\nWinners and Losers<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/figure>\n
\n Features<\/span><\/p>\n
\n Features<\/span><\/p>\nMost Memorable Quotations<\/strong>
<\/h2>\n\n
\n
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Prediction of the Week\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Bitcoin price spikes above $31K as Ethereum gains spark \u2018altseason\u2019 calls<\/strong><\/h3>\n
FUD of the Week\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/figure>\n<\/h3>\n
Hacker mints 1 quadrillion yUSDT after exploiting old Yearn.finance contract<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/strong>Crypto exchange Bitrue suffers $23M hack due to hot wallet exploit<\/strong><\/h3>\n
US court issues summons to Tron\u2019s Justin Sun, threatens default judgment if no response<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Best Cointelegraph Features<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/figure>\nZK-rollups are \u2018the endgame\u2019 for scaling blockchains: Polygon Miden founder<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/strong>Why join a blockchain gaming guild? Fun, profit and create better games<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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