- Ethereum Merge No Longer Expected in June
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/04/13/ethereum-merge-no-longer-expected-in-june/
After a few weeks of speculation, Ethereum core developer Tim Beiko confirmed in a tweet Tuesday that the long-awaited Ethereum Merge will come later than expected. Instead of June, Beiko said that the network's transition to proof-of-stake is more likely to come “in the few months after.”
Beiko insisted that Ethereum was “in the final chapter of PoW,” but this is yet another in a long string of delays for a project which was slated for completion as far back as 2019. The update comes after Ethereum passed a major milestone on Monday with the first shadow fork of the Ethereum mainnet – amounting to a dry run of the network’s upcoming shift in consensus mechanisms.
- Cross-Chain Bridge Allbridge Brings DeFi to the XRP Ledger
https://ripple.com/ripple-press/cross-chain-bridge-allbridge-brings-defi-to-the-xrp-ledger/
Allbridge has successfully integrated support for XRP Ledger (XRPL), a decentralized, public blockchain built for payments. Allbridge first announced the integration in January and is today proud to deliver on its promise, adding XRPL as the 14th chain.
- Terraform Labs gifts another $880M to Luna Foundation Guard
https://cointelegraph.com/news/terraform-labs-gifts-another-880m-to-luna-foundation-guard
Terra blockchain developer Terraform Labs (TFL) has gifted the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) 10 million LUNA, worth around $820 million at current prices.
- Amazon CEO: Crypto Will Become Bigger, NFTs Will Grow 'Very Significantly'
https://news.bitcoin.com/amazon-ceo-crypto-will-become-bigger-nfts-will-grow-very-significantly/
The CEO of e-commerce giant Amazon is optimistic about crypto and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). He says that over time crypto will “become bigger” and NFTs will continue to “grow very significantly.
- Dozens of VIP backers invest $87M into crypto payment startup MoonPay
https://cointelegraph.com/news/dozens-of-vip-backers-invest-87m-into-crypto-payment-startup-moonpay
Ashton Kutcher, Gwyneth Paltrow, Justin Bieber and Snoop Dogg are among MoonPay's strategic investors who have brought the company's valuation to $3.4 billion.
- Central Bank of Portugal Grants Country’s First Crypto License to a Bank
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/04/14/central-bank-of-portugal-grants-countrys-first-crypto-license-to-a-bank/
Bison Bank, a Portugal-based financial institution, has received a license from the Portuguese central bank (Banco de Portugal) to operate as a virtual asset service provider (VASP), Banco de Portugal announced Thursday.Bison Bank will create a special business division, Bison Digital Assets, to operate as a virtual asset exchange, according to Portuguese media outlet Sapo.
- Near Protocol Set to Roll Out Its own Stablecoin ($USN) On April 20
https://crypto.news/near-protocol-stablecoin-usn-april-20/
Near Protocol, an open-source platform for decentralized applications is set to launch $USN, its own stablecoin that brings lucrative APYs to the DeFi ecosystem,offering users an attractive 20% yield. According to Kole’s publication, $USN will be developed in collaboration with other well-capitalized stablecoins.
- US Officials Tie North Korea’s ‘Lazarus’ Hackers to $625M Crypto Theft
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2022/04/14/us-officials-tie-north-korean-hacker-group-to-axies-ronin-exploit/
The U.S. Treasury Department alleged that North Korean hacking group Lazarus is tied to a more than $600 million theft of cryptocurrency from the Axie Infinity-linked Ronin bridge. The Treasury Department added an Ethereum address to its sanctions list on Thursday. Wallet profiler Nansen had labeled the sanctioned address as a “Ronin Bridge Exploiter” when checked by CoinDesk Thursday.
It held 148,000 ETH at publication time. CoinDesk independently confirmed that the wallet is tied to the Ronin exploit. Crypto analytics firm Chainalysis tweeted that the address “was involved in the Ronin hack.” Tracing firm Elliptic estimated that 14% of the stolen funds had already been laundered by Thursday
- Attacker Drains $182M From Beanstalk Stablecoin Protocol
https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2022/04/17/attacker-drains-182m-from-beanstalk-stablecoin-protocol/
Beanstalk Farms, an Ethereum-based stablecoin protocol, was exploited for $182 million Sunday. The attack was flagged on Twitter by blockchain security firm PeckShield, which said the attacker made away with at least $80 million in crypto, although the losses suffered by the protocol were much larger. The market for Beanstalk’s BEAN stablecoin collapsed as a result of the attack. At press time, the token was down 86% from its $1 peg according to CoinGecko.
