[Link to FM] Optimism may launch Token OP, Binance.US obtains currency remittance license in Puerto Rico

【Data Intelligence】

March sales of NFT on the Flow chain decreased by $165 million compared with March last year

After experiencing a 28% sales drop since January 2022, Flow blockchain’s NFT sales fell further in March. According to BeInCrypto Research, Flow blockchain will record total sales of approximately $44 million in March 2022. Its NFT sales are down 22% from February 2022 sales of about $57 million. Compared to March 2021, Flow’s NFT sales are down 78% year-over-year. Flow's total NFT sales in March 2021 are around $209 million. The difference between March 2022 and March 2021 sales is $165.32 million.

【 Regulatory News 】

IMF Warns Russia May Use Bitcoin Mining to Evade Sanctions

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says Russia can escape economic sanctions imposed after it invaded Ukraine by turning to cryptocurrency mining. The report specifically warns that Russia may use its vast energy resources to fuel cryptocurrency mining and generate revenue. Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously said that Russia has a "competitive advantage" in bitcoin mining. According to Cambridge University, Russia is one of the world's leading jurisdictions when it comes to bitcoin mining, ranking third in a study published last year.

Binance.US Receives Money Transfer License in Puerto Rico

The Puerto Rico Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions announced on April 19 that Binance.US has received a money transfer license. Over the past few years, Puerto Rico has gained a reputation as a cryptocurrency hub, with investor Brock Pierce spearheading efforts to attract entrepreneurs to the island, now known for its crypto-friendly tax policies. According to the National Multistate Licensing System and Registry (NMLS) Resource Center, a money transmitter license in Puerto Rico is required to "perform a service or engage in the activity of receiving any order for payment, including, but not limited to, a bank draft, check, personal money order, or any other The method of remittance or payment, including the method of transfer to the beneficiary by electronic transfer, wire transfer, telephone or any other medium, and which services require the remitter to be processed, transacted, or conducted to pay for the service.

【Industry Trends】

CBOE Submits NFT and Crypto Trademark Application for CBOE DIGITAL

On April 20, Mike Kondoudis, a trademark attorney licensed by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, posted on social media that the Chicago Options Exchange (CBOE) has submitted NFT and encrypted trademark applications for CBOE DIGITAL, and plans to launch an NFT-supported digital asset trading platform. And cryptocurrency + NFT + digital asset market and trading platform.

21Shares and ETF Securities jointly launched Bitcoin ETF and Ethereum ETF, which will be launched on April 27

On April 20, 21Shares and Australian asset management company ETF Securities announced that they will launch two trading platform-traded funds (ETFs) on April 27: ETFS 21Shares Bitcoin ETF and ETFS 21Shares Ethereum ETF, which will track BTC and ETH in Australian dollars, respectively. Prices and trades on the Chicago Board Options Exchange platform CBOE.

Justin Bieber showcased "Boring Ape" BAYC and other NFT works on Instagram

On April 20th, Justin Bieber showed off his "boring ape" BAYC #3001 on Insgram. In addition, Justin Bieber also showed NFT works of MAYC, Doodles, RTFKT CLONE X, and inBetweeners series.

Ethereum Foundation, AMD, Polkadot Launch $7M Competition to Boost Zero-Knowledge Scaling

Leading cryptocurrency projects have joined forces to offer a $7 million bounty to innovative teams using zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs. Announced on April 19, the ZPrize is an industry-sponsored competition supported by 21 Web3 organizations, including Polygon, Polkadot, Mina, and the Ethereum Foundation. AMD-Xilinx will also provide high-power computing equipment to participating teams. ZPrize said in a statement that participating teams will attempt to design "new algorithms and techniques to achieve performance metrics unmatched by the best zero-knowledge systems." Winners must open-source their submissions so other developers can Integrate anything groundbreaking into their work.

DeFi Protocol Hedge Completes $3.7 Million Seed Round, Led by Race Capital

On April 19, Hedge, a Solana-based DeFi protocol, announced the completion of a $3.7 million seed round of financing. This round of financing was led by Race Capital, with participation from DCM, Solana Ventures, and Shima Capital. The funding round will help Hedge expand its team. Hedge is a Solana-based DeFi lending protocol, which aims to simplify the way for users to obtain liquidity and lower the threshold for using DeFi. It is planned to be released publicly in the second quarter of this year.

【Elite Viewpoint】

Cai Wensheng: Blockchain technology has a wide range of applications in daily life, and has been valued by Chinese investors

On April 20th, at 10:40 a.m. Eastern Time, the Blockchain Sub-forum of Harvard China Forum was held in Aldrich Hall of Harvard Business School. Mr. Cai Wensheng, founder and chairman of Meitu, said that blockchain technology has a wide range of applications in daily life, has a profound impact, and has been valued by Chinese investors. In addition, Mr. Cai Wensheng also mentioned that Meitu is also marching towards blockchain technology, and his company's investment direction is also changing towards blockchain technology.

Jack Dorsey: Blockchain "has a lot of single points of failure"

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey delivered a scathing criticism of ethereum in a tweet over the weekend, saying that the blockchain "has a lot of single points of failure" and that projects built on it are "not of interest" to him.

【What to watch today】

Optimism, the second-layer expansion network of Ethereum, may launch Token OP soon

Optimism, the second-layer expansion network of Ethereum, published "A New Chapter", reviewing past progress, network achievements, financing information, etc., and said that it will open a new chapter driven by "community ownership and governance", and more information will be released soon. According to community speculation and the official roadmap, Optimism may launch Token OP soon. According to official information, Optimism has helped users save more than US$1.1 billion in gas costs, deployed more than 6,800 contracts, facilitated a transaction volume of more than US$17.4 billion, and generated more than US$24.5 million in revenue. Prior to the news on April 13, informed sources: one of the four major Layer 2 may issue Token next month.

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