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Monthly crypto roundup for April 2022

From Musk's epic $44B Twitter takeover to Beanstalk Farms' $182m exploitations, we'll discuss about the significant things that happened this month.

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By

Zyane Tan

Updated

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The crypto markets continue to display extra volatility in April as inflation rates and geopolitical tensions remain high. But we can expect brighter days ahead as Crypto Fear & Greed Index has finally moved out of the ‘extreme fear’ zone. Investors are also feeling more optimistic as Bitcoin maintains resilience, as well as increased adoption among major financial institutions and nations.

Here’s a roundup of some of April’s most notable events.

Quick take

  • Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of Twitter has the crypto world abuzz
  • More countries in Latin America and Southeast Asia embrace and encourage cryptocurrency adoption
  • Payments company Stripe is now enabling crypto payments in USDC. More companies accept payments in crypto.
  • Beanstalk Farms suffers massive $182 million exploitation, less than a month after Axie Infinity’s Ronin bridge was hacked for $625 million
  • Two US law firms have joined the class-action lawsuit against Uniswap for selling unregistered securities
  • Consumer confidence dips as US inflation continues on its 40-year high

Key happenings

Crypto regulations

Government announcements and regulator views

  • 11 April: Portugal recognises cryptocurrency as a form of currency, which will be exempt from VAT and capital gains
  • 13 April: Iran’s central bank to pilot a central bank digital currency
  • 22 April: Bahamas to allow citizens to pay taxes using digital assets
  • 22 April: Argentina regulators to bolster fintech and cryptocurrency startups in a regulated manner
  • 22 April: Ukraine central bank restricts cross-border crypto purchases with national currency
  • 24 April: Vietnam launched the Blockchain Union (VBU) to support the country’s digital development
  • 26 April: Buenos Aires to accept crypto for tax payments
  • 27 April: Central African Republic to create legal framework for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies
  • 27 April: Cuba to begin issuing virtual asset licenses
  • 28 April: Brazil passes bill to regulate cryptocurrencies
  • 28 April: The Philippines to launch a wholesale central bank digital currency pilot project called CBDCPh
  • 28 April: Russia’s Central Bank permits stock exchanges to operate in the digital assets market
Crypto fundings

Fundings and acquisitions

  • 8 April: CertiK has reached a $2.5 billion valuation with new funding from Insight Partners, Tiger Global, Goldman Sachs, and others
  • 9 April: $350 million investment in Near, including funding from FTX Ventures, Dragonfly Capital, and others
  • 14 April: MoonPay announced a $555 million (Series A) financing round to bring the valuation to $3.4 billion
  • 21 April: Framework Ventures has raised $400 million for a fund focused crypto sectors
NFT Bobu SpaceX

NFTs

  • 14 April: Azuki announced that BobuBeanFarmer will be joining NASA and SpaceX on the crew-4 mission to the international space station on the 23rd of April
  • 14 April: Forbes Launch Virtual Billionaire NFT Collection
  • 15 April: NFT game, Blockchain Brawlers, has caused a major commotion on the WAX network. Turning over an incredible $431 million in volume in its first 2 weeks
  • 17 April: Moonbirds sold out in under 2 hours, achieving an impressive floor of 12.98 ETH

Top crypto news

We’ve handpicked some of the most relevant emerging stories in the crypto space to help you stay ahead of the curve.

Tesla, Blockstream and Block to develop all-solar bitcoin mining facility in Texas by end of 2022

Apr 9, 2022

Solar Panels

Image: Getty Images

Block and Blockstream have agreed to co-finance a solar- and battery-powered bitcoin mining facility in Texas. The $12 million pilot project will be powered by Tesla’s 3.8 megawatt solar PV array and 12 megawatt-hour Megapack.

Read more

Meta plan to take a 47.5% cut on NFT sales

Apr 14, 2022

Meta Horizon Worlds

Image: Horizon Worlds

Meta (Facebook) announced that it plans to take a 47.5% cut on digital asset transactions on Horizon Worlds – the company’s virtual reality platform.

This resulted in Apple’s criticism of the commission, calling Meta out on its ‘hypocrisy’ as the social media giant previously commented that Apple’s 30% cut of in-app sales makes it challenging for creators to profit from their work.

Read more

Nexo and Gemini launch cryptocurrency credit cards

Apr 14, 2022

Nexo Card

Image: Nexo

Settling day-to-day payments with cryptocurrencies is becoming a norm.

Nexo has officially launched a first-of-its-kind, crypto-backed Mastercard card enabling users to spend the fiat value of their digital assets like Bitcoin without having to sell them.

Crypto exchange Gemini has also launched its credit card, offering users cashback rewards in over 60 supported cryptocurrencies.

Read more

Beanstalk Farms exploited for $182 million

Apr 18, 2022

Beanstalk Farms exploitation

Image: Getty Images

Ethereum-based stablecoin protocol Beanstalk Farms lost all of its $182 million collateral from a security breach of its own governance proposal system.

The malicious actors created a sinkhole of funds from the protocol through a $1 billion flash loan attack that accumulate enough assets to take over 67% of the protocol’s governance and approve their own proposals.

Read more

Vietnam has launched the Blockchain Union (VBU) to support the country’s digital development

Apr 24, 2022

Vietnam Blockchain Union

Image: Ultcoin365

The Vietnam Blockchain Union (VBU) was unveiled at a ceremony held by Vietnam Digital Communications Association (VDCA) in Hanoi on April 21. The newly formed entity aims to accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology and aid the efforts of local cryptocurrency projects.

Read more

Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped 27% after Elon Musk acquired Twitter for $44B

Apr 26, 2022

Twitter Doge Musk

Image: Finder

Minutes after news of Musk’s $44 billion buyout of Twitter Inc, the centibillionaire’s favourite meme-inspired cryptocurrency Dogecoin surged to a daily high of $0.165. It has since cooled off and currently trading at approximately $0.13.

Prior to Musk’s Twitter takeover, Dogecoin’s developers also announced that they have successfully delivered a Doge transaction 100 miles from its origin without internet through radio transmission, thanks to the RadioDoge protocol, Libdogecoin and the Starlink satellite network.

Read more

Coinbase’s long-awaited NFT marketplace in beta

Apr 20, 2022

Coinbase NFT marketplace

Image: Coinbase

On 20 April, Crypto exchange Coinbase launched the beta version of its long-awaited NFT marketplace to a selected group of users. According to a blog post by Coinbase, its “web3 social marketplace” allows users to set up a profile, follow other accounts, and browse NFT recommendations through a personalized feed.

However, the marketplace experienced a slow week post launch, with less than 900 total transactions and approximately 73 ETH in trade volume.

Read more

Best cryptocurrency exchanges in Singapore

Check out our reviews on a range of leading cryptocurrency exchanges in Singapore and around the world. Compare the features, fees and pros and cons of each crypto exchange and consider how they align with your investment goals and budget.

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