TL;DR

• Argentina Looks to Emulate El Salvador’s Bitcoin Success

• Tokyo-Listed Metaplanet to Expand Bitcoin Holdings

• Taiko Launches Ethereum Rollup with Vitalik’s Inaugural Block Proposal

• Ethereum ETF Could Launch in June as BlackRock Updates S-1 Filing

• POKT Network Integrates with the Interchain

• Binance Pay Integrates INJ for Global Payments

• Solana Approves 100% Priority Fees Allocation to Validators

• PayPal USD (PYUSD) Launches on Solana

• Avalanche (AVAX) Unveils Arena with Exciting Token Airdrop Plans

• Shiba Inu Surpasses Avalanche Amid Market Correction: A New Crypto Leader Emerges

• NY Attorney General Warns Crypto Companies to ‘Play By The Rules’

• Meme coins take a nosedive as Donald Trump faces conviction amidst political upheaval

And much more!

Sponsor of the Week

THORSwap is the leading multi-chain DEX built on THORChain's cross-chain liquidity protocol and the #1 interface for all THORChain services.

THORSwap currently supports cross-chain L1 swaps between 5,500+ crypto assets across 10 major L1 blockchains in a decentralized and non-custodial manner.

Through THORChain's innovative Savers Vaults feature, THORSwap users can also earn native yield on L1 assets, allowing BTC holders to earn native BTC with no impermanent loss (no wrapped or pegged BTC required).

Premium Content of the Week

Grab Your 7 Day Free Trial

You're invited to upgrade your subscription to our Premium membership with a 7 day FREE trial!

No catches. No strings attached. Just pure crypto alpha to get you ahead!
Upgrade now for:

Ad-Free Experience 🚫👀
Weekly News Summary 📰🔥
Weekly Market Summary 💸📈
Weekly Airdrop Summary 🎁💎

All for just $15/month after the trial.
Don't miss out! Get your FREE trial today 👇

Bitcoin Highlights of the Week

Argentina Looks to Emulate El Salvador’s Bitcoin Success

The Argentine government is collaborating with El Salvador to understand their experience with Bitcoin adoption and other crypto activities. Argentina’s National Securities Commission (CNV) had a meeting with El Salvador’s National Commission of Digital Assets (CNAD) to discuss how both countries handle cryptocurrency use and regulation, as announced by the CNV.

On May 23, CNV president Roberto Silva, CNV vice president Patricia Boedo, and CNAD president Juan Carlos Reyes talked about El Salvador's journey as the first country to make Bitcoin legal currency in September 2021. The officials shared their approaches and ideas on using cryptocurrencies in the global economy, focusing particularly on El Salvador's Bitcoin adoption.

Silva pointed out that El Salvador is not only a leader in adopting Bitcoin but also successful in the overall cryptocurrency industry. He emphasized the importance of the insights gained by CNAD, which regulates the digital asset market in El Salvador. Silva said: “We want to strengthen our relationship with El Salvador, and we are considering signing collaboration agreements with them.”

Tokyo-Listed Metaplanet to Expand Bitcoin Holdings

Japanese company Metaplanet Inc has announced plans to buy more Bitcoin as part of its bullish strategy. The company decided to spend ¥250 million (about $1.59 million) to add to its Bitcoin holdings. Currently, Bitcoin's price is around $68,000 after a slight dip from $71,000.
On May 28, Metaplanet disclosed to investors its plan to buy more Bitcoin and update its accounting strategies. This new purchase adds to their existing 117.7 BTC, which they bought at an average price of ¥10,193,536 each.

For long-term holdings, Metaplanet will value Bitcoin at its purchase cost. For short-term holdings, they will revalue it quarterly based on market prices. Any gains or losses will be reported as non-operational income, with significant impacts on quarterly earnings disclosed promptly.
This new acquisition follows a previous purchase of ¥200 million worth of Bitcoin (about $1.25 million). Inspired by Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy, Metaplanet aims to increase its Bitcoin holdings to $6.25 million, as announced in April. The company sees this investment as a symbol of innovation and adaptability in financial markets.

Mt. Gox Transfers $9 Billion in Bitcoin

For the first time in over five years, Mt. Gox has moved $9.62 billion worth of Bitcoin, ahead of the October 2024 repayment deadline.

The collapsed cryptocurrency exchange transferred 141,686 Bitcoins into a new wallet, raising hopes among creditors that they may finally get their money back. This large transfer comes from several cold wallets associated with Mt. Gox and is seen as part of the exchange’s plan to repay users by October 31, 2024.

Anndy Lian, a blockchain expert, mentioned that this move is likely part of the plan to distribute the assets back to creditors. Mt. Gox's trustee, Nobuaki Kobayashi, confirmed that the consolidation is a step towards making these repayments, although the exact timing is still unclear.

The current deadline for repayment could face delays, as it was initially set for October 2023. Mt. Gox owes over $9.4 billion worth of Bitcoin to its 127,000 creditors, who have been waiting since the exchange collapsed in 2014 following multiple hacks.

Luxor and Bitnomial Launch Bitcoin Mining Derivates

Luxor Technology Corporation and Bitnomial Inc. have introduced a new Bitcoin mining derivative product on Bitnomial’s U.S. derivatives exchange. This product, called Hashrate Futures, allows investors to speculate on future Bitcoin mining power and potential revenue.

What Are Hashrate Futures? Hashrate Futures are a type of financial contract that lets investors trade Bitcoin’s computing power. These contracts, known under the ticker HUP, give miners a way to hedge their revenue and allow investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin mining.

Key Features:

• Futures Contract: An agreement to buy or sell Bitcoin’s computing power at a future date for a set price.

• Hashrate Trading: Trades Bitcoin’s computing power, known as the hash rate.

• Hashprice Index: Uses Luxor’s Bitcoin Hashprice Index to determine the contract’s value.

• Contract Size: Each Hashrate Futures contract represents 1 petahash (PH) and has a monthly duration.

Luxor also provides non-deliverable Hashrate Forwards, which are traded over-the-counter and do not settle on a Commodity Futures Trading Commission-regulated exchange.

This new product offers a novel way for investors to engage with the Bitcoin mining industry, while providing miners with tools to manage their financial risk.

BTC Ordinals has been launched on the Phantom Wallet platform

Phantom Wallet's recent decision to integrate support for BTC ordinals marks a significant milestone for the Solana network, bringing about a renewed sense of activity and engagement.

The integration of BTC ordinals into Phantom Wallet represents a pivotal step forward for users, as it eliminates the need to rely on centralized exchanges or unfamiliar wallets to access these assets. This update enables seamless transactions directly through the Phantom platform, empowering users with greater accessibility and convenience.

Furthermore, this development underscores Phantom's ongoing commitment to enhancing the Bitcoin experience for its users, following the initial beta release in December 2023. With this integration, customers can now easily buy and sell ordinals and BRC-20s through various applications, including Magic Eden, Atlas 3, BTC Ordinals Wallet, and UniSat.

Daily Alphas of the Week

Ethereum Highlights of the Week

Taiko Launches Ethereum Rollup with Vitalik’s Inaugural Block Proposal

Taiko, a new rollup protocol aimed at improving Ethereum's scalability, is now live on the mainnet. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin marked the occasion by proposing the first block, which included the names of all Taiko core contributors.

Vitalik Buterin's Quote: Vitalik shared his excitement, saying, "I'm excited to see Taiko launching as a rollup. Ethereum benefits from Layer 2 solutions taking different approaches, and I appreciate them being among the first to go in this direction."
Taiko's mainnet launch represents a significant step forward in blockchain scalability. Using this rollup design, Ethereum validators sequence transactions and blocks for Taiko, ensuring strong security and performance from the base layer.

Trailblazers Campaign: To celebrate the launch and thank the community, Taiko will reward participants with 100 million TKO tokens (10% of the total supply) through the Trailblazers campaign. This campaign will be divided into seasons, allowing both new and long-term supporters to earn tokens. More details will be released soon.

Subscribe to WAGMI Premium to read the rest.