April is looking quite like the much-anticipated ray of sunshine. The market is green and the two leading crypto coins are near highs not seen since COVID happened.
In today’s issue of Rebel Digest, here are some of the top stories we’re following;
MetaMask Launches a New ‘Fiat to Crypto’ Feature
AI-Focused Blockchain CryptoGPT Raises $10M Funding at $250M Valuation
Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Pushes for Web3 Adoption
After Restructuring, Huobi Returns to Profitability in Q1
Let’s get the details.
Read the full issue to find out
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MARKETS
7-Day Market Moves
BTC surged past the US$30,000 mark, reaching its highest price since June 2022 and gaining over 8% in the past seven days. ETH also rose ahead of the Ethereum blockchain's upgrade.
Despite these gains, the macro factors still evoke mixed feelings as investors await economic readings to gauge the Federal Reserve's next move on interest rates. Albeit a drop in new payrolls in March, the unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, lower than analysts' forecast. Analysts at the CME Group predict a 71.3% chance of a 25-basis-point rate hike at the next Fed meeting on May 3.
In Other News,
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COIN WATCH
Listings
Delistings
Last week, CEX.io delisted BUSD and 30 more tokens. See them here.
Ongoing ICO
Upcoming ICO
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MetaMask Launches a New ‘Fiat to Crypto’ Feature
TL: DR
MetaMask users can now buy crypto directly with fiat.
The new feature will be available in over 189 countries depending on local regulations.
The foxes at MetaMask have just launched a new feature called "Buy Crypto" that allows users to purchase cryptocurrencies with fiat currency directly from its Portfolio Dapp.
This feature offers various payment methods and will be available in over 189 countries, offering more than 90 tokens across eight different networks. The feature takes into account the user's location and local regulations to provide a customized quote for each purchase, and the funds will be deposited directly into the user's MetaMask wallet.
MetaMask has partnered with several organizations to onboard new users to its platform, including PayPal and MoonPay.
In other news,
The latest bankruptcy reports show that the FTX hot wallets were a hot mess. Read more.
Sushiswap loses $3.3M in a smart contract hack. Read more.
The Crypto Twins lend $100M in personal loans to Gemini. Read more.
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AI
AI-Focused Blockchain CryptoGPT Raises $10M Funding at $250M Valuation
TL: DR
CryptoGPT has just raised $10M in series A funding.
The funds will be used to target the Asian market and grow the developer team.
CryptoGPT, a zero-knowledge (ZK) layer 2 blockchain, has raised $10 million in a Series A funding round led by DWF Labs, with a $250 million valuation. The blockchain is developing a data-to-AI engine and a ZK rollup layer 2 blockchain for private data transfers.
The funding will be used to grow its developer team and build its presence in Asian markets. CryptoGPT aims to allow users to monetize their data across various industries and plans to roll out non-fungible tokens (NFT) to store activity data. Its native token GPT has a market cap of just over $12 million.
In other news,
AI meets NFTs in a union that promises to revolutionize creativity. Read more.
Wemade, a South Korean gaming company has launched a Web3 live chat app with AI verification. Read more.
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ADOPTION
Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Pushes for Web3 Adoption
TL: DR
The Hong Kong Finance secretary is preaching the gospel of Web3 adoption.
There are funds allocated and measures in place to foster an innovative environment.
WAGMI - Hong Kong's Financial Secretary, Paul Chan Mo-po, has encouraged the adoption of Web3 technology despite fluctuations and doubts in the virtual asset market.
He outlined steps the economy will take to foster an innovative environment, including introducing virtual asset service providers to a licensing system in June and running the "2023 Digital Economy Summit" from April 13-14.
Chan Mo-po has also allotted 50 million Hong Kong dollars to Cyberport to accelerate Web3 development. Recent reports suggest that Hong Kong may be open to welcoming Web3 and blockchain technology, as long as entities are regulated.
In other news,
Texas lawmakers are proposing a gold-backed state digital currency. Read more.
Bank of England doubles down on plans for digital ‘Britcoin’ currency. Read more.
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EXCHANGE
After Restructuring, Huobi Returns to Profitability in Q1
TL: DR
Huobi secured the bag in Q1.
The company generated a revenue of $150M after undertaking some cost-cutting measures.
Earlier in the year, the company slashed 20% of its workforce.
Justin Sun maintains that all users impacted by the Huobi token crash will be compensated.
Cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Global reportedly made a $30 million profit during Q1 2023, following measures to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
The exchange's revenue was $150 million, compared to $120 million in expenditures. Huobi Global laid off 20% of its employees and slashed employment benefits earlier this year as part of restructuring efforts.
The exchange's native token, Huobi Token, suffered a flash crash on March 10, leading to a more than 90% drop in its price within hours. Despite claims from the exchange's owner, Justin Sun, that all users impacted by the crash would be compensated, one major user claims to have lost $4 million and has yet to receive full compensation.
In other news,
Bitget launches a whooping $100m fund to support next-gen crypto projects. Read more.
The South Korean crypto exchange GDAC reports a $13 million loss in a 'hot wallet' hack. Read more.
‘Goodbye Coinbase’. Vishal Gupta, Coinbase’s Head of Exchange exits the company. Read more.
